How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character


Paul Tough - 2012
    Drawing on groundbreaking research in neuroscience, economics, and psychology, Tough shows that the qualities that matter most have less to do with IQ and more to do with character: skills like grit, curiosity, conscientiousness, and optimism."How Children Succeed" introduces us to a new generation of scientists and educators who are radically changing our understanding of how children develop character, how they learn to think, and how they overcome adversity. It tells the personal stories of young people struggling to stay on the right side of the line between success and failure. And it argues for a new way of thinking about how best to steer an individual child – or a whole generation of children – toward a successful future.This provocative and profoundly hopeful book will not only inspire and engage readers; it will also change our understanding of childhood itself.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons


Siegfried Engelmann - 1983
     Twenty minutes a day is all you need, and within 100 teaching days your child will be reading on a solid second-grade reading level. It’s a sensible, easy-to-follow, and enjoyable way to help your child gain the essential skills of reading. Everything you need is here—no paste, no scissors, no flash cards, no complicated directions—just you and your child learning together. One hundred lessons, fully illustrated and color-coded for clarity, give your child the basic and more advanced skills needed to become a good reader.

Extraordinary Parenting: the essential guide to parenting and educating at home


Eloise Rickman - 2020
    Whether you’re planning to make a permanent move to homeschooling or you’re temporarily balancing it alongside paid work, Extraordinary Parenting shows that you don’t need a huge house, endless free time, or a host of expensive resources to unlock your child’s potential.Instead, this straightforward and empathic book will teach you to:— Deepen your connection with your child to create an attachment that promotes learning and openness.— Build strong, adaptable family rhythms to provide your child with security and stimulation every day, every month, and every year.— Create a calm, simplified home environment which will encourage deep play and independence — whatever your living situation.— Discover enjoyable ways of learning together as a family, identify your child’s interests, and use traditional teaching materials in a creative way.— Take care of your own needs as a parent, in order to become the parent your child needs.Based on years of research and hands-on work with parents, this book will reassure you that, whilst extraordinary times call for extraordinary parenting, you can be sure that you are up to the challenge.

Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice


Howard Gardner - 1993
    Howard Gardner's brilliant conception of individual competence, known as Multiple Intelligences theory, has changed the face of education. Tens of thousands of educators, parents, and researchers have explored the practical implications and applications of this powerful notion, that there is not one type of intelligence but several, ranging from musical intelligence to the intelligence involved in self-understanding.Multiple Intelligences distills nearly three decades of research on Multiple Intelligences theory and practice, covering its central arguments and numerous developments since its introduction in 1983. Gardner includes discussions of global applications, Multiple Intelligences in the workplace, an assessment of Multiple Intelligences practice in the current conservative educational climate, new evidence about brain functioning, and much more.

When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy for Today


Elaine Cooper - 2004
    The endless why questions. The desire to touch and taste everything. The curiosity and the observations.It can't be denied-children have an inherent desire to know. Teachers and parents can either encourage this natural inquisitiveness or squelch it. There is joy in the classroom when children learn-not to take a test, not to get a grade, not to compete with each other, and not to please their parents or their teachers-but because they want to know about the world around them!Both Christian educators and parents will find proven help in creating a positive learning atmosphere through methods pioneered by Charlotte Mason that show how to develop a child's natural love of learning. The professional educators, administrators, and Mason supporters contributing to this volume give useful applications that work in a variety of educational settings, from Christian schools to homeschools.A practical follow-up to Crossway's For the Children's Sake, this book follows a tradition of giving serious thought to what education is, so that children will be learning for life and for everlasting life.

The Unhurried Homeschooler: A Simple, Mercifully Short Book on Homeschooling


Durenda Wilson - 2016
    If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone! Most of us need to be reminded of the “why” of homeschooling from time to time—but The Unhurried Homeschooler takes parents a step further and lifts the unnecessary burdens that many parents place on themselves.Drawing on twenty years of homeschooling her eight children, Durenda Wilson gently reminds parents about the things that really matter, as she offers a clear portrait of what a life-giving home life can be during the homeschooling years. Reading The Unhurried Homeschooler is like having coffee with a trusted friend. You’ll be encouraged as you learn to do what God has put before you. This book will lighten your load while helping you learn how to raise life long learners and ENJOY the homeschool years with your kids.

Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst-Case Scenarios


Lisa Bedford - 2012
    Publisher’s Weekly calls Lisa Bedford’s Survival Mom an “impressively comprehensive manual,” saying, “suburban mom Bedford helps readers learn about, prepare for, and respond to all manner of disasters. . . . From 'Instant Survival Tip' sidebars to a list of 'Lessons from the Great Depression'. . . Bedford's matter-of-fact yet supportive tone will keep the willies at bay.”

The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives


William Stixrud - 2018
    Its message is one every parent needs to hear." --Tina Payne Bryson, co-author of The Whole Brain Child "Read it. Your children will thank you." - Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed A few years ago, Bill Stixrud and Ned Johnson started noticing the same problem from different angles: Even high-performing kids were coming to them acutely stressed and lacking any real motivation. Many complained that they had no control over their lives. Some stumbled in high school or hit college and unraveled. Bill is a clinical neuropsychologist who helps kids gripped by anxiety or struggling to learn. Ned is a motivational coach who runs an elite tutoring service. Together they discovered that the best antidote to stress is to give kids more of a sense of control over their lives. But this doesn't mean giving up your authority as a parent. In this groundbreaking book they reveal how you can actively help your child to sculpt a brain that is resilient, stress-proof and ready to take on new challenges.The Self-Driven Child offers a combination of cutting-edge brain science, the latest discoveries in behavioral therapy, and case studies drawn from the thousands of kids and teens Bill and Ned have helped over the years to teach you how to set your child on the real road to success. As parents, we can only drive our kids so far. At some point, they will have to take the wheel and map out their own path. But there is a lot you can do before then to help them find their passion and tackle the road ahead with courage and imagination.

