Product Description

Learning early school skills is fun and easy with Kindergarten SingAlong Activity Book with CD! Children, ages 5 to 6, will learnanimals and animal sounds, letter and beginning sounds, numbers andcounting, colors and shapes, and more while completing fun and easyactivities. The enhanced CD features 20 original songs (with printablelyrics) that complement the activities in the book and that are designedto help children learn basic school skills.

Product Description
Art Activities A to Z presents a detailed lesson plan format of open-ended art activities.It focuses on the art ?process? rather than the ?product?. Users will enjoy the activities as they explore medium beyond tempera paint and brushes. The activities are easy-to-understand and follow. Each section will assist users in finding art activities for a theme based curriculum, to incorporate a letter of the week, or provide a spur of the moment filler. ... Read more

Product Description
Fun and Interactive Rhyming Stories That Give Kids Practice With the 25 Key Word Families-and Put Them on the Path to Reading Success!
Fosters the Fun of Reading!
Rhyming, reproducible storybooks that use a few simple words to help kids practice reading and writing words from 25 key word families. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Great book for Kindergarten
I am so excited about using this book to reinforce work families for my kindergarten students.I like the word cards that are in the book. Very age appropriate for Kindergarten and up, but I don't believe any of my preschool students could use this book at this time although it could be used to reinforce rhyming concepts.

Cute and Wonderful
This book is quite handy. The pages are perferrated so tearing them out to copy is easy. My kiddo loves being able to color the pictures after he reads the story. I like the tracing of letters and the beginning letters fill-ins on the back page. The pictures are very cute which was a big draw for us along with the coloring aspect.

Phonics books - mini printable
These are great.Helps with independent learning or learning in groups in the classroom.

Great for take-home practice
I used these books as follow-up practice for at home with my second language learner first graders during the first half of the year.The predictable format and word families made these a weekly addition to my homework assignments.I had them store their collection in a gallon Ziploc bag for independent reading in the classroom, too.I will use these with my own daughter once she is old enough to read.

Fun Little Books to reinforce Rhyming
My daughter loves these.My daughter especially loves writing in the letters to complete the words.I suppose I'm a funny mom, but I always give books as birthday gifts, because I figure that every child gets toys for their birthday.I made some for a friend's son who is in kindergarten for his birthday and he loved them too.It was a gift for him and his parents.It made him feel so good to tell his mom he read a book on his own!

One mom commented on the need to assemble the books and that she hadn't realized that before she bought the book.Most Scholastic teaching books are that way--but I love that, because you can copy them over and over again.You have the right to reproduce the sheets for personal use. ... Read more

Product Description
Heide AW Kaminski has 16 years of experience teaching preschool children and has created this book packed with art projects she has designed.

All activities have been tested and approved by children!

Each project carries an educational theme carefully crafted into the activity so children learn important skills while having a great time!

This is an essential book for all early childhood educators and is certain to enrich the lives of children everywhere! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The best way for a child to learn is through fun...
Anyone with small children will appreciate owning this book, especially on those days when your own creative juices just don't seem to be flowing. All you have to do is open the book and let Heide's imagination do all the work for you!

Kid tested, mother approved!

Get SmartThrough Art
I love this book.
I have a day care with children ranging in age from 15 months to 9 yrs old.

This book is really handy and the ideas are very simple to do.
Today a "rain day" we made the "rain rain go away clouds" Kids loved them.
A must have for any day care or kindergarden class.....Hey anyone with youg children can use this book.
Next project "The Easter Egg Wreath"
Thanks for a great book Heide
A true sanity saver!
Kim MacLeod

Learning really is FUN :o)
I can honestly say Get Smart through Art is the most fun I've ever had while doing a book review!I can only imagine the upcoming generation of geniuses we'd have if every child were allowed to cultivate a love for the learning process--an off-shoot of using the full range of their creativity.

Kaminski's talent with children is obvious as one flips through the pages of this inspiring learning tool for tots.Fun art projects that teach and improve on motor and cognitive skills are well-organized with clear instructions and complete lists of items needed for each project. Easy to read pages and patterns in a spiral binding allow the book to lay flat for easy and accurate copies.

