Friday 30 January 2015

National Read Aloud Day

"Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read." - Marilyn Jager Adams

Today is National Read Aloud Day in Kenya :) This event  place annually on the last Friday of January.

In Kenya,  they have 20,000 primary schools without libraries, so events like this can have a significant impact on the children. It's an event organised by Start a Library whose aim is to put a book in every hand. They select an extract from a particular book which is read at 9am in schools and libraries across the country. The book they have selected deals with issues particular to the region.
If you want to join in and read the extract that will be read in Kenya, you can buy the book Attack of the Shidas on Kindle. The Kenyan schools and libraries will be reading an extract from the back of the book and the children will be asked to write their own ending to the story or draw an illustration.

You could celebrate Kenyan national Read Aloud Day too by reading books about Kenya.
Here are some suggestions:



Links to information and printables to help learn about Kenya:
Background information
Flag
NGKids Fact File
Free lapbook
Flashcards
Learn Swahili
Children's songs and rhymes from Kenya 
Kenyan recipe
Map and Flag printables
Worksheets
Children from Kenya tell their story
Make an African mask

Films to watch:
Born Free

Wednesday 21 January 2015

New Review

I just wanted to share this new review for Picture Book Explorers from Adventures in Homeschool. It's a really clear explanation of how Picture Book Explorers ~ The Day the Crayons Quit can be used with more than one child, with a mixture of independent and parent-assisted activities taking place simultaneously.

It's so lovely to see how other families use these resources and how their children interpret the creative activities.

I would love to hear from more families, to see how your children have been inspired. Which was your child's favourite activity?

Thursday 1 January 2015

New Year's Day

2014 was a very busy year with the release of 10 new Picture Book Explorers and the introduction of The Flip~Flap Files and the Games Galore range.

Branch Out World would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all our customers. We couldn't do it without you :)

Our range will continue to expand throughout 2015 as we endeavour to assist and inspire parents, educators and homeschoolers around the World.

Happy Exploring!


New Picture Book Explorers~Paddington Bear coming soon :)