Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Really great workbooks, with pretentious names

I have resisted buying these workbooks because the names makes me cringe, but I finally caved and bought "Math for the Gifted Student", by Flash Kids (at Barnes and Noble).

It is awesome. Really fun, cool and interesting activities not strictly covering the normal curriculum, with lots of puzzles, logic testing, patterns, cool geometry stuff. I'm not so good on grade level, but I think it's pretty much on/around the grade level advertised. So we have the grade 2 book, and grade 2 is right for another couple of books we have. It has a ton of color pictures, though, and really appeals to my younger child. And it's almost 200 pages, which at five pages a night will last us a couple of months.

I also bought the normal grade 2 book from the same company, and it's definitely written for seven year olds following the curriculum. There is lots of arithmetic in this one, not as much in the fun one. Lots of numbers and sums and not as many pictures or games.

Hope this helps other people trying to find things with pictures and less arithmetic.

We got the first grade version of that one, and I agree with your assessment!

That's great! I've been considering those but just wasn't sure, now I shall have to go to B&N and seriously check them out!

Thanks!!

We have those and I LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM! We bought the math for 4th grade gifted and the reading, and math for gifted for 2nd grade and they are both just AWESOME workbooks!

My DC loved the abstract thinking and logic puzzles vs. the straight fowardness that other books provided. I HIGHLY recommend them!

So if I have a 6 yr old 1st grader doing 3rd grade math through k12 and EPGY what level book do I buy him?

(ditto for a 5 yr old Ker doing 1st grade math)

I have to say, the level of the books was very accurate. I had a child working several years ahead across the board and I flipped through all the books and decided to get the correct grade level. the challenges are abstract enough that it was sufficient. Then when we were approved for a grade skip, we went with the skipped grade level and it too, was spot on. It's not like most workbooks where you need to buy the grade level several years ahead. Being a gifted book, it assumes the child is working ahead of level already. I would see if you could look at one at Barnes and Noble and see for yourself what would work best. It would depend on the child. If that isn't possible, go with one grade ahead of current, maybe, and if there are sections that he can't do, save them for later.

My almost 4.5 year old has been working in the 1st grade math book just fine.

ETA: We did put it away and I just pulled it out to look at. It's not going to be very challenging for her anymore. I would try and thumb through them to see the content if I were you.

I would go for third grade and 1st grade. The puzzles and games are around and extensions of the normal grade level work, I think.

We have the 2nd grade book and it has simple logic problems, patterns to continue (both color, shape and number), permutations (of digits, colors, meals and other things), word problems for addition and multiplication, color fractions, estimation of lengths and weights, creating and reading line graphs. But having said that, I'd really enjoy doing most of the sheets in the book, and I'm working well past 2nd grade.