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed


Jessica Lahey - 2014
    As teacher and writer Jessica Lahey explains, even though these parents see themselves as being highly responsive to their children’s well-being, they aren’t giving them the chance to experience failure—or the opportunity to learn to solve their own problems.Overparenting has the potential to ruin a child’s confidence and undermine their education, Lahey reminds us. Teachers don’t just teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. They teach responsibility, organization, manners, restraint, and foresight—important life skills children carry with them long after they leave the classroom. Providing a path toward solutions, Lahey lays out a blueprint with targeted advice for handling homework, report cards, social dynamics, and sports. Most importantly, she sets forth a plan to help parents learn to step back and embrace their children’s failures. Hard-hitting yet warm and wise, The Gift of Failure is essential reading for parents, educators, and psychologists nationwide who want to help their children succeed.

Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education


Laura M. Berquist - 1994
    She has given homeschoolers a valuable tool for putting together a "liberal arts" curriculum that feeds the soul, as well as the intellect. Her approach, covering grades K - 12, is detailed and practical, and it is adaptable by parents and teachers to any situation.This third revised edition includes a much expanded section for a high school curriculum, and an updated list of resources for all grades.

Laying Down the Rails for Yourself


Sonya Shafer - 2007
    It’s never too late to cultivate good habits! This compelling combination of vivid word pictures and descriptions from Charlotte Mason, helpful insights from modern research, and practical ideas from life experience will show you how you can successfully instill habits in your own life.

Roots, Shoots, Buckets Boots: Gardening Together with Children


Sharon Lovejoy - 1999
    Each project includes a plan and the planting recipe--as well as a "Discovery Walk," activities and crafts to make with what you grow. And each is illustrated with author Sharon Lovejoy's lyrical watercolors. There's the Pizza Patch, a giant-size wheel garden planted in "slices" of tomatoes, zucchini, oregano, and basil. A Flowery Maze to get lost in. A Moon Garden of night-blooming flowers, including a moonflower tent. And Mother Nature's Medicine Chest. Discovery Walks teach kids how the gardens work, and a chapter on gardening basics includes a child-friendly 10-Minute Plan for planting and maintenance, plus a list of the top 20 plants guaranteed to make gardeners out of kids.

The Read-Aloud Handbook


Jim Trelease - 1982
    Now this new edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook imparts the benefits, rewards, and importance of reading aloud to children of a new generation. Supported by delightful anecdotes as well as the latest research, The Read-Aloud Handbook offers proven techniques and strategies—and the reasoning behind them—for helping children discover the pleasures of reading and setting them on the road to becoming lifelong readers.

Homeschooling 101: A Guide to Getting Started


Erica Arndt - 2013
    Delving into the unknown can also create an element of self-doubt that fills your mind right off the bat. That coupled with an overwhelming task of choosing and gathering curriculum, creating lesson plans, organizing supplies, and teaching multiple grade levels can be quite disheartening.Don't worry! Homeschooling 101 is a step by step practical guide that will help you to get started, and continue on in your homeschooling journey. It is designed to help guide you through all of the steps to getting started, choosing and gathering curriculum, creating effective lesson plans, scheduling your day, organizing your home, staying the course and more! It even includes helpful homeschooling forms!

The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being


Simone Davies - 2018
    Toddlers can be tricky. On one hand they can be lovely. On the other hand they can be really hard work. They'll make you laugh. And they will probably bring you to tears. Or at least a high level of frustration.I felt the same way when my children were small and I was struggling to get them to do things. I felt enormous empathy for them, but wasn’t sure what the alternative was to threatening, bribing or putting them into time out.It’s been my mission since then to find another way. I’ve now been working in Montessori education for nearly 15 years and love to learn from the 100 toddlers and parents I see every week in my classroom. I am so happy to share with you what I have learned and help you understand your toddler better too.This book is the result. Your comprehensive guide to raising toddlers in a Montessori way.A quick aside for those of you that don't know Montessori. It is an alternative education system where, instead of the teacher standing at the front of the classroom telling the kids what they need to know, the children are free to explore a classroom of well-designed materials covering language, mathematics, daily life skills and more. The result is that the children are able to follow their unique natural rhythm and development as well as learn with concrete learning materials to make discoveries for themselves. But that's it. It's not just for school aged children - you can apply exactly the same ideas in your home and with your toddler.And when I say toddler, I'm talking about children around 1 to 3 years, give or take a few months.Each section of the book is super practical and it is beautifully designed to make it even easier to read. It’s perfect if you are a busy parent, carer or even grandparent. And it doesn't matter if you are brand new to Montessori or have been using Montessori for a while - or even if you aren't planning to send your children to Montessori school. You can read it from cover to cover. Or just open up the book at a page that interests you and you will find something practical you can try today.You’ll learn how to set up your home to get rid of the chaos and bring back some calm into your lives. You will get the tools to work together with your child. How you can lead, guide and support them, especially when they are having a hard time (and throwing themselves on the ground in the most inconvenient of places). You’ll also get ideas to create Montessori activities at home that are just right for your toddler. You will find answers to your questions. To see there is another more peaceful way to be with your toddler. To help you plant the seeds to raise a respectful and responsible human being. To work on a relationship with your toddler which you will be building on for years.So are you ready to say goodbye to frustration and hello to peace and calm? It’s time for us to learn to see through our toddler’s eyes - The Montessori Toddler.