Educational Books

Finally, a well thought out book for parents thinking about the college process! My favorite story is early in the book setting the tone for a great and helpful read. Early on, the author is clear that the process is out of control for many parents. As the Admissions Director for MIT, she makes it clear not to worry about college until it is time, rather than picking your preschool with intent to head to the IVYies....This book really tells us there is much more to learn on this road and truly this book is all about that journey in a healthier way!

Really grounded for both parents and teens. A must to read before any other books on college, including the guides to colleges. This gets you centered on what is important and aligns your values; then you can focus on the facts about colleges. A great duo.....a college admissions dean and a pediatrician....both care deeply about kids and speak to what they need.

I found this book to be useful. The author had several suggestions that we had not thought of and facts we were not aware of. The whole college admissions process is way harder than when I went through it, and I would say, there is a lot of negative as far as I can see. Her book is encouraging that the process can be a positive one, if you can step out of the frenzy that most other kids and parents seem to be embroiled in. The only reason I gave it 4/5 stars instead of 5 is because I felt there was some conflicting information between our school's college counselors and her and that's confusing.

As parents who have seen many of our friends completely lose perspective as their kids apply to college, my wife and decided that we would not go down that road when our time came. Forget all the books that imply they will get your child into a "brand name" school. It's about discovering together a place where they can grow, and strenghtening your relationship as you launch them toward their future. In the name of sanity, I recommend this book (and also a great one our own pediatrician recommended, "Getting In Without Freaking Out.") Stop hovering -- start helping your kids by not imposing your agenda.

Ms. Jones's advice on how the parents of high school juniors and seniors can reduce stress in the college admissions process is spot on.

I was lucky enough to receive Ms. Jones's advice when she spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at our Boston area high school. For those not so lucky, you can obtain the advice in her book, coauthored with pediatrician Kenneth R. Ginsburg.

Parents - and their children - will benefit from Jones's advice for two reasons: 1. Jones explains WHY current parents are so hyper about the admissions process (partly due to the fact that we parents are from the generation which mistakenly believes we can accomplish anything!) 2. And Jones gives practical advice on HOW each parent can reduce their child's stress in the admission process, including actions that can be easily implement right away.

Every parent of a high school junior or senior should buy her book today.

This was a book thrust upon me, on a subject that sounded genuinely boring. I was spring-loaded to rapidly skim through it and put it down, never to consider it again. I was truly prepared not to enjoy it.
Almost immediately, however, I found myself regularly agreeing with the author and examining, in my own mind, how the issues of learning related to my individual educational experience and those of my children. By the end of the book I was mentally prepared to start handing out copies to all the educators I knew and all politicians I could access. With luck, maybe my grandchildren will derive benefit from a reformulation of our system of public education.

Finally some new ideas! I think parents (I am one)feel beaten down by the educational system that hasn't improved since our own school days. This entrenched methodology has to be replaced by a system that will do justice to our children and give us the well-educated adults we need for them to become. Davis's book is revealing and puts the issues into a greater context that goes beyond merely tweaking the status quo, and gives us a look at what we could accomplish with fresh thinking. I highly recommend this book.

Not only have I read Mr. Davis' book, but I have been fortunate enough to communicate with him about it. I believe this is the ultimate look at a progressive, forward thinking view of where education needs to go. It has inspired me to be more vocal with policy makers in my state, and to be a part of a necessary revolution in the field of education. This book is a MUST READ for anyone in the field of education who is serious about what they do for a living. I would like to thank Mr. Davis for this work and look forward to the next.

As an educator and single mother of two accomplished young adults, I found Mr. Davis' incredible historical expose and proposition for change absolutely affirming.

In my own parenting experience, very early on it was easy for me to clue into and begin nurturing my daughters' inborn curiosities and talents. Understanding infant and early childhood development as well as that of the human brain, perhaps I had a bit of an edge. Nevertheless, as soon as "we" (the girls and I) entered the public schools, it became immediately clear that "the institution", by its design, was hosing the fire for learning -- a fire that is essential to healthy, successful individual and community life.

