Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children Paperback – Illustrated, August 1, 2006

I've been putting off reading this book for several years, as I didn't think it was an "essential" to read in my sporadic homeschooling journey. It languished in my amazon cart for quite a while, then once I purchased it I still put off reading it. Finally sat down to flip through this weekend and WOW. This book, while being very concise and easy to read, is an all-inclusive introduction to Waldorf ideas and includes tons of easy ways to implement them (in many cases, with lists in the margins for further reference--the lists in the margins are a great idea--it's a quick refresher as you flip).The most relatable part to me is the idea of structure/rhythm in everyday life--I can already see with my 6 year old son that having a loose structure makes for calmer and more productive days, but I struggle myself with putting routines into place. This book is very clear and helpful (I don't think we'll do everything, but a lot of the material would be very doable and has a lot of kid-appeal). Examples of morning routines, evening routines, and daily play times (plus the 'why' of outdoor play/indoor play/media time/etc) made it very easy to visualize how things will go.I particularly like the longer 'yearly' structure kinds of celebrations--her examples of a christmas celebration would proceed over 4 weeks leading up to christmas, but with a short weekly celebration (incorporating the four elements and lighting a candle each week on one special place). I know that small celebrations are sacred to children (the book also includes easter/birthdays/fall/harvest/etc), but, again, struggle myself with the "how" of it and tend to get overwhelmed and do nothing. What I most liked about this book is that it is very inspiring--reading it, I'm immediately thinking of how we could do many (most) of the activities.The section on reading to children is also very interesting--the author goes over what is most appropriate for each age (as children grow, they progress from nursery rhymes to nature stories to fairy tales to adventures) and touches on the importance of fairy tales and fables as modelling desirable qualities.This book would be a wonderful introduction to waldorf ideas for new parents or caregivers, and is a non-intimidating read (something that can't be said for all waldorf/montessori books). I'm already thinking of new parents who would love this as a gift; I only wish I'd read it years ago!Highly recommended, this is one of the best parenting/lifestyle books I have ever read.

As a new mom (my son is now 1 year old), I was searching for information on how to raise a child in todays overly technological society. The first book about raising children that I read was "You Are Your Child's First Teacher," by Baldwin Dancy. I found this book to be very difficult to read, and I wanted more how to apply the information instead of so much theory.The next book was "Beyond the Rainbow Bridge, Nurturing our Children from Birth to Seven," by Patterson, Bradley & Riordan. This was a great intro to Waldorf style parenting. It was a quick, easy read with a lot of good information, but again it left me wanting to know more about how to implement the ideas of fesivals & rhythms.I finally purchased "Heaven on Earth" (recommended by a Waldorf kindergarten teacher at a parenting meeting I went to), and I finally found what I'm looking for. This book has the theory, talks about how children learn, is easy to read, and has all the how to information I was looking for. She gives the elements of festivals, then goes step by step through a few sample festivals, including a fall apple festival and an Easter festival (which I plan to do this year).She talks about toys, gives sample stories to tell children at different ages, talks about discipline, rhythms, how to set up an indoor play space and how to set up an outdoor play space, how to incorporate children into your daily chores and much more.It would be very difficult to incorporate everything she talks about in this book, but it's easy to pick and choose a few things you want to improve or change. I knew I wanted to do some annual festivals, but had no idea where to start. I love her ideas for children's birthdays, Christmas and Easter.Perhaps the most important and useful feature of this book is the appendix. Here you can find websites and sources for children's natural toys & dolls, art & craft supplies, wool longjohns, cloth diapers, organic skin care and much more. She also includes a pattern to make a simple doll.I would highly recommend this to any parent of children under the age of 7.

Whoever said "children don't come with a manual" never read this book, because HERE it is! Oh my goodness, I love this book. I just finished it and I can't decide whether to start it over myself or make my husband read it NOW.In an absolutely lovely, almost poetic "voice," the author goes through daily and yearly life with small children, and outlines not only how they grow and develop, but how best to introduce them to the world and to provide sensory experiences without spending a lot of money (ie, in nature). She provides a framework for simple, quiet days that are good and nourishing for both parent and child. As a first-time mother who is still figuring out this whole parenting thing, and frankly second-guessing myself at every turn, reading this book - I don't know how else to say it - calms my soul. I feel like I have a plan and a framework now and that weight off my shoulders is huge. If you, too, are new to parenting - or if you aren't, but are feeling overwhelmed and beaten down and in need of a plan, a framework, a rhythm - this is the book for you.Can I bookmark and pin every single page? This book is going on my kitchen counter as a reference. The best parenting book I've read yet (and I have read a lot). Highly, HIGHLY recommended!