Teaching Resources Books

I purchased this book simply to replace my original copy, which I loaned out and which was never returned. Reading this book has been a favorite part of my Christmas for many years. While I regret losing my old copy, I am thankful I will now be able to carry on this tradition.

It's a fun story about an untraditional Christmas play. It shows how good can come of seemingly negative changes and find some unexpected, meaningful outcomes.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The worst kids in the neighborhood decide to be in the annual Christmas Pageant and turn the weeks leading up to the event into a very funny, read. I've read this book to many classrooms of children over the years and it's guaranteed to make them listen and laugh.

...

I like books and I don't know if this is my favorite book but it is excellent. We read it as a family every year at Christmas. It never fails to touch me. It is fun with a redeeming message.

I have read this book at least once a year for 15yrs and now I'm reading it to my kids. It's a quick read, I can't put it down.

Let me start by saying I've become thrifty since I had children. Given that I don't work outside the home as much as I once did, I've been getting my books from the library at least as much as I've been buying them, but this is a book I have to own!

Jim Trelease is "preaching to the choir" with me, as we read to our children before they were even born, and then continued since the day they were born. My husband and I are both big readers, and we enjoy reading to our children every day. I initially got this book (from the library) to look at the list of suggested titles to read aloud. I wanted suggestions that would make sense for my children and their respective ages/abilities, including titles I might not otherwise come across....I thought I'd skim quickly through the front half of the book (the research which is meant to inspire parents to read to their children) since I was already motivated to do so. I wanted to get to the list of titles. But I found myself stopping to read the research with excitement and added motivation.

I picked up tips about the types of books to choose, the fact that we can read (and should read) aloud to our kids until they are teens (my sister whose children are 9 and 12 had mistakenly been thinking that she shouldn't read to them much anymore in order to force them to do most of it themselves....she was thrilled to hear that she should continue to read aloud to them and went immediately to the library to get some books), the ways to present even more opportunities to our children to read, etc. For example, this morning I read a section in The Read Aloud Handbook about how to get a 12 year old to sit still for a reading, and the author suggested reading to the child while the child is washing the dishes. The book shows a photo of the author doing this with his own son when the son was 12 (the son is now ~40). The author goes on to say that when he suggests this to parents, he gets some funny looks, and he points out to them that if there is a 12 year old in the house who doesn't have to do the dishes, then that child has a higher IQ than the parent ! :-)

This morning, my husband read a little to my son, who is 5 1/2, while he was eating breakfast, and when I wanted to motivate my son to come brush his teeth before school, I lured him with the book. I got no complaints about coming (which I usually do), and between my husband and I, we knocked off a chapter in the book!

There are so many little tips in the book, and the book is an incredible source for suggestions of books to read aloud. The author has a website which includes many of these book recommendations, I think, and even updated ones since the book went to print in 2006.

Yes, I got this book out of the library, but thrifty as I am, I am going to have to buy a copy of this book as it has so much information for the many years to come that I know I'll want to reference it again and again as I choose books to read to my children.

A great book and resource for parents. It is so important to get children involved with books early on. No better way is to read to them and interact with them and at the same time teach them reading skills.

Just like some things can only be learned through experience, some books cannot be summarized. They must be READ. Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook is one such book. There is no short-cut.

This book is chock-full of "Wake up, America: We're killing our readers!" statistics and anecdotes. Parents and Educators of all levels need to read and, in the words of Kevin from Freak The Mighty (Scholastic Signature): "Be Amazed."

The gist is, nothing in education is more important than the goal of creating lifelong readers. Besides the duh-factor of not being able to do anything else in academics if one is not truly literate, for the good of society, for the good of our posterity, for our own personal gain, nothing replaces lifelong reading. And yet, in Chapter 1, Trelease demonstrates to the readers that "By twelfth grade, only 19 percent read anything for pleasure daily." In Trelease's own words: "Any business that kept losing that much of its customer base would be in bankruptcy."

I am a parent. I am a teacher. From both standpoints, I can tell you that Trelease is absolutely, completely and totally correct. Education must be built on the foundation of true literacy, and Trelease's argument is that true literacy cannot be attained without voluntary reading.

