This is a great book for teaching all the things you remember learning as a child that is often left out of the current curriculum in today's schools. Plus its fun to read with you child. Besides it really just gives you a perfect time to sit down and have some one on one time with your number one fan. Highly recommended.

I really apreciated a text that had all the different subject ares for my little four year old son in one book. We read and discuss history, culture, music and we have done some of the science experiments. He loves the stories. We were in Germany this summer and had a chance to visit Bremen where we were introduce to the local foke tale " The Bremen street musicians" I purchased the book in german and my friend transulated it for us. This story was in the "What your kindergardner needs to know" book. I was impressed. I will definately purchase the nxt level.

My children are 3 years and 20 months. This book has provided numerous, fun, learning opportunities for them. My redheaded 3 year old had a fun time when we discussed the section about Thomas Jefferson. She was thrilled to learn that he loved books (just as she does) and that he also had red hair just like her. The format of this book is great. It is divided into subjects that make it very easy for a parent to use with their children. Even though my children are young, they are still gleaning knowledge from this book when I use it in conjunction with "What Your Preschooler Needs To Know". I highly recommend this book.

I purchased this book so I can understand (in general) what my 4 year old needs to knows before Kindergarden. He currently goes to preschool but like most little kids he is hungry to learn more. I have been extremely happy with the book and its content. I agree with others that some of the stories are graphic and deal with death but it is my understanding that between year 4-6 kids are developing difference between good and evil. There are times that I pre read stories and edit them in mind prior to reading them to him. Overall excellent book and well worth every penny.

This is a book that I would recommend that any parent get. It helps me teach my child what is needed to know at each grade level. Delivered on time, with no problems.

Excellent resource for anyone who wants to make sure their child is getting a good educational foundation. Our child actually insists that we read from it daily. Very user friendly.

This series of books is incredible. We purchased the Fourth Grade, Second & Kindergarten and they are all fabulous. My husband and I even enjoy reading them. These books are a must for your kids. Highly recommend.

My preschoolers loves reading the stories in this book. This book provides a good head start for kindergarten. As a precshool teacher, I wish all parents would use this book.

This is an excellent book that describes what the Core Knowledge curriculum covers in kindergarten. This curriculum is only supposed to supplement up to 50% of a school's whole curriculum but it is the part that most schools are missing these days. My daughter attends a school that teaches the material covered in this book and she's learning the continents, all about Christopher Columbus, simple fractions and she's collecting data and graphing it in math class. These are the things that the Core Knowledge Curriculum adds to a Kindergartener's knowledge bank. There are some Core Knowledge schools throughout the US but we need more.

This book would have received five stars from me but for the lack of bright pictures. There's no denying that pictures really help engage young kids so for the kindergartener to second grader titles at least, the publishers could have considered using larger images and more colors. But all that aside, this series is a great comfort because it helps seal whatever "gaps" I feel may be in our homeschooling curriculum. I like the way they include not only stories and fables but also ideas on teaching math and necessary info on science, history etc. I also use the series to back up lessons. For instance, I read my son the King Midas story and compared it with another version of King Midas in another book to explain how different authors tackle stories differently. It also gives me ideas for lesson plans and it helps wrap up our day when I either read it to my son or he reads it independently as a bedtime storybook. Altogether a great multi-tasking series.

Once I got past the fact that they spell 'kindergartner' differently than I would (and yes, I even checked dictionary.com to verify their way was correct, lol!), I set about examining the book itself.

The series focuses on defining the least common denominator of what children absolutely must learn before moving on to a higher grade, and I'm very grateful for some level of guidance. I'm a (newbie) homeschooler, and I could not for the life of me find any kind of reference to tell me what skills are the most important to learn at the kindergarten level. With this book, I finally did.

This book not only tells me the essentials of what should be covered, but also ways to teach them and gives references to other books that I can use to do it. As so many before me have said, the curriculum included is not all your children are expected to learn in kindergarten. However, it provides a solid place to start.

