School as a Journey: The Eight-Year Odyssey of a Waldorf Teacher and His Class


Torin M. Finser - 1994
    Torin Finser--who is now Director of Waldorf Teacher Training at Antioch New England Graduate School--wrote this book especially for parents, prospective parents, and educators who are new to Waldorf education.Filled with pedagogical gems, tips, and resources, School as a Journey will also prove an invaluable resource for those who are currently Waldorf class teachers. For those who wish to delve more deeply into this revolutionary form of education, the author has also included extensive documentation, with references to the works of Rudolf Steiner and of others experienced in Waldorf education.Highly recommended for anyone interested in this revolutionary form of education.C O N T E N T SPreface1. Once upon a Time2. The High Road and the Low Road3. Toward Community4. Trials by Fire5. In Balance6. With Both Feet Firmly Planted on the Ground7. Outer and Inner Explorations8. Rounding the CornersAppendix: Educating for Creative Thinking: The Waldorf Approach by Joan AlmonNotes

The Latin-Centered Curriculum: A Homeschooler's Guide to a Classical Education


Andrew A. Campbell - 2006
    In addition to a useful scope and sequence for how a Latin-centered classical education can be accomplished in a home or private school, Campbell explains why the central principle behind classical education is the study of Latin and Greek.Campbell provides a short history of the modern classical movement, examines the predominant role of Latin in a classical education, and explains how the other pieces of the classical curriculum fit together. He provides the practical application to Tracy Lee Simmons' statement that a "Classical education is a curriculum grounded upon Greek, Latin, and the study of civilization from which the arose."In addition to chapters on Latin, Greek, and logic, Campbell covers the various content areas of classical education, such as English studies, classical studies, Christian and modern studies, with sections on arithmetic, science, and mathematics.But this is far from a purely theoretical book. In a chapter entitled, "Scope and Sequence," he gives a practical overview of what a Latin-based classical curriculum looks like from Kindergarten to 12th grade. With helpful charts and explanations, this book constitutes a manual for the Christian educator who wants a complete understanding of what is involved in a classical education.The most important section in the book, may well be the chapter titled "Multum non Multa." This is the principle sometimes expressed by the maxim, "Less is more." It is the idea that, rather than throwing multiple subjects at students and burying them under a mountain of unconnected disciplines, educators should instead employ an integrated focus on a few important core disciplines and related subject areas.The best education, Campbell points out, is simple but deep.

So You're Thinking About Homeschooling: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It


Lisa Whelchel - 2003
    Now an updated edition of So You’re Thinking About Home Schooling by Lisa Whelchel—herself a homeschooling mother of three—introduces to readers fifteen composite portraits of homeschooling families who show how every family can successfully face the unique challenges of its situation. The story-based approach deals with common questions of time management, teaching weaknesses, and outside responsibilities, as well as children’s age variations, social and sports involvement, learning disabilities, and boredom. Seeing a wide variety of homeschooling families in action gives parents the information and confidence they need to make their own decisions about home-based education. Includes a new chapter from Lisa and an all-new resource guide with recommendations from real-life homeschooling families! [Banner across upper left corner of back cover]: New, Updated Edition! “I’m Thinking About Homeschooling” You’re also probably thinking, But can I really teach my children? Where do I start? What if I need to work outside the home? Must I have twelve children, raise goats, and bake my own bread? And what about socialization? I could tell you the answers to these questions, but I would rather show you. Beginning with my own, I want to introduce you to fifteen families in fifteen unique situations who have all chosen to homeschool for different reasons, using a variety of learning methods. So… let’s rap lightly on the homeschool door and peek inside before we decide if we are ready to move in! —Lisa “Deciding if homeschooling is right for your family just got easier with this warm, entertaining, information-packed portrayal of its flexibility, diversity, triumphs, and challenges. Grab a cup of tea and enjoy!” —Linda Dobson, author of The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child Story Behind the Book“My hope is that by the end of the book, and a stroll through the neighborhood, you will feel more confident as you identify a family situation and teaching method that resonates with your personality and philosophy of education. From there, you can simply look to the end of each chapter to find a sample schedule for the homsechool day and list of curriculum suggestions for that particular teaching method.”

