Skip to main content

In Review: Heaven on Earth by Sharifa Oppenheimer

photocred

As far as educational theory goes, I would say I'm a bit of a 'mutt'. I like a little from each practice, to the 'small tools' idea of a Montessorian, to the complete freedom in following the child in unschooling, to the natural materials of a Waldorf education. I plan on doing an entire post on what I think about each main category I've researched, but now I'll tell you about a great parenting book, although it follows a Waldorf practice.

Heaven on Earth by Sharifa Oppenheimer was first seen by me on one of my favorite blogs, SewLiberated. Meg from SL is a Montessori teacher and now a stay-at-home mom who has a pattern shop and a book coming out soon. I love her thoughtful full-scale Montessori room for her little one, and am very attracted to her mad sewing skills. When she gave a good review, I knew I wanted to check it out, and I'm so glad I did!

Anyway, back to the book. I read this front to back, and quite carefully; whether or not you ascribe to a Waldorf mentality (I don't fully), there are some good sheaves ready to glean from this lady's wisdom as a parent of 3 grown boys and educator. It brought me back to the reason I love to stay at home with my children: to create peace and harmony with my family in the avenues of security, balance, and joy; and to allow my family to carve out an ample amount of time to spend together!

This book has so many ideas on how to do just that: allow your children to have plenty of imaginative play time with also addressing teaching them about life through imitation (something I am big on!) like washing dishes or raking leaves. It also has some great ideas on creating your family culture through traditions and seasonal festivals--something I would like to be more intentional about.

I know it is because of where I am in day to day life--dealing with a lot of discipline, whining, and dirty diapers that this book was so inspirational to me to just relax, be patient and kind (yet firm!), and to bring me back to that joy of staying at home teaching my children about the everyday wonder in life and nature!

This was a wonderful book that I needed right in the thick of being on demand 24/7, and I really appreciated the calmness that seemed to emanate even from the way the author wrote!

This will find a permanant place on my shelf!

Comments

RT said…
Alright. I'm reading this one! Thanks, Sarah.
November 14, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Anonymous said…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the book, it has helped me to make my decision (I'm in).

PS I also read Sew Liberated!
January 2, 2010 at 7:43 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home School Activities: Board Games We Love

My children have recently become enthralled in the world of board games. I was never a board game player. Sure, I remember long summer hours (days? it seemed like it..) spent around a Monopoly board, but I was never one to suggest to get out the cards, or a game. As my children have grown and they are now able to do activities with me, I started noticing that they really took to puzzles (when done all together) and the one or two board games I happened to have kept in the storage room. They were always asking to play Candy Land and so I figured I should branch off a bit. Over the course of the last year, I have found GREAT games, even ones that I love to play alongside them. The amount of 'teaching' they have gotten through games is jaw-dropping. Counting, team-playing, math related patterning, are just some of the skills I've watched develop. I asked before Christmas on facebook what my friends and their own kids loved and I was thrilled with the response. We have found ov
2 comments
Read more

Top 10 Books of 2017

early sunset in Ft Langley  I love reading all these "Top 10" lists of favorite books read throughout the year, so I'm adding my two cents.  I'm involved in a Book Club that I love with women from our church, a small group that meets every week and goes through a book every few months, my own list, books I'm reading aloud to the kids and  books I'm reading for educational purposes (think professional development). I took a look at all of those combined and this is what I got, in no particular order:  *  The Problem of God  by Mark Clark - I loved going through this academic apologetic book with my friends from church. It led us to great discussion, and good food for thought. I listen to Clark's sermons every week and so knew I'd probably love his writing style, too. If you have objections to Christianity, or are feeling confused about what to believe, this is a great primer.  * You're Smarter Than You Think  by Dr. Thomas Armstron
Post a Comment
Read more

August Book Titles

* 50 Women Every Christian Should Know by Michelle DeRusha -- I heard the author on a podcast and the book sounded good. It was described as a book full of 5-7 page mini biographies on each woman, and that sounded both easy and interesting. It was. I really enjoyed this book and plan to give it away as a Christmas gift to someone I know will get a lot out of it. I really don't know that much about Christianity's historical females, and I felt I learned a lot. Some of the women I had never even heard of before, and it was fun to read about women I'd heard of before by name, but knew little about their lives. * The Story of Science by Susan Wise Bauer -- Oy. This book was tough to get through. Not because the writing wasn't good (it was excellent), but because of the subject matter and my right-brain. Out of any schoolish subjects, I would rate Science as my least favorite and most difficult. I read this book because when I had the kids' school order it, I thoug
Post a Comment
Read more