Growing up, our house was filled with books. Living in family of avid
readers meant that a love of reading was instilled in me from a young age. It
also meant that you could find a variety of books in our house; many of these
being ‘activity books’ saved mainly for rainy days and school holidays.
From the selection above, courtesy of my crowded bookshelf and
hoarding ways, you can see that these books have a variety of themes ranging
from party planning to gender. But reading through these books now, I realised
that most of them are aimed at parents or children as an antidote to boredom.
I couldn't really find any book within my collection which had an
overt appreciation for learning through the play and exploration.
It was when I stopped at my local bookstore that I found the book of
my dreams...
501 TV Free Activities for Kids by Diana Hodges
This is an activity binder filled with different ideas and plans on how to entertain and delight children of various ages.
One of the biggest things that sold me on this book was its setup.
It has tabs for the types of activity including areas such as
outdoor, indoor, science, maths, and words as well as others.
The tabs make appropriate activities easy to find under what subject area
you want it to focus on or what the children under your care are
interested in. It's like having eight books in one! Since the book is spiral bound on a large coil, it is
easy to lay flat and look at and this setup prevents damage to the spine
and pages of the book as a results of handling and use.
The actual activities in the book use everyday household items which
are not difficult to get your hands on and when applicable, lists substitutes
which can be used. Depending on the activity, notes are also given on how
to can be progressed or simplified depending on the children's abilities and/or
the materials available.
With these features plus easily identifiable symbols used throughout
the book as a visual representation of key elements used in the
activities, this book can be of value for both parents and educators. It
was an absolute lifesaver for my last Early Childhood Curriculum and Pedagogy
unit when looking at planning for individual children plus I plan on using
it as my bible for placement!
On sale at my local bookstore, it only cost me $13.00 (RRP 24.99) but it is available
online at Booktopia. For those outside
Australia, Amazon does stock new copies at varying prices. The book is even available off iTunes!
With so many sources for activity inspiration, especially those to be found online, this book spoke to me as a physical collection of ideas I can take around with me. Whether I use it when babysitting, on placement, during an assignment or even in the workplace, this was definitely worth the buy.
Do you have
a favourite source for activity inspiration?
Care to share?
Drop me a line, ask some questions or just
follow the LMST blog!
Miss Tracy xx
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