In From My Side: Being a Child, the photos by Sylvia Chard and Yvonne Kogan tell an inspirational story about childhood from the child’s point of view.  This beautiful book, filled with hundreds of color photographs from many different countries, makes a great gift for directors, teachers, trainers, or parents. It invites you to look through a window into the lives of children everywhere. Children are never still. They are always acting and reacting, thinking and speaking, anticipating and reflecting.

Directors, teachers, trainers, or parents will enjoy seeing what catches the interest of these young adventurers, explorers, and thinkers. The photographs in this book illustrate and explore the experience of children, who learn to make sense of their world by interacting with people, places, and objects they encounter in their homes, in public places, in schools, and in daycare centers. Each section of the book reflects a vital part of how children discover their world. You hear the laughter of children dressed for a festival dance, the coos and gurgles of infants in their mothers' arms, and squeals of delight as children skip rocks in a stream.  Nurturing and sharing in their journey of discovery is what parenting and teaching are all about.

 

Sylvia C. Chard is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta. She has been an elementary and high school teacher, as well as an education professor, and shares with schools around the world her practical approach to child-sensitive learning. She is co-author with Lilian G. Katz of the book, Engaging Children’s Minds: The Project Approach. Yvonne Kogan is a Principal of the Early Childhood Department and co-owner of Eton School in Mexico City, Mexico. 

In reflecting on how they have seen children responding to the world about them, the authors observe...

"Whether rich or poor, sick or healthy, urban or rural, the children we see are taking in the world around them in their own personal ways.  Whether in refugee camps, big cities, towns, suburbs, or small villages, children are sensitive to opportunities to understand how things work, who does what, where and how things happen.  In schools, orphanages, and homes, with families, caregivers, teachers, other children and adults, young human beings are making their own sense of their lives.

"Within cycles of experience, of noticing, investigating, representing, and sharing, there are periods of calm reflection.  At various times, you can see children taking time out from their engagement with ideas and action, and floating freely within their personal worlds.  As they relax, play, reflect, or daydream, they are becoming ready for the next interesting event to invite their participation.

"As each new cycle of experience begins, children are open to new ideas and activities.  They can follow instructions and suggestions and can respond to encouragement from adults.  They can also initiate investigations and play out their understanding within the environments provided for them by the adults upon whom they depend.  We see children where they are as they move on through their daily lives from one beginning to another."