We are so blessed to have been chosen to review another great book from AIMS. Last fall we had fun working through some of the activities from their Earth Book. This non-profit group is dedicated to making math and science fun and accessible to children. They offer books covering a variety of topics in many areas of math and science for a wide range of ages. The book we recently received is aimed at Kindergarten through 2nd graders. We have been needing some work on telling time, for most of the children, so It’s About Time was perfect for our family.
The book begins with basic concepts of time, before, after, how long, etc. Each successive activity builds upon the previous one, slowly and gently adding skills and concepts. After covering telling time to the minute, there are plenty of activities to continue regularly practicing these new skills. Learning about time is something I have noticed in my children as being a skill that is not easily learned before the child is ready. Some children are ready very young, others cannot grasp the concepts until they are “older”. I have often thought it unfair to say it should be learned in a certain grade. With familiarity and being comfortable with time concepts, children will “get it” just when they are ready to–and not a moment earlier. I love how the activities are broken down to be presented just as your child is ready for that concept.
Lessons and activities are not numbered or expected to be complete in any set amount of time. As your learner is ready, you can work on the next concept. The required items are listed neatly at the beginning of each activity. Clear directions are given for creating any hands-on props, etc. that are needed. With the included CD it is very simple to print any necessary pages. Some of the suggested items, I did substitute, but it was very easy to do so. One of the activities calls for snow cone cups. I did not see the need to purchase these for the few our family would need, so we made our own cones. This worked great and illustrated the concept well.
The focus is on a classroom full of children – though often they are instructed to break into small groups. This can be a challenge for a small family. Adapting is easy on most activities, but takes a bit of “out of the box” thinking for others. Luckily, I had 5 eager participants. The four year old didn’t pick up much past the first activity or two, but she willingly held cards and stood where needed for some of the more advanced activities. I would really like to be able to do the activity involving 12 children holding a number standing in line. They then move from a line to a circle–becoming a clock. I wonder if I could entice enough neighbor children to help out?
This is only one of the great books available through AIMS (Activities Integrating Math and Science). You can pick up your own copy of It’s About Time (physical book +CD or pdf version) for $21.95 at the website. They also have samples to get a good feel for how they present the activities. Other Crew families reviewed Looking at Lines, Fabulous Fractions, From Heat to Toe, Earth Rocks, and What on Earth. To read those reviews, start at the Crew blog.
Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, our family received this book, It’s About Time, free of charge to review. We were not required to write a positive review; all opinions expressed are our own.