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A Learning Lifestyle
A Learning Lifestyle
My preschoolers are officially not preschoolers any more. As we step into Kindergarten and 2nd grade, and as a family new to "officially" homeschooling, I recently bought writing curriculum from BraveWriter and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The guidance offered essentially advocates for 1) focusing on creating an environment filled with books, music, and experiences; and, 2) a language-rich lifestyle - one where you listen to your child, respond thoughtfully, and pursue ideas together. (This builds on what we know about how preschoolers learn, too. ) She, of course, weaves writing lessons into the day and provides structure so parents don't have to come up with everything on their own. (Whew!)
Books, Music, and Experiences
Books, Music, and Experiences
Despite being regulars at the library, I often find myself scouring the catalog and shelves for books that might work to answer my child's question or delve deeper into the subject du jour. It is no wonder why lists are some of the most popular blogs in the world. You know the ones: "101 Books to Read Before Kindergarten," "10+ Children's Books to Inspire Kindness," and my own "24 Books for Preschool Engineers."
A Smaller, More Approachable List
A Smaller, More Approachable List
The problem is that sometimes we want a smaller, more approachable list. One with fewer books that includes other things. I just want a few good books, a CD, and a video, perhaps a toy. Something like a thoughtful little themed basket.
Invitation to Learn
Invitation to Learn
It is in the spirit of having a small sampling of one topic that I am writing Invitations to Learn. Each invitation grows from our homeschool life and is a pint-sized unit of study for the DIY crowd. With this list, I am inviting you to learn alongside your child and giving you a small amount of guidance for creating a rich learning environment in your home or school.
Read a book one day; listen to an audiobook another day; watch a movie a different day; go on a field trip a different day. By offering one great thing at a time, you are inviting your child to learn with you and enjoy learning with you! Over time you and your child will consider the topic in several different ways, using different materials, have different but related conversations about it, and you will grow your knowledge in wonderfully robust ways.
INVITATION TO LEARN Women's History
INVITATION TO LEARN Women's History
Similar to Black History Month in February, we read a bunch of picture book biographies to celebrate Women's History Month in March. Here is a list of 15 books - enough to read one per weekday for three weeks!
Here's the list at the local library: https://louisville.flatironslibrary.org/MyAccount/MyList/16061
Don Brown introduces us to yet another little-known heroine. On June 9, 1909, twenty-two-year-old Alice Ramsey hitched up her skirts and climbed behind the wheel of a Maxwell touring car. Fifty-nine days later she rolled into San Francisco, becoming the first woman to drive across America. What happened in between is quite a tale! Through words and pictures, the author shares this story of a brave and tenacious young woman who followed her vision to conquer the open road - even when the road was nothing more than a wagon trail. Alice Ramsey's adventure offers a unique perspective on turn-of-the-century America and pays tribute to the pioneering spirit that helped create it.
- Age Range: 4 - 7 years
- Grade Level: Preschool - 3
- Lexile Measure: AD560L (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended Title
NCTE Notable Poetry Book
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL) Best Book of the Year
Booklist Editors’ Choice
Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book
EUREKA! Nonfiction Honor Award
NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work–Children
A lush and lyrical biography of Harriet Tubman, written in verse and illustrated by an award-winning artist.
We know her today as Harriet Tubman, but in her lifetime she was called by many names. As General Tubman she was a Union spy. As Moses she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad. As Minty she was a slave whose spirit could not be broken. An evocative poem and opulent watercolors come together to honor a woman of humble origins whose courage and compassion make her larger than life.
- Age Range: 4 - 7 years
- Grade Level: 1 - 2
- Series: Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books
- Hardcover: 32 pages
Follow Julia Child—chef, author, and television personality—from her childhood in Pasadena, California, to her life as a spy in WWII, to the cooking classes she took in Paris, to the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, to the funny moments of being a chef on TV. This is a comprehensive and enchanting picture book biography, told in many panels and jam-packed with lively, humorous, and child-friendly details. Young chefs and Julia Child fans will exclaim, "ooooh la la," about this book, which is as energetic and eccentric as the chef herself.
- Age Range: 6 and up
- Grade Level: Kindergarten - 12
- Hardcover: 48 pages
Born in the late 1700s, Jane Austen was a smart, creative girl in a house full of boys, all of whom could aspire to accomplish many things as adults while girls were raised primarily to become good wives. Jane didn’t have much opportunity to go to school but she read everything she could, including all the books in her father’s study. And before long, she began to write her own stories, filled with funny, clever, and inventive characters.
Today, Austen’s novels (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma . . .) are widely read by all ages. She is recognized as one of the most important and influential writers of all time.
- Age Range: 7 - 10 years
- Grade Level: 1 - 2
- Lexile Measure: 720 (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 48 pages
From the award-winning picture book biographer of Woody Guthrie comes the inspirational story of Nellie Bly. Born in 1864, during a time in which options were extremely limited for women, Nellie defied all expectations and became a famous newspaper correspondent. Her daring exploits included committing herself to an infamous insane asylum in New York City to expose the terrible conditions there and becoming the first American war correspondent of either sex to report on the front lines of Austria during World War I. In 1889, Nellie completed her most publicized stunt, her world-famous trip around the world in just 72 days, beating the record of Jules Vernes’ fictional hero in Around the World in 80 Days.
