Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Nurturing Our Children from Birth to Seven

by Pamela Bradley and Barbara J. Patterson

Book Overview

by Barbara J. Patterson, Pamela Bradley and Jean Riordan (Perfect Paperback - Jan 1, 2000) This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Perfect Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0964783231
• ISBN13: 9780964783232
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Michaelmas Press
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.8" x 0.5" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A Very Good Book For Any Parent To Read....

...whether you are into Waldorf education or not. I am not a Waldorf purist---meaning I do not send my children to a Waldorf school (I homeschool)or necessarily follow or believe in Rudolf Steiner's philosophy. Yet I have read several Waldorf books on caring for and educating children, because they are very wise as to what children really need. They DON'T need the media, malls, plastic toys, the latest styles in clothes, or a life of being pushed from this lesson to that club. What they DO need is plenty of peace and quiet (AT HOME!!), simplicity in all forms (in their toys, their life schedule, their food, etc.), and they need routine in their day, and they need to be loved and understood and treated like children, not mini adults. The author of this book is such a wonderfully calm woman...I wish she had been my own mother!! She really understands children and what they need. Her calm wisdom just flows from every page of this book. This is an easy book to read, a plus for any busy parent. She speaks of the importance of rhythm in the life of chidren, the importance of play , the importance of calmness, and she has a chapter on creative discipline. Our society is so crazy, it is so hard for adults to cope in this modern lifestyle; think of how much more difficult it can be for children. A few things she talked about really stood out to me. One was how her one son could come down with a fever after a shopping trip to the mall, because it was too much for him to handle. We need to consider that children need to have QUIET lives! Another thing was that they had an 11 yr. old foster child live with them, and this child said that noone had ever read her a bedtime story. The author loved this child, but because she was ignored and unloved in her earlier years, it was never possible for her to really love or be loved. This brought out the importance of the early years in the life of a child, for they are truly the formative years of a person's character and personality. We cannot afford to ignore the years from birth to age 7. And the one thing that was so neat was that one mother asked the author to suggest what she could get for her preschool son, for the only thing she could think of was a video game. The author suggested a playstand, some cotton cloths, some baskets filled with clothespins, crystals, etc. The mother thought this was weird, but she did it. Well, was she ever surprised that her son LOVED these gifts, and spent all Christmas day playing happily with his sister!! We CAN be simple with our children, and because if it, they CAN be creative and happy. Do yourself and your children a favor and read this book. You'll be glad you did.

Waldorf for Dummies......just kidding!!! But seriously.....

This is a goooood book. Very inspiring. Easy and quick to read. Well laid out, so I can go back and re-read stuff; like her great reading suggestions! I'm going to throw the word gentle in here. It's as if she's right there holding your hand and encouraging you....I mean me. Good, good, good.

An Inspiring and Invigorating Approach to Childrearing

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 pos

A wonderful introduction to Waldorf philosophy...

I purchased this book because I want to get my hands on anything about Waldorf (Rudolf Steiner) education. But had I never heard of Waldorf schooling, I still would have devoured this book! It is an easy read- not bogged down with philosophy or too preachy. Some books I have read about the Waldorf method left me feeling terribly guilty that my son has ever laid eyes on a television set or that he has a room full of plastic, battery operated toys. Instead, the authors give solid reasons why television watching and cold hard plastic toys with only one use can be harmful to the developing young child, and offer alternatives to TV and unimaginative toys.By breaking down the age groups into 0-2, 2-5, and 5-7, Barbara Patterson, a Waldorf educator, is able to suggest developmentally appropriate activties and toys, and describe in detail how the young child develops physically, emotionally, and spiritually at each age. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "Creative Discipline" (Who couldn't use a few new ideas with preschoolers!) where she explains how reforming the space around the child, (i.e. changing specific things about the child's surroundings)serves as both prevention and correction for misbehavior.I was impressed with Barbara's apparent love and respect for children, something that sadly seems to be missing in many parenting books. Her focus is on understanding how and when children develop and the importance of raising happy and capable children, not just ones that do as they are told. A bonus I didn't expect when I ordered this book is the appendix with illustrated directions for creating toys that foster imagination and creative play, like the knot doll, puppets, and even directions for finger knitting (something I forgot 16 years ago!)I highly recommend this book for teachers and caregivers of young children, parents, grandparents, expectant parents, and anyone who has young children in their lives that they care about.