My First Book Of Tracing (Kumon Workbooks)

I guess I waited to long to get these books. My son who just turned four found this one rather easy but he enjoyed it very much. He finished over half of it in one day. He kept asking for more! He is doing the cutting book now and is doing well at it. He really likes all the pictures. The cutting and pasting book is a lot of fun as well. The only thing I would like is if they made these books "wipeable" so I don't have to toss them after they are used. I'm thinking of putting laminating sheets over them and using washable markers.

I recommend this book for anyone who would like to help their child develop pencil skills. Do not worry if your child does not immediately excel with this book, just remember all children develop differently and reach the point where they can follow instructions and do workbook skills at different times. Hold off for a while if needed and re-introduce once in a while until the child is ready. Once the child is ready - you will be surprised how interested in the book they become and how quickly their skills improve. I advise following the workbook instructions that you not let the child do more than 2 pages per session because if they are left wanted to do more they will eagerly come back to it the next time. I bought this book for my daughter when she was almost 3 but discovered she was not quite ready for it. She would follow the instructions sometimes, struggling to follow the paths, but many other times she was not interested in trying to follow the lines and would start scribbling on the pages, perhaps out of frustration that she was not quite ready for it. We continued to provide plain paper, coloring books, pens, pencils, markers, and crayons for her to work on her skills individually. Meanwhile we worked very slowly in the book only working in it every once in a while until recently (around 3 ½) when her interest and ability clicked with the book and now it is her second favorite "project book". (See the Kumon cutting book for the favorite!) I am very happy with the progressive nature of the book and even thought it took my child some time to work through the first half of the book, she is cruising along and we are only a couple of pages from the certificate of achievement at the end. I have the next books ready to go, Uppercase Letters, Number 1 - 30, and Mazes, and she was really excited when they were delivered. She can't wait to get her certificate and start in on the new ones.

Great book, I bought it for my son at 2 1/2 and he Loved it. It really helped him learn to hold a pencil and develop his motor skills, most importantly it kept him enthused about it. Great quality book, thick pages nice pictures to keep little ones interested. I'd let him do 2 or 3 pages, but if it was up to him he'd do the whole book at one time. I just hope I can keep his enthusiasm for learning at this level : ) He's now graduated to uppercase letters, I can see that 'my first book of tracing' helped him with his letters.

I looked at many workbooks in the book store before settling on this one, and I'm glad I did! It starts out with basics - connecting pictures and drawing straight lines horizontally and vertically - using very cute, clear graphics. It then progresses to diagonal lines, curved lines, zig zags, more complex curves, lines that cross over each other, etc. In this way, it gradually builds writing skills in a way that is fun for children. I also love that the paper is thick and high quality, the colors are vibrant, and the accompanying pictures are detailed and well-done. My 3 year old son loves this workbook and asks to do it almost every day. I have a hard time keeping him to 2-3 pages each day - he'd sit and do the entire book if I let him! If I try to have him draw lines on paper, he loses interest quickly, but he loves drawing lines in this book to make a train get to the end of it's route or to show an ant how to get to his friend around several pieces of fruit. I can see a definite improvement in his pencil skills as a result of this book. The only improvements I'd make is to have it bound with a spiral binding or to have the pages be designed to rip out. My son had trouble at first holding the book open and drawing at the same time. Other than that, the material itself was wonderful! I definitely recommend it!

Every day my 2 year old says, "Book, book." We sit down and I show him how to hold the pencil, I steady his hand and he pulls the pencil in the proper direction (90% of the time). It's exciting for both of us. The pictures are beautiful and he loves looking at them. Also the pages are very thick, which keeps them from being easily destroyed.