Nurturing Your Child's Math and Literacy in Pre-K-Fifth Grade

Reviews / Votes

Researchers and policymakers assert that there is a need for parents and teachers to be in partnership in order for children to be successful academically. As parents strive both to help and advocate for their child, changes in the past decade owing to the adoption of Common Core Standards and Student Learning Objectives present challenging new waters to navigate. Unfamiliar content and methods in mathematics and language arts may leave parents bewildered, so Mueller and Hindin supply specific suggestions for each elementary grade level. Part 1 shows the necessity of parent involvement for growth, while parts 2 and 3 contain ideas for supporting learning through games, books, and activities. The authors also view everyday conversation and situations as a framework for exploring content-rich learning throughout the day instead of isolating educational pursuits to 'school time.' Section 3, devoted to mathematics, serves as a primer as it explains sample problems students might encounter at each grade level in a way that is comprehensible.
Verdict: For parents trying to wrap their minds around Common Core for teaching math and language arts, Mueller and Hindin's volume might prove a valuable textbook, with practical ideas and strategies. * Library Journal * This book is intended for parents who wish to help their pre-K through fifth-grade child with literacy and math skills.... This book is a scholarly publication, well-founded on research. Each section contains FAQs, including commonly posed parent questions, followed by the authors' recommendations. The authors have touched on the very important topic of engaging parents in their child's learning. Being both a K-grade 8 math and reading specialist and now a preservice math instructor, I recommend this book as a supplement to a college- or graduate level education course or as a reference guide for teachers. * Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School * "Mary Mueller and Alisa Hindin have written an important book about how parents can support their elementary student within and outside of school. They have carefully described complicated instruction in both literacy and mathematics so that parents can understand what is expected and how they can work with their own child. I think one of the strongest aspects of this Nurturing Your Child's Math and Literacy in Pre-K-Fifth Grade is the questions that parents are sure to ask and how carefully the authors have crafted responses. These responses will certainly resonate with parents as they better understand how to work effectively with their child." -- Diane Barone, President of the Board, International Literacy Association and Foundation Professor of Literacy Studies, University of Nevada, Reno "Nurturing Your Child's Math and Literacy in Pre-K-Fifth Grade: The Family Connection is an innovative and important guide that provides solid practical advice for parents to build connections with teachers. Mueller and Hindin offer explicit strategies to parents that target specific math and literacy goals, address parents' concerns about helping their children succeed, and are respectful of what all families bring to their children's learning." -- Barbara Krol-Sinclair, Director, Intergenerational Literacy Program, Chelsea, MA Public Schools As the father of two elementary school students, I found Mary Mueller and Alisa Hindin's book to be fascinating, innovative, and inspirational. Their methods to enhance your children's language and math skills are extremely effective yet easy to implement; My wife and I started using them immediately after reading about them, and we could not be more pleased with the results. Every parent should read this book. -- Stuart Gibbs, author of the Spy School, FunJungle, and Moon Base Alpha series