With an informative text and pen-and-ink illustrations reminiscent of the graphic style of the late 1800s, The Daring Nellie Bly captures the independent spirit of America’s first star reporter, Nellie Bly.
- Age Range: 5 - 8 years
- Grade Level: Kindergarten - 3
- Paperback: 32 pages
She couldn't go to college.
She couldn't become a politician.
She couldn't even vote.
But Elizabeth Cady Stanton didn't let that stop her.
She called on women across the nation to stand together and demand to be treated as equal to men-and that included the right to vote. It took nearly seventy-five years and generations of women fighting for their rights through words, through action, and through pure determination . . . for things to slowly begin to change.
With the help of these trailblazers' own words, Doreen Rappaport's engaging text, brought to life by Matt Faulkner's vibrant illustrations, shows readers just how far this revolution has come, and inspires them to keep it going!
- Age Range: 6 - 9 years
- Grade Level: 1 - 3
- Lexile Measure: 790 (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 40 pages
When her mother was worn out from caring for her five sisters, her father gave her lessons in brushwork and color. When polio kept her bedridden for nine months, drawing saved her from boredom. When a bus accident left her in unimaginable agony, her paintings expressed her pain and depression - and eventually, her joys and her loves. Over and over again, Frida Kahlo turned the challenges of her life into art. Now Jonah Winter and Ana Juan have drawn on both the art and the life to create a playful, insightful tribute to one of the twentieth century's most influential artists. Viva Frida!
- Age Range: 4 - 8 years
- Grade Level: Preschool - 3
- Lexile Measure: 280L (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 32 pages
Note from Julie: This book inspired a small art lesson about painting on photographs.
The inspiring story of Grace Hopper—the boundary-breaking woman who revolutionized computer science—is told told in an engaging picture book biography.
Who was Grace Hopper? A software tester, workplace jester, cherished mentor, ace inventor, avid reader, naval leader—AND rule breaker, chance taker, and troublemaker. Acclaimed picture book author Laurie Wallmark (Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine) once again tells the riveting story of a trailblazing woman. Grace Hopper coined the term “computer bug” and taught computers to “speak English.” Throughout her life, Hopper succeeded in doing what no one had ever done before. Delighting in difficult ideas and in defying expectations, the insatiably curious Hopper truly was “Amazing Grace” . . . and a role model for science- and math-minded girls and boys. With a wealth of witty quotes, and richly detailed illustrations, this book brings Hopper's incredible accomplishments to life.
- Age Range: 5 and up
- Grade Level: Kindergarten - 2
- Lexile Measure: 730 (What's this?)
- Series: People Who Shaped Our World (Book 1)
- Hardcover: 48 pages
"In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was 'Read.'" --Alia Muhammad Baker
Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian in Basra, Iraq. For fourteen years, her library has been a meeting place for those who love books. Until now. Now war has come, and Alia fears that the library--along with the thirty thousand books within it--will be destroyed forever.
In a war-stricken country where civilians--especially women--have little power, this true story about a librarian's struggle to save her community's priceless collection of books reminds us all how, throughout the world, the love of literature and the respect for knowledge know no boundaries. Illustrated by Jeanette Winter in bright acrylic and ink.
- Age Range: 4 - 8 years
- Grade Level: Preschool - 3
- Lexile Measure: 280L (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 32 pages
Note from Julie: Jeanette Winter is one of our favorite biographers.
Take to the skies with the beautifully told tale of Sophie Blanchard — a woman meant for the air — as she discovers the incomparable sensation of flight.
Behold the story of Sophie Blanchard, an extraordinary woman who is largely forgotten despite her claim to being the very first female pilot in history. In eighteenth-century France, “balloonomania” has fiercely gripped the nation . . . but all of the pioneering aeronauts are men. The job of shattering that myth falls to a most unlikely figure: a shy girl from a seaside village, entirely devoted to her dream of flight. Sophie is not the first woman to ascend in a balloon, nor the first woman to accompany an aeronaut on a trip, but she will become the first woman to climb to the clouds and steer her own course. The words of Matthew Clark Smith bring Sophie’s story to light after so many years, while Matt Tavares’s atmospheric art and unique perspectives take her to new heights.
- Age Range: 6 - 9 years
- Grade Level: 1 - 4
- Lexile Measure: 790 (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 32 pages
As a young girl in Kenya, Wangari was taught to respect nature. She grew up loving the land, plants, and animals that surrounded her -from the giant mugumo trees her people, the Kikuyu, revered to the tiny tadpoles that swam in the river. Although most Kenyan girls were not educated, Wangari, curious and hardworking, was allowed to go to school. There, her mind sprouted like a seed. She excelled at science and went on to study in the United States. After returning home, Wangari blazed a trail across Kenya, using her knowledge and compassion to promote the rights of her countrywomen and to help save the land, one tree at a time. Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace brings to life the empowering story of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman, and environmentalist, to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Engaging narrative and vibrant images paint a robust portrait of this inspiring champion of the land and of women's rights.
