Authentic Childhood: Experiencing Reggio Emilia in the Classroom, 3rd Edition. Susan Fraser, $87.95

Authentic Childhood explores the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. Based on constructionist learning, this text is ideal for students and teachers of all experience levels. Authentic Childhood includes inspiring stories of teachers who are transforming early childhood education and teacher preparation through the use of the Reggio Emilia philosophy.

Autism and Flexischooling: a Shared Classroom and Homeschooling Approach. Clare Lawrence, $25.95

A growing number of parents are considering part time or 'flexischooling' as an option that might benefit their child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but face concerns such as: Is it possible? Has anyone tried it? How can it be set up? Above all, does it work? This book answers all these questions, and many more. Covering both the home and school angle, it explores ways to evaluate whether the option is right for your child, organizing the arrangement effectively with the school and ensuring that curriculum and examination goals are met, and also includes case examples of successful part time schooling at both primary and secondary level.

This is the first resource of its kind to bring together all of the information needed for both parents and schools to consider the merits and disadvantages of this approach, and to evaluate it as an option for individual children.

Bringing the Montessori Approach to Your Early Years Practice, 3rd Edition. Barbara Isaacs, $32.50

Have you ever wondered what the Montessori approach is all about and how it can be used to benefit the young children in your setting? This book explains how the Montessori approach works offering guidance on planning and assessment methods alongside practical activities for practitioners to try. Throughout there are practical examples involving children of different ages in a wide range of settings to show how Montessori principles have been implemented.

Circle Time Sessions for Relaxation and Imagination. Tony Pryce, $58.95

A great book for teachers, parents and other adults who want to provide young people aged 8 and upwards with tools to assist emotional development. Circle Time Sessions for Relaxation and Imagination provides a range of exercises to promote relaxation, inner confidence and a positive sense of self through the use of visualization. Already well-established in other areas such as professional sports, these strategies will build on emotional literacy work and offer practical, real-life strategies. The exercises are accompanied by questions, discussion prompts and reproducible activity sheets.

College Without High School: a Teenager’s Guide to Skipping High School and Going to College. Blake Boles, $19.95

High school can be boring. High school curriculum can be frustrating and out of touch. So what is the answer for young people whose creativity, bright ideas, and boundless energy are being stifled in that over-scheduled and grade-driven environment?

College Without High School shows how independent teens can self-design their high school education by becoming unschooled. Boles shows how to fulfill college admission requirements by proving five preparatory results: intellectual passion, leadership, logical reasoning, background knowledge, and the capacity for structured learning. He then offers several suggestions for life-changing, confidence-building adventures that will demonstrate those results.

The Creative Teacher: an Encyclopedia of Ideas to Energize Your Classroom, 2nd Edition. Steve Springer, Brandy Alexander & Kimberly Persiani, $26.95 (K-6)

To keep your students engaged in the classroom, you have to get them excited about learning. From the authors of The Organized Teacher, this award-winning resource offers hundreds of creative ideas to reenergize your lesson plans for any subject — from waking up the tired book report to making math fun. Just a few of the ideas inside THE CREATIVE TEACHER include:

• "I woke up five inches tall" and other quick-start creative-writing prompts
• How-it-works science experiments with electricity, ice cream, volcanoes — even how to make flubber
• Enthusiasm-generating math tools—from clock and fraction templates to creating your own money . . . and more!
• This new edition boasts a new CD-ROM with many pages of reproducible content including worksheets, project ideas, templates for journal pages, and more.

Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children REALLY Learn and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek & Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, with Diane Eyer. $19.50

Reassuring to parents and educators, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards shows why - and how - to step away from the cult of achievement and toward a more nurturing home life full of imaginative play and love of learning.

An Encounter with Reggio Emilia: Children and Adults in Transformation, 2nd Edition. Linda Kinney & Pat Wharton, $71.50

The fully revised 2nd edition of An Encounter with Reggio Emilia is based upon a documentary approach to children’s learning successfully implemented by Stirling Council in Scotland, whose pre-school educators experienced dramatic improvements in their understandings about young children, how they learn and the potential unleashed in successfully engaging families in the learning process.

