A Kid-Friendly History Lesson: Larry Gets Lost in Philadelphia

Make connections to a child's life and personal experiences with a book, and a world of learning emerges. This post shows how we used the new book Larry Gets Lost in Philadelphia by Michael Mullin and John Skewes as a way to experience our nearby city in a new light and learn a little more about why we love it.

Larry Gets Lost in Philadelphia is a book that is perfect for introducing a young child to the beauty,   and of course, the history of the city of brotherly love in a fun, kid-friendly way. Children go on an adventure through Philadelphia with Larry, a cute dog who manages to end up lost in a strange city! As he tries to find his way back to his owner Pete, children will enjoy seeing site after site through his eyes.

 

What makes this book a great learning experience is that it presents historical facts to children in an inviting way, and the vivid and colorful illustrations really make the learning experience come alive!

If you really want to accelerate your child's learning and comprehension with this book, try a few of these strategies that we used:

1. List the places in the book you have visited. We went through the story and identified the places we have been before like the Liberty Bell, art museum, and zoo. We talked about the things that we saw and did there, and also discussed what new fact we learned from the book about that place.

2. Pull out old photos or videos you may have of you visiting the city. We took a trip down memory lane by viewing and reminiscing about our previous tours of Philadelphia.

3. Make a list or draw a picture of the places you would like to visit and why. We decided we'd really love to get to the Barnes Foundation because art is one of my daughter's favorite things to do and learn about.

If you haven't yet visited Philadelphia, but are planning a trip soon - read this book beforehand! Then, as you tour the city refer back to the book. By reading this book in advance, your child will have a knowledge base for him to relate his new experiences to.


Of course these learning strategies can be applied to any of the books in the LARRY GETS LOST series. Check out Sasquatchbooks.com to see if there is one for your city!


Disclosure: We received a free copy of this book from Sasquatch Books, but our learning is real and our opinions are honest!

An Example of Making Connections on a Trip to the Zoo: Not Only a Learning Strategy but An Essential Life Skill

One of my favorite learning strategies is "making connections," and baby bookworm and I do this any chance we get.

Why?

Simply put, making connections between new knowledge and something already learned helps to organize the information in our brain and make it more meaningful.

According to Ellen Galinsky, author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs, "making connections is at the heart of learning -- figuring out what's the same and what's different, and sorting these things into categories. Making unusual connections is at the core of creativity. In a world where people can google for information, it is the people who can see connections who are able to go beyond knowing information to using this information well."

Sounds like an essential life skill to me.

This past week we used our making connections learning strategy while on a trip to the Living Treasures Wild Animal Park in Donegal, PA. It is a fun animal park where you can not only feed all of the animals, but get a pretty up close and personal look at them. I was surprised at some of the animals we found, too - a tiger, plenty of monkeys, kangaroos, a zebra, and the largest bear that I have ever seen in person. Baby bookworm enjoyed it very much, although she was hesitant to feed the animals from her hands (as was I). We walked through the park several times, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves - which was awesome.

In addition to the coolness of getting a great view of all of these animals, we had a little learning adventure too.

Here's how I made the most our our trip to this unique zoo nestled in the mountains of Western, PA.

PRIOR TO OUR ZOO VISIT:

• I grabbed baby bookworm's interest and primed her knowledge of the topic by reading a few zoo-themed books such as:

(Click on the images for more information from Amazon)

If you have a child with a short attention span, A Children's Zoo is probably your best bet!

• Following reading, I asked baby bookworm questions about our upcoming trip like, "What animals do you think we'll see?" or "Which animal was your favorite that we read about?" or "What is the smallest animal you think we'll see?"

WHILE AT THE ZOO:

• I made connections back to the books that we read. For example, we saw two zookeepers cleaning out the Bison exhibit, so it was a great opportunity to connect back to the book A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper. (Remember to make your connects as explicit as possible)
• We took the time to read a little about each animal, although I kept the focus to: where the animals live in the world, and what they eat. 
• To keep the learning going I would also ask baby bookworm questions like, what sound does this animal make? How many legs does this animal have? What color is this animal? 
• I tied the animals we saw to any other experiences baby bookworm may have encountered with that animal.  

AFTER THE ZOO:

• We had a discussion about what we did and saw. 
• I asked baby bookworm a bunch of questions such as:
• which animals had stripes? or spots?
• which animals were big? short? 
• which animals were fast? slow?
• which animal had horns? a shell? sharp teeth?
• We flipped through our books again, but this time we reflected on our trip to the animal park. For example, we looked at the Mammals book and identified the mammals we saw, and those we didn't and maybe why we couldn't see them at this zoo!

So that's it.  With just a little extra work - we made the trip to the wild animal park not only more fun but a better learning experience. Try making connections on your next field trip!

No Schema for Santa = Stranger Anxiety: A Lesson Learned

This week at the library we found a cute book called Brave Santa (by Nancy Poydar) about a little shy boy named Jack who is afraid to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what he wants for Christmas.  After practicing at home with his dad, they finally venture out to visit Santa at the mall.  Much to the little boy's surprise, he discovers that Santa is shy too!  Both Jack and Santa overcome their shyness and act bravely in the end.

One learning technique that I use often with baby bookworm is to read books before introducing a topic (this is an advance organizer).  For instance, that trip to the doctor becomes less scary if the Berenstain Bears do it first.  Or, a trip to the farm becomes more educational if we've first read The Big Red Barn and can make connections back to what we've read while on our trip.

Brave Santa is a fantastic book that you could read before going to sit on Santa's lap.

We did not.

Maybe better luck next year.  And, Santa - you look great by the way!

Happy Holidays!  How did your child take to Santa this year?

