|
We want to hear from you. Send us your inspirational stories and you'll be instantly eligible for our random monthly "success story" drawing. Visit our website regularly for newly featured success stories, winners and new testimonials. Don't miss a learning moment! Submit Your Success Story Now »
Featured Success Story Winner:
"My son is a struggling learner. He has a slight tendency toward dyslexia and he sometimes finds schoolwork frustrating and difficult. We have 2 other children who have grown up with The Critical Thinking Co.™, so we started our youngest on Thinker Doodles. It was his favorite part of the day! We then moved him to Mind Benders®, which helped him to think logically about what he reads. This has also helped him think before he reads words so that he can conquer his reading problems. It takes great concentration to see letters backwards and be able to recognize it and fix it before speaking.
Now, we are working on the Building Thinking Skills® series. I have to say, without The Critical Thinking Co.™, my son would be behind on grade level. For many years, I used the Critical Thinking books and software to help my son prep for his standardized testing and for college prep tests. He has amazing grades! But now, I see the benefit of critical thinking for helping my youngest child organize what he sees and process it in his mind. His reading has improved tremendously since we began The Critical Thinking Co.™ products. And the best part of Critical thinking is that it is always a favorite part of their school day. It will always be a part of our schedule." - Tammy, LA
Featured Success Story Winner:
"Our grade level uses the Dr. DooRiddles books to motivate our students to get ready to start the day. Students must have their backpacks put away, their pencils sharpened, etc. and be in their seats by a certain time in order to submit an answer to the riddle of the day. The responses go into a bucket and the teacher pulls one out-if the answer is correct, the student receives a prize. The teacher continues to pull names out until the correct answer is given. Students who are not seated and ready to start the day cannot participate. This has saved us valuable time because all of the students want a chance to decipher the riddle! As a bonus, we've had many students who have been inspired to write their own riddles for the class to solve" - Karen, TX
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I teach 3-6 grade Gifted Math. Coming up with logical thinking for all grade levels is tough, but with the leveled Scratch Your Brain® Series, I can rely on Bell Works as a quick, fun, and challenging way to start each period. Many times, the students take the puzzles home to their parents and work on them together!" - Spencer, AZ
Featured Success Story Winner:
"Recently, we bought the Thinker Doodles Beginning book after having such great success with the Building Thinking Skills® and Mathematical Reasoning® books. Our son, three, has gone from not wanting to color or draw to begging for it each day. In the past, a blank coloring page was too much for him, and he would just sort crayons on top of the page and then call himself done. We were shocked since most kids love to color, and decided to try this book. The moment it arrived he was anxious to try it. We have been working with it daily and not only does he love finishing the pictures, he will actually sit and color the pages now once he completes the drawing! We are so pleased as parents to watch him finally explore his creative side, and take pride in his artwork! Definitely going to continue with this series!" - Katharyn, MN
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I am a very proud grandma! My six-year-old grandson just loves your Math Detective® Beginning Software. He has even gotten 'in trouble' for sneaking over to 'play' on his computer after bedtime. How can you get mad at that?" -
Anne, FL
Featured Success Story Winner:
"A few weeks ago we introduced Building Thinking Skills® and Mathematical Reasoning™ to our almost three-year-old. He begs to do "work" like his daddy, and so we finally gave in to some workbooks that would spiral the concepts in a logical order. We do about ten pages each day (he begs for more, though) and already we notice his confidence building with simple counting, line recognition, and problem solving. We are hooked and can't wait to try more books from your company as the pages captivate our son and teach him at the same time, all while he is feeling 'big' and confident in his knowledge. Thank you!" -
Katie, MN
Featured Success Story Winner:
"Everyone was amazed when my 11-year-old daughter saw a Rubik's Cube for the first time and immediately started working it. She had the first side completed in a flash! Our family thought she was brilliant, but I knew she had been happily developing her mind through Building Thinking Skills® since she was four. She is now finishing Level 2 and has a good head on her shoulders. Thank you for providing such wonderful materials!" -
Jatina, OK
Featured Success Story Winner:
"By using Reading Dectective®, my daughter's reading comprehension test scores rose 20 percentile points over 2 years. Amazing! And we only did one book in that time and she has multiple learning disabilities!" - Monique, VA
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I just wanted to let all of you know at The Critical Thinking Co.™ how much your product has helped my 5-year-old daughter. We bought Mathmatical Reasoning™ Level A this summer. We are almost finished with it! Not because it's short and too easy. Far from it!!
