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Educator Peoples here presents cogent instructions for parents of pre-school children, intended to offer adults a broader understanding of the many ways that children absorb knowledge. The teaching is also designed to aid the children themselves, as they will encounter the structured methodologies typically utilized in the school systems that they will later experience as they mature. Peoples' book is composed of simple yet strong directives for parents, accompanied by explanations of the necessity of adapting the human-scale methods she sets forth.
The author's well-considered techniques begin with the admonition to work with each child for twenty to thirty minutes each day, asserting that the young person will soon be eager to participate in the process. The time for this routine can be set by the child, as they gradually assume a leadership role when encouraged to do so. The author consistently stresses the principle that through judicious leading, the child will wish to join in the exercises. Even children as young as two or three are able to share their inner imagery. This will prove to the adult that children have stories to tell, and that quiet listening can encourage them to articulate words, images, and ideas that will naturally come forth.
Blank pages in Peoples' manual helpfully provide space for illustrations created both by parents and their offspring. The consistent themes provide an overarching pattern for the development and revelation of the child's learning skills. An essential element in this interaction is recording the child's stories, since hearing his or her words will offer further, enhanced enthusiasm for continuing the daily encounters. As the child speaks, the parent writes down the words spoken without corrections, allowing for self-directed comprehension as the child's growth and learning comprehension expand. Re-reading each story is an essential part of the process, culminating in the production of an actual storybook. As the child listens to and recalls their created tales, they will want to read more and begin to explore other materials. Thus, the exercises provided by the author lead from individual absorption to the skills needed for a wider range of education.
Peoples, a disabled Navy veteran, has a distinguished career history that includes work as a federal educator, service on the staff of President Nixon's secretary of education, and management of the Teacher Corps Networks for which she designed ways in which a multitude of networks could interact. In addition, as indicated by the unique approach to connection with children shared in this volume, she served for years as a public school teacher specializing in the education of gifted and talented students. She has devised numerous learning techniques in her profession and shares her findings based on dynamic, exploratory, and explanatory parent-child educational structures. Peoples' well-considered work as so vividly presented will doubtless aid many parents as they guide their young children toward self-participatory skills that have the power to improve their future schooling while also evoking a perception of self-worth and individual abilities that are needed in many spheres of growth and inner vision.
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