This approach, which is based on careful listening to children and observation of their interests and concerns, centres around recording and commentating on children's learning through photos, wall displays, videos and a variety of different media. The authors include chapters on:

• Why early years educators should use documentation as a means to enhance young children’s learning
• The values, principles and theories that underlie the ‘Reggio’ approach
• How to implement documentations into any early years setting, with real-life case studies and hints for avoiding common pitfalls
• How to involve, inspire and enthuse familiar and the wider community

Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. Peter Gray, $21.00

In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that in order to foster children who will thrive in today's constantly changing world, we must entrust them to steer their own learning and development. Drawing on evidence from anthropology, psychology, and history, he demonstrates that free play is the primary means by which children learn to control their lives, solve problems, get along with peers, and become emotionally resilient.

A brave, counterintuitive proposal for freeing our children from the shackles of the curiosity-killing institution we call school, Free to Learn suggests that it's time to stop asking what's wrong with our children, and start asking what's wrong with the system. It shows how we can act — both as parents and as members of society — to improve children's lives and to promote their happiness and learning. 

The Gap-Year Advantage: Helping Your Child Benefit from Time Off Before or During College. Karl Haigler & Rae Nelson, $21.99

Taking time off before or during college or university can offer some students the opportunity to gain focus and discipline, learn to set goals, get real-world experience and ultimately get the most out of a college education. The Gap-Year Advantage provides parents with all the advice, tips and information they need to help students develop and implement a strategy for themselves.

Home Grown: Adventures in Parenting off the Beaten Path, Unschooling, and Reconnecting with the Natural World. Ben Hewitt, $17.95

When Ben Hewitt and his wife bought a sprawling acreage of field and forest in northern Vermont, the landscape easily allowed them to envision the self-sustaining family farm they were eager to start. But over the years, the land became so much more than a building site; it became the birthplace of their two sons, the main source of family income and food, and ultimately, both classroom and home for their children. 

Having opted out of formal education, Hewitt's sons learn through self-directed play, exploration, and experimentation on their farm, in the woods, and (reluctantly) indoors. This approach has allowed the boys to develop confidence, resourcefulness, and creativity. They learn, they play, they read, they test boundaries, they challenge themselves, they fail, they recover. And these freedoms allow their innate personalities to flourish, further fueling growth and exploration.

Living in tune with the natural world teaches us to reclaim our passion, curiosity, and connectivity. Hewitt shows us how small, mindful decisions about day-to-day life can lead to greater awareness of the world in your backyard and beyond. Home Grown reminds us that learning at any age is a lifelong process, and the best "education" is never confined to a classroom. These essays on nature, parenting, and education show us that big change can come from making small changes in how you live on the land, while building a life you love.

The Homegrown Preschooler: Teaching Your Kids in the Places They Live. Kathy Lee & Lesli Richards, $35.95

Find exciting learning opportunities in everyday occurrences, from using laundry to teach sorting to exploring growth cycles in the garden, with the easy-to-organize, simple-to-start ideas, advice, and activities in THE HOMEGROWN PRESCHOOLER. As straightforward as a parenting how-to book and as easily applicable as a set curriculum, THE HOMEGROWN PRESCHOOLER will inspire parents to use their homes as classrooms and take advantage of the naturally rich learning opportunities existing in everyday life.

With organizational tips, recipes, and more than 200 easy-to-pull-together activities, homeschool educators will have everything they need to offer a well-rounded preschool education rivaling the best classroom experience. Convenient charts and checklists to document children’s growth ensure that there are no gaps in educational, social, or physical development.

Home School Family Fitness: The Complete Physical Education Curriculum for Grades K-12. Bruce Whitney, $22.95

HOME SCHOOL FAMILY FITNESS provides a definitive guide with lesson plans and labs covering everything from basic games to organized sports, and is a vital resource for anyone educating a child at home. This guide is also for any parent who wants to spend quality time with their children and see them grow up healthy and well. HOME SCHOOL FAMILY FITNESS explains the fundamentals of exercise in a fun way, teaching kids to achieve and maintain fitness throughout their lives.

