Bond verbal/ non verbal books for below 11+

[squashpie]

I shall also cross post this in secondary education because I'm not sure where it "fits"!

Has anyone used the Bond books for verbal/ non-verbal years before the 11+ exams, ie the 6/7, 8/9, etc books? I didn't know whether it would be good to begin using them occasionally, introducing them, as is suggested, as "quiz books" (my DS loves the Usborne puzzlebooks) to get him used to the formats so he is not overwhelmed/ intimidated by them later on, or whether he would just get fed up with them by the time he was approaching the 11+. I stress, I'm not intending to do them everyday, just as an occasional fun thing to do, like we do the Usborne puzzle books. Any experience gratefully received!

bump

my dd1 will be 9 in May and we have the 10-minute-test books for 8/9 and she does them like you say as a puzzle activity. She doesnt seem to mind

My DS starting to be given these in class 1 as extension work, and his whole class (2) now does them once a week as homework. I am also keen he recognises them as he will probably do the 8+ exam next year. He is on the 8/9 one now and really enjoys them, so crack on. Only complication is that if you are going to use them for particular exam they might be "used up", but in practice one could perfectly well come round again - the child won't remember the specific questions.

I've used them for tutoring in the past. I think they can be useful for a) becoming familiar with the format of the tests and b) highlighting any areas that there are big gaps in knowledge.

But, as with any of these things, I would limit their use or they become repetitive and boring. And definitely work through the papers together at the end so you can pinpoint the gaps in understanding.