Ready to Learn: How to Help Your Preschooler Succeed

by Stanley Goldberg

Overview

Do you tell your preschooler one thing and they do the opposite? Are they easily distracted or unable to focus? If you suspect that your child may have a learning problem—or if you simply want to help them be ready—here is the book to read before he or she enters the school system: a realistic, humorous, and kind-hearted guide to helping your little one learn.

In Ready to Learn, Stan Goldberg draws on thirty years of clinical experience (and personal experience as the father of two kids with learning differences) to provide an easy-to-use guide to helping children overcome any problems and improve their learning skills. Illustrating his discussion with many anecdotes about teaching both his own children and children in his private practice, Goldberg walks readers through the process of learning and shows how to identify a learning problem. He focuses on four major areas—problems of attention, understanding, storage, and retrieval—presenting each problem through the eyes of the child, in everyday terms that a parent can understand. He looks at seven down-to-earth strategies that will allow you to create the best plan to help your child overcome their problem and he provides many handy charts and figures that will help you organize your efforts. The book also includes a list of useful web sites and a chart of development milestones, outlining motor skills, cognitive-sensory skills, and language and social skills.
Written in a style that blends humor, insightful stories, and practical experience, Ready to Learn provides a flexible, time-tested approach, using step-by-step strategies that will help your preschoolers become confident and love learning—before they enter the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195167542
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2005
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Stan Goldberg, Ph.D. is Professor at San Francisco State University. For the last 30 years he has been involved in developing learning strategies for children and his techniques have been used to help over 1000 children of all ages. He has trained parents and consulted with public and private schools.

Editorial Reviews

"Goldberg's compassionate, comprehensive manual...will be a boon to any parent or caretaker wishing 'to learn the fundamentals of teaching children,' and a friendly one at that, as Goldberg eschews labels, preferring instead to focus on behaviors. By addressing even severe learning problems early, Goldberg explains, learning difference won't keep children from growing up happily to become successful adults."—Publishers Weekly

"Presents seven practical and easy-to-implement strategies with examples that offer parents simple road maps to overcoming their children's learning issues.... Highly recommended."—Library Journal

"Finally, an author who understands the fears, hopes, and dreams of parents of children who learn differently. Goldberg provides clear explanations for complex problems and workable real-world solutions. This book is the set of instructions that should have been delivered with your baby. A 'must have' for parents and professionals alike." —Richard Culatta, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities, Appalachian State University

"In Ready to Learn, Dr. Goldberg provides concrete advice on ways parents can partner with their children for ultimate learning success. With emphases on individualizing learning activities based on the child's needs, empowering children to take responsibility for their own learning outcomes, fostering active engagement in the learning process, and methods of providing emotional support to children with learning difficulties, this book should be required reading not just for parents of children with learning differences, but for all parents everywhere." —Teri James Bellis, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Communication Disorders, The University of South Dakota, and author of When the Brain Can't Hear: Unraveling the Mystery of Auditory Processing Disorder

"Dr. Goldberg delivers a long-awaited resource for both parents and educators alike. In Ready to Learn, Dr. Goldberg draws upon his clinical and personal experiences to deliver a tangible 'how to' foundation—rich with analogies and effective examples—for embarking on the journey of educating the special learner. A required read for parents and professionals alike!" —Jeffie Gellerman-Muntifering, Advocate and Consultant

"Dr. Goldberg describes the problems some children have with detail and humor, making this book a joy to read. He gives clear and helpful strategies to deal with everyday difficulties parents have with children who have special needs. He looks at solving problems with straightforward strategies and explains medical conditions in easy-to-read and understandable language. I fully endorse this book and encourage other parents who have children with special needs and behavioral difficulties to read it too." —Caroline Hensby, adders.org

"The teaching methods in this book are simple, easy to use, and very effective. We have implemented many of these strategies, and as a result our son is experiencing more success in his daily learning. We highly recommend Dr. Goldberg's new book to parents, professionals, and school teachers." —Jim & Grace Hsu, Parents

"This book's advice is pragmatic, proactive, and powerful. It is quite simply an essential guide to understanding and teaching the modern child. " —Fintan O'Regan, International Behavior Management Consultant

From the Publisher

Goldberg's compassionate, comprehensive manual, geared particularly toward parents of preschoolers with any number of learning delays or disabilities, looks somewhat academic, with its text-heavy layout and frequent charts. But it will be a boon to any parent or caretaker wishing "to learn the fundamentals of teaching children," and a friendly one at that, as Goldberg eschews labels, preferring instead to focus on behaviors. He describes how children process information and outlines basic skills parents must acquire to help children properly handle data. He offers strategies for adults to help develop preschoolers' attention and understanding (e.g., break up complex tasks into smaller steps; use visual information for children whose listening skills are poor), outlines how a child's poor learning skills can affect the emotional well-being of his or her entire family and shares ways to keep family harmony. Although the 11 chapters are dense, each one gives a specific tactic for identifying the personal learning styles of children as young as age two. Goldberg incorporates plenty of examples from his experiences as a university professor (at San Francisco State University), researcher, clinician and parent into the text, and includes diagrams, graphs and graphics to present a thorough, positive guide. By addressing even severe learning problems early, Goldberg explains, learning differences won't keep children from growing up happily to become successful adults. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Goldberg (special education, San Francisco State Univ.) addresses parents of preschoolers who are having learning problems. He writes from both a personal perspective as a parent of two children with learning difficulties and as a professional with over 30 years' experience in private practice. In an accessible overview, Goldberg first shows how to identify such problems-critical information for parents with one child or with a first-born child-followed by typical problems that fall under attention, understanding, storage, and retrieval. He then presents seven practical and easy-to-implement strategies with examples that offer parents simple road maps to overcoming their children's learning issues. For instance, if a child struggles with processing information aurally, use visual materials instead. Highly recommended. [Queried for a comparison.-HM]-Walter J. Cegelka, St. Thomas Univ., Miami Gardens, FL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal