Well I Wonder

"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 in order 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.

In an experiment that occurred some forty years ago, Henry M.'s memory was stolen from him during a highly controversial operation performed to cure his epilepsy. Part poetic reflection and philosophical meditation, part popular science and investigative journalism, Memory's Ghost is an unforgettable journey into the mysteries of the human mind.

A six-month New York Times bestseller: “Not only the best Watergate book, but a very good book indeed” (The Sunday Times). As White House counsel to Richard Nixon, a young John W. Dean was one of the primary players in the Watergate scandal—and ultimately became the government’s key witness in the investigations that ended the Nixon presidency. After the scandal subsided, Dean rebuilt his career, first in business and then as a bestselling author and lecturer. But while the events were still fresh in his mind, he wrote this remarkable memoir about the operations of the Nixon White House and the crisis that led to the president’s resignation. Called “fascinating” by Commentary, which noted that “there can be little doubt of [Dean's] memory or his candor,” Blind Ambition offers an insider’s view of the deceptions and machinations that brought down an administration and changed the American people’s view of politics and power. It also contains Dean’s own unsparing reflections on the personal demons that drove him to participate in the sordid affair. Upon its original publication, Kirkus Reviews hailed it “the flip side of All the President’s Men—a document, a minefield, and prime entertainment.” Today, Dean is a respected and outspoken advocate for transparency and ethics in government, and the bestselling author of such books as The Nixon Defense, Worse Than Watergate, and Conservatives Without Conscience. Here, in Blind Ambition, he “paints a candid picture of the sickening moral bankruptcy which permeated the White House and to which he contributed. His memory of who said what and to whom is astounding” (Foreign Affairs).

This innovative approach to managing Forest School, with a focus on children with additional or complex needs, helps children to explore, increase their confidence, take measured risks, improve their self-esteem and become more resilient. Offering a behavioural toolbox and techniques you can put in place immediately within your own practice, this hands-on guide supports positive behaviour with a full range of learners. The book provides you with the tips, suggestions and philosophy to utilise outdoor skills and activities that children can benefit from, regardless of many additional needs they may have.

Cottage Lake Soliloquy is a guide to spiritual enlightenment in the form of a novel. It is primarily a tale of transformation about a year in the lives of two people, husband and wife, as they confront personal and professional challenges with their children on a lake in the woods in the small town of Forestville. The narrative unfolds through alternating chapters on each protagonist while weaving their stories together. Jay, a psychotherapist, and Bea, the head of a Student-Exchange company, encounter Leroy, part psychic part teacher, who guides them on a journey of self-realization through a series of dialogues by using their problems as opportunities for growth. Elements of the story include intense and insightful therapy sessions, lush and lyrical descriptions of nature, travel to foreign lands, alcohol and drug use, romance, intrigue, deception and betrayal. A handbook to awakening, the saga intertwines poetry, songs, quotations, essays and stream of consciousness thought in a unique and engrossing style of epic proportions while leading the reader towards his or her own spiritual awareness.