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By Mom Unplugged, October 23, 2007 8:53 pm

Henryk Goldszmit was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1878. He is better known by his pseudonym, Janusz Korczak (pronounced “Yanoosh Kor-chock”)

Not only did Janusz Korczak become a well-known writer (Korczak even wrote quite a few children’s books that were apparently extremely well-known in their day, including King Matt the First) but he also became a pediatrician so as to better be able to help sick and poor children.

In 1912 he decided to go a step further and became the director of a new Jewish orphanage in Warsaw. He lived in the attic of the building and accepted no salary. He cared lovingly for the children and had a profound belief (which was not at all the mainstream view at the time) that children should be respected and listened to.

In 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland. In 1940, they ordered Korczak’s orphanage to relocate to the Jewish ghetto, which was a deplorable slum filled with disease, starvation and corpses on the streets.

Korczak made daily begging expeditions to obtain food and medicine for the children. He attempted to maintain as normal a life for the children as possible: teaching and playing with them. He also took over a hospital for sick and dying children in his belief that children should die with dignity.

Although encouraged by non-Jewish friends to leave Poland and save himself, and despite being offered many opportunites to escape, he always replied:

“You wouldn’t abandon your own child in sickness, misfortune, or danger, would you? So how can I leave two hundred children now!” (Loving Every Child, p. 82)

You can all see where this terrible tale is headed. On August 5, 1942 Janusz Korczak lead his two hundred children on a parade through the streets to the train station. They carried the orphanage flag designed by Korczak, and each child carried one favorite toy or book. Korczak and his children were taken away in freight cars to Treblinka where they were all sent to the gas chambers.

This was not meant to be a biographical post about Janusz Korczak, but I don’t believe that one can discuss this book Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents, without knowing a bit about this remarkable man.

I stumbled upon this book after hearing a March 3rd NPR story about it: Parenting Advice From a Polish Holocaust Hero. I read it cover-to-cover right away, think about it often, and knew I would write about it one day after I was able to digest the enormity of Korczak and his wisdom, as well as write a post about him without crying.

Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents is actually a compilation of quotations from some of Korczak’s other works, primarily How to Love a Child (1919) and The Child’s Right to Respect (1929). It is divided into chapters that each cover a very general subject. For example: “Communication,” “A Child Will Play,” and my favorite - “Adults Are Not Very Clever.”

Janusz Korczak was so incredibly ahead of his time. The advice in this book could have been written yesterday. To think that he wrote these words in the early 1900′s just amazes me.

As I mentioned previously, the main theme of the book is respect for the child. Korczak’s keen observations about the interaction between children and adults really make it seem that this man was able to get inside a child’s head and see the world as the child sees it. His sense of empathy and compassion is overwhelming.

This book has profoundly touched me. Although Korczak’s story brings tears to my eyes whenever I think of it, I have to agree with Ari L. Goldman in his Foreword:

“But what I particularly like about this volume is that it takes Korczak’s wisdom about children out of the context of martyrdom. Most people learn about him through exhibits at various museums commemorating the Holocaust. Korczak, of course, deserves a place there. But he especially deserves to be remembered for what he taught us about children and about ourselves.” (Loving Every Child, p. viii)

This is a book to keep on your nightstand and pick up again and again. Even nearly one hundred years later, Korczak’s words serve as a reminder to us all, to listen to and respect our children.

Here are some of my favorite passages from Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents (actually, they are ALL my favorites, so it was hard to choose just a few):

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“We plunder the mountains, cut down the trees, and exterminate the animals. More and more the forests and marshes are being replaced by buildings. We are planting human beings in ever new territories.

We have subjugated the world and have made use of the iron and the animals; we have enslaved other races, we have organized international relations in a cursory way and appeased the masses. Injustice and ill treatment prevail. We do not really consider childhood worries and apprehensions as very serious matters.

Any child is an unequivocal democrat and does not recognize any hierarchies. Whether it is another child’s hunger or the agony of a tormented animal, it causes him pain. Dogs, birds, butterflies, and flowers are equally close to his heart, and he feels kinship with each pebble and shell. He does not believe that only humans have souls.” (p.45)

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“The child is small, lightweight, and there is just less of him. We ought to stoop and come down to his level.” (p.20)

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“When is the proper time for a child to start walking? When she does. When should her teeth start cutting? When they do. How many hours should a baby sleep? As long as she needs to.” (p.8)

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“The child never begrudges the time spent reading a story, having a conversation with the dog, playing catch, carefully scrutinizing a picture or retracing a letter.” (p.34)

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You can also read an excerpt from the book at the NPR website.