After I was satisfied that the book was well thought out and organized, I brought the book to a local daycare for some "hands on" experimenting with both the teacher and the preschoolers. One week later, the teacher confirmed what I already suspected-Heidi AW Kaminski should be required reading for all preschool educators.

Fantastic!
What a wonderful book!Easy to understand and a joy to read!I use to teach young students how to make different craft projects and how I wish I had it back then.I have passed my copy over to a local teacher to use in her art class. A recommended book for those wishing to use the principles in Heide's book in their classroom.A must read!

I love this book!
This easy-to-use book is full of creative play activities that incorporate learning skills. I like this book because the author shows you how to use common household items to make simple artwork. For that reason the projects are spontaneous. You can pick up the book and do a project without a lot of preparation. The accompanying illustrations can be copied or used right out of the book. Each project suggests easy art activities for beginners with tiny fingers -- perfect for toddlers. In the process, children learn letters, shapes, colors, and develop fine motor skills. ... Read more

Product Description
There is a growing realization that most learning takes place among kids before they enter kindergarten, when every boy and girl's drive to discover is strongest.

And in a world where reading means succeeding, you can inspire a lifelong love of books and language in your child at home with Mommy, Teach Me to Read!. The easy-to-learn, fun-to-follow reading program and activities presented here will help you build a foundation of joyful learning on which your child can continue to build in the coming years.

Author Barbara Curtis, a Montessori teacher and mother of twelve, uses a wealth of common sense to dispel the mystique of professionalism that surrounds the teaching of children and shares insight about each child's God-given potential for learning, while helping parents discover their own potential as teachers.

"Don't invest another dollar in reading materials before you've finished reading this book," she advises. "You may be very surprised at how simple it actually is to produce an excellent and enthusiastic reader." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Got to be something better out there.
I bought this book based on a Internet reviews and I've got to say it was not very good.Like a previous poster said, there are several comments in the book which amount to "kids are God's gift and aren't they precious miracles" and so on....I expected to the book to be about an academic approach to teaching reading and more scholarly methods to achieve this and it just wasn't there. I don't understand the glowing reviews unless they wanted to teach religion.

For our children today!
This book is just what I was looking for! Highly recommended for parents who care!

Ok
Some helpful tips, but you have to search for them - most of the book consists of the author bragging about her children and her parenting skills.A better book is "Teach Your Child to Read in 10 Minutes a Day"

Very Disappointing
This was a BIG disappointment. First, most of the content turned out not to be new information with respect to actually teaching my child to read.Second, I wish they had indicated on the cover or somewhere viewable BEFORE purchasing the book that she has very specific religious beliefs that she natters about.This is a HUGE turn-off, especially since it has no direct connection with teaching a child to read.I won't buy anything from this author again.

Really works for children under 6!
I originally bought this book to teach my Kindergartner to read.As a homeschooling mother of six, I'd already taught my three oldest children to read, but thought there must be some tricks to help my new reluctant reader.

I did find some good reading activities, which I tried and my Kindergartner's reading skills improved immediately.But what caught my attention was Barbara Curtis' recommendation that you teach your child during a window of learning before they reached Kindergarten age.

I thought it was worth a try.I have a 4 year old, and when I started working with him, he didn't know his letter sounds or alphabet.I took the book's suggestions, and tried teaching him his letter sounds before teaching him the alphabet.

I read him the same story daily for months at a time, and taught him little rhymes to help him remember his letter sounds.I tried the reading box, which Barbara Curtis recommends to help children make the leap from concrete to abstract when learning to read.He is now able to read beginning books with help.The best part is that he is able to sound out the words much easier than his 6 year old sister can, because we took advantage of the development window!

I cannot praise this book highly enough.I also bought Mommy Teach Me at the same time, and the two work very nicely together.If you have preschool aged children, buy this book today! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Worst book ever!
This book was give to me second hand since we are a homeschooling family. This book scared the heck out of me. It has numerous comments in it that are aimed towards war, violence, the Gulf War... I wonder if this book intended a motive other than educational.

I also find the book to be not so much about learning, but more about memorizing facts. Not knowing the information behind the facts. And as far as what a child "should know" per grade level is pretty much underestimating children today. As a homeschooling family, we certainly are beyond most of the grade level tasks suggested.

