The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child's Intellectual Potential

by Renee Mosiman MA, Mike Mosiman

Winner, Best Books 2010  National Indie Excellence Award, Finalist in the Parenting Category 2009 Mom's Choice Award, Gold Recipient: Parenting—General Category Winner, Living Now Book Award Finalist, Glyph Book Award Winner, National Best Books 2010 Award, Parenting/Family: Reference Category Gold Winner, 2010 Readers Favorite Award, Non Fiction—Parenting Category Arranged in a clear and accessible format, this guide presents the latest research on how to develop a child's intellect. Written to help parents create an enriched environment in and outside the home—the discussion breaks intelligence down into several capabilities, including critical thinking, problem solving, general knowledge, reading skills, vocabulary, oral comprehension, math skills, spatial ability, curiosity, and creativity. This guide encourages parents to actively engage their children and provides lists of toys, books, construction sets, card games, and props for pretend play to stimulate their minds, and a chapter about television and computer use is provided. The book also includes a discussion of preschools to help parents decide if an early formal education is best for their youngsters.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Education

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent read

No earth shattering format filled with aha knowledge

Decent resource I’d share with families

[Lime Street Labrador · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent summary of children research

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

What parent doesn't want to give their child every intellectual advantage? The challenge comes in trying to find just what it takes to build our little one's intelligence. The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child's Intellectual Potential is a book that aspires to provide solid advice for raising a smarter preschool.

The authors, Renee and Mike Mosiman, are very qualified in the fields of psychology and research. They share their combined knowledge regarding the intellectual needs of a preschooler, providing tons of research and evidence for the value of reading to, talking to, and playing with your preschooler. They suggest books, vocabulary, and toys that they believe will make the most impact. The book also tackles the issue of how much television is too much. In this book, you'll read about music and its influence on learning. You will also gain understanding of the nutritional and physical needs of your child. The authors conclude the book by laying out options for preschool learning. The book references many different teaching methods, both traditional and homeschool, without picking favorites. The authors try very hard to appeal to all parents.

The first few chapters of The Smarter Preschooler have the feel of a child psychology textbook. I felt a little overwhelmed at the pace and amount of information being given. The rest of the book is much more approachable in its information, so keep reading. A light bulb went on when they addressed birth order and its affects on IQ. I was challenged to do better at one-on-one time with all of my children to give them the best start at life. The suggestions are very basic for most parents. You may be implementing many of the ideas already, but the explanations for why we should do them are profound.

I thought The Smarter Preschooler was a very informative and encouraging look at the task of parenting preschoolers. I really enjoyed it, and I believe that parents of preschoolers will benefit from this educational parenting book.

[morninglightmama · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good starter book for parents who have little or no background in child development, with quality advice about appropriate play materials and activities for preschool aged children. I appreciated the authors' back-to-the-basics recommendations-- reassuring parents that it's not necessary to shell out loads of dough on the "learning programs" that are geared toward young children in favor of simply conversing, reading and engaging your children in meaningful interactions. The last chapter on Preschool, though, left me frustrated and defensive for the lack of distinction between child care and quality preschool programs, such as the university based one that I have extensive experience with, that most ironically embodies the vast majority of the advice that the authors dished out for the entire book. Without an early childhood education perspective, I felt that an accurate representation of what quality preschool should be (and in many cases, already is) wasn't presented here.

[Carly Seifert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. It had so many fabulous ideas and made me really excited to have Ella home with me during the preschool years.

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Seems rather anti-preschool but otherwise useful.