Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues


Lindsey Biel - 2009
    Sensory integration dysfunction, also known as sensory processing disorder, affects all kinds of children-from those with developmental delays, attention problems, or autism spectrum disorders, to those without any other issues. Coauthored by a pediatric occupational therapist and a parent of a child with sensory issues, this updated and expanded edition of Raising a Sensory Smart Child is comprehensive and more helpful than ever. Learn: *How the senses actually work and integrate with each other *How and where to get the very best professional help *"Sensory diet" activities that meet your child's needs--including new tips and ideas for kids, teens, adults, and families *Practical solutions for daily challenges-from brushing teeth to getting dressed to picky eating to family gatherings *Using "sensory smarts" to help children with developmental delays, learning, and attention problems *The special challenges of helping children with autism and sensory issues * Ways to advocate for your child at school and make schools "sensory smart" *How to empower your child and teen in the world *Complementary therapies, resources, and helpful web sites In all, the most comprehensive guide to sensory processing challenges is now more detailed and useful than ever. Loved and celebrated by parents, teachers, therapists, doctors and others, the new edition of Raising a Sensory Smart Child is a must-have volume for anyone who cares about a child with sensory issues. ***WINNER of the NAPPA GOLD AWARD and iPARENTING MEDIA AWARD***

How to Raise Kind Kids: And Get Respect, Gratitude, and a Happier Family in the Bargain


Thomas Lickona - 2018
    But that is not the same as knowing what to do when you catch your son being unkind. A world-renowned developmental psychologist, Dr. Thomas Lickona has led the character education movement in schools for forty years. Now he shares with parents the vital tools they need to bring peace and foster cooperation at home. Kindness doesn't stand on its own. It needs a supporting cast of other essential virtues--like courage, self-control, respect, and gratitude.With concrete examples drawn from the many families Dr. Lickona has worked with over the years and clear tips you can act on tonight, How to Raise Kind Kids will help you give and get respect, hold family meetings to tackle persistent problems, discipline in a way that builds character, and improve the dynamic of your relationship with your children while putting them on the path to a happier and more fulfilling life.

Different: The Story of an Outside-The-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him


Sally Clarkson - 2017
    He saw the world through his own unique lens--one that often caused him to be labeled as "bad," "troubled," or someone in need of "fixing."Bravely choosing to listen to her motherly intuition rather than the loud voices of the world, Sally dared to believe that Nathan's differences could be part of an intentional design from a loving Creator with a plan for his life. She trusted that the things that made him different were the very things that could make him great.Join Sally and Nathan as they share their stories from a personal perspective as mother and son. If you are in need of help and hope in your own journey with an outside-the-box child, or if you're an adult trying to make sense of your differences, you'll find deep insight, resonance, and encouragement in the pages of this book. Dare to love and nurture the "different" one in your life.

Here's the Plan.: Your Practical, Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood


Allyson Downey - 2016
    The most focused, confident, and ambitious women can find themselves derailed by a tiny little thing: a new baby. While more workplaces are espousing family-friendly cultures, women are still subject to a "parenting penalty" and high-profile conflicts between parenting and the workplace are all over the news: from the controversy over companies covering the costs of egg-freezing to the debate over parental leave and childcare inspired by Marissa Mayer's policies at Yahoo. Here's the Plan offers an inventive and inspiring roadmap for working mothers steering their careers through the parenting years. Author Allyson Downey, founder of weeSpring, the "Yelp for baby products,” and mother of two young children advises readers on all practical aspects of ladder-climbing while parenting, such as negotiating leave, flex time, and promotions. In the style of #GIRLBOSS or Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, Here's the Plan is the definitive guide for ambitious mothers, written by one working mother to another.

Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear


Kim Brooks - 2018
    What happened would consume the next several years of her life and spur her to investigate the broader role America's culture of fear plays in parenthood. In Small Animals, Brooks asks, Of all the emotions inherent in parenting, is there any more universal or profound than fear? Why have our notions of what it means to be a good parent changed so radically? In what ways do these changes impact the lives of parents, children, and the structure of society at large? And what, in the end, does the rise of fearful parenting tell us about ourselves?Fueled by urgency and the emotional intensity of Brooks's own story, Small Animals is a riveting examination of the ways our culture of competitive, anxious, and judgmental parenting has profoundly altered the experiences of parents and children. In her signature style--by turns funny, penetrating, and always illuminating--which has dazzled millions of fans and been called "striking" by New York Times Book Review and "beautiful" by the National Book Critics Circle, Brooks offers a provocative, compelling portrait of parenthood in America and calls us to examine what we most value in our relationships with our children and one another.

