Customer Reviews

Brain Quest Workbook: Kindergarten

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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 as a child completes an exercise.

This volume, for Kindergartners, was written by Lisa Trumbauer, with Kimberly Oliver serving as consulting editor. It is worth noting that Oliver was 2006 National Teacher of the Year. The material consists of organized curriculum-based exercises that help children to gain an understanding of ABCs, phonics, spelling and vocabulary, 123s, shapes and colors, patterns, sorting and matching, time and money, community, science, and "Fun and Games." Also included are more than 150 stickers, an all-new Brain Quest Mini-Card Deck, and a fold-out "Ticktock Clock" poster.

Here is a representative selection of exercises:

Help the cat find her way to the castle. (Page 14)

P as in Pirate.
Pirate begins with the P sound.
Circle the things in the picture that begin with the P sound. (127)

And
Say the word and.
Trace and then write the word and. [in the space below]
The word and connects words.
Write and to connect these friends. (155)

Squares!
Trace the square and then draw your own. [in the space below]
Find all the squares in the room. [on opposite page]
Color the picture frames brown.
Color the jack-in-the-box purple.
Color the clock face tan.
Color the present gold and silver. (210-211)

Clean Up!
A clean community is good for everyone.
Help clean up this community.
Draw an X through each piece of trash. (278-279)

Hat Trick!
Help the monster find his hat!
Connect the dots from A to M. (307)

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.

The Brain Quest Workbook: Kindergarten is a large collection of activities geared toward the 5-6 year old set.

The workbook is in sections, with a table of contents at the beginning and each section is color coded, and each page is numbered.

The sections and subject matter cover ABCs, Phonics, Spelling and Vocabulary, 123s, Shapes and Colors, Patterns, Matching and Sorting, Time and Money, Community, Science, Fun and Games, and there are Brain Quest Extras- stickers, a mini-card deck (you cut it out), and a fold out "ticktock clock" poster.

The book is well made, much nicer than the "homework" phonics workbook my pre-k student was given at school. The difference is that the BrainQuest book covers more areas and is more engrossing and practical than the school provided workbooks which seem to base their whole method on repetition rather than learning by doing/practical experience...

The pages are colorful and friendly...No distracting brand name characters here...The illustrations are quite nice, not necessary, but they definitely bring a warm, happy spirit to the workbook and a happy mood when doing work can make the difference between success and a book like this becoming a door stop...

The pages are perforated. This is a great feature if you are on the go and just want to grab a few pages as kid busy work in waiting rooms, stuck in traffic, on an airplane, or at a restaurant.

The one downside I have found is that some workbook activities are not just one page, this means that you can't just rip out one page without taking 1/2 of another activity with you... I hope that Brain Quest prints many more of these but keeps all of the activities/lessons to one page or one page front and back...

This book offers over 300 pages of fun...There are plenty of trace and copy handwriting exercises but there are many more fun activities that use problem solving, coloring, riddles, matching, and many skills that are necessary for our kids to function in the real world...

I think this book would make a great and thoughtful gift for any kindergarten or pre-k kid... It's also the sort of book that would be great for grandma's house or even just to grab a few pages and bring them with you...

ps. the corners of the book are rounded on the opening side/edge... and the paper is a nice weight...The quality should keep this book in one piece (or however many pieces you tear out!) through all 300+ pages!)

My son tends to lose his lessons if he doesn't practice them; he also isn't one who enjoys learning. I have tried to trick him into doing things that are fun, but also will help him practice the things that he needs to learn and take with him after Kindergarten, and it doesn't take him long to see through the fun to the work.

My husband and I have bought a ton of programs for the computer and many workbooks. This is the first workbook he actually enjoys doing. Mixed in with the obvious lessons meant to educate are some activities that also teach but he thinks are just for fun. For example, there are pages to practice and write your letters, then in between those pages you have some mazes and pictures that are color by letter. He thinks they are just for fun, a break in between the learning.