The introduction is excellent and helps the reader understand that when our children are being educated, there needs to be a common ground--things that all children need to learn before moving on to the next grade level. Having moved at the end of 2nd grade, I know all too well what it's like to be bored out of your skull in class as your teacher covers things you already learned eons ago. And if a kid from my new school had moved to my old school, imagine the stress of suddenly being expected to know things you've never been exposed to!

One comment of this book really got me. The parent who felt she'd scarred her child for life by reading Casey Jones to him really made me shake my head. A responsible parent will read a story he or she is planning on with a child in advance, to make sure that you want to and are ready to discuss anything that the story might bring up. Don't blame the book; blame yourself for not doing your homework. It took me less than 2 minutes to read the Casey Jones story, which I did based on that review. It was the story of a brave man who sacrificed his life to save the lives of many, much like another story I expose my children to all the time.

It seems to me this book is very highly liked by the people that home school. Which is great. I do not home school my children and i did find a few things interesting. But nothing that i couldn't find in another book about history etc.

I mostly did not like all the "classic" stories and poems. I grew up with many of these stories and KNOW my parents and grandparents told them in a much less violent way. I will be returning this book for sure.

If you don't want to tell your child stories about death, violence and hitting then don't waste your time on this book. I know they will learn this at some point....but let them be children for the short time they are innocent.

Good luck!

Millionaire in 365 Days: The Daily Plan to Get There

Start early since this may be the only education your kids get...nice book...

If you want to homeschool in the easiest style imaginable, this is the book for you.

Personally, I would urge a new homeschooling parent to read "Give Your Child a Superior Mind" and do a little research on Froebel's theories, but if you have minimal time to spend, this is THE book for you.

I first read Hirsch's book in the mid 90s when I started my career as an educator. The insights and revelations his book yielded paid huge dividends for me. I have read the stories to my kindergarteners, used the math activities, and have profited from the advice on what constitutes a strong school. The beginning of the book should be read and reread by all educators and parents, for it provides some sobering reasons for why our nation's school system is in trouble. It also gives commonsense information on what we can do to make our schools stronger. E. D. Hirsch is the pioneer of the Core Curriculum, which I believe can save education in America. Please read this book, but more importantly use it!

This is a well-written, easy to read synopsis of our educational system in the U.S. The thrust of this series is to try and build consistency for all student throughout the U.S. and as such, this book outlines what a kindergarten curriculum should include. It is not meant to be exhaustive in itself, but a reference and starting point for both schools and homeschoolers. There are sections from all subjects, the illustrations are interesting to our kids (4 and 5) and they have enjoyed reading and learning directly from this book. If you're interested in education and want something to get started, this is a great tool.

If you want a simple curriculum to follow, this is your book! You can take the sections and expand on them based onyour child's interest. This book coupled with Rebecca Rupp's Homeschooling Year by Year are pretty much the only books I need!

This book has a lot of basic information that Kindergartener's sometimes learn in public school. Having been a public school student and knowing kids in public school now, I think this would be very beneficial to any parent of a 5 or 6 year old. Most public schools, and many private schools, do not cover all this information.

It is also a useful starting point for homeschooling. You can probably make a years curriculum expanding on the information found here. We use it for our children as a supplement to our regular school work. They really enjoy it because the lessons are very short and interesting.

At $10, if you use this in conjunction with your library and the Internet, you'll have a rather inexpensive homeschool curriculum.

Like a recent reviewer who gave this book only two stars, I was shocked when I opened it and found that the first 100 pages or so consist almost entirely of poems, stories, and sayings. Because my 5-year-old loves the stories and songs (even the ones she is already familiar with), I'm giving this book four stars instead of three.

The intent of the book is primarily to provide basic material that the parent must apply. The editors state in the introduction that this is neither a textbook nor a workbook. Unfortunately, that explanation isn't given in any of the promotional material one sees.

The longest story (Snow White) is 7 pages and most are under 5 pages. Each has at least one picture, but some are only drawn in black and white. Most of the poems have drawings, too. Because some of the sayings are no longer in use, I get the impression that the designers of this curriculum are aiming to preserve mainstream 1950s culture. However, the literature section does include Japanese, African, and Amerindian tales.

