This has been an extremely busy week, so I'm multi-tasking by reviewing one of my children's homeschool books. Actually, it's a picture book you can run down to Barnes & Noble and buy right now. Or, better yet, click on my Amazon ad and buy it that way. So, why is this a homeschool book?Among homeschoolers, especially those who use the Charlotte Mason or Classical methods, there's what we call 'Twaddle-Free Books.' These are the quality books which transport the child and provide multiple dimensions throughout the story.
"Making an apple pie is really very easy..." This is the starting sentence of the book. A girl wants to make an apple pie, but the store is closed. She can't buy the ingredients. Instead, she travels around the world to obtain them. Sugar in Jamaica. Cinnomin in Sri Lanka. Milk from a well-mannered cow in England. Eggs from a French hen, because they lay the finest. Semilina wheat from Italy.
What makes this book 'Twaddle-Free?' First, it's fun! So are Twinkies, but I don't feed them to my children every day all day long. Second, I can use it as a springboard to teach my children how to bake an apple pie. In baking the pie, I can teach them chemistry and mathematics. As well as how to clean up after themselves! Third, I can use it and a map of the world to teach them geography. We can run to the library for books on Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Italy, and all the others. Fourth, we can study the science of evaporating sea water to make salt.
Get the idea?
One of these days I'll list all of my Twaddle-Free Book Recommendations for Children. Happy Day, Blog Buds!
2 comments:
What a cool-sounding book!
Now why didn't they have these books when my kids were smaller???
I don't know, Lady B. Sometimes genius just takes a while to get noticed, I suppose.
:o)
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