The first book in America to popularize the insights of Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf schools, regarding the developmental needs of young children, this revised and updated edition offers new ways for parents and educators to enrich the lives of children from birth to age six. Today’s society often pressures us into overstimulating young children with flashcards, workbooks, videos, and electronic gadgets in a well-meaning attempt to give them a head start. But children are not little adults—they learn and grow in radically different ways at different ages, and what we do to help could actually hurt instead. Some of the most important learning years happen before your child reaches school. In You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, respected Waldorf educator Rahima Baldwin Dancy explains the different stages of learning that children go through from birth to age six, giving you the wisdom and understanding to enrich your child’s natural development in the right way at the right time. A trusted classic for over twenty years, this newly revised edition contains updated resources and additional information on discipline, early childhood programs, toilet training, using home life as curriculum, and more. From language and cognitive development to appropriate toys and nourishing your child’s artistic abilities, Dancy speaks up for a rational approach to child-rearing, one that helps children be children while we fulfill our important role as parents and first teachers.

Learn how to get your teacher ready for back to school…from the first dayl to graduation! The kids are in charge in this hilarious classroom adventure--from the creators of the New York Times bestseller How to Babysit a Grandpa. This humorous new book in the beloved HOW TO . . . series takes readers through a fun and busy school year. Written in tongue-in-cheek instructional style, a class of adorable students gives tips and tricks for getting a teacher ready—for the first day of school, and all the events and milestones that will follow (picture day, holiday concert, the 100th day of school, field day!). And along the way, children will see that getting their teacher ready is really getting themselves ready. Filled with charming role-reversal humor, this is a playful and heartwarming celebration of teachers and students. A fun read-a-loud to prepare for first day jitters, back-to-school readiness or end of year celebrations.. The fun doesn't stop! Check out more HOW TO... picture books: How to Babysit a Grandpa How to Babysit a Grandma How to Catch Santa How to Get Your Teacher Ready How to Raise a Mom How to Read to a Grandma or Grandpa

From the author and illustrator of Our Class is a Family, this touching picture book expresses a teacher's sentiments and well wishes on the last day of school. Serving as a follow up to the letter in A Letter From Your Teacher: On the First Day of School, it's a read aloud for teachers to bid a special farewell to their students at the end of the school year. Through a letter written from the teacher's point of view, the class is invited to reflect back on memories made, connections formed, and challenges met. The letter expresses how proud their teacher is of them, and how much they will be missed. Students will also leave on that last day knowing that their teacher is cheering them on for all of the exciting things to come in the future. There is a blank space on the last page for teachers to sign their own name, so that students know that the letter in the book is coming straight from them. With its sincere message and inclusive illustrations, A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last Day of School is a valuable addition to any elementary school teacher's classroom library.

"Weird Al" Yankovic's new tale of Billy, the irrepressible star of the New York Times bestselling When I Grow Up, is an uproarious back-to-school delight. Dazzling wordplay and sparkling rhyme combine in a unique appreciation of the rewards of unabashed originality and the special joy of viewing the world gently askew.

Teaching is a lifelong challenge, but the first few years in the classroom are typically a teacher's hardest. This expanded collection of writings and reflections offers practical guidance on how to navigate the school system, form rewarding relationships with colleagues, and connect in meaningful ways with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds.

We live in a world surrounded by all the stuff that education is supposed to be about: machines, bodies, languages, cities, votes, mountains, energy, movement, plays, food, liquids, collisions, protests, stones, windows. But the way we've been taught often excludes all sorts of practical ways of finding out about ideas, knowledge and culture - anything from cooking to fixing loo cisterns, from dance to model making, from collecting leaves to playing 'Who am I?'. The great thing is that you really can use everything around you to learn more. Learning should be much more fun and former children's laureate, million-selling author, broadcaster, father of five and all-round national treasure, Michael Rosen wants to show you how. Forget lists, passing tests and ticking boxes, the world outside the classroom can't be contained within the limits of any kind of curriculum - and it's all the better for it. Long car journeys, poems about farting, cake baking, even shouting at the TV can teach lessons that will last a lifetime. Packed with enough practical tips, stories and games to inspire a legion of anxious parents and bored children, Good Ideas shows that the best kind of education really does start at home.

A step-by-step program that shows parents, simply and clearly, how to teach their child to read in just 20 minutes a day.

A lighthearted nonfiction picture book about the formation and history of the Earth--told from the perspective of the Earth itself! "Hi, I’m Earth! But you can call me Planet Awesome." Prepare to learn all about Earth from the point-of-view of Earth herself! In this funny yet informative book, filled to the brim with kid-friendly facts, readers will discover key moments in Earth’s life, from her childhood more than four billion years ago all the way up to present day. Beloved children's book author Stacy McAnulty helps Earth tell her story, and award-winning illustrator David Litchfield brings the words to life. The book includes back matter with even more interesting tidbits. This title has Common Core connections.

"This book is a place to start creating the classroom of your dreams from the very first minute of school, a classroom that is research based, child centered, and in step with the world today." - Christine Hertz and Kristine Mraz The classroom of your dreams starts with one big idea. From the first days of school to the last, Kids First from Day One shares teaching that puts your deepest teaching belief into action: that children are the most important people in the room. Christine Hertz and Kristi Mraz show how to take that single, heartfelt value and create a cohesive, highly effective approach to teaching that addresses today's connected, collaborative world. With infectious enthusiasm, hard-won experience, and a generous dose of humor, Kids First from Day One shows exactly how Christine and Kristi build and maintain a positive, cooperative, responsive classroom where students engage deeply with their learning and one another. Kids First from Day One strengthens and deepens the connections between your love of working with kids, your desire to impact their lives, and your teaching practice. It shares: plans for designing beautiful classroom spaces that burst with the fun of learning positive language and classroom routines that reduce disruptive behavior-without rewards and consequences suggestions for matching students' needs to high-impact teaching structures a treasury of the Christine and Kristi's favorite "teacher stuff" such as quick guides for challenging behavior, small-group planning grids, and parent letters links to videos that model the moves of Christine's and Kristi's own teaching. Just starting out and want to know what really works in classrooms? Curious about how to make your room hum with learning? Or always on the lookout for amazing teaching ideas? Read Kids First from Day One. You'll discover that the classroom of your dreams is well within your reach.

Rhyming text encourages parents to savor not only their children's "firsts"--like first steps and first words--but the "lasts" as well.