Like another reviewer, I was pleasantly surprised to see my daughter fascinated by the geography section, which has maps of continents with their animals drawn in. I thought the art section was challenging, because it mentions warm and cool colors, and offers guidelines for teaching a child how to analyze and compare paintings. The math section is also good, covering a wide range of topics from very easy to difficult.

The presentation of the settling of the New World is the main theme of the history section. This is a complex topic that was handled broadly (including several pages about Amerindian culture and slavery) but not deeply. It seems too ambitious to focus on the country's origins at age 5, but I admit that I'm not sure what would be better.

There's a good description of the Mayflower's journey from the viewpoint of a child, but one doesn't get a clear sense of why people made the long voyage. The British king is described as nothing more than a boss. The discussion of our flag is also dumbed down, with extraneous emotionalism like "glorious sight" but no explanation of its symbolism ("What do the stars mean, Daddy?").

There are a few other flaws in this book. The photo of the earth on page 117 has north at the left and south at the right. This is understandable given the outer space perspective, but the layout artist mistakenly used a mirror image that puts Madagascar west of Africa! The brief discussion of the spice trade mistakenly includes Japan and omits Indonesia. And the story of George Washington cutting down a cherry tree is, well, a lie. Perpetuating such a legend seems pointless, particularly because fantasy reinforces the modern tendency to see history as mere opinion.

For kids like mine who are growing up where they have minimal contact with fellow Americans, cultural literacy is a great orientation. The book has lots of poems and songs that they have not become acquainted with from watching videos or Nick Jr. I heartily recommend this book to anyone in a similar situation; it is certainly worthwhile.

The book The Educated Child : A Parents Guide From Preschool Through Eighth Grade (Hardcover)
by William J. Bennett, Jr., Chester E. Finn, Jr., John T. E. Cribb is a book that summarizes the phases of a child's life from birth to eight grade. It is an excellent resource and works well hand-in-hand with the Core Knowledge Series. Bennett does quote E.D. Hirsch Jr in his book on several occassions.

I home schooled my four children and now teach for a Classical/Christian School. I encourage all of my parents to own a personal copy of Bennett's book. I used the Core Knowledge Series while I home schooled and now use it as a resource. I have recently purchased the teacher edition of the grade level I am presently teaching. WOW!

I expected a more informative text, but most of the book was filler -- old, simple lesson ideas, re-printed fairy tale stories and book lists. The information about elementary school and kindergarten subject matter was interesting, but very brief. I haven't picked the book up since the day I got it - which was all the time I needed to decide that it wasn't as useful as I expected it to be.

The poems, history, geography and science is great. My four year old is always interested. The stories are a little bit boring for him, though, because they don't have any pictures, and some of them are pretty long....

I feel very helped by all the stories and activities in the book. Fables, Fairytales, Sayings and their meanings, Math, Science, Geography and more are being discussed in a language for the adult to teach their child in a way that only a parent can "translate" for their own child. It helps defending oneself from "dumbed down" school curricula. My only suggestion: the book would be perfect if there were activities to help comprehension of the mostly text fairytales. For instance a little craft project that involves acting out a part in a story to emphasize the moral/meaning/concept of a story.

This book is great if you homeschool or want to help your child during the summer. If you want to use it for homeschool, Hirsch has made a teacher handbook. The Teacher Handbooks provide background about language arts, history and geography, visual arts, music, mathematics, and science. Each handbook has been written to look like the Core Knowledge Sequence. For each section in the Sequence, there is a matching section in the handbooks.

I think this book has been a great starting point for our family who is preparing my dd for 1st grade!

The Book "What Your Kindergartener Need To Know is a great book to use to get your child started in learning. Even if you didn't get your hands on it before Kindergarten it is a good review and will help you to see if you child has suffered any "gaps" in their knowledge to date.

Since different states and school systems have different opinions as to what a child should know at what age, this book may not necessarily cover what your child has or is about to learn in your local school. From my analysis, the book covers more information from a cultural awareness perspective. This means that is basically is filled with things your child should have been exposed to by this point. They may not KNOW these things or be able to recite everything from this book, but they should have some awareness or have had some exposure to it at this point.

