My First Brain Quest

Rating:
Summary: Brainy Toddlers
Review: How do you make a smart preschooler? You ask them questions about everything, help them develop keener powers of observation, and guide them to be pattern recognizers. My First Brain Quest will help build toddler vocabulary, will lead little ones to keener observations and will keep up interaction between adult and child. Caregivers and foster care parents will love the structure provided by the sturdy cards hinged with a plastic rivet that keep the cards together and handy for constant use. Folks who provide CDA training and foster parent training, as well as parent-child interaction instruction will appreciate the slow pace and good feeling engendered by the BrainQuest preschool cards. They're a great way to train parenting skills of interaction (rather than imperatives) because they are founded on questions. The box also holds Max the Plastic MOnkey for the kids to hold onto while answering the questions, although he will probably get gnawed on as well as held in the hand. In preschool children, the name of the game is vocabulary. Being able to name your world is to have power over it. Brainquest does just that in a compact way. Great for pediatricians' offices, hospital waiting rooms, and other places you find parents and bored kids spending unstructured time.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected....
Review: I totally agree with the review about the toy monkey provided, my son who is almost two put it right in his mouth, and it was ruined that very second. (Maybe max could have been a little plastic character instead of foam) I expected a plastic box full of hard cardboard cards that my son could look at and inspect himself; and not something that is bound so tight that he can't look at them himself. All & all it is still a good learning tool & my son is not two yet so maybe he'll grow into them. We look at them every night before bed when he's sleepy and willing to listen without wanting to grab & throw things.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected....
Review: My older daughter loves Brain Quest, and I ordered this for my 2-1/2 year old son. They are great fun, and we often "play" with the decks instead of reading at night. Max the Monkey is fun, and my son enjoys looking at the pictures. I have been surprised at words he both does and does not know.

Some of the "answers" provided by Brain Quest are not words in a toddler vocabularly--for example, a picture showing what appears to be a box of crayons asks, "What are these called?" and the correct Brain Quest answer is "colored pencils." In another series of pictures, Max's slippers look more like shoes. However, these are minor things that are easily worked around--the parent can choose their own "right" answer. There way the questions are written easily lead you to make up your own questions.

The two things that could be improved upon: the is a 4" tall Max the Monkey included with the decks. It is supposed to be a child's playtoy, but it's made of FOAM. Needless to say, it was torn by the second day. Also, the plastic rivet that holds the cards together needs to be changed. It has the deck so tightly bound that I can't let my son turn the cards on his own--the cards would be terribly bent or torn. (The last Brain Quest I purchased had this same problem.)

Despite my negative sounding review, I am a big Brain Quest fan, and do like this Toddler's series. I would encourage any parent of a toddler to give this a try. Everyone learns from it, but in a fun, learning-through-play manner. The pictures are engaging, and a deck can easily be carried in a purse or backpack for outside the house.

The 2-3 year old guideline is appropriate. Very verbal, older 3 year olds will likely find this easy (which is great for their self-confidence), but may enjoy the challenge of the next level.

Rating:
Summary: Brain Quests are great fun!
Review: My older daughter loves Brain Quest, and I ordered this for my 2-1/2 year old son. They are great fun, and we often "play" with the decks instead of reading at night. Max the Monkey is fun, and my son enjoys looking at the pictures. I have been surprised at words he both does and does not know.

Some of the "answers" provided by Brain Quest are not words in a toddler vocabularly--for example, a picture showing what appears to be a box of crayons asks, "What are these called?" and the correct Brain Quest answer is "colored pencils." In another series of pictures, Max's slippers look more like shoes. However, these are minor things that are easily worked around--the parent can choose their own "right" answer. There way the questions are written easily lead you to make up your own questions.

The two things that could be improved upon: the is a 4" tall Max the Monkey included with the decks. It is supposed to be a child's playtoy, but it's made of FOAM. Needless to say, it was torn by the second day. Also, the plastic rivet that holds the cards together needs to be changed. It has the deck so tightly bound that I can't let my son turn the cards on his own--the cards would be terribly bent or torn. (The last Brain Quest I purchased had this same problem.)

Despite my negative sounding review, I am a big Brain Quest fan, and do like this Toddler's series. I would encourage any parent of a toddler to give this a try. Everyone learns from it, but in a fun, learning-through-play manner. The pictures are engaging, and a deck can easily be carried in a purse or backpack for outside the house.

The 2-3 year old guideline is appropriate. Very verbal, older 3 year olds will likely find this easy (which is great for their self-confidence), but may enjoy the challenge of the next level.