But what if there were 50,000 small solutions to help us bridge that gap?In Closing the Vocabulary Gap, the author explores the increased demands of an academic curriculum and how closing the vocabulary gap between our 'word poor' and 'word rich' students could prove the vital difference between school failure and success.This must-read book presents the case for teacher-led efforts to develop students' vocabulary and provides practical solutions for teachers across the curriculum, incorporating easy-to-use tools, resources and classroom activities.

    Studies show that pausing to interact, playing to solve problems, diffusing with humor, and using repetition are the hidden clues conscious parents use to raise successful kids and help them learn critical thinking skills, foster empathy, and nurture their sense of self-worth. Angela C. Santomero, MA, the award-winning creator of children’s television phenomena knows this better than anyone and has spent decades working to instill confidence in her young viewers. In Preschool Clues, she breaks down the philosophy behind her shows—educating, inspiring, and empowering kids—into concrete strategies that parents and educators can incorporate into their family and classroom to set their preschoolers up for success, such as: -Intentionally pausing to foster bonding, independence, and resilience -Developing empathy and confidence through soliciting preschoolers’ help -Becoming “fluent” in the language of preschoolers: Play -Igniting your preschooler’s curiosity -Being an involved co-player everyday -Designing a healthy media diet In Preschool Clues, Angela shares the latest research from top thinkers in child development and education. Through her practical, straightforward advice and inspiring, conversational approach, you will not only understand exactly what your children are learning from the shows they watch and why these shows are so effective, you’ll know exactly how to apply these same proven approaches in your daily life and with the same powerful results.

    If you would like to facilitate the development of your child's unique personality, make it possible for him to develop to his full intellectual capacity, and help him become socially and emotionally well adjusted, then this is the book for you.Montessori Play and Learn is packed with ideas, activities, and games that can fit into your normal routine and help supplement preschool learning for your child. For planning your home, introducing your child to the supermarket or the neighborhood, and helping him discover other people and cultures, this book provides valuable tips and insights that help parents and children grow and learn together.-- Create hundreds of learning opportunities from everyday life-- Learn dozens of games and activities to help prepare children for mathematics, reading, science, and writing-- Make your home environment as stimulating for your child as the best Montessori preschool.

    At a time when the poor math performance of American school children has labeled us a "nation of underachievers," what can parents--often themselves daunted by the mysteries of mathematics--do to help their children? In Games for Math, Peggy Kaye--teacher extraordinaire and author of the highly praised Games for Reading--gives parents more than fifty marvelous and effective ways to help their children learn math by doing just what kids love best: playing games.

    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!

    Learn to love the ups and downs of parenting. Understand your child and respond better to their needs by following advice from parenting experts.Accepting that every child is unique, Child Psychology offers new approaches to parenting and explains how they can benefit your family, helping you to put them into practice straight away.Full of case studies and activities, and fresh, accessible and useful ideas, this Practical Guide will help you to guide your child through life’s challenges and support their learning and development.

    It offers hundreds of tips, warnings, and anecdotes from experienced educators--all in one warm and charming package. Benefit from their wisdom: ""Principals love a heads-up on both good and bad news. It only makes you look good if you keep the principal in the loop. Don't hide in your classroom "" --Fifth grade teacherLearn from their mistakes: ""Don't put off returning phone calls of a pushy parent. The longer you wait, the longer they have to think of new questions "" --U.S. History and Government teacherAnd remember that humor conquers all: ""When you're having a hard day, remember why you became a teacher in the first place. My neighbors wouldn't listen to me talk about environmental science, so I had to find a captive audience "" --Environmental Science teacher