Therefore, once again, it is the moral and societal obligation of education to create lifelong readers.

I am only touching on one part of this significant work. Besides being monumentally important for parents and educators, it's actually a fairly interesting read. Trelease throws in the perfect balance of anecdotes and statistics to keep the reader entranced. And while the bibliography for recommended read-alouds is in now way comprehensive, it is certainly a great place to start.

This book is on my Top 10 list. If you're a parent, read it, and then ask the principal of your child's school to read it. Our future as a society might well depend upon it.

This book is appropriate for every caring parent. I am a homeschooling mother of three and I can't recommend it highly enough. After reading the library's copy I had to buy my own copy, plus several for friends and family members who have kids. It is full of high-quality info and ideas about reading to children, and about them ultimately reading to themselves. There is also an organized and valuable "recommended books" list in the back. Wonderful!

Suggested by our daughter's teacher. Wish we could adhere to the guidelines regularly. The argument is sound and definitely gave us food for thought about how we teach our kids to relate to books and think about the written word. Recommended if you wish to share your passion with reading with your kids.

The book is perfect for my 6 year old. She had to read it for school..and we truly enjoy the Frog and Toad books. The seller sent it in a timely fashion and it was in excellent condition :)

The Frog and Toad books have helped my 8 year old grandson learn to read--he has been having trouble and these books were so interesting and fun to him that he finally realized how reading could open up whole new worlds for him. He loves these books.

I've read this book over and over and over again to my kids... they're now adults, but they still remember Frog and Toad.

An absolute classic book of short stories - my favorite is the one where one of them is in bed all winter, and the other one is bored, so he tells the sleeping one to wake up because it's spring, even though it isn't quite spring yet... just too cute. They're friends, they love each other - what more could you want in a story that you'll read to a child? One of my family's favorite bedtime books. I look forward to reading this classic to my grandchildren.

And Remember: all Toads are Frogs, but not all Frogs are Toads.

'Frog and Toad Are Friends' by Arnold Lobel is a story is most appropriate for children ages 4-8. This is a great story of friendship between Frog and Toad. Toad tells stories to Frog when Frog is sick, Frog helps search for Toad's lost button, and Frog writes a letter to Toad because he never receives any mail. This book is full of tales of friendship and adventure. Read this book to see all that Toad and Frog do on their adventures.

The books were in excellent condition and arrived earlier than expected. I had checked all local used bookstores. They were not available because of the high demand in our district. Similar books were the same price as Amazon's including shipment. I will not be going to used bookstores again. Amazon saved me time, money & gas!

As a Christian home schooling mom, I always felt that there was something more that I could be doing for my children. I just couldn't put my finger on what that was. Of course, this was because I was still blinded by the world's educational system, and by their standards I was doing above and beyond. I taught them reading, math, spelling, history, science, and more but I never felt peace about the whole process. That is until I read The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach by Robin Sampson. It was only then that everything began to make sense. Not only did this book open my eyes but it opened my spirit to receive a wealth of wisdom based on God's Word.

This book contains over 500 pages of solid biblical principles to apply to your vision for your child's education. Robin spent more than twenty years researching and seeking God to find our biblical history and she put it into this book. It will teach you so that you can teach them. It will give you revelation and insight to what truly matters and what doesn't. You will be relieved of all the traditions and learned behaviors you have been accustomed to and you will begin to see just how easy it is to breathe life into your children. You will see them come alive with a desire to learn more. That in itself is priceless.

In the first section, Lessons from Exodus, Robin shares her personal struggles with home schooling. I found it to be very similar to my own battles. She addresses issues like: Why am I so frustrated? Why don't the kids enjoy learning? Am I doing the right thing? Is this enough? I felt right at home reading about these burdens most of us face on a daily basis. In fact, once I started reading I could hardly put it down. I was learning how to let God lead me on this journey. I was retraining my mind to think His way. It was so freeing.

