This is one in a series of workbooks, each of which offers an abundance of learning activities, exercises, and games that are presented with superb production values. Appropriate to the given age level, much of the material focuses on basic subjects such natural science, mathematics, history, and social studies while enabling children to strengthen their reading, reasoning, and writing skills. The editors of Brain Quest believe that:
"All kids are smart - though they learn at their own speed
All kids learn best when they're having fun
All kids deserve the chance to reach their potential - given the tools they need, there's no limit how far they can go!"
I agree, while presuming to add that children will learn more and have more fun meanwhile if, when completing various exercises, adults are involved. As a parent of four and a grandparent of ten, I can personally attest to the pleasure an adult will also have. Each volume in the series is a WORK book. Exercises are completed with crayolas or pencils on the page on which it appears. Correct answers are provided. One caveat: Resist the temptation to control the learning process a child completes an exercise.
This volume, Grade 1 (ages 6-7), was written by Lisa Trumbauer, with Betsy Rogers serving as consulting editor. It is worth noting that Rogers was 2003 National Teacher of the Year. The material consists of organized curriculum-based exercises that help children to gain an understanding of phonics, spelling, vocabulary, language arts, reading, writing, sequencing and sorting, math skills, addition and subtraction, shapes and measurement, time and money, social studies, and science. Also included are more than 150 stickers, an all-new Brain Quest Mini-Card Deck, and a fold-out "100 Creatures" poster.
Here is a representative selection of exercises:
Cat and Snake
Say the word for each picture.
Draw a line from the pictures with the short a sound to the cat.
Draw a line from the pictures with a long a sound to the snake. (Page 37)
Time to Rhyme!
The words on the page all rhyme with brag.
Write each rhyming word [tag, bag, wag, and flag] next to the correct picture. (88)
Doggy Diary
Complete each sentence with a word from the word box. [bark, happy, stick, Gus, and fetch]
My name is....
I like to....
I fetch a....
I like to...
I am a. ...dog. (142-143)
Connect the Dots!
Connect the dots to make each shape.
Color each shape the same color as the dots. (229)
Drop It in the Bin
Look at the picture on each bin. [PLASTIC, PAPER, and CANS]
Draw a line from all the things you can recycle to the correct bin. (290)
Each of the volumes in this series (pre-K through Grade 4) would be an excellent book for parents, grandparents, and others to purchase and then share with a child at an appropriate stage of her or his development. No doubt there are precocious children who will prefer more challenging material associated with later grades but I think it would be a mistake to rush the learning process. Worse yet, to indicate little interest in it.
Congratulations to the Workman Publishing Company and especially to the editors of Brain Quest. How pleased they must be to know that their materials have already helped to nourish so many young minds and to delight so many young hearts and, fortunately, will continue to do so for the development of other children in months and years to come Brain Quest Workbook: Grade 1
This workbook's graphics, paper quality and size give it a stimulating, well-made feel. Most pages, though, have only 3-5 problems. The oversized pages could have packed in many more exercises. My daughter can't build up a lot of momentum because she has to learn a new set of instructions every few minutes as she completes pages and moves on. I would have liked more repetition in the form of more exercises per page.
I bought this in hopes that it would work well with what my daughter is learning in school. She's struggling a little in 1st grade and I was looking for something that would help. Boy did I luck out the first try!!! Not only is this complimenting the lessons from her school but she loves to work in it. She does about 5-8 pages at a time because she doesn't want to stop. I love the reading and phonics section. The way they have it broken down really is helpful if you have a struggling reader. There is a section in spelling that has the middle sounds of words missing and I haven't found workbooks that include that. Beginning and ending sounds yes but it's great that this book includes the middle letters instead of assuming your child "get's it". I highly recommend this workbook if you have a student that has a difficult time focusing and needs that little extra confidence boost on being able to figure things out on their own. While its not an "easy" workbook it challenges them enough to not only help their self-esteem but also their skills as a student.
I got this for my kindergartner, who's a bit ahead in reading, but right on track in math. She loved it, and did 5-10 pages a day fairly regularly all the way through the language arts sections. The pages that required more writing were harder for her - she only chose to do a page or two of those at a time.
Subtraction, time, and money were all over her head. She didn't have any time with telling time to the hour or the initial money worksheets, but couldn't move on to the half-hours or to adding coins, or to subtracting without manipulatives.
Once the book arrived, my 5 year dove into it and started immediately to do the exercies. He did 4 pages right away, and without much instruction. The book has clear exercies, that were fun to do (according to my son).
I like it as it has diverse exercies, from phonics to math. A great supplement to his school learning.'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
