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A personal review of this product...
I recently received Pre Math-it in the mail. I knew nothing about it, only HEARD of it, but I own the next level, Math-it, which I like.) I was quite surprised with it! First of all, it is all contained within a WONDERFUL hard (yet soft & pliable) nice case for it. It comes with a "teacher guide" that is conversationally friendly in nature to the person reading it. It tells you step by step how to "do the activities" with the dominoes, and tells you when to stop and make sure your child "has got it" before moving on to the next one.
One little thing I thought was really sweet (and useful!) in the book was a reminder to *us teachers* to end each lesson time with a FUN thing (though admittedly, just using dominoes is fun) such as standing the dominoes up on end and then letting the GO! this is an obvious thing to do with dominoes, yes, but I think it is valuable to have put in the guide. Additionally, there are also suggestions for a few more "non-domino" activities through the guide.
Now, my first thought on Pre Math It (before I had it in my hands, and instead, had only heard of it from others or read of it in a catalog) was that I'm sure I could figure out how to "teach with dominoes" on my own. Well, I'm sure many of you can.. but I never quite GOT IT.. never quite knew what to say or how to present things, etc. Well, this guide does it for me! (So there is no thinking needed on my part!!LOL) Each lesson is explained and again, it is sure to tell you when to "stay put" till the activity is mastered by the child. (meaning don't move ahead to the next lesson, but review the current &/or previous lessons as needed until mastered.) I have even made a little record keeping sheet that you can download here. (Adobe Acrobat Reader Required....and it prints out much better than it looks on screen.)
Okay, so with Pre Math-it, like I said, you get that groovy case and the guide. "What else do I get for my money?" you ask. Well...
You get this neat sturdy plastic mat "game board". It spans about the size of two sheets of paper laid end to end and folds in half. On it is a very cool layout of dominoes, laid out in such a way to make sense with the guide book. I won't bother to explain it here, but trust me.... cool, handy, dandy, and just plain neat! This mat/gameboard is used in different portions of nearly all the lessons, as a sort of "closer" to that lesson.
And, lets not forget the DOMINOES! yep, ya get a **NICE** set of dominoes! (not the cheapo plastic kind!)
So anyway, in closing, I'm VERY glad to have purchased this. I happened to have found it for an incredible price (used, and in VERY good condition) which I was glad for since I knew virtually nothing about it. Now that I already own it, however, I can easily see paying full price (at like Rainbow Resources) for the program. It is a superb resource for making numbers tangible, making sense of numbers, SEEING the relationship of numbers, adding, and so much more!
And, for current Math-u-See introduction users (like us!!) you'll be happy to know the relationship progression is very similar to MUS, and IMO would fit very nicely alongside MUS, as an alternative, fun, game-like resource for reinforcing. Those too young for MUS intro, I can say that pre Math-it would be a great lead-in for your preschooler, IMO, if you were looking for something manipulative based, and weren't keen on "figuring it out" on your own with your own dominoes, or household items... or... of course, right alongside any of that as well!!
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