In section two Robin will take you back to your roots and reveal the inner thoughts of God and the purpose of man. She exposes where the fruit turned sour and weeds began to grow. This history lesson made me wish I had been one of her children seated at the kitchen table and soaking up knowledge from her diligent studies. I now understand my history. I know more about who Jesus is and that is helpful if I am to aspire to be just like him. If you want the truth go to the source. Robin will take you there.

In section three of this book she discusses the Heart of Wisdom methods. They are a collection of time proven techniques that actually work. They embrace and teach to every part of the child's being. Some of those that are discussed include the Charlotte Mason method, the Delight Directed Approach, Writing to Learn, Critical Thinking and Logic, and Unit Studies. There is also an in depth chapter on learning styles and the Four Step HOW Process: Excite, Examine, Expand, and Excel.

Sections four and five give you instructions and ideas to implement and create a perfect God centered learning process for your children. You will read the detailed HOW plan overview and the meaty guide for bible study. She will teach you to develop your own unit studies, create notebooks, and how to schedule by faith. After all it is all in God's timing, right? There is also an exhaustive list of resources that will leave you with need for nothing else but the presence of God.

The best part about the whole approach is that I can incorporate the materials I currently have and use, make my own, or purchase Robin's Unit Studies from the Heart of Wisdom website. In addition to that I need a bible, a pencil, and paper. How awesome is that?

This book is bible based, intelligently written, captivating to read, and abundant in life changing truth. This book is a definite must-have for any home library. I recommend it even if you don't home school. Every Christian should learn about their heritage. Every Christian should have a Heart of Wisdom.

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
--Psalm 90:12

Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach is like going to a grand buffet. There is a little bit of everything, and it's all delicious! The book includes, but is not limited to, a synopsis of Robin Sampson's own personal experience of why she began homeschooling, a history of education including a comparison between Hebraic methods of teaching/learning against the Greek approach, four different methods of learning and teaching approaches, and an extensive collection of resources to check out. The book is very well organized making it easy to use this book as a ready, frequently used resource.

Very informative and helpful. It gives you lots of options and ideas in homeschooling the Biblical way.
Neat historical information included. A few thing I wasn't impressed with but very minor. Still a good book.

Robin Sampson hits really strong on Bible first-and-all-day-in-every-subject.

Sampson also is a big promoter of the 4mat method which in a nutshell is: get them excited about the subject, study it, and show what you learned. You show what you learned best by lapbooking (scrapfolder) or notebooking or some other project- maybe a diorama or something.

Well, I am a strong believer in lots of Bible, but I did not teach it all school day. So, in that area, I was really challenged. I have committed to do this now.

If you have not read her book... I cannot recommend it highly enough. No other homeschool book has been more valuable. Worth every penny.

I read this book a year ago and it was great! But it was a new approach for me and it was very helpful. I've been actually using the different approaches she mentions in her book and have adapted them to our family's needs. I decided to reread the book, and boy am I glad I did! I understood more about where she was coming. If you are new to the Charlot Mason, this is a great beginning! Plus, you will LOVE Robin's 4Mat System!!! I have no doubt, this Homeschooling book is a MUST READ! and a MUST READ AGAIN:)

I have been teaching for awhile but this book is great for new and experienced teachers and excellent for college students studying courses in child development curriculum. It is broken down alphabetically by themes. Some examples include-seasons, holidays, ants, just to name a few. At the beginning of each theme there is a parent letter that explains what will be happening in your class. Then for all aspects of your students learning, the subject is broken down into different areas that support ways to implement the material- songs,fingerplays,math,science,language(supporting stories), art activities etc...
Overall, a great resource for early educators-especially if you run out of ideas!!!!!

This book is a great resource for teachers. It has wonderful ideas in it.

This book was purchased as a classroom requirement for my daughter's community college course. As a teacher, I don't generally buy resource or idea books, but this is a good one for the beginner or someone who does not have the time to search for ideas. Although it is costly, its a better investment than numerous small books. I feel that the way that the author chose to organize it could have been better; so be sure to read through the entire book as ideas for what you're looking for may be hidden under other topic headings!

I am a stay at home mom and have used this book to help keep my toddler busy. It is great. Every theme has activities for all areas of learning and has great book/DVD/website resources. If it's this great for a parent - it would be wonderful for a teacher!!

