Rating: 
Summary: Great Resource
Review: This book has had a positive impact on my child rearing. My children are 4, 2, and 3 months. My 4 year old attends a Christian Montessori school where they support the kind of rich learning evironment that Lucy Calkins describes in her book. I have encouraged it at home too: little television, lots of books, free play, use of the imagination, puppets etc. and I am pleased with my daughters overall love for learning. This book is not related to Montessori, but it confirmed a lot of what they do. Well worth the read. I didn't give it 5 stars because I would have liked an appendix of suggested readings she made.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Resource
Review: This book is an excellent resource for anyone attempting to help a child's learning process, but it addresses our affluent, better educated population. The message is sometimes garbled by the "silver spoon" sticking out of Ms. Calkins' mouth. I give it 4 stars because the message is there, and I would not want anyone interested in the education of children to miss it. It does remind me of Martha Stewart and her creative, neat, organized world--often condescending but still providing good ideas.Unfortunately, "my" child is a 13 year old boy who has been neglected and abused all his life, and has been our foster son for only four months. He scores at a 2nd-3rd grade level in reading, but our observations tell us he is capable. This child missed out on that necessary intervention in early childhood and, it is apparent, his school is not going to bring him up to speed. I have read many books in the last few months on the theory of teaching reading, and Ms. Calkins' is one of the best. I just wish there were more to be found on helping disadvantaged children who have been deprived of the joy of reading by circumstances beyond their control.
Rating:
Summary: The Martha Stewart of Reading
Review: This book is an excellent resource for anyone attempting to help a child's learning process, but it addresses our affluent, better educated population. The message is sometimes garbled by the "silver spoon" sticking out of Ms. Calkins' mouth. I give it 4 stars because the message is there, and I would not want anyone interested in the education of children to miss it. It does remind me of Martha Stewart and her creative, neat, organized world--often condescending but still providing good ideas. Unfortunately, "my" child is a 13 year old boy who has been neglected and abused all his life, and has been our foster son for only four months. He scores at a 2nd-3rd grade level in reading, but our observations tell us he is capable. This child missed out on that necessary intervention in early childhood and, it is apparent, his school is not going to bring him up to speed. I have read many books in the last few months on the theory of teaching reading, and Ms. Calkins' is one of the best. I just wish there were more to be found on helping disadvantaged children who have been deprived of the joy of reading by circumstances beyond their control.
Rating:
Summary: The Martha Stewart of Reading
Review: This book is an excellent resource for anyone attempting to help a child's learning process, but it addresses our affluent, better educated population. The message is sometimes garbled by the "silver spoon" sticking out of Ms. Calkins' mouth. I give it 4 stars because the message is there, and I would not want anyone interested in the education of children to miss it. It does remind me of Martha Stewart and her creative, neat, organized world--often condescending but still providing good ideas. Unfortunately, "my" child is a 13 year old boy who has been neglected and abused all his life, and has been our foster son for only four months. He scores at a 2nd-3rd grade level in reading, but our observations tell us he is capable. This child missed out on that necessary intervention in early childhood and, it is apparent, his school is not going to bring him up to speed. I have read many books in the last few months on the theory of teaching reading, and Ms. Calkins' is one of the best. I just wish there were more to be found on helping disadvantaged children who have been deprived of the joy of reading by circumstances beyond their control.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource!
Review: This book was very helpful to me and my husband. We are not "educators" by trade and it provided alot of thought provoking material. We are in the process of deciding on where to send our son for kindergarten and found many of the suggestions in the appendices very helpful. I never realized how many different ways we can make reading and writing a fun and natural part of our children's lives. We have already made changes at home and are seeing the benefits. Both our 2 and 5 year olds are picking out books from their bookshelves each night and excitedly listening as Mom or Dad read. I especially found the recommended authors listed helpful.
Rating:
Summary: Creating a Rich Learning Environment
Review: _Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parent's Guide_ is full of practical suggestions, many of which are helpful to teachers as well as to parents. The book's principal author, Lucy Calkins, is a teacher educator, yet she considers the teaching of her two young sons to be her most important work. Calkins relates many vivid examples from her own experience. Although Calkins discusses things parents can do to maximize school success, _Raising Lifelong Learners_ is not a book about helping children with their homework. Instead it tells how to make the home a rich learning environment, how to arouse children's curiosity in all academic areas. Calkins says, " . . . the qualities that matter most in science and math, reading and writing -- initiative, thoughtfulness, curiosity, resourcefulness, perseverance, and imagination -- are best nurtured through the everydayness of our shared lives at home."
Calkins believes in leading children very gradually along the path of learning in all academic areas. She says, "My rule of thumb is to help the child do today what she will be able to do tomorrow. I don't want my assistance to be too far beyond the child's independent abilities or she will be put in a dependent position, always waiting for and wanting assistance." Calkins places heavy emphasis on both work and play. The latter provides an opportunity for children to develop imagination, resourcefulness, and language skills. Calkins believes that parents, not schools, have the primary responsibility for developing a work ethic in children. This is cultivated through hobbies and projects as well as through chores. After Calkins discusses the nurturing of language arts, math, science, and social studies as children progress from infancy through middle school, Lydia Bellino, a reading specialist and school principal, addresses school issues in half a dozen appendices. Most of these, such as curricular choices and various assessment methods, can also apply to the homeschool situation.
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