The authorsÕ objective in Tools of the Mind is to enable future teachers to apply the idea of teaching, or arming, young children with the mental tools necessary for learning. They view mental tools as a cycle in which ideas are (1) learned from others, (2) modified and changed, and (3) passed back on to others. The book includes examples and activities that profile the Vygotskian approach at work in various schools in the Denver metropolitan area.