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71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Inspiring and Invigorating Approach to Childrearing, May 29, 2000
By A Customer
Warmth and wisdom, insight and know-how - Beyond the Rainbow Bridge - Nurturing Our Children from Birth to Seven has it all! Small wonder, then, that this book has already become a treasured resource in classrooms and homes worldwide: parents and teachers have finally found what they were looking for.Anyone dedicated to raising healthy children to responsible adulthood will discover a wealth of information that both inspires and affirms. For instance, Barbara Patterson's characterizations of the different stages of early childhood development are nothing less than remarkable. Not only do they offer vivid, "close-in" looks at the world from the viewpoint of children at different ages, but more importantly, Patterson's grandmotherly warmth and decades of teaching experience bring the world of the young child to life with an enthusiasm that makes understanding immediate and clear. With her lively developmental account as a foundation, her suggestions for creative discipline flow straight off the page and right into the reader's heart, with a resonance of, "Yes, of course. That's so true, so obvious!" Patterson also focuses on the life-giving, uprightness-inspiring qualities of two aspects of children's lives that are seldom addressed as a tandem pair: creative play and daily routine. She so beautifully demonstrates that, while creative play would be invaluable simply for the joy it offers children, in fact it offers them much, much more. Through example after example, Patterson shows that play is the young child's most important avenue of exploration of the adult world. Given an environment that supports openly creative play, without a lot of pre-defined games and limiting roles (in other words, without the television character/action figure sort of toys that lend themselves to only one sort of play), children naturally invent imaginative settings where they can try out new experiences, process emotions, imitate adults at work, and learn to care about others and the world. They will do this over and over again, until they "get it" and move on to the next setting of interest. Barbara Patterson then goes one step further and offers a counterpoint to the limitless horizons of creative play, namely, daily routine. Where creative play enables a child to comprehend, practice, and master the full breadth of human experience, daily routine offers children security and assurance that the world is a purposeful, meaningful place to live in while at the same time guiding our children toward becoming both responsive and responsible to the needs of society and the Earth. As Patterson's examples reveal, children who can rely upon meals served at the same time each day, a good nap in the afternoon, and a set bedtime complete with a ritual of stories, verses, or prayers grow secure and firm in their bodies and emotions. They also experience that there are times when we humans are called upon to leave the limitless possibilities of self-expression and serve the needs of both others and ourselves. Beyond the Rainbow Bridge is unique in its presentation of creative play and daily routine as the in-breath and out-breath of human life. Rainbow Bridge is filled with many other perspectives that offer an invigorating and successful approach to the quandaries of childrearing. Readers are introduced to the lifelong significance of keeping a child warm. Here Patterson has invited Andrea Rentea, M.D., an alternative medicine practitioner, to give parents and teachers a fuller explanation of why young children need to be kept warm. Hint: it's not just because they might catch cold, though that is certainly a possibility. The longer-term reasons have, on the one hand, to do with offering the best possibility of developing efficient and healthy metabolic, respiratory, and nervous systems by not placing undue stress on children's bodies too early. On the other hand, keeping a child warm has another equally profound outcome - it can help prevent the adult phenomenon of being so "shut down" that the child-become-adult can no longer sense her body's signals that an adjustment in diet, clothing, etc. is needed. Patterson also borrows from Rudolf Steiner and describes twelve human senses, not five. At the turn of the century, it was far from a foregone conclusion that humans possessed only five senses - each scientist and philosopher felt free to look at human sensory experience and develop a description of the senses that corresponded to that reality. The most common descriptions offered five, seven, nine, eleven and twelve senses. Patterson supports Steiner's view that attributing twelve senses to the human being is the most useful model for educational work. Now readers throughout the world can discover this multi-layered approach to raising healthy children. Patterson fully describes each sense, then offers practical suggestions for fostering the development of each. The result? A well-rounded human being whose body, soul, and spirit have all been blessed by those who love them. Reading Beyond the Rainbow Bridge is an exhilarating experience - filled with revelation and delight, told with grandmotherly warmth by a seasoned teacher, and accompanied by practical suggestions that really work! Charming drawings and photos add an extra dimension to this professionally acclaimed book - no one engaged in parenting or teaching young children will want to miss it!
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