    This practical resource shows teachers how to be effective and have a life! Author and educator Maia Heyck-Merlin explores the key habits of Together Teachers—how they plan ahead, organize work and their classrooms, and how they spend their limited free time. The end goal is always strong outcomes for their students. So what does Together, or Together Enough, look like? To some teachers it might mean neat filing systems. To others it might mean using time efficiently to get more done in fewer minutes. Regardless, Together Teachers all rely on the same skills. In six parts, the book clearly lays out these essential skills. Heyck-Merlin walks the reader through how to establish simple yet successful organizational systems. There are concrete steps that every teacher can implement to achieve greater stability and success in their classrooms and in their lives. Contains templates and tutorials to create and customize a personal organizational system and includes a companion website: www.thetogetherteacher.com Recommends various electronic or online tools to make a teacher's school day (and life!) more efficient and productive Includes a Reader's Guide, a great professional development resource; teachers will answer reflection questions, make notes about habits, and select tools that best match individual needs and preferences Ebook customers can access CD contents online.  Refer to the section in the Table of Contents labeled, Download CD/DVD Content, for detailed instructions.

    No matter what subject you teach, Content-Area Writing is for you, especially if youre juggling broad curriculum mandates, thick textbooks, and severe time constraints. It not only shows that incorporating carefully structured writing activities into your lessons actually increases understanding and achievement, but also proves how writing can save, not consume, valuable instructional time. Following up on Subjects Matterthe book that changed how tens of thousands of language arts, math, science, and social studies teachers use reading in their classroomsHarvey Daniels, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke now present the most thorough and practical exploration available of writing in the subject areas. Content-Area Writing guides you strategically through the two major types of writing that every student must know:Writing to Learn the quick, exploratory, and extemporaneous in-class writing that helps kids engage deeply with content, build connections, and retain what theyve learnedPublic Writing planned, constructed, and polished writing in which students demonstrate knowledge and reflect on what theyve learned. With their contagious combination of humor, irreverence, and classroom smarts, Daniels, Zemelman, and Steineke give you dozens of valuable lessons for encouraging growth in both types of writing with subject-specific ideas for planning, organizing, and teaching, as well as samples of student work and guidelines for evaluation and assessment. They also include detailed information on how their strategies fit into the writing process, how they can be used in writing workshops across the curriculum, and how they prepare students for testing and other on-demand writing situations. With writing, you can help students learn better, retain more, meet content- and skills-based standards, and tackle any test with confidence. No matter what you teach, read Content-Area Writing and discover for yourself that classroom time spent writing is classroom time well spent.

    Your Baby's First Year For Dummies serves as a complete guide for baby's first twelve months, from what to do when arriving home from the hospital to handling feeding, bathing, and sleeping routines to providing the right stimuli for optimal progress.This comprehensive yet no-nonsense guide can help new or even seasoned moms and dads looking for tips and advice to help with every aspect of their baby's development. During Baby's first year, at times things will go well: Baby's sleeping and eating well, she's hitting milestones on time, and you're balancing childcare with work or with housekeeping. Then again, there are times when things aren't great. This jargon-free book takes a realistic look at what Baby's first year might be like, month by month. You'll find it helpful if you're pregnant and wondering what Baby's first year will be like; you have given birth and want to know what the months ahead hold; you have given birth and need advice from a book that doesn't talk down to you or make you feel as though there's something wrong with you (because there's not) if you're having a hard time making the adjustment to parenthood.Packed with tips on every aspect of baby's physical, emotional, and social development, Your Baby's First Year For Dummies gives you advice on topics like the following:Bonding with BabyBreastfeeding vs. bottle-feedingBaby's first checkupBaby's checkups at two months, four months, six months, nine months, and twelve monthsSleeping habitsTeethingBaby toy safety and preventing injuriesFood preparation and food allergiesTraveling with your babySigns of common illnessesPlanning Baby's 1-year partyAnd much moreAdditionally, Your Baby's First Year For Dummies provides tips for surviving the first few weeks, Daddy survival tips, and advice on when to call your pediatrician (and when not to). If Baby has arrived or you expect her soon, get your copy to make every moment count.

