Seven Times Smarter: 50 Activities, Games, and Projects to Develop the Seven Intelligences of Your Child

By Laurel Schmidt

What Is Smart? There's evidence of so much more than "reading, writing, and 'rithmetic" in every child -- at least seven distinct intelligences, according to the theory of multiple intelligences, developed by Harvard's Dr. Howard Gardner. In Seven Times Smarter , veteran educator Laurel Schmidt offers a parent-friendly explanation of this theory and of the ways that kids are -- simply put -- word smart, picture smart, music smart, body smart, logic smart, people smart, and self-smart. These intelligences aren't fixed at birth. They can be nurtured and strengthened, meaning that in the right environment, kids get smarter. Seven Times Smarter , an invaluable resource for parents, teachers, and caregivers, provides the perfect way to create this environment. Unlike other craft or activity books that just fill time and keep kids busy, Seven Times Smarter prompts kids aged six to fourteen to work their brains and cultivate new skills using recycled or low-cost materials found in every home -- and enjoy it It offers an exploration of what it means to be smart, checklists to recognize the seven intelligences in your child, book lists to develop and celebrate all the ways your child is smart, and fifty creative, constructive activities that are good for kids playing alone or in a group, supervised or independently, including: * Memory Tours -- If a memory book is too straightforward for your artistic child, try an un-book, a memory box, or a calendar. * Hanging Gardens -- Indoors or out, even the smallest garden plot can yield a bumper crop of mathematical, linguistic, scientific, and kinesthetic skills. * The Boredom Brigade -- Boredom is a springboard for imagination; imaginary structures, identities, occupations, and friends are just some of the ways kids develop their inter- and intra-personal intelligences. * Junk Yard Genius -- There's an education in junk; in fact, it's easy to turn your broken radio, alarm clock, fan, blow-dryer, or scale into a project that could fascinate kids for days.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609805096
• ISBN13: 9780609805091
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Harmony/Rodale/Convergent
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Pearl for Creating Pearls

If you want a pearl, you have to put a grain of sand in the shell. There are many low-cost approaches here to help jump-start kids off the couch, away from the glass box they are staring at, and into a successful and enjoyable learning experience. Also for the kid in you (like Julia Cameron's "Artist's Dates"), and for grandparents too!.

Every parent should read this book!

This book is an excellent source of activities for families who want their children to be thinking, solution-oriented and independant people. The author obviously has had a great deal of experience with children, and is looking to build the multiple intelligences - based on Harvard Professor Howard Gardener's information. I have given this as a gift to many friends, and they love it, too!

So practical! So insightful!

Wow! I wish my parents had a book like this when I was growing up! Then again, maybe they did. The lost art of creative parenting is unearthed in the diggings of this study of human learning and growth. This book will make you smarter, and anyone that you are brave enough to lend it to. To be on the safe side, you might want to buy two copies. It makes a great gift.

THIS IS THE BOOK WE WERE WAITING FOR

It sounds so easy when someone explains it to you. How to observes your child and determine his or her strengths so you can help him develop naturally. Or as they say in the Army ads, become all that he can be.In these days of hyper-parenting where we race around from activity to lesson and then back to activity, never knowing if we are doing our kid good or stressing him out, getting tangled up in the competition of quantity verses quality, it is a tremendous relief to finally have some guidance re how to relax and do the right thing -- for your child and for yourself.Thanks.