BOOKWORM.PH

Why are children so active? Because they want to learn! And here are 365 simple but stimulating activities for parents, grandparents and child care providers that can turn a child's need for action into chances for learning, by themselves, or with others in the family. Sometimes it's hard for adults to come up with the right activities: here is your cookbook! Recommended.

Review
"This book was written with a lot of love and many prayers by its contributors. We think you will thoroughly enjoy it!!!" -- Lifetime Books & Gifts’ The Always Incomplete Resource Guide

"The two most important concepts we wish we had known at the beginning are that homeschool is not 'school at home' and that real education is a marathon--not a sprint." --Steve and Jane Claire Lambert

"We discovered together that the best teacher was the experience of life itself." --Michael and Susan Card

"What I wish I had known in that first year is that God has gone before me in my children's hearts and minds. . .As bearers of God's image, they come to my home possessing intelligence, curiosity, and creativity." --Sally Clarkson

Product Description
Who do parents turn to with questions about homeschooling, whether they're novices, long-timers, or just testing the waters?

Experienced homeschoolers. Who better to answer the questions arising from any serious endeavor than those who have been there, done that, and found a better way?

In "Things We Wish We'd Known," Bill and Diana Waring, authors of "Beyond Survivial: A Guide to Abundant-Life Homeschooling," make available to you the time-earned secrets of fifty veteran homeschooling families. Coming from pioneers and leaders in the homeschooling community, "Things We Wish We'd Known" will become an indispensible guide and inspiration for your own journey.

Review:
Recognizing each child's intellectual, emotional, and physical strengths--and teaching directly to these strengths--is key to sculpting "a mind at a time," according to Dr. Mel Levine. While this flashing yellow light will not surprise many skilled educators, limited resources often prevent them from shifting their instructional gears. But to teachers and parents whose children face daily humiliation at school, the author bellows, "Try harder!" A professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School, Levine eloquently substantiates his claim that developmental growth deserves the same monitoring as a child's physical growth.

Tales of creative, clumsy, impulsive, nerdy, intuitive, loud-mouthed, and painfully shy kids help Levine define eight specific mind systems (attention, memory, language, spatial ordering, sequential ordering, motor, higher thinking, and social thinking). Levine also incorporates scientific research to show readers how the eight neurodevelopmental systems evolve, interact, and contribute to a child's success in school. Detailed steps describe how mental processes (like problem solving) work for capable kids, and how they can be finessed to serve those who struggle. Clear, practical suggestions for fostering self-monitoring skills and building self-esteem add the most important elements to this essential--yet challenging--program for "raisin' brain." --Liane Thomas

Review
Step-by-step instructions on the projects, which can be completed with everyday material in a relaxed setting by any family. -- William Hageman, Chicago Tribune, December 31, 2000

Product Description
As each family grows and develops, everyone experiences the challenge of changes and transitions. Although adults frequently have trouble coping with change, it can be much more difficult for a child. Even birthdays, temporary separations or friends moving away can result in confused feelings that are very difficult for children to express and handle by themselves. The basic message of "Celebrating Family Milestones" is that families can communicate with each other and provide mutual support by making art together.

The author is a professional psychologist who has used art therapy to reach children with serious problems they were unable to deal with verbally. She has applied the same techniques to help families (including her own) weather transitions and grow closer and stronger.

This book deals with two major problems that impede communication: lack of time together and the difficulty of expressing feelings through words alone. By taking time on a regular basis to make art together, families participate in an enjoyable activity that provides the setting for communication. Making art together helps family members to express feelings with more than just words, which are often so difficult to find, especially for children.

Although children will usually say they're okay, they often hide the fear or confusion they feel inside. In their art children will express - often unconsciously - what they really feel. The results provide valuable clues for parents, who can use this opportunity for discussion and reassurance if necessary.

Projects cover a wide range of family experience, including the birth of a new baby, the death of a grandparent, a temporary separation during a parent's business trip, the celebration of New Year's and the importance of the family tree. Every project is complete in itself, yet the author leaves room for improvisation to suit each family's particular situation.

"Celebrating Family Milestones" will be welcomed by parents and educators alike. The simple but distinctive projects require no particular skill and no expensive materials. The emphasis is on the process of working together to make art and the feelings expressed through this activity, rather than the final product. However, many of the pieces made with the help of this book will ultimately become family treasures, rich with memories and associations.

