Slow and Steady Get Me Ready

Rating:
Summary: Pretty great, but a tiny bit impractical
Review: I love the IDEA of this book. However, in real life I've had some difficulty implementing the ideas. Frankly, sometimes I've also been left worrying terribly about how far behind my kids are if they can't yet name the items at age 52 weeks like the author says they might. Overall though it's a great Preschool program to follow, very clearly laid out, and progressive in developmental expectations. It is the Preschool guide to follow if you're following the Well Trained Mind.

Rating:
Summary: Full of great ideas for activities...
Review: This book contains one educational activity for each week of your childs life, from birth to age 5. Although you are humorlessly instructed to do the activities in order, repeating the activity-of-the-week daily, the book is still useful in real life. Every few weeks, I flip through the sections for my children's ages and get ideas. The activities are exactly age appropriate- even the ones for young babies. They generally (but not always) use stuff you have around the house. And they are often ideas you might not think of on your own. I have also found that the activities have a good time-enjoyed to clean-up-the-mess time ratio!

Rating:
Summary: Simple weekly activities to stimulate learning, birth - 5
Review: This book was recommended in Susan Wise Bauer's The Well Trained Mind. I have found it invaluable. Each week, there is a new, developmentally- appropriate activity to introduce to your baby/toddler/preschooler. They involve fine and gross motor skills, cognitive skills, listening skills, and many more. The activities are not complicated, nor do they need to be. Oberlander selects activities using common household objects. This is an easily digestible guide to keeping in touch with your child's developmental abilities!