Homeschooling the Child with Asperger Syndrome: Real Help for Parents Anywhere and On Any Budget. Lise Pyles, $22.95

Full of inspiring ideas that can be used with any curriculum, HOMESCHOOLING THE CHILD WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME explains how to design a varied study program built around a child's own interests, making use of simple material as well as computers and on-line resources. Including step-by-step instructions on:

• Assessing and improving body language and social skills
• Accommodating the child's need for ritual or perfectionism
• Developing handwriting and coordination skills

Homeschooling the Child with Autism: Answers to the Top Questions Parents and Professionals Ask. Patricia Schetter, Kandis Lighthall & Jeanette McAfee, $27.95

This practical, highly accessible guide answers parents' and professionals' questions about teaching children with autism spectrum disorders at home. The book helps parents decide whether to homeschool and guides them through the process of beginning and maintaining an effective homeschool program. The book also contains tips and suggestions from real-life parents who have successfully homeschooled their children with ASD and includes lists of helpful resources for homeschoolers.

The Homeschooling Handbook: How to Make Homeschooling Simple, Affordable, Fun, and Effective. Lorilee Lippincott, $19.95

The mere thought of homeschooling can be overwhelming. Lorilee Lippincott, a seasoned homeschooling mom, shows just how simple homeschooling can be. She and her husband taught their two kids in a one-bedroom apartment before picking up and moving the whole family to China. They’ve discovered that they don’t need rooms full of books, educational toys, and other teaching tools, nor do they need schedules packed full of extracurricular activities, field trips, and social events. Perhaps even more importantly, they don’t need to panic about making sure their kids turn out okay. It’s actually all pretty simple, she tells readers. But homeschooling well does require some planning and dedication, Here you’ll find all your questions answered in Lippincott’s straightforward, warm, and witty guide. Topics covered include:

• How to instill curiosity and a love of learning
• Types of homeschooling
• Your socialization fears assuaged
• How to create simple schedules and stick to them
• Tips for keeping costs down
• Teaching kids with disabilities
• The benefits of play time
• Legal requirements
• How to avoid burnout

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way, 2nd Edition. Tim Seldin, $25.95

An international bestseller, How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way adapts Montessori teachings for easy use at home. Packed with Montessori-based preschool activities and educational games that build confidence and independence through active learning, this authoritative illustrated guide helps raise self-reliant and creative children. Celebrate physical and intellectual milestones from birth to age six with activity checklists, and encourage development through proven child-centered teaching methods. This edition has been updated to include information about the neuroscience of child development and shares advice about screen time in the digital age, co-parenting, other family changes, and gentle discipline methods.

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way shows parents how to bring the teachings of Montessori into their home to create a safe, nurturing environment for their children with clear and concise instructions.

In the Spirit of the Studio: Learning from the Atelier of Reggio Emilia, 2nd Edition. Lella Gandini, Lynn Hill, Louise Cadwell, & Charles Schwall. $51.50

As the authors state in their opening chapter, “prepare to be amazed.” This beautiful book describes the revolution that the Reggio Emilia Atelier (art studio) brought to the education of young children in Italy, and follows that revolution across the ocean to North America. It explores how the experiences of children interacting with rich materials in the atelier affect an entire school’s approach to the construction and expression of thought and learning.

The Language of Art: Inquiry-Based Studio Practices in Early Childhood Settings, 2nd Edition. Ann Pelo, $53.50

Incorporate inquiry-based practices into your early childhood classroom or family child care home. Inspired by an approach to teaching and learning born in Reggio Emilia, Italy, The Language of Art emphasizes investigation anchored by drawing, painting, and other art activities. It provides:

• advice on setting up a studio space for art and inquiry
• studio explorations designed to give children a basic fluency in art
• suggestions for documenting children's developing fluency with art media and its use in inquiry
• guidelines for using children's newfound fluency as a tool for investigation.

Even if you use a space not designed specifically for art instruction or even for an early childhood program, The Language of Art shows how you can simply "start where you are." Age Focus: 3–6.

Learning Without School: Home Education. Ross Mountney, $29.95

Learning Without School is a practical handbook for parents who want to educate their children at home but are unsure that they have the skills and know-how required to give their child the best education possible. The book explains what home education is; the advantages and disadvantages of choosing this route; how to begin home educating; what you need to do and how to help your child adjust; and how home education affects children's social skills and friendships. The book also considers children with 'learning difficulties' or 'special needs' and how to approach home education differently for this group of children. Each chapter contains a summary of key points, useful websites, hints and tips and real-life case studies.