Review:
Gardner, a psychologist and professor at Harvard, examines the factors involved in changing minds on significant issues, in politics, science, business and art. He identifies seven key elements, including reason, research and real world events, that are part of the decision-making process. Certain facets are more heavily weighted in some fields than others: "leaders of large groups often rely on the appreciable resources at their disposal but are buoyed or undercut by real world events," says Gardner (Frames of Mind), who believes this explains why a politician or a CEO will disregard advice in the face of larger issues and popular perceptions. To prove his theories, Gardner analyzes the behavior of several individuals including President Bush, Britain's Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, and South Africa's Nelson Mandela. Gardner doesn't limit his examination to politicians because he also believes that artists, writers, musicians and teachers can change people's minds. While the discussions and real-life examples are intriguing and do clarify Gardner's theories, the book doesn't fully deliver on its promise. Although Gardner does offer suggestions on how someone can influence others, he doesn't include a detailed prescriptive strategy for decision makers in the business world. Readers must draw out insights on their own, which, given the complexity of the material, may be difficult.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review:
In this boldly ambitious study, Gardner ( Frames of Mind ) profiles seven creative giants. Creativity, he argues, is not an all-purpose trait but instead involves distinct intelligences, as exemplified by Picasso's visual-spatial skills or by Gandhi's nonviolent approach to human conflict or Martha Graham's search for a distinctly American form of bodily expression. Each of the seven creative geniuses whom Gardner incisively limns transcended interpretive frames or conventions that became entrenched during the 19th century; each forged a new "system of meaning"; and each, in Gardner's view, struck a "Faustian bargain," sacrificing a rounded personal life for the sake of an all-consuming mission. Gardner also finds a childlike component in each of their creative breakthroughs (e.g., Einstein's "thought experiment" of riding a light-beam). This highly stimulating synthesis illuminates the creation of the modern age. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Description:
Everyone has a natural thinking style-a set of preferences that helps with relating to the rest of the world. Using the latest research into how we think and learn, Lanna Nakone has divided children into four groups: penguins (maintainers), dogs (harmonizers), horses (innovators), and lions (prioritizers).

For each type, an organized world is a safe haven. In this fresh, practical, and insightful guide, Lanna Nakone gives parents a new way to understand and encourage children's thinking styles, sensory preferences, gender, and personality tendencies to help them tailor their child's environment to make it a safe, more learning-friendly place. Stories, illustrations, and concrete step-by-step instructions show readers how to give children the support they need to reach their full potential.

Description:
More than 200,00 copies of earlier editions have been sold; this reissue includes a new introduction by the author to mark the twenty-first birthday of this remarkable book.

Review
"Featuring more than 225 simple activities to delight and stimulate children during their first year..." -- Birmingham Family Times

"…These will keep you and your babes well entertained in these early years." -- Marguerite Kelly, Washington Post

"…will allow you to interact with your baby as well as teach them valuable skills while having fun." -- San Diego Family Magazine

Product Description
Award-winning author, Jackie Silberg, encourages bonding between you and your baby in the third edition of Games to Play with Babies. With 50 NEW games and all new illustrations, this valuable resource promotes self-confidence, coordination, social skills and much, much more. Build important developmental skills, while enjoying time with your baby.

Review
"... Each book is packed with games and illustrations to help nurture your child…a great gift for new parents." -- ParentLife

"… Simple, age appropriate games help children develop gross and fine motor skills, language skills, social skills and more..." -- EDPLAY

Product Description

Packed with opportunities to build confidence and to enhance language, coordination, social interactions, and problem-solving skills, Games to Play with Two Year Olds is a must-have for anyone caring for a child between the ages of two and three. Turn ordinary, everyday routines into fun learning experiences!

Award-winning author Jackie Silberg is an early childhood advocate and popular keynote speaker. She has written the best-selling books 125 Brain Games for Babies, 125 Brain Games for Toddlers and Twos, Games to Play with Babies, Games to Play with Toddlers, 300 Three Minute Games, 500 Five Minute Games, and The I Can't Sing Book.

Description:
Vicki Caruana, author of the best-seller Apples & Chalkdust (Honor) and an expert on education, defines 10 essential competencies for lifelong success and helps parents to develop them in their children. Giving Your Child the Excellence Edge not only gives specific ideas to develop all their traits, it helps parents make the most of the intrinsic learning abilities each child possesses and make the necessary connections between success at home, in school, and in the world of work.

Description:
Vicki Caruana, author of the best-seller Apples & Chalkdust (Honor) and an expert on education, defines 10 essential competencies for lifelong success and helps parents to develop them in their children. Giving Your Child the Excellence Edge not only gives specific ideas to develop all their traits, it helps parents make the most of the intrinsic learning abilities each child possesses and make the necessary connections between success at home, in school, and in the world of work.

