I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Hands-on-Prints books. I received books to facilitate my review.
I’m a homeschooling mom of a 7 year old and a 4 year old. I guess you could call our homeschooling style a cross between “Unschooling” and “Montessori”. Because my 7 year old is “special needs” (sensory processing disorder), we have to tailor our lessons day to day, to her specific mood and mental capability.
To keep things fresh and interesting, I’m not the only one that teaches her! One day I will be her teacher, the next day it might be her dad or my grandmother, and sometimes it’s one of her uncles. We find this helps keep things fun for her since she has trouble concentrating and sitting still. At this age, I like to keep a lot of her “schooling” as active as possible.
As an example, if I decide we should work on math, I will incorporate addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions into a baking project in the kitchen so that her hands are busy while she’s learning. I’ve found this is how she absorbs the most information. It’s a lot more work than sitting down with a textbook, but it’s worth it when I see how she absorbs the information so much better.
For the days she isn’t super active and can actually sit down, we love Montessori style books. I was so excited when I was given the opportunity to review some books from Hands-On-Prints. All 5 of the books we received are infused with Montessori principles to encourage kids to explore the different elements of nature, culture, tradition and all in an easy-to-read and beautifully illustrated collection of books geared towards children.
My daughter immediately gravitated towards Around the World from a to z with it’s textured, cursive letters on every page.
She was quickly eager to trace the letters with her finger while I read the poem on the adjoining page to her. This is especially great for kids with SPD, as it engages their senses while learning.
About Around The World from a to z
Connecting tactile activities to abstract ideas stimulates brain function in young children. When children under age five trace sandpaper letters, they associate a given letter with a concrete gesture internally. This association fosters more connections in different parts of the brain, rendering the child’s mind nimbler. The acrostic poem accompanying each letter is designed to be read by an adult. These poems introduce the child to a famous site and physical activity. The letters of the alphabet thus become part of an exploration of nature, culture, and traditions. Tracing leads the way to a discovery of the world.
My son (4), loved Do I Have To?: What If I Don’t Want To . . ..
This was honestly the PERFECT book for him at this stage of his life because he’s very “4” – feels like a big boy, all grown up and doesn’t need to do things he doesn’t want to do. We’ve been struggling with that a lot for the past 6 months or so, which made this book come in quite handy right away. He easily absorbed the information and surprisingly, started putting it into practice right away by telling me about how he was feeling rather than just getting mad and storming off.
This book is not only great for kids, but great for parents as it teaches you how to communicate with your kids and take a more empathetic approach to helping them deal with their overwhelming emotions that they don’t always know how to express properly.
Overall, I liked all 5 of the books we received to review, but those two were our children’s favorites. I highly recommend you check out Hands-on-Prints books. You can learn more about the books on their website hands-on-prints.com and you can purchase them on Amazon.com.
About the Author
With a Masters in Early Childhood Education and 25 years as the head of a leading, bilingual Montessori school in San Francisco, Christinia Cheung channeled her knowledge and seasoned teaching experience into the books published by Hands-On-Prints. Just as her school embraces differences in individual children, from personality and learning style, to culture and language, so too do her books. Each story, while simple, introduces deeper and more complex lessons about the world around us and cultural differences.
We are excited to offer our reader’s a chance to win one of these fabulous books for their collection! Enter for a chance to win below. Giveaway ends June 5th at midnight ET.
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The Fashionable Housewife was compensated with free product for hosting this giveaway. All opinions and experiences are my own. Open to the US, must be 18+ to enter. Confirmed Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be chosen. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment and product shipment to winner of the giveaway. This event is in no way associated with, sponsored, administered, or endorsed by any social media network. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Please contact us if you have any questions.