As much as I hate tossing books to the trash, this one isn't worthy of anyone, and I wouldn't dare pass it along!

not recommended
This book is clearly intended for the home schooling market, which is part of why this book is so dangerous.Dangerous, I say, because it represents the worse kind of old-fashioned teaching, which equates the knowledge of labels, categories, and descriptions with education.

For example, it lists the basic types of clouds (stratus, cumulus, and cirrus), but gives only the briefest discussion of the water cycle, or weather patterns, or meteorology and weather prediction, etc.In other words, your child would be taught *what* things are called, but may never understand the proces or mechanisms involved.The study of history is similar, if not worse -- consisting mostly of names and dates, presents a naively heroic and linear progression of events, and focuses entirely on American history.Your child may know what Paul Revere was famous for, but will have little understanding of the historical processes which were at play in the American revolution.For the author, it is sufficient that the child learn that "the colonies had a dream to be free!"I think even a 5th grader deserves a better explanation than that (worse, if an adult believes it, too).

The title itself is misleading, since there is very little on "how" to teach; it mostly tells about "things to know."The section on critical reasoning and thinking is particularly disappointing, devoting about one paragraph to "evaluation," which is the single most important step.Not suprisingly, a lot more pages are devoted to "describing," "classifying," "summarizing," etc.It's as if this book is stuck in the Middle Ages, trying to rediscover Aristotle's natural philosophy.

In my opinion, this book could serve well only as a basic primer for a parent whose own schooling was rather lacking.But if that is the case, the parent is probably a lot better off entrusting the education of his/her children to someone with some knowledge and professional expertise.

As a final comment, I should note that this book takes the effort to point out that humans are the "highest" form of animal, and are primates only because humans have "flexible hands and feet."Not only is this wrong, it also stinks of a religious agenda.

A fair start, but I probably won't use it to teach my son.
I too found the constant references to the Gulf War tiresome. I also found some factual errors (koalas are not bears) and a few words that were spelled wrong. I will use the book as a reference, but will find otherbooks to use, also.

some good tips
Just finished scanning this book.As a home schooler,it seems to have a very good list of phonics facts. I did find however the continuous references to war and violence when the author was illustrating a point-abit - no,very tiresome. Perhaps the gulf war was of special interest tothe author or perhaps it was a conscious effort to make the book appeartimely.In my humble opinion it was just plain annoying.

As a Canadian, I found bits and pieces of useful information.I will NOT use this bookas my only resource - but will keep it for reference. ... Read more

Product Description

Children love to pretend, and dramatic play is the perfect environment for children to practice and apply literacy concepts. Whether they decide to be firefighters, to open a pet store, or to have a tea party, children will increase their vocabulary, communicate with their peers, and learn to recognize environmental print--all important skills for prereaders. Literacy Play is chock-full of creative dramatic play activities that teach important pre-reading skills while bringing children's imaginations to life!

Amy Cox has been a supervising teacher in the Melba S. Lehner Children's School at Weber State University for the past nine years.

Sherrie West is a mentor teacher for Head Start at the Ogden Area Community Action Agency.

Customer Reviews (2)

love it
love it; great ideas for dramatic play and literacy activities; my preschooler loves doing them and it's time well spent;the best learning takes place when kids don't feel they're being "schooled" and this definitely fits the bill

This book had great ideas and printables!!!!
This book had great ideas for any dramatic play area.
I have used quite a few in my dramatic play area at school.
I also enjoyed the printables in the back of the book. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Learning multiplication facts is easy and fun with these engaging, original songs students will love. Includes a complete activity book packed with games, hands-on reproducibles, mnemonic devices, and song sheets. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Some songs excellent
While I agree with one reviewer that some songs are boring, my 3rd grade students absolutely love some of the songs.Slinky Sevens, Calculate to Learn the Eights, and World's Hardest Multiplication Fact make this worth the money to buy.Those are the hardest facts to remember, and the songs make them fun.

Not Happy with Amazon Customer Service
I'm not happy with my product because I did not receive the audio cd that was to be with it.I've already sent an e-mail to Amazon and no one has responded.I'm not able to utilize the book without the audio cd.

Not what I thought
the songs are not really a great format for memorizing facts (for my child). Instead of "2 x 2 is four!" the songs are products "2, 4, 6, 8" etc. Recalling them are more difficult once you get past counting by 5's. But, my daughter is listening for 15 minutes per day and is slowly picking them up.

