My 4th grader is a math whiz and was excited to try out the puzzles in this book. Her teacher uses the puzzles in the book as challenges for my daughter and other students when they are finished with their regular math assignments. The kids' report: the puzzles start easy, get much harder, and definitely require advanced math skills. A fun alternative to everyday classroom math! ( )

I was hoping for my son to really enjoy this book but he has not shown any enthusiasm at all about completing any of the problems. Unfortunately, as a supplement for my son's curriculum it is a bust. My son is a third grader so I am hoping with age and maturity he may eventually enjoy the challenge. Each "logic puzzle" is organized and presented well but definitely more for an advanced 4th grader or regular 5th grader. ( )

My thoughts...Math Bafflers would be a great tool for teachers of grades 3 and up. The book provides math problems that could easily be photocopied or copied to a board for students to solve. It would make a great "starter" for the day to get students into the math gear. The problems use a variety of skills that will reinforce lessons and challenge learners.

Problem solving is a key component to math instruction. These problems challenge the student to evaluate the problem, create a hypothesis, develop a strategy and discover the solution. The problems are designed to align with national and state math standards.

These problems are challenging. In my experience, third graders would find some of these problems extremely difficult. At the third (and maybe even fourth grade) levels, Math Bafflers would be perfect for differentiating for gifted students. Fifth grade (and even into middle school) teachers can use this as practice, as the student's should be proficient in the majority of skills needed. I would use this in my classroom as a "bell ringer". This is an activity that students complete in their math journals. They would be provided with several minutes to complete the problem, then we would discuss the solution together.

These logic puzzlers also try to throw in some traditional math -- calculating fractions or weights or costs before getting to the logic part. I like the idea of incorporating standard math (the kind that shows up on standardized tests) into the fun logic part, although in a few cases the connection was a bit stretched.

Also, for some puzzles the instructions were incomplete. In these kinds of puzzles you typically have several kids doing different things, and the puzzle is to find out who did what. Perhaps five kids are leaving for five destinations at five different times. Each kid has to go to a different place, but several times the instructions didn't specify this. Yes, it's true that the pattern is the same for all puzzles, but in LOGIC puzzles the solver shouldn't just assume this -- it needs to be part of the logic. Gifted kids especially will notice this -- in my experience they are kings of loop holes. I want the puzzle to SAY that no one tied in any event of the quad-athon, otherwise there's no reason two kids can't have the same time.

I really liked the answer key, which shows the logic steps used to get to the final answer. Someone checking work can either skip to the final answer, or read to see where each step gets filled in. A fun book of logic that I wish had one more edit for the logic-obsessed.

This book is full of logic puzzles for the math whizzes in your classroom (or at home!) who want to give themselves an extra challenge. The problems in the book are all set up in a similar structure, requiring the use of a matrix to solve complex problems where some information is given and you must use the process of elimination and guess-and-check methods to find the missing information. The problems increase in difficulty through the course of the book, but there are clues and solutions in the back that are a big help if you get stuck.

I'd definitely recommend this book... in fact, I already passed it on to my 9-year-old niece and am excited to hear how she likes it! ( )

This is a fun, exciting and challenging book of puzzels. This book breaks down the thought process for the problems inside in detail making it possiable to work through the problems with young people easily. As a teacher I know this book will be very useful for all my different learners.

This book makes the dreaded math word problems (at least I used to dread them) fun and easy. Where were these books when I was a kid? Those who have children or grandchildren grades 3-5 who are having trouble in math, I highly suggest this book to you. It gives you a great chance to spend quality time in a way that will help your student for the rest of their lives! Do not ever underestimate the power of learning at home. ( )

My daughter (third grade) loves working with this book. A book of (what I have always called) logic problems. The kind where you have to fill in a grid using clues and the process of elimination to figure out who did what where and when. So far it is just challenging enough for her to be interested without getting frustrated. She will sit and work on it while I read/write so I am available if she gets stumped. ( )

Math Bafflers is a workbook of logic puzzles intended for grades 3-5. I've used many logic puzzles with my children, so in that respect, it wasn't that much different from other workbooks I've used. The introduction explains how to do the puzzles and why they are useful. Pages are set up so that they can be photocopied for individual students in a class setting. The puzzles themselves start out easy and then increase in difficulty. I found I could do the early ones in my head, but toward the end of the book I needed paper to keep track of everything.

What made this workbook special was the added difficulty of figuring out math problems as you figured out the puzzle. In my opinion, this made some of the puzzles a bit more interesting, since you now had to perform mathematical operations in order to find the answers. Some are trickier than others. In the back of the book, the solutions take you step by step through the clues to show how the answers are found. This was especially helpful when I realized I had made a mistake on one. I could find exactly where I went off course.

I would say this is one of the better books of logic puzzles. It is one of the more challenging ones I've seen. ( )

I love this book! I'm going to school for Math Education grades 4-8 and I found this book fantastic. Some of the problems are pretty tough but I feel like we need problems like this in our classrooms right now. I've noticed many students are lacking in the logics department and books like this can help teachers fit these type of problems into their curriculums. I will definitely be using some of the problems for my students not only when I do my student teaching next semester, but when I graduate and have a classroom of my own. For the record, I will also be getting the grades 6-8 version of this book and can't wait to use these bafflers in the classroom. ( )

This book is definitely a Math Baffler. Despite the fact that this book is for grades 3-5, I found myself occasionally baffled. I have recommended this book to two math teachers I work with and they were very excited to use it. This is a great book to use for practicing critical reading skills and using logic. ( )

We just received this book and so far are really enjoying the puzzles. One thing that I think is fantastic is that with the answers they provide a 'walkthrough' explanation of how to come to the answer. This will result in a much better understanding and ultimately a much better problem solver. ( )