Recommended Reading

Recent Articles:

• The New Humanism – The New York Times, March 2011
• Back to Basics: All of us Need Play and Recess - Mamapedia Voices, February 2011
• Effort to Restore Children’s Play Gains Momentum – The New York Times, January 2011
• Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food – Video, February 2010
• The Creativity Crisis – Newsweek, July 2010
• Scientifically Tested Tests – The New York Times, September 2010
• Want to get your kids into college? Let them play - CNN Opinion, December 2010
• The Alliance for Childhood
• The 3 R’s? A Fourth Is Crucial, Too: Recess – The New York Times, February 2009
• Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing – The Harvard Education Letter, May/June 2009
• Can the Right Kinds of Play Teach Self-Control? – The New York Times, September 2009
• Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity – Video, February 2006
• The National Institute for Play -  Website

Books we recommend to all parents:

• The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp
• Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv
• The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by Wendy Mogel (relevant to families of all faiths)
• Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4 – 14 by Chip Wood and William Crain
• Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson
• Marguerite Kelly’s Family Almanac: The Perfect Companion for Today’s Family–a Helpful Guide to Navigating Through the Everyday Issues of Modern Life by Marguerite Kelly
• Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ by Daniel Goleman
• How Your Child is Smart by Dawna Markova

Books we recommend to parents of preschoolers:

• Touchpoints Three to Six Your Child’s Emotional and Behavioral DevelopmentV by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. & Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D.
• The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon (3rd edition) by David Elkind
• The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children by David Elkind
• Under Deadman’s Skin: Discovering the Meaning of Children’s Violent Play by Jane Katch
• They Don’t Like Me: Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroom by Jane Katch
• Bad Guys Don’t Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play at Four by Vivian Gussin Paley
• You Can’t Say You Can’t Play by Vivian Gussin Paley
• The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter by Vivian Gussin Paley and Robert Coles

Books we recommend to parents of elementary-school-age children:

• How to Hug a Porcupine: Negotiating the Prickly Points of the Tween Years by Julie Ross
• The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Find Success in School and Life by Michael Thompson and Teresa Barker
• The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and “Tougher Standards” by Alfie Kohn
• Your Six-Year-Old: Loving and Defiant by Louise Bates Ames and Frances L. Ilg
• Your Seven-Year-Old: Life in a Minor Key by Louise Bates Ames (Author), Carol Chase Haber
• Your Eight Year Old: Lively and Outgoing by Louise Bates Ames and Carol Chase Haber
• Magical Child by Joseph Chilton Pearce
• Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children by Michael Thompson and Catherine O’Neill Grace

Books we recommend to parents of middle school children:

• Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parent’s Guide to the New Teenager, Revised and Updated by Anthony E. Wolf
• Learning How to Kiss a Frog: Advice for Those Who Work with Pre- and Early Adolescents by James P Garvin
• How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk (How to Help Your Child) by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish