Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Who knew math could be fun!, November 1, 2004
The M & M's Brand Counting Book by Barbara Barbieri McGrath is a mathematical workbook that uses an easily identifiable object to children, M&M candies, as a math manipulative. The book uses text as well as drawings to illustrate the mathematical concepts being taught. Readers learn to count from 0-12, addition, subtraction, basic shapes (circle, square, triangle), grouping objects in sets, and the six basic colors of M&M's candies (brown, yellow, orange, red, blue, and green). I brought The M & M's Brand Counting Book to a kindergarten classroom to get children's opinions of the book. I also wanted to observe their reactions to the math lessons being put forth as well as their understanding of those lessons. Once the M&M's candies were passed out and the reading had commenced it certainly didn't feel or sound like a stereotypical math classroom. Laughs and giggles echoed off the walls as children enjoyed learning about math. David remarked, "Math is fun!"
As a whole the class truly enjoyed the book. Christopher said, "The M&M's Brand Counting Book -it helped me learn math." The one drawback I observed with the book was that several of the children had difficulty when it came to grouping the M&M's into sets. I would recommend skipping that section of the book when using it in a classroom with younger children, or allowing extra time and repetition when teaching this concept. Nicole expressed the majority of the classroom's sentiments when she exclaimed, "My favorite part of the book was eating the M&M's."
I would strongly recommend The M&M's Brand Counting Book for use in the classroom. It teaches basic math concepts in a fun and entertaining way. There is a review page and the end of book in order to reinforce the recently taught concepts. The review page is a good indicator to the teacher of what the students have learned and where they need further study and practice in order to master the concept. Christopher's mother called to let me know how much he had enjoyed the book. She said that on a recent visit to the bookstore he discovered the sequel More M&M's Brand Chocolate Candies Math and couldn't wait to purchase it. Barbara Barbieri McGrath, you couldn't ask for a better testimonial of your book. You should be proud of your work, you have accomplished a truly remarkable feat---children are enjoying math!
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A delicious way to teach your child colors, numbers, etc., August 31, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The M and M's Brand Counting Book (School & Library Binding)
I homeschool my two older children and wanted a book that I could use with my 4-year old just for fun. When we set down to our 'homeschool time' she had a blast. We sorted the M&M's by color, counted so many of each color, learned simple addition and shapes. The best part came at the end of the book where we learned subtraction and ate the M&M's. My daughter's eyes got very big and she asked, "You mean REALLY eat them?"
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Math Is Oh, So Sweet!, November 4, 2001
My six year old daughter has been struggling with subtraction facts. She can do any word problem, but the facts just made no sense to her. I have used concrete objects as well as several "math books" to help her make sense of it all, but with no results. Then I thought of buying this book. That's all that it took! My child is no longer frustrated and confused about the meaning of subtraction. Best of all, she likes math now, and yes, eating the m&m's was a surprise bonus. As a fifth grade teacher and mom of a first grader, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to any teacher or parent who simply wants to do fun activities with math. It's especially helpful to children who can't quite grasp the concept of simple subtraction. I think the author should have included some "counting back" facts after she introduced the first fact (12-1). It would've been so easy and sensible to go ahead with (12-2), (12-3),etc. My daughter and I did a few count back facts at this point in the book, and it made sense to her. This is the reason for my rating of 4 stars.
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