The Basics of Critical Thinking - A Review

We've been privileged with the task to review a few quality products from The Critical Thinking Co. over the couple of years we've been doing reviews for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew, and The Basics of Critical Thinking is no exception.  I volunteered for this product because critical thinking skills are something that really need sharpening for the resident 10 year old.  To be honest, working side by side with her through this engaging workbook I've learned that my skills aren't exactly as sharp as I thought they were either.  

Despite the target age group of fourth through ninth grade I think this is a great resource for young adults and adults as well.  The exercises are short allowing time for discussion and contemplation without a great deal of direct teaching required.  I like that you don't have to work through the book from beginning to end.  As you well know by now, I just love resources that are modifiable and easily adapted to our unique makeup here at The Zoo Crew.  

With the stage of growth that we're at The Basics of Critical Thinking is a perfect tool to aid in the stretching of our thinking processes.  The exercises and processes presented in this book provide a foundation that can only help to serve the reader for the rest of their life.  Topics like evaluating evidence, facts and probability, advertising, and fallacies, just to name a few, are covered creatively and effectively.  All answers to the exercises are thoroughly explained in the back of the book allowing for review and discussion of any areas that pose a particular challenge.

Working with products from The Critical Thinking Co. makes it very clear why they have won so many national awards for their books and software.  I may be just a little partial since the author, Michael Baker, is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a major in philosophy.  The products that he produces are nothing short of excellent.  In The Basics of Critical Thinking his experience and dedication to the sharpening of young minds shines brightly.

This timeless workbook is flexible enough to be a perfect fit with any educational style.  It is an easy accompaniment to about any subject and can be used as a stand alone resource or to build upon a different lesson within a separate course of study.  The possibilities for application are only limited by your creativity and inspiration.  In this mad world of deception we can all benefit from a little discernment.  The Basics of Critical Thinking provides just the road map we need to guide our young people through the trains of thought that protect us and help us to make quality decisions throughout life.  

I am happy to have such a valuable resource at my fingertips.  We will surely be implementing the exercises within our homeschool throughout the year as well as applying the principles throughout life.  If you'd like to learn more you can get social with The Critical Thinking Co. on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest.  There's nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Reading Kingdom - A Review

We have two very eager early learners in our family, and they are super excited about learning to read.  Bella is four, the youngest age for which this program is recommend, and Avery is five.  They both cannot wait to read on their own.  Books are huge in our family.  Despite my lack of shelving (Can a dozen bookcases really be enough for any one family?) I continue to pick up books on a regular basis.  We take a very relaxed approach to education, especially reading.  I've tried a curriculum here or there more out of curiosity, but I still hold the belief that a child often read to will learn to read when he is ready.  It worked for the older ones, so why shouldn't it for the ones we're bringing up now?  However, times have certainly changed over the years.  As a home educator the biggest change I have noticed is the sheer amount of tools we have at our fingertips to help us integrate knowledge into our homes through the ease of access via the internet.  Our latest tool being Reading Kingdom.


Reading Kingdom Online is a complete reading curriculum that is perfect for the home educating family.  It is unique in that it is not a phonics based program.  Rather, it integrates six specific skills that help children more easily learn reading AND writing.

Our budding readers and writers have been enjoying their experience with Reading Kingdom Online.  They are both at the beginning stages of learning to read, so the program has met them at the beginning.  Both children are learning to identify the letters of the alphabet through the typing portion of their exercises.  Lowercase letters float on the screen, and they locate them on the keyboard to shoot them off the screen.  Although parents are not supposed to provide help, an effort in keeping the program completely customized to their learning level, I have had to provide some coaching.  It is simple for them to match a lowercase letter with another lowercase letter.  However, matching a lowercase letter with an uppercase letter is a skill they are still working to master.  Reading Kingdom Online is bringing them along nicely and strengthening this skill rather quickly.

The added benefit of this portion of the program is that they learn the keyboard, which I think is the main point of the exercise.  Honestly, it never dawned on me to teach them to type at this young of an age.  It does make a lot of sense though with the amount of technology that gets used in our home nowadays.  Not to mention the fact that through this program they are using the computer to learn to read, so knowing where the letters are right from the beginning will save in a lot of frustration.

The other portion of the level they are currently working teaches them to spell words by recognizing the correct letters.  A line of letters is shown to them that contains a short word mixed into letters that are not part of the word.  The child clicks on the appropriate letters and makes a word.  Through both of these exercises they are learning valuable letter identification skills and laying the foundation needed to progress further through the program and their journey toward being a proficient reader.

Currently, we are using the Reading Kingdom Online as a supplement to our regular schedule of learning activities.  The two young ones spend a lot of their day playing, but they do enjoy technology and learning through the laptop and tablets.  This has been a fun and worthwhile addition to our educational resources.  I know that Bella and Avery will gain a lot from our one year subscription.  It is recommended that they spend about 15 minutes working with the program at least four times per week in order to complete it in one year.  Though our family is home to budding readers this program is also suitable children through third grade as well as struggling readers.  Despite Harmony, age 10, being beyond the scope of Reading Kingdom Online she very much enjoys watching the younger kids work the program and was initially jealous that it wasn't for her as well.  It really is a fun and engaging approach to learning to read.

Through the past several weeks I have watched both Bella and Avery grow in their individual skill sets.  They enjoy learning the keyboard, and their letter recognition has greatly improved.  This comes out in their other daily activities.  Learning to read is a fun adventure made even more enjoyable and encouraging for them through this added resource.  It's exciting to think where they may be at the end of this school year with the help of Reading Kingdom Online.