Logic Prep books

[training5]

Are all of the MindBenders, Critical Thinking books really necessary? Did you find it helpful or just something else to fill the day? Just seeing where we can streamline without sacrificing a needed subject.

[Karenciavo]

I like Mind Benders because deductive reasoning is an excellent skill that is needed cross curricula. We thought they were fun too and they usually only took 10 or 15 minutes.

[Beth in Central TX]

I was scheduling Mind Benders and the logic books by Nathaniel Bluedorn (Thinking Toolbox & Fallacy Detective) one day a week this year. They were very short assignments, but I really felt like it ended up being busywork. The Bluedorn books are well written and set up with 36 lessons, but it's really only one days worth of work at most.

I've really looked at our schedule this year and decided that all of the little things we were doing really ate up our time with no clear benefit. So I've streamlined our schedule and eliminated many of the "extras" or "just because they're good to do" activities.

I still like Mind Benders and the logic books, but I've decided to use them during our summer break. My boys always want computer time during the day, so the Mind Benders CD will be easy to implement. I'm also going to read the logic books at lunch time and discuss them with everyone. I think doing this on a daily basis will increase their retention of the material, and the discussion will be fuller since everyone is participating.

Of course, this is just our experience. If you would have asked me this question a year ago, I would have defended pre-logic work vehemently. Now, I really don't see any benefit to the pre-logic work in our homeschool.

HTH!

[Mama Lynx]

We came to exactly the same conclusions, here. We now do Mind Benders on and off, during breaks, or when the kids feel like picking them up; otherwise, we don't worry about it.