Review Time: Jacob Won't Be Eating Paste Next Year

Hey guess what, I'm a part of the Parent Blogger's Network. Every now and then, I get to review things that impact my family, and pass on the good (or bad) to you. I'm not one of those moms who thinks her kids walk on water. I'm the first to wonder what they've done wrong, and I would rather underestimate their abilities (and be pleasantly surprised) than overestimate them and be perpetually disappointed.And so it is with my kindergartener. One, he's a boy. Boys tend to be, oh, about thirteen years behind girls at any given time. Also, he's my third child. When the girls were getting ready for kindergarten, I had been doing flashcards with them, singing with them, and conversing with them for their entire lives. I've tried that with the boy. But he only recently started speaking coherently, and he would rather poke the dog with a blunt object than sit with me and recite the alphabet. Demoralizing? Not really, but then I recently registered him for kindergarten and started to wonder, Is he ready? Did I make the right decision in his pre-k placement? He currently is in a small, private pre-k that doesn't focus much on writing, or reading prep. They do a lot with their hands, and I swear he can tell you all about chickens, bugs, and beer fermentation, but I wasn't so sure how he would fare next year.I was ready to just accept the fact that next year, while his classmates construct the double helix with their Legos, he'll be scratching himself in immodest places.Then I was asked to review the book, Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten. Linda Desimowich and Stacey Kannenberg know their stuff. They've written one for first grade, too. Each time I've gone over some of the concepts in the book with Jacob, like letters, placement, or shapes, it has held his attention. No scratching. No talk of hops. He really likes the shiny pages (you can use dry-erase pens on them, a huge plus) and the bright colors . And guess what? He is a lot more prepared than I thought. I had no idea he knew his left from his right (save your judgment until you have four kids) until he got to the pages with outlines of the left and right hand. I placed his hands over the drawings and asked him which hand was his left. He got it right. I almost choked on my tongue.Do you have a munchkin who's about to enter kindergarten or first grade? Check out http://www.parentbloggers.com, go to the Let's Get Ready post and tell them why you need these books, too. You might just score yourself a free book (they are giving away a set, people! Free stuff!), and even better, peace of mind that your child is probably not going to be the deviant you thought.