This is a great book. Used it as a college student, and kept it handy in the classroom like a bible. Great stuff!!!

I guess that's what the intent of this book and it gives examples from an expert in Training. The articles from several experts in the field of training also supports the content and adds value.
Recommended if you need an overview, although in some chapters goes into details. Yet, there are several other books that focus on preparation, presentation, evaluation etc. which might be more focused on these topics.

I am a project management trainer. This book gives and reminds all the things. What the trainer is, adults learn, the training cycle, increasing participation, icebreakers etc... In fact I like the "dummies" series. I recommend it.

One of the pitfalls of being a training specialist for such a long time is that it is easy to become complacent with your knowledge level and your writing habits. "Training for Dummies," which should be titled "Training for Schmarties" is one of those books that will help you avoid that.

Author, Elaine Biech covers the instructional systems design model (ISD) or A.D.D.I.E., in detail. These are analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. She states the difference between what it means to be a teacher vs. being a trainer. This is one of the only texts I have seen that offers some construction of an instructional design draft, although I wish she would have shown and explained a two-column format in depth. She did provide samples of a three- and four-column format.

Biech goes into overdrive regarding implementation from room set-up, the things that could go wrong, dealing with nervousness, and handling the disruptive influence, all types of them, to mention just a few. She also covers the four (or five if you prefer) levels of evaluation superbly.

One area I was hoping that she would address is how trainers can deal with managers who make disastrous training decisions that will be a supreme waste of time and money, but will blame the trainer rather than recognizing their decision as the reason for failure. (I was once asked to do training to control or reduce absenteeism. Thank God, he had a poor memory)! This is a constant uphill battle for trainers and I see half-hearted training efforts squandered on almost a weekly basis. (If you're out there reading this, no, you can't have Team Building in only one day Why? Because it's not enough time to build teams, dummy)!

I have a few dozen texts on training. If you could only have one of them, this would be the one I would give you. If you're serious about training, it is one book you need to keep on your table instead of your shelf.

Remember...

No train, no gain.



P.S. Don't get overconfident if you have a full seminar in Hawaii or Scottsdale, AZ. They might have other reasons for being there.

Although I've been a trainer for years, this book reminded me of some basic training concepts I have not used in a while.

Don't feel silly for getting this book just because it says "for dummies."
I have a masters in training so I wouldn't say I am a dummy in the field, and I believe this book is a fantastic resource to remind you of many training techniques and principles. I Def. Recommend!!!!

This is a great book--full of real-life disciple-making from someone who is doing it. I'm amazed every time I go to Xenos. Denis McCallum, the founder and one of the two senior pastors at Xenos Christian Fellowship, is making active disciples from among non-Christian people. He's actually practicing what he writes about in this book. I've been in the McCallum home on two different occassions and each time, the home was filled with young people who they are discipling--jsut like he writes about in this book. Buy it, read it, and do what it says.

We purchased twenty copies which we used as a text book for a 13 week class at church, mixed men and women. The thrust of the class was to help the students know what is involved in finding, mentoring, teaching, and releasing a disciple in a one-on-one long term committed relationship. The book made a good back drop for the course in so far as it gave us a track to run on, since none of us had taught this subject before. As the teacher, I found several of the chapters to be spot on target and I used them pretty much exclusively for about half the course. Other chapters however were either weaker in content or just didn't cut to the specific deliverable I wanted to get across, so I supplemented with independent material. Several of my students had gone to the church website (Xenos) to check it out and were a little worried about the "casual" approach to ministering. Our church takes a more conservative approach and some behaviors that are considered culturally permissible, like smoking, course language, etc. we tend to frown on and believe the Holy Spirit through the process of Sanctification will cleanse the mature believer of. We therefore don't condone or model those behaviors in an attempt to woo the non or immature believer into sticking with us. Fortunately almost none of this came out in the book. Moreover, the book (and Xenos fellowship) rely heavily on "cell churches" which we also do not subscribe to. This method did come out in the book and so I had to customize the content for my class when it did. This was not a problem though. All in all, I'm glad I chose the book because it lived up to its "organic" name. That is, it got right to the heart of mentoring one on one, as opposed to many books I've seen that are more "clinical" or targeted to my own discipleship and walk with the Lord. This book definitely got us into the messy "human-ness" of one man pouring his life into another man, or woman to woman.

