A brand new starting point for the Building Thinking Skills series, the Beginning course is intended for children ages 3 and 4. Pages are brightly colored and uncluttered, with exercises that look fun for kids this age to do. Basic skills covered include colors, similarities and differences, geometric shapes, inference, measurement, problem solving, and analogies. At a deeper level, two pages at the beginning show which exercises relate to physiological development and cognitive skills such as visual tracking, auditory processing, and fine motor skills development, among others. If you were to find an area that needs attention, you could focus on the exercises on these page numbers. No manipulatives are required with this book; however, some of the exercises show geometric shapes that look like attribute blocks. It would be easier and more fun for the student to have these available during the lesson, and if you go on to Building Thinking Skills Primary, you will need them anyway. sc, 218 pgs.