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Playful Learning Blog Tour: Adventures in Longitude and Latitude (and a give away!)

I was thrilled to hear that Mariah Bruehl of Playful Learning was writing a book. I have read her blog regularly for quite some time. I admire her gentle, encouraging voice and the lovely assortment of playful, accessible learning experiences she shares on her blog.

I’m so happy to share this book with you as part of the Playful Learning blog tour! When my girls and I finally got our hands on Playful Learning: Develop Your Child’s Sense of Joy and Wonder, we were definitely not disappointed. From the back cover:

“Playful learning is the magic that takes place when we meld a child’s sense of joy and wonder with thoughtfully planned learning experiences.”

Our copy of Playful Learning is already marked with many projects for the to-do list. The book contains developmental information and engaging experiences in writing, reading, math, science, art, global awareness, and social-emotional skills, geared toward ages 4 to 8.

My favorite aspect of the book is the experience philosophy. Rather than just a collection of activities, the experiences in this book truly provide opportunities for conversation, connection, and discovery. It is a wonderful book to enjoy side-by-side with your kids, following their interests and having fun learning together.

We couldn’t wait to dive in and try something!

Who Lives Here? Adventures in Longitude and Latitude

My girls’ current love of maps, paired with a recent obsession with secret codes, made the Who Lives There? experience a perfect fit. One of the learning experiences in the Growing Globally chapter, this activity introduces longitude and latitude coordinates. After a quick vocabulary discussion (using Mariah’s age-appropriate definitions), the girls were ready to find some secret locations using coordinates.

Mariah recommends using Google Earth to get coordinates for the places where friends and family live. Since our friends and family all live pretty close, I picked 10 cities around the world that the girls are familiar with and filled in the activity sheet. I love that Mariah provides so many kid-friendly printables in the back of the book – such a time-saver!

The girls took turns reading the coordinates and working at the map. Every time they correctly identified a city, they were so excited! By the end of their list, they were reading degrees, using the word coordinates, and basically having a lot of fun finding the secret locations.

They have already asked to do it again, which we will soon. We are also planning to check our library for the titles from the Books to Inspire list. From prep hints that help you be a “one-step ahead” parent to ways to extend the learning, the experiences in Playful Learning are inspiring and do-able.

The girls are already planning which activity they will try next – wire leaves, Jackson Pollock painting, or flower dissection?  Moon journals are a must!

For more Playful Learning fun, I hope you will check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour in the upcoming weeks:

Playful Learning Book Give Away!

Wouldn’t Playful Learning be a great addition to your home library? Mariah has generously offered a copy of her new book to one lucky reader – leave a comment on this post to be entered in a random drawing for your very own copy of Playful Learning: Develop Your Child’s Sense of Joy and Wonder. Please be sure to link or leave an e-mail so I can contact you! (One comment per person, please…)

Comments will close Wednesday, 8/17 at 9:00 pm PST.

Comments closed! Random Number Generator says the winner is….

Bianca – August 15, 2011 at 3:54 pm

this book looks wonderful!! would love to have it in my home.

Congrats!

Comments

  3. Hi,
    This book seems to be really interesting! It’s great to work with kids. I just finished my Bachelor of “Early Childhood Education” and start working in a kindergarden in September :). I would be very happy to win – but I don’t know if it’s possible – I’m from South-Germany ^^

    Grüße – Greetings from Germany

    Chija

  9. I started reading her blog a couple of months ago. It is packed with so many wonderful ideas. When I saw she was writing a book I put it on my wish list. I am hoping my library will eventually get it.
    Many thanks for the opportunity!

  12. I just discovered Miriah and her blog and book. The photos, ideas, and inspiration are just what we need as a home school family with the same goals and ideals. Fantastic giveaway!!! I cannot wait to savor this book.

  16. I’d been wondering about this book. From the example you show, I like how you personalize it to match your child’s experience. Looks great! Thanks for the chance.

