Book Review; Playful Learning by Mariah Bruehl

Playful Learning: Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder by Mariah Bruehl is a great source of ideas and inspiration to parents that want to instill a love of learning in their children. As I was reading the book I because excited and eager to get started in reorganizing and testing out some of the projects included in the book with my own children. This book is due for release on August 9 2011.

Playful Learning offers suggestions for setting up spaces in your home and working with children in order to foster a curiosity and love of learning. It is not suggesting that we schedule every moment of our children's day and sit them down with school lesson plans. Instead, Bruehl gives parents the tools and resources for possible activities and discussion for when the time is right. The book is about using the natural curiosity of children to encourage them to explore the world around them. Subjects including art, math, reading, writing and science are explored; as are emotional skills, cultural understanding and a view of the world as a global community. Every topic needed to help children become happy, intelligent and well rounded in the world are included.

While my children are too young to dive headlong into writing and some of the other activities discussed in the book, there are suggestions and ideas that are applicable to all children and families. Encouraging children to explore the world around them, and families doing activities together and discussing the topics at hand are the main objects of the activities that are detailed within Playful Learning. The organizational ideas, special areas for specific kinds of activities and printable resources included in the book were the high points for me. I also liked the suggestion for further reading to expand on the topic of each activity, not to mention that the author has been an educator and is also a parent. Bruehl has had the opportunity to put her ideas to the test. I have trouble with accepting parenting or teaching suggestions from those that have not been in situations like my own, so the fact that I could relate to Bruehl and enjoyed the tone of her writing made the book that much more enjoyable to me.

I highly recommend Playful Learning to parents that want their children to be excited about learning, not just in the school environment, but in the world. Parents that want their children to have confidence in themselves, while they enjoy reading, writing and art no matter their skill level should have this book. While I received my copy through NetGalley, I plan to purchase a copy of my own to use and refer to as my children grow. I look forward to reorganizing some spaces in my home and continuing to take an active role in my children's education as we grow together in knowledge and interests. I am also going to suggest the library I work with to purchase the book, not only for use by our patrons but for use by our staff to develop programs and storytimes for the children's department.