The Missing Alphabet

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO EQUIP OUR CHILDREN to cope with an unknown future? Where will they get the creative thinking skills that build effective innovators? The Missing Alphabet provides a practical guide that helps parents solve these problems.

The book introduces the Sensory Alphabet, basic building blocks that are as power- ful for developing 21st century literacies as the ABCs are for reading—and missing from schools today. The expert educator team also offers foundational knowledge, current research, and a pragmatic path for parents to learn about the individual strengths that will help their children to learn productively in the future. To turn these ideas into action, there is a Field Guide of activities for parents and kids to explore together at home, in museums, and around the neighborhood.

This tried-and-true approach engages children with the creative thinking process, the capacity to invent with many media, the ability to think across disciplines, and the reliance on (and joy in) the imagination. Over the past forty years, the authors have developed highly suc- cessful programs for both in- and out-of-school settings based on the concepts in this book. Now, they offer parents a comprehensive guide to building the confidence and creative thinking skills their children will need to thrive in the new millennium.