I really liked the book. It had the right theological framework necessary to grow God's people and care for the flock as well as providing very practical advise for helping those that want to engage in discipleship at different levels.

I found the section on professional counseling rather difficult. I lean toward Biblical counseling which empowers God's people to counsel at different levels. I cringe at the advise most people get when they see psychiatrists. The problem is real, however. You were brave enough to speak about it. I would think something not so sophisticated speaking about this might be more appropriate for the readers of this book.

Your section on quality conversation and friendship making will surely be helpful to some.

It is a good basic book that helps people trying to make discipleship work in their cell groups.
I already started talking about your book and will pass it on to some of our pastors

For a number of years now I've been working on a practical how-to book on discipleship. Dennis McCallum has beaten me to the punch with Organic Disciple Making. He's written the most practical book on how to disciple people I've ever read.

Time and time again I find myself saying, "Yup, he nailed that one; that's how it works." For example, early on the book covers the subject of modeling and its key role in making disciples. Later it delves into the practical questions of how you counsel and disciple through various issues or how you deal with blocks in their development.

For example McCallum distinguishes the difference between weakness and resistance and the appropriate response of a disciple maker. A disciple struggling with weakness generally needs encouragement, whereas a disciple who is resistant often needs confrontation and possibly discipline.

I loved that the book had a whole section on coaching and I loved that its counsel is both biblically grounded and rooted in the everyday experience of someone who leads 250 home churches. I've read so many books on discipleship and few drill down to address the questions ordinary people have as they struggle to help their disciples grow.

All of us who have committed ourselves to following Jesus and representing his name need to learn how to make disciples. It was the last thing he asked us to do before leaving the earth. If you as a Jesus-follower feel like you need help in learning how to do this in a way that feels natural, do yourself a favor and get Organic Disciple Making.

In the long tradition of The Lost Art of Disciple Making, Multiplying Disciples, and Disciples Are Made, Not Born, Organic Disciplemaking: How to promote Christian leadership development through personal relationships, biblical discipleship, mentoring, and Christian community is designed to do more than tell about the need for making disciples of Jesus. This is a book that painstakingly provides a path from start to finish.

This book has the potential to be used by small group coaches to disciple and develop small group leaders. With today's small group ministries launching groups with leaders just a step ahead of their members, this could be a very helpful resource providing a pathway for mentoring.

In its pages you will find more than stories of how it's working at Xenos. You'll also find the practical steps needed to begin a disciplemaking ministry in your own church. More importantly, you may find the inspiration to look for one life to pour into. After all, that is the point.

You might wonder if Psalms, written thousands of years ago, could have any application in your life. Our women's group just finished "Stepping Up" and we all felt it was inspiring and brought changes in our spiritual lives. The Psalms apply to modern living, too!
We experienced Hurricane Ike right after the study began. We were so comforted by the words of these ancient writings. Beth is her usual enthusiastic self and gives some great background material, bringing women inspiration as well as some good humor, too.
When you do the homework, it is very personalized and you will enjoy recording some of your own impressions as part of your study.

Beth Moore has done it again. Whether you're a newbie or a veteran with this Lifeway author, you'll glean from the fruits of her intensive study of the Holy Scriptures. Insightful and soulful. Just go for it!

I have always enjoyed Beth Moore, but this study is wonderful. I purchased the audio cd's to accompany the book, but I would have bought the DVD version if I had known they were available. You can download them straight to your computer ($4.99 each) from the LifeWay website.

This is one of the best Bible studies I have ever done. The Psalms of ascent (Psalms 120-134) were made so special to me seeing them through a thorough study with an excellent teacher, Beth Moore. She made me see things I have never seen, brought out some really good points and she knows God's word! I did this study with a women's Bible study group at our church and we had the weekly video teaching by Mrs. Moore to go with this study book. It might be harder to follow without the video portion, but would still be rewarding. Be prepared to do the homework and get into God's word in this study. God bless!

