Last week we had the perfect opportunity to focus on a specific subject: snow and sleet. It occurred to me that I had purchased and received some winter-related books for my new homeschool book collection (which has grown exponentially in the last month). So last Friday when we were completely iced into our house, I pulled out It's Snowing by Gail Gibbons with the intent to teach the boys about snow.
I was blown away by how Ms. Gibbons managed to compile so much science and simplicity in one little book. We learned how snow, sleet, and freezing rain are formed. We learned that Antarctica gets the least amount of snowfall yearly as compared to the other continents (weird huh?). We learned that it actually snows in the desert sometimes. And we learned why snow causes power outages. The book also referenced a guy named Frederick Bentley who was the first person to photograph snowflakes.
When I read about Mr. Bentley and his snowflakes, I got all excited. As it turns out, I also have another book in my homeschool collection entitled, Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Upon this realization, I HAD to read this to my son too. Although I definitely wasn't expecting this book to be a biography, it turned out to be a beautiful book about the life and science behind Frederick Bentley's work. Amazing!
Of course, reading this book led to more discussions about freezing points, photography, and proper winter attire. What a week of science we have had around here! A week that we would not have enjoyed had I not considered pulling a snow book off of our bookshelf.
I don't know why it has taken me this long to realize that sometimes the best learning happens OUTSIDE of the classroom setting. For whatever reason, my institution-trained self forgets that my most memorable educational experiences happened apart from a textbook. In spite of my dullness, Mr. Wonderful has a knack for "teaching" while playing (as a result of playing X-box with his daddy, my son can tell you all about the Battle of Midway). Now Mommy needs to find ways to enrich our everyday lives with learning opportunities too. I'm sure it can be done, but it's going to require some work on my part. Thank goodness for writers like Gail Gibbons who have created wonderful books to help mommies out! Check out more books by Gail Gibbons at Amazon. You can also find Snowflake Bentley there as well.
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