Product Description

In Math Magic, his New York Times bestseller, Scoff Flansburg demonstrated his universal ability to make math fun and easy for adults. Now in Math Magic for Your Kids, the Human Calculator does the same for elementary school children.

Measuring flour for a birthday cake, setting the dinner table, counting change -- learning these simple skills daunts millions of children. And helping them along can be frustrating for parents. In Math Magic for Your Kids, Scott Flansburg comes to the rescue. With entertaining games and tricks, this proven method helps kids develop a positive attitude about numbers, the necessary foundation on which they will build math skills for the rest of their education. Children will discover hours of independent amusement, while parents will find activities they can do with their children to supplement their schoolwork and to help them get better grades, including:

• Innovative counting exercises that teach addition and subtraction
• Writing activities that reinforce math concepts
• Shortcut methods that provide "magic tricks" for learning math skills
• Riddles and puzzles that activate logic and math basics
• Games and drills that introduce and perfect multiplication and division

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #165279 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02-11
• Released on: 1998-01-20
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

From Library Journal
This book, whose author (Mathmagic: The Human Calculator, LJ 5/15/93) may be a familiar face from his TV infomercials, is supposed to be used by parents to help elementary school children master arithmetic with whole numbers from one to 12. Yet it is hard to imagine any parent actually making it to the end of this exercise, as it plods through the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of each individual number, one at a time, using extremely repetitious cartoon illustrations to take up space along the way. Flansburg's naive pedagogy doesn't seem more imaginative or encouraging than the type of exercises found in ordinary textbooks. The presentation is jumbled, and some of the instructions seem poorly thought out, as when he illustrates division with a picture of two shoes divided by two other shoes (it may make sense for addition, but how do you divide shoes into each other?) or suggests as an activity: "Take your children to the library and introduce them to the stories of Washington Irving" (what does that have to do with math?). Not recommended.
-?Amy Brunvand, Univ. of Utah Lib., Salt Lake City
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Card catalog description
Exercises and activities explore the mathematical concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Includes guidelines for parents and awards of recognition for students.

From the Back Cover
Math Magic for Your Kids provides a positive math experience. in fulfilling that purpose, the human calculator will:

-- Reinforce the basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
-- Introduce strategies to make working with numbers easy
-- Lay a foundation for basic number sense
-- Reinforce other math concepts such as shapes and measuring
-- Relate math concepts to skills of language, logic, social studies, art, etc.
-- Demonstrate ways in which math is an integral part of everyday life
-- Show how much fun and how rewarding mastery of math concepts can be
-- Encourage independent thinking
-- Promote self-esteem

Customer Reviews

Math + Magic = A Waste of Money
This book promises a lot but delivers very little. The guy who originally sold them was a great salesman, Scott even got on Opera once. But after buying the book I don't see why. Very little of it was interesting or of value. However the books are poorly laid out, poorly explained and even worse are the illustrations. I bought them with high hopes to help my child with math. We tossed them aside after one quick read. If you need to learn or teach math get a Spectrum Book. These were nothing more then a waste of money. I always look and find something good about everyone and everything. I found a great use for these books. Not only do the pages line the bottom of a bird cage nicely, they also make great fire starters. Don't waste your money.

Good math ideas, but should be a workbook
There's honestly nothing wrong with this book. A lot of reviewers have used it and found it helpful for their children. My problem is that it's written for children, but it's in an adult format, meaning it's in a hard bound book measuring about 5" by 8" and written in a fairly small type. My 6 year old would have trouble reading "Harry Potter" by herself, she'd have a hard time reading this one too. The writing is at about the same level. And yet the book starts out with kindergarten and 1st grade level work. The book is written in a way that you could read the games and stories to your kindergarten aged child, but the presentation isn't kindergarten level, it's more 2nd grade level.

I wish the book was in a workbook form, with a lot of child-friendly illustrations and places to write. Instead you either have to have your child write in pencil and erase, or photocopy each exercise to keep the book clean. It isn't just that I'm a clean freak, writing in a book this thick isn't easy, especially for a 6 year old.

In the end the math concepts, games and fun drawings could draw children in and get them excited about math, but the book form and presentation could be much more child friendly.

Making numbers make sense!
Mr.Flansburg's methods of stressing basic math skills are new and important before algebra or higher math will make sense. His new web site thehumancalculator.com also offers more information about his goal to wipe out innumeracy. He taught me it's never to late to conquer math phobia and fulfill my career goals that never materialized because of math avoidance.