Critical Thinking: Building Thinking Skills

~ This review also includes a giveaway at the end of the post! ~

I love puzzles and games that help 'sharpen' my mind. Because with four kids 7 and under there are some days when I feel that I have zero brain cells to offer and anything that keeps my brain in action makes me feel wonderful. *grins* Our kids also enjoy puzzles of any kind, so we were very excited to receive Critical Thinking to review!

Critical Thinking is a company that provides lessons teaching standards-based reading, writing, math, science and history. Their lessons help children analyze what they are learning by practicing critical thinking skills. Critical Thinking is "committed to developing children's critical thinking skills for better grades, higher test scores, and success in life." Their company provides books, software, puzzles, games, and dvds for children grades Pre-K to 12+.

We received Building Thinking Skills (Grades 2-3, $29.99) along with the included Answer Guide to review with our girls. Even though McKenna is the first grade, she wanted to do the activity sheets along with Laurianna - and she is doing great!

The activities in Building Thinking Skills are developmentally sequenced. Children learn to analyze relationships between objects, and between words in the areas of reading, math, writing, and science. {There is also a software version available for both PC and Mac - $36.99}. The girls worked on 1-2 pages of Building Thinking Skills each school day, and would remind me if I forgot to include the pages in their morning work. They loved them and have worked on:

• describing shapes and other objects
• comparing figures
• identify differences in objects
• following directions
• describing position
  
• writing directions
• combining shapes and more

A HUGE plus for me: you are allowed to reproduce (print or duplicate) the copyrighted pages for use in your home, so I can make a copy for both of my girls - LOVE that!

Each year we use the IOWA test (ITBS) as a year-end evaluation for our children and this curriculum is a great prep for their test taking (I've already let my husband know that we'll be getting these in the years to come!). Critical Thinking guarantees better grades and higher test scores - or you can get your money back. That is a great guarantee!

The company offers a free printable samples, trial software, and also a newsletter filled with their current special offers and free activities. You can also request a free catalog or browse their website to quickly find the products you need.

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As part of my review, I have a copy of Building Thinking Skills Level 3 Verbal ($29.99) for Grades 7-12+ to giveaway to one of my readers. If you would like to win a copy of this book, leave a comment on this post by Friday the 27th at 8pm and I'll randomly pick a winner and post the winner on Sunday. Please be sure to leave an email address if you don't have a blog - I need to be able to contact you if you win!

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