It is 250 pages of colorful, exciting activities. My daughter loves it! I have to limit the amount of pages she does each day or that is all she would do. She has learned so much! We both get excited when we turn the page just to see what comes next. Thank you for such a great product!" -
Wanda & Maleigh, NC
Featured Success Story Winner:
"My mom started me on Building Thinking Skills® when I was about 5. She used the figural book as a special reward for when I'd finished my other homework. During my first year of college at UC Berkeley, we had isometric drawings for an engineering class. Many people found this to be the most difficult part of the course. I had been doing these exercises since kindergarten!
I owe my A in that class to The Critical Thinking Co.™!"
- Hillary, CA
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I wanted to let everyone know at The Critical Thinking Co.™ how much your products have helped my four year old daughter. We purchased the Building Thinking Skills® Beginning book back in the spring, and have been working through it. She has learned so much from that book. I'm amazed at how she has caught on and comprehended sequencing, classification, half and whole parts, analogies, and more. I could go on and on about how much I love this book! I think it has placed her ahead for kindergarten next fall. Thank you again for your products. I plan on purchasing more for kindergarten." - Ildephonse, MN
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I am writing in regards to my student Patrick and his amazing test results with the Reading Detective® B1. Last school year his test scores showed that he had difficulty and scored Low Average in a few particular areas in reading: identify text, locate information, evaluating validity and credibility, and responding to text. His mother found the Reading Detective® and began working with Patrick over the summer. In August, I began working with Patrick and saw how not only he really enjoyed reading the passages, but his skills were growing by leaps and bounds! In September, he did our district MAPs (Measure of Academic Progress) test and every skill he was Low Average on last year he was NOW High Average to High! I cannot be more thrilled with these results! I am recommending the Reading Detective® to all my families who struggle in these areas of reading!" - Aly, KS
Featured Success Story Winner:
"When my daughter turned 3, we began Mathematical Reasoning™ Beginning... and finished it in less than two months! I was very pleased on how "advanced" it was towards the end of the book - much better than the workbooks you find at WalMart, for example. She enjoyed the color and pictures and learned a lot of new concepts that really put her at a higher level in math. Now she is starting regular kindergarten math and we already need to skip most of the material since she understood it from her Mathematical Reasoning™ book! I plan on purchasing more math books for next summer!!! Definitely a success for her! Thank you!" - Karin, NY
Featured Success Story Winner:
"Think-A-Minutes has really allowed me to pinpoint my children's strengths and weaknesses. My second-grade son most often asks for help on pages that contain verbal skills. My fourth-grade daughter most often asks for help on visual/ figural skills. This information has allowed me to fine tune our curriculum. I ask for more math pages to be done of the second-grader and have added the Reading Detective® to stretch his verbal and comprehension skills. I have moved my verbally strong daughter up a level in comprehension and literature analysis as well as slowing down on geometry concepts to allow for more hands on and discussion time. Thank you, Think-a-Minutes for such a valuable and fun diagnostic tool." - Melody
Featured Success Story Winner:
"My son hated math. I was using two different popular programs and he didn't like either. It didn't matter if he had manipulatives or a fun, colorful workbook. I saw your curriculum and gave it a try. Wow! What a great fit for my son. He is a child who learns best when analyzing information. Your Mathematical Reasoning™ curriculum gave him a way to learn math that made sense to him. Thank you!" - Amy, Ontario
