Product Review

From August planning to July reflection, Welcome to Kindergarten is a comprehensive resource that will give kindergarten teachers new insights. Noted teachers and presenters Bonnie Brown Walmsley and Debra Redlo Wing demonstrate how best practices and a student-centered focus can make the first year of school rewarding for kindergarteners, parents, and teachers.

The authors are experienced teachers, presenting you, in clear and direct language, with developmentally appropriate teaching themes throughout the school year as well as specific project topics that get kids interested and excited about learning. All the while, Walmsley and Wing address topics important to your classroom, including:

• assessing literacy progress
• meeting educational standards in a student-centered curriculum
• building students' content-area knowledge
• communicating meaningfully with parents
• keeping useful records
• making time for professional development.

From ideas about setting up your classroom, structuring play, and integrating art and music into lesson planning to invaluable resources like discographies and booklists that Walmsley and Wing have developed in their own classrooms, Welcome to Kindergarten gives you everything you need for effective organizing, communication, planning, and professional development.

Whether you are a full- or half-day kindergarten teacher, a veteran or a rookie, Walmsley and Wing are enthusiastic partners in helping you improve your teaching. Read Welcome to Kindergarten and foster joyful learning in your students-and in yourself.