When my children and I received this book, our first Core Knowledge book by Hirsh, we went through the books table of contents page with a pencil and marked off everything they knew. My children are in the 3rd and 1st grade, and the 1st grader "KNEW" much more of the items, which to me means she remembered more items since she had been exposed to them more recently. Although the word KINDERGARTEN was written boldly across the front, they took great joy in my reading the fables and testing them on the geography and math question at bedtime.

I purchase these books in anticipation of beginning homeschooling, but we could not wait to get started on this series. I recommend this and the other books in this set to anyone considering homeschooling or even school-schooling. It is great fun to interact with your children and amazing to find out what they actually know.

Contents include, but are not limited to:
Teaching your child to read and write
Introduction to literature
Nursery rhymes, poems, and Aesop's Fables
Children's Stories like Three Billy Goats Gruff
Simple history and geography, especially American
Visual arts and music
Math and math readiness
Science including plants, weather, animals, and the human body, all at a "Kindergarteners Level"

I bought this book because i am a beginning homeschooling mom.
To my suprise, there were soo many things in this book that i was not aware of.
I though kindergarden was letters,numbers,colors,shapes..etc...
but i was not aware of the fables,poems,history,etc...that kindergarders learn.
so if you are unsure of what kindergarders learn,or think you know,but are not sure,,,,i would HIGHLY recommend this book to you.

This book is a must have! You can use this book as a guide line for your child's education. I love it as a homeschooling parent. It is a great book to use as a guide for what your child should know at what grade level. It has language arts, history, fine arts, and more all in one book. It is worth the money! It tells you "how to use the book" it gives parents and teachers introductions on each subject. It's a great book! Highly recommended for parents!I have more of these books I would recommend this book to parents of the appropriate ages of the books.

I think this is a fine book. I bought it expecting a list of things that my child should know prior to entering Kindergarten. Instead what I got was a book that I could use to teach my child. Excellent!

I think it would be better with a comprehensive list of expectations and/or goals that every child should reach by the time they are through with Kindergarten. That is the teacher in my coming out.

I found that the social studies section was amazing. I didn't realize that kindergarten children could comprehend so much.

Word of Warning: This is ONLY the very basics that a child should be able to learn. This is NOT the be all end all of a kindergarten curriculum to use for homeschooling. However, it can be used as a place to jump start your learning. You will need to add more literature and poetry and math activities. However, it's a well rounded, full of information, useful book.

When I bought this book, I expected to see more of a checklist of what my child needed to know for Kindergarten and what my child would learn in Kindergarten. As a former Kindergarten teacher, I have an idea of what is needed, but I wanted it in writing. What I got was different, but not bad.

This book is devided into sections: reading, writing, art, etc.
There are whole stories, poems, songs, and lessons for a kindergartener. While I don't expect that it will be enough for teaching a whole year of Kindergarten at home, I think it will be a great start. The emphasis is placed on reading (rightly so I think). I would like to see more in the math section though. I find that the art section is lacking, while the Social Studies section has much more than I would expect a Kindergartener to know. I hope I'm pleasantly suprised in that area.

For information purpose it is not in a themematic form. It does cover many of the things that you would expect to see in a classical education (artists, authors, paintings etc). But it is lacking if you want a fully classical education.

While there a few resources, there are not near as many as I would like to see. I'd also like to see a comprehensive, overall list of what a child is expected to know before and after Kindergarten.

While it seems that I have discussed many of the points I see that need improvement, I think this book is great. It is probably the most comprehensive one book you can find for helping your child in Kindergarten. This would be a great start for homeschooling parents who don't want to spend a lot of money. It is a great book for parents who want to help their child learn prior to and during kindergarten but aren't really sure what to do.

I would buy this book. Just be aware of the limitations and be prepared to suppliment those areas.

If a school doesn't address the information in the books or provide a simple way for a child to learn it, it isnt' doing it's job. Period.

