Customer Reviews

Small Beginnings : First Steps to Prepare Your Toddler for Lifelong Learning

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Barbara Curtis is the mother of twelve children (that is NOT a typo) and her book Small Beginnings describes how to encourage your child's God-given love of learning by turning everyday experiences into educational opportunities. Because three of her children have Down's Syndrome, she has had to be more deliberate than most in her efforts to teach her kids basic skills. Small Beginnings is a realistic plan to develop practical skills in your children as an integral part of your daily routine. Barbara advocates using a child's natural desire for independence to develop self-reliance, a sense of order, self-control and the ability to concentrate on a task or project. Through her gently comic examples of trial, error and success, Barbara's suggestions are simple and fun. What a relief!

Using this method, my children should be doing their laundry by age ten. (I'll get back to you on that in a few years). Barbara even includes a list of age appropriate chores. I thought four was too early for my son to get his own cereal or sort recyclables, until I asked him to try it. He was so excited about the new responsibility that he regularly asks me what else he can do now. I hope it lasts. Small Beginnings was a terrific jumpstart.

This is a book I've turned to over and over again, to help me regain my perspective on my two children (born 14 months apart), or to glean some comfort, inspiration, advice, or encouragement. I've loaned it out more than 10 times, and have given it as a gift at countless baby showers. I've never met a person who writes so compassionately, affectionately and respectfully to parents and about toddlers, and her insights cast the Terrible Two's in an entirely different light. I don't consider myself deeply religious, but Mrs. Curtis' tone was not the least bit offensive, and she radiates love and common-sense wisdom.

I found this book 3 years ago at a library and promptly bought it. I also have recommended it to my friends. What I love about it is that it has taught me to view the toddler years through a different lens. Instead of just trying to get through the 2s and 3s, I now see these years as a great time for learning and exploring. "Small Beginnings" has lots of practical ideas to help parents structure an environment where young children can develop their potential. The activities in the back of the book have kept my toddlers interested for long periods of time using intense concentration. I can just see the brain cells connecting! This book has helped me to answer the question of what to do with my children to use our time together wisely. More importantly, it has opened my mind to see the endless possibilities around me each day that I can use to foster learning and growth in my children.

I appreciated several things about this book. Barbara Curtis is "real" and credible! She understands the demands of parenting and a parent's desire to build character into the heart of a child. I thought the book was easy to read. It has both vision and practical ideas to stimulate learning and such traits as self-control and service to others in children. You'll enjoy Barbara's personal examples and encouraging style!

"Small Beginnings" by Barbara Curtis, was one of the most insightful books that I have read about young children, the way they learn, and how to inhance that learning potential. This book has enabled me to look at my two children in a whole new way.I recomend it to anyone who would like to challenge themselves to really get to know their children!

This is a wonderful book for parents. Besides having 12 children, Barbara Curtis is also a trained Montessori teacher. I don't know if there's a person on earth more qualified to write a book about early learning. Barabara is an excellent writer with a real gift of encouragement and she makes everything quite understandable and reachable for the average parent.

The exerises she proposes are inexpensive and easy to prepare, and she makes the presentation simple to follow. My children have really enjoyed them.

This is a must read for every parent. It is filled with wonderful information on how to grow your child into a successful adult. It also gives practical hints and helpful stories on parenting. She is religious and includes some great bible passages, but if you are not Christian don't let that scare you away. The book is a wonderful tool for your child's development.

This book has very pointed and prominent conservative Christian viewpoint, so if that's not your thing, much of the author's commentary on parenting and personhood may be hard to digest. Hopefully interested nonbelievers can find some way to universalize the author's writing, that might allow you to enjoy some, most or all of this book.

Now, God talk aside, there is some smart stuff in here about parenting small people in here, and some excellent practical tips:

* Exercising self-control is taught through a neat glass-bell game. (p 72)
* Learning to listen for what Michele Duggar (and the Bible) calls the sweet, soft voice of the Lord, and/or learning to listen to your inner voice, and/or learning to listen carefully and concentrate, period, are taught by the intriguing "silence game." (p 81)
* Encouraging habits of cheerful cooperation (and cheerful chore-doing) are included in the "service" chapter.
* The last section of the book is filled with "Small Beginnings exercises" which are all very Montessori and appear to be great for building concentration and attention to detail, teaching pattern recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine-motor skills and so forth. The exercises are: Sorting buttons, wringing sponge, spooning, pouring, basting, eyedropper, funnels, tongs, tweezing, pins and beads, sound canisters, smelling bottles, fabrics.
* Lastly she has two great appendices, one with resources for toddler Bible stories, discipline, housecleaning, marriage and parenting, and one with a FABULOUS list of age-appropriate chores. If you want to make sure your child has Montessori-style "practical life" skills, this list is a great guide on what's right for kids to do when. (p 144-146)

Not my favorite toddler/preschooler education book ever, but by the end I was duly appreciative of the author's skills as a mother and teacher and I will be keeping this book for future reference. This volume was recommended on a homeschool message board I frequent, and I won't be actively seeking out other books by this author, if I found them for a bargain price at a used bookstore, I would probably pick them up.