My Little Robins

Loving and Learning in the Nest

Inspiring Your Creative Writer

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It was just past 7:00 in the days of many night wake-ups when I heard my daughter, then 4, come down the stairs. She rubbed her eyes and carried her favorite drawing board. She turned it towards me, and I saw my name scrawled on it. "When did you learn how to do that?" I said, at first to myself and then out loud. 

Her tired face brightened. Writing one little word was a surprise to both of us, but in that moment I knew I had a writer on my hands. She loved making people smile with just a word or a positive thought. 

Related: 10 Ways To Get Your Child Ready for Handwriting

Nurturing Writers

Since we're Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, we haven't started formal writing instruction yet, but I still try to nurture and encourage Miss H's love of writing. As soon as she could read, Miss H filled any scrap of paper she could find, which resulted in a bunch of clutter that I had trouble storing. I bought her a notebook, and that multiplied into many. Recently, I bought her a journal that we share between us. She writes an entry, and I write back to her. This will be a treasure in future years, full of stories of our days and silly notes to each other. 

We recently started using The Big Book of Writing Prompts by Sophie Agbonkhese to inspire our writing journal. We flip through the book, choose a prompt, write it in the notebook, and get going. 

Related: Homeschooling With Little Ones: Busy Is Not the Goal 

The Big Book Of Writing Prompts

The Big Book of Writing Prompts is well-designed, both visually and organizationally. There are writing prompts for 3-12 grades, and the prompts are organized in three levels. 

The colorful pages are filled with prompts, over 500 of them, in 5 different categories: what if, picture this, story starters, journal prompts, and non-fiction prompts. So far, Miss H says that her favorite are the "What if?" prompts. We spent a long time flipping through the pages and laughing over all the possibilities that the prompts opened up to us. 

It's inspiring how creative each prompt is. These go well beyond the simple, unimaginative prompts that I used as a public school teacher. The first prompt H chose, from the story starters category, was, "'Come play this new game with us, Cal!' my friends called. 'You'll love it.' I walked over. It didn't look like a new game. They were just skipping rocks into the river. Then I realized the rocks were glowing unnaturally and turning the water all sorts of strange colors.' She was so intrigued by the ideas present, and slowly our story unfolded. 

Related: 100 Handicrafts for the Early Years

Inspiring Your Creative Writer

I realize that our child-led approach to writing is not how everyone will go about it, so here are some suggestions for using this book in your homeschool: 

Let Your Child Choose A Prompt Each Week

He or she can journal about the prompt throughout the week until their entry is finished. This is similar to our approach!

Choose A Prompt To Take Throughout the Writing Process

The writing process included brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, evaluating, and publishing. Work on the same prompt throughout all of the steps, and in the end you'll have a beautiful, finished copy of the piece. This will take several weeks. 

Inspire Reluctant Writers

In my experience, reluctant writers struggle with getting their ideas from their minds to the paper. It tends to be more of a physical or organizational problem than an ideas problem. This book will offer some great ideas that your child will be excited to write about. Help them by transcribing part of what they write, helping them to write an outline of what they want to say, or helping them type it out. 

The Big Book of Writing Prompts comes with two bonuses: 10 picture writing prompts, and an 8-page story writing planner. It will be something you'll be able to use for years to come. 

See It Here



Prioritizing Habits For Smooth and Easy Days

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I remember the day I posted a cute photo of my daughter in a fashion group online.

She was barely six and had dressed herself in a dress that I wore with a semi-toothless grin in the 80's. Her emerging fashion sense told her to pair the dress with a denim vest and sparkly shoes….that were on the wrong foot. You would not believe how quickly people noticed the misplaced shoes. Some people didn't even say something positive about the heirloom dress, and went straight to criticize the shoes. 

Related: The Stages of Charlotte Mason Habit Training

But you know what? I don't care. 

I don't care about shoes on the wrong feet because it doesn't really matter. It would be filed under what Charlotte Mason called “arbitrary.” If my young child gets dressed on their own, I am not willing to say, “But you didn't do it right!” Wrong-footed shoes aren't really wrong- this isn't a moral issue. 