I dont' believe that this curriculum provides anything that a school can't provide with other, better educational methods. The example of why this by-rote schedule is necessary is ludicrous. They offer a classroom of children beginning to learn about world exploration and Magellan. The children are asked to trace a route on a globe from Europe to North America, but some can't because they "didn't do that last year in Mrs. Jones' class", others in "Mr. Peach's class did that last year" and the children who just moved in from another school "did Magellan last year". I would be surprised if any child with basic map literacy couldnt' find a route on a globe, and for the children who did that last year, they should be able to offer different, possibly more complex views on the subject.

Any child exposed to a library or even a small home book collection should be able to have the "cultural literacy" base this curriculum would like to provide. The cultural background presented in this book is weak, without any discussion of where these fairy tales and nursery rhymes came from. No child needs to learn "Jack Horner", etc. in school. If it is taught, it should be at a level where the child will learn the origins of these things, and maybe learn to act them out.

The history portion was severely limited. Most children will pick up the very basic elements of what was offered just by looking at and asking about the presidents on our money.

Math is very weak. Again, talking with your child and reading a few basic books would teach everything offered here.

I explored several "focus" schools in my district for my daughter. After looking into Core Knowledge, we named it "American Myths and Legends" and rejected it for our child as too rigid, without an ability to meet the needs of specific children. In some districts, a core knowledge school may work as a selection factor, if it is one of the only choices available. Parents who care about their children's education may send their children to the available magnet school, so the school may well be populated with families who care about education. It doesnt' work that way in practice in all districts though.

One thing to keep in mind is that this curriculum was established by concensus. Therefore, anything viewed as "radical" or outside of the mainstream would not have passed the review committees. I think they probably lost a lot of value due to the process.

If you are starting a new school in your district or looking to homeschool a child to make sure she loves learning, look into William Glasser's "Quality School". We create community and love of learning and manage to score at 100% on statewide tests. We love our school.

I like this book. Since I had no idea on how to homeschool this book has provided me with great ideas plus the pictures are appealing to my little one. We just started but so far so good. In my opinion if a child will pay attention when you open the book then the writer and editors did a good job. Thanks

I have 6 children, and we are homeschoolers, so I am always looking for good resource materials.

This series is good in a lot of ways.

It stresses the old classics, more from a cultural literacy standpoint than anything else. You want your children to understand references to literature. You want your children to know what others are talking about when they refer to a mythological figure.

These books not only provide the parent with a few basic stories, but they also put it in the mind of the parent that these things are important for the child to come into contact with.

The social studies are nice and simple, with little maps and nice little pictures. For my children, I develop checksheets to go along with them -- they read a section in the book, then they draw a picture relating to it, or look at a globe and point out the place under discussion, or create an animal from that part of the world in clay -- something involving DOINGness, instead of just READING. They really love this and it makes the material stick in their minds that way.

I make a checklist out of the math section, to verify that the kids are up to speed.

Overall, I think these are valuable books, and well worth having. I would warn parents to watch for the vocabulary used in the literature -- kids will get confused if many of the words are not defined for them - the literacy level is pretty high per each grade level.

This book covers all areas. It is extremely easy to use and my son really liked me reading from it. It isn't a complete curriculum in any area but gives you a good base in all of them. It doesn't really cover phonics at all but has a lot of good stories and nursery rhymes in it.

...... This is the type of educational guide I had been looking for!

...... As a busy mom & entrepreneur, I don't desire to homeschool my kids presently, but want to be an active leader and main influence in their education. This series gives me well-rounded view of topics, learning skills and levels for me to present and work on with my children, in additional to their public school and private preschool education.

..... My preschooler, age 4, has particularly benefitted from, for example, reading additional stories about some of our presidents when he made "Washington" and "Lincoln" related art at preschool. We've also used many of the math sorting/classifying/counting/identifying shapes skills as a normal, integrated part of his day as he plays.

. Overall, I view this series as a springboard for us as a family to concentrate on topics, skills, stories, etc., as the kids need them or are interested in them. We've already pulled out my grandmother's 1960 encyclopedias to look up more about a topic; searched the internet about another topic; got engrossed as a family in one of the science experiments; and checked out a library book about one of the stories they have included in an abridged form.

..... I would love to also see a related workbook for this series.