    And not just during playtimes. We believe there is play in work and work in play, they write. It helps to have practical ways to carry that mindset into all aspects of the curriculum. In Purposeful Play, they share ways to:optimize and balance different types of play to deepen regular classroom learning teach into play to foster social-emotional skills and a growth mindset bring the impact of play into all your lessons across the day. We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning, Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. So they provide a host of lessons, suggestions for classroom setups, helpful tools and charts, curriculum connections, teaching points, and teaching language to help you foster mature play that makes every moment in your classroom instructional.Play doesn't only happen when work is over. Children show us time and time again that play is the way they work. In Purposeful Play, you'll find research-driven methods for making play an engine for rigorous learning in your classroom.

    She expected an easy, nine-to-five stint, but instead she discovered the vast, varied, and largely unknown world of nannies. Often overlooked and invisible, these women also hold great power in the families they work for. Blaine was learning what so many parents want to know: What does our nanny think of us? And what happens all day behind our front door? To find out, Blaine interviewed nannies all over the country and immersed herself in the lives of three of them. We meet Claudia, who left the Caribbean to become a nanny in New York and is struggling to support her own child she left behind.We get to know Vivian, a young, white, college-educated woman from Boston, who wins a Nanny of the Year award even as she absorbs the painful truth that her role in the family is shrinking as her charges grow up. And we witness the struggles of Kim, a top Texas nanny who dreams of having her own family, as she moves in with a couple expecting their first baby. In telling the true stories behind the fantasies and fears we have about nannies, Just Like Family takes us deep inside the lives of women whose job it is to love.

    Besides trying to balance teaching responsibilities and family life, they often face unrealistic expectations from relatives, churches, other homeschoolers, and society at large. Even parents considering homeschooling sense the need to be perfect.Sonya Haskins doesn't want any more families to give up on homeschooling. In this book she shares affirming stories and practical ideas from dozens of everyday families who successfully deal with cluttered schedules, academic struggles, sibling squabbles, and other real-life issues. Instead of learning a one-size-fits-all approach, readers will discover how to evaluate their own family's strengths and weaknesses and set their own goals for success.

     In this book, his priority is to help kids who don’t have the advantage of going to his school, Capital Prep.  He wants to save your kid, and the kid next door, and the kid down the street from getting a typical third-rate American education.  If you’re a parent who has worried recently about how depressed your child seems when he dresses for school in the morning…or how little of what happens during the school day seems to sink into her brain… or how much of your child’s homework is busywork, you need this book.   If you’re a teacher who is putting your heart and soul into the job but are surrounded by colleagues who are “phoning it in,” you need this book.  If you’re a committed, forward-thinking principal who wants to get rid of the faculty bad apples, but are continually stymied by Mafia-style teachers-unions, you need this book. *If you’re a citizen who worries about the $1 trillion-plus GDP loss that America suffers every year because our system of education doesn’t measure up, you need this book. In this solution-oriented manifesto, Steve Perry covers the full range of issues holding back today’s students.  He shows parents how to find great teachers (and get rid of the bad ones)…how to make readers out of kids who hate to read…how to make the school curriculum thrilling rather than sleep-inducing…how to conduct an all-important education “home audit”… how to “e-organize” if school boards and administrators aren’t getting the message…how to build a “school of the future,” and much more. The era of third-rate education is over.  Steve Perry isn’t going to let the fools and scoundrels get away with it any longer.  Push has come to shove!

    Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris rethink traditional teaching practices in  Who's Doing the Work: How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More . They review some common instructional mainstays such as read-aloud, guided reading, shared reading, and independent reading and provide small, yet powerful, adjustments to help hold students accountable for their learning.Next generation reading instruction is much more responsive to student needs and aims to remove some of the scaffolding that can hinder reader development. Instead of relying on teacher prompts,  Who's Doing the Work  asks teachers to have students take ownership of their reading by managing their challenges independently and working through any plateaus they encounter. Whether you are an elementary teacher, literacy coach, reading specialist, or parent,  Who's Doing the Work  provides numerous examples on how to readjust the reading process and teach students to gain proficiency and joy in their work.