Customer Reviews

Language and Thinking for Young Children

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This manual can be used for the entire family. The author's give real-life examples and, thus, make learning fun. For example, when one is introducing someone, my children dressed as an older person, a dad and mother. They would then practice introducing several people in orderof importance. I.E. older people first, ladies and then men. The author's suggested doing this as a way to add fun to the practice. A second example, is practicing prepositions. In this activity, the author suggested making a circle on the floor with a jumping rope. Then using commands with prepositions. For example, I told my children to put their hand in the rope. Other activities include reading classic fables, which are included in the book, vocabulary and thinking skills, language games, memorizing, learning about telephones, enjoying poetry and learning on trips. My children, ages, 3, 7 and 8 have enjoyed this book.

I gave this book 3 stars because it is average. It isn't a rotten resource, but it isn't one of the best I've seen either.

I suppose if you aren't planning on homeschooling and are looking for ideas on how to help get your pre-schooler ready to learn in school and want to maximize what little time you may be able to spend with your child, this book would be good for you. If you homeschool, you may find this book a ho-hum resource.

It is redundant considering what we have already been learning as part of a well-rounded curriculum in our homeschool. The book suggests things most homeschool families already do-- they already read stories together, try to memorize worthwhile poems, talk WITH children (not AT), cook together, shop together, look for opportunities to learn together, etc.

The activities this book suggests that WOULDN'T be routine family activities for a homeschool family WOULD be covered in homeschool/preschool during readiness games, lessons and workbooks, pre-school math, etc. They would also be more thoroughly done in that medium, with less work on behalf of the parent-teacher.

One last note: I found the stories at the beginning a little too rough to share with my pre-schooler. I feel some fables/stories will never be worthwhile to share with that age, no matter how long they have been around. (How do you read a story ending with most of the characters having their head snapped off by a fox to a 3.5 year old? I know I don't want to be up with a child having nightmares, and don't want to see the child acting it out in make believe play, so why bother with those things when there are so many other wonderful stories available?)

I will be returning this book, knowing I'm not going to take the time to dig it out and flip through it for the handful of ideas that may be useful to our homeschool.

I think for people who are just making the switch to homeschooling or want ideas for things to do with their young children, this book will do just fine. For people who are looking for a real curriculum (as this book claims to be for the younger set), remember you get what you pay for, and 8$ for a year's curriculum probably will not be what you are hoping it will be. You will find a better bang for your buck with other sources.

This is not a book that is likely to be appreciated by those who feel the need to do "school at home" and/or major academics with their kindergartners. It IS a resource that will be appreciated by those homeschoolers who prefer a more laid-back "lifestyle" approach to homeschooling but would like something to help keep them on track.

The activities described in this text are organized into "units," making them easy to find even if you don't actually DO them as units. They are simple, "time with mommy," real-life types of activities. Most young children will find them fun. Although most of them are ideas that many mothers COULD come up with on our own, many of them are also easily overlooked (especially once you have several children and can't remember who knows what). It had never crossed my mind, for example, to introduce my preschooler to nutritional vocabulary (such as the wording on food labels), despite the fact that our family is very conscious of these concepts and eats a very healthy diet.

I gave the book four stars instead of five due to two factors. First, the telephone section needs updating. (Is anyone actually still on a party line?) Second, I would have preferred a different collection of reading selections in the stories and poetry sections. Some of the stories/poems are good, but we will be skipping over many of them.

This book was a wonderful resource for my young children--the gems of wisdom are easily overlooked because the author is so terse. For example, she suggests allowing your child to pick out an exotic fruit he has never tried before on a grocery store trip. Very simple, right? Yet I did this occasionally and it resulted in the huge benefit of my young children always being excited to try new foods--I can't tell you how unique a quality this has been among most of the other young children we know. Not to mention all the fun learning we enjoyed by trying new fruits. Have you tried Monstera deliciosa yet? It's been one of our favorites.

We implemented the author's suggestion after reading the fable of the Crow and the Pitcher and my daughter was absolutely enthralled by it; an activity I probably never would thought of doing on my own; simple, but came with a huge payoff. I implemented the author's suggestion for training phone manners and every phone call yielded gushing praise for how wonderfully my children answered the phone. These are just a few of the ways this book impacted our children's development.

This book is extremely easy to use and develops a culture of learning as a lifestyle. In fact it is really a training manual for parents in how to translate every day life into nurturing learning activities your child will love.

I can not sing the praises of this curriculum enough! We utilized this curriculum in our homeschool during the year our child was a kindergartner (5-6 years old) and they loved it! Language and Thinking for Young Children was written by Dr. Ruth Beechick as a complete years course in oral language for young children in Grades Kindergarten through Third. The curriculum is divided into eight units: vocabulary/thinking skills, lanugage games, memorizing, learning about telephones, enjoying poetry, manners and learning on trips. The lessons are easy to follow, with the instructions being brief and clear. The lessons are easy adaptable to fit different situations and they are FUN to do! This is a great curriculum to use along with "Peak With Books" or Trish Kuffner's "Picture Book Activities." I would highly recommend following this curriculum with one of the following curriculums, "Simply Grammar" by Karen Andreloa, "English for the Thoughtful Child" by Mary Hyde or "First Language Lessons" by Emma Serl.

I bought this book as it was recommended as part of Sonlight's Language Arts program for first grade. I am extremely disappointed with this book. It might be a good book for preschoolers, but I found nothing of any use in the book for my first grader. Not sure why Sonlight (who normally offers material that I consider a little advanced for the recommended age) would suggest this book as part of a curriculum for 6,7&8 year olds. In addition, many parts of the book are extremely dated and virtually useless.

My book came just as described - like new! It looked liked it had never even been read. Love it.
Haven't started implementing the book yet - but the material looks very simple but exciting. It is helpful to have expert advice on how to coach my kids at home.

First chapter in & I can already tell that I will love this book! May not be for everyone, but is great for those like me who don't have experience w/ children aside from their own. While I'm sure there are lots of moms who instinctively know how to "grow" language in their children, be it intrinsically or thanks to their own upbringing - that's not me. I'll be honest & say that I don't always know how to relate to my preschoolers.

Also, we all fall into a rut & get complacent when it comes to interacting with & teaching our children...this is a great tool to keep it fresh & keep you on track.

Love it & highly recommend!

This is typical Ruth Beechick, Uses real life situations and teacher-child interaction to teach beginning language arts concepts. If that is your preference for your young child, you will probably like this book. If you prefer thorough text book instruction, you probably will not. The book has good ideas for a very low price!