About
The Kindergarten Survival Handbook &
El Manual de Cómo Sobrevivir el Jardín de Niños

     The Kindergarten Survival Handbook and its Spanish-language version, El Manual de Cómo Sobrevivir el Jardín de Niños, were written to help all parents send their children to school "ready to learn:" to thrive-- as well as survive-- in Kindergarten.

     Written by Allana Elovson, Ph.D., an educational psychologist and the founding director of California's Project Home Start, the books contain more than 200 cheerful illustrations by Andrea Elovson, and present the whys, the whats, and the hows of Kindergarten readiness in simple, straightforward language accessible to parents and caregivers of all kinds.

     The Kindergarten Survival Handbook and El Manual de Cómo Sobrevivir el Jardín de Niños, translated by Lita Charlot Arellanos, have proven be a boon to all parents who want to insure a good first school experience for their child. They are particularly useful to working parents, adoptive parents, teen parents, and parents whose children have disabilities, or are at risk with some developmental delay.

     Part I, "The Before School Checklist," prepared with the help of master kindergarten teachers, presents the basic information that helps children start school ready, and eager, to learn. The exceptionally clear and attractive layout enables parents to get a good sense of their child's readiness, and to identify things their children may not yet have learned.

     Then, "A Guide for Parents" offers many simple, inexpensive, and enjoyable ways that even the busiest parent or caretaker can use to teach these things, using only everyday events and ordinary objects, such as sorting socks, setting the table, or waiting for a bus. There is helpful advice on how children learn, and positive and supportive ways to keep teaching and learning enjoyable for both parents and children. Everyone's self esteem is enhanced, and the bond between parents and children is greatly strengthened.

     The author stresses that even after children enter school, parents continue to be the most important people in children's education, and that things that only parents can do are the things most crucial to children's school success.

     The last section, "The Next Step," deals with the importance of parents staying involved in their children's education after they enter school, and suggests ways they can establish a comfortable and mutually beneficial relationship with their children's teachers and school.

     The Kindergarten Survival Handbook and El Manual de Cómo Sobrevivir el Jardín de Niños are already being used by hundreds of school systems and thousands of parents around the country, and have been enthusiastically reviewed by early childhood experts, teachers, newspapers, and parents, themselves.

  

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