My zeal to continue nurturing my children in a way that allowed them not only to remain eager life-long learners and grow into good citizens, but to also become (within their abilities and interests) all that they aspired to be, put me (and other families with similar concerns) in direct opposition with the system ... this challenge drained large amounts of valuable time, energy and resources that could have been invested in families and community life in other areas of tremendous need!

In my professional life over the last 25 years, I have also witnessed the consequence to many communities of the "dumbing down" process. It is a design that, if not replaced by an education architecture such as that so expertly set forth by Mr. Davis, will take us into the abyss.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE ...

"Lessons for Tomorrow" should be required reading of every educator, parent and community leader. Please read this book and share it with others.

Thank you, Mr. Davis, for bringing this critical discussion to a new level and providing a workable architectural plan that can meaningfully replace what has long been obsolete.

Coming from the angle of layperson and concerned parent of two young Montessori students, this book was spot on. The history of educational philosophy, from ancient Greece through Colonial America, to the modern age, gives the reader a strong understanding of educational goals and methods throughout history.
The idea that student initiative and interest is essential for true learning blends well with what I believe and have experienced in my short exposure to the Montessori method. Mr Davis is thorough in his documentation of our educational shortcomings (shockingly so I might add), and explicit in his model for education in the 21st Century and beyond. Let's just say, the teachers union will probably argue with many of his suggestions. While the reading can be "heavy" at times, it is approachable for the layperson, and hefty enough for the policy wonks and academics to sink their teeth into.
Buy 2 books and give one to your local school principal! Change can only begin with a debate at the local level...

I love this book...I currently have about 4 chemistry review books, including an older edition of this book from my brother. The SAT II Books (like Princeton Review and Barrons) are good, but this book is very clear. There are a few trick questions, but mostly it is about the concepts. Very helpful with all the extra questions at the end of the chapter. Absolutely great! Thanks

This book has helped me so much with honors high school chemistry and explains everything so clearly and the convenience of having 40 practice questions per chapter really helps me truly understand the concepts of each chapter. I recommend this book to anyone taking chemistry!!

It may be a little too detailed for the regents student. Since the regents is getting dumbed down, I reccomend getting an older copy of the book (before 2001)-- It has more details and helpful hints in it

This is about the best book on high school level chemistry I have come across. Albert Tarendash explains each concept with care and very helpful example problems are worked out. I would recommend this book to anyone who is taking an introductory chemistry course.

This book has helped me so much with honors high school chemistry and explains everything so clearly and the convenience of having 40 practice questions per chapter really helps me truly understand the concepts of each chapter. I recommend this book to anyone taking chemistry!!

My daughter and I own the Golden Book version of this classic story but we've read so many plays on the story and versions and I have to say THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST. It's done in such a nice simplistic way and the illustrations are charming, we got it from our local library and my daughter asked to read it every night! If you are searching for the best Little Red Hen this is it!

Sturdy pages, brights colors, and great story idea. More pages than an average board book, which is nice. I'm glad I bought this for my daughter.

This is a fabulous edition of the Little Red Hen. The text is crisp and clear, the pictures are simple, clear, and bright, and the board book format is friendly to little hands! My boys ADORE this book. It makes for a great bedtime story, too!

My 17-month old daughter has loved this book for months already. It has a rhythmic text and lively pictures, plus it is about animals, which is always a hit with the toddler set.

This book has been a favorite for the last several months. My son liked the repetition and the bright pictures from the start, and as he gets older (he's now 21 months) he also enjoys naming the animals and what they are doing. There is lots in the pictures for a toddler to talk about: planting seeds, cooking, kite flying, napping, and so on. I'm not wild about the artwork in this book, but then again I'm not its target audience--the simplicity seems to work great for young kids.

Little Sap And Monsieur Rodin combines Michelle Lord's engaging text with impressive illustrations by Felicia Hoshino to tell the remarkable story of a young woman who in the year 1906 was a member of the dance troupe from the Royal Palace in Cambodia when they all made a trip to the beautiful city of Paris. Carrying young readers through Little Sap's encounter with the famous French artist, Augustine Rodin, Little Sap And Monsieur Rodin follows the painter and sculptor's interest with the classic beauty of Cambodian dance in general, and the dancing girl Little Sap in particular. A beautifully presented picturebook story, Little Sap And Monsieur Rodin will delight young readers and prove a popular addition to school and/or community library picturebook collections.

