God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn by Julie Polanco/ TOS Review

God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn by Julie Polanco is not exactly the book I thought it would be. It is a book on how children learn/how to teach children, but it is also, to me , a parenting book. 
So much of teaching IS parenting. I think this book has helped me to be a better parent, not just a better "teacher". 
This book really helps you to understand how God intended our children to learn. 

As I started reading this book it made me recall how I used to think about homeschooling. I had a decent size break in between homeschooling. I am now homeschooling my 3 1/2 year old and I have been thinking a lot about curriculum. Reading this book made me remember that I didn't need curriculum. 
This book also talks about building children's character and not just the academic side. One thing that stood out to me in the book was a quote from Charlotte Mason: "Children who do things just to please adults possess a weakened character." Julie then says: "What if the adult isn't around? Have you ever witnessed the phenomenon of a child being naughty as soon as his parent is out of the room? If you have, then you understand what I mean. Children who only do right because they are afraid of being punished will often do wrong when there is no threat of punishment. It is the same with education."
She talks about how children shouldn't be coerced into doing academic tasks, but should be encouraged to explore topics as they become interested. 
It helped me to understand that children grow and learn at their own pace and that we shouldn't push children to learn things that they aren't ready for. In fact, there are some things that are better to wait and teach. 
Another area of the book that I particularly liked was when she talked about how most people say you should put toddlers in preschool and urge them to become independent. Julie says that it is actually the opposite, that children who are pushed toward independence at the young ages are the ones who become clingy and whiny, begging for attention. 
  She also says that children who are sent to preschools tend to have trust issues and then adding the fact that they are pushed to do things before they are actually ready is causing anxiety and stress in our children. We should be putting the emphasis on virtue and character development , not academic development. This is something I agree with. Pushing children towards independence and putting them in day cares or preschools seems to be going against nature to me. Our children's character is much more important. 
I like the fact that she talked about waiting to teach certain things. There are certain things that must be taught, whether the child really wants to learn them or not. The good thing about this is that most of those things can be taught later, when the child is older, and much easier because the child will be ready. There is no need to teach the same concepts over and over, year after year. Just teach them once, later. 
Even reading does not have to be taught at such an early age. Wait until the child is ready and eager to learn to read. Don't worry about age! Once a child learns to read, it becomes irrelevant when they learned. 
The book helps you to realize that we only need to be concerned with what God thinks about our family, not what others think. 
In the chapter about teens, I found it extremely interesting when Julie said "I find it interesting that the development of modern teen culture coincides with the widespread compulsion of high school." This chapter helped me to realize that we do baby our children and keep them from growing up when they should, that we don't give them enough responsibility. We are actually inhibiting them. Teen angst doesn't have to be a part of life. This chapter was very helpful to me. 
 God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn is full of great advice about parenting and teaching our children. I found this book very helpful and insightful. It is one that I will read again, probably more than once. 

Be sure to check Julie and her books out on Facebook and Pinterest.