Moms Inspire Learning

Ciao

Italian flag, ©Dawn Riccardi Morris

I just returned from a trip to Italy, so please check back next week for info and photos!

Weaving a Web of Fruit and Culture

What I love most about fiction is that culture and geography can be subtly woven into the substance of the story. When it comes to picture books, the illustrations add to the power and mystery of that web.

Rocking the Education World in Montauk

The Friday we arrived in Montauk, the weather was disappointing. It wasn't raining, but everything was foggy and gray. Since we had a couple of hours before our dinner reservation, we decided to go for a walk on the beach. I wasn't about to let the weather keep me from the ocean! And I'm so glad I didn't.

As we walked, the fog seemed to become thicker and thicker. There were waves crashing against the shore, but there was no ocean or horizon. The fog was circling us from about 20 feet away. It was the closest I ever came to walking on a cloud.

I found myself wondering if I had died and gone to heaven. It would be so fitting that my version of it would be on the beach. It's always been my favorite place.

I can't even put into words what it really felt like to walk along, without being able to see what was right in front of me. The crashing of the waves made the experience even more surreal. But it was what we stumbled upon next that really got me thinking.

The Web Thickens...

There are so many ways to create a web of learning with picture books. Literature themes are not just for preschoolers.

I strongly believe that parents and teachers can weave an inspiring web of children's books no matter what subject they're teaching. It's a great way to differentiate learning for various ages and levels of students.

A Secret School

We had a severe storm this past weekend, and the wind was so strong that it left us out of power for a full day. My children enjoyed it at first, but then started to get frustrated. As for me, I really enjoyed the "plugged out" time. We had the opportunity to just sit and talk - to REALLY listen to each other.

On With the Controversy

I was going to continue on with my Chinese New Year series, but based upon the lack of comments, I'm guessing no one's finding the information all that useful. So, if you would like more information on how to link the books together, or how to extend the learning to other aspects of Chinese culture and learning, please let me know. Otherwise, that's it for this series.

More Books to Add to Your Chinese New Year List, Part 3

I love to look at picture books that bring a variety of perspectives into the mix. It helps children to see the world through the eyes of many different cultures of people, and to understand that every question or idea has multiple answers.

So, here are a few more books relating to Chinese New Year, plus a few that can be used to tie into another Chinese festival, which occurs later in the year:

Connecting the Dots of Chinese New Year

It takes a village of bloggers to really bring a subject to life, especially one as vast as Chinese New Year. That's why today, I'd like to share a couple of related posts from two of my favorite bloggers.

More Books to Add to Your Chinese New Year List, Part 2

Here are some additional picture books relating to Chinese New Year, which will provide you and your child with plenty of opportunities to make comparisons with other children's books and connect the dots with so many other subjects:

More Books to Add to Your Chinese New Year List

I'm still in the process of sorting through some of the many picture books relating to Chinese New Year. I can't possibly look at them all because there are so many, so I thought I'd just give you the heads-up about a few of the ones I love the most (so far).