My daughter is 8 now and doesn't wear her shoes on the wrong feet anymore, but I still have one child who is just learning to put shoes on for himself, and sometimes they don't even match, let alone get on the right feet. I will not send my 18-year-old out into the world with wrong-footed shoes; someday checking left and right will become a habit. 

Habits For The Early Years: A Mother's Journal

Habit training help for the early years

Slow and Steady Habit Training

We desperately want those smooth and easy days that Charlotte Mason spoke of, but habit training is a long process.  If we work on them one-by-one, we won’t just knock out the habit of cleanliness, (for example); we’ll take months or years to work on each little component of that habit.

Related: Keeping a Habit Training Journal 


Because of the turtle-rate of habit training, we begin with the habits that will have the most impact in our days. What will help us get out of the house more smoothly, have fewer battles, and have more peace in our home? For me, these habits are: 

  • Cleaning up after themselves
  • Being kind
  • Obeying

It seems like we've been focusing on these things for a very long time, and that's okay! I try not to get overwhelmed with how far away the finish line looks. We're making progress as the fruits of kindness show up in surprising areas, or a child cleans up right away. This summer, we'll maintain the habits we've already established, like cleaning up the breakfast table after eating, and looking for opportunities to help, so that when our routines return to normal in the fall, we aren't starting from scratch. Those wrong-footed shoes are low-priority. 

If you want to prioritize habits with your young children, Habits for the Early Years may be a good fit! It's part journal and part guide to help you through the habits that are most important during the early years! 

Everything You Need To Know About Learning Through Play

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Learning through play is such an important topic right now, especially as play is being driven out of kindergartens, preschools, and basically childhood! When  "academic standards" start to become the norm for children just barely out of diapers, play becomes a luxury.

But some of us aren't content with cultural norms. 

Some of us, who are intent on following research and child development, know that play is not a supplement to learning for young children, but it IS learning. I've put together a big, hopefully amazing blog post for you about learning through play. You'll find lots of resources linked in this post, from My Little Robins and other sources. 

What is Play?

Three Important Factors of Play 

It's important that we're on the same page with the word "play" before we dive in. In 2008, Catherine Garvey published a paper through Cambridge University Press called "Play."  

Garvey said, "Play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment." 

From this definition, there are three things that we know about play: 

1. Play is driven by the child. Since play is intrinsically motivated, it isn't externally motivated. So, forced educational opportunities are NOT play. 

2. Play is active. The word "activities" tells us that a child should be actively engaged in play. So, things like watching a playful television show wouldn't be considered play since a child passively takes it in. 

3. Play is enjoyable. Play should bring on smiles and squeals of delight! If a child is not delighting in play then perhaps it isn't child-driven or a child isn't engaged in it. 

Looking through research and academic articles about play, the definitions might vary a little, but one thing that is always present is the idea that play is voluntary. Play is not something that is forced on children.

Play is a Basic Human Right 

The UN declared play to be a basic human right, something that is necessary for childhood. The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child says: 

Article 31
1.States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.


2.States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.

Play is so necessary that depriving them of it would be a Human Rights Violation. 

What Play Isn't

The term "play" has been commandeered to mean anything that might possibly be fun for children. We see this in terms like "screen-based play," meaning video games, or "play-based learning," a popular term used in preschool settings. But the difference between play and a fun activity is whether or not it is child-led. The three points given above in the definition of play have to coexist simultaneously. We can't just pick and choose one aspect of play and then give the word to a vague shadow of the real thing. Play is driven by the child AND enjoyable AND active. 

Video games may be child-led and driven by the child, but they are not active (I can hear my children building an argument for Wii!) We also know that screen-based play doesn't offer the same brain-building benefits as real-life play, but we'll dig into that in a bit.

When teachers prepare games for children and call it play, it is teacher driven and not child driven, missing one of the important aspects of play. 

The Myth of Play-Based Learning

Play-based learning is sometimes actual play. Originally, play-based learning meant that a child self-directed their play and naturally learned from it. More and more, it has come to mean fun, teacher-directed activities, which we know is not really play. 

