A Pocketful of Wonder: 50 Hands-On Adventures for Kids to Discover God’s Creation is a delightful little book (that might fit into a large pocket) for parents to combine nature study and experiences with poetry, prayer, play, and music. This is the sort of resource you can pick up and use whenever you wish, rather than a regular course. It works best with children in preschool through second grade, but older children might still participate. The book is available in hardcover or PDF formats, and both should work fine.
This 175-page book devotes two or three pages to each of 50 different topics. Most topics are nature-related, such as sun, wind, rain, mud, spider’s web, tree buds, frost, and migration. A few topics wander into emotions (e.g., joy) and life experiences, such as facing obstacles or having to wait. Parents should familiarize themselves with the topics and choose what’s most applicable or seasