The Invisible Toolbox: The Power of Reading to Your Child from Birth to Adolescence (Parenting Book, Child Development) - Softcover

Dickson, Kim Jocelyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1642502030 ISBN 13: 9781642502039

Publisher: TMA Press, 2020

Synopsis

An Essential Tool for Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten and Beyond

Reading aloud to your children is essential. Longtime elementary school teacher Kim Jocelyn Dickson believes every child begins kindergarten with a lunchbox in one hand and an “invisible toolbox” in the other. In The Invisible Toolbox, Kim shares with parents the single most important thing they can do to foster their child’s future learning potential and nurture the parent-child bond that is the foundation for a child’s motivation to learn. She is convinced that the simple act of reading aloud has a far-reaching impact that few of us fully understand and that our recent, nearly universal saturation in technology has further clouded its importance.

In The Invisible Toolbox, parents, educators, and early literacy advocates will discover:

• Ten priceless tools that will fill their child’s toolbox when they read aloud to their child
• Tools parents can give themselves to foster these gifts in their children
• Practical tips for how and what to read aloud to children through their developmental stages
• Do’s and don’ts and recommended resources that round out all the practical tools a parent will need to prepare their child for kindergarten and beyond

Essential book for parents. In The Invisible Toolbox, Kim weaves her practical anecdotal experience as an educator and parent into the hard research of recent findings in neuroscience. She reminds us that the first years of life are critical in the formation and receptivity of the primary predictor of success in school―language skills―and that infants begin learning immediately at birth. She also teaches and inspires us to build our own toolboxes so that we can help our children build theirs.

If you enjoyed books like Honey for a Child's Heart, The Read-Aloud Handbook, Screenwise, or The Enchanted Hour; you will love The Invisible Toolbox--from a 21st century Charlotte Mason.

About this title

About the Author

Kim Jocelyn Dickson is a parent, author, and educator with thirty years of classroom experience. She graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master's degree in education and a focus on developmental psychology and spirituality. She has taught in public and private schools in the east, Midwest, and west coast of the United States. Currently, Kim lives in Southern California where she teaches, writes, and presents on the importance of early literacy. Learn more at: www.kimjocelyndickson.com and the invisibletoolbox.org.

Review

“The mark of a great teacher is not just enabling a child to do well in class, but also in giving that child the instruments she needs to succeed and love the subject forever. I wish everyone could have Ms. Dickson as their child’s teacher as I did, but The Invisible Toolbox is the next best thing!”

–Richard Chang, MD

"The Invisible Toolbox shares a simple truth that rises above the hectic commotion and flood of information parents are subjected to: ‘Reading aloud to your child from birth is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give.’ This book will tell you why this is so and what you can do to develop a lifelong love of books and reading with your child.”

―Jeff Conyers, president of The Dollywood Foundation and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

“As a pediatrician who sees firsthand the struggles and tears of the children who have empty Invisible Toolboxes, I am thrilled that Ms. Dickson has written this book to show families how to avoid all that heartache. I whole-heartedly recommend that all parents read this book!”

–Kathryn Lin, MD

Edition details

• Publisher: TMA Press
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 1642502030
• ISBN 13: 9781642502039
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 126