What Really Happens in School: A Guide to Your Child's Emotional, Social, and Intellectual Development, Grades K-5 - Softcover

Laforge, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786882115 ISBN 13: 9780786882113

Publisher: Hyperion, 1999

Synopsis

How can you tell if your child is ready for kindergarten? What is the social scene like in each grade? How do you get an answer to the question, What did you do in school today? How much homework should your kids really have? In What Really Happens in School, parenting expert Ann LaForge answers all these questions and more, relaying the most up-to-date information on what kids do in school and how they develop year by year. Replete with first-person accounts from teachers and parents, this comprehensive guide shows parents how children develop in each grade from kindergarten through grade five.

About this title

Reviews

LaForge (Eating: Win the Food Wars; Tantrums: Secrets to Calming the Storm) delivers what so many parents need. From the introduction onward, she hammers home the message that parents must make the commitment to be involved in their children's schooling. Set up for easy browsing, the book consists of 40-page chapters on each grade from kindergarten through five, discussing in detail such subjects as what children are like, what they should know and what to expect both in the classroom and on the social scene. LaForge uses ample illustrations from her own experience as a mother of three as well as from other parents and a host of nationwide educators. Readers in need of quick answers can turn to the chapter titled "All Grades: The Ten Best Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in School." Number one is to "encourage reading in any way you can," and LaForge offers concrete suggestions on how to do so based on children's ages and developmental milestones. A short chapter on "Special Concerns" gives pointers on dealing with giftedness, learning disabilities and a child's refusal to go to school. Lists of resource organizations, books and articles make this thoroughly argued volume even more serviceable.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In LaForge's guide, interviews with parents, classroom teachers in diverse settings, and other experts provide inside information, grade by grade, about what to expect in the classroom, key subjects covered, homework assigned, measuring progress, the social scene, and after-school planning. Current school expectations and trends are explicitly compared to techniques by which today's parents were taught. These comparisons highlight differences that might not otherwise be recognized and may alter parents' expectations of the schools, their children, and even themselves. LaForge carefully links children's developmental processes and milestones to school experiences and expectations, which further aids parents' quest to stay informed and involved in their children's education. LaForge writes clearly and concisely, and she is supportive and respectful of parents' interests. Summary chapters on overall strategies for success and on special learning situations and a list of recommended readings usefully supplement the grade-by-grade information. Kathryn Carpenter

Edition details

• Publisher: Hyperion
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786882115
• ISBN 13: 9780786882113
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 297