Learn Something New Every Day!

Learn something new – every day - with a book!

Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida hard at the end of September. For the first 2 weeks of October, thousands of families were without electricity, drinkable water, and many without a roof over their heads. Several schools were damaged, as well, and school was postponed for two or more weeks.

In addition to all the worries parents experienced during and after the hurricane, many also worried about their children falling behind.

Without power in their homes, they had no Internet access, and children couldn’t even connect virtually to schools, courses, or teachers.

Without water in their homes, kitchen science or hands-on experiments weren’t easily doable, nor were many crafts kids might normally do.

Simply surviving each day, and performing basic everyday tasks – without water or electricity – understandably consumed much of the family’s time, energy, and emotional and mental capacity. Caring for families, pets, neighbors, and devastated communities, without basic amenities we are all accustomed to, has been a daily challenge for them.

Several families turned to libraries and books as a way to keep their children learning during that time. For a while, libraries were closed, roads were closed, and gasoline was in short supply, so even trips to the library weren’t always a possibility.

That’s when many families gave their “home libraries” a closer look, finding books they had forgotten about or revisiting favorite books from an “educational perspective.”

Imagine what could be learned from reading and discussing the morals or lessons conveyed in books such as the following.

Then, going further and encouraging children to draw or color favorite scenes from the books, to write or deliver short book reports, and to create or compose their own stories, perhaps imagined or inspired from reading favorite books such as these:

* The Little Engine That Could
* The Ugly Duckling
* The Runaway Bunny
* Velveteen Rabbit
* Where the Wild Things Are
* The Giving Tree
* Town Mouse and Country Mouse
* Grimm’s Fairy Tales
* Aesop’s Fables
* Magic Treehouse
* The Incredible Journey
* Black Beauty
* Sounder
* Little House in the Big Woods
* Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
* Treasure Island
* Hatchet
* My Side of the Mountain
* Robinson Crusoe
* Swiss Family Robinson
* Wrinkle in Time
* Phantom Tollbooth
* Diary of Anne Frank
* To Kill a Mockingbird

These are just a few of the books that might be on the shelves of your home library. And they are full of wisdom, insight, and learning for any age.

Books can provide not only an escape from daily challenges during a hurricane - or any other time - but also offer reading enjoyment as they provide glimpses into another time or place.

Books such as these can touch on historic events, social events, survival strategies, and ways that children and families can overcome challenging circumstances or worries, no matter how big or small.

When you might grow concerned that your children are “falling behind” or “not learning enough,” just reach for a book. Something new is learned every time a book is opened!

Happy homeschooling!