- Age Range: 6 - 11 years
- Grade Level: 2 - 4
- Lexile Measure: 820L (What's this?)
- Series: AWARDS: ALA: Youth Media Award Winners 2011
- Hardcover: 40 pages
Note from Julie: There are more books about Wangari! If this isn't available at your library then you might be able to find a different one.
Acclaimed picture book biographer Jeanette Winter has found her perfect subject: Jane Goodall, the great observer of chimpanzees. Follow Jane from her childhood in London watching a robin on her windowsill, to her years in the African forests of Gombe, Tanzania, invited by brilliant scientist Louis Leakey to observe chimps, to her worldwide crusade to save these primates who are now in danger of extinction, and their habitat. Young animal lovers and Winter's many fans will welcome this fascinating and moving portrait of an extraordinary person and the animals to whom she has dedicated her life.
The Watcher was named a Best Book of the Year by the Boston Globe, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and the Bank Street College of Education.
- Age Range: 4 - 8 years
- Grade Level: Preschool - 3
- Lexile Measure: AD820L (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 48 pages
In the Middle Ages, people believed that insects were evil, born from mud in a process called spontaneous generation. Maria Merian was only a child, but she disagreed. She watched carefully as caterpillars spun themselves cocoons, which opened to reveal summer birds, or butterflies and moths. Maria studied the whole life cycle of the summer birds, and documented what she learned in vibrant paintings.
This is the story of one young girl who took the time to observe and learn, and in so doing disproved a theory that went all the way back to ancient Greece.
- Age Range: 5 - 8 years
- Grade Level: Kindergarten - 3
- Hardcover: 32 pages
Note from Julie: This is a good book to read before cultivating butterflies of your own. Also, it wasn't available in the Flatirons Libraries, I got it at the Anythink Libraries.
Chelsea Clinton introduces tiny feminists, mini activists and little kids who are ready to take on the world to thirteen inspirational women who never took no for an answer, and who always, inevitably and without fail, persisted.
Throughout American history, there have always been women who have spoken out for what's right, even when they have to fight to be heard. In early 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren's refusal to be silenced in the Senate inspired a spontaneous celebration of women who persevered in the face of adversity. In this book, Chelsea Clinton celebrates thirteen American women who helped shape our country through their tenacity, sometimes through speaking out, sometimes by staying seated, sometimes by captivating an audience. They all certainly persisted.
She Persisted is for everyone who has ever wanted to speak up but has been told to quiet down, for everyone who has ever tried to reach for the stars but was told to sit down, and for everyone who has ever been made to feel unworthy or unimportant or small.
With vivid, compelling art by Alexandra Boiger, this book shows readers that no matter what obstacles may be in their paths, they shouldn't give up on their dreams. Persistence is power.
- Age Range: 4 - 8 years
- Grade Level: Preschool - 3
- Series: Chelsea Clinton
- Hardcover: 32 pages
Award-winning author Robert Burleigh has captured Amelia Earhart's first solo flight across the Atlantic in 1932. She was only the second person to do this – and the first woman. Rich in detail, feeling and incident this is nonfiction with edge and action, a you-are-there experience made more dramatic and real by Wendell Minor's vivid paintings.
- Age Range: 4 - 8 years
- Grade Level: Preschool - 3
- Lexile Measure: 500L (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 40 pages
Note from Julie: There are many other notable women in aviation and their bios are listed on my library list. I include Amelia Earhart here because she is part of pop culture.
For Future Years: Hidden Figures, Ada Lovelace, Shaking things Up, Drum Dream Girl, The World is Not a Rectangle, Oprah: The Little Speaker, The Girl Who Thought in Pictures, Nasreen's Secret School, Rachel Carson and the Her Book that Changed the World, Look Up!: Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer, Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea, Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist, I Dissent,
After reading "She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World" my son requested to read one book on each of the women featured. So I've made a list to help me find them at the library next year and added some notes for next year's lesson planning. [https://louisville.flatironslibrary.org/MyAccount/MyList/16133]
- Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Clara Lemlich, Nellie Bly, Virginia Apgar (no picture books available), Maria Tallchief, Claudette Colvin, Ruby Bridges, Margaret Chase Smith (not available at louisville library), Sally Ride, Florence Griffith Joyner (not available at louisville library), Oprah Winfrey, Sonia Sotomayor
- That'll be 13 books next year and I can add a few more from the "Future Years" list to round out a full 20 days of biographies of women.
And a couple more years will follow these books: She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History; and Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.
When she writes, Julie draws from both her formal education (MSE Electrical Engineering, MA Curriculum and Instruction - Science) and her informal education in Early Childhood Education and Special Needs Parenting that arose when she became a mother and shortly thereafter a blogger. Julie’s blog, Preschool Engineering, is where she advocates for children (and adults) as playful, independent Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math learners. Her experience and interests are a natural fit for her work Free-Learning in Colorado. Julie lives in Superior, CO with her husband of 16 years and their two children. In her spare time she reads, hikes, and practices kundalini yoga.
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