Monday, August 30, 2010

For The Children's Sake

This book came with My Father's World Kindergarten Deluxe Package. I originally did not plan on reading it. I had many other books to read that I bought at the convention that I preferred. While I was flipping through this book and so many paragraphs caught my attention that I decided to read it. WoW! It was good! I started this book at the beginning of July and just finished it last week. It is only 158 pages but sometimes one page was so full that I wanted to stop, pray, and take it in. I have 31 pages of notes in my notebook! As hard as it is I'm picking out two points that stuck out the most to me from each chapter.

Chapter 1: was an introduction mainly. So I'm applying my points for that one to another chapter. :)

Chapter 2:
  • Respect children. Don't see them as something o prune, form, or mold. They are individuals who think, act, and feel. They are separate human beings whose strength lie in who they are, not who they will become.
  • Our generation is prone to watching a brief program or reading a few paragraphs on a subject and then thinking we "know" about that subject. All we are doing is amusing our interest. This is not education.

Chapter 3:

  • Do not smash your children. Lead them. Just as a Shepard leads his sheep. The pasture itself has boundaries but there is freedom within the pasture.
  • Children will treat others as they should when they are used to consideration, time, and care themselves.

Chapter 4:

  • A child flourishes in an atmosphere where they are liked as a person. Their ideas and choices count.
  • Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.

Chapter 5: the most filled chapter

  • No division between secular and christian. The whole of reality is God's reality.
  • Let the child, God, and His Word work out their own relationship together.
  • Time must be unhurried and TV free to encourage the gentle art of learning.
  • A part of life is learning how to regulate one's time, responsibilities, and one's limits.

Chapter 6:

  • We hinder the child's worth ("just as I am") when we set up artificial development schedules which they must learn grade by grade. We push the "slow", bore the "quick", and ignore the living mind.
  • Don't feel guilty about enjoying the whole of life. God created this world and all that's in it for us. Learn to balance each area of your life and enjoy each part of it whole. Whether it's work, sex, eating, reading, watching the sunset, playing a game, etc. It's yours.

There is so much and I've already started applying some things and planning on how to apply others! I strongly recommend this book to all teachers. It's not just for homeschool teachers. Most of the book she referring to how a specific school was ran. You can view inside this book on Amazon here.

2 comments:

  1. What a great write-up! I am just fumbling through it slowly too, only being on the second or third chapter with starting weeks ago. I tend to read slowly anyways, and you're right... I find myself re-reading so much of this and trying to soak it all in! I told my hubby how good it was, if only I could make myself get through it. The note taking is a great idea!

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  2. I read the first few chapters but then school started and I haven't gone back. You've inspired me to pick it up again. It is such a great, great book. I love how you've summarized here. It's so helpful to read it again. Great post :)

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