Mind Benders

[Homeschooling6]

How many mind Benders do you have your dc do a week. I have a 3rd & 5th grader.

Do you prefer the books or cd-roms? I like the idea of them doing it on the computer, but they already use the computer for typing and Rainbow Rock/Vroot & Broom. I'm not too sure if it would be a good idea to add another.

Love to hear your thoughts:)

Blessings,

[abbeyej]

I don't require these 'cause my kids enjoy them and will do quite a few on their own time. There are times when they do several a day, then times when they might go a few weeks between, but overall they have still gotten what I want them to get from these...

The Mind Benders books are exactly like MindWare's "Grid Perplexors" books -- but GP include about 4x as many puzzles per book (and the books cost about the same). I don't have any objections to the MindBenders ones, but when the kids clamor for new books whenever they finish one, it's more economical to go with GP.

My personal preference is for the books over CDs. The books can go anywhere with us (great for waiting rooms, etc) and this just isn't something that *needs* to be on a screen...

[nmoira]

We use Mind Benders and other logic/puzzle/strategy books. I usually hand out the Puzzle of the Day at the beginning of school.

[WendyK]

I don't assign or require any of it. My son loves the puzzles and would sit down and finish the whole book in one sitting if I let him. Which leads me to mention my beef about the Mind Benders series. There aren't enough problems in them! :D

[Sue in St Pete]

We did logic 1x per week at that age. 3-5 puzzles depending on difficulty. We prefered the MindBenders CDs because it was easy to erase and start over, there was a reward game, the hints were helpful sometimes. I have an only child, but it could be reused with other children.

We also used Perplexors, Grid Perplexors, Venn Perplexors, and particularly enjoyed the Dandy Lion Logic Liftoff series.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

We use the books here. I prefer to limit computer time. For the first few books, I only assigned one puzzle once a week. This year, my 4th grader has been doing a puzzle per day twice a week and completed 3 books. My kids don't mind having the puzzles assigned. To them it's fun school time.