The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction - Meghan Cox Gurdon

The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy books about books and reading books about reading and reading aloud. So this one is right up my alley. I learned many new vocabulary words myself reading this book, like the book states the children you read to will if you read aloud to them. Some of the stats and studies weren't great as far as having incredibly small sample sets, etc. But, like a normal human, I can ignore that if I really support whatever those small studies are purporting. :)
Anyway, great book about reading aloud. Not just to children but to tweens, teens, spouses, aging adults, dogs. Basically anyone. It doesn't address reading to your plants, but I imagine that wouldn't hurt either.
Two extensive book lists in back: one of the books mentioned in the text and another of additional books. Now I just need to get more consistent on reading aloud to my little people more than just a quick picture book at bedtime.

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You, Your Child, School: Navigate Your Way to the Best Education - Sir Ken Robinson

You, Your Child, and School: Navigate Your Way to the Best Education by Ken Robinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So this book wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. But perhaps (probably) my hopes were too high. I did not turn the final page with a clear answer on where to send my kiddo to kindergarten - or really even ideas on how to get an answer.
It was interesting. My background is in education, so not much new to me information. But good reminders nonetheless.
I did skim the last 50+ pages in an effort to finish before it needed to go back to the library.
Probably a 2.5 for me.

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The Read-Aloud Family - Sarah Mackenzie

The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book by podcaster Sarah Mackenzie. The first sections are a reminder about how important reading aloud to your kids are, even once they can read for themselves. I borrowed a copy from the library but definitely want to purchase one to have on my shelf. She presents 10 questions you can use for book club type discussions with any book. And then there are book lists at the back, broken out by level, along with activities to keep your kiddos hands busy while you read. A great resource to keep handy.

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Two Is Better Than One

You know, I am so glad J and I ended up having two little people instead of just one. 

If you haven’t heard that story, it’s a funny one.  We went through some infertility processes to get pregnant with Little Boy (our now 2.5 year old).  Our fertility doctor (who was fabulous and we highly recommend) said if we wanted more kiddos, just to give her a call.  We said we’d discuss it once Little Boy turned one.  And so we did. 

One Friday night shortly after Little Boy turned one, we sat down to talk.  J was fully on board with trying for number two/four (two for us; four with his girls from a previous marriage).  I was more hesitant.  Little Boy flipped my whole world upside down.  His delivery and my recovery from it were not fabulous.  I wasn’t sure I was cut out to mother more than one.  Honestly, the mommy guilt oftentimes was (is) such that I didn’t feel I was doing a great job as it was.  But since I was on the fence, we decided to go ahead and look into the insurance piece before I called the doctor to get things rolling.

However, that Sunday I was as sick as I had been in a long time.  Couldn’t keep food down.  No energy.  Just awful.  I suffered through the day.  When getting ready for bed that night, I started shaking uncontrollably in my arms and legs.  It freaked me out.  You couldn’t see the shaking, but I could feel it.  Terrifying. 

So I did something I hadn’t done since probably middle school – headed to the ER.  Where, low and behold, we found out baby number two was already on her way…I was two weeks pregnant.  Still scared and nervous?  Yes!  But excited and knowing beyond a doubt that expanding our family to six was God’s plan?  Absolutely!

Anyway, so back to having two. 

I did wonder if I could handle two little ones – mentoring, loving, giving each the time and attention individually needed.  Having the energy to keep up with both.  Having the wisdom to balance it all.  (I know…you friends of mine who have 4…6…8 kids are laughing at me now.  That’s okay.). And sometimes I don’t do any of that well.  Sometimes Little Boy is screaming and wanting attention while I need to be feeding Baby Girl.  That’s also his prime time to get into whatever he knows he’s supposed to leave alone.  Sometimes Baby Girl wants held while Little Boy needs some Mommy time.  Sometimes Mommy counts the minutes until nap time or shuts herself in the bathroom for a few minutes to regroup.

But I LOVE it.  Yes, it’s more work (despite the fact my sister told me two is no more work than one).  However, it’s absolutely worth it.  They are such completely different personalities.  And to watch them interact is so much fun.  To see Little Boy “read” to his little sister.  Or to watch Baby Girl's eyes light up and a grin come to her face when brother enters the room. 

I wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

Raising Burning Hearts - Patricia Bootsma

RAISING BURNING HEARTS:  Parenting & Mentoring Next Generation Lovers of God

March 23, 2015

Publisher:
  Forerunner Publishing
Release Date:
  January 1, 2015
Market:
  Christian
Genre:
–Non-Fiction, Parenting
Length:
–160 pages
My Rating:
   3.5/5

 About This Book (from Amazon)

Can the next generation become passionate followers of God, equipped and ready to fulfill their destinies? Christian parents and mentors are entrusted with the call to nurture and train hearts, releasing children to excel in loving and seeking God. In Raising Burning Hearts, Patricia Bootsma draws on her experience of raising six children and mentoring many others, and shares the profound and hopeful news that this calling is not beyond our reach. Combining practicality and spiritual understanding, Patricia covers important strategies that are often overlooked, like the power of blessing our children, of prophetically declaring truth over them, and of teaching young ones how to hear God s voice, seek Him in the Word, and be constant in prayer. Sharing tangible applications and real-life testimonies, Patricia assures us that parents and mentors can fulfill their heavenly mandate to raise up and release next generation lovers of God into their epic purpose.

CRITIQUE

The MoM group that I’m apart of has been discussing this book this past month.  It is challenging in some areas and has definitely presented some paradigm shifts for me in others.  Probably my favorite chapter was “The Power of the Blessing.”  I found this chapter to be infinitely practical and something I could implement right away. 

Despite all my psych courses for my education degree, and all of the many opinions on life stages, I had never come across the exact stages Bootsma presents and the Major Life Question that goes with each one.  It makes sense though.  Just as it makes sense to speak blessings over your children, their lives, their friendships, etc.  Words can bring life or death.  Harness that power. 

I will say the testimonies at the end of each chapter were my least favorite parts.  Usually I like things like that.  These seemed a bit stilted and even redundant.

Regardless, a worthwhile read for parents who are always looking for more ways to point their children to Jesus. 

Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home from Birth to Age Three - Paula Polk Lillard & Lynn Lillard Jessen

Publisher:
  Schocken
Release Date:
  July 22, 2003
Genre:
–Non-Fiction, Parenting, Education
Length:
–304 pages
My Rating:
   3/5

 About This Book (from Goodreads)

What can parents do to help their youngest children in their task of self-formation? How does the Montessori method of hands-on learning and self-discovery relate to the youngest infants? This authoritative and accessible book answers these and many other questions. Based on Dr. Maria Montessori's instructions for raising infants, its comprehensive exploration of the first three years incorporates the furnishings and tools she created for the care and comfort of babies. From the design of the baby's bedroom to the child-sized kitchen table, from diet and food preparation to clothing and movement, the authors provide guidance for the establishment of a beautiful and serviceable environment for babies and very young children. They introduce concepts and tasks, taking into account childrens' ''sensitive periods'' for learning such skills as dressing themselves, food preparation, and toilet training. Brimming with anecdote and encouragement, and written in a clear, engaging style, Montessori from the Start is a practical and useful guide to raising calm, competent, and confident children.

How and Why I Acquired This Book

After seeing this marked as “To Read” by one of my friends on Goodreads, I requested it from my library.  The Montessori method (what little I know about it) is fascinating to me.  Add to that the fact I have an 18-month old at home and another little one on the way, and it just seemed like a good time to read and learn more about Montessori.
 

CRITIQUE

This book was good if a bit overwhelming in all of its ideas and skills that apparently my toddler is already behind on.  So it was nice to get to the end and have a disclaimer from the authors that it’s okay to pick and choose what to implement.  That, ultimately, every family is different and has different needs and abilities.  It would have been nice to have that up front.  It would have relieved some of my guilt.

This book really does cover pretty much every aspect of growth and development from birth to three.  It starts out with how the nursery should be arranged and why.  There are big concepts and ideas that are then broken out into the practical.

The authors discuss brain growth, the brain to hand connection, movement, life skills like dressing and feeding oneself, language and the arts, and how to help your child to develop best in all these areas.

Really, it’s probably more a 3.5 or 4 book for rating as far as the presentation of the ideas.  My lower rating of 3 is probably due to my personal biases.  It’s one I’m considering purchasing and using for reference.

When Your Child is 6 to 12 - John M. Drescher

Synopsis from B&N: We've been over-run with child-rearing manuals for infants. We've been swamped with advice for relating to teens. But little has been offered to parents whose children are in middle childhood! John. M. Drescher, a wise voice in the field of parenting literature whose books have sold more than 400,000 copies.


I don’t quite know how I feel about this book. I have two dear step-daughters who both fall smack in the middle of that age range at eight and ten.

Maybe I’m too hard-core. Or maybe I’m too old school. I don’t know. However, while this book mentioned in passing that you should discipline them, it doesn’t go into how to do so effectively. Instead it focuses more heavily on the warm fuzzies of self-esteem, encouragement, praise, etc. It goes so far as to say that you shouldn’t tell this age child what to do; instead you should simply model it.

While I believe that you should model the behavior you expect, I think you have to say it too. They are just not observing you enough (especially as they get to the older end of the range) to pick up everything they need. That’s why children at this age are cognitively and emotionally self-absorbed. Instruction needs to be more explicit at times.

