Book Review: What Your First Grader Needs to Know

As a home-schooler, I read many books that are meant to help parents assist in their children's education. I was overwhelmingly elated at the content in What Your First Grader Needs To Know, edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. This is one book in The Core Knowledge Series, which covers Kindergarten through Grade Six.. This wonderful book reads as a teacher's manual, and can be used by teacher's, tutors, parent's and Homeschooling families.

One of my favorite things about this book is the amount of useful material in it. Instead of just listing thousands of books or poems, for example, this book actually has the poems and short stories as a part of it's content. The Reading and Writing section of this book runs for 108 pages and details how to assist a child in learning to write the alphabet, how to teach a child to read, popular children's literature, as well as an analysis of popular sayings.

I have the hardest time teaching history and geography to my boys as it's hard to break such concepts down into understandable parts - and not have it be just wrote memorization. The book, What Your First Grader Needs To Know, breaks down World History and Geography, as well as American History and Geography into a story, that is both imaginative and easy for little heads to understand. From the Ice Age to What's A Ziggurat, to The Pilgrims and The Louisiana Purchase, you can help your child understand the world around them just by reading aloud.

What Your First Grader Needs To Know even tackles such mundane topics as visual arts and music. Teaching you and the child how to look at colors in the world around them, as well as Portraits and Murals. The Music section hold a wonderful variety of songs, as well as a detailed explanation on Instruments and Their Families.

Finally, the subjects most parents struggle to assist their children with, Mathematics and Science. Again What Your First Grader Needs To Know goes above and beyond all other parenting/teaching tools with its easy to understand and teach concepts. From Place Values, Addition and Subtraction, to Coin Combinations, and Time; teaching your first grader math has never been easier.

The Science section is the second longest in the whole book, running 50 pages. It covers Habitats, Ocean & Undersea Life, The Human Body, Matter, Measurements, Electricity, Astronomy, The Earth, and Stories About Scientists. Even with a background in Engineering, I learned a thing or two from this book.

Even when a child goes to a Public or Private School, a parent is an integral part in the education process. Getting involved in what your child is learning will strengthen your relationship, and help ensure your child is learning what they need to learn before moving on to the next grade. For Homeschooling parents, teaching the building blocks to understand future complex issues is exceedingly important, and often overwhelming. With a book like What Your First Grader Needs To Know, as well as the whole of The Core Knowledge Series, you can be sure your child is getting the education they need to be successful in future endeavors.