Customer Reviews

My First Book Of Tracing (Kumon Workbooks)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I looked at many workbooks in the book store before settling on this one, and I'm glad I did! It starts out with basics - connecting pictures and drawing straight lines horizontally and vertically - using very cute, clear graphics. It then progresses to diagonal lines, curved lines, zig zags, more complex curves, lines that cross over each other, etc. In this way, it gradually builds writing skills in a way that is fun for children. I also love that the paper is thick and high quality, the colors are vibrant, and the accompanying pictures are detailed and well-done.

My 3 year old son loves this workbook and asks to do it almost every day. I have a hard time keeping him to 2-3 pages each day - he'd sit and do the entire book if I let him! If I try to have him draw lines on paper, he loses interest quickly, but he loves drawing lines in this book to make a train get to the end of it's route or to show an ant how to get to his friend around several pieces of fruit. I can see a definite improvement in his pencil skills as a result of this book.

The only improvements I'd make is to have it bound with a spiral binding or to have the pages be designed to rip out. My son had trouble at first holding the book open and drawing at the same time. Other than that, the material itself was wonderful! I definitely recommend it!

I recommend this book for anyone who would like to help their child develop pencil skills. Do not worry if your child does not immediately excel with this book, just remember all children develop differently and reach the point where they can follow instructions and do workbook skills at different times. Hold off for a while if needed and re-introduce once in a while until the child is ready. Once the child is ready - you will be surprised how interested in the book they become and how quickly their skills improve. I advise following the workbook instructions that you not let the child do more than 2 pages per session because if they are left wanted to do more they will eagerly come back to it the next time.

I bought this book for my daughter when she was almost 3 but discovered she was not quite ready for it. She would follow the instructions sometimes, struggling to follow the paths, but many other times she was not interested in trying to follow the lines and would start scribbling on the pages, perhaps out of frustration that she was not quite ready for it. We continued to provide plain paper, coloring books, pens, pencils, markers, and crayons for her to work on her skills individually. Meanwhile we worked very slowly in the book only working in it every once in a while until recently (around 3 ½) when her interest and ability clicked with the book and now it is her second favorite "project book". (See the Kumon cutting book for the favorite!) I am very happy with the progressive nature of the book and even thought it took my child some time to work through the first half of the book, she is cruising along and we are only a couple of pages from the certificate of achievement at the end. I have the next books ready to go, Uppercase Letters, Number 1 - 30, and Mazes, and she was really excited when they were delivered. She can't wait to get her certificate and start in on the new ones.

Every day my 2 year old says, "Book, book." We sit down and I show him how to hold the pencil, I steady his hand and he pulls the pencil in the proper direction (90% of the time). It's exciting for both of us. The pictures are beautiful and he loves looking at them. Also the pages are very thick, which keeps them from being easily destroyed.

Great book, I bought it for my son at 2 1/2 and he Loved it. It really helped him learn to hold a pencil and develop his motor skills, most importantly it kept him enthused about it. Great quality book, thick pages nice pictures to keep little ones interested. I'd let him do 2 or 3 pages, but if it was up to him he'd do the whole book at one time. I just hope I can keep his enthusiasm for learning at this level : ) He's now graduated to uppercase letters, I can see that 'my first book of tracing' helped him with his letters.

My daughter just turned 2 years old. I got her this one and "Lets sticker and paste". We've been having so much fun with Sticker and Paste book and she was doing a great job. But the tracing book is way too much for a 2 year old. She is just not ready to patiently draw a straight line from point A to point B while omitting the obstacles. Had to put it on the shelf for now :(
But in the future, I'm sure we will make use of it.

My son is 4 years old and I purchased this book to help him with his handwritting. I think that this is a very good book for training, but he was really bored with is after a while, he was doing like ten pages at a time and looking at me like "Mom...why are you giving me this"! LOL I think it's more for the 2 or 3 years olds.

I really, really wish that I had read the instructions on this book before we started using it. The introduction discusses how the paper was chosen specifically because it's good for erasing. We had begun doing the exercises with colored pencils...which did not erase well. Once we started using a regular pencil, I found that I could give my daughter multiple attempts at each exercise. We now wait until she's able to do each skill with good control of the pencil before we move on.

My daughter asks to "do lines" and likes to create stories from the pictures while traveling along the paths. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who's looking to teach the beginning writing skills to a child. The term tracing may be a bit misleading to some, as it conjures images from elementary school of following a picture precisely. Because this is a beginning book, the paths are wide (although slowly narrowing as the child gains experience) so that there is a margin of error. Dotted lines can be frustrating to try and follow for beginners. By using paths instead, the child can build confidence.

I bought this workbook for my 4-year old boy with special needs. Now, we practice tracing with his index finger. Next, we'll move up to tracing with a small colored pencil. The only issue that I have with the workbook is that some pages have too many pictures on a page.

I wanted to stimulate my daughters desire to learn(2yr old) so I bought several books. It seems that all of the training books start at 3 and they assume certain abilities like tracing a square... It taught me how to teach my daughter to hold a pencil. She is 2 and we are already on page 16. It teaches your child to trace and draw zigzags, curved lines, straight lines, diagonal lines, lines that cross over one another. This prepares them for the next step of tracing the alphabet. My daughter is 2. i keep saying that because I am SO impressed with this book. I encourage you to also get the series designed for 2 year olds. Lets color. lets sticker and paste, lets cut paper, and lets fold. They are all PERFECT and genious design. My daughter just might be able to write before she can say complete sentences. She loves them so much. We bond, she learns, she WANTs to learn, and she thinks its for fun! SUCCESS!!!

I have young twins. One of them will grab these books and a crayon and traces & draws nearly an hour. He won't even watch TV that long. He goes from front to back of the book and when he's done, he starts at the front again. He doesn't even care that he already has drawn on a page, he just traces again over and over. I have bought every book in the series.