The memoir of an innovative American educator and the remarkable school she built—“a lucid presentation of what progressive education can accomplish” (The New York Times). Over a century ago, American educator Caroline Pratt created an innovative school that fosters creativity and independent thought by asking the provocative question: “Was it unreasonable to try to fit the school to the child, rather than . . . the child to the school?” A strong-willed small-town schoolteacher who ran a one-room schoolhouse by the time she was seventeen, Pratt came to viscerally reject the teaching methods of her day, which often featured a long-winded teacher at the front of the room and rows of miserable children sitting on benches nailed to the floor. In this “persuasive presentation of progressive education,” Pratt recounts how she founded what is now the dynamic City and Country School in New York City, invented the “unit blocks” that have become a staple in classrooms around the globe, and played an important role in reimagining preschool and primary-school education in ways that are essential for the tumultuously creative time we live in today (Kirkus Reviews).

The author recounts how she developed an alternative approach to teaching children that emphasizes firsthand experience

‘100 Things to Learn before you’re 10’ is an educational book to help parents. Drawing on 40 years teaching experience, it explains why every child would benefit from the little extra help it provides during their formation years. This book is packed with examples, activities, insights and stories. It helps show you how to make sure your children learn the skills they need to get the most out of school and life. Give your child what they really need so that they become happier, more confident and self assured as they learn. They will grow to be well rounded adults! It is during the first 12 years after birth that each life develops the framework for its future. Parents who are juggling the demands of modern life and work, while they are raising their children ask many questions. They may often feel their children ‘could do better’ and become very concerned if a child’s school report highlights this. However, many parents aren’t confident with changing children’s attitudes, what to teach or how to really motivate and encourage them. Especially if the children have ‘switched off’ and no longer respond to what their parents say. This book addresses these issues and questions and looks at the reasons why so many children underperform at school and what can be done about aligning them at core, so that they stay connected to the positive influences that are in them at birth. It puts forward tried and tested lessons, tools and strategies that have been developed during forty years of teaching experience and have been repeatedly proven effective with children.

Kimmy's family is having chicken as the evening's main course. As Kimmy eats, she pauses. "How do they make chicken bones?" she asks as she casually inspects the piece she is holding. "They're part of chickens," her mom says, matter-of-factly. "We don't make them." Kimmy's expression suddenly turns to one of horror. "You mean this used to be a real chicken, like on Old Macdonald's Farm?" she wails, dropping the piece she is holding. "I'm never gonna eat chicken again!" Here an innocent question about something that baffles this six-year-old leads her in a direction she had not imagined possible. Her mom's response provides anomalous information that shocks her; it challenges her existing view of what bones (and perhaps even chicken) really are. In the end, she constructs a new (evidently disturbing) connection. The chickens we eat are indeed the chickens that roam about on farms (or used to). From this moment forward, the meaning of "chicken dinner" will never be the same for Kimmy. Using dozens of stories of real kids like Kimmy, Jean Anne Clyde and Mark Condon bring to life fundamental concepts about learners,learning, and teaching. They believe that when teachers want a fresh perspective on the kind of learning that is possible in classrooms, they must first examine how children really learn--not in the controlled context of school, but in out-of-school settings, where kids like Kimmy have learned successfully since birth. By inviting you to help analyze these stories, Get Real will help you become a sophisticated "kidwatcher," able to recognize, appreciate, and capitalize on natural learning strategies. You can create rich curricular experiences that encourage kids to refine and expand their natural learning strategies in the classroom. Get Real examines the everyday contexts that support children's learning so you can make those qualities a part of your own classroom; offers an extensive discussion of tools such as multiple literacies; provides illustrations of children's work and the significant artifacts from their world that prompted their learning experiences; helps you appreciate the multitude of resources for learning and teaching that exist outside of school; moves learning from the real world to theory to practice with a collection of specific strategies for you to follow; includes a self-assessment that links theory to practice to help you identify your strengths and target areas for growth. Whether you are an inservice or preservice teacher, Get Real will help you recognize and build on kids' natural learning strategies to create a learner-centered classroom that maximizes success for all children.

From the preface by Deborah Meier: "We have a long way to go to make John Holt's dream available to all children. But his books make it possible and easier for many of us to join him in the journey." In this enduring classic, rich with deep, original insight into the nature of early learning, John Holt was the first to make clear that, for small children, "learning is as natural as breathing." In his delightful book he observes how children actually learn to talk, to read, to count, and to reason, and how, as adults, we can best encourage these natural abilities in our children.

Hailed as a classic in developmental psychology, The Learning Child is as relevant today as when it was first published in 1972, if not more so. Drawing on the findings of psychologists like Piaget, and on the author's own experiences teaching child development at New York’s Bank Street College, Cohen explores the crucial links between learning and the successive stages of childhood, and shows parents and teachers how to turn a child’s natural instinct for inquiry into a talent for learning that will last a lifetime. “If American parents will read and listen to Dr. Cohen’s sensible, wise analysis of the way young children learn, my faith in human beings will be restored! . . . It was refreshing and reassuring to read a book by someone who approaches childhood with love and profound wisdom.” —Eda LeShan, author of When Your Child Drives You Crazy

Explores the natural learning processes of children at the pre-school and primary grade level and describes the ways in which formal education damages and impedes the child's independent ability to learn.