One of the nice things about having a blog
like this is that you get the chance to review resources. If they give
you the resource at no charge, it's even better. Such is the case with The Thinking Toobox
by Nathaniel Bleudorn and Hans Bluedorn. The subtitle is what caught my
attention: Thirty-Five Lessons That Will Build Your Reasoning Skills.
One
trip to your local homeschool conference tells you that there is enough
curricula out there, but is there enough of the right curricula? Unless
your children learn to reason with logic and evaluate the evidence
presented, anything that sounds good can be adopted by them as truth.
Most parents just assume that children will learn reasoning by
absorption. Unfortunately, the skills they do learn are often
inadequate for the world that awaits them.
The Thinking Toolbox
is a collection of skills that children need to master before they
graduate. Starting out with the framework of conversations, statements,
and appropriate uses of logic, the Bluedorns then move into factual
analysis, skeptical thinking and scientific theory. Eventually, they
have you solving mysteries using the tools from the toolbox.
Like most skills, reasoning is learned with application. The Thinking Toolbox
offers plenty of opportunities to put reasoning into practice. But
these opportunities are just hypothetical stories. Its when you put
these skills to use in real life that you see the dividends. For
example, youre flipping through the channels on a weekend, trying to
find the game, when you stumble on an infomercial about property
investments. You son turns to you and says, Hey dad, maybe thats
where we can get some money. What do you say in response? Do you
merely dismiss his comment by saying the show is lying? Or do you make
time that day to explore the option with him, using reasoning,
evaluation of the source, and research of the facts? The old axiom
holds true: Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him to
fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Both solutions are valid, but
only one of them will result in your childs long-term benefit.
While
I hesitate to say that this material is not for those under a certain
age, the book says it is for those 13 and older. Still, with some
exceptions, those younger than 13 will get enough out of it and would
benefit from repeated exposures. The book can be used by an individual
child, but would be richer when its ideas can be discussed in a group.
I imagine the best situation would be a group of young teens reading
together and discussing the lesson with an adult advisor. This book is
an excellent foundation for those thinking of entering their child into
speech and debate because it gives the basic concepts and allows the
child to warm to them. With 35 lessons, it is not sufficient for
anything more than a weekly study, but it is a perfect complement for
studies, especially science.
Giving your children the skills of reasoning is a blessing and a valuable part of their education. The Thinking Toolbox is a great resource to launch them into the world of critical evaluation of truth.
For more details and how to order, click on the book cover.
One of the reasons I like Todd Wilson, the FamilyMan
so much is that he understands his audience. His cartoons are funny and
firmly rooted in the homeschooling lifestyle. His talks are animated
and well-tuned to those he's speaking to.
Such is the case with his book, Help! I'm Married To A Homeschooling Mom.
Todd writes in a simple, straightforward style that doesn't rely on
nuance or subtlety. He understands that his target audience is men. Men
typically are not attracted to big books. Men typically don't want to
wade through 20-page chapters and reams of carefully researched
statistics, unless it's about sports or other manly stuff. Thank
goodness Todd understands this. The chapters are short, readable in a
bathroom sitting. Oh come on, you do it too. He tells dads point blank
the general needs of a home schooling mom, things that women would say
men should understand but don't.
In doing this, it's
important to note that Todd does not insult his readers. He doen't take
the cheap shot, which can be tempting in the era of men-bashing. That
said, he plays off of the differences between husbands and wives,
leaving you laughing at the truth we all seem to have experienced in
one way or another. You know you're in for a good time when he opens
with "You know you're married to a homeschooling mom when..." Sprinkled
with funny cartoons by the author, you find yourself chuckling through
each short chapter and at the same time, you learn what it takes to
support your wife. If you've heard Todd speak in person, you know
exactly what I'm talking about.
Too often in life, men are
told what they should be. Men are sick and tired of the nag, nag, nag
that they get from all sides. Rather than issue the CHALLENGE to
be a good husband, a good father and pay your taxes and go to church,
Todd counts on our desire to love our wives by telling us what she
needs. Todd believes that men can be great husbands if we just know
what our wives need.
As one comedian puts it, "Happy wife,
happy life." This book is a must-read for all fathers of homeschooling
families, and at under 100 pages, it's completely doable for all
husbands. To order Help! I'm Married To A Homeschooling Mom from Amazon.com click the image below. For more great resources from FamilyMan, go to Todd's online store by clicking here.
