Help your child exceed the Common Core standards with the revised and updated What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know
 
Designed for use by parents and teachers, this groundbreaking first volume in the Core Knowledge Series provides kindergartners with the fundamentals they need to prepare them for a lifetime of learning. It sets out the elements a parent or educator should look for in a good kindergarten program and introduces activities that help a child take the first steps in learning to read and write. Featuring a new Introduction and filled with age-appropriate questions and suggestions that stimulate thinking and build vocabulary, this revised and updated edition of What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know also includes
 
Favorite poems—read and recite together from Mother Goose, A. A. Milne, Langston Hughes, and more, all beautifully illustrated
Beloved stories and fables—read aloud from “The Three Little Pigs,” “The Ugly Duckling,” “Cinderella,” Winnie-the-Pooh, “The Velveteen Rabbit,” and many more, including multicultural folktales from African, Japanese, and Native American traditions
Familiar sayings and phrases—impart traditional wisdom such as “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” and “Better safe than sorry”
History and geography—a friendly introduction to our world, complete with simple questions and fun activities
Visual arts—painting, drawing, cutting, and pasting go hand in hand with learning about color and helping a child look at and talk about great works of art
Music—many musical experiences for parents and children to participate in, along with dozens of songs to sing and dance to
Math—lively and interesting exposure to concepts and operations that provide a springboard to later mastery
Science—activities that let children observe, experience, and get their hands dirty while exploring the wonders of nature

Give your child a smart start with the revised and updated
What Your Second Grader Needs to Know
 
What will your child be expected to learn in the second grade? How can you help him or her at home? This book answers these all-important questions and more, offering the specific shared knowledge that hundreds of parents and teachers across the nation have agreed upon for American second graders. Designed for parents and teachers to enjoy with children, featuring a new Introduction, this second-grade volume of the Core Knowledge Series presents the knowledge and skills that should be at the core of a challenging second-grade education, including
 
Favorite poems—old and new, from “Caterpillars” to Gwendolyn Brooks’s prizewinning “Rudolph Is Tired of the City”
Literature—from around the world, with African folktales, American tall tales, European fairy tales, and classic myths from ancient Greece
Learning about language—the basic building blocks of written English, all explained with a touch of humor and common sense
World and American history and geography—visit Japan, explore ancient Greece, travel the Underground Railroad with Harriet Tubman
Visual arts—with activities and full-color illustrations of masterworks by El Greco, Van Gogh, Matisse, and others
Music—basic theory, great composers, instruments, and fun-to-sing songs such as “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” and “Do-Re-Mi”
Math—challenging lessons ranging from telling time to doing fractions, numbers to 100, and a first look at geometry
Science—the cycle of life and the seasons, levers and magnets, the wonder of the human body, and more, with lots of hands-on activities and stories about famous scientists

Give your child a smart start with the revised and updated
What Your First Grader Needs to Know
 
What will your child be expected to learn in the first grade? How can you help him or her at home? How can teachers foster active, successful learning in the classroom? This book answers these all-important questions and more, offering the specific shared knowledge that hundreds of parents and teachers across the nation have agreed upon for American first graders. Featuring a new Introduction, filled with opportunities for reading aloud and fostering discussion, this first-grade volume of the acclaimed Core Knowledge Series presents the sort of knowledge and skills that should be at the core of a challenging first-grade education. Inside you’ll discover
 
Favorite poems—old and new, such as “The Owl and the Pussycat,” “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod,” and “Thirty Days Hath September”
Beloved stories—from many times and lands, including a selection of Aesop’s fables, “Hansel and Gretel,” “All Stories Are Anansi’s,” “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” and more
Familiar sayings and phrases—such as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and “Practice makes perfect”
World and American history and geography—take a trip down the Nile with King Tut and learn about the early days of our country, including the story of Jamestown, the Pilgrims, and the American Revolution
Visual arts—fun activities plus full-color reproductions of masterworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Georgia O’Keeffe, and others
Music—engaging introductions to great composers and music, including classical music, opera, and jazz, as well as a selection of favorite children’s songs
Math—a variety of activities to help your child learn to count, add and subtract, solve problems, recognize geometrical shapes and patterns, and learn about telling time
Science—interesting discussions of living things and their habitats, the human body, the states of matter,  electricity, our solar system, and what’s inside the earth, plus stories of famous scientists such as Thomas Edison and Louis Pasteur