Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn--and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less Paperback – August 25, 2004

Great book! After 40 years of teaching at the elementary level, I can honestly say this book is on target with learning and having BALANCE in life!

This book is interesting, & I agree with the information presented. I like how the authors cite research studies to support their ideas/recommendations. I also found the information on how children learn math & reading very interesting.I read the book straight through over a couple of weeks & found it quite repetitive (I realize that the book is also meant to be read in segments). There are a couple of paragraphs in different chapters that are virtually identical. I also think the authors discouraged flash cards at least 20 times, which I found annoying.

I'm not a helicopter parent nor do I believe children's days need to be completely planned. In today's society I always have felt like I may be making a mistake but I'm pretty independent and stubborn. This book supports the idea that kids need to be kids!!! Love Love it. Oh and personal history I have 5 children and two have graduated and are attending college one studying deaf education they are very advance smart driven adults. My third has autism and I was told he would never speak and playing with other children helped him more than any "scheduled" activity. This is a must read.

As a parent of a 3 and 1 year old, I have felt the pressure of "schooling" and scheduling my childrens' time. This book puts the science behind that instinctual feeling that children just need to be children. The authors layout how children think and how they are built to learn without our help. While I didn't see it mentioned, much of their scientific findings relate and support the Montessori method. This book will inform parents on ways they can teach in context and through play which is the best way to help your child to love to learn. This mirrors the Montessori methods fundamental belief to follow the child.I feel this book has given me the support needed to resist outside influences which make many parents feel like their toddler "needs" classes, activities and reading programs. They don't, they need quality time playing with their parents who pay attention to their interests and then support those interests. Not worksheets and lessons that only service the parents desire.

I loved it. I just had a baby so I am doing my research about baby development and learning process. This book really goes against many others that say that babies need their brains filled with information since the very beginning, the author insists that the best way babies learn is by playing, and gives the parents the assurance that their kids will develop great by playing.It also gives a lot of ideas about activities to do with your kids depending on their age range to help them learn playing and for the parents to get involved with them in fun and active ways.

The thing I liked most about this book was that with each chapter discussion, they ended the chapter with practical tips you can do with your baby to enhance those concepts discussed. For my husband, I basically just flagged those pages to read with the tips so he can get the overview - you could almost get what you need out of the book by just reading those. But I did appreciate that the book also cited so many social experiments tried with babies and kids on a variety of different cognitive skills and methods, so I could learn from those tests and exercises what to do or how a little bit better, especially some of the Montessori methods. Being a couple who really wants to provide the most nurturing environment possible to raise a Baby Einstein, without driving our daughter overboard, I do slightly wish that the book wasn't so anti-Baby Einstein or critical of parents who want to try to push their kids a little harder, but balanced on how to do that a bit more healthily. I was raised in India then America after age 10, and frankly think that although my parents could have provided more emotional support during my teenage years, I do bring something more to my work ethic as an adult with how they pushed me academically growing up. Glad I did this type of reading though, at least I feel more armed with better techniques and methods on a better nurturing environment.

This book is so encouraging! I am so frustrated with parents that believe that their children need to be involved in everything. The book is packed full of research that shows just the opposite. Children need to play and they learn best through play. It is so important that we spend quality time with our children and the authors reinforce this throughout the book. This book educates parents with the ways to go about helping our children and debunking the myths and lies such as purchasing certain products like flashcards, classical music at an early age, and certain toys make our children smarter.