A very special study of Psalms 120 through 134. Very well laid out instructions for study. Very comporting to learn how to step up to a relationship with our Lord.

I'm not very imaginative when it comes to "projects" for my kids (who are currently 3 and 1) so I love this book. I am thankful that there are people in the world with great ideas who share them in books. :P

All the reviews written on this Amazon site for FIRST ART explain why this book is exceptionally good for toddlers, twos and other little guys. But what I like is that it also gives the adult in charge some clear hints for success as well as suggestions for easy prep and collection or selection of materials. This is the key to making things work for the little guys...if we are ready as adults with a clear idea of what's happening, we can make sure it is smooth and fun for the kids too. I also like how materials are very flexible: If you don't have cardboard, then use an old poster. If you don't have paint, use food coloring. If you don't have paper, use the evening newspaper. Many people whose kids are grown already know some of this (some, not all!!!), but if you're new to art with little ones, this is a life-saver. EXCELLENT!!

I wanted to thank all of the folks who have taken the time to review "First Art", a book of art projects and experiences for toddlers and two's. I've read every single review! How happy I am that this book is bringing great experiences to kids, and to their moms too. Thank you so very much to each of you for your wonderful reviews that remind me I am doing the right thing with my life!!!!
~ MaryAnn
w w w dot brightring dot com

First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and TwosI teach children 18 to 24 months great book with great ideas

I purchased this book so I could have more fun with my daughter, about a year and a half at the time of this review, and teach her a thing or two about creativity along the way. When I first got the book and read it, I LOVED it. There were tons of homemade recipes for saving money, ideas seemed relatively simple, yet fun, directions thorough... However, when I started implementing the ideas with my toddler, I slowly changed my mind.
I see a number of problems with this book:
Homemade recipes sound wonderful. You save money, you use ingredients you already have in your pantry, and you feel like such a handy supermom, what's not to love, right? Well, wrong...
First, the recipes often call for things I definitely don't have in my pantry, I was not even sure what some things were. For instance, cream of tartar. I wrote down a list of things I needed for a project and asked 3 employees at the store for it and all of them pointed me to tartar sauce. So, I had to go home empty-handed and do research online to find out what it was and why I needed it and where I could buy it, what I can substitute it for, etc. Most of the sources online seemed to indicate that it is something that used to be big in baking, but hardly ever needed now that we have baking powder. It'd be nice if the author provided some substitutions. I ended up using baking powder and it seemed to work alright. I later accidentally found cream of tartar in the spices section of my grocery store - and I looked in baking to no avail.
Another things is that a lot of recipes (80%, I'd say) call for tempera paint... If I'm going to buy paint, why buy tempera paint and mix it with stuff to make finger paints, might just as well buy finger paints - will probably end up cheaper. Same goes for, for example, a home-made blackboard. You need to buy the tape that has that chalkboard surface or chalkboard spray paint. Well, both are rather pricey, so it is almost as cheap to buy a ready-made chalkboard easel (not to mention much less trouble). Also, some recipes call for things like "an old grater you no longer use" (because you're going to be grating a bar of soap, for example) or "a big appliance box". I don't know if it's just me, but I think my Mom still uses the same grater she had when I was a year and a half and I don't buy big-screen TVs on a monthly basis... So, I don't really have all these lying around the house, nor is it always easy/cheap to find/buy one just when you want to try a project - often it really is easier and maybe even cheaper to just buy whatever it is you were going to make (case in point - beads).
Also, many recipes call for huge amounts of flour, salt, cornstarch, and food coloring. While those aren't that expensive in and of themselves (and food coloring CAN be), they add up! 4 cups of flour here, 4 cups of flour there, with a lot of these recipes not having the same shelf life as the store-bought equivalents. So, once again, the savings are questionable, even if we don't factor in the time we have to spend preparing stuff versus buying it ready-made.
The quality of projects.
My daughter is a pretty determined and focused toddler when she wants to be, but a lot of those projects are too contemplative to really keep her attention for more than 10 seconds. For instance, exploring the sounds and textures of a piece of foil or the much-favored by many feeley goop. My daughter was done exploring the sounds and textures of foil in 5 seconds and she did not want to explore the feeley goop at all after the initial try, so how was I supposed to make her realize that it has some unique qualities? The same goes for quite a number of projects that are meant to just "explore", but I realize that it is highly individual and there might be children out there who love those projects, just be aware that it is not automatic. Perhaps some of these activities would work well in a group, where children can feed off of each other's ideas and where interaction is already exciting enough, but for one child they can be a tad on a boring side and are over too quickly to be called an "activity".
Another thing in the projects I often have issues with is their messiness. The author does do a good job of outlining how to prep the working space, but with some projects, the colors will get splashed all over the place - it's toddlers we're talking about! I can cover a relatively large portion of the floor and the whole table, but I can't cover the walls and the ceiling... Not to mention that toddlers are known to run away in the middle of a project. So, unless you have a whole room you don't mind getting dirty and where you can contain your child (porch, sunroom, child-proof play room?), some of those projects will be just too much of a risky business to attempt in a nicer room. We live in a fully-carpeted apartment, and there is no way I'll be able to clean it up nicely if my child decides to have too much fun with one of the messier projects.
Finally, I find some "cooking" directions a little too sketchy. I have never made this thing before, I don't know what it should look and feel like, I actually ruined a couple of projects because I did something too soon or too late, even though I thought I was following the instructions religiously - there went 4 cups of flour and 2 cups of salt :-). Just so you don't think I'm a complete idiot, I do bake regularly and cook quite a bit too, and while sometimes my pizza dough made from scratch does turn out a little drier than I like, it is always edible, never a complete failure.
Overall, I'd say it's a good book with good ideas. If I were a kindergarten teacher, or had 2 or more kids of different ages, I'd probably rate this book better. But as a parent of only 1 child, I'd probably ever use only 1/3 of all the ideas of the book, with 2/3 being eliminated for one or several of the reasons mentioned above, which I find rather disappointing, since I am not paying only for the ideas I'm using...
Our favorite project so far? The bread. It did not taste spectacular (although was edible), but my daughter loved messing with the flour, watching it turn to dough, playing with the dough, etc.