On Becoming Preschool Wise: Optimizing Educational Outcomes What Preschoolers Need to Learn


Gary Ezzo - 2004
    They know enough about life to enjoy it with enthusiasm and gusto, but not enough to survive very long without supervision. They are independent, but would never want to be left home alone. They live on praise and encouragement, but a single stern look can bring them to tears. They can be shy and timid one moment, yet confidently insist, "I can do it!" the next. They possess a ferocious appetite for play and order their lives according to the single principle that nothing is too difficult "for me." Play is their world and their tutor, taking them to the land of discovery that only ceases each night when they close their eyes in peaceful slumber. Above all else, a preschooler is a learner. His amazing powers of reasoning and discrimination are awakened through a world of play and imagination. Through home relationships, he learns about security, trust, and comfort; through friends he learns to measure himself against a world of peers;

The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined


Salman Khan - 2012
    Today millions of students, parents, and teachers use the Khan Academy's free videos and software, which have expanded to encompass nearly every conceivable subject; and Academy techniques are being employed with exciting results in a growing number of classrooms around the globe.Like many innovators, Khan rethinks existing assumptions and imagines what education could be if freed from them. And his core idea-liberating teachers from lecturing and state-mandated calendars and opening up class time for truly human interaction-has become his life's passion. Schools seek his advice about connecting to students in a digital age, and people of all ages and backgrounds flock to the site to utilize this fresh approach to learning.In THE ONE WORLD SCHOOLHOUSE, Khan presents his radical vision for the future of education, as well as his own remarkable story, for the first time. In these pages, you will discover, among other things:* How both students and teachers are being bound by a broken top-down model invented in Prussia two centuries ago* Why technology will make classrooms more human and teachers more important* How and why we can afford to pay educators the same as other professionals* How we can bring creativity and true human interactivity back to learning* Why we should be very optimistic about the future of learning.Parents and politicians routinely bemoan the state of our education system. Statistics suggest we've fallen behind the rest of the world in literacy, math, and sciences. With a shrewd reading of history, Khan explains how this crisis presented itself, and why a return to "mastery learning," abandoned in the twentieth century and ingeniously revived by tools like the Khan Academy, could offer the best opportunity to level the playing field, and to give all of our children a world-class education now.More than just a solution, THE ONE WORLD SCHOOLHOUSE serves as a call for free, universal, global education, and an explanation of how Khan's simple yet revolutionary thinking can help achieve this inspiring goal.

Mom, Jason's Breathing on Me!: The Solution to Sibling Bickering


Anthony E. Wolf - 2003
    You might never again have to hear the words: "Mommy, Ann drooled on me on purpose." You could have the answer for every "It's not fair!" your kids have ever whined at you. Constant sibling squabbling--and the ensuing demand that you pick a side, quick--can wear parents down and totally drain the fun right out of family life. Now in this groundbreaking book, Dr. Anthony Wolf offers a whole new strategy for coping. In a fresh, funny, and straightforward way, Dr. Wolf presents three essential rules for dealing with sibling arguments--rules that, if followed, completely remove the root causes of bickering. From teasing and hitting to rivalries and boundaries, Dr. Wolf addresses a wide range of issues, and he does it with humor and a pitch-perfect ear for actual kid/parent dialogue. This is a book about real children--who they are, what they want, why they act as they do, and what you can do to alleviate the strife between siblings.

Special Education in Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Exceptionality


Richard M. Gargiulo - 2002
    Blending theory with practice, the book helps pre-service and in-service teachers develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs they'll need to construct learning environments that make it possible for all students to reach their potential.

Thinking Differently: An Inspiring Guide for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities


David Flink - 2014
    An outstanding fighter who has helped thousands of children adapt to their specific learning issues, Flink understands the needs and experiences of these children first hand. He, too, has dyslexia and ADHD.Focusing on how to arm students who think and learn differently with essential skills, including meta-cognition and self-advocacy, Flink offers real, hard advice, providing the tools to address specific problems they face—from building self-esteem and reconstructing the learning environment, to getting proper diagnoses and discovering their inner gifts. With his easy, hands-on “Step-by-Step Launchpad to Empowerment,” parents can take immediate steps to improve their children’s lives.Thinking Differently is a brilliant, compassionate work, packed with essential insights and real-world applications indispensable for parents, educators, and other professional involved with children with learning disabilities.

Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America's Schools


Tom Little - 2015
    In this book, his life’s work, he interweaves his teaching experience, the knowledge he gleaned from his trip, and the history of Progressive Education. As Little and Katherine Ellison reveal, these educators and schools invigorate learning and promote inquisitiveness by allowing the curriculum to grow organically out of children's questions—whether they lead to studying the senses, working on a farm, or re-creating a desert ecosystem in the classroom.We see curious students draw on information across disciplines to think in imaginative yet practical ways, like in a "Mini-Maker Faire" or designing and building a chair from scratch. Becoming good citizens was another of Little's goals. He believed in the need for students to learn how to become advocates for themselves, from setting rules on the playground to engaging in issues of social justice in the wider community.Using the philosophy of Progressive Education, schools can prepare students to shape a vibrant future in the arts and sciences for themselves and the nation.

