Come Let Us Live With Our Children

In all of our learning, in all of our teaching, may we each be given the ability to see all things as they truly are: the lifework of our Creator. Within all there is lies an eternal law, a living movement, and a spiritual essence that is one with the heart of God. Just as the work of art demonstrates the inner expression of the artist, just as the child shares the flesh and blood of their parents, so the world around us is God's glorious expression of love. Education is nothing but the awakening of this reality for child and teacher alike. Fads and systems come and go, but there is only one truth in this world and our goal should be to find the simplest, most practical way possible to illuminate it. The great paradox is that children are far more in touch with it than we are. In fact, the way is so simple that only a child could see it!

This selection of Friedrich Froebel's work, shows the development of his educational doctrines, which mostly deals with young children.

In this classic of childhood education, Friedrich Froebel identifies the fundamental principles upon which he based his now-ubiquitous kindergarten system. Froebel demonstrates how to channel child's play and integrate it into the development of intelligence and social skills, explaining the vital inner connection between the pupil's mind and the subject of study. Impressed by the theories of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Froebel developed an approach to early childhood education that exercised enormous influence over modern techniques, particularly those of John Dewey. Froebel espoused "self-activity" and play as essential factors in preschool education, maintaining that the teacher's role is not to drill or indoctrinate but to encourage self-expression through play. His method banishes mechanical and rote activities in favor of creative play, which fosters the growth of artistic capacity. Originally published in Germany in 1826 as Die Menschenerziehung, this volume constitutes one of the most important books on education ever written.

Seventy now-adult children of divorce give their candid and often heart-wrenching answers to eight questions (arranged in eight chapters, by question), including: What were the main effects of your parents' divorce on your life? What do you say to those who claim that "children are resilient" and "children are happy when their parents are happy"? What would you like to tell your parents then and now? What do you want adults in our culture to know about divorce? What role has your faith played in your healing? Their simple and poignant responses are difficult to read and yet not without hope. Most of the contributors--women and men, young and old, single and married--have never spoken of the pain and consequences of their parents' divorce until now. They have often never been asked, and they believe that no one really wants to know. Despite vastly different circumstances and details, the similarities in their testimonies are striking; as the reader will discover, the death of a child's family impacts the human heart in universal ways.