This is an excerpt from a post I wrote a few years ago: 

We have play-based learning all wrong. 

“Children learn through play!” This idea is widely accepted but vaguely understood. We have these grand ideas of what learning through play looks like for our children, but I think that we too often miss the mark. Play-based learning has little to do with the opportunities we can create for children, and everything to do with them just exploring, just enjoying childhood."

                              Leah Martin 


You can read my post, We Have Play-Based Learning All Wrong, here. 


Personally, I see Invitations to Play, a part of the Reggio-Emilia philosophy, as something that DOES fit into the play-based learning idea. Play can be presented as an opportunity and not something a child HAS to do in order to learn what the teacher wants them to.


Learning through play doesn't need to be hijacked by educational outcomes. If there are goals that a teacher or adult wants to accomplish, then it isn't play-based learning.  

The Benefits of Play  

Now that we've learned what play is and isn't, and why some play isn't really play at all, we'll back up a little and discuss what children learn through play.

 

Play helps children in their development, in these specific areas: 


  • cognitive 
  • emotional 
  • physical 
  • social
  • language
  • creativity

Cognitive

 

Cognitive development, or the development of the brain, occurs at the most rapid pace when children are 0-3. Many mistake this fact to mean that children should be filled with facts at that age, but that isn't developmentally appropriate. The developmentally appropriate way to make use of this rapid brain growth is to encourage play and exploration. 


The cognitive benefits of play include increased memory and focus, practice with decision-making, and improving the ability to plan. 


If you're familiar with executive functioning skills, you'll notice some overlap here and in other areas of play. You can find a research-based article on play and executive functioning skills here.


Emotional


Play allows children to think through different situations and figure out how they will respond to them. They can also create situations that reflect how they currently feel. When our dog was attacked and had emergency surgery, my kids jumped into action putting together a veterinary office for pretend play. They gathered their stuffed animals and "fixed" them to process the scary emotions that they were feeling. 


Play also helps children practice empathy as they are pretending to be another character. By putting themselves in someone else's shoes, they're experiencing what emotions that person might feel. 


Physical 


I am a long time proponent of play, especially outdoor play, as a way to integrate sensory input. The book Balanced and Barefoot was extraordinarily helpful to me in learning about this! As Sensory Processing Disorder rises in the US, play time, especially outdoor play time, declines. 



Social


Collaborative play unlocks a whole set of social development benefits for children.  It helps them develop social skills, like how to make friends and communicate with others, as well as skills like problem solving, goal setting, following rules, and settling conflict. 


Language


Children develop their communication and language skills through play, especially by playing with others. They have to communicate with another child in order to establish the game being played, and they learn how to initiate conversations with others. 



Creativity


A study showed that 98% of 4 and 5-year-olds were creative geniuses. This number seemed so amazing that the researches followed the same group of students throughout their school career. By elementary school, on 30% of these children were creative geniuses. By high school, only 12% of these students were creative geniuses. (Source).  


We know creativity is not only super important for future job markets, but I believe that we were born to be creative, just like our creator. 


Imaginative play helps give children opportunities to practice their creativity, make new worlds, creatively solve problems, and test out new possibilities.


Learning is usually thought of as facts, but facts can't exist without a framework to lay them on. Play offers this framework. 


You can find my sources for this section here and here. 


Play In Young Children

Young children, ages 2-5, exhibit 6 types of play as explained by psychologist Mildred Parten Newhall. https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/types-of-play


1. Unoccupied play- This type of play doesn't seem to have a purpose other than that the child enjoys moving around.  Infants often engage in this type of play. 


2. Independent play- A child who plays alone engages in independent play. This allows children to become comfortable with themselves and their own bodies. 


3. Onlooker play- An onlooker watches what other children are doing, without engaging with them. I've often witnessed this play when children try to decide if a situation is safe, if they feel welcome, or if they like the play that's occurring. 


4. Parallel play- When you see two children playing next to each other but not necessarily playing together, you're witnessing parallel play. This stage can often be observed in young toddlers, and leaves parents wondering, "Why don't you just play together!?" 