Awakening Wonder: A Classical Guide to Truth, Goodness & Beauty


Stephen R. Turley - 2015
    S. Lewis observed how modern education was changing our conception of what it means to be human. By cutting off students from the transcendent values of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, modern schools ceased cultivating virtue in students and instead communicated a mechanistic vision of the world that viewed students as products to be engineered. Lewis believed that in seeking to control nature, modern “conditioners” would also seek to control humans and remake them according to the preference of the conditioners, since any appeal to Truth, Goodness, or Beauty had been rejected. Lewis argued that we must recover these transcendent values in order to prevent the dehumanizing tendency in modern education and renew the cultivation of virtue in our students.With Awakening Wonder, Steve Turley demonstrates that it is precisely such a recovery that is at the heart of the current classical education renewal. Once again, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are celebrated as those objective values that are essential for cultivating students as flourishing human beings. In these pages you will discover the history and development of these transcendent values and how they redeem our senses and sanctify our imaginations. Teachers will also learn how to incorporate these values into their teaching to awaken awe and wonder in both themselves and their students.

Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write or Add


Charles J. Sykes - 1995
    Dumbing Down Our Kids is a searing indictment of America's secondary schools-one that every parent and teacher should read.Dumbing Down Our Kids offers a full-scale investigation of the new educational fad, sometimes called "Outcome Based Education" -the latest in a long series of "reforms" that has eroded our schools.* Why our kids rank near to, or at the bottom of international tests in math and science* Why "self-esteem" has supplanted grades and genuine achievements* How the educational establishment lowers standards and quality in our schools - while continuing to raise their budgets and our school taxes* The dumbing down of the curriculum so everyone can pass - but no one can excel* How parents, students, and teachers can evaluate schools and restore quality learning

Mind Maps For Kids: An Introduction


Tony Buzan - 2003
    Mind Maps for Kids is Tony Buzan’s first book written specially for a younger audience, suitable for ages 7 to 14.Tony Buzan has been teaching children all over the world for the past thirty years and has proved that Mind Maps are the magic formula in the classroom: remembering facts and figures is a piece of cake, planning is a doddle and getting stuck for an answer is a thing of the past.In Mind Maps for Kids, Tony Buzan explains this amazing system using step-by-step examples in every subject across the curriculum. He shows just how easy Mind Mapping is and how it can help kids to• remember things and concentrate better• make clearer and better notes• revise and ace exams!• come up with ideas and unlock the imagination• save timeMind Maps for Kids is a full-colour workbook, with the emphasis on having fun. As well as tips for improving memory and concentration, the book is packed with jokes, cartoons and brainteasers.Mind Mapping is the shortcut to success that puts kids one step (and sometimes miles!) ahead.

Your Baby’s Bottle-feeding Aversion: Reasons and Solutions


Rowena Bennett - 2017
    Baby becomes distressed at feeding times and refuses to feed or eats very little despite obvious hunger. Why won’t he/she eat? This is a question parents ask numerous health professionals while searching for a solution. Babies are typically diagnosed with one, two or three medical conditions to explain their aversive feeding behavior during brief appointments. Consequently, many parents don’t receive an effective solution from the health professionals they consult. This is why this book is so necessary. Rowena Bennett is an Australian nurse who holds professional qualifications in various nursing fields including pediatrics, midwifery, child health, mental health and lactation consultant. She has over 20 years experience advising parents how to resolve infant feeding and sleeping problems. Rowena has helped over 1000 babies get over their aversion to bottle-feeding and enjoy feeding once again. Parents claim the relief is life changing. In Your Baby’s Bottle-feeding Aversion, Rowena describes the various reasons babies display aversive feeding behavior, explains how the reader can identify the cause, and describes effective solutions. Included are step-by-step instructions on how to resolve a behavioral feeding aversion that occurs as a result of being repeatedly pressured to feed - the most common of all reasons for babies to become averse to feeding. Your Baby’s Bottle-feeding Aversion provides practical professional feeding advice that not only makes good sense, it works!

Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies


Hillary Morgan Ferrer - 2019
    They seem harmless, and even sound right. So what’s a Mama Bear to do when her kids seem to be absorbing the culture’s lies uncritically?Mama Bear ApologeticsTM is the book you’ve been looking for. This mom-to-mom guide will equip you to teach your kids how to form their own biblical beliefs about what is true and what is false. Through transparent life stories and clear, practical applications—including prayer strategies—this band of Mama Bears offers you tools to train yourself, so you can turn around and train your kids. Are you ready to answer the rallying cry, “Mess with our kids and we will demolish your arguments”?  Join the Mama Bears and raise your voice to protect your kids—by teaching them how to think through and address the issues head-on, yet with gentleness and respect.

Project-Based Homeschooling: Mentoring Self-Directed Learners


Lori McWilliam Pickert - 2012
    This is an essential experience for children: to spend time working on something that matters to them, with the support of a dedicated mentor. This book is an introduction and guide to creating the circumstances under which children can teach themselves. The author gives parents concrete tips for helping children do challenging, meaningful, self-chosen work. From setting up a workspace that encourages independence to building a family culture that supports self-directed learning to concrete suggestions for a step-by-step approach to inquiry-based investigation, Project-Based Homeschooling shares techniques for mentoring independent, confident thinkers and learners.