Brain Quest Workbooks

Brain Quest Workbook
From Workman Publisher

I received three of the Brain Quest Workbooks to review on my site.  

About the Grade 3 workbook

Jam-packed with hundreds of curriculum-based activities, exercises and games in every subject,Brain Quest Grade 3 Workbook reinforces what kids are learning in the classroom. The workbook's lively layout and easy-to-follow explanations make learning fun, interactive, and concrete. Plus it's written to help parents follow and explain key concepts. Includes spelling and vocabulary, parts of speech, reading comprehension, odds and evens, magic squares, multiplication tables, Brain Boxes, and much more.   The grade 3 student will be able to revise and grasp more using this workbook as a supplement during the year.

About the Grade 5 workbook

For the first time ever,  5th graders can reinforce what they learn in school with a new workbook from Brain Quest. This workbook boasts 300 pages jam-packed with curriculum-based activities and exercises in every subject, with a focus on math and language arts. It also will grab the attention of the child because of the bright color and fun design in it.  Fifth graders will enhance their skills in reading comprehension, multiplication and division, fractions and decimals, algebraic thinking, and probability and data. The workbook covers spelling and vocabulary, language arts, reading and writing, math skills and word problems, multiplication and division, fractions and decimals, geometry and measurement, data, algebraic thinking, social studies, and science. 

About the Grade 6 workbook

Finally, 6th graders can reinforce what they learn in school with a new workbook from Brain Quest.  This brand new book boasts 300 pages jam-packed with curriculum-based activities and exercises in every subject, with a focus on math and language arts. You will find full-color illustrations throughout the book which gives it a bright, lively style that will appeal to older kids. It is engaging, user-friendly, and written to make schoolwork fun. Sixth graders will also delve into research and analysis, metaphor and meaning, ratios and proportions, expressions and equations, and geometry.  The workbook covers spelling and vocabulary, language arts, reading and writing, math skills and word problems, multiplication and division, ratios and proportions, geometry and measurement, statistics and probability, algebraic thinking, social studies and science.

Are they worth it?

In conclusion, the Brain Quest Workbook are fabulous and can be a great addition to supplement learning or in an homeschool environment.  And to top it off  each workbook comes with a mini-deck with 100 all-new Brain Quest questions and answers.   I would personally like to have a Canadian edition when it comes to money and measurements as well as history but it isn’t always possible for publishers to print various copies on a title.    Consequently, even though there are exercises based on US data and/or history I think these workbooks are worth considering because of the learning that can be done with them.   I personally really like the language arts section with vocabulary, spelling, reading and writing exercises which can help your students to get more practice. These workbooks also go well with the Brain Quest questions for all grades that I have previously reviewed. 

Workman has published various BrainQuest Workbook from Preschool to Grade 6.  They are all available for purchase at your favorite store, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Allen for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Bright Ideas pencil

A while back I have reviewed the Bright Ideas Journal from Chronicle Books.   Recently I have received the Bright Ideas Pencils that goes along with the journal. 

Based on the same concept of the book, each pencil also has specific names that will inspire you in your writing.  The names are similar than the section found in the journal - Red Hot Ideas, Blazing Breakthroughs, Rosy Outlooks, Twilight Insights, Silver Linings, Deep Reflections, Blue Sky Brainstorms, Evergreen Inspirations, Freshly Minted Inventions, and Sunny Thoughts.

As you can see the color of the outside of the pencils are very similar to the color of the sections in the journal.

After using the pencils myself, I consider that these pencils are very similar to regular pencils.   But the price tag is seriously ridiculous.    I wouldn’t pay that much for pencils.  The journal I would consider because it is unique but having the matching pencils is a bit too much for my taste.  Mind you when I was younger I might have splurge on these cool pencils just because they were out-of-the-ordinary.   I recall purchasing cool erasers and pens for quite some time.    Now that I am much wiser, I wouldn’t do such a thing anymore.  Consequently, though the look is different and that it matches the journal, I wouldn’t recommend getting these.  However, if you want to do a special gift for the writer in your life, why not getting both the journal and the pencils.   Then it would make sense to buy fun and cool pencils…

  

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Chronicle Books for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Swimsways Dive Toys

Back in the spring, I was looking at some things while waiting for a prescription to be filled at my local pharmacy.  And suddenly I saw something that I knew my kids would love.  Diving characters to play in the pool – princesses and Avengers.    I communicated with Swimways to see if I could review some and the response was positive.  However, my contact had trouble to find the Avengers set as it was sold out in all their warehouses.   Would I mind if I get the Star Wars Lightsabers instead?   I was delighted to get something linked to Star Wars as well.    When I got them we decided to wait until we could go to the RV and the kids be able to play with them in the pool.   However, it took some time before the pool was warm enough to be visited.  You see we had a cooler month of May.  But in June, while we were there a week during my husband’s vacation, we were finally able to go to the pool.  That’s when I took out the divers for the kids which they had just seen the day before at a local store.  I know I am sneaky…..

Disney Princesses Dive Toys

These three princesses are looking to have a blast with your own princess while playing in the pool.   The pack contains three dive toys – Belle, Ariel, and Cinderella.   The design is made out of plastic which is soft and flexible.    It will make the swim of your daughter even more magical when she practices her diving skills and her swimming as well.

Star Wars Lightsaber Dive Sticks

May the Force be with you - in the pool!  Your kids will enjoy diving and searching for the Star Wars Lightsaber Dive Sticks in the pool    These special ones light-up when under the water.    The water activate the light-up action.   Each lightsaber is about 6” tall and will bring a lot of pleasure while playing in and out of the pool.    Each pack contains two lightsabers – green for Yoda and blue for Luke Skywalker.   A non-replaceable button cell battery is included in each lightsaber.

Our Thoughts

The dive toys from Swimways were a hit.  The kids had lots of fun in the pool while playing with them.  The toys are sturdy and I can see hours of playtime with them.  The kids even shared them with other kids that were in the pool that day.  My only disappointment would be the fact that you can’t change the battery on the lightsabers.  But I guess this would make the dive stick a bit more difficult to make if you would have to find a way to allow the parent to change the battery.  So when the battery is dead…. no more lightning.   Which I am okay with.

These fun diving toys are available at your local store.  I have seen them at Wal-Mart and Shoppers Drug Mart.   You can also try to find other ones available by Swimways like , Disney Frozen Glitter Dive Wands, Marvel Spider Man Dive and Glide, and Marvel Dive Characters Avengers.

Some of them are available on amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Swimways for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.