With two Cambodian-born children, this book is a treasured addition to our library. Beautifully told and illustrated, its graceful imagery draws children into the story, and with the muliple readings demanded soon has them practicing the hand poses and dreaming of dance.

My kids will be reading this for years, and I now give this as a gift for all new baby girls ... and Khmer boys, as well.

Young girls especially will be able to identify with Little Sap as she starts her first dance class, all awkward and clumsy compared with the more experienced girls in the room. But as Little Sap grows more comfortable dancing, the reader grows more comfortable in the world of early 20th century Cambodia. And then the reader feels the same thrill Little Sap does when her dance group boards a huge ocean liner -- bringing along costumes, props, and even elephants! -- and sails for France.

The story is like a magical time machine that sends us back to a time when the world was much larger than it is today and foreign cultures were much more exotic. Cambodia of a century ago was a very artistic society, and the illustrations are superb in communicating the details of the clothing, dance, music, and architecture of the period. Together, the words and pictures convey a genuine sense of being there and sharing in the experiences of Little Sap.

A truly delightful childrens book about a young cambodian girl who leaves her family and her village to become a dancer for the princess's royal dance troupe so that her family can have a better life. Along the way, she learns hard work and self worth. I found this to be an inspiring and touching story with a unique cultural angle not normally seen in childrens books.
The bright and colorful drawings bring the story to life.

I highly recommend this book! An exceptional book from a first time author that I hope publishes many more in the years to come.

They say not to judge a book by its cover. Obviously this rule is true some of the time. Some of the time, however, the cover is EXACTLY what you need to see in order to judge a book correctly. How many times have you seen a cheaply produced cover on a children's picture book also to find the story inside laughably simplistic? More than once, I'd wager. By and large, however, I do not seek out books based on what their covers look like. Then I took a gander at "Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin" and my little heart went pitter-pat. Oh how pretty. We've all seen those picture books that show a small child getting to know some great artistic figure. There was "Beethoven Lives Upstairs", and "Degas and the Little Dancer" (which bears no small resemblance to this book), and the truly disturbing "Picasso and the Girl With the Ponytail". What drew me to "Little Sap" however was partly its content. I don't know how many Cambodian picture books you can recite off the top of your head, but my count is pretty low. Add to that the fact that the book talks about Rodin (oddly ignored by picture books, by and large) and you've got yourself the makings of something particularly good.

The royal dance troupe of Cambodia is recruiting new members from a number of girls around the country. Little Sap is from a small village, but despite her dirty nails and awkward balance the child wins a place on the court's troupe. That means unceasing practice and training. Over the years she gains confidence and poise and is allowed to go to France with the troupe to perform abroad. While there they attract the attention of the great artist Auguste Rodin. Drawn to the dancers (no pun intended), Rodin spends much of his time in the villa where they stay, sketching their moves. Little Sap in particular gets his attention and by the end of their stay in France he purchases a pair of fancy French shoes and gives her a sketch of herself. The back of the book includes an Author's Note that describes the facts behind the story and what is and isn't true.

Rendered in ink, watercolor, acrylic, and paper collage the illustrations done by first-time picture book artist Felicia Hoshino are quite pleasant. Hoshino's girls wear silk sampot, or pantaloons, which let the girls look as if they're wearing slightly baggy pants all the time. This accurate detail has a dual purpose. On the one hand it means that the book is historically and culturally appropriate. On the other, it means that the girls in this book look particularly familiar to today's jean-shod young lasses. The style Hoshino uses here tends towards odd proportions in characters. Feet tend to be particularly small and heads particularly large. Just the same, this technique never strikes the reader as out of place. It's simply a different style.