5. Associative play- Young children who play together but aren't quite organized enough to have a common goal in their play are engaging in associative play. 


6. Cooperative play- This is most likely what you think of when you hear the word  "play." It involves multiple children playing together centered around a common goal. When children play family, store, or another scenario with rules, they're engaging in cooperative play. 


Source


Not a curriculum, but a guide for the early years. You'll find Bible stories, book suggestions, and play suggestions for your young children ages 3-7. Buy it in My Little Robins' shop. 

Play in Older Children

The benefits of play don't go away as your child gets older. With older children play helps reduce stress and helps children work through emotions. The stages of play are less recognizable as children grow and mature. Instead of looking for stages now, you might want to recognize what types of play your older child is engaged in. 


1. Competitive Play- Playing a game with rules and a winner is taking part in competition. This kind of play might happen on a team, during a board game, or in any type of game with rules that your child made up. 


2. Constructive Play- Building anything is constructive play. This often happens with blocks, Lego, or train tracks. This kind of play helps children understand the laws of gravity and physics (i.e, why can't we make a Lego tower that is two stories high? Also, I'm sure someone can, just not my kids!) 


3. Imaginative Play- Creating a fantasy world or scenarios allows your child to engage in this kind of play. You might see this in dress-up, a game of family, or playing with dolls. 


4. Physical Play- Anything that involves a lot of movement is physical play. This could be a game where children are running around the house, playing catch, or riding bikes with neighborhood children. 


5. Symbolic Play- Symbolic play is more abstract than the other types of play mentioned above. It might involve making music, or a piece of art. 


Source



Schemas of Play 

Schemas are patterns that naturally occur in play, and help children in their physical development. You may think it's strange that your three-year-old puts all of their toys in a backpack and carries it around everywhere, but that type of play exhibits the schemas of transporting and enclosing. 


Schemas of play

"Schemas of play follow a child's developmental stages. Young children, who learn through play, demonstrate different schemas or urges, through their play."

The Schemas of play seem to be constantly reworded and reworked, but here is one interpretation- 


1. Enclosure/Container- This is a play schema where children place things inside of larger things. They might even enclose themselves in a big box or fort.


2. Position- Organizing things into a specific order is the schema of position. Maybe your child will sort the different things they found in nature. While using this schema, a child is laying the foundation for future mathematical and spatial skills.


3. Transporting- This is one that has bothered me in the past! I’m thankful that I can recognize it now as meaningful play rather than annoying behavior! Children showing this play schema like to move things from one place to another. In our house, I know that if a library book is missing, it has probably been transported in Miss H’s backpack!


4. Transformation- This schema, transformation, allows children to explore the properties of different things in nature. They put different parts and pieces together to make something new.


5. Trajectory- This is a schema that is definitely better outside! Children love to throw things: sticks, pine cones, and balls. Inside the house, throwing things can be problematic. But outside, this is such a fun way for them to develop their fine motor skills (while picking up a small object to throw) and their gross motor skills (when they throw the object.)


6. Rotation- A sweet little one, spinning around until he gets dizzy, is experimenting with the schema of rotation.


Schemas of Play in the Great Outdoors



Inspiring Creative Play

Creative play is one of the most beneficial types of play and as we saw above, it dwindles as creativity is sanded out by age and traditional schooling. Creativity is not something you're either born with or your not- people are born with creativity! It is either fostered or it isn't. 


In 2017, I was inspired by a speaker who said that we were created to be creative, because we were made in the image of God. You can read my post about creative play here, but for now let's talk about 3 things that children need in order to develop creativity: 


1. Time- Unstructured time is crucial for creativity. If every moment is scheduled, our children can't create new play situations or solve problems- even if it is just the problem of boredom. 


2. Risk-taking- Risks can be something big like climbing a tree or mixing colors in an a paint pallet. Every time we have something to lose (safety, paint from the examples above) we are taking a risk. New things and ideas are not generate when children are forced to stay within set parameters. And now you have a whole new perspective on mixing Play Doh! 


3. Interests- When a child shows interest in certain areas, we should cultivate their love for it.  Their strong interest will inspire them to explore and create. 


Read about fostering creative play here. 