McGuinness (Why Our Children Don't Read and What We Can Do About It) points out that being a good reader involves much more than simply decoding words; she claims that the best predictor for becoming a good reader is the development of good language skills during the early years of life. Fortunately, the author notes, there are many ways in which parents can help children lay the groundwork for later reading success, and although about 50% of a child's verbal skill can be attributed to genetics, the other 50 is the result of "shared environment," or what the child learns at home. McGuinness guides parents through the first five years of the child's life, highlighting language milestones and suggesting ways parents can nurture verbal abilities. For instance, parents who engage in an "elaborate" communication style use interactive dialogue, employ descriptive language and encourage the child to participate. Parents who use a "repetitive" style, however, are not setting their child up for reading success; they use impoverished language and question their child repetitively until a desired response is given. The book is not a typical reading primer: McGuinness cautions against such timeworn tools as picture books (they "distract" the child from memorizing a story sequence), rhyming games and preschool (which may benefit neither language nor literacy, she asserts). Parents seeking quick, easy tips won't find them here, but they will find novel suggestions for building a solid literacy groundwork during the prereading years.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

McGuinness decodes the process that children use in their own decoding of words on the way to learning to read and write and how parents can help in the process. The book is arranged according to the child's age, starting with prenatal development. Each chapter describes the most recent research on language development and suggests ways that parents can directly affect development, from reading to babies in utero to interactive dialogues with young children that encourage their participation. McGuinness advises parents on helping children learn skills in decoding words, developing vocabulary, improving memory, and becoming good listeners, speakers, and writers. McGuinness concludes with a chapter describing the evolution of various methods of teaching reading, including basal readers, whole language, and phonics as well as her own reading program. She also provides a review of the most popular programs used by parents and schools to teach reading to young children, including remedial reading programs. This book is a valuable, accessible resource for parents looking for information on developing reading skills in young children. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Description:
This book provides parents with a simple and clear daily program for teaching small children mathematics. At the same time, the essential and close contact of learning together enriches the love and respect between parents and baby.

Description:
This bestselling classic--with more than one million copies sold in hardcover--illustrates just how easy it is for children to learn to read. Doman shows clearly, and illustrates with fascinating case histories, just how to teach young children to read--and what a great benefit early reading is to both children and their parents.

Review:
How would a musical genius like Mozart have performed on the SAT or GRE? Well enough to go to an Ivy League? Difficult to say, of course, but thank goodness Howard Gardner thought to ask the question: Can every sort of intelligence be measured with the tools we've been using for the past century and more? In his 1983 book, Frames of Mind, Gardner laid out the foundation for the theory of multiple intelligences (MI). In Intelligence Reframed, a revisitation and elaboration of MI theory, he details the modern history of intelligence and the development of MI, responds to the myths about multiple intelligences, and handles FAQs about the theory and its application. He also restates his ideal educational plan, which would emphasize deep understanding of iconic subjects following from a variety of instructional approaches. (His book The Disciplined Mind discusses this plan in more detail.) Most excitingly, Gardner discusses the possibility for three more intelligences. Of these, he endorses only one, the naturalist intelligence--a person's ability to identify plants and animals in the surrounding environment. He writes, "My recognition that such individuals could not readily be classified in terms of the seven antecedent intelligences led me to consider this additional form of intelligence and to construe the scope of the naturalist's abilities more broadly."

An absorbing read from cover to cover, Intelligence Reframed should be studied and discussed by teachers, administrators, policy makers, and all those eager to serve children and prepare them to lead fulfilling lives. --Brian J. Williamson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Teacher, coach, and author Randy McCutcheon and Lindsey, who works in the California public school system, share their award-winning strategies for teaching and transforming at-risk students into academic and social success stories. Their approach is organized around what they believe to be five "truths" that, if properly applied, will assist all students in turning possibilities into realities; these truths, in turn, are presented in brief, easy-to-read and -follow steps that are complemented by testimonials from the authors' students, all inner-city children from at-risk backgrounds who went on to defy the odds and become successful adults. The practical, insightful, and realistic strategies are designed to assist students in becoming not only smarter but also more confident, curious, and motivated. This unique book demonstrates the impact that highly qualified teachers can have on a student's success. Highly recommended for all libraries and for all readers interested in learning effective teaching techniques. -- Walter J. Cegelka, St. Thomas University, Miami Library Journal 20051201

Teacher, coach, and author Randy McCutcheon and Lindsey, who works in the California public school system, share their award-winning strategies for teaching and transforming at-risk students into academic and social success stories. Their approach is organized around what they believe to be five "truths" that, if properly applied, will assist all students in turning possibilities into realities; these truths, in turn, are presented in brief, easy-to-read and -follow steps that are complemented by testimonials from the authors' students, all inner-city children from at-risk backgrounds who went on to defy the odds and become successful adults. The practical, insightful, and realistic strategies are designed to assist students in becoming not only smarter but also more confident, curious, and motivated. This unique book demonstrates the impact that highly qualified teachers can have on a student's success. Highly recommended for all libraries and for all readers interested in learning effective teaching techniques. -- Walter J. Cegelka, St. Thomas University, Miami (Library Journal )
Product Description

Two award-winning educators give you strategies to reach out and instill skills for success in your kids or students

With multiple teaching awards to their credit, Tommie Lindsey and Randall McCutcheon have taught every type of student--from the underprivileged to the ordinary. It Doesn't Take a Genius gives you first-hand access to the strategies that have inspired students to succeed, even in impoverished districts.

Entertaining and packed with practical advice, this motivating narrative is organized into five principles, each composed of "bite-size" lessons and testimonials from the teachers' greatest success stories.