resources

On this page we have included some resources that BCS parents and teachers have found useful. We hope you will, too.

A Note About Buying Books

Many of the parent resources we recommend on this page are books. Although there are many places to buy books nowadays, we encourage you to support your local independent bookseller by buying your books from them as often as you can.

In Bellingham, we highly recommend Village Books as a great bookstore and a wonderful community resource. You can even order books online and pick them up at the store! Village Books supports us and many other local organizations every year in fundraising–your support of them pays back many dividends, to you and to our community.

If you don’t live in Bellingham and you’d like to locate another independent bookstore, click here. For out-of-print books, try abebooks.com.

education

Exceeding Expectations: A User’s Guide to Implementing Brain Research in the Classroom
Susan J. Kovalik and Karen D. Olsen

At BCS, we call our educational approach “body-brain compatible,” and Exceeding Expectations describes exactly what that means. This book translates the exciting findings of recent research into how the human brain learns (the ‘biology of learning’) into practical strategies that all educators (including parents) can implement to make learning easy and maximize every child’s learning potential. Sadly, this book is currently out of print; you may be able to find a copy secondhand at www.abebooks.com.

The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools
by Alfie Kohn

Alfie Kohn has written many books about children and schools and the assumptions that underlie much current educational thinking. This small, accessible and eye-opening volume in question-and-answer format reveals the documented effects of standardized testing on children and schools, and the attitudes and assumptions behind it.

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
John Taylor Gatto

John Taylor Gatto taught in Manhattan’s public schools for 26 years and was named New York State Teacher of the Year three times. In this short book (barely 100 pages) he reveals the history and current condition of compulsory state schooling, and how it stamps out the self-knowledge, curiosity, concentration and solitude essential to learning.

articles

What Everyone Should Know About The Latest Brain Research

How the brain learns and the environmental factors that help and hinder learning.

parenting

How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk
Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

A wonderful book about communicating with children, full of cartoons, sample conversations (both good and bad) and exercises. Also by the authors: Siblings Without Rivalry: How To Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too.

The Parent’s Handbook: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)
By Don Dinkmeyer and Gary D. McKay

The handbook for the STEP 7-week parenting training, a practical book to help you become the parent you want to be, and the text for parenting classes taught at BCS. Companion volumes are: Parenting Young Children: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting of Children Under Six and Parenting Teenagers: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting of Teens.

Raising a Responsible Child: How to Prepare Your Child for Today’s Complex World
By Don Dinkmeyer and Gary D. McKay (revised edition)

Another parenting classic by the founders of the STEP program. Building self-esteem, emotions, communication, discipline, resolving conflict, dealing with challenging behavior…it’s all here.

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
Marshall B. Rosenberg

An introduction to this language of the heart for communicating with children and adults. Also known as “compassionate communication,” nonviolent communication focuses on listening and communicating on the level of feelings and needs, helping us move from conflict to contact. The Center for Nonviolent Communication has a useful website with more information about nonviolent communication.

books for children

Rather than listing individual books (there are so many!), we have included three guides to children’s books with three different orientations. (All are available within the Bellingham/Whatcom County library system.)

The Read-Aloud Handbook
Jim Trelease

At BCS, we have daily read-aloud time from preschool through middle school. The kids love it, and it activates their interest in reading and increases their vocabulary as well. Jim Trelease has written this best-selling treasury of great read-aloud books, complete with book descriptions and age recommendations.

Books To Build On: A Grade-by-Grade Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers
by John Holdren and E. D. Hirsch

An excellent compilation of recommended books, organized by subject and grade level (K–Grade 6) and written by the authors of the Core Knowledge series (What Your First Grader Needs to Know, etc.). Wonderful for those times when kids get passionate about a subject and want to find out more, or whenever you want to find a really good book for children about…. Categories are: Poetry, Stories, Mythology, History and Geography, Visual Arts, Music, Science, and Mathematics.

Parent’s Guide to the Best Books for Children
by Eden Ross Lipson, children’s book editor of the New York Times

A guide to over 1000 books for children, arranged by category: wordless books, picture books, story books (with ample illustrations), early reading books, middle reading books, and young adult books. As the author says in the introduction, “this book is for people who care about honest-to-goodness children and who want to instill in them a love of reading.”

websites

Great Websites for Kids
American Library Association

The American Library Association has put together a collection of Great Websites for Kids, arranged by category and geared toward children up to age 14. Main categories range from Animals and The Arts to Sciences, Mathematics, History, Literature and Languages (including a selection of bilingual and Spanish-language sites), Social Sciences, Biography and more.

Parent’s Choice

Established in 1978, Parents’ Choice is the nation’s oldest nonprofit guide to quality children’s media and toys. Their awards honor the best material for children: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software, video games, television and websites. On their website, you will find current and previous award winners, parent guides to media and toys, ideas for family activities, and much more.

your child’s future

Washington State Guaranteed Education Tuition Program

With GET, saving for college now can mean getting tomorrow’s college tuition at today’s prices. (Yes, really!) You can set up a monthly payment plan, send a check whenever you have extra cash, or choose a combination of the two. Visit www.get.wa.gov to find out more.