Disappointed
Given the other review was so incredibly positive, I was excited to purchase this product.My kids got to the third song and asked me to turn it off because the music was "lame."I have to say, the songs are pretty hokey. Can't learn the songs without listening to the cd, so I will try to put it in the car and see if they warm up to it. . .

Fun and educational
My fourth-grade students like these songs so much that they're disappointed on days we don't have time to sing them. From rap to country and western, the music is varied, fun, and memorable. I've been using the cassette version for several years; I'm so glad there's a CD version now. This is one of the better "multiplication songs" resources--definitely worth the price. ... Read more

Product Description
Help make spelling stick with these engaging, original songs that teach students how to tackle silent letters (e.g., autumn, doubt), double consonants (dinner/diner, filled/filed), homophones (allowed/aloud, pause/paws), contractions (let's, you're), and so much more. Includes song sheets, background information, and fun activities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

not very good
this was not what I expected. I found it to be uninspiring, slow, and ho hum.My kids were not engaged at all.

Skip this one
I couldn't listen to the complete song on any of the tracks so I couldn't image myself doing it with 30 5th graders. I'm looking for something better. ... Read more

Product Description
Invite children to sing along and learn colors, numbers, how to tell time, and more-and get a head start on success in school! This full-color, illustrated book with audio CD includes lively original songs that encourage active listening. The toe-tapping tunes and fun lyrics also help young children build oral language and early literacy skills! Includes song sheets and easy, learning-filled activities. For use with Grades PreK-2. ... Read more

Product Description
20 Month-by-Month Learning Songs With instant Activities That Teach & Delight
Includes Tape!
Dazzle young learners with this lively collection of easy-to-sing, adorable tunes--two for each month of the school year! All your favorite topics are here: Ten Red Apples, It's Thanksgiving, Penguins on Parade, Be My Valentine, the 100th Day, Bug Boogie, and many more! Includes reproducible lyric sheets, fun movement ideas, skill-building activities, and so much more. A great way to make each and every month extra special! ... Read more

Product Description

This book is designed to provide teachers with an array of computer tools to promote reading, writing, and critical thinking in their classrooms.  It can be used by teachers who recognize the need to continue their education by becoming adept at using computers in their classrooms.  In short, this book covers the major concerns K-8 teachers face as they integrate computer technology into their classrooms and provides numerous suggestions for applying the ideas described in the book in real classrooms.  The discussion of literacy topics and pedagogy is grounded in research literature, best practice for teaching, and current successful technology integration strategies.

FEATURES:

Customer Reviews (1)

A Keeper
As a teacher, finding a good book that it user friendly and filled with useful information is difficult. Adding to that, finding a book that has all of these things and is easy to use is down right impossible; however, Technology to Teach Literacy A Resource for K-8 Teachers is a fantastic book that successfully utilizes all of these things. This book is geared towards teachers and provides useful ways of using technology to improve literacy in kids kindergarten through eighth grade. As such, the book provides a wide spectrum of websites and strategies that are grade appropriate and useful for the target audience. Combined with screenshots of the sites themselves and easily labeled sections, the book has the "efficiency" of the teacher in mind. ... Read more

Product Description
Fun Activities with Instant Reproducible Patterns that Teach Early Math Concepts
Perfect for learning centers!
Young learners will love creating delightful projects‹and you'll love tapping into fresh ideas that connect math and art! Children explore the shapes in their world through irresistible art projects like Sponge-Paint Shape Critters, Cut-n-Paste Quilts, and many more! This one-of-a-kind resource is complete with reproducible shape patterns, interactive bulletin board ideas, and cross-curricular links to help make teaching shapes a snap! Includes easy how-to's and time-saving tips! ... Read more

Product Description
Little hands—and minds—will be at work as kids dive into these adorable, reproducible mini-books and build reading confidence. As children read and interact with each story, they’ll practice decoding text using picture cues, expand their vocabulary, and more. At the same time, they’ll deepen their understanding of topics such as counting, shapes, colors, and opposites. ... Read more

