Understanding children

	Children's Spirituality (Rebecca Nye, Church House Publishing) RRP £8.99   Mixing theory with her own experience, Rebecca shows how churches or home can stimulate or stifle a child's spiritual development. She offers ways to help children value and express their spirituality.   Sue says: Rebecca has long been an advocate for Godly Play and in this book she argues well for prioritizing giving children the space and opportunity to 'wonder' and develop their spirituality ahead of just applying educational theories to give knowledge.   2011 conference recommended title
	Understanding Children, Understanding God (Ronni Lamont, SPCK) RRP £12.99    A practical book that outlines current thinking on child development and spirituality, and brings them together to propose effective ways to work with children in the church.
	The Spirit of the Child (David Hay, Jessica Kingsley) RRP £14.99 Kindle edition £11.98   A three-year research study into young children's spirituality informs Hay's view that spirituality in education needs to overcome traditional approaches and should adopt a theory of spirituality that includes religion but is not confined to it.   This book will encourage educators, parents and others involved in teaching children to consider new approaches to foster children's natural spiritual development.
	Perspectives on Children's Spiritual Formation (Scottie May, Gregory C Carlson, Trisha Graves, Tim Ellis, Michael J Anthony (ed), Broadman and Holman) RRP £15.99 Kindle edition  £11.75   2011 conference recommended title
	Children Finding Faith (Francis Bridger, Scripture Union) RRP £7.99 Kindle edition £8.04   Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how children's faith develops. Discover how to share the gospel effectively at every stage of childhood.   2011 conference recommended title 2010 conference recommended title
BUY...	Boy’s spirituality (Carolyn Edwards, 2011 conference) £3.99 What part has spirituality to play in the lives of boys as they grow into men? What part can the church, children’s workers and parents play in enhancing and developing this spirituality?
BUY...	Exploring child spirituality (Heather Thompson, 2011 conference) £3.99 Want to see your children as 'powerpacks' for God? Lots of practical examples, inspiring testimonies and key principles to seeing children powerfully impacted by God through the Holy Spirit.
BUY...	Faith development in children (Sharon Prior, 2010 conference) £2.99   Looking at some of the theories underpinning faith development and how these theories can impact the practical work we are involved in so that we can be effective in seeing our children's faith develop.
BUY...	Children's spirituality (Ian White, 2009 conference) £2.99   How can we understand, engage and cultivate the growth of the Christian spirituality in the child? And what of the various contexts that children develop their spirituality in?

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Child development 

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	Top Tips on Inspiring all Kinds of Learners (Andy and Claire Saunders, Scipture Union) RRP £2.99  This short book identifies the different ways people learn, by seeing, hearing and doing, to enable people to respond to God in the way that suits them best. It also encourages children's and youth workers to recognise their own way of learning, which affects how they then teach and nurture others.     Full list of Top Tips titles...
	The Growth of Love (Keith White, Barnabas) RRP £8.99   Identifying five essential elements of child development to resource adults working with children in churches, schools, at home and for children in care. Drawing together academic research, theology and stories from real-life experiences.   Sue says: A very clear and thought-proving read.   2011 conference recommended title
	21st Century Boys (Sue Palmer, Orion) RRP£8.99 Kindle edition £4.99   What's happening to boys? At home, they sprawl before a flickering screen, lost in a solitary, sedentary fantasy world; at school, the choice of role seems limited to nerd or thug, bullied or bullying. By the time they reach their teens, the chances of depression, self-harm, drug or alcohol abuse grow each year. Sue Palmer assesses the issues confronting boys from birth to when they leave school, and explains how we can all help to ensure they emerge as healthy, normal adults. Based on the latest research from around the world.   2011 conference recommended title
	Why Gender Matters (Leonard Sax, Broadway) RRP £14.95   Psychologist and family physician Dr. Leonard Sax leads you through the mystifying world of gender differences by explaining the biologically different ways in which children think, feel, and act. He addresses a host of issues, including discipline, learning, risk taking, aggression, sex, and drugs, and shows how boys and girls react in predictable ways to different situations. For example, girls are born with more sensitive hearing than boys, and those differences increase as kids grow up. So when a grown man speaks to a girl in what he thinks is a normal voice, she may hear it as yelling. Conversely, boys who appear to be inattentive in class may just be sitting too far away to hear the teacher—especially if the teacher is female. 2011 conference recommended title
	Top Tips on Working with Lads (Richard Witham and Maggie Barfield, Scripture Union) RRP £3.50   • Tried and tested ideas, tips and resources • Based on real-life experience of working with lads – children and teenagers • Lads’ ministry evaluation tools – to help you grow your own ministry
	The Wonder of Boys (Michael Gurian, Tarcher/Penguin) Kindle edition £9.19 Not written from a specific Christian perspective but this book will help you understand why the boys in your group tend to behave differently from the girls. It includes a chapter on reaching boys values, morality and spirituality.   ‘Nurtured competition is crucial to male development and self-image, so crucial that studies show boys who play organised sports are less likely to do drugs, join gangs, and become antisocial than boys who do not. Boys must find a way to compete and see themselves as performing well. If they do not, if society does not provide them with these opportunities, they’ll compete against society itself, abusing their community and themselves.’   Sue says: I found this book and its companion below really helpful in understanding the differences between the way boys and girls behave.
	The Wonder of Girls (Michael Gurian, Atria Books)  RRP £10.00 Kindle edition £6.99 Not written from a specific Christian perspective but this book will help you understand why the girls in your group tend to behave differently from the boys. It includes a chapter on reaching boys values, morality and spirituality. ‘Because of the structural and functional differences in the female and male brains, girls sense, remember, enjoy and experience personal needs and desires differently than boys. They use their bodies differently, and their words. They even experience God, religion, and spirituality in neurologically differing ways.’ Sue says: I found this book and its companion above really helpful in understanding the differences between the way boys and girls behave.
	Pink Brain, Blue Brain (Lise Eliot, Oneworld Publicaltions) RRP £12.99   Turning conventional thinking about gender differences on its head, and drawing on  research and her own work in the field of neuroplasticity, Eliot argues that infant brains are so malleable that small differences at birth become amplified over time as parents, teachers, and the culture at large unwittingly reinforce gender stereotypes. By focussing on the ways in which differences emerge such prescriptive behaviours can be eradicated, and the boundaries that prevent boys and girls from achieving can be destroyed.   2011 conference recommended title
BUY...	Awakening the sleeping giant of a child’s mind. (Sian Hancock, 2011 conference) £3.99 Explore how a child’s learning style affects their ability to engage with the Bible and faith. An inter-active, multi-sensory journey to discover how recognizing the diversity of each child reflects God and how faith development can take seriously that diversity.

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