Yardsticks, A Book Recommendation For Parents

Every once in a while I run across a book that would be really helpful to parents of elementary age students. Yardsticks by Chip Wood is one such book. This book looks at children by age and gives lists of information explaining what typically developing children know and are able to do at school.

I received a copy of Yardsticks quite some time ago--and have found myself reading it, referring to it, and recommending it in meetings with parents and teachers ever since. On Tuesday of this week, a parent came to me and said, "Kevin, I bought that book you recommended. It has really helped me not worry that my child is ______ (fill in the blank with something about your child) because now I realize that is typical for her age." It was a really satisfying moment to hear the book helped the parent.

A little more information about Yardsticks from author Chip Wood (from amazon.com):
Practical info to help parents/teachers understand children. This book is about children in school. It is designed for both parents and teachers and provides easy reference to expectations about children's growth and development in the classroom. I have tried in this small volume to consolidate a good deal of theory with years of professional experience in schools. My goal is to present important information in a readable format without compromising the key ideas passed down from the worlds of anthropology, child development, pediatrics and education. I hope you will find the information about a particular age immediately useful, and will also be captured by the obvious patterns of development. Enjoy the book. I hope you find it useful in your work with children.

You might also be interested to know I recently ordered copies of this book for MLK teachers to use as a reference.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Yardsticks from amazon.com, feel free to use the link below. A small portion of sales is donated back to school and will be used to purchase books for school.