MindWare Perplexors: Level A Paperback – January 1, 1999

As a volunteer who works with children, I find that one huge difficulty many have in learning is their lack of focus. I purchased three of these books, ranked A,B,C  MindWare Perplexors: Level A (A is the easiest, and C the most demanding). To promote the idea of having fun with them, I give incentives for thinking them through and finding the correct answers. There is no penalty for failure, but the incentives increase in value according to how well they actually do. Because the students I work with are at different levels and there is constant turnover, I use photocopies of the pages. Sometimes, two or more will be working on the same puzzle, and often, once a child gets the hang of it, he/she moves rapidly through the levels. I have no statistical proof of improvement, but I believe they have not only improved in focus, but they're also reading with better comprehension.I haven't bought the D book yet, but at this rate, I may be getting it soon! I recommend the books, especially for parent-involved home use. This method seems to work best in one-on-one situations. If your child needs help in learning to focus, try at least the level A, then see how it goes.

My son (9yr; 3rd grade) finished Math Perplexors levelA, going through this. This is a bit easier than Math perplexed level A. 1 page each time in addition to math workbook and reading of one book chapter (~ 10pages), then he gets 1hr iPad time. I found that the problem styles are similar to GRE analytic. I hope my son develop good analytic through process by practicing these questions. I will continue getting perplexor regular and perplexor math.

My kids loved this book! They had been introduced to logic puzzles in their gifted class, and while I used to do them myself, I couldn’t find any in the stores, not even at the big name brick and mortar book stores. These kept my 11 & 9 year old kids quiet and entertained during long car rides.

The book contains increasingly difficult puzzles and helps develop the following skills, as tested on my 7.5 year-old first grader:- Ability to distill multiple pieces of information from a single statement- Ability to draw conclusions by combining multiple pieces of information- Ability to accomplish a task through and iterative approach, making several passes through same body of clues- Attention to detail and developing methodical work habitsThis was our first book of this kind and I am very happy with the progress my son made. On the other hand, I cannot see this working unless the child is interested and motivated to succeed.The last third of the book contains a few puzzles that are substantially harder than the rest.

WE do these together as a family at the table. So much fun. I'm 48 years old and they force ME to really concentrate. These aren't dumbed down silly puzzles. They are thoughtful logic extracting exercises that are totally fun to do. I'm loving them as much as my twins. If you have smart 3rd graders, I think you can start with this book. I don't have the basic book, but this level A book seems a nice place to jump in if your 3rd graders are doing well in school. Maybe the basic book is better but I accidentally got this level A book and they are having no problems with it. Your results may vary.Highly recommended.

I liked the book. My daughter has enjoyed it and I even tried 3 "perplexors" myself. One was more challenging than I thought it would be. It was fun and relaxing.

Pretty good for individual learning. These are fun puzzles. My kids do a few per day.#27, orchestra antics, needs one more clue to solve. Something like "at the end of the first song, all the players were on stage."

Wow! This workbook came earlier than expected! I was delighted as was my daughter. She quickly caught on and was successful. I think that we will finish this level real soon. Can't wait for Level B.We started with Level A just to be sure that she was getting the concept and working at the logic. I think she'll do fabulously!

My daughter loves problem resolutions and challenges. Perfect for her. Although she likes the math one better since she's a math addict!