Lord is careful to note at the back of her book that Little Sap's story is, for the most part, made up. There are elements to it, however, that were true. One thing I noticed in a photograph displayed of Rodin watching a dancer was that the performer is wearing a costume far more elaborate than any pictured in the book. During the professional dance of Robam Makaw the costumes are made evident, but we never get a scene similar to the one in the photo. One has to wonder why this is. Why, for example, did artist Felicia Hoshino choose to include plenty of scenes where the girls dance for Rodin, but not one where they are dressed up? Still, there was much to enjoy in this book. I was particularly pleased that Lord thought to include some of the hand motions mastered for the purpose of the dance. And though there isn't an official Bibliography at the back, a quick gander at the publication page shows the books, videos, and websites that Lord and Hoshino owe their aid to.

There are plenty of child-influences-great-artist type books out there, but by and large they are of white children with white artists. You'll still have the white artist in this book, but at least there's a bit of multiculturalism going on as well. You may be able to find Cambodian folktales in your local library, but not many will be stories based on real life occurrences involving the Khmer empire. A lovely little book and a nice story to boot.

This is such a great song to sing and the book is a fun accompaniment, as well as the CD.
These types of books are great to bring in the car for some family fun time!

This is such a great book. I've used it with many many preschoolers and children, and the remark I always get is "again, again"...

I bought this book for my nephew and the entire family has enjoyed his singing the pages, he had it memorized in no time and he is only 2 years old!!! I would recommend this book to anyone with young children, not just for their enjoyment but for the entire family.

I remember reading this book back in kindergarten and the first grade. It was the first book I ever learned to read. I loved this book so much that I read it until I had it memorized. It's too bad the original cover is not printed in this edition. I'm going to pass this one down to my cousin, Adam, whose only 4. Hopefully, we can continue the tradition so this will be his first book he ever learns to read.

The younger loves the beautiful pictures and singing along. The older loves looking for all the little details in the pictures. They both love substituting the names of the characters for their own friends' names! Both learned their colors through this book without realizing what they were actually doing. This is one book I don't mind reading over and over.

This book was the best I could find for expanding Italian vocabulary. I liked thematic approach and the fact that the book is not focused just on traveling themes (transportation, ordering food, visiting places etc.) like so many others. There are examples for almost every word that is introduced. Also, by keeping a simple grammar book aside for consulting when you stumble upon some "strange" use of verbs you are not familiar with, you can start forming real sentences instead of just memorizing a bunch of words.
At the end of the book there is also a small grammar section that should be expanded by twenty or so pages. It should also suggest what verb tenses are used in spoken Italian and what you can usually find only in literature. For that use I purchased Essential Italian grammar by Olga Ragusa which is pretty thin but is just enough.
I would like this book to have additional textbook or some word exercises so I can quiz myself and review words at the end of the each chapter. This way it is a little hard to know which words you have really memorized after few days or few weeks.
I liked Barrons book "1100 words you need to know" I used for building English vocabulary and I would like to see a book like that written for building Italian vocabulary.

This is the "Bible" for improving and expanding your Italian vocabulary. I think, personally, that the first edition was slightly better than the 2nd, but the 2nd edition is expanded and has more words. It has also been updated. I'd like to see a third edition that would keep pace with the internet and technology.

I like how the words are group together and organized, and one of my favorite aspects is that they use the words in sentences so that you can see how they are used -- this is especially helpful with verbs.

Advanced beginners and intermediate students would profit immensely from this book. You can't go wrong with this book, but it does take some effort to learn and remember the words.

The strength of this book is two fold. Having the vocabulary organized by categories such as 'Private Life, Social Relations' and 'Feelings, Thoughts, Behaviour', (to name a couple) is very useful. You can locate in the index the area that covers what you want to express. Secondly, the examples of how something is said, especially the idiomatic examples, are very valuable. Along the way there are helpful hints as to exceptions to the rule, warnings about cognate words, etc. All in all, a very fine resource.

This book is WONDERFUL! I have so so so many books to build vocabulary and this one is my all time favorite.

Have you ever picked up a vocabulary book and all the words are listed in alphabetical order, much like a dictionary? How boring is it to try and learn that way?

This book uses THEMES and creates SECTIONS with words ASSOCIATED with one another. So, it's never boring.

But it doesn't just teach you WORDS. It gives you GREAT phrases to put the words to work.

It's like getting a vocabulary AND phrase book in one.