We were created to be creative. 

"We assume a child either has creativity or doesn't, and forget that creativity has to be fostered." 


Outdoor Play

A few years ago, people were abuzz with the news that many children spend less than an hour outside every day. But other studies show that even less time is spent engaged in outdoor play. Either way, this is less time outside than prisoners are allotted, and this seemed shocking to many parents. Source


Outdoor play reaps the benefits we discussed above, but has additional blessings. For example, children who play outside more often tend to have longer attention spans than indoorsy kids. They also have lower obesity rates.  Source 


In the book Balanced and Barefoot, the author, an occupational therapist, talks about the many physical benefits of outdoor time, including improved vision, balance, and sensory integration. 


Because we're Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, spending lots of time outside is important to us. We are currently doing the 1000 Hours Outside challenge to help hold us accountable. 


Read: Making the Most Out of Outdoor Play During The Early Years


My purpose for writing this post is to hopefully change the tide that has been washing over American (and other countries) education for the past couple of decades. Play is not the icing on the cake, it is the cake. 





Resources


Lego Foundation Play Research 

Very Well Family

26 Studies About Play-based Learning

Study Shows We Are Born Creative Geniuses

 



Books We Read in April and May

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This post has been sitting in my drafts for over a month, so now it's a combination of books that we read in April AND May. Because....life!

We actually have read a lot of picture books in the last two months, but I didn't include many of them in this round up because they are part of a sponsored post I'm doing with Beautiful Feet books. I also had a personal read that I didn't include here because I didn't think it was a good fit for you 🙂 

I've used affiliate links to share these books with you. You can learn more about affiliate links in my policies. 

Personal Reads

Cynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsay  

I never paid attention to politics, but last March, with the world shut down, I had more time to start trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Some of the questions I had echo those that are mentioned in the synopsis of this book. 

This book discusses theories that at their core, are made up of conflicting ideas and haven't been proven by research. For example, at the base of one of these theories is the idea that there is no such thing as human nature. All you would have to do to prove that wrong is look at patterns in history, nature, and people. Some of these theories echo the Gospel message- so couldn't that in itself be proof of human nature? The oddest part to me is that for years post-modern thought has said, "There's not such thing as truth!" and now some of these theories shout loudly- "But I am TRUTH!" 

To silence, to undermine, to say that the whole system is broken and needs to be torn down, is going to end democracy. The authors claim that liberalism, which our system of government is built upon, is at risk because of the above issues. This book appeals to people all across the political spectrum, even though one of the authors is a liberal feminist-humanist. 

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

I absolutely loved A Gentleman in Moscow, which I read last year, so I was excited to read Towles's first novel, Rules of Civility. As first novels go, I was prepared to be a little less wowed, and that was the case. 

This book takes place in New York City in the 1930's. Two young women meet a charming, wealthy man who takes them on adventures in the city. Although Katey, the main character, has her eye on this man, her best friend snags him away through a series of events. Katey and Eve get swept up into high society life, only to find out the fragility and fake it was. 

This book felt like a beach read, and some elements felt forced, like the main character's last name (Kontent) and George Washington's Rules of Civility being used as a manipulative tool for the wealthy. 

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

I listened to the audiobook version of The Dutch House, narrated by Tom Hanks. It's brilliant to have a famous author narrate a story- he brought so much life to it!

Danny Conroy grew up in a big, daunting mansion that came to be known as the Dutch House. His mother left when he was young, and he was raised mostly by a team of housekeepers/nannies, and his older sister Maeve. Their life at the Dutch House is interrupted by their father's new wife, Andrea, who moves in and takes over. When Maeve and Danny are forced to leave, they can't let go of their past or the house. 

I enjoyed listening to this book, but I felt like there were some parts that I wish had been tied up better, like Andrea's obsession with the house. 

Marley and Me: Life and Love With The World's Worst Dog

This book has been sitting on the bookshelf since I met my husband 12 years ago. He got it right along with a new puppy that he invited into his home just before we met. I had always meant to read it, and 12 years later, I finally did. 

