A Review of

Wisdom's Way of Learning

Book by Marilyn Howshall

Review by Barb Shelton

  
If you read nothing else on homeschooling, this is the one book to read! It is absolutely foundational to any other book you will read on homeschooling because it holds out to you the foundation of homeschooling itself, which is your own relationship with the One who invented education to begin with, for His own purposes; not the state's, not the NEA's, not even yours. 

There is much that even the most experienced, seasoned homeschooler can glean from this book. As one reader said: "This book is a breath of fresh air, a release from bondage. It truly drew me into the presence of the Lord like no other book I had ever read.  It brought me to my knees and made me look at myself and my relationship with God and my children. I began to see how I had failed my children in my misdirected zeal to educate them." 

     
Another mom said: "I suspect that if I am to make home schooling a success, I will need to totally re-think my children's curriculum."  This mom is absolutely correct!  But at the same time, this is not a "chuck everything and completely start over" kind of thing, but rather Let's look at some things before it's too late. She continued: "My frustration with my son in particular has me feeling like a failure as a teacher only because I had anticipated that he would really enjoy schooling at home. He is learning but it is like pulling teeth to get him to focus (on his workbooks) for more than ten minutes tops. More than anything I want to be able to honor God, and I'm just really struggling and not enjoying it too much." I 

If you share any of these feelings and frustrations, you probably think your child and a lack of self-discipline are at the root of the problem. These may enter into it, but may I suggest that your approach to education is more at fault than your child? And that you begin by looking at your own ideas before dealing with a supposedly problem child?

   
As Marilyn Howshall says of her book: "Wisdom's Way of Learning gives the reader a thorough introduction to the Lifestyle of Learning message which has at its heart a restoration of family and personal discipleship and discovery of godly life purpose.  It restores to (home) education the goal of developing the tools of learning and a love of learning within the student, and will renew your mind to God's idea and purpose of education."  If any of these terms sound vague or confusing to you, please to not discard this concept, but rather "study to show yourself approved," as you and your children will be missing out on much if you pass this by for a quicker, easier fix!

Among many other topics, this book covers "How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Your Child's Education," "Seven Natural Vital Signs of the Learning Process," "Organizing Your Plan Using Seasons: God's Timely Design," "Teaching Language Skills Through the Seasons," "the Life- Message Approach," "The Unit-of-Life Approach," "Preparing Your Heart, Mind, and Home for a Lifestyle of Learning."  You'll never view your children's activities, whether "academic" or "non-academic," the same again!  It is eye-opening, life-changing, and heart-inspiring! 

Besides the Bible, this book is the cornerstone of this course.  It is non-optional for those who seek God's will in their homeschool experience, as it will point you to Jesus, the One who is the Way, and from whom we are to learn what education is really all about and how to apply the principles we learn about it to our unique children in light of God's unique purposes for their lives. 
      

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