One of the nice things about having a blog like this is that you get the chance to review resources. If they give you the resource at no charge, it's even better. Such is the case with The Thinking Toobox by Nathaniel Bleudorn and Hans Bluedorn. The subtitle is what caught my attention: Thirty-Five Lessons That Will Build Your Reasoning Skills.

One trip to your local homeschool conference tells you that there is enough curricula out there, but is there enough of the right curricula? Unless your children learn to reason with logic and evaluate the evidence presented, anything that sounds good can be adopted by them as truth. Most parents just assume that children will learn reasoning by absorption. Unfortunately, the skills they do learn are often inadequate for the world that awaits them.

The Thinking Toolbox is a collection of skills that children need to master before they graduate. Starting out with the framework of conversations, statements, and appropriate uses of logic, the Bluedorns then move into factual analysis, skeptical thinking and scientific theory. Eventually, they have you solving mysteries using the tools from the toolbox.

Like most skills, reasoning is learned with application. The Thinking Toolbox offers plenty of opportunities to put reasoning into practice. But these opportunities are just hypothetical stories. It’s when you put these skills to use in real life that you see the dividends. For example, you’re flipping through the channels on a weekend, trying to find the game, when you stumble on an infomercial about property investments. You son turns to you and says, “Hey dad, maybe that’s where we can get some money.” What do you say in response? Do you merely dismiss his comment by saying the show is lying? Or do you make time that day to explore the option with him, using reasoning, evaluation of the source, and research of the facts? The old axiom holds true: Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Both solutions are valid, but only one of them will result in your child’s long-term benefit.

While I hesitate to say that this material is not for those under a certain age, the book says it is for those 13 and older. Still, with some exceptions, those younger than 13 will get enough out of it and would benefit from repeated exposures. The book can be used by an individual child, but would be richer when its ideas can be discussed in a group. I imagine the best situation would be a group of young teens reading together and discussing the lesson with an adult advisor. This book is an excellent foundation for those thinking of entering their child into speech and debate because it gives the basic concepts and allows the child to warm to them. With 35 lessons, it is not sufficient for anything more than a weekly study, but it is a perfect complement for studies, especially science.

Giving your children the skills of reasoning is a blessing and a valuable part of their education. The Thinking Toolbox is a great resource to launch them into the world of critical evaluation of truth.

For more details and how to order, click on the book cover.

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