Family Engagement

"99 Tips for School Readiness" is designed to provide simple, developmentally appropriate activities to help children ages four and five get ready for school. The activities progress in difficulty within each skill area and can be used by families or by teachers. Skill areas include: Self-Help, Social-Behavioral, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Language, and Cognitive. Book measures 9"L x 6"W x .25" thick.

Lilian Katz has spent many years conducting workshops for teachers, parents, and students all over the world, and during those workshops she has often referred to her son Stephen, and what she has termed the "intellectual emergencies" she experienced during the years he was growing up. Her responses to these "emergencies," the moments when he analyzed her actions and challenged her decisions as a parent and a teacher, are pulled together in this book. With music and words from… More »

Zen Parenting offers practical insights into using the Zen practice of non-judgmental awareness to deal with the day-to-day chaos and joy of parenting.The short story format allows readers to easily grasp and apply Zen concepts in their own lives. 144 pages.

Seventy-nine interactive activities based on positive messages help children increase their attention spans, reduce hyperactivity, build self esteem, and facilitate language development. The interactions teach children how to be kind and caring using gentle touches. 208 pages.

For the littlest learners, everything is an activity--feeling a rock, trying to lick a bubble, smelling a flower, or poking sand. In this book, teachers and caregivers of infants and toddlers will learn how these simple explorations support cognitive and vocabulary development. The book explains heuristic learning--discovery by trial and error--and how to encourage this type of learning to boost development. Through his explorations, the child is answering some fundamental questions: What is this… More »

Get the most of the revised edition with this companion CD-ROM containing more than 40 pages of Core Learning Activity handouts plus sample posters for promoting a family-friendly program environment and sample cover letters and response forms.

Children are the inspiration for positive family-provider relationships that are essential for promoting healthy child development and learning. School-to-Home Connections is bursting with ideas for early childhood educators. Inside, you'll find simple ways to explain developmentally appropriate practice to parents, ideas on partnering with them on their child's journey to school readiness, and tips for nurturing families' active involvement in the school community. Along the way, you discover information… More »

"ScreamFree Parenting" is not just another parenting book. It's the first parenting book that maintains -- from beginning to end -- that parenting is NOT about kids, it's about parents. As parents pay more attention to controlling their own behavior instead of their kids' behavior, the result is stronger, more rewarding, and more fulfilling family relationships. By staying calm and connected with your kids, you begin to operate less out of your deepest fears and more out of your highest… More »

This resource book offers you the benefits of the most current research on child development, featuring helpful tips and techniques to foster your child's growth.

The Busy Family's Guide to Volunteering shows you how to access the resources and information available to find volunteer opportunities that meet the needs of your family. Whether you have a two-year-old or an eighteen-year-old, you'll find everything you need to know to have a fulfilling and fun volunteer experience, from finding the right opportunity for your family to answers to hesitations you may have. The perfect book for families who want to do good things for their community, spend quality… More »

This book emphasizes creating positive relationships with parents and families as the foundation for strong, ongoing partnerships between parents and families and after-school programs. This edition includes revised and expanded learning activities and answer guides to reflect current issues and concerns; revised and expanded handouts; enhanced and expanded tools for assessing parent needs and concerns; new and expanded tip sheets for building connections with parents and families; and a selected… More »

Parenting isn't always the joy it's made out to be. On the contrary, many parents feel they are struggling to maintain their sanity and control of their young children's behaviors. Offering realistic, practical advice for parents who want the joy back in parenting. Instead of getting bogged down in negative cycles, the book will help readers leave those behavior struggles behind and turn children on to cooperation and respect. The book will also help adults model their "best self" and… More »

Author, Rebecca Green, takes readers on an inspiring journey using beautiful color photos that she took of her children doing activities she describes in the book. This book takes a lighthearted approach to the serious business of parenting, and helps parents find activities that they enjoy, while their children learn and have fun. Green suggests ways for parents to maintain their own identities and pursue their own interests while raising children who are creative, confident, and independent thinkers.… More »

This book contains hundreds of up-to-date service projects and ideas presented in an engaging, kid-friendly format and it has something for everyone who wants to make a difference. Features and benefits include: over 500 service learning project ideas -- from simple to large scale, the "Ten Steps to Successful Service Projects", a new sections on Internet use and school service learning requirements, step-by-step instructions for creating flyers, petitions, press releases, and more. The… More »