  18. I would love a copy to use in my classroom! That geography activity is fantastic! It looks like your girls had a blast and learned so much. Thanks so much for sharing!

  24. This sounds like a great book! I would love to have it as a resource and idea generator. :) Thanks for the chance!

  26. I love the playful learning blog and can’t wait to have a look inside this book. I am also enjoying exploring lots of new blogs on the blog tour list, this is my first time dropping by, so, Hi, nice to meet you.

  29. This looks like a great resource! Over the summer, I had my son plot the locations of the settings of books he was reading on our world map but we only used the map lines – never thought of using Google Earth for coordinates (duh!) – great idea :-)

  31. Fun, it’s been great hearing about some of the activities in the book. I would love a copy!

  32. I love getting new ideas of different experiences for my son. They are far more meaningful than any toy and our conversions about them grow and continue for many days. I would LOVE to have this book and I have enjoyed reading your well written blog for some time. Thank you!!

    Rebecca, mom to Seth age 4

  33. This looks wonderful. I could actually use it with all three kids to connect their learning in a way that would touch all of their learning styles. Thanks for the chance!!

  36. I am dying to get my hands on this book- it sounds fabulous, just like the Playful Learning website and blog. Thanks for the chance!

  43. So happy to have found your great blog via the Playful Learning book tour! I love Mariah’s site and classes and can’t wait to see the book!

  49. Our family would have a lot of fun with this book and I can imagine giving it as a Christmas gift, too! Great giveaway, thanks!

  52. This book is on our list to buy for our upcoming home-school year. Thank you for your insight and the opportunity to win a copy!

  55. I would love to win a copy of this book! Mariah’s store is located one town from me – she’s so lovely & talented & has such wonderful ideas!

  58. This looks like a very fun book! I am trying out some light homeschooling with my 4-year-old, as we considering going that route. This looks like a great resource, thanks. And thanks for the giveaway and chance to win!

  61. Thank you for sharing your experience using the book. It seemed like a neat concept, but I was waiting to see some first-hand user reviews.

  67. I am intrigued by this book and really want a copy to use with our grandkids. The activity you did with your girls would be right up our alley! Thanks for sharing!

  72. Sounds like a lot of fun! I often wind up stumped when my son asks questions and the best I usually manage is a youtube video. This would be VERY helpful!

  79. Thanks so much for posting your review — I’ve wanted to hear what others have thought of the activities. Love the idea of a hunt for secret locations :)

  85. Ohmygosh, I’ve never heard of this book! What a fantastic idea (longitude and latitude) – I am definitely going to try this :) And I’m going to see if the library has a copy of this book… If I don’t win of course (however I am not State-side so that may well put me out of the running anyway). Thank you for sharing!

  86. This book looks wonderful! I’m starting my first year of homeschooling in a few weeks and this book looks like it would be a wonderful resource!

  89. I’ve added it to my amazon wish list so even if we don’t win it here we are still gonna get this book. looks like a lot of fun.

  92. What a great resource! We are moving the family from the US to Malawi and the longitude/latitude adventures would be a great way to connect my kids to friends and loved ones around the world. I’d love to win a copy to enjoy the other ideas as well! Thanks for sharing.

  94. Great post, my son loves maps and this sounds like a very fun activity. I just found your blog and can’t wait to try the paint bag writing activity. Thanks for the chance to win!

  100. Miss 3 and I would LOVE a copy of the book! We are constantly looking and researching for inspiration for fun and educational play activities. P.S. I found your blog with Childhood 101!

  102. This book looks fantastic. I have just moved from teaching second grade to teaching first grade and my principal informed me that I may become a k-1. I know this book would be perfect for exciting all levels of learners!

  103. I’ve had this book on my Amazon Wish List for several months now. I think it would be terrific to own a copy!

  106. Wow! This looks awesome. Can’t wait to try the longitude and latitude activity with my girls.