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Thursday, May 9, 2013

REVIEW: VISUAL LEARNING BOOKS from Sunflower Education

visual learning books

Today I was excited to have the chance to review one of the new visual learning books from Sunflower Education (aff link), and I have to say that I love these teacher resource books that provide blueprints and instructions for creating full-scale, actual-size drawings and diagrams with sidewalk chalk. Both of my kids are visual, hands-on learners. They learn best with projects or activities that establish in their minds whatever it is we're studying. So this book with its directions for making full-scale drawings is such a great resource for us. And teachers, homeschoolers, parents and kids alike will also enjoy drawing their own

Created by teachers, the Social Studies book is divided into seven categories: The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (i.e., Lighthouse of Alexandria), iconic images of the Old World (like a Viking ship or medieval castle), Native America (e.g., an Iroquois Longhouse), U.S. History (like a prairie schooner), Historic Transportation (such as the Santa Maria!), Warfare (think modern tanks), and American Landmarks (remember the Alamo?).

Each category features the directions to drawing several different images most closely associated with it. This is such a fantastic tool for supplementing your child's social studies lessons and bringing them to life. The dimensions of each image have been thoroughly researched for accuracy. And each activity comes with four sections: Prepare gives you a rough estimate of how much time the project might take and lists the materials needed to complete the drawing; Focus talks about the history behind each project; Present gives you ideas about different ways to create the drawing; and Conclusion shares ways to bring the lesson to a close.

For kids who are artists at heart, this book helps develop their sense of proportion and reveals the intimate connection between math and art. What a treat to be able to cover such a variety of subjects (social studies/history, math, art, and reading) with one simple activity. We're headed to the library parking lot soon with some chalk and measuring tape. We just have to figure out what image we want to draw.

How much fun would it be to draw the Alamo?

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