Rating: 
Summary: Be prepared for homemade look
Review: I bought this because of its recommendation in Bauer and Wise's book (The Well-Trained Mind). It has some good ideas, but you'll have to use your common sense. Many of the ideas are repetitive -- kind of like variations on a theme. Also, the author often suggests activities that the child isn't developmentally ready for yet. And, be warned: this book is VERY homemade in appearance -- handmade drawings, old-fashioned type and layout.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book... prep work involved
Review: I bought this book when my daughter turned one and have been using it off and on since then (she's 22 months now). Each activity is centered around developing certain skills which are outlined below each activity. Although most activities involve things "typically" found around the house, I found that I did not have some of those "typical" items, eg. spools, bells, wooden clothespins. I ended up picking and choosing activities, rather than going week by week. The activities help let parents know it their child is on target developmentally and lets parents focus in on some skills that need strengthening.
Rating:
Summary: Great book... prep work involved
Review: I bought this book when my daughter turned one and have been using it off and on since then (she's 22 months now). Each activity is centered around developing certain skills which are outlined below each activity. Although most activities involve things "typically" found around the house, I found that I did not have some of those "typical" items, eg. spools, bells, wooden clothespins. I ended up picking and choosing activities, rather than going week by week. The activities help let parents know it their child is on target developmentally and lets parents focus in on some skills that need strengthening.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than 10 new toys!
Review: I found this book when my son was about 8 months old. I wish I'd had it from the time he was born! The activities are simple and well-designed for each stage of development, as well as entertaining for the baby/toddler. Many activities have revealed abilities my son had developed that I was not even aware of. Often I would prepare for the current week's activity, expecting that it would still be a little over his head. Continually, I was surprised to find that he could understand and fully participate.Furthermore, many of the homeade items used for the activities have turned into toys (at MUCH cheaper cost than buying a toy). For instance, some activities call for a coffee can opened at each end (cover jagged edges with thick tape), with one end covered by a plastic lid and a large hole cut into the plastic lid. The child practices putting a spool (or, in our case, shapes from his shape sorter)into the hole, then lifting the can to reveal the spool/object underneath. While my son was too young to play with his shape sorter itself (too young to differentiate which shapes went into which hole), he LOVED putting all the shapes through the hole cut into the coffee can lid (made large enough to accomodate all of them). He played with it repeatedly, learning valuable skills in the process. I highly recommend this book at any stage of baby or toddlerhood!
Rating:
Summary: Great baby shower gift!
Review: I wish I had gotten this as a baby shower gift for my first child! I would not have bothered with all of those "Brain Games", "365 things to do", "activities for baby", etc. books. Those other books had some neat ideas, but there were SO MANY and it was hard to know exactly at what age to do them because the age range given for the activity was too broad (like YEARS!). Slow & Steady, on the other hand, give AGE APPROPRIATE activities for your child in an organized, manageable fashion (one per week). The developmental checklists at the back of the book are extremely helpful. Yes, a lot of the activities do instruct you to make objects with things like spools, yarn, and coffee cans, but you certainly don't have to do the activity with ONLY homemade things. For example, one activity calls for you to make a drum from a coffee can. Well, we don't buy cans of coffee. And even if we did, I probably wouldn't make a drum out of it. So instead, I just used my preschoolers toy drum and let my baby tap on it with her hand. Make the stuff if you want to, or just substitute some toy that you more than likely already have. I think this book is great, especially for the price. Buy one and tell all of your friends about it!
Rating:
Summary: Great baby shower gift!
Review: I wish I had gotten this as a baby shower gift for my first child! I would not have bothered with all of those "Brain Games", "365 things to do", "activities for baby", etc. books. Those other books had some neat ideas, but there were SO MANY and it was hard to know exactly at what age to do them because the age range given for the activity was too broad (like YEARS!). Slow & Steady, on the other hand, give AGE APPROPRIATE activities for your child in an organized, manageable fashion (one per week). The developmental checklists at the back of the book are extremely helpful. Yes, a lot of the activities do instruct you to make objects with things like spools, yarn, and coffee cans, but you certainly don't have to do the activity with ONLY homemade things. For example, one activity calls for you to make a drum from a coffee can. Well, we don't buy cans of coffee. And even if we did, I probably wouldn't make a drum out of it. So instead, I just used my preschoolers toy drum and let my baby tap on it with her hand. Make the stuff if you want to, or just substitute some toy that you more than likely already have. I think this book is great, especially for the price. Buy one and tell all of your friends about it!
Rating:
Summary: Slow and Steady Get Me Ready
Review: June R. Oberlander has written a book that offers parents two-hundred and fifty opportunities to challenge their own and their baby's creativity, coordination, and numerous other abilities. The projects/games are simple, fun, and economical. I have been delightfully surprised at how my 4 month old has responded each week to the projects (especially when I follow her instructions on how to initiate and use them). If he didn't respond to the specific week's project I have returned to it (as J. Oberlander instructs)and am delighted when it ellicits the positive response. It has helped me be creative (I rate myself as average in creativity). You can still buy the Lamaze infant development toys (they're better to chew on) but one cannot beat the PRACTICALITY of this book's projects. One example from the book is the paper plate with the face drawn on it. Oberlander's instructions coached me as how to turn it slowly around (left-to-right as to enhance left and right tracking and laterality and "awareness of front and back"). He loves it, still. I love his smile. The plate cost ten cents. Her instructions made me aware of such things as acquainting him with the concept of front and back, left and right, and laterality at a very young age. I have no doubt it will build his mind and "ready" him for later concepts. The following is an analogy of the usefulness of this book compared with others I've read on infant development. You remember the crib you bought and had to put together. The other books only give you the picture on the box. Slow and Steady is the instruction manual.
Rating:
Summary: A complete "preschool" in your home
Review: Slow and Steady offers a wide variety of interesting, yet simple activities that guide you, the conscientious parent, in assisting your child in skill development. By the time your child is five, he should have a grasp of numerous concepts and skills that might otherwise be learned haphazardly, and perhaps incompletely. It is a low-pressure approach to guiding your child through learning the natural way, by doing and playing and being together with a loved one. Physical skills, spatial concepts, pre-reading skills, numerical skills and the like are touched on and expanded gradually. I generally perform the recommended activity with one of my four daughters, spending the cherished moments together, and after a while she continues on her own, letting her imagination guide her into related areas of play. Slow and Steady is a delightful book with a strong grasp of childhood development. This book has benefitted us, as a homeschooling family, by offering simple activities requiring minimal preparation which can allow the younger children to "do school" with Mommy in whatever timeslot is available while the older children are working on their own. Some activities can be expanded to include the older children as well. This also makes a wonderful gift!
Rating: 
Summary: The alphabet was included for a phonetic approach to reading
Review: Some parents lack an understanding of phonics which is necessary for success in the integrated (whole language) approach to reading. Many kindergarten children are unable to write their thoughts on paper if they don't have a foundation in phonics.
Rating:
Summary: 4th year alphabetic activities
Review: The alphabetical activities were included in the fourth year because experience has shown that the Phonetic approach is necessary for a successful reader and speller and is a vital supplement to the Integrated (Whole) Language method.
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