Book Review: Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson

Book Description:

Since 1994, Educating the WholeHearted Child has been a trusted guide for thousands of homeschooling families. This extensively revised and expanded third edition provides a solid biblical foundation for educating and nurturing your children's hearts, minds, and souls. In it you will discover how to:

* Make your home and family the heart of your children's education
* Train your children to become creative, self-directed learners
* Enrich your family's life and education with living books
* Identify and work with each child's learning style
* Help your children love to learn as naturally as they love to play
* Gain confidence to teach using practical, common-sense methods

Whether you are a first-time homeschooler or a longtime veteran, this comprehensive guide will equip and empower you for your journey of faith as a family. Discover the joy of bringing relationship-based, book-centered learning into the natural daily life of your home.

My thoughts:
I was excited and looking forward to reading Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson. I had read the previous edition year ago. With the arrival of the third edition I had read many reviews praising their effort. Imagine my surprise when I struggled to get into this book.

I am probably the only person who had issues with parts of this book. This may be due to that I already homeschool my kids, so I didn't need convinced or convicted to do so. I also found the part on learning styles more confusing than helpful. Their ideas on child disciple did not sit well with me, either. Much of the information seemed redundant, which isn't bad, but was boring.

So by now you are sure I hated this book--not entirely. I enjoyed the sections on family discipleship, education with living books, encouragement given for hard days, and the many practical ideas they shared. If I had to read this over, I would just pick and choose the parts that caught my interest. Educating the WholeHearted Child would be a great read for someone interested in homeschooling or just starting out. Also, if a family is wanting to switch from textbooks to living books, this is an encouraging read.

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