Let Them Play: an Early Learning (un)Curriculum. Jeff Johnson & Denita Dinger, $46.95 (ages 2-6)

Playtime is focused, purposeful, and full of learning. As they play, children master motor development, learn language and social skills, think creatively, and make cognitive leaps. This (un)curriculum is all about fostering children's play, trusting children as capable and engaged learners, and leaving behind boxed curriculums and prescribed activities. Filled with information on the guiding principles that make up an (un)curriculum, learning experience ideas, and suggestions for building strong emotional and engaging physical environments, LET THEM PLAY provides support to those who believe in the learning power of play.

Montessori for the New Millennium. Roland Lubienski Wentworth, $63.95

Practical guidance on the teaching and education of children of all ages, based on a rediscovery of the true principles and vision of Maria Montessori.

Montessori Letter Work. Bobby & June George, $11.95

Learn letters the Montessori way! This board book is designed to help young learners develop pre-literacy skills through multi-sensory activities.

Montessori Number Work. Bobby & June George, $11.95

This is a different kind of counting book. It is based on the Montessori way of teaching, helping young children to develop a concrete understanding of numbers.

Montessori Learning in the 21st Century: a Guide for Parents & Teachers. M. Shannon Helfrich, $28.95

This book is also written for teachers interested in Dr. Montessori's work. The in-depth explanations lay the foundation for a greater understanding of the logical and brilliant building blocks behind the Montessori approach to learning. Any parent or teacher interested in Montessori education will find Montessori Learning in the 21st Century an excellent resource, providing a fascinating look at the basic elements of child development through the lens of Montessori philosophy and current neuroscientific findings.

Multiple Intelligences Around the World. Edited by Jie-Qi Chen, Seana Moran & Howard Gardner, $36.00

Multiple intelligences (MI) theory has been introduced and implemented successfully in numerous countries around the world. This is the first collection to review, synthesize, and reflect on this unique cross-cultural and educational phenomenon. Through this synthesis and reflection, the book's authors provide a fresh and fuller understanding of MI theory. In addition, they develop more specific knowledge about why MI theory has been welcomed in so many countries, how its use can be appropriate in diverse cultures, and what has supported and fueled travel of the MI meme.

Natural Curiosity: Educating and Nurturing Our Children at Home. Lisa Carne, $35.95

Since becoming 'unschooled', the two children have thrived on a diet of self-directed play and learning, amassing life skills, confidence, responsibility, and a vast array of knowledge along the way. This thoughtful book touches upon important themes in education and environmentalism, such as children's rights in schooling, the use and place of technology in learning, and the absence of the natural world in mainstream education. It gives a considered, balanced view of home schooling, interspersed with entertaining tales including constructing life-sized mammoth skeletons and living for a day as historically accurate Vikings. It offers an understanding of how this type of education works and what inspires the choice to pursue it.

After making the choice to leave formal education, Lisa Carne's children embarked upon a path of self-directed learning powered by their interest in natural history. This book provides a fascinating and humorous commentary on un-schooling from the perspective of a family who have seen both sides of the education system.

The Parenting 5: Sensory Motor Play for Little People. Ruth Barker, $28.95

This simple guide to activities that enhance sensory motor play offers practical ideas, captured in clear text and colourful photos. The perfect book for parents and caregivers of young children, it gives you the knowledge you need for their best start in life. The early years lay the foundation for a child's neurological and physical wellbeing. The Parenting 5: Sensory Motor Play for Little People assists parents and caregivers in in creating a fun learning environment for preschoolers — at home or in childcare settings.

Possible Schools: the Reggio Approach to Urban Education. Ann Lewin-Benham, Foreword by Howard Gardner. $37.95

Possible Schools tells the compelling story of the Model Early Learning Center (MELC) in Washington, D.C. — the only school in a U.S. urban area to successfully implement the principles of the Municipal Preschools of Reggio Emilia. The author describes the origin of this school, which served impoverished urban families, and traces its evolution from a chaotic inception to its ability to apply Reggio practices.