Photo is of Janusz Korczak circa 1930, courtesy of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. (USHMM - Photograph #65010, courtesy of Międzynarodowe Stowarzyszenie im. Janusza Korczaka)

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By Mom Unplugged, June 21, 2007 6:59 am

I am always on the look-out for good books of activities that I don’t have time to do with my kids. One day…when the baby is a little older…not that I am wishing her precious babyhood away! But, I digress.

I stumbled upon this one at Amazon and I really like it! It is Earthways: Simple Environmental Activities for Young Children by Carol Petrash. Here is a quote from the back cover: “This book is “filled with hands-on nature crafts and seasonal activities to enhance environmental awareness. The activities are carefully written and beautifully illustrated. Children play with the elements of earth, air, and water. They develop a respect for nature, for the earth and for all living creatures. they experience the awe and wonder of the world around them.”

While this may be quite an ambitious description of the book, I can tell you from a Mom’s (rather than a publisher’s) perspective, that it is a really cool book. Will it instantly turn my children into little green protectors of Mother Earth? Maybe not. But I do firmly believe that the more children learn about nature, the more respect they will have for it. Teaching children early on to appreciate the beauty of life and nature can only help the planet in the long run.

One of the things I really like about this book, and what sets it apart from other similar books that I have seen, is that the chapters are organized by season. Plus, each season has subsections: The Whole Earth Home and Classroom, Bringing Nature In: The Season’s Garden, Bringing Nature In: Seasonal Crafts, and Supplying the Missing Links. This makes it easy to find projects that are seasonally appropriate.

The “Supplying the Missing Links” idea is another feature which sets this book apart from other “nature crafts” books. The introduction describes this as providing “activities that will allow the children to connect a product which they often use and usually purchase in a store with the source and process from which it comes. The aim is that they will then have a subtle understanding of their strong connections with and dependence on the Earth and an experience of making things for themselves.”

I love this concept! My children are always asking me where things come from, and these projects can actually teach them a little bit about some of it. One of the more ambitious projects in this category is: “From Wheat to Bread” (no, Mom doesn’t go to Safeway for a bag of flour, the kids thresh and grind wheat themselves, then bake their homemade flour into bread).

Wow! I thought I was being “crunchy-frontier-mom” when I, on very rare occasion, bake bread from scratch without my machine. Now the bar is raised! If we do this experiment (not that wheat on the stalk will be easy to come by where I live - especially for a non A-lister like me), will the kids expect me to make my own flour every time I feel domestic enough to make bread? Hmm…could be a dangerous precedent to set, but cool idea nonetheless!

There is a similar project with Indian Corn (we can probably get that here): string necklaces of corn kernels, grind the corn and make corn bread, use the husks to make corn husk dolls, then grate the cobs to make a corn cob powder for play cooking. How about learning about wool, apples, pumpkins, and butter?

If you don’t have the time or ambition to make your own flour, then you will be happy to find other, more manageable projects here too. Some examples: FALL - leaf banners, leaf crowns, nature’s people, lanterns. WINTER - pine cone bird feeders, tissue paper transparencies, finger knitting, yarn dolls. SPRING - wind wands, pinwheels, kites, dish gardens, pressed flower cards. SUMMER - shooting star streamer balls, walnut boats, butterfly crowns, parachute people, paper birds.

I really love this book. Anyone who wants to unplug their children and tune them into nature needs this book. I know that any Waldorf or homeschooling family would love it too. Please check it out, I think you will be pleased!

Comments (2)

By Mom Unplugged, March 7, 2007 11:07 am

Before my first child was born in 2000, my thoughts had already turned to how to raise her. I do believe that much of who we are comes “pre-programmed.” However, as all parents know, it is nonetheless thoroughly daunting to imagine providing a life for another human being. One thing I knew was that I did not want her to become an MTV and video-game obsessed teen, lazy and unable to think and act creatively.

Being an “older Mom” (I hate that term!), I found myself having those fuddy-duddy, “back in my day” type of thoughts. It was in my post-partum turmoil of hormones and angst that I stumbled upon Katrina Kenison’s soothing book Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry . My unsettled state was fertile ground for the author’s message that simplifying our children’s lives is satisfying and possible. The book left me full of warm fuzzy feelings and encouragement that one can create a simpler family environment.

I was filled anew with determination to raise my daughter more simply: no TV, simpler toys, fewer organized activities. I wanted her to have time to just be a child.

If anyone out there is contemplating these issues for themselves and wants a warm, little boost of encouragement, try this inspirational book. When I feel discouragement setting in, I reach for the “Mitten Strings” and read a chapter or two. That’s usually all it takes to set me right.