Product Description
Teaching writing just got easier and more effective because of these sturdy crates. In them, teachers will find everything they need to help students use the six traits-ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions-improve their writing. Each crate contains an array of materials designed to engage students and enrich their writing experiences, including: 6 high-interest picture books hand selected for each trait 6 teaching guides filled with step-by-step lessons, graphic organizers, a scoring guide, and extension activities. Sing-along Trait Songs, a music CD containing lively, trait-specific songs to share with your students. Includes a bonus track on presentation. 6 full-color 17 x 22 posters contain lyrics to the songs on the CD Color-coded stickers for organizing classroom libraries and teaching materialsUsing Picture Books to Teach Writing With the Traits: K-2, 112-page resource containing 18 step-by-step lessons and 150annotations

of new and classic books, organized by trait. What's more, each crate comes with hanging folders one for each trait for easy, expandable storage for years to come.Kindergarten Picture Books

Ideas: My Chair Organization: I Am America Voice: When Sophie Gets Really, Really Angry Word Choice:Mama Zooms Sentence Fluency: Charlie Parker Played Be Bop

Conventions: No, David! For use with Grade K. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

terrific teaching tool
The Trait crates are a wonderful addition to your writing curriculum and the fact that it includes books and lessons makes it immediately useful.I have been teaching for 19 years and this is definately a must have!

Starting them out in the "write" way
A blessing for every Kindergarten teacher or Instructional Coach can be found in the K Trait Crate.
Owning this Crate is a way to introduce the traits to the youngest writers. Each trait has a well-chosen book to show the students how this trait can be used in literature and then the lesson plans guide them to using the traits in their own writings.
In my own schools, we are finding much success by using the Trait Crates with our young writers.The books are an important springboard into each of the lessons and allows the teacher to enhance each trait in other lessons.
Gives both the teacher and students room to grow as writers. ... Read more

Product Description
B> With an emphasis being placed on teaching K-3 reading skills development, teachers have less time to spend on teaching how literature relates to the content areas. This text encourages emergent literacy as well as reading of literature on the content fields. This book functions as an overview of Literacy, Learning, and Literature, followed by chapter-long, specific introductions to content areas.This book analyzes and describes 125 literature books, each with follow-up activities that teachers can use to teach science, mathematics, and social studies to emergent readers. Early childhood educators, child care workers, parents, or others who may be helping young readers improve their literacy. ... Read more

Product Description
Bring English language learning alive with this 32-page brilliantly illustrated book with companion audio CD. Listen, learn and sing along with classic songs for children in this new dual language format. A perfect place to start exploring the English language with children of all ages! ... Read more

Product Description
A Better Days Books Home School Classic!

Phonics is not a method of teaching reading, but it is a necessary part of every good, modern method. It is the key to word mastery, and word mastery is one of the first essentials in learning to read. A knowledge of the sounds of letters, and of the effect of the position of the letter upon its sound, is an essential means of mastering the mechanics of reading, and of enabling children to become independent readers.

A knowledge of phonics not only gives power to pronounce new words, but it trains the ear, develops clear articulation and correct enunciation, and aids in spelling. Later, when diacritical marks are introduced, it aids in the use of the dictionary. The habit of attacking and pronouncing words of entirely new form, develops self-confidence in the child, and the pleasure he experiences in mastering difficulties without help, constantly leads to new effort.

-- From The Author's Forward ... Read more

Product Description
Quick, No-Cook Recipes with Instant Activities That Teach Each Letter of the Alphabet & Turn Snacktime into Learning Time!
A delectable way to introduce and teach the ABCs to young learners! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Provides Creative Cooking Ideas!!
My 4-year-old son and I are having a blast making these recipes; he is currently in preschool and learning his letters, so these snacks coincide nicely with his curriculum.Many of the recipes call for household ingredients, and some that call for more "exotic" items, we substitute what we have on hand.What a great resource!

Perfect!
This book is an excellent resource for my classroom.It is a great way to integrate following directions, the alphabet, and fun into snack time!...and, the ingredients listed are all items that can be brought by parents or purchased inexpensively!

The Alphabet Recipes are a recipe for fun!!
What a fabulously clever book!Please thank the authors for this creative yet easy-to-follow snack book.My son can't wait to learn his next letter and we both enjoy the snacks.Your readers must try this book!! ... Read more