I have issues with the whole “need to preserve their self-esteem” mantra in general. I don’t give my students grades that will best support their self-esteem (despite what some parents would prefer). I give them the grades their work earns them. I believe there should be sports for fun. However, I also believe if you play competitively, there have to be winners and losers. That’s a life lesson and when better to learn it?

I also fully support encouragement and praise. But there are also times when correction and redirection are needed. Sometimes your kid really screws up and there just isn’t anything to praise in that situation. You shouldn’t make something up – that is modeling dishonesty.

So while there were some good things in the book, I think some balance is called for.

Pick Up Your Socks - Elizabeth Crary

This book is subtitled “…and other skills growing children need! A Practical Guide to Raising Responsible Children.” In it, Ms. Crary tackles such topics as responsibility versus obedience, basic responsibility skills (memory, motivation), chores, school responsibility, and independent living skills.


I read this book with mixed thoughts/feelings. A lot of it seemed to go too far towards negotiating and rewarding your children for every little thing they do. However, I was able to pull out a few nuggets. I think when introducing a new skill or chore, a reward chart of some kind (where they color a square for each success and once X spaces are filled, they receive a reward). Also, I’m going to talk to the husband person about possible setting up a contract for A. and her homework. That continues to be a struggle…and has been off and on since second grade when her mom told her she didn’t really care about her schoolwork. I’m not sure that a contract will work to motivate her (it didn’t help with her special Challenge program she was removed from for not challenging). But we are quickly running out of ideas, and we haven’t tried this one yet.

Win or Lose by How You Choose! - Judge Judy Sheindlin

This is a great book to discuss with your children morals, values, and how choices affect your lives.



Each two-page spread presents a question with four choices to choose from.


Again, I wouldn’t have children read it alone. My plan is to go through it, a page a day, with my girls over summer break.

Creative Correction - Lisa Whelchel

My sister-in-law actually recommended this book to me when we were discussing parenting.


The copy I read was from the library. However, it is on my “to buy” list. While I got some ideas just through reading it, I would love to have it on the shelf to pull out and look up specific behaviors and corresponding consequences. Or even corresponding Scriptures. Lisa Whelchel does a great job of have Scriptures with most of her corrections (or rewards). And as a parent trying to raise her kiddos to love God and follow Him, I think that is important.

Jeff read it too. Our biggest take-away that we’ve implement so far is the “chore jar.” You know, sometimes there isn’t a consequence that fits the crime. Or there are ongoing infractions of the same rule. That’s when they visit the chore jar to pick a chore to do. These are the chores are bigger than their weekly chores. They are the things that need to be done but we never get around to doing (i.e. cleaning all the baseboard in the house, weeding/winterizing the flower beds). So the girls get to do them.

There is an added benefit to the chore jar. Our girls are both saving up money toward a goal. So we’ve assigned dollar values to each of the chore jar chores. Of course, if they are doing an extra chore as a discipline, they don’t get paid. however, if one of them has some extra time and wants to do an extra chore for extra money, we don’t have to think of one on the spot. They just pull from the jar.

I think this book would be a worthwhile resource for any parent – but especially for those trying to parent from a Godly worldview.

Fascinating Fact: Lisa Whelchel was Blaire on the T.V. show Facts of Life.

Go to Your Room - Shari Steelsmith

The subtitle of this book is "Consequences that Teach," and there is so much I like about that. 

There is no doubt that I am a bigger supporter of consequence systems that reward ones.  I don't believe kids should be rewarded for expected behavior.  Now, if they're learning something new, rewards are useful in the short-term. 

And I like consequences that are logical.  That's what this book is about.  It talks about natural consequences some...those results of your actions that just happen.  But focuses on logical consequences as implemented by a parent or caregiver.  Consequences that fit the misdeed.  Consequences that make sense with the offense and aren't just random.

The majority of the book is very practical as well.  It lists behaviors and several logical consequences that could be implemented.  I like that it gives more than one option because if there's one thing I've learned with just two kids is that not everything (okay, almost nothing) works for both of them.  They are completely different little personalities with motivations to match.

Now, sometimes I thought the consequence's suggested length was too short, especially for ongoing behavior issues.  Still, I feel the book was a good resource and got my wheels turning about what would work with the girls.

Boundaries with Kids - Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Award-winning Boundaries authors have now adapted that material for anyone working with children. The book has practical tips on how to help your child instill boundaries and self-control in children and to maintain your boundaries as well.


I thought this book was excellent. As I read it, the thought most often in my mind was of situations and scenarios in which I could apply what I was reading about. There were many areas – both with my step-kids and the kids I teach – that I could see myself improving by using the practical ideas Doctors Cloud and Townsend present. I also was faced with the realization of where I let my own boundaries fall and how to shore them up.

It was very well organized and easy to read.