I have to say I'm pretty impressed with this workbook. Having looked at quite a few, I think Brain Quest is certainly one of the best. The first thing I like is that every topic is color coded. Phonics, for example, is Green, while Writing is orange. From previous experience I can tell you that it helps to navigate and organize your day.

The second thing I noticed was that this workbook, unlike others, more accurately tracks current First Grade curriculum. In the past, I have found that if you wanted a book for 2nd Grade, you had to 'add a year' and get a workbook that said it was for 3rd Graders. Not the case here.

In this respect, I should note that this book assumes that your child has already done some Kindergärten work. The Phonics section, for instance, starts with requesting your student write and know their letter sounds. [[The first assignment shows nine animals, and their names are spelled out, except for the beginning consonant which the student is to write down.]]

Weaknesses
The section on science is pretty basic and will need to be heavily supplemented if you are homeschooling.

The section on math skills is good, but you will need to come up with additional problems. There is enough material, in my opinion, to teach the concept, but not enough to practice and confirm that children understand it completely.

The Answers (should you need them) are given in miniature form. The actual pages are shown, but reduced so that 16 fit on a page. And you'll have to figure out what's what. There is an amazing lack of instructions for adults with this book. For example, at the end of the book there are cards that you can cut out to play a game, but there are no instructions for the game.

Strengths
The material is nicely presented; I love that there is so much color and that the pages aren't crowded with examples. I've seen many colorless workbooks, and used some on occasion, and they get boring pretty quickly. Similarly, some workbooks try to cram so much on the page, that it is very visually busy: which is very distracting to some children.

The sections and Time and Money are very exceptionally good. As are the sections on Shapes and Measurement.

There are incentive stickers to put on your child's completed pages. They say things like “Wow!” and “Neat!” and “Excellent!”

There is also a Certificate of achievement at the end of the book, along with some stickers with stars and the letters of the alphabet, but I haven't figured out what they are for.

There is an interesting poster at the end of the book which theoretically shows 100 Creatures. (I say theoretically, because we haven't counted them all yet). Around this poster there are numbers that run from 1 to 100. I guess there is a connection.

Summary :::
This is an excellent workbook. It begins where I think most 1st Grade curricula begin these days, covering all of the topics I think my own 1st Grader has covered thus far. I highly recommend it with the following caveats: 1) the math and science topics will need to be supplemented; and 2) I'm not at all convinced that most 1st Grade classes won't move beyond the limits of what is covered in this book. ( )