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I recently purchased the Mathematical Reasoning™ Beginning 1 book for my son who just turned 3 years old. He absolutely loves it! The first day we looked at the book, he completed the first 13 pages and can now recognize when a set has 3 members just by looking at the picture! I love that the instructions are so simple and understandable; it really keeps him engaged. As a math instructor, I am so happy that it looks like I may have a math-brain in my family after all! He asks to do his math schoolwork every day!" - Janelle, LA
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I teach children that have been identified gifted. Your catalog is one of the few that I order from year after year. Wanting to increase vocabulary I decided to purchase Word Roots. It is everything I was searching for and more. It goes beyond 'spelling tests' and teaches students to decipher words based upon prefixes, suffixes, and roots. The focus is on meaning which in turn increases comprehension. My students enjoy watching the buildings appear when they reach 90% mastery. I seldom hear complaints when having to redo activites because of the technology used. This year I had several students so successful that I had to order Level B. I teach fifth grade. Keep up the good work-you are right on target with gifted children." - Cecilia, NC
Featured Success Story Winner:
"When my daughter was 13, I began using the Editor in Chief® Series as part of our homeschool curriculum. She enjoyed the challenge of looking for errors even if at times she became frustrated that she missed a few. Only to go back and look harder until she found them! These skills have helped her be able to express her thoughts well throughout high school and college. She, now 20, was approached by the dean of students at her university and asked if she would be interested in being the senior editor for the school newspaper! She immediately jumped at the chance! This is a paid position complete with an office, a budget, photographers, writers, layouts, printers, etc. She now has truly become an 'Editor in Chief.' Thank you!" - Lisa-Jean, NJ
Featured Success Story Winner:
"Making the decision to homeschool my son was scary business. Although I had a post graduate degree I'd never taken the first class in education theory. A teacher recommended the Mind Benders® product and I quickly learned about all the other wonderful products offered by The Critical Thinking Company™. I discovered that I had developed my own educational theories and one most dear to my heart was to encourage my son to think as opposed to memorize temporarily. We have used many of the products for math, reading and language arts, and enjoyed them all, but Mind Benders® remains my son's favorite. "Please, Mom, Can't I do one more?" He asks every time we complete a problem.
That truly brings a smile to this homeschool mom's face!! Thank you, thank you to all the writers and illustrators who make these great learning tools that are so much fun." - Elizabeth, TX
Featured Success Story Winner:
"As a former elementary teacher, and presently a homeschooling mom, I highly recommend Building Thinking Skills®. My daughter is gifted with strong language art skills, but had confidence issues in math matters. I began using Building Thinking Skills® Level 1 in her third grade year as a way to strengthen her critical thinking skills and build her confidence. It only took about 10 minutes of our school day, and she usually completed 2 pages within that time, except when she wanted to keep on working! (You know a product is a success when the students don't want to put it down!) Both her confidence and reasoning skills improved, and along with those, her standardized test score made an amazing leap. As I was choosing curriculum for her fourth grade year, she ASKED to use Level 2. I know I had a big smile on my face as I said 'Of course, you can!' She is now just a few days away from completing Building Thinking Skills® Level 2. We are both very pleased with your products, and are currently poring over your catalogue, enthusiastically choosing more products for next year!" -
Amy, TX
Featured Success Story Winner:
"Our eleven-year old son has learning disabilities. He struggles to read. He struggles to retain information from day to day.
In early January/09, Cat 3 testing rated his reading score as 2.3, his language arts as 2.4, and his math as 3.6.
We and he were amazed and totally pleased when his scores in late March were 4.2 for reading, 4.3 for language arts, and 4.9 for math.
