Early childhood - helping children prepare for inevitable assessments

By Martin Merzer on 10/20/2010 @ 12:20 PM

A new book that focuses on preparing for the inevitable educational assessments that await young children can serve as a "practical primer for parents who want to turn on their kids to learning and guarantee them a good start in school," according to an article in The Miami Herald.

In her book, Testing for Kindergarten, author Karen Quinn guides parents toward information and activities that can reinforce skills necessary to score well. She says that every family, regardless of its economic standing, can provide children with good academic foundations.

"I want people to have the information to do the right thing for their children, but not to go nuts about it,'' Quinn told the newspaper. "I'm hoping this book calms them down.''

One particularly useful chapter of the book features a list of milestones every child must achieve by ages 3, 4 and 5 to succeed at school, and a description of everyday activities that can strengthen those skills.

Please read the full article here and then, in the Comments section, share your own family's experiences.