The story is cute, but I think that if anyone with writing skills wrote a book about life with a dog, it would have similar anecdotes. Marley was particular good at escapism, destroying things, and stealing things. Part of it was a little frustrating because I had a few "Everyone knows THAT!" moments. I also didn't enjoy reading about the dog's bodily functions. Gross. Dogs do that, you don't need to go into detail about it! 

This was a light read when I needed it, so I'm happy about that, but I don't feel the need to pursue any more of John Grogan's work. 

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

This book is heart-breaking and stunning, and so beautifully written that despite the hard topics, I didn't want to stop reading. The author, Bryan Stevenson, began a non-profit law firm in Alabama to help defend an underserved population. His stories of helping people who committed minor crimes with major penalties, were wrongly accused of crimes based off of racist handling of cases, and were otherwise forgotten by society were gut-wrenching. 

Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K White

I read White's first book, Managing Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, a few years ago, and enjoyed it. This book, while still good, had a lot of repeat points from the first book.  It also was pretty repetitive, as it went through how to use her decluttering process in each room. I have used some of the ideas from the book recently, so that is a win! 

Scattered to Focused by Zac Grisham

This was probably the most helpful book I've read in a long time. It's about helping children develop Executive Functioning skills, written by a counselor who had to tackle his own executive functioning issues growing up as an ADHD child. Although it mainly focuses on ADHD, any differently-wired child could benefit from this book. 

Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott

This is my first reread this year- probably my first in many years. It feels so wasteful to read through a book again that I've already read before since my time is so limited! But I read this book in college when I was becoming an elementary school teacher and it felt incredibly irrelevant. I wanted to spend time on it again now that I have a logical reason to learn about writing. 

I didn't love it, or really even enjoy it. It seemed like the author was more intent on making herself out to be a a brilliant but kind of crazy writer than she was interested in teaching others how to write. She also seemed intent on proving that she wasn't one of "those" Christians which was kind of annoying. 

It was more about the writing process than writing itself, and it could have had about 100 less pages, which is why I gave myself permission to skip the end! 


Children's Books

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page 

This book was on the Reshelving Alexandria "Books to read to boys under 6" list, and it was a huge hit over here. There are tails, eyes, noses, from different animals, presented in a way that keeps you guessing which animal it is. My boys loved this! Then it describes what the feature is used for. It's a great non-fiction book in a lyrical style. 

Rags: Hero Dog of WWI: A True Story by Margot Theis Raven and Petra Brown 

We loved this book about a dog who was rescued on the streets during World War I, then became a companion to a soldier. It's a somewhat sad story, but beautifully told and illustrated. 

Tumtum and Nutmeg- Pirates Treasure by Emily Bearn

This was the third and final Tumtum and Nutmeg story that I read to my son recently. This was very fun and especially engaging for a little boy! I think I'm getting a little burned out on these characters though, and will be happy to have a break from them! 

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John 

Confession: I repeatedly get this book mixed up with Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan. I was researching World War II books for my daughter, and ended up with this one, which is NOT a WWII book. Haha! However, neither of us were disappointed by that fact- we both loved this story set in the Swiss alps. It reminded me of a book a read a couple of months ago: Heather and Snow by George MacDonald. The author over-spiritualized some points and had some theological that didn't make sense, but it's one that we'll hang onto and read again. 

By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

We are taking our time getting through the Little House series. This book has been very pleasant, although there isn't much going on. It's so interesting to think of them settling into the new town of DeSmet, South Dakota. 

Blackout by John Rocco 

This book is written in a comic book style, and has little text. But the pictures are engaging and the message is important. It's set in a big city, where everyone is too busy, including a little boy's family. They don't want to play a game with him because they're on the phone, computer, or other device. But when the power goes out, they find the importance of being together and getting outside. 

Animal Camouflage by Sam Hutchinson and Sarah Dennis 

This is a gorgeous seek-and-find style book that my boys really enjoyed. The pictures are monochromatic so looking for different animals is a challenge! 