FUN FACT: Separation anxiety develops between 6 and 8 months of age and generally peaks at about 15 months.  Stranger anxiety peaks at about 8 to 10 months, and has been found to depend to some extent on the stranger's physical appearance.  If a child encounters a person that doesn't easily fit into their existing schema of what a person ought to look like, then he or she might act afraid of the stranger.

No wonder there are so many crying Santa photos.

A Field Trip to the Farm: Make YOUR Next Outing Your Best Learning Experience Yet

Today we took a trip to Vale Wood Farm.  It was overcast and rainy and even a little cold, but we still enjoyed the farm animals, pumpkin picking, "milking" of the "cow", and playing in an enormous box of dried corn (well, until we saw a mouse).

In preparation for our trip to the farm, we did some really fun learning activities.  And, of course, read a farm-related book.  Baby bookworm enjoyed telling the farmer's helper (or wife maybe?) all about the things she learned earlier in the morning!  Check out what we did.....

1) First, we read the Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown (yes, the same author of the Goodnight Moon) and illustrated by Felicia Bond. 

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

It's a cute story (that is very appropriate for both babies and toddlers) about all of the animals that live in a barn - the sounds they make and the things they do in a day.  It follows a very poetic rhythm, much in the same way that Goodnight Moon does, that makes it a comforting tale.  The pictures are delightful, too.

Big Red Barn Craft with Animal Stampers

2) Then, we did a little craft with animal stampers (these can be purchased fairly cheap from somewhere like Oriental Trading).  As baby stamped each animal on the page, we talked about the sound that each animal makes and some other characteristic about the animal (such as, a cow gives us milk, and a hen lays eggs). 

3) Then, we did a matching game with farm animals.  We sang Old McDonald Had a Farm....and I asked her to match each animal on the paper.  It was a great review of animal names, and sounds! 

4) Last but not least, we took our trip to the farm.  And, if you have any doubts that activities such as the ones listed above help a child to learn EVEN MORE while on a "field trip" - I assure you, they do!!!!  Not only do they help to stir up interest and excitement about the event, they help to repeat/reinforce the concepts we learned earlier (and repetition = learning), and they help to provide some base knowledge about new concepts or ideas that you may encounter on your trip.  Be sure to make explicit connections though!  Anyway, here are some of my favorite shots from the day.


And on that farm he had some....cows....

and pigs....

and chickens....

and tractors...

And corn in a sandbox!

And a fake cow to milk....

A little science...

More science...

And the yummiest ice cream ever!

Remember learning is a process!  Baby bookworm has been learning about farm animals since infancy through nursery rhymes, books, and songs.  Today she reviewed many previously learned concepts, and expanded on her knowledge.  She learned that a cow not only says "moo" and lives on a farm, but also gives us milk and ice cream; a pig not only says "oink" but it lives in a pig pen. 

Take a look at a few easy strategies that I use while on a field trip like this to take it from being just a fun event, to a real learning situation! 

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Learning About Learning from Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who made some important contributions to our understanding of learning and cognitive development.  Of course, his theories have been scrutinized over the years, but he is still considered one of the great pioneers in the field of psychology and education.  According to Piaget…

● learners are active beings who actually create/construct their own knowledge

● learning must not stress isolated parts, but must be integrated and clearly organized 

● social interaction and language are valuable tools for learning and gaining developmentally-appropriate skills, especially when that interaction occurs between two peers who are functioning at about the same level of understanding

● cognitive development relies on two mechanisms that occur simultaneously: assimilation and accommodation.  In order to learn, a child must be able to assimilate, or incorporate new elements of the environment, into his or her own existing schema.  At the same time, a child must accommodate, or modify his or her knowledge, to meet the demands of the environment

● when a child encounters a problem or situation that he or she cannot assimilate into his or her current knowledge, they are thrown into a state of contradiction or puzzlement (or disequilibrium); this state is crucial to learning because it leads to an orderly reorganization of concepts, which leads to a higher level of understanding

So what does this mean in practical terms for you (the parent, caregiver, or teacher)?

*Try to engage a child’s previously learned knowledge; make a bridge between what is known/previously conceived and the new learning material

*Challenge your child – pose questions and problems for him or her to solve to push their understanding of concepts to a higher level

*Actively cooperate with your child and discuss things in your environment; that is, hold a conversation with them where they can equally contribute to the topic

I hope your next field trip becomes your next best learning experience yet!

Building Vocabulary Through New Experiences: Our First Vietnamese New Year Celebration

Yes, Chinese/Vietnamese New Year was on Feb 3rd this year, but today is our own official celebration.  Baby bookworm will be going to her grandparents to eat some delicious homemade Vietnamese food, dress in a traditional outfit from Vietnam, and most likely receive her first little red envelope with "lucky" money.  Oh, and there might even be fireworks.  In preparation for her first Vietnamese New Year celebration I purchased a relevant book, of course, to introduce her to what this holiday is all about. The book that I thought would capture baby bookworm's interest best was Lucky New Year by Mary Man-Kong.  It's a brightly colored interactive book with parts that move, things baby can feel, and pop-out pages.  She really loves it! 

My real goal, however, with this book was to build baby bookworm's knowledge and comprehension.  Children learn through experience but this experiential learning can be enhanced by laying the appropriate groundwork ahead of time.  So, her trip to grandma's house and the various things that she will experience today will be heightened because she was first introduced to new vocabulary and concepts through her storybook!

So, before taking that trip to the zoo or the doctor's office, you can really advance your baby bookworm's learning experience by reading a relevant storybook beforehand.  Make sure to talk about new vocabulary and concepts so that your baby bookworm can assimilate their new learning into their knowledge base.  I plan on doing just that today!

Baby bookworm's New Year's outfit from Vietnam