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Bringing Spirit to Life Series

Well, I Wonder

Childhood in the Modern World: A Handbook for Parents, Teachers, and Carers

Paperback
November 2006
9781855841246
More details
  • Publisher
    Rudolf Steiner Press
  • Published
    1st November 2006
  • ISBN 9781855841246
  • Language English
  • Pages 232 pp.
$27.00

“Have we come to misunderstand children? Have we forgotten that children’s consciousness, their minds, is intrinsically different from ours? And is that why we are trying to train them to become ‘adults’ rather than realizing we need to relearn our way of thinking to understand children?”

Given the fast pace of modern life, the traditional qualities associated with childhood—imagination, play, wonder, and even fun itself—are in danger of being left behind. Surrounded by technology and pressures on parents toward early learning, today’s young child is often bounced between television entertainment and computer games and then thoroughly unbalanced by premature intellectualization, early reading, and tests.

Sally Schweizer calls for a reevaluation of childhood and an awakening to the real needs of children. Being a mother of four and having spent more thirty years in education (as a kindergarten teacher, teacher trainer, and advisor), she is qualified to ask the hard questions and offer real solutions. Well, I Wonder is packed with practical suggestions, anecdotes, humor, and delightful quotes from Schweizer’s students. Her approach is based on the study and practice of Rudolf Steiner’s educational philosophy, as well as personal, firsthand knowledge gained from long experience.

The author guides us through the stages of childhood development, explaining children’s need for daily rhythm, movement, and play. She emphasizes the importance of guarding children’s imagination and the significance of festivals and celebrations. She offers helpful tips and wise advice throughout this well-illustrated book, which also features an eight-page color section on the evolution of children’s drawings.

Sally Schweizer

Sally Schweizer grew up in a musical and literary family. Inspired by her uncle, the composer Benjamin Britten, she has loved music and language from an early age and has combined them with teaching throughout her life, filling her kindergarten with songs, poetry and stories. Apart from being a singer and multi-instrumentalist, Sally is an educational consultant, linguist, keen gardener, craftsperson, mother, and grandmother. She is also the author of Well, I Wonder: Childhood in the Modern Worldand Under the Sky: Playing, Working, and Enjoying Adventures in the Open Air. Sally is currently developing a YouTube channel.