So in addition to writing this blog because I have a general obsession with children’s books, last year I became an Independent Consultant with Usborne Books & More. I did this because I wanted every book I saw and needed to figure out a way to pay for that, but also, because the company is dedicated to promoting literacy in our children. From time to time I like to write about the books that we cover, but I’m trying something new – focusing on one book each week.
This week, I would like to highlight the books Flags of the World to Color. I’m really taken by this book because J just finished learning all of her United States capitals and so I figure she is ready to get working on learning all of the countries.
Finding a fun way to learn facts like states and countries is important, because in the end, it is a lot of memorization. J learned her states and capitals early on because we had two games that she completely adored – Postcards from North America and The Scrambled States of America. Having that knowledge in her back pocket gave her an advantage when it became a class assignment.
In Flags of the World, the book is broken down into continents and then most of the countries are represented with an individual flag to color. In addition to just learning what the flags look like, you also get a little bit of information as to why the specific colors and images were selected and what they represent.
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What works so well with this process is that when you are dealing with an older child, which is the time to be learning about flags of the world, they are more likely to take their time with the coloring to get it just right. This allows them to focus on the flag and actually learn about it. Studies have also shown that by writing we tend to actually remember things better. The same could probably be said for coloring – if you spend 10 minutes carefully coloring a flag and reading about what the flag represents, you are more likely to remember details.
Once you are done with the flags, the book continues to be a great resource and features a marvelous index in the back to quickly be able to find a given country.
I don’t have a copy of this book myself, yet, but you can be sure it will be in the next order that I place. J loves mixing something creative with learning (hence her obsession with some of the Usborne sticker books), so I know that this will be a hit.
If you are interested in this, or any other Usborne book, please send me an email at booksmykidsread dot gmail and I will get you all of the information!