We wish to thank The Critical Thinking Co. for their terrific products which allowed this improvement to happen. These are the products we used:
1. Building Thinking Skills® Primary
2. Building Thinking Skills® Level 1
3. Mind Benders® Book 2
4. Mind Benders® A1(first half)
5. Memory Challenge
6. Think Analogies® A1
These products have greatly improved our son's academic abilities with only 5-10 minutes per day, per book, and doing two books per day. Next week, our son will be advancing into another new level of readers and will have completed 1/3 of grade 5 math. We will continue to use your products every step of the way. Thanks, The Critical Thinking Co." -
Valerie, Saskatchewan, Canada
Featured Success Story Winner:
"My sons have benefited tremendously from your products. Calvin (10) is in a gifted program and Jack (14) is in an advanced curriculum . They both score in the high 90th percentiles in all standardized tests. As a mom and a university professor I can't thank The Critical Thinking Co.™ enough." - Marinilka, WA
Featured Success Story Winner:
"My daughter is 8, and we had tried several math programs usually stopping in the school year several times to find one that 'clicks.' Some of the programs left her in tears when I would say, 'ok, it's time for math.' She would say they were just too boring. It was the same thing over and over again. After visiting a curriculum fair one year, I had tried a Mind Benders® book because she likes a challenge. She loved it right away. She says each one is different, and it is fun to try and figure them out. So I decided to try Mathemetal Reasoning™ Level B. I was not disappointed. She is quite happy with it. They also have different types of math problems, not just the same thing over again. They lay the ground work for higher learning in an easy and fun way. Thanks so much, I am looking forward to trying other products." - Joanne, FL
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I am a certified teacher in math and history. My 13-yr-old niece and her friend homeschool with me, and I was looking for curriculum materials in language arts, since I had accumulated very little in that area. Thanks to a friend, I was introduced to your products, and we now use both the Word Roots series and the Editor-in-Chief® series. They now look forward to their grammar sessions, instead of dreading the boring drills in their previous books." - Jane, FL
Featured Success Story Winner:
"When my two children were 8 and 6, they completed Building Thinking Skills® Level 1 in just a few months. Every day they begged to do "the thinking book" first, and never wanted to stop after just a couple of pages. Many days they went on and on until I had to make them quit to do something else. My son jumped three grade levels that year in reading comprehension, and my daughter experienced major breakthroughs in her understanding of math concepts. Coincidence? I don't think so! This year we jumped back in to Building Thinking Skills® Level 2. They are now 10 and 8, and the interest level hasn't waned at all. I just love curriculum that the kids can't wait to do and that is obviously so good for their ability to think and process information. Thanks so much for such fun products!" - Cindy, OH
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I am a very experienced teacher and cognitive trainer. I own and direct a learning center and I have used the Building Thinking Skills® materials with my students. The success of developing the critical thinking skills is outstanding with these materials. One of my students was in the Special Education program for years; after working with the Building Thinking Skills® books he returned to grade level in seven months. I have worked with various brands of thinking skills materials, but The Critical Thinking Co.™ has the best on the market. I highly recommend these materials." - Claudette, Prescription for Success Learning Center, CO
Featured Success Story Winner:
"Our family loves your Mathematical Reasoning® series. My son will be completing level C by the end of this school year. As a former public school teacher and now a home school mom, I have looked at many math curriculums and yours is by far the best I have seen and used. I am so glad you are continuing this series and can't wait to see the next book." - Park, TX
Featured Success Story Winner:
"My daughter, age 14, has PDD/Autism. Also, she has an accompanying non-verbal learning disorder (this doesn't mean she doesn't talk; it means that she has trouble interpreting body language and other non-verbal information). Something she has always struggled with has been visual problem solving. We have been using The Critical Thinking Co.™ materials since she was small, as they were the only materials that broke down tasks into small enough chunks for her. As she has grown older, we have also been using the software, most recently the new Building Thinking Skills® software. The Mind Benders® software also presented many challenging visual-puzzle activities, and we have used all of the Math and Reading Detective® software to help her fine-tune her critical thinking skills in the content areas. When she was 12, I purchased the Lexia Cross Trainer software. It was hugely expensive, and helpful, but The Critical Thinking Co.™ activities were just as useful and more varied to hold her interest, and much more reasonably priced.
The materials haven't 'cured' my daughter, of course, but they have helped her stick with practicing her skills even when it is difficult. She 'asks' to play the second Building Thinking Skills® software nearly every day. Thank you!" - Sandy, MD
Featured Success Story Winner:
"My four-year-old daughter and I began slowly working through [Mathematical Reasoning] together this fall. I figured we'd do a little here and there to start building some pre-math and math skills before jumping into a real curriculum next year. Well, she fell in love with the book! She would beg to "do math" everyday, and want to work on it for 30-40 minutes at a time. Her math skills are now blowing me away! After the section about dividing quantities in half, she started talking about halves all the time. And she even figured out what half of 3 was all on her own. She is now in a 1st grade math curriculum and breezing through it at age 4-1/2. [Mathematical Reasoning] really did what it promised — it built her mind up for future math experiences. Thanks so much for a great product!" - Katie, MO
Featured Success Story Winner:
"I have been using The Critical Thinking Co. materials for 17 years. Our 1st son is an honor student at the University, and our 2nd son, a senior in high school, just scored a perfect 800 on the critical reading section of the SAT. He says, 'After all of those Editor in Chief® books, how could I not do well, mom!' Thanks Critical Thinking Company." - Melissa, OK
Featured Success Story Winner:
"Our school had a low rate of children qualifying for advanced math. I started using Math Ties with them, and we had over 10 students in one class qualify for 7th grade math as 5th graders! I know that the key was the higher level thinking required in Math Ties." - Cassandra, VA
Parent Testimonials:
"Children love our products and you'll love what our products do for your child!"
