Homepreschool and Beyond

Disclaimer: My 'book reviews' are very subjective as it depends on whether the book is relevant to my family. Neither will I be doing any summary as I believe it's the details that make the book useful/helpful.

Why I am giving this book away:

The book talks about homeschooling from a Christian perspective and I am not a Christian. Thus it's hard for me to be convinced why I need to do something when the reason given is something along the line of 'for God'. And if I am not convinced, I won't use it.

I did finish the book though I knew from the first chapter it's not suitable for me. Read through it very quickly, didn't want to spend too much time on it.

I would say it would be a good read for someone who is a Christian and keen on just being a good Christian and bringing up her children to be good Christians.. I must admit that religion aside, I have not-so-innocent ambitions for my children - other than being good persons, I hope that my boys will be smart and successful. This is mainly because I did well academically and I think it has made my life a lot easier. For example I got a government scholarship and did not have to worry about paying off any loans after graduation. True, it sometimes didn't feel good to be bonded, but I was in a job which I would have chosen even without the bond, and the bond was only a few years. Because I was a scholar, more opportunities were offered to me, and I had more options to choose what I wished to do. Thus, of course I hope that my children will have a similarly smooth-sailing life.

That said, while the perfect outcome is for them to be good + happy + smart, smart is the last priority of the three. I am inclined towards play-based learning as it apparently can make children smart while they are also happily playing. But since I do not know whether play-based learning is really more effective than academic-type of learning, I would err on the side of happy children : ) And I am SURE that playing children are happier than studying children, LOL.

Back to the book. It seems that the author herself does not claim her book will help parents help their children be smart.. just good + happy.. Hmm.. I better go search for more books on helping my children be good + happy + smart!