Collection of Learning Ideas!

(seen at the public library in Lexington)

Here are some learning ideas we've been collecting!  Enjoy!

A Thoughtful Place shares ideas for storing books in her daughter's room.

We love hearing about other family's art tables.  Look at this post from Tinkerlab for ideas!

This is a great idea from A Pop of Pretty for organizing kids' art supplies!

Please share links to any great learning ideas you've seen this week!

Sky Color

Have you read Dot or Ish?  Sky Color, by Peter H. Reynolds, is the third book in his Creatilogy.  As a family, we love drawing, painting, and making things.  We’ve been talking about making connections to text and self.    Marisol, the young character in Sky Color is an artist, so it was easy for us to make a connection!

Marisol faces a problem in that she is going to paint the sky for a class mural, but doesn’t have blue paint in her box.  By watching a sunset and remembering her dream, she comes up with a solution to her problem in a very colorful way.  Seeing her creative solution is a delight!  The great thing about the book is that is just opens up conversations about how to “see” things in different ways!

Question Collection:

*Do you think Marisol is creative?

*What problems have you solved creatively?

*What was your favorite illustration in the book?

Paul Thurlby's Alphabet

Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet, by Paul Thurlby, is a fun, graphic book that children and parents will enjoy seeing.  Thurlby uses each letter of the alphabet to make a shape character that reflects the alphabetical word the letter represents.  The designs are bright and modern looking making the book fun to explore.  The Artist’s Note at the end of the book tells more about the process for designing the letters which makes the book even more enjoyable as you learn about this great example of creativity!

Question Collection:

*Which letter is your favorite?

*Which letter do you think is most creative?

*Can you think of other character shapes to write the letters?

Read more children's ABC books here!

If Rocks Could Sing, A Discovered Alphabet

If Rocks Could Sing, A Discovered Alphabet is a beautiful, nature-filled alphabet book!  The author, Leslie McGuirk, in her “Rock Talk” talks about looking for rocks on the Florida seashore for ten years to find rocks that resembled letters.  She found all of the letters except “X” which was found in Maine.  The beauty of this book is that each rock letter is represented by other rocks that look like specific objects.  For example, the letter “P” stands for penguin, and there’s a rock shaped like a penguin on the page.

We found this to be a glorious book depicting the wonders of nature.  We picked it up to read another alphabet book but discovered amazement at rock formations.  We hope you have to chance to look at and enjoy this creative book!

Question Collection:

*Which rock letter is the most unusual to you?

*Which rock object do you like the best?

*Which do you think was the hardest to find?

*Would you like to look for rocks that look like letters?

Read more children's ABC books here!

Baby Einstein The ABCs of Art

Baby Einstein The ABCs of Art, by Julie Aigner-Clark, is an outstanding collection of artwork introduced by key words in alphabetical order.  What a fun way to introduce young children to a wide variety of art pieces!  We especially like the questions that encourage interaction (much like our goal of Question Collection) as the artwork is viewed.

Although the book may be marketed as part of the Baby Einstein collection, this is a book that children can return to at any age as they develop more art appreciation skills.  This is a great book to use before a family trip to an art museum.  The art credits given also help in identifying which pieces might be in a particular museum you anticipate visiting. 

Question Collection:

*Which art is your favorite?

*Would you like to paint in the style of some of these paintings?  

           Which ones?

*Can you make your own art museum by collecting pictures from  

            magazines and newspapers?

Read more children's ABC books here!

Eric Carle's ABC

Eric Carle books are a favorite for our reading times! Eric Carle’s ABC is one of his books that we re-read often.  It is a hit with babies and toddlers, and children quickly learn to read the animal names that accompany each letter of the alphabet.  The book is filled with Eric Carle’s signature artwork while flaps that open on alternating pages reveal the next letters in the alphabet.  This classic book is a great gift for families who are building their home libraries.  We hope you enjoy looking at and reading this book!

Question Collection:

*Where is the  ____________?  (fill in the blank with various animals)

*Which animal is your favorite?

*Which animals have you seen?

Read more children's ABC books!

3-D ABC, A Sculptural Alphabet

3-D ABC (A Sculptural Alphabet), by Bob Raczka, is one of the most interesting, beautiful, and informative alphabet books we have ever read!  If you’re looking for a book that can be shared and enjoyed among different ages of family members, 3-D ABC will not fail to garner interest. 

The author names an object or idea for each letter of the alphabet by presenting a sculpture to represent that word.  Each sculpture is identified at the bottom of the page with the name of the sculpture, the artist, the year, the museum, and its location.  The short narrative accompanying each sculpture teaches something about sculptures in an easy to understand manner.  For example, through the narrative, the reader can learn the definition of abstract sculpture, relief, and kinetic sculptures.  The visual presentation of the sculptures along with the information encourages the reader to develop an appreciation of sculptures.

We think this book is a great gift idea for families, especially those who appreciate art and like to visit art museums.  I also think this book would be a great addition to a classroom library so that children who may not have the opportunity to visit museums can view and be inspired by art via a book.  This is a book that can be viewed and read countless times.  We hope it inspires you and your family!

Question Collection:

*Which is your favorite sculpture?

*Which art museum does this book inspire you to visit?

*How do you think the author chose these sculptures?

*Would you like to make sculptures?

Read more children's ABC books here!