In the daily taking care of kiddos it is easy to forget something that is vital to the lives of our children–fun! While fun can be had in lots of ways, it is useful to have a tool to aide in inspiring the sometimes exhausted mother.
Angie Kauffman recently sent me a copy of the e-book that she has written, Finding Educational Activities in the Most Unexpected Places, and it fulfills both requirements. It is fun and it is organized to help a busy mom.
Angie is a homeschooling mom and a therapist. In her work with young kids she has developed quite a repertoire of simple, efficient methods that encourage the natural stages of development. The e-book shares those activities with us and our young children.
The book is divided alphabetically by materials. For example, if we had just purchased a new refrigerator and I wanted to use the box, I could check the table of contents under “boxes” for an activity. (This section also includes ideas for smaller boxes.) Once there, I can choose among making our own puzzles, creating a fort, playhouse, or car, playing “What’s in the box?”, and several others. Some of the activities are old stand-bys, but others are new to me.
There are 26 categories containing over 200 activities. Other materials include balloons, balls, blankets, bubbles, cardboard tubes, cookie cutters, egg cutters, fabric, laundry, lids, paper bags, plates, and cups, and sponges. There is even a section entitled “Just You! (No Props Needed). ”
There are some things that I particularly like about the book.
●The activities center on household items, many of which are free.
●The organization makes sense to me.
●The activities are familiar enough to be fast. There are also a few brand new ones thrown in, but they are not difficult to implement quickly.
●The book does not address specific developmental goals for each activity, but I appreciate that a trained therapist has given her nod of approval for each.
●It keeps us away from the television!
I am busy. I am often tired. I have several children for whom to care. Anything that helps me provide quality activities for my children in a fast, easy, cost-effective manner is a good thing! Finding Educational Activities in the Most Unexpected Places is one of those tools.
I received this book for free in order to review it; however, I am not lying to make Angie happy. I really do like it.
Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess. A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional.
Susan currently home educates a third grader, a first grader, and a nearly Kindergartner. Her background is public school-traditional, but she and her husband are drawn to the classical emphasis on order and the logical accumulation of knowledge. They have added in Charlotte Mason’s emphasis on living books, nature study, and artist and composer study, since it offers such a beautiful complement to the sometimes heavy feel of classical. They even do a little lapbooking and notebooking at their house. Finally, they have covered all of this knowledge-acquiring with prayer, asking the Great Teacher to lead and instruct their family in His Way.
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