Table of Contents:
ABC's
Phonics
Spelling and Vocabulary
123's
Shapes and Colors
Patterns
Matching and Sorting
Time and Money
Community
Science
Fun and Games
Brain Quest Extras (includes a deck of flash cards, a brainiac certificate, stickers and a clock poster)

This has a lot of activities to keep your child occupied and his brain working. As soon as he is done with this one I plan on getting the one for the 1st graders. It's a sturdy book with colorful pages and large print. It's been very helpful for our family keeping our son interested in learning. Highly recommended.

The Brainquest workbook for kindergarten is aimed at children who are just starting to become familiar with the alphabet and counting. The author is Lisa Trumbauer and the consulting editor is Kimberly Oliver- 2006 National Teacher of the Year.

Unlike some workbooks that don't seem to be organized in any particular order, this book has well defined sections. This is very helpful. They are color coded and arranged as follows:
ABCs, phonics, spelling and vocabulary, 123s, shapes and colors, patterns, sorting and matching, time and money, community, science, and fun and games.

The abc pages are by far the biggest section in the book. There are several pages for each letter of the alphabet, which contain letter mazes, tracing exercises, and simple color by letter designs. The phonics is very basic, with pages asking the student to circle words that begin with the "A" sound, etc. They do include short vowel sounds on phonics pages as well as the long vowels, which are presented first. Spelling is limited to words of three letters or less. The math portions of the book include recognition of numbers up to 12, but children are only asked to count objects up to ten. Science is mainly about the five senses. The fun and games at the back of the book are dot to dot pages and mazes.

This is a colorful workbook that should be appealing to many youngsters. The cover notes that it is appropriate for ages 5-6, but I'd say more for the average 4-5 year old.

My son is still only 4 and in preschool, but we got this book hoping he could still enjoy many of the aspects of it and he definitely has. Right now he loves the colors portion but there are hundreds of other activities for him to do, writing, math, shapes, and more. The pages are coloring, space to work in is appropriate. There are animals, kids, houses, common objects throughout. My son found this book very engaging and there are so many options we can bring it out at any time to do a fun yet educational activity.

When this workbook arrived, I was immediately impressed by it's sheer size. This book is quite comprehensive, covering every topic your Kindergartener is likely to learn during the entire school year. The topics are well organized (utilizing a color-coded page-edge system to make it easy to flip to the subject you want to work on) and approached from more than one angle, allowing you to find the method that works best for your little learner. None of the activities are particularly challenging, per se, so I wouldn't recommend this be your only learning tool (i.e.-homeschooling curriculum), but as a reinforcement of the things they're already learning it's a great resource. My son loves to work on the pages, and I have a few tucked in my purse (they're conveniently perforated along the spine for easy removal) for restaurants and doctors office waiting rooms.

This book takes advantage of the love of so many little kids for paper-based activities, like coloring, mazes, circling, and tracing. I suspect most kids around that age will love this book. It is colorful with stickers and fun activities on almost every page. Most of the pages will be easy (confidence-building) for kindergarteners and they will be able to complete a page in 5-10 minutes (or even less). Perfect for their short attention span! A few pages are harder (like, match the amount of money to the coin groupings shown), but most of them ask for things about as difficult as circling what you might wear in the summer.

My biggest caution is that I think this book will be too easy for many 6 year olds, unless they really have had no exposure to the alphabet. Also, homeschoolers should be aware that this book alone will not suffice as a K curriculum; you would definitely need something else as a base. But as a K or Pre-K supplement, I think it's a fine choice.

Note: I have edited this review to reflect my experiences with the book. My own three-year-old loves it, and honestly most of the pages are fine for him. Some are too hard but I expect that by the time he is 4 they will be fine. I think, given our experience, that this book is definitely too easy for Kindergarten but makes a wonderful preschool supplement.

I had a couple of Brain Quest products that my little girl has a lot of fun with, so I thought I'd check out the Brain Quest Workbook and I am very glad I did. My little girl is four and in preschool, but because of the other workbooks I've done with her, she is a bit ahead of some preschool subjects, so I got the Kindergarten Workbook.

I like what Brain Quest believes: 1. All kids are smart - though they learn at their own speed. 2. All kids learn best when they're having fun. 3. All kids deserve the chance to reach their potential - given the tools they need, there's no limit to how far they can go!