If I could give this book 10 stars...I'd do it!

Barron's series Mastering Vocabulary is a great tool for language learners! As another reviewer points out, this is not a book for teaching yourself grammar. It is, though, a great way to move on from knowing the basics to being competent in the language.

Using a normal course, such as one in the Colloqial series, you will end up with knowing the grammar relatively well and with a vocabulary of 1500 words. That's a good start, but you need to know more words to get moving. The Mastering Vocabulary series is a great help along the way. By doing one chapter each week, you will know more than 7000 words after half a year. That is enough to live in a language where the language is spoken and use it in all everyday interactions and communication. My only real complaint with the series is that it's not available for more than four languages.

As the parent of a 4 year old I try to incorporate math into our daily routine. This book gave some excellent examples and ideas for fun games and easy ways to incorporate math into our lives. I loved the chapter that discussed language and math. It gave specific suggestions on how to teach the language needed to understand math.

This book deserves all 5 stars and should be required reading for every elementary school teacher and parent.

When I think of Dr. Patricia Kenschaft, the first image that enters my mind is that of a Unicorn. Dr. Kenschaft is a unique person for which you would be hard pressed to find an equal. Her ability to teach mathematics to virtually anyone is only the beginning of her many special talents. I consider myself priveledged to have had the opportunity to study with Dr. Kenschaft in my time as a student at Montclair State University. Even if you are never fortunate enough to cross paths with a person like her, do read her book, Math Power. It will change not only your outlook on mathematics, but your outlook on many of life's other challenges.

It's a real shame that this book is now out of print. If you have young children, and you can find a copy of this book in the used book store, buy it at any price. Kenschaft is a math professor whose daughter is also a mathematics professor. She gives incredibly useful advice on how to get your child interested in mathematics and drives a nail into the coffin of the myth that there is a "math gene", and that some (most?) people are simply genetically unsuited to do math. All too often the problem is that kids are taught that math is boring.

Why do so many popular nursery rhymes involve counting? Kenschaft points out that favourites like "one-two, buckle my shoe" and "1-2-3-4-5, I caught a fish alive" teach kids to count to ten. I never met a kid who didn't like nursery rhymes; Kenschaft offers reams of useful advice on how to kindle that spark and keep it alive.

As an aside, a really good companion volume to this one would be Sarah Flannery's "In Code - a (young woman's) mathematical journey".

If you have concerns about the ... math acheivements in our country you must read this book and take action. If you have kids you will learn that they depend on you to teach them in ways that their teachers may not even be capable or prepared to do.

Math is usually taught in such a way that it actually discourages kids from liking it, feeling competent in it or wanting to pursue it.

While the primamry focus of the book is Math, its principles apply to all branches of education and learning. Learn that there are pitfalls to standardized testing and minimal competency standards.

The book includes practical advice for parents on how to encourage their children to hone their math skills and encourage their analytical skills since their teachers may not be equipped to meet children at their level in order to fully communicate and cover a subject in depth.

Seems that many teachers are not prepared to teach math in successful ways. We must put the focus and resources into preparing teachers in order to acheive the kind of results we want from their students.

You've probably heard that youngsters who are anxious about math also do poorly in math. A lot of folks thought this was just because students with limited ability appropriately worried about the subject. Not so!

Just the other day I clipped a short piece that described a scientific study demonstrating that this "math anxiety" itself gets in the way of doing the math. The chicken that comes before this egg is not low ability but high anxiety. Finding ways to lessen that math anxiety can improve math achievement.

As a parent and as a math teacher this is important news. Many parents have worried about how they could help their children with math that is often very different from when they were kids. These studies tell us that we'd do better to try to find ways to turn a math "phobic" home into a "Math Power" place. Patricia Kenschaft's book is a wonderful blueprint for such a home 'remodeling' project.

The significant subtitle of this book is:

"How to Help Your Child Love Math, Even If You Don't."

There, as Shakespeare said, lies the rub. After all, most parents bring those same childhood math anxieties right up into their adult lives, right to the dinner (or homework) table. What Kenschaft does is to show you a wide variety of ways, starting even in pre-school, that you and your child can explore math in wholly new forms. You don't have to memorize the rules for fraction division all over again; you just need to find new ways of looking at math.

