Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn--and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less
by Diane Eyer, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff
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Book Reviews of Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn--and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less
Book Review: One of the ONLY books I recommend to my friends
Summary: 5 Stars
it is so amazing to watch my 21 month old daughter learn. it's fun to watch her explore things and figure them out and see the lightbulb go off in her head. and this book is partially responsible for allowing me to sit back and notice those little steps and appreciate them. if she is interested in figuring something out it can hold her attention for a pretty long time. for instance, she'll get bored with the insanely complicated shape sorter I got her pretty quickly right now...but put her in front of her car seat or stroller and she will spend a good five minutes or longer trying to get the buckle snapped without getting frustrated. and once she gets it done she wants you to undo it so she can do it again.
this book argues for the merits of "play" and theorizes that by pushing kids too hard you can end up hampering their natural tendencies to experiment and explore. basically the authors liken a child's mind to a highway and if you cram it too full of information at one time you end up with a traffic jam. they also explain the different stages of learning and how a child's mind works at different ages and give a lot of good experiments to do with them to monitor their development. I rarely recommend reading baby books because i find them to be alarmist and one-sided, but this is one i highly recommend every parent read.
Book Review: Child's Play Is Child's Learning
Summary: 5 Stars
The author gives strategies for backing away from overstructuring your child's day. She suggests teaming up with other parents to supervise an afternoon of free play for each other's children.
I saw this book reviewed in the Orlando Sentinel. I'm impressed that the author promotes informal play. Children often are overscheduled today or plugged into the TV/gameboy/computer. The book reminds us that children need some time to just be themselves and to putter and play.
As adults, many of us feel overscheduled with a never-ending "to do" list. Let's not turn our children into this type A behavior any sooner than necessary.
Other books on this topic: Putting Family First by William Doherty and What Kids Really Want That Money Can't Buy by Betsy Taylor.
Book Review: Great books for parents on how kids REALLY learn!
Summary: 5 Stars
Great book for parents on how and WHY to stop the craziness with baby classes, baby flash cards, electronic whizzing toys!Explains how and why we need to get down on the floor, let our children be children and learn at their own pace. Reinforced for me that we ARE doing the right thing for our son by not "enriching" his days, but letting him stay home and play truck driver and trains.
Also has great developmental advice and information on what to expect in preschool development.
As for the reviewer who claims that Albert Einstein had a special childhood -- yes he did, BUT he learned about these things in a NATURAL way, not by being forced to sit through enrichment programs.
Yes toddlers and preschoolers CAN learn to read. And if THEY want to do it, fine. But, don't force it upon them.
Book Review: Thank The Lord
Summary: 5 Stars
As an early childhood teacher I truly love the research based message of this book. You have no idea how misinformed parents are when it comes to how children truly learn and the programmed, hyper way they believe they must "challenge" their children...if I had a dime for every time I hear the word "challenge"...oh brother...now that we are beginning to see how the brain functions through MRIs and other technologies and because of thorough research many of these hyper myths are being debunked...
As for one of the reviews below that somehow talks about how we can all program young children to read in just a minute a day is off the mark...the problem is that reading isn't just decoding words...it's understanding the message of print...unfortunately, I've seen children who have been pushed by these so-called canned reading programs and "hyper-parents" at an early age...they come into class lacking motivation and then the parents want us to continue to push them because of this same lack of motivation..it becomes a terrible cycle for these children...here's the reality...
talk to your children, get down with them, engage them at an early age...help them make sense of the world and expose them to print in a very natural, purposeful way...remember, the children of many foreign nations with the best reading scores do not expose their children to phonic instruction until the age of 7 or 8...when they do read in a more systematic way they then have more life experience to make sense of print and then...what do you know...they have more natural, internal motivation to read...
Oh, and by the way, the new research is showing that free play actually "recharges" wiring in the brain allowing children to work better and with more focus...
Find a "hyper-parent" and slip them this book...give their kids a break...
Book Review: Short summary -- "Get Down in the Floor...
Summary: 4 Stars
... and just PLAY with your kids. Simple stuff, like blocks."
Makes parents who feel pressured to be cramming their kids secure in their more laid-back style. Danger: exposure to this book may cause grandmas to say "I told you so."
I happened to read this roughly at the same time as the more science-heavy "How the Mind Works" by Steven "Stinker" Pinker. (Sorry. I have great respect for his writing style and knowledge, but I can't help thinking of him as a PG Wodehouse character.) They go well together. Pinker spends a lot of time on what babies are born knowing and what they quickly learn even when they seem to be playing aimlessly. "Einstein" describes details of the play = learning process.