Customer Reviews

Educating the Wholehearted Child Revised & Expanded

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a veteran homeschooler (8 years) I am often asked by those considering homeschooling how one goes about making the decision to homeschool. It is this book that I recommend EVERY time. There is plenty of good information about making the decision, handling objections from famiy and friends, and ideas to get you started. I am also often asked by those new to homeschooling how I combat "burnout"? It is this book that I turn to EVERY January when I just don't think I can manage another day. I find renewal, refreshment, and ideas to make the same old thing fresh all over again. Then there are the day-to-day conversations with other homeschoolers, how have you tackled this or that? Or do you have any ideas for....? It is this book that I turn to repeatedly for ideas. Like many homeschoolers, I have an extensive library (3000+ books) but this book is my favorite homeschooling reference. This book would even be good for the parents who don't particularly want to homeschool but just want to make their children's time at home more educational.

The only parents who would probably not find this book particularly useful are those who find Christianity offensive. But if you can look past the religious aspects of the book to the ideas, even non-Christian parents could probably find enough good ideas that the book would be a worthwhile purchase.

This book has been very useful to me. It has so many interesting ideas, and is quite inspirational. When I get stuck in a homeschooling rut, this book gives me ideas to emphasize a different aspect (or area of study per Ch4) of my homeschool. Usually ruts result from emphasizing structured (or disciplined) studies and letting everything else slide.

Chapter 1 is one of the best treatments I've read of why people homeschool, and how to handle those who criticize your choice.

Chapter 2 focuses on creating a Christian home and raising children with Christian values and character.

Chapter 3 contains a good discussion of various "mental muscles" that homeschooling should strengthen - habits, appetites, language, creativity, curiosity, reason, and wisdom.

Chapter 4 provides a good "home-centered learning model", where 5 study areas should be addressed:

1. discipleship studies (religious education),
2. disciplined studies (study of basics),
3. discussion studies (humanities),
4. discovery studies (science, nature, creative arts) and
5. discretionary studies (field trips, likfe skills, home and community life).

Of these, the disciplined studies are the ones that would require a more structured, traditional type of teaching.

Chapter 4 also contains an excellent section on how to set up your home for home-centered learning.

Chapter 5 contains teaching methods for the studies described in Chapter 4.

Chapter 6 contains brief information on learning styles, and Chapters 7, 8, and 9 are about keeping it together, managing your home and your school.

The appendix contains book lists and curriculum resources, as well as planner pages that you can photocopy.

This book calls itself "A Handbook for christian Home Education", but I think the book has so much to offer everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs. I heartily recommend this book to any homeschooler who is not made uncomfortable by Christianity.

This book in an inspiration to me. More than just a quick read, it is an important tool to be referred to over and over again. I am so excited to have this resource on my shelf. There is quite a lot of guidance on how to make the entire home a place of learning, including specific info on establishing a learning room and discovery centers. Lots of useful info on building a home library as well. I LOVE this book.

I was thinking about homeschooling before I started reading this book. After I read just the first chapter, I was convinced it was the best thing for my family! There is tons of scripture used to back up their views and it really makes you think about your choice of schooling. Also, they give others arguments against homeschooling and their response to it. I have read about 6 other homeschooling books now and this one is still the best. For anyone who even remotely thinks that they might be interested in homeschooling, this is a must read! It is very challenging to our society's way of thinking and a real eye-opener to how we so easily accept the status quo. Great Book!

If I only owned 2 books on homeschooling, they would be "Educating the Wholehearted Child" by the Clarksons and "The Charlotte Mason Companion" by Karen Andreola. The Wholehearted Child is a manual with many how-to ideas, lots of background information on homeschooling and numerous helpful forms. It provides information on curriculum, methods, scheduling, resource availability and much more. This book is an excellent resource for every homeschooling parent and is must-reading for those who are just beginning to homeschool.

I have read several homeschooling books and found this book is by far the very best! I absolutely love how you can read what it being offered/recommended and see clear cut scripture to back these thoughts up on the same page! While reading, this really cuts down on time going back and forth between Educating the Wholehearted Child and looking up scripture in the Bible. Comparisons of Public Education vs. Home Education is fabulous!

This is a book I really needed, and I wished I had it when I first started home schooling nine years ago. There is so much food for thought in here for serious parents, and also so much practical stuff too. If you like Charlotte Mason style education, you will love this book. Even if you don't, you will still love this book. It's well worth it.

This book is a real inspiration. I've referred to my well worn copy over and over again. I believe it is one of the best homeschool books out there. It is Bible based and full or easy to implement teaching ideas.

Authors Sally and Clay present practical teaching ideas using real books (Charlotte Mason approach). This book suggests the Biblical pattern of family as the center of a child's life. A refreshing change when so many homeschoolers are focusing on the "Well Trained" fad. A must read for all homeschoolers!

I was able to see Clay and Sally Clarkson at their conference. I picked up this book there and have poured over it for 3 days. They are inspirational to me personally. I am so glad I was able to get this in the beginning of my homeschool journey; there is so much practical information to use.

Be sure to pick up Sally's other book The Mission of Motherhood too! I am reading it as well! :)

I absolutely love this book. It's important to understand that this book is very different than many other homeschool how-to books out there. While there are many books that focus on academics, and some books that focus on discipleship, this book weaves both academics and discipleship together in a very user friendly and understandable format. They do encourage avoiding textbooks and workbooks, but I came away from the book feeling like I could still implement their methods and even most of their resources. This is because this isn't a curriculum manual or guide. It's a guide on how to disciple your child for Jesus Christ, within the framework and atmosphere of the home and family. Then, once they establish how to disciple your child, they must outline some homeschool resources, books, and ways to organize your home and your life, becuase they correctly identify that all of these things are so closely intertwined. They encourage you to have a room set aside for homeschooling alone, and we are unable to do this. At first I felt frustrated that their entire plan of education seems to hang on this, but I realized that I can simply turn my living room into a home education center, with blocks on the floor in a basket, a game shelf, children's book shelves, maps on the kitchen cabinets, etc. They also encourage using GeoSafari, computer applications, puzzles, games, and of course tons of living books. They encourage a lot of individualized learning and goals specific to each child for each year. But to read any review is going to leave you without the most important aspect of this book, which is that the Clarksons' outline a simple framework for home discipleship that anyone can implement. I love some Charlotte Mason methods, and I do use some workbooks and curricula, but I still love this book, and it's tied with Charlotte Mason Companion for my favorite homeschool how-to book.