One of the most informative and moving books I have ever read about Jesus. I have two copies because one is worn and tattered. Lots of facts and references about the original meaning of Biblical words and explanations of culture during the time Christ walked the earth. Details Christ's life from Mary's conception to His death on the cross. Truly a moving personal experience reading this book. If you don't already know Jesus, you won't want to go another day without Him. If you already know him, you will enter into a more intimate relationship with Him than you ever imagined. Many times I read a page and had to stop reading and digest the magnitude of what I had just read and it's meaning for me and my personal relationship with Jesus. I will reread and reread and reread......

Fantastic! Beth Moore has a wonderful way of breaking down the life of Jesus in a simple, yet personal way. She weaves in historical Jewish customs and traditions, cross-references Old Testament verses and asks thought-provoking questions to make this two-thousand-year-old story come alive. Jesus was God in human form--the epitome of perfection and holiness but that didn't shelter him from living a normal childhood in a very average, working-class home or from encountering the same problems and temptations that we face. "Jesus, the One and Only" will help you understand the full character of Christ. Who he was. What he did. And how much he gave of himself to draw us into a relationship with God. This Bible study is perfect for women on any level, whether you've been a Christian for decades or days. Don't underestimate the power of this book. This isn't your average Sunday school Jesus story!

The information provided in the study book is very good reading, especially for women's bible study groups. We currently are using this
for our church's circle group. We also purchased the study guide. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read any of Beth Moore's books.

This book is great. It has really helped me focus on Jesus life here on earth. It has made me dig deeper to discover and wonder about the details. Beth Moore's applications of the passages have brought it to life.

So far this is my favorite Beth Moore book. I've already read it twice and am sure to read it again. She tackles a very familiar story with fresh insights just about every chapter. It's not a "preachy" book. Rather she makes you feel like you're a fellow learner with a good friend. Unlike some of her other books, this does not require looking up many references which makes it ideal to read when you're reading somewhere other than your desk at home.