This book explores the consciousness of the young child through language development, often in their own words. The child’s early utterances reveal a unity of word and experience and of experience and meaning. Children live more fully in perception than conception. Yet, speech as it unfolds eventually leads the child to abstraction, self-consciousness, and critical thinking.
This journey into childhood will deepen the quality of our attention and presence in each moment, enlivening our speech and interactions and thereby preserving our children’s sense of wonder and spiritual connection.
Carol Toole In the mid-70s, the parents of a nursery cooperative in the spiritual community where she lived asked her to be lead teacher. She was just 21, but they often noticed her in the doorway observing the children. Soon her quest to create an environment that fosters childrens innate sense of wonder led her to become a Waldorf kindergarten teacher. Later, she pursued training as an educational therapist, focusing on sensory development and written language instruction. During the past forty years, she has been a teacher, storyteller, puppeteer, writer, and parent educator, creating a popular series called Creative Living with the Young Child. More recently, she provides Academic Language Therapy, movement therapy, and strategic tutoring to grade-school children and oversees the literacy program at the Austin Waldorf School. Now a grandmother, she is inspired to combine her parenting workshops, observations of children, and love for language at its inception to ponder the question, "What is this childhood?" Carols publications include articles in Renewal Magazine, poetry and essays in the Real Women Write Anthologies, and Taras Spring Wish, a book for children. Eva Hoisington, at the time of this publication, is a senior at Austin Waldorf School, where she has developed her passion for illustration. Through her work, Eva aims to inspire others to embrace creativity and fearlessly pursue their own artistic ambitions.
"A treasure-filled journey through the central role of language in the young childs development. With insight and whimsy, Carol Toole shows us the links between perception, sound, movement, meaning, and early language explorations. The three "Rs" of rhyme, rhythm and repetition are cardinal rules for language acquisition in these years, and Carol gives her readers a wealth of hands-on ways to bring these activities home. She moves from language itself into the ways story and language support the childs primary work: creative play."---- Sharifa Oppenheimer, author, Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children
"Carol Toole offers us a glimpse into the childs enchanting world as it finds expression in their newly acquired language. Her insights take us on a developmental journey and offer the reader stories, poems, verses, and many practical suggestions for parents."---- Jack Petrash, author, Turning Lead into Gold: The Transformative Alchemy of Waldorf Teaching
