Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful approach to helping kids explore the world
Review: Calkins makes the case for embracing a child's natural curiosity and encouraging their interests into definable disciplines. She spends a lot of time on how to approach writing. She gently points out that it is not initially a fine motor skill to be mastered but an avenue for the child to record his or her own stories and experiences. Her constant message is how to encourage rather than perfect the child's ability which is refreshing in a world of standardize testing. Through sharing of her own experiences she provides ideas on how to help further develop a child's natural inventiveness into lessons on reading, writing, science and math. This is not a hard line method to expose a child to everything available but rather an encouragement based approach to explore ideas with your child.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful approach to helping kids explore the world
Review: Calkins makes the case for embracing a child's natural curiosity and encouraging their interests into definable disciplines. She spends a lot of time on how to approach writing. She gently points out that it is not initially a fine motor skill to be mastered but an avenue for the child to record his or her own stories and experiences. Her constant message is how to encourage rather than perfect the child's ability which is refreshing in a world of standardize testing. Through sharing of her own experiences she provides ideas on how to help further develop a child's natural inventiveness into lessons on reading, writing, science and math. This is not a hard line method to expose a child to everything available but rather an encouragement based approach to explore ideas with your child.
Rating:
Summary: A realistic heartfelt approach to learning
Review: I began this book last night. It was recommended to me by a friend who is also a principal, and I dutifully bought it, placed it on a shelf and kept looking at its spine (feeling guilty). It looked, judging from the title and cover, like an academic, how-to book. I was afraid it would be too impractical...too unrealistic. Was I wrong. I was immediately inspired. In fact, I was in my youngest child's preschool class today helping out. I heard myself asking the children the rather inane questions (questions only of fact) that Calkins describes early in her book. She doesn't just list these questions as "bad" questions. She gives us alternatives to help US help our children to THINK. So, upon hearing myself ask something inane, I rephrased my question and really LISTENED to the child's response. Thank you Lucy Calkins. I'm sure to keep asking these basic questions, but now I also know how to ask for and listen to more complicated ideas! I can't wait to learn more as I finish this wonderful book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Helpful Book!
Review: I bought this book because my son was beginning 3rd grade. I thought it would help me understand how to encourage his reading. It far exceeded my expectations. This book was filled with both great personal insights (from a parents perspective) and current educational theory. This book made a great case for understanding "Whole Language" methods of teaching reading and working with them. I now have a much better grasp of what education theories are being used in elementary school and I also better understand the importance of helping my son develop a love for writing. Simply put: this book is very helpful for parents who want to be involved with their children's elementary education!
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for every parent!
Review: I can't put this book down! I have to re-read the chapters that are applicable to my 4-year-old child over and over again. The author captures exactly the kind of education I'd like for my child: one that encourages active, critical, and creative learning and not merely doing well in tests and getting good grades. This book has given me many practical ideas for instilling a love of learning in my child, as well as for finding a school that will be my partner in this endeavour.
Rating: 
Summary: Some very practical suggestions...
Review: I was attracted to this book by the title and based on the previous recommendations I read on Amazon.You have to give credit to somebody who draws from their experience to help others. What I really like about this book is that the author urges parents to become a proactive force in their child's education and provides various suggestions for doing just that. This is particularly true when the author addresses reading. As I researched about reading skills, it became apparent to me that many pre-reading skills (such as understanding symbols, sequencing, left-to-right, etc) should be developed 1 or 2 years before reading begins. One of the simplet ways (there are others that should be considered also) to encourage and strengthen these skills is to read aloud to kids. Don't wait until they are in kindergarten or preschool, do it now, as soon as birth and perhaps even during pregnancy. LMC articulates and underscores this point very well. Of course if you are considering this book you probably are already doing just that. Why the three stars? First, I think LMC missed a big red flag when she invalidated her sons feelings at one point about going to school. She writes something to the effect that she told her son "its not normal" to not like school or something to that effect. Having read Roger Schank's radical "coloring outside the lines" in parallel with this book, I think its the most normal thing in the world for children to complain about being bored in school while adapting to it. How is it normal for a child to sit at a desk and not speak out of turn all the while being expected to absorb concepts that are new and thus foreign and perhaps even uninteresting to them? Anyhow, maybe its just a difference in philosophy, since I lean towards, non-coerced, student-led educational philosophy. Nonetheless, I think LMC has the best of intentions with this book and provides excellent suggestions with respect to creating an environment of learning at home, which is the aim of the book. The second reason for the three stars is that I think the book's effectiveness could have been enhanced had LMC summarized a reading list as an appendix. The suggestions for read-alouds are great, except you may have to jump back and forth throughout the book to find them or otherwise keep a pencil handy so you can write them down as you come across them. Overall, a good book and perhaps should be done as homework before one becomes a parent or at least when one is considering how a child's environment encourages learing.
Rating:
Summary: Some very practical suggestions...
Review: I was attracted to this book by the title and based on the previous recommendations I read on Amazon. You have to give credit to somebody who draws from their experience to help others. What I really like about this book is that the author urges parents to become a proactive force in their child's education and provides various suggestions for doing just that. This is particularly true when the author addresses reading. As I researched about reading skills, it became apparent to me that many pre-reading skills (such as understanding symbols, sequencing, left-to-right, etc) should be developed 1 or 2 years before reading begins. One of the simplet ways (there are others that should be considered also) to encourage and strengthen these skills is to read aloud to kids. Don't wait until they are in kindergarten or preschool, do it now, as soon as birth and perhaps even during pregnancy. LMC articulates and underscores this point very well. Of course if you are considering this book you probably are already doing just that. Why the three stars? First, I think LMC missed a big red flag when she invalidated her sons feelings at one point about going to school. She writes something to the effect that she told her son "its not normal" to not like school or something to that effect. Having read Roger Schank's radical "coloring outside the lines" in parallel with this book, I think its the most normal thing in the world for children to complain about being bored in school while adapting to it. How is it normal for a child to sit at a desk and not speak out of turn all the while being expected to absorb concepts that are new and thus foreign and perhaps even uninteresting to them? Anyhow, maybe its just a difference in philosophy, since I lean towards, non-coerced, student-led educational philosophy. Nonetheless, I think LMC has the best of intentions with this book and provides excellent suggestions with respect to creating an environment of learning at home, which is the aim of the book. The second reason for the three stars is that I think the book's effectiveness could have been enhanced had LMC summarized a reading list as an appendix. The suggestions for read-alouds are great, except you may have to jump back and forth throughout the book to find them or otherwise keep a pencil handy so you can write them down as you come across them. Overall, a good book and perhaps should be done as homework before one becomes a parent or at least when one is considering how a child's environment encourages learing.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource!
Review: The author gives great, practical suggestions for preparing your child to read. The ideas covered begin with how we speak with infants and toddlers to helping older children raise their reading skill level. The author also gives concrete title suggestions. It is a terrific book.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for parents who want literate children
Review: The author gives great, practical suggestions for preparing your child to read. The ideas covered begin with how we speak with infants and toddlers to helping older children raise their reading skill level. The author also gives concrete title suggestions. It is a terrific book.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Resource
Review: This book changed the way that I looked at my children's learning and the way that I conducted myself around them. It's full of practical ideas that anyone can do and vindicated some of my own instincts. It may bother people who think their children need to be in organized activities all the time. The book stresses that creativity often comes from having the time to think and dream.
It also gives ways to help you communicate with your child and also about how what you say about your life reflects in your child's view of the world. Another item which was helpful was the idea that it's okay for kids to try things and fail or not do them perfectly as long they keep trying.
I'm the mom of two very creative, bright kids and I think this book is partly responsible.
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