Mathematical Reasoning Beginning 1 and 2

[mathmarm]

Has anyone here used these books? If so what did you think of them?

 

Are the books a semester each or are they each supposed to last a year?

 

I'm looking at the preschool set, Book 1 and Book 2.

 

They seem expensive for a workbook, are they worth it in your opinion?

 

[Aiden]

We used them and really liked them. We started beginning 1 when my daughter was 3.5. I don't recall how long it took to finish it. We did beginning 2 at age 4. Some days we only did one page, and others she wanted to keep going ... I think our record was 23 pages in one day.

 

Beginning 2 did require some writing of the numbers which was difficult for my daughter. I ended up skipping the pages where it was just writing the numbers and scribing on other pages.

 

The incremental, spiral approach worked well for my daughter. It was worth the investment for us. Your mileage may vary, of course.

 

Edited to add: unless you've done a lot of math activities with your child already, I'd consider it a year long curriculum.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Aiden

[HomeAgain]

We tried book 2.  I really like CTC's products (we're using two others here right now: Balance Benders and Reading Detective), but Mathematical Reasoning missed the mark for us.  Mine wasn't interested in the brightly colored pages or various activities.  He never wanted to do it.  We ended up finding MEP and it has been a much better fit for him.

[abba12]

We love them. They're supposed to be a year long each, ages 3 and 4. I've used them with two kids now and they are the kids favorite workbook

[rwilk]

We used them both (and now use level A) and loved them.  I think they took about 6-8 months for both?  It was worth it for us because the knowledge/concepts really stuck well. 

[desertflower]

I agree with aiden. My ds used it as something fun. Most of it was done orally.

[PersonalMap]

Our daughter is 3.5 and loves B1. She maybe does 10-20 pages a week. Sometimes she zips through a bunch and sometimes her attention can only hold for one or two. She and my husband do them together, cuddled up on the couch in the morning before he leaves for work. She calls the book "my special daddy game." It's fun bonding time for them.

[smarson]

I didn't bother with the mathmematical reasoning books but I used Building Thinking Skills - Beginning with my 3.5-4 yr old and we just did it orally.  He did great and it was fun for him to have something to do!  He's playing with the Hands on Thinking skills K-1 book right now (at age 5 and a K4'er).  The books are a bit pricey but with free shipping right now (I think?) it makes them worth it!  

 

I tried the K or 1 Mathematical Reasoning one with my daughter and it was a complete flop.  She was way beyond what the book was covering (doing more difficult things in her Horizons math program) and she just wasn't into it.  So it was a 'live and learn' moment for me and I'm okay with it.  Perhaps one of the little ones behind her will use up the book.  If not, oh well.

[lilajoy]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to add my two cents for anyone searching this in the future. I used Beginning 1 with my daughter when she was 3, and we have recently started Beginning 2 (she turned 4 this past winter). It's great for us, mainly because she really loves it and because we can do it while sitting and snuggling -- it's very conversational. The Beginning 2 book does ask children to write numbers and draw shapes, but much of it is still conversational, which is great. You and your child look at pictures and images and basically just talk about math, e.g., How many do you see? Which one is second in line? What shape is the red figure? How many sides and corners does it have? The only downside is that it really is expensive for a workbook. For us, it's been worth it, but that's definitely a drawback. (On the other hand, it's a good quality book -- thick pages, bright colors, lots and lots of practice.)

[shawthorne44]

Also, if you do it orally, you can resell or reuse the book.  

[mumto2]

I was just sorting through things I had saved and many of these books stayed in my save piles. I really think these were some of the activities that really gave my kids a great foundation. We did them all orally so the books are in great shape. I am saving them for grandchildren. ;)

[Seeking Squirrels]

I agree with doing them orally. So much of it doesn't need writing that it seems a waste of the material to write in it the few times it does ask (at least for book 1, we aren't on 2 yet). When DD does want to do one of the pages that have drawing or writing, I use a page protector cut up the side to slip over the page and she does it with dry erase marker.