A Voyage In The Clouds by Matthew Olson and Sophie Blackall

My five-year-old boy really enjoyed this book about two frenemies who each wanted to be the first to make an international flight in a hot air balloon. When plans don't work out as they ought, they have to get creative to solve the problem. There's a little bit of potty humor here that normally wouldn't appeal to me, but it made sense (mostly because it actually happened!)  and my child thought it was hilarious. 

Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling

A few years ago I snagged this book on Amazon for less than $10, but I really had no clue when I would use it. (I piece together my own curriculum!) This year, I saw it on Reshelving Alexandria's list of books to read to boys 6 and under. This seemed like the perfect read for my boys, 3 and 5, and I knew their older sister would love it, too. 

It definitely was a book that we all enjoyed! I've heard that if you take Holling's books too slowly, you can lose momentum. So we kept a pretty good pace of a chapter or two a day (the chapters are 1 page long). My children were captivated by Paddle's journey, and were interested to learn the geography of the Great Lakes. I think I would normally give this book 4 stars, because it does seem to drag in some places, but we had such a wonderful experience with it that I have to give it 5! 

1000 Tracings by Lita Judge

When we looked for World War II books to go with our Homeschool Garden morning time plans, there weren't a whole lot of picture books at our library. The librarian helped us find this one, and it was delightful. It's based on a true story of a family that tried to help war victims in Europe 

Learning Geography Through Good Books

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It's so important to me that my children learn about other countries and cultures. For my daughter's kindergarten year, I pieced together a curriculum to learn about China. We read a few good books and looked up places on maps- but what she learned wasn't in depth and she was soon asking questions that received the answer, "We learned about that, don't you remember?" 

I received free product and compensation for this sponsored post. All ideas are my own. You can see my policies for more information. 

Now that my son is entering his informal kindergarten year, I want geography to have less stress on my end, but better results. We're going to achieve that lofty goal through Around the World with Picture Books Part 1 from Beautiful Feet Books. 

Unboxing Around The World With Picture Books 

In the past, I've bought different books from this company, but this is our first experience using a Beautiful Feet Books curriculum. Around the World With Picture Books is made for children in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The entire set comes with a beautiful guide, 15 books, and a notebook. 

I made a little unboxing video below! 

Around the World With Pictures Books Part 1 teaches about Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. 

My son quickly dug into the books on the coffee table. He isn't a reader yet, so usually avoids looking at books on his own "because I can't read, Mom!" But he looked through at least 5 of them until I put them away so it didn't spoil the curriculum fun! 

Related: How to Choose Living Books

Using Good Books to Teach Geography

I'm planning to use Around the World With Picture Books in the fall, but I wanted to try out some of it to share it with you. Like I mentioned above, the guide is just beautiful! It looks like a magazine that could gain permanent residence on our coffee table. There were some tips in the guide to read before we jumped into the curriculum. 

The first country covered in the guide is China. The lessons involved good books about China, and most are included in the complete set. We read some of the books in one sitting and some were broken up over multiple lessons. This approach tells me that they understand young children and their attention spans! 

One of the first books we looked at was Anno's China. This book is actually wordless, but there is so much to see. We looked at a few pages at a time, and then discussed certain aspects of the culture as it was portrayed in the book. This is what caused me to fall in love with this curriculum: as well as reading the book, we were directed to a video that gave background information about an ancient painting that the book's illustrations were based off of. I wouldn't have known to do this on my own and was so grateful for the direction!

The MAPS book that comes with Around the World With Pictures Books is just stunning! These aren't your typical maps: each one shows a region and things that are important to it, like symbols, animals, and natural resources. 

The lessons continue in the fashion of reading a book and then digging a little deeper with a library book suggestion, link to explore, or activity to do. I appreciated that the activities weren't too much- I tend to shy away from heavily involved extras. These are meaningful and not complicated. 

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Keeping a Geography Notebook

As we read through the good books in the curriculum, we're also keeping a geography notebook. The guide prompts us to color a picture (there are pictures and resources in the back to photocopy) or make another type of entry in the beautiful journal that came with the set. When we're done, we'll have something to look back on and remember what we learned. 

Around the World With Picture Books Part 1 will fill our minds with inspiration and knowledge, fill the notebook with what we've learned, and fill out shelves with good books. 

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