Barbara Curtis delivered a thought-provoking message in her book Mommy, Teach Me! telling readers the role of the mother as the teacher in the lives of their children.
As a Montessori-trained teacher and mother of 12, Curtis presented basic truths and facts about child development and how parents can be effective first teachers by putting themselves in the shoes of their children. She confidently wrote to parents in the book: “…any parent with a desire to teach can learn to do it and do it well.”
The book is a very easy read with no complicated and fancy terminologies to hurdle. Any parent thinking of homeschooling their children but are not sure where to start may find this book useful as it takes every parent in a simple yet meaningful journey in getting to know children’s natural development at stage.
Chapters 1 to 3 set the foundation on how parents can lead their children to learning and not just drilling information in their heads. She talked about releasing your teaching ability and likewise, releasing your child’s learning ability. These lessons are delivered in a nurturing voice that reminds me of a caring neighbor who will loan you her salt and pepper shakers if you ran out of them.
The small beginnings exercises may be viewed as simple, no-brainer activities but they more than just the fun that it brings to your children are the lifelong skills and lessons they impart. Some of the exercises for instance teach left-to-right eye movement, a necessary skill for reading. This book provides exercises on how you can introduce subjects such as math, science, fine arts, and geography to your preschoolers sans boring charts and talk.
Curtis also gives fair warning about the type of educational materials parents should be using and how we can maximize the materials we already have at home to create enriching learning stations.
I can’t wait to upgrade our learning corner with some of the exercises and activities I’ve learned from this book.
Mommy, Teach Me! has a companion book, Mommy, Teach Me to Read! and I’m already waiting for that one to arrive in my mailbox.
She shares spiritual wisdom in this book one of which said: “You are the one God created to be fully tuned in your children, to understand their strengths and weaknesses, to love them unconditionally, and to be there forever.”
Curtis is a mother and a teacher who writes about the essence of life and love and how these two can be incorporated in the way we teach valuable lessons to our beloved children in the comforts of our home.