This book does the best job I have seen of describing the failings of the "old school" approach to math. It has an entire section entitled "Why so many children are damaged" including chapters entitled "How drill and kill cripples U.S. Math education" and "What every parent should know about testing and grading." (My only critique of the book is that this section is placed near the end of the book - you might read it first if you think that going back to the good ole days is the sort of change we need).

The book emphasizes the math of children up to about age 10 or 11, wrapping up with a chapter called "The Fifth Grade Crisis." I had never seen this term used before. But as a 6th grade teacher I believe she has captured an important soft spot in our math education system. Although the ups and downs of kids' math in school all sum up over many years, some important cognitive shifts take place as they open the door into adolescence. Fifth and sixth grades are often the place where they "decide" they are "no good" at math... decide they "can't do it". Kenschaft shows how much of that decision is just a reaction to some truly damaging practices in schools.

Kenschaft also encourages you to take a new view of your role in the school - beyond bakesales! She provides practical advice for you to become a school-math activist without being antagonistic. A chapter entitled "Getting along with your child's teachers" is full of good, practical advice. She concludes with a whole section about change entitled "Tweaking the Machine". Finally there are useful appendices and a great bibliography.

This book is especially powerful because it weaves the very personal with the broadly `political'. Its combination of practical advice with broad policy discussions is unique. If you are a parent wondering how to approach the troubling questions surrounding your child's school math program, at both levels, this book will give you lots to think about.

bought this in addition to first aid and found it has way more detail and is a much slower review tool than first aid. however, since first aid is so concise, I have found it to be a good supplement with great summaries of concepts not explained in first aid... great to have, just wouldn't recommend this as your only study book.

I purchased this book for the preparation of my exams and have found it to be very resourceful and informative. I highly recommend this book for studying.

I have to disagree with the reader who gave this book one star review. This is a REVIEW book, not a text book. It's true all the tables, diagrams and illustrations come from Kaplan lecture note(the note alone sell for $600, you may get them used from ebay for $300), but medessential picked out only the highest yield material from these notes to include in this comprehensive review book. I only studied Kaplan and Goljan patho and got 234(98)(I will try to upload my score sheet here). I didn't like FA myself, b/c it's too boring and it's just piles of disorganized facts, there is no comparison like Kaplan did.

I suggest you visit your local Barnes and noble to read this book first before making the purchase and see if it suit your style.

I graduated from medical school 13 years ago from another country, just passed my step 1 last year, Kaplan and Goljan definitely are critical to my success.

Good luck for your boards!

I find this book beats FA hands down. The material is orgnaized in logical manner and goes through each science for every system. It has more pictures and explanations than FA which I thought was a jumble of information. It also has a lot of COLOR images, which FA lacks. It has some information that FA doesn't have and vice-versa. Really, get it and FA both before the start of year 2 (or earlier) add notes in it as needed. If I had to choose just one of the two books, I would go with this one.

Medessentials is a great book. Slightly more detailed with better charts compared to First Aid. Both books though have information not contained in the other, while a large majority is in both. I would recommend any first years considering books for studying for Step 1 for their second year to consider buying this and using both First Aid and Medessentials together (annotating 1 or both of them) as you go through your courses/review throughout the year making the 4-8wks/study before boards easier.