Teach Me to Do It Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child. Maja Pitamic, $21.99

Based on key Montessori principles of learning through experience, Teach Me to Do It Myself features simple activities to explore with your child and develop his or her senses, coordination, language skills, number sense and science interests. This fun and practical book will guide you... teaching children essential life skills and giving them a greater understanding of the world around them.

Understanding the Montessori Approach: Early Years Education in Practice. Barbara Isaacs, $43.95

UNDERSTANDING THE MONTESSORI APPROACH is a much needed source of information for those wishing to extend and consolidate their understanding of the Montessori Approach and how it is used in the teaching and learning of young children. It will enable the reader to analyze the essential elements and its relationship to quality early years practice by exploring all areas of the curriculum including the organization of Montessori schools, the environment, learning and teaching and the outcomes for children.

Understanding the Steiner Waldorf Approach: Early Years Education in Practice, 2nd Edition. Janni Nicol & Jill Tina Taplin, $55.90

This fully revised edition of Understanding the Steiner Waldorf Approach is a much needed source of information for those wishing to extend and consolidate their understanding of the Steiner Waldorf early childhood approach. It enables the reader to analyse the essential elements of the Steiner Waldorf Approach to early childhood and its relationship to quality early years practice.

Covering all areas of the curriculum including observation and assessment, child development, play, repetition and the environment, this new edition has been updated to reflect recent curriculum changes and explore the influence of media and technology. Including a new chapter on expanding the Steiner Waldorf approach to work with children from birth to three, the book:

• describes the key principles of the Steiner Waldorf approach to early childhood with examples from Steiner settings;
• provides an accessible and objective overview of a key pedagogical influence on high quality early years practice in the United Kingdom;
• highlights the key ideas that practitioners should consider when reviewing their own practice;
• contains summaries of key points and reflective practice questions to help students and practitioners engage with the ideas in the book;
• can be used as the basis for continuing professional development and action research.

Written to support the work of all those in the field of early years education and childcare, this text is essential reading for students, practitioners, leaders, managers and all those wanting to improve their early years practice.

We Are All Explorers: Learning and Teaching with Reggio Principles in Urban Settings. Daniel Scheinfeld, Karen Haigh & Sandra Scheinfeld, $44.95

This is the first book to systematically examine a program-wide, multi-site implementation of the Reggio Approach in America. The authors provide a thoughtful, well-documented description and analysis of an entire early child development program serving low income, Latino and African-American children and their families in the city of Chicago. While focusing on the application, meaning, and value of Reggio Emilia principles in preschool classrooms, the authors also describe how those same principles and processes pervade relationships with parents, the professional development of teachers, and the overall organization of the program.

The Well-Trained Mind: a Guide to Classical Education at Home, 3rd Edition.  Susan Wise Bauer & Jessie Wise, $47.95

This educational bestseller has dominated its field for the last decade, sparking a homeschooling movement that has only continued to grow. It will instruct you, step by step, on how to give your child an academically rigorous, comprehensive education from preschool through high school. Two veteran home educators outline the classical pattern of education—the trivium—which organizes learning around the maturing capacity of the child's mind. With this model, you will be able to instruct your child in all levels of reading, writing, history, geography, mathematics, science, foreign languages, rhetoric, logic, art, and music, regardless of your own aptitude in those subjects.

Newly revised and updated, The Well-Trained Mind includes detailed book lists with complete ordering information; up-to-date listings of resources, publications, and Internet links; and useful contact information.

The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling. Quinn Cummings, $16.00

In this honest and wry memoir, popular blogger, author, and former child actor Quinn Cummings recounts her family’s decision to wade into the unfamiliar waters of homeschooling — the fastest-growing educational trend of our time — despite a chronic lack of discipline, some major gaps in academic knowledge, and a serious case of math aversion. (And that’s just Quinn.)

Quinn’s fearless quest includes some self-homeschooling — reading up on education reform, debating the need for “socialization,” and infiltrating conferences filled with Radical Unschoolers as well as Christian fundamentalists (and even chaperoning a homeschool prom). Part personal narrative, part social commentary, and part “how-not-to” guide, THE YEAR OF LEARNING DANGEROUSLY will make you laugh and make you think. And there may or may not be a quiz at the end. OK, there’s no quiz. Probably.