Sprite:  [sigh] Mom, why does my room get messy so quickly?

Me:         It’s entropy, sweetie.

Sprite:   What?

Me:         Entropy. [Handing Sprite our new Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia] Look it up.

Sprite reads the encyclopedia entry and looks at me with a smile.

Me:        So, in your case, what is the system that is moving towards disorder?

Sprite:   [with a groan] My room!

So there’s a teachable moment. That one short encounter involved vocabulary, science, and research skills. I knew we needed a science encyclopedia. We’ve had it only  few days, and it’s come in handy several times already. I got it used at Better World Books, a good but slow option for getting books overseas. [By the way, there's a newer version than the one we bought, but I linked to the actual edition that we have.]

Middle schoolers are far past the picture book stage, aren’t they? I used to think that. But I’ve learned differently through my own homeschooling experience. Picture books are still very appropriate educational tools.

Once Sprite began reading chapter books, I was ready to clean up the bookshelf and give away a lot of her picture books. I assumed she’s outgrown them. Of course there were some select classics that we could never part with, but I wanted to make room for more “advanced” books. When she balked, I relented and didn’t force her to part with any of her books. As we’ve moved frequently over the years, we did give away books and of course buy more, some of which are, ironically,  picture books. What a turnaround! It was Living Math.net’s booklists that shifted my perspective on picture books. I tried a few of the recommended titles and discovered that they are valuable learning tools. Sprite has not outgrown them. In fact, I’ve not outgrown them!

First of all, picture books are fantastic for introducing more complex topics. Those tough concepts are made easier to understand through the illustrations and the narrative format. Also, a picture book is very nonthreatening. Its juvenile appearance masks the deep thinking between the pages.  Pulling out an all text essay may get some groans, but sitting with a picture book on the couch lowers those defenses and gets kids in the mood to learn.

Case in point:  while Sprite and I were having the “photo-shoot” for these photos, I asked her why she liked picture books. She said, “Because of the pictures, of course!” When I pressed her for details, she explained, “Things are easier to understand with the pictures.”

Secondly, picture books are living books.  In studying online about the use of picture books for young adolescents, I found a common theme of contrasting picture books with textbooks. For example, look at A Middle School Teacher’s Guide for Selecting Picture Books. We Charlotte Mason educators already know the value of living books, so I won’t bother delving farther.

Furthermore, the illustrations in picture books provide yet another way to inject art appreciation into your homeschool. All it takes is a few pointed questions or statements to alert the child to the art:

• “I really like this illustrator’s style. It’s so soft and dreamy.”
• “How do you think the illustrator created these pictures?”
• “Would you like to try to make some pictures like this?”
• “Why do you think this illustrator used ___ in his pictures?”

Also, familiar picture books are a great way to first introduce the elements of fiction — plot, character, setting, point of view, conflict, and theme. Because the story of the picture book is already familiar, the child can focus his attention on the complicated literary analysis.

The latest picture book we’ve studied is The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky. It’s about Eratosthenes, the Greek scientist, writer, librarian, mathematician, and all around brilliant guy. (I’m pretty proud of myself for simply being able to say and spell his name!) There is some advanced math in this book! Seriously! This man estimated the circumference of the earth 300 years before Christ. It turns out that his measurement was off by only 200 miles. Pretty impressive. The book explains the steps he took to come to his conclusion. I have to be honest. If this information were not presented in a picture book with illustrations, there is no way I would understand it myself.

The way a middle schooler uses a picture book is quite different from the way a younger child does.  Obviously an older child is going to delve deeper into the topic, possibly searching out other resources after reading the picture book. I have Sprite narrate in writing, synthesizing the ideas we learned into her own words.  I encourage her to copy the diagrams in the book to enhance her narrations. Here are some Eratosthenes Notebooking Pages that we used for that purpose.

By the way, have you visited my Freebies Page recently? (Look at the links above the header, across the top of every page.) I’ve revised it quite a bit, adding links to many of my free printables, mostly notebooking pages. (Those files can still be found at HSLaunch, but I’m copying many files over to this website too for more organized access.)

So do you use picture books with your older children? Do you have any tips or titles that you especially like for homeschool?

Related posts:

1. Reading Books

We’re doing something totally different! A Beautiful Feet study — The History of the Horse. (We’ll go back to American history once we finish this. It’s time for a break.)

Books for History of the Horse

Drawing a Horse

This curriculum is a winner for a young girl. Why? Two reasons.

1. It’s about horses. Every book is a horse book.

2. It includes drawing! Drawing assignments are integrated into the material. You read about a horse in a wonderful novel, you study the horse in a non-fiction book, and you draw the horse.  [I've learned a huge lesson here. I'm already planning for curriculum purchase for next spring when we are in USA. Note to self -- buy drawing books that incorporate your topics of study and assign them.]

I find that the daily assignments are really sparse, so we’re working through it double speed, doing two lessons per day.

Another reason this curriculum is going over so well is that for the first time, I’m letting Sprite read the novels silently by herself. She loves going back to her room to do her homeschool.

Reading King of the Wind

Click to read my Review of Beautiful Feet History of the Horse Curriculum.  It’s really more than a review. It’s a description of the unit study, an outline of the books used, how we used it, extras we added in, and photos from Sprite’s notebook.I’ll keep adding to it as we go through. But if you want the short version — this curriculum is a winner! Love it!

Related posts:

1. Beautiful Feet Support Group
2. Looking for an American History Curriculum?

Since Sprite was an infant, I’ve read aloud to her. She’s close to ten years old, and I still read to her. She loves to listen as she sets up little worlds with her toys, sketches scenes from her imagination, or molds clay figures. Besides the pure enjoyment of a good book, I love how we share the stories. We learn new words together and use them with a grin of a shared secret. Last night the word was hoyden – a bold and boisterous girl – quite a useful word and likely to get heavy mileage between us! The experiences of the characters tend to weave themselves into our daily conversations as if these people were our relatives or neighbors.

But one of the best parts of reading aloud to my daughter is the sequel. Several days are spent, reading an engrossing book. When it finally comes to a close, there’s that bittersweet feeling of regret – it’s over; there’s no more. Next is the part I adore. I go over to the shelf and pull down the sequel. I show it to Sprite and say the title outloud. Her eyebrows go up and her mouth pops open in realization. There’s another book?! The adventure goes on?! That instant in time etches itself onto my memory as one of those perfect mom moments– seeing her face, feeling my sneaky triumph, sharing in her anticipation. Having a sequel is a beautiful thing.

Related posts:

1. Picture Books for Middle School