"As a homeschooling mother of five, I wanted to thank you for such
wonderful products. We have changed our homeschool curriculum to focus on your Critical Thinking Company™ products--after spending a small fortune on materials that were watered down and not effective--and couldn't be happier. I wish we had found your products earlier. Our younger children that have used your core curriculum products since preschool are all performing above their age groups and loving the challenge of learning!
Language is not my son's strong point, but by using Language Smarts™, he is writing complete sentences, recognizing grammatical errors, and learning Language Arts like never before. Mathematical Reasoning™ presents math in a way that makes it not only simple to learn, but also practical to apply to everyday circumstance --obviously making math more meaningful to him. I cannot brag enough on Building Thinking Skills™ and how it starts students out at a young age with organizing thoughts, brainstorming, and categorizing, all of which are crucial as college students and adults but unfortunately these skills tend to be overlooked in other curriculums. Our whole family enjoys the riddles and brain teasers from Thinker Doodles and Dr. DooRiddles that fill our van with giggles and discussion on long trips. Thank you for such wonderful products! Three cheers for exceeding the status quo!!!" - Katherine David, MS
"Parents who home school students will find the books extremely helpful when introducing mathematics skills and all NCTM concepts and strands. For the money, the books are excellent buys and worthy supplements to any early childhood student's education." - Maxine Pincott, Oliver Ellsworth School, Windsor, CT, Teaching Children Mathematics (NCTM)
"The most positive characteristic of these books are the higher order thinking skills that the content encourages. As an educator, I can appreciate that the skills involve multi-steps and hands-on manipulation." - iParenting Media reviewer
"This product [Mathematical Reasoning] incorporates so many skills into one activity that it can be used across the curriculum. Not only are math strategies and skills taught, but it also helps with reading and deciding what is being aksed. I love this product!"- Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer
"My child really enjoyed learning math and being able to work on her art skills at the same time. What a great concept, especially with art being cut out of so many schools do to budget cuts." - Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer (regarding Complete The Picture Math)
“Having taught thousands of students how to prepare and ace the SAT and PSAT tests, my program emphasizes the importance of thinking critically and working logic problems. Curriculum like “The Critical Thinking Company's” is an essential part and a must for every student who wants to reach test success.” - Jean Burk, www.collegeprepgenius.com
"I just wanted to let you know how grateful our family is for the resources you offer. Six months ago, our family adopted six children from Liberia, West Africa. The children are war orphans. They range in age from 8 to 16 years. There are many academic milestones that they have missed, although they are able to do much more than I expected. I was able to speak with Tim via customer service. He was so knowledgeable. (Most folks I speak with think Liberia is in Russia!) He was able to dialog with me and gave terrific advice. He recommended some products but was also able to offer practical suggestions on how to fill in the gaps for these children. I cannot tell you how relieved I am to have found real help. I have chased so many rabbit trails that led nowhere. My hope is renewed and my kids are excited! Thanks so much!" - Kaitlyn MacMillan
"What a fun and family friendly way of making your brain grow. As a homeschooled family we're not always home so we keep Red Herring Mysteries in the car and everyone participates. The helpful guide at the beginning explains how to get the children to think in a deductive way rather than just guessing the answer, The answers at the back will surprise you. When the older children think they have the answers they then can ask leading questions until the younger ones get it as well. While it is probably meant for an overhead projector, the quality of the questions are well worth it. Time in the car melts away as the kids learn and laugh." -
Joan Schleh, Mt. Vernon, WA
"When my son is done with his schoolwork, he asks to do "the fun books," by
which he means Building Thinking Skills, Mind Benders, and Red Herrings!
What parents doesn't want to hear that?!" - Anne Ling, M.S. Ed.
