"There's no place like home," Judy Garland says in the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz.
Even though the character of Dorothy starts out wanting to find her "rainbow" in a faraway place, soon all she can think about is finding her way home. Don't we all need to know that we can return to a comforting place, and be surrounded by people we love, after leaping out into the world on our own?
Home is a special place, no matter who you are or where you live. It means different things to different people. Home is also a great place to have your child start thinking about his or her connection to the world.
What does the word, home, mean to your child? You can ask your child to answer in words or pictures. You can then talk about what home means to you and to other members of your family.
Speaking, listening, reflecting, and even drawing, are all important skills which will give your child more confidence in the areas of reading and writing. An easy way to enhance such skills is to encourage children to connect books with the world around them.
In honor of National Poetry Month and Earth Day (4/22), I'd like to introduce another book by Thomas Locker, called Home: A Journey through America. This picture book contains a collection of poems written by famous individuals, such as Abraham Lincoln and Robert Frost, who were reflecting upon the natural beauty that surrounded their homes throughout America. It's appropriate for children in grades 3 through 8, and I would suggest that you only read one or two poems at a time.
The paintings in this book are beautiful, just as in all of Thomas Locker's work, and in most cases, they bring you back to earlier times. Most of us are not surrounded by such breathtaking landscapes anymore. Times have changed, but that fact does not diminish the beauty we find in and around our own homes. Comparing then and now is a wonderful exercise in critical thinking.
There's a map of America at the end of this book, and the cities and states mentioned are marked. The birth dates of the poets are also provided, which will give you a sense of what time period the writer is speaking of.
We can all find some kind of natural beauty not too far from our homes, and it's our duty to protect that beauty for generations to come. Sometimes, though, we don't even have to look out the window to find what's most precious. Sometimes, the actual space we occupy doesn't matter at all. To some of us, it's the people that fill that space that matters most.
What does "home" mean to you?
