Parenting for Peace: Cheryl Rainfield Book Reviews

I have not used "tags" well and have children's book review sites all over the place.. some day I'll clean it up.

Today I found a wonderful site by Cheryl Rainfield. She has lots of suggestions for picture books, by themes that make a difference for me right now:

How to Feel Better: Coping & Working With Emotion

Encouraging Creativity: Thinking Outside the Box

Finding Friends: A Sense of Belonging

Even Grouches Can Change: Looking Past Assumptions & Attitudes

Pure Fun: Laughter & Joy

Feeling Loved & Safe: Nurturance

Being Yourself: Accepting & Believing In You

Inner Strength: Strong Girls & Boys

Fantasy & Magic: Let Your Imagination Soar

Love of Words: Books Celebrating Books, Writing, & Language

Bedtime Soothers: Night Time Doesn't Have to Be Scary

Super Heroes: Feeling Strong Through Hero Identification

She also has reviews for middle school and teen books...

(x-posted w/Friends School blog)

Books for Teachers

Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools For Empowering Young Children, by Louise Derman-Sparks (1989), Washington, DC: NAEYC - includes both philosophical and theoretical overview and specific activities to use in a preschool setting.
Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (new edition in 2007) - a fabulous source book, although appropriate for the oldest children. includes both philosophical and theoretical overview and specific activities to use for adults and older children
That's Not Fair : A Teacher's Guide to Activsim with Young Children (2000) by Ann Pelo and Fran Davidson. Redleaf Press.
Writing for a Change : Boosting Literacy and Learning Through Social Action. This book is a collaboration between the National Writing Project (USA) and the Centre for Social Action (UK). The first half of the book describes a variety of experiences engaging in social action in the classroom. The second half provides specific models and activities to use. The book emphasizes creative and critical problem solving skills.

What is Peace Education?

There are many dimensions to peaceful parenting, educating and living. Ghandi's famous words "Be the Change you Seek in the World" implore us to balance our work for a peaceful world with efforts toward finding inner peace. Yoga, meditation, writing love letters (instead of hate mail), sitting in silence, looking for the best in others -- these are peaceful practices that occur in our everyday lives and promote a peaceful existance. These are important practices - and easy ones for me to overlook. Yet they are not the only pieces. We also need collective action, creative problem solving and smart conflict resolution.

There seem to be 5 basic elements to peace education with young children:

1) Teaching children to calm themselves and develop a sense of inner peace, including teaching kids how to "cool off" when they are angry.

2) Teaching children a more expansive vocabulary around emotions and group process. There are many resources to promote social and emotional intelligence, and this learning helps kids develop empathy and to care about community.

3) Teaching children about social justice and diversity -- promoting anti-bias education and providing kids with information about "isms" (both historical and current) and tactics for challenging and resisting the status quo.

4) Providing children/community members with clear strategies for solving conflicts that allow all community members to maintain thier integrity and inclusion in the group. These strategies are non-violent and focus on win-win solutions. Confict is understood as normal, healthy and providing opportunities for growth and learning.

5) Education about peacemakers, peace movements and the possibilities of non-violence in social change. This moves the arena out of "skill building" and into content -- learning about the world of peace and peacemaking in a historical and global context.

Parenting for Peace

Friday, November 13, 2009

Cheryl Rainfield Book Reviews

2 comments:

No Child Left Inside

Harvard Educational Review on Peace - Internet References

Books for Teachers

Interesting Reads

What is Peace Education?

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Service, Leadership, Building Community

Social and Emotional Learning

Booklists and Bibliographies - Children's Books

Diversity and Social Justice

Marketing Violence & Stereotypes to Children