Thirty Million Words: Building a Child's Brain


Dana Suskind - 2015
    The children who heard more words were better prepared when they entered school. These same kids, when followed into third grade, had bigger vocabularies, were stronger readers, and got higher test scores. This disparity in learning is referred to as the achievement gap.Professor Dana Suskind, MD, learned of this thirty million word gap in the course of her work as a cochlear implant surgeon at University of Chicago Medical School and began a new research program along with her sister-in-law, Beth Suskind, to find the best ways to bridge that gap. The Thirty Million Word Initiative has developed programs for parents to show the kind of parent-child communication that enables optimal neural development and has tested the programs in and around Chicago across demographic groups. They boil down to getting parents to follow the three Ts: Tune in to what your child is doing; Talk more to your child using lots of descriptive words; and Take turns with your child as you engage in conversation. Parents are shown how to make the words they serve up more enriching. For example, instead of telling a child, “Put your shoes on,” one might say instead, “It is time to go out. What do we have to do?” The lab's new five-year longitudinal research program has just received funding so they can further corroborate their results. The neuroscience of brain plasticity is some of the most valuable and revolutionary medical science being done today. It enables us to think and do better. It is making a difference in the lives of both the old and young.  If you care for children, this landmark book is essential reading.

The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+: Winning Strategies to Make Your Money Last a Lifetime


Suze Orman - 2020
    It is most definitely not your par-ents' retirement. You will have to make deci-sions that weren't even part of the picture a generation ago. Without a clear-cut path to manage the money you've saved, you may feel like you're all on your own.Except you're not--because Suze Orman has your back.Suze is America's most recognized per-sonal finance expert for a reason. She's been dispensing actionable advice for years to people seeking financial security. Now, in The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+, she gives you the no-nonsense advice and practical tools you need to plan wisely for your retirement in today's ever-changing landscape. You'll find new rules for downsizing, spending wisely, delaying Social Security benefits, and more-starting where you are right now.Suze knows money decisions are never just about money. She understands your hopes, your fears, your wishes, and your desires for your own life as well as for your loved ones. She will guide you on how to let go of regret and fear, and with her unparal-leled knowledge and unique empathy, she will reveal practical and personal steps so you can always live your Ultimate Retirement life."I wrote this book for you," Suze says. "The worried, the fearful, the anxious. I know you need help navigating the road ahead. I've helped steer people toward happy and secure retirements my whole life, and that's exactly what I want to do for you."

Mom Babble: The Messy Truth about Motherhood


Mary Katherine Backstrom - 2020
    In other words she spends her days relishing in the beautiful, constant noise that is a life with children.In Mom Babble Mary Katherine (MK) Backstrom, founder and personality behind the Mom Babble online community, offers up hope, humor, and spiritual inspiration to families in the trenches of parenthood. With laughter, crying, and eye-rolls MK's, oh so, real essays about raising littles will delight all the not perfect, not always holy, not completely normal, messy, honest and wonderful moms that read them. MK's conversational approach connects with readers like dear friends cozied up on a coffee date.Praise for Mary Katherine Backstrom"I love how honest and relatable Mary Katherine is in her writing. When an author is raw, it is easy to make a connection to their work."- Meredith Masony, Founder of That's Inappropriate"One of Facebook's funniest parents!" - Today Show Parenting Team"Mary Katherine brings love, wisdom, compassion, humor, and insight to her writing that is a must read for every parent." - Love What Matters"I have probably read more parenting essays than anyone on the planet, and Mary Katherine's voice still surprises me. I laugh out loud, cry, and recall the magic of being a mother in those fresh early years. She is a friend to the struggling moms in the trenches of motherhood." - Jill Smokler, Founder of Scary Mommy and New York Times Best-selling author"Thank you for cracking us up." - Today with Hoda & JennaProduct Features:Features funny and relatable personal essays. Expands on Backstrom's already popular Mom Babble community posts and stories. Includes a forward by Meredith Masony, founder of That's Inappropriate and That's Inappropriate Parents online communities with nearly 1 million followers across multiple channels. 4-color photographs throughout. Grain embossed hardcover with ribbon.

Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child


John M. Gottman - 1997
    But children also need to master their emotions. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is a guide to teaching children to understand and regulate their emotional world. And as acclaimed psychologist and researcher John Gottman shows, once they master this important life skill, emotionally intelligent children will enjoy increased self-confidence, greater physical health, better performance in school, and healthier social relationships. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will equip parents with a five-step “emotion coaching” process that teaches how to: -Be aware of a child's emotions -Recognize emotional expression as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching -Listen empathetically and validate a child's feelings -Label emotions in words a child can understand -Help a child come up with an appropriate way to solve a problem or deal with an upsetting issue or situation Written for parents of children of all ages, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will enrich the bonds between parent and child and contribute immeasurably to the development of a generation of emotionally healthy adults.

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.

Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America's Schools


Tom Little - 2015
    In this book, his life’s work, he interweaves his teaching experience, the knowledge he gleaned from his trip, and the history of Progressive Education. As Little and Katherine Ellison reveal, these educators and schools invigorate learning and promote inquisitiveness by allowing the curriculum to grow organically out of children's questions—whether they lead to studying the senses, working on a farm, or re-creating a desert ecosystem in the classroom.We see curious students draw on information across disciplines to think in imaginative yet practical ways, like in a "Mini-Maker Faire" or designing and building a chair from scratch. Becoming good citizens was another of Little's goals. He believed in the need for students to learn how to become advocates for themselves, from setting rules on the playground to engaging in issues of social justice in the wider community.Using the philosophy of Progressive Education, schools can prepare students to shape a vibrant future in the arts and sciences for themselves and the nation.

Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool


Hal Edward Runkel - 2005
    . . Tonight ScreamFree Parenting is not just about lowering your voice. It’s about learning to calm your emotional reactions and learning to focus on your own behavior more than your kids’ behavior . . . for their benefit. Our biggest enemy as parents is not the TV, the Internet, or even drugs. Our biggest enemy is our own emotional reactivity. When we say we “lost it” with our kids, the “it” in that sentence is our own adulthood. And then we wonder why our kids have so little respect for us, why our kids seem to have all the power in the family. It’s time to do it differently. And you can. You can start to create and enjoy the types of calm, mutually respectful, and loving relationships with your kids that you’ve always craved. You can begin to revolutionize your family, starting tonight. Parenting is not about kids, it’s about parents. If you’re not in control, then you cannot be in charge. What every kid really needs are parents who are able to keep their cool no matter what.

The Artful Read-Aloud: 10 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and Transform Learning


Rebecca Bellingham - 2019
    Rebecca brings us back to our better selves! -Naomi Shihab NyeIt's no secret that reading aloud to children every single day is one of the most important things any teacher, parent, or grown up can do to help children become better readers, thinkers, and frankly, better human beings. There are many resources available-scores of books, articles, web sites, videos, podcasts, and more that highlight the research on why reading aloud to kids is so vital, how to incorporate it into the day, and lists of texts to choose from for each grade level.The Artful Read-Aloud is a user-friendly guide that builds a bridge between the artistic world and the classroom, providing a deeper dive into the artistry of reading aloud. Rebecca Bellingham draws on her experience as a performer, teaching artist, classroom teacher, and literacy coach to make explicit connections between the arts and reading aloud, providing dozens of easy moves teachers can make that can enhance, elevate, and deepen the impact of interactive read-alouds.Each chapter focuses on a specific guiding principle that is drawn from the arts and is meant to spark engagement, provoke inquiry, and inspire deep thinking. She includes practical tips for how to bring each principle to life in the classroom, including:how to embody the text by making small shifts with your body and voice to bring the words to life, helping kids envision different characters and their actions more completely learning when to slow down, pause, and read in an deliberate and careful way to give kids time to think, feel, process, and connect when and how to create opportunities for talk, giving kids the space to ask questions and reflect on what they notice, wonder, and predict how to give kids a chance to move around as they try on characters, recreate scenes, learn about new concepts, and live inside the book prioritizing read alouds that give students practice listening to and learning from diverse voices while creating space for meaningful conversation about important issues relating to injustice, identity, inequality, and more ways to be intentional in your choices, from matching books to the students in front of you to choosing passages that support instructional goals and teaching points. Reading aloud to your students supports a balanced, rigorous, and joyful literacy curriculum that not only feeds the souls and minds of your students but your own as well. Dip into The Artful Read-Aloud and see what's possible inside your daily read-alouds. By learning to make simple moves that model what real reading looks and sounds like you can help your students become the kind of readers all of us hope they will become: engaged, thoughtful, lifelong ones.

In the Days of Rain: A Daughter, a Father, a Cult


Rebecca Stott - 2017
    Her family dated back to the group's origins in the first half of the nineteenth century, and her father was a high-ranking minister. However, as an intelligent, inquiring child, Stott was always asking dangerous questions and so, it turns out, was her father, who was also full of doubt. When a sex scandal tore the Exclusive Brethren apart in 1970, her father pulled the family out of the cult. But its impact on their lives shaped everything before and all that was to come.The Iron Room (named for the windowless meeting houses made of corrugated iron where the Brethren would worship) is Stott's attempt to understand and even forgive her father: a brilliant, charismatic, difficult, and at times cruel man who nonetheless inspired his daughter with his love of literature, film, and art and with his passion for life.

I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time


Laura Vanderkam - 2015
    Now the acclaimed author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast shows how real working women with families are actually making the most of their time.“Having it all” has become the subject of countless books, articles, debates, and social media commentary, with emotions running high in all directions. Many now believe this to be gospel truth: Any woman who wants to advance in a challenging career has to make huge sacrifices. She’s unlikely to have a happy marriage, quality time with her kids (assuming she can have kids at all), a social life, hobbies, or even a decent night’s sleep--but what if balancing work and family is actually not as hard as it’s made out to be? What if all those tragic anecdotes ignore the women who quietly but consistently do just fine with the juggle?Instead of relying on scattered stories, time management expert Laura Vanderkam set out to add hard data to the debate. She collected hour-by-hour time logs from 1,001 days in the lives of women who make at least $100,000 a year, and she found some surprising patterns in how these women spend the 168 hours that every one of us has each week. Overall, these women worked less and slept more than they assumed they did before they started tracking their time. They went jogging or to the gym, played with their children, scheduled date nights with their significant others, and had lunches with friends. They made time for the things that gave them pleasure and meaning, fitting the pieces together like tiles in a mosaic—without adhering to overly rigid schedules that would eliminate flexibility and spontaneity. With examples from hundreds of real women, I Know How She Does It proves that women don’t have to give up the things they really want.