"I purchased Language Smarts, Mathematical Reasoning, Visual Perceptual, and Dr. Dooriddles. My son is homeschooled in first grade and this is perfect for him. The Critical Thinking Company products are a "must-have" for any homeschooling family. Your child will be taught essential academic skills beyond rote memorization. Each activity encourages my child to use higher-level thinking and I see this overlap into his everyday problem solving skills. The Critical Thinking Company truly does "empower the mind!" I will be ordering from this company for years to come! Thank you again!" -
Krista Bulger
"The books are easy to follow and allow kids to jump around... My son's teacher loved it, as well, saying the math concepts are age appropriate for him." - iParenting Media reviewer
Teacher Testimonials:
"Why
Educators Like You Choose Our Critical Thinking Products!"
"I have been teaching for 38 years. I started using Midwest Publication materials in the 1970's while working with gifted students. The critical thinking materials have provided a constant challenge for my students. The Mind Benders were one of their favorite activities. I have continued to use your curriculum materials for more than 30 years. I have made it a point of sharing your critical thinking books with other teachers. Thank you for enhancing the minds of youngsters." - Dennis Schuman
"In my 17 years in the district, I haven't seen anything work the way [the Building Thinking Skills] program did. The improvement was phenomenal, especially for our at-risk populations and second-language students." - Gayle Polk, Guidance Counselor, East Elem. School, Monroe, NC
"For
12 years, I've recommended your company to my teacher-training
students. Your materials are exceptionally valuable
to teachers. Critical Thinking not only produces quality
materials, but your fine company is unusually responsive
to needs and questions of the individual teacher as
well as of the big school districts." - Dr. Leonard
Martin, Teacher Education Program, University of Denver
"The
standard curriculums weren't working as well as I
had hoped. The students were becoming impatient with
all the repetition, but with these books, they've
become eager to learn again." - Priscilla, educator,
Walpole, MA
"I credit you in helping both my [students] and
me to learn the thinking skills needed for success."
- Michelle, educator, Broad Run, VA
"We see great results in Thinking Skills from
using your products. Your work has produced positive
results and, I believe, higher test scores."
- Luine, educator, Baytown, TX
"My students really enjoyed the mental challenge
of the problems posed them. The excitement that I
saw coming from [their] faces as they worked cooperatively
to solve problems was mind-boggling to me. -Leska,
educator, Charleston, WV
"[This] company offers every imaginable means
of teaching critical thinking to every student. I
have found no other company that offers such specialized
materials and that is so totally committed to such
a difficult task in today's society." - Elizabeth,
educator, Richmond, VA
"Your publications help to make significant learning
happen for my students, and I have promoted your products
in countless speeches and workshops I have given to
teachers around the country. You have found ways to
engage students in thinking and performance and the
interactive approach is one I recommend highly and
often." - Jeff, Professor of Education, Tampa,
FL
"Critical Thinking has uniquely captured the
method of teaching students not only how to think
logically, but to apply logic to the process of learning
in every subject area. [M]any companies have begun
to jump on the bandwagon and produce materials that
use the critical thinking label, but the contents
are the same old drill and practice, and our students
know the difference right away. - Peggy, educator,
Tucson, AZ
"[P]eople often ask me what to order from TCTC.
I tell them, not even jokingly, that I can't help
them. I'd advise them to order everything. - Melanie, educator, Marshall, MO
"I've become a Critical Thinking convert. I tell
everyone who asks that if I were starting all over
from scratch I'd focus my whole curriculum on materials
from The Critical Thinking Company. That may sound
extreme, but I've seen [students] make phenomenal
progress since I deempha-sized rote memorization.
- Kathe, educator, Garland, TX
"[The Complete The Picture Math] activities were a great way to practice reading and following directions while reviewing math concepts." - Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer
"My district really wants students to be able to explain how they got an answer and to show it, so this is great." - Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer (regarding Complete The Picture Math)
"This product provides a challenging yet engaging means to assess necessary, basic word usage skills, and includes important, meaningful writing connections." - Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer
"I especially like the way students get a deeper understanding of the words used and improve their thinking and writing skills." - Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer (regarding Vocabulary Smarts)
|
Shopping
Cart
