Are your kids itching for school to end? Here in CT, kids will be out in a couple of weeks. But, don't tell my girls this as we homeschool year round. :-) We do take breaks, usually 3 weeks off in December to enjoy all the holiday festivities, cooking and just enjoying family time together. And, come the summer, the girls are in summer camps with friends from public school, or we are doing fun road trips exploring and having fun. Because I am always in homeschool mode, I look for fun ways to incorporate education in our travels, and will usually pack activity and sticker books for the girls to do in the car while they wait for us to arrive where we are going. I don't know about you, but I hate hearing "Are we there yet?" every 5 seconds. I find that if I keep the girls busy with activity books or DVDs in the car, they are content for the ride.
Recently, my girls and I were introduced to Lonely Planet Kids and their fun books for kids.
"Lonely Planet Kids aims to inspire and encourage young readers to learn about the world around them with engaging books on culture, people, geography, nature, history, space and more."
This year we started to cover geography and learning about the states and countries, so I was especially excited to check out the "Around the World in 50 Ways" book, which has 164 pages in total, and is geared towards kids ages 6-8 years old.
Kids will have fun traveling all over the globe making stops in London, Montreal, Mumbia and many more far off places, as they choose their own travel adventure. I grew up loving "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, and was happy to see they still make them for kids, as they really get young readers thinking and using their imaginations, as they choose the path the story will take.
Get ready to learn all about famous cities and far-flung places, while also learning amazing facts about each destination, and transportation modes along the way. My girls instantly fell in love with this book, and loved being able to set the course of our global adventure, without having to leave the couch, or car seat. :-) And, if they didn't like where they ended up, they could backtrack and choose another route. As a parent, I loved seeing the girls really get into this book, and share with me fun facts about the places they visited along the way. Books like this are not just fun and engaging, but teach kids at the same time, without them knowing it. So, if you have a child who is not a fan of learning or doing school work, you will definitely want to share "Around the World in 50 Ways" with them, as they will have a blast choosing their own travel adventure, and be surprised at what they learn along the way.
In addition the "Around the World in 50 Ways," we were also sent the recent "Sticker World Series: Museum" book, released this past February.
With 40 pages and over 500 stickers, children ages 6-8 years old will have fun creating their own museum, theme park or zoo (each sold separately). We were sent the "Create Your Own Museum," as I wanted to pair this with a field trip to a natural history museum, and loved the concept of adding stickers and drawing pictures, in this fun interactive book. Kids really get to use their creative talents and become architects as they create their own museum. At only $6.99 per sticker book, you can't go wrong with the price. My girls were kept engaged for over an hour in the car, as they placed the stickers and added their own details, making their own museum. And, once we arrived at the natural history museum, they couldn't stop comparing what they were seeing to the museum they created on the drive there. All the way back home, the girls couldn't stop adding more detail to their museum sticker book based on what they saw at the museum we visited, and talked my ear off about their museum, before sitting me down at home to show off their museum creation. :-) We will definitely be picking up the theme park and zoo sticker books to bring on upcoming summer trips. Knowing just how much fun the girls had with the museum version, I know they will have a blast creating their own unique theme park and zoo.
The third book we were sent and that was also a hit with my girls and I was the "Brain Teasers" book.
Geared towards children ages 6-8 years old, this 160 page book released this past April, is jam packed with number and logic puzzles, decode puzzles, riddles and so much more. Critical thinking is a big thing I stress with our homeschooling and I love giving the girls logic puzzles that make them think in order to solve. I love seeing them get excited when they solve a challenging puzzle, as they are so proud of themselves. This new "Brain Teasers" book is perfect for summer as it is filled with challenging travel-themed puzzles that will test both kids and adults critical thinking skills. I have been sitting down with the girls doing a few of the puzzles a day, and we have so much fun trying to solve them. The word puzzles, mazes and dot-to-dots were our favorites. This book will make long car rides, rainy days and vacations much more fun and enjoyable. Why? Come on, who doesn't love puzzles? We sure do! :-)
The three books are just a few of the many recent releases from Lonely Planet Kids. Some of the other books include an "Around the World Fashion Sketchbook," "My Family Travel Map," and "My Vacation Drawing Book."
As you can see these would also make for great additions to your busy bags to keep your kids busy during the upcoming summer break, or while on vacation or travelling. Most of the books children (ages 6-8) can do on their own with little adult help. But, I have to say, I really enjoyed sitting down and doing some of the activities with my girls, and seeing just how creative they get. They were all smiles, and couldn't stop talking about how much fun they were having when we pulled out one of the three Lonely Planet Kids books we were sent. I will definitely be picking up more of these fun interactive books for my girls to enjoy during the summer, and year round.
To learn more about Lonely Planet Kids, including their recent activity books for kids, head on over to www.lonelyplanetkids.com today. And, be sure to follow them on their social media channels below to stay up-to-date on new book releases, special offers and more...
Disclosure: I was sent samples from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
The activity books really do keep children busy and content.
ReplyDeleteI always liked to have on hand activity books for my children to entertain and educate them when they were younger. These seem terrific.
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