Chasing Ideas: The Fun of Freeing Your Child's Imagination [Paperback]

Christine Durham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1843104601 | ISBN-13: 978-1843104605 | Edition: 2nd

Christine Durham shows how to help children be better, brighter thinkers and helps parents and teachers discover the joys of discussing ideas with children. "Chasing Ideas" shows parents of children aged 3 to 15 how to encourage them to explore ideas, think, judge, make decisions and communicate effectively and to develop these important life skills to take into adulthood. The author's treasure trove of techniques, tips and activities will help children: let their imagination and natural curiosity reign free and find out about why things happen, how things are and how they might be; fall in love with ideas so that they see and understand more, and think creatively; unlock their minds and their potential to become ingenious thinkers, and open up issues and explore ideas by using the 'Handy Thinking' tools - practical thinking skills that are fun and easy to remember. "Chasing Ideas" will help parents and teachers enrich, broaden and deepen their relationships with children; expand their children's horizons; explore issues, ideas and understanding with children in a delightful way. It will also empower children, and enhance their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'The most important thing parents can do for their children is to encourage them to think. Children really enjoy thinking and this book builds on that enjoyment. To have confidence in one's own thinking is the foundation for a happy and successful life.' - Edward de Bono" --Edward de Bono"

About the Author

Christine Durham, M.Ed., has presented over 4000 workshops teaching thinking skills to schoolchildren. She speaks frequently on her innovative work in her native Australia and overseas. A mother of four and a grandmother of three, Christine brings to her work the imaginative approaches she has used with her own children and grandchildren - and with the countless pupils with whom she has explored the magic of 'thinking aloud'. She is also the author of Doing Up Buttons, an inspiring account of her recovery from massive injuries following a car accident.

Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Pub; 2nd edition (May 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843104601
• ISBN-13: 978-1843104605
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,352,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is the creativity that I want to teach my children!, March 17, 2010

By 

N. Larsen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chasing Ideas: The Fun of Freeing Your Child's Imagination (Paperback)

I'm about half way through this book and I am really enjoying it. All the other books out there about helping your child be creative are about organizing your art supplies. I am happy to report that this book is giving me great ideas about how to have fun just talking to my children and helping them to think and solve problems. This became very important to me as I looked for a way to combat the computer, TV, and video games that were taking up too much of my children's leisure time. The author is getting me excited to have open-ended, fun conversations that explore new ideas and how to solve tough problems. I'm glad to now have this book as part of my personal library.

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational!, January 28, 2004

By 

C. Kenneally (Brooklyn, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chasing Ideas: The Fun of Freeing Your Child's Imagination (Paperback)

Chris Durham's book, "Chasing Ideas: The fun of freeing your child's
imagination," is a joy-filled romp through the most beautiful landscape in
the world--the mind of a child. Durham is a passionate believer in the
intellectual lives of children, and she describes "chasing ideas with
children" as a highlight of her life--a pleasure that is apparent on every
page.

"Chasing Ideas" is for parents, teachers, anyone who looks after a child. It
encourages readers to push themselves in pursuit of big ideas and important
discussions that will impact children for the rest of their lives. The goal
is not just to entertain or educate but to empower everyone in a family and
bind them together.

Durham draws upon findings from child psychology, ideas from literature and
ancient lore to construct some simple but powerful guidelines for
encouraging children to think.

She begins by presenting ten basic principles, like "Expect great ideas."
Durham explains that how we are dealt with by others will affect how we see
ourselves. So if you expect creativity from children, you are more likely to
get it. She describes experiments in the classroom and in nursing homes that
show people--from kids through to the aged-- respond with confidence and
well-being when treated with respect and faith in ability.

"Make children aware of the magic and nuance of words," is another golden
rule. If your children's vocabulary is expansive, they'll be more able to

pinpoint and describe their feelings.

"Ask open questions," Durham advises. The point is not just to elicit
answers but to prompt children to think critically, to wonder and probe.
What more valuable skill could there be than getting children to appreciate
that there's more than one way to solve a problem?

Views are not prescribed or dictated in "Chasing Ideas." Instead, subjects
like the media and animal rights are laid out with all their real life
complexity. The books "thinking tools" then help you deal with them. The
tools guide children in separating out facts from feelings and in finding
things that are good, bad and curious in every situation. A long list of
questions gets you to take on different roles and approach all topics from
more than one direction. As Durham says: "Be explorers, detectives,
magicians, and judges."

My favorite from the book's long list of quirky questions is (wait till your
child is eating a slice bread to ask this one): "Did you know there has been
a hundred percent mortality rate of people who ate bread and were born in
1881?" I can't wait to start chasing ideas with my infant son.

Durham spent years teaching children in school and leading thousands of
workshops in which she developed and refined the exercises in the book. And
if you don't know this already, you will be convinced after reading that
thinking skills are one of the most valuable gifts you can give your
children. "Chasing Ideas" is such an exciting book. Durham perfectly
balances the fun with the challenge and the thinking with the nurturing. As
she says, love is fundamental to the entire endeavor.

5.0 out of 5 stars Chasing Ideas by Christine Durham, November 2, 2003

By 

May Leckey (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing Ideas: The Fun of Freeing Your Child's Imagination (Paperback)

The book demonstrates the faith that children are our best resource for the future. It is to our cost if we ignore the power and potential of their innate curiosity and imagination. Durham's view is that children are not afraid of ideas, that they can `fly' and as adults we need to follow their example. The illustrations that emphasise this point are witty and provocative and pop up everywhere throughout the text. It is clear that Durham has been an active chaser of ideas throughout her life. Her strongest message is `be open to the world around you and be open to your mind'. In doing so herself she has produced a joyful book and shared her experiences and wisdom most generously.

(Extract from review by May Leckey, Coordinator, Studies of Society and Environment Programs,
Department of Education, Policy and Management Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne)