Fun and Learning Just Outside Your Door

Homeschooling Hope by Elizabeth Bauman. Illus.: Katharine Bauman. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.

ISBN-13: 978-153906648; ISBN-10: 1539406644

Education, Teaching, Homeschooling, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Asperger’s Syndrome, Georgia Connections Academy

5 Stars

Friends heard that Hope was homeschooled. They wondered what she’d do. They thought she’d stay home all day, but that was far from true. Hop on board and you will see how much fun school can be!

As with their first book: Hope’s Colors, Elizabeth and Katharine will donate a portion of their profits to Autism Speaks. Home schooled, Katharine’s experiences as an independent learner and a part of small groups with dedicated teachers who agree with Albert Einstein that “imagination is more important than knowledge" inform this picture book’s content.

Homeschooling takes many forms. Hope’s classroom is the entire world outside her front door with many chances to explore in a STEM shaped world that encourages not only math and science, but using her literacy skills to share what she has learned.

Written in rhyming couplets, each page is illustrated to encourage the readers to consider homeschooling as an uninhibited learning experience detailed to meet each individual’s learning needs and passions. Homeschooling for Hope certainly has no dull moments and expands to include her brother and many new friends and teachers available only in this learning setting.

Certainly a great read-aloud for ages 7-10. And great non-fiction reading for research or reports for ages 8-14. Once again beautifully written and beautifully illustrated. A solid five-star picture book.

Elizabeth Bauman is a retired teacher and former homeschooling mom. She has a B.A. from Mercer University and a M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Elizabeth is a member or Word Weavers International and the co-author of Hope's Colors. Katherine Bauman attended Covenant College and Kennesaw State University. She received the Girl Scout Gold Award and the bronze President's Volunteer Service Award for offering free art classes to children in her community. Katherine has won state and local awards for her art work. Her illustrations reflect her faith in God and life with Asperger's Syndrome.

I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest and unbiased review.

All The World by Lisa Garton Scanlon

 Published by Beach Lane, An Imprint of Simon & Schuster

Liz Garton Scanlon

Marla Frazee

Awards

ALA Notable Children's Books School Library Journal Best Books of the Year Horn Book Fanfare Bulletin Blue Ribbon IRA Children's Book Award Capitol Choices List (DC) CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council) NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Texas 2x2 Reading List Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award Publishers Weekly Best Books South Carolina Book Award Nominee Georgia Children's Book Award Nominee California Collections New York Times Best Illustrated Books Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner PEN USA Literary Award Finalist CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book Kirkus Best Children's Book ALA Caldecott Honor Bank Street Best Books of the Year - with Outstanding Merit It is always amazing to me, although why I don't know, that my granddaughter Meredith and I love the same books, and we always seem to pick winners! All the World, according to the publisher: "Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky." All the World, according to me: Oh, boy here is a good beach book to take with us, and it has "Nana" and "Papa" in it, and oh, the poetry: Rock, stone, pebble, sand Body, shoulder, arm, hand A moat to dig, a shell to keep All the world is broad and deep All the World, according to Meredith: Don't turn the page yet, look, Nana!

Hope's Color's by Elizabeth and Katharine Bauman

Hope’s Colors Written by Elizabeth and Katharine Bauman. Illustrated by Katharine Bauman. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; first edition (August 8, 2016).

ISBN-10: 1535454946 ISBN-13: 978-1535454940

Tags: Picture Books, Art, Ages 3 to 8, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Colors, Imagination, School, Creativity, Vision, Extraordinary

 

Reviewers Rating: 

The teacher wants Hope to color like everyone else, but Hope sees the world differently. Art is Hope's doorway into an enchanted land where everything is anything but ordinary. Hope has a vision, and she wants to soar!

This picture book joyfully expresses diversity in thinking and unique to but not limited to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Written and illustrated by a mother-daughter team who live what happens when one is allowed to express creativity and art from the single heart and brain synapses of an individual entitled to be themselves. Not only do teachers teach children, but children prepare teachers as well.

In the early childhood classroom, this book could be used to spark discussion on diversity. Move this book from learning center to learning center and watch the magic happen. In the Art and Creativity Center, children can be encouraged to express emotion through color. In the Math and Science Center, create colors by mixing food coloring in water, poster-paint-dipped wheels driven across a piece of paper, marbles rolled in paint splotched paper in a cake pan,  splattered watercolors in paper-lined boxes. In the Block Center blocks can be wrapped in papers of all colors and used to create castles or any other structures seen in new ways. In the Dramatic Play Center, make puppets or quilts from colored cloth to become Tyrone’s or Meredith’s Colors. The Computer Center can become an opportunity for two or three children to explore quilt patterns and color wheels. In the Literacy Center, color words will make their way to the Word Wall from the book, and new colors discovered across the classroom. Crayon-shaped paper can become new books by individuals or small groups to add to the class library. Outdoors, pans of paint can be placed in a “Barefoot Only Zone” where colors paint outside the lines with tricycles, hands, feet, even shoes from the Dress-Up Center.

 The use of shape and original language makes this an excellent early reader as well. Let second- and third- grade students create activities to take to younger classrooms to encourage children to color “outside the lines.”

Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, and beautifully shared proceeds! Well-done Elizabeth and Katherine. I can’t wait to read the next lessons I need to learn!

I received a copy of this book from the authors for my honest and unbiased review.

Interesting Finds on Amazon

Butterfly by Elvy P. Rolle

Rolle, Elvy P. (2015) Butterfly. Illus. Maksym Stasiuk. Naures Pages.

A blue morpho flutters from page to page among multi-cultured children and multi-colored butterflies. Poetry and pictures capture the wonder of nature and childhood. This picture book creates early literacy connections as each page captures the essence of word and form. 
Rolle and Stasiuk have created opportunities to introduce young explorers to the life-cycle of a butterfly, to listen and play with language through rhythm and descriptive vocabulary. The size of the print and the connection of word to picture will encourage young readers. This book designed for children ages three and up is also a wonder-filled lap-book for infants and toddlers.

In the preschool to the third-grade classroom, Butterly would be a wonderful addition to a cross-center curriculum. 

• In my classroom it would have been used in the science center while watching for chrysalises to hatch. 
• In the math and manipulatives center with butterfly puzzles and matching butterflies and children for one-to-one correspondence from page to page.
• In the art center paper and paints for creating new butterflies and opportunities to put paint on a ½ butterfly cut-out and then pressed with a corresponding sheet to create symmetrical butterfly wings to attach to toilet- tissue- or paper-towel-rolls to be hung from the ceiling of the classroom. 
• In the literacy center, butterfly shaped books can be used to write and illustrate stories and poetry using a word wall with words from the book and other descriptive and color words. 
• The computer center can include opportunities for research on butterflies by region and on the life-cycle of the butterfly. Zoo cams in butterfly houses can be bookmarked for group interaction.  
• The dramatic play center can be turned into a jungle exploration camp. The block center can offer opportunities to build jungles and vehicles to explore them.
• Outdoors offers its own learning in addition to moving any and all centers outdoors by planting a butterfly bush or garden and counting kinds and numbers of butterflies to make charts and graphs.

Overall a five-star book.
www.naturespages.com

I received a free copy of this book from the author for my unbiased opinion and review.