It seems like only yesterday that my boys were learning their alphabet and numbers. It also seems like the books that I bought for them are multiplying at a very obscene rate. Cleaning out the school supply closet is usually something that doesn’t bother me, but when it reminds me that my boys aren’t babies anymore it usually throws me into a nasty case of the blues. I came across the first series of math books that my youngest son absolutely loved. It was hard trying to find a math system that he liked since the usual ׀ 2” type books bored him to death. He was more than content to sit for hours cutting out small pictures and numbers and pasting them into the correct location on homemade worksheets I made for him but I knew he needed something in a printed form for him to work with.

The Learning Horizons Getting Ready For Math book was one that he literally attacked and tore through since there are tons of activities and fun things to do. It is targeted towards the pre-kindergarten to kindergarten age group but with a little bit of adult supervision and help this would be a great primer for younger kids. It teaches the basics of math including simple connect the dots, matching numbers to illustrated pictures [the number 4 = four birds], matching shapes to each other, more or less, object positioning [above, below, next to etc], learning about pennies and nickels, working with patterns and numbers hidden in pictures. There are a few sections that involve the use of flash cards that will need to be cut from the book and I strongly suggest that a parent or adult do this unless you want to end up with confetti.

The book is presented in black and white, rather than color, which makes it perfect for photocopying but please remember that these copies should only be used for your own personal use. The flashcards that are included with the book are only printed on one side so you won’t have to worry about ruining the back side of the page. I made copies of these on to heavy cut poster board after my son asked to color the illustrations with marker rather than crayon. There are several activities thought the book that will require cutting out parts of the page that are then glued into the scene so make sure you have some non-toxic stick glue on hand. I fondly remember photocopying this book several times for him since he really liked the different exercises and wanted to do them over and over again.

Who Would Love This Book?

Any child that has expressed an interest in learning more about numbers and counting would more than likely love this book. Over half of the exercises can be completed by a child that knows the numbers 1- 10 which can be a nice little break if you need some “quiet time”. Once your child gets into the groove of things you might find that he or she will have gone through the entire book faster than you anticipated. Don’t worry, there are plenty of books in the Learning Horizons series to keep them entertained and most of them are available in bundles according to age groups or activity levels. Buying the bundles will save you money but you might end up with books that include information your child already knows. While some people might get a little ticked at this – they shouldn’t. Encourage your child to do the activities anyway, this will give them an ego boost and allow them to have a sense of accomplishment.

Things To Know

There is an answer key located in the back of the book that will show you the correct solutions to the problems. You might want to remove this before you hand the book over to your child or run the risk of having the little one discover it. I often wondered why publishers include an answer key in these types of books and have never been able to get an answer. I found the answer key to be a great tool though, if my son ever got something wrong I was able to show him the illustration with the correct answer rather than having to try and explain it to him.

There are a few sections that you will have to read to your child, one of which is a poem about the number zero that helps to explain why it has no value and what it means. When I was trying to explain this to my son he just looked at me like I was from another planet. To him it was a number so it had to have some type of use. This poem didn’t really do much to explain why “zero” is ‘zero’ but at least it beat having him stare at me like I was one of the purple chimpanzees mentioned in the poem.

There are plenty of things to color in the book and if your child chooses to color the pictures rather than do the exercise that’s fine. Early learning isn’t about being correct 100% of the time, it’s about establishing a routine and sticking with it. You might want to sit down with your child for a small block of time and work on a few pages then ask him or her if there is anything in particular that they would like to do next or on their own. If they don’t want to sit down and do a few pages, give them a break and try again later. I tried to get all my boys on a certain routine with individual learning as part of it and these types of books helped to get them into a steady routine of problem solving combined with fun, hands on activities.

The Bottom Line

If at all possible, check out the Learning Horizons books before you invest in a bundle package. You will be able to see exactly what you are getting for your money and what set of books would be best for your childs individual learning curve. My youngest son had a ball with this book and often asked to do some of the exercises over and over again. Any time you can combine learning skills and entertainment together you are essentially helping your child reach new goals and taking the next step in their educational endeavors. The entire series of books from Learning Horizons was money well spent since it enabled my youngest son to get a head start on other kids his age.


The Stats

Name: Getting Ready For Math
Published By: Learning Horizons
Pages: 30
Price $ 2.50
Recommended Age Level: Pre-K and Kindergarten


As always, thanks for the read!

^V^ Freak ^V^

© 2004 Freak369



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Recommended: Yes