Parents will learn how to transform their home into a learning environment that rivals the best preschool classroom by finding exciting learning opportunities in everyday occurrences, from using laundry to teach sorting to exploring growth cycles in the garden. Parents can make easy use of simple-to-start ideas, advice, and activities, as well as organizational tips, recipes, and more than 200 activities that are easy to pull together. In addition, there are convenient charts and checklists to document children’s growth, which will help ensure there are no gaps in educational, social, or physical development.

    What curriculum do I choose? What if we can’t afford all the books? How do I schedule our time? Will my children become socially awkward recluses? What if I screw up my kids’ education?! Lorilee Lippincott, a seasoned homeschooling mom, shows just how simple homeschooling can be. She and her husband taught their two kids in a one-bedroom apartment before picking up and moving the whole family to China. They’ve discovered that they don’t need rooms full of books, educational toys, and other teaching tools, nor do they need schedules packed full of extracurricular activities, field trips, and social events. Perhaps even more importantly, they don’t need to panic about making sure their kids turn out okay. It’s actually all pretty simple, she tells readers.But homeschooling well does require some planning and dedication, and a book like The Homeschooling Handbook to be your guide. Here you’ll find all your questions answered in Lippincott’s straightforward, warm, and witty style. Topics covered include:How to instill curiosity and a love of learningTypes of homeschoolingYour socialization fears assuagedHow to create simple schedules and stick to themTips for keeping costs downTeaching kids with disabilitiesThe benefits of play timeLegal requirementsHow to avoid burnoutAnd much more!Full of anecdotes, interviews with other homeschooling families, and wisdom, this is a must-have for any family considering the homeschooling life.

    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.

    From nature activities to conscious quiet time to tips on daily routines, CALM AND COMPASSIONATE CHILDREN provides practical guidance to help grown-ups model behavior and suggests dozens of activities to foster children's joy, wonder, kindness, and love. A parents' and teachers' guide to developing children's concentration, self-discipline, and compassion, as well as heartfelt qualities like openness and enthusiasm.Includes more than 90 techniques and exercises drawn from the author's experiences as a teacher and director of the Living Wisdom School, a nonprofit elementary school that emphasizes nonsectarian spiritual principles and practical skills for living.Recommends books, music, games, and other resources to help grown-ups nurture calm and compassionate kids.

    Her unique methodology as written about in her six-volume series established the necessary protocols for an education above and beyond that which can be found in traditional classroom settings. In A Charlotte Mason Education, Catherine Levison has collected the key points of Charlotte Mason's methods and presents them in a simple, straightforward way that will allow families to quickly maximize the opportunities of home schooling. With weekly schedules, a challenging and diverse curriculum will be inspire and educate your child. A Charlotte Mason Education is the latest tool for parents seeking the best education for their children.

    Hern examines how the day-to-day experience of school teaches subservience, deadens children's natural love of learning, undercuts their self-esteem, and limits independent thought.

    It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. And now it has been completely rewritten and updated. You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them – from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading, you learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author's message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science. Finally, the authors offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests whereby you can measure your own progress in reading skills, comprehension and speed.This a previously-published edition of ISBN 9780671212094

    The medieval and Renaissance teachers valued their insights and lofty goals. Christian educators such as Augustine, Erasmus, Milton, and Comenius drew from the teaching of Plato, Aristotle, and Quintilian those truths which they found universal and potent. Charlotte Mason developed her own philosophy of education from the riches of the past, not accidentally but purposefully. She and the other founding members of the Parents’ National Educational Union in England were inspired by the classical educators of history and set out to achieve their vision in modern education. They succeeded—and thanks to Charlotte Mason’s clear development of methods to realize the classical ideals, we can partake of the classical tradition as well. The classical tradition as it informs teaching is good not because it is old or “classical,” but because it works; and what works, whether old or new, is best. That’s the Mason message admirably conveyed by [Karen] Glass. —David V. Hicks Classical education is an education of the heart and conscience as much as it is an education of the mind. This book explores the classical emphasis on formation of character and links Charlotte Masons ideas to the thinkers of the past. This is not a “how to” book about education, but a “why to” book that will bring clarity to many of the ideas you already know about teaching and learning.