This workbook is a fabulous tool to help kids reach their potential. The book is divided into color coded sections on the following topics: ABCs, Phonics, Spelling and Vocabulary, 123s, Shapes and Colors, Patterns, Matching and Sorting, Time and Money, Community, Science, Fun and Games, and finally Brain quest Extras. There are over 300 pages of fun colorful engaging activities that teach in an enjoyable format.

The book is designed to reinforce what kids are learning in school and the lively layout is definitely engaging. The book has mazes, puzzles, tracing, connect the dots, coloring, stickers, lessons on reading the face of a clock, money lessons, and a ton of other things. It really includes a lot.

I also like the Brainiac Award at the end. After completing each chapter, your child can take one of the stickers from a page of stickers to put on that chapter's spot. When all 11 chapters are completed, you can award the Brainiac Award. This is a great way to work toward a goal and have a reward for completion.

I have no reservations at all at recommending the Brain Quest Kindergarten Workbook for anyone who wants to help their Kindergartener learn more. Buying the book is a great investment, and there is no better investment of your time than playing with and helping your child learn and grow. As my little girl gets older, I look forward to getting the next books in the series and working through those with her as well. Because it is fun for me to do these things with her too!

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks.

I'm addicted to buying workbooks, like many parents. They look so colorful and alluring in the store, and I can picture sitting down with my children and having fun completing them, all the while learning and learning and learning.... The fly in the ointment is that my 2 boys never WANTED to do workbooks, and if I MADE them, the fun kind of left the equation. I had high hopes my daughter would be my workbook girl, but as life turns out, she is autistic and at this point really isn't ready for workbooks. That doesn't stop me from getting them! I often leaf through them with her, and talk about what's on each page and try to engage her. They give me ideas what I should be aiming for her to know.

With that in mind, this workbook is one of the better ones. It's colorful, which helps so much with getting attention from kids, and each page is simple enough that you really understand the concept being taught. It's quite comprehensive, in that it included sections on science and the community as well as the regular ones like ABCs, numbers and shapes. There are extras, like a big poster of a clock to learn time, a good deal of stickers (although most are the same) and cards you can cut out. I even like the little things, like that the corners are rounded---it just makes it seem more invitiing!

However, the problem is not really with THIS workbook but with workbooks in general. I think the kind of kid that would eagerly complete a workbook is one that probably doesn't need extra help. Kids like my boys, who did pretty well in school but were never eager to do a lot of extra work they didn't HAVE to, or kids like my daughter, who really don't learn in conventional ways, don't get a lot of use out of these. I do think this would be great for homeschoolers, because then it IS school and you CAN insist it be done, and they will enjoy doing it more than most workbooks!

I have two kids. A 4 yo and a 2yo.
My oldest kid was diagnosed with autism, so he might not be a good benchmark. But he loved the book. There are lots of tracing. Some fun games and quite a lot of puzzles, which were kinda hard for him.

The book is divided in 11 Sections:
- ABCs, which makes you trace each letter in addition to some games with each letter.
- Phonics, which simply shows you several objects with that letter.
- Spelling and vocabulary, which was kinda difficult for a 3yo
- Numbers, where you simply have to trace each number.
- Shapes, which simply goes over a few basic shapes
- Patterns, which wasn't what I was expecting. It's for your kid to recognize patterns like triangle, circle, triangle, circle, triangle, what's next? I found this interesting, but it was kinda hard for my kid.
- Matching and Sorting, where you had to match animals or shirts or other similar/related objects.
- Time and money. I wish it showed my kid the value of money and that it didn't grow on trees, but it was basically in the sense of "5 pennies = 1 dime".
- Community, which goes over some community concepts, like firefighter, cops, parks, banks, etc
- Science, where the kid learns about season, recycling, growth, animals, etc.
- Fun and Games, which is self explanatory.

Overall, my kid loved the book, but it was hard for him. My son could write his name at 2yo, so he loved all the tracing exercises, but the brain teasers were a bit difficult for him.