Balance Benders Beginning

By The Critical Thinking Company
Price $6.99
Age Grades 2-6

Balance Benders is a series of quick, fun, puzzle-like activities in which kids employ logic and reasoning to find solutions. It gets them thinking algebraically, so much so that by the time they are exposed to algebra it will seem strikingly familiar. Each puzzle uses either the image of a balance scale with equal weight on both sides, or multiple scales, some of which may be out of balance. The familiar symbols that make up the weight on one side of a balanced scale (circles, rectangles, diamonds, numbers . . .) may look quite different from what's on the other side, but kids know intuitively that they are equivalent because the scale is balanced. The interactive puzzles provide onscreen tools that allow kids to work out the problem before selecting their answers. The simplicity of the imagery provides a gateway through which kids find themselves doing some surprisingly advanced substitutions and comparisons. Meanwhile, they're having the time of their lives.