    You wonder what on Earth to do, so you get advice, read books, watch videos, ask the internet. And still, something's missing.You need a plan that addresses your child's needs, not everyone else's. Why couldn't children come with a handbook?Turns out, children are born with a handbook—they are the handbook.In The Child Whisperer, bestselling author Carol Tuttle explains that children tell their parents every day exactly how they need to be parented. They tell their teachers exactly how they need to be taught. Children are trying to tell adults who they are so they can be recognized and treated in a way that honors them uniquely. The Child Whisperer reveals that the key to raising happy, healthy, cooperative children lies in understanding and responding to a child's inner nature. Children's true natures are written in the shape of their faces and expressed daily in their appearance, body language, tone of voice, and choice of words. Your child's unique laugh, cry, joys, worries, and even tantrums speak volumes about they type of parenting they need. And you'll learn exactly how to offer it by reading The Child Whisperer. This simple but unique approach actually makes parenting more intuitive, fun, cooperative, and most importantly—customized to your individual child.The Child Whisperer will give you the tools to: - Have a happier, more cooperative child, using less discipline - Foster more confidence and natural success in your child - Repair trouble parent/teen relationships - Reconnect with your adult childrenThe Child Whisperer teaches how to read unsaid clues that children naturally give every day, and shows how parenting, teaching, coaching, and mentoring children can be an even more intuitive, cooperative experience than ever.Join the conversation and learn how to become a child whisperer too: http://thechildwhisperer.com/

    June R. Oberlander, a 19-year veteran kindergarten teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia, first published this book in 1988. Now her granddaughter, Hannah Oberlander, a current teacher in Loudoun County, Virginia, has updated and enhanced these classic activities for today's parents of the next generation.Organized in an easy-to-read format, these mini lessons prompt moms, dads, grandparents, caretakers, and guardians to play short, practical games with their children with step-by-step instructions, tips, and photos to guide them along the way. Activities are sorted for each age group between birth and kindergarten. Not only do they give a ballpark idea of how your child is developing, but also what activities and tasks he or she is currently ready for and what to be working towards over the weeks. Each activity has a box that clues parents in to which skills they are developing with their child. In addition, book ideas are referenced for each activity throughout Ages 3 and 4 to promote pre-reading skills and motivation.Slow and Steady Get Me Ready is like no other guide to developmental play ideas for today's child. These activities are tried and true to engage your youngster for specific purposes that will enrich his or her physical and mental growth during these crucial years of a child's life. No iPod app or electronic resource can replace a parent's face-to-face interaction with his or her child. Recognizing that time in every home is always scarce, these quick and simple activities foster parent-child contact that is not only constructive but also meaningful.Standards for kindergarten entrance and placement have risen over the past thirty years. Educators and experts have concluded that early and consistent stimulation before entering school is essential to a child's development. Thus, it's more important than ever before for parents and caretakers of young children to promote early development through motor skills, communication, and cognitive learning. Slow and Steady Get Me Ready For Kindergarten is just the tool! The most-rewarding job in the world is parenting, so why not get off on the right foot?

    These skill areas include sensory perceptions, body coordination, language, understanding of numbers, and movement. This practical, color-illustrated parenting book is filled with activities and instructions for overseeing children as they carry out a variety of learning activities. Most activities will seem simple to parents, because once mastered, adults perform them automatically. However, toddlers experience a sense of accomplishment and self-worth when they learn to perform them independently. The many activities start with dressing and personal hygiene, then go on to include . . .Pouring activitiesThreading and sewing activitiesPeg activitiesCutting with scissorsSorting activities by touchA color matching gameMaking musical scales with bottles and waterUsing alphabet tiles to make wordsGrowing things in a window boxMaking finger puppetsActivities are described in detail and include checklists of needed items, as well as variations and related activities for children to try.

    And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life. Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change.Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

    Beyond Survival offers practical help with the real questions of homeschooling and provides an extensive list of proven resources. With confidence and compassionate humor, this in- demand homeschool conference speaker leads veteran and beginners on a joy-filled educational journey.

    Children who believe they're smart excel more in school and approach life with greater confidence. But children who don't can struggle to apply themselves. Do you wish your child could see how smart he or she is?Find hope in "8 Great Smarts." You'll be empowered and equipped with new language and creative ideas for how to: Accept and affirm your child's unique smartsMotivate your child to learn and study with all 8 smartsReawaken any "paralyzed" smartsRedirect misbehavior in new, constructive waysGuide your child spiritually, relationally, and to a good career fitDr. Kathy Koch "loves "seeing children flourish and helping parents make it happen--and it's never too late to start. Now is the time to help your child be all that God designed him or her to be."For children of all ages, this application of the theory of multiple intelligences is a revised edition of "How Am I Smart?

    Your 'get up and go' has 'gotten up and went'. You used to think homeschooling was the best thing since sliced bread, but now you're feeling like burnt toast. Take heart-- you're not alone! Most homeschooling moms are prone to believing lies that say, you're not good enough...you aren't qualified...and you are ruining your children. If you believe these lies, you will crumble under the weight of homeschooling and feel defeated and alone. But if you learn to recognize these lies and combat with the TRUTH, then you will experience peace, joy, and freedom. Look inside these pages to discover the steps to combat the lies homeschooling moms believe and to fill your mind and heart with the truth.