While it is true that the schools play a central role in developing the love of learning in children, the role of the parents is crucial too. It is true that parents cannot spend the same amount of time as teachers in helping their children learn. But there are some very simple non-time-consuming strategies that the parents can use with their children which will help to increase their children's motivation to learn better at their schools. Making parents' aware of such strategies is the focus of this book, "Motivated Minds - Raising Children to Love Learning". Deborah Stipek, one of the authors of this book is the dean of the School of Education at Stanford. The co-author is Kathy Seak who is a journalist and has written about education and psychology for many years. The authors offer a lot of practical wisdom which most importantly are also proven by research. While everything they have to offer in this book has been proven by research, the book is by no means a boring list of evidence from research which the parents have to plough through to find what they need. It is filled with many interesting examples and anecdotes from their own life about situations which commonly occur with children and how parents can overcome them.
I enjoyed reading the book thoroughly. I myself had developed many strategies in the past few years to deal with situations where my daughter was at the risk of losing interest in a certain activity if appropriate action was not taken. This book helped me confirm some of my strategies and went a step further in helping me learn more of them.
For example, the book talks about how "nothing motivates children more than competence". I have seen this happen with my daughter many times. When she takes up a new type of activity which is hard to learn, she sometimes gives up after a few tries and is afraid to go back and try the same fearing that she will not be able master it. For example, this used to happen often when she tried to play a new song in violin which was above her current skill level. Each of those times I have had to walk a fine line of not being pushy yet convincing her to practice enough to be able to play the song and develop a healthy attitude of perseverance. Each time, when she was able to play the song after some practice, she has derived motivation to play the violin even more due to her successes and her competence in the skills needed. The parents' role in helping children develop this persistence is crucial I feel, and this book talks about that. This book goes one step further and says that not only does competence motivate children to learn something but "feeling competent is as important as competence itself". For, a child may be very good at doing something but may not feel confident about it. Feeling confident about being able to do something is of extreme importance because the child may otherwise not try on his/her own to learn tougher skills in that area, otherwise. This book gives strategies to overcome such obstacles to learning.

The above is just one example of how this book helped me clarify the effective strategies in some of the situations that I face regularly with my daughter. There are many more such strategies in this book which apply to parents of children of any age. In short, you now never have to feel at a loss when you are not sure how to overcome the obstacles to your child being motivated to learn either at school or at an after-school activity. With this book, you will have a very credible, useful and practical resource to refer to for effective strategies and apply it to the situation you may be facing.

This book is, without question, the best book available for anyone who is a parent (or intends to eventually become a parent) and wants to preserve or increase their children's intrinsic motivation to learn. If you want children to WANT to learn, to learn WELL, to ENJOY learning, and to CONTINUE learning even after their schooling has ended, there is no finer book than this one. It also will be a fantastic contribution for any person who teaches or intends to eventually teach. I recommend this without question!!

This is an all ages book on how children learn and how parents can help them -- what to do and not do. Let me quote: "Although this book focuses on children from babyhood through elementary school, its general principles and recommendations apply to children of all ages, and even to adults. Everyone can follow the self-motivation model you will read about in upcoming chapters: the cycle of working hard, persisting to overcome obstacles, and being energized to do more by the feelings of pleasure brought by newly gained confidence." It's based on the latest research. This book opened my eyes to the inadequacy of my own education: I worked for grades, not to learn. I made great grades, but what did I learn? Not much. Even now, I have bad "learning" skills. My curiosity has been quashed by the desire to perform and get the job done. This book also covers choosing schools, toys, "getting smart" instead of "being smart," the harmfulness of grades and competition. Also included is what to say and not say to your child. This book will stay on my shelf for years!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if a child is motivated and is willing and wanting to learn by himself, just because he WANTS to?
This book has given me so many ideas.
Parents who really want to put more effort in helping their children should read this book.

This book answers a lot of questions I've had about parenting. It has good sections on how and when to use rewards, when and how to praise your kids, when you should tell them "Do this now!" and when you should let go. I especially liked a chapter on intelligence where they explain why it's better to emphasize that intelligence isn't a fixed quality. I had never thought about this before but found that it is useful for keeping your kids encouraged in school.

I found that I already do some of the things this book recommends - like reading to my children -- but that they also suggested interesting ways to "stop nagging" my kids yet still have them do their homework, ways to help them do well on standardized tests yet face them calmly, and ways to ensure their self-esteem. One thing I found especially useful was two chapters on choosing schools. They give very specific instructions on how to judge a preschool and what to look for when you visit elementary schools. It gave me a list of questions to ask take when I looked at a preschool for my son recently, so I feel now that I can make decisions based on research and not just instinct.

The best thing about this book is that is a good read. There are lots of examples and suggestions for what to do and what to say, even a quiz to give yourself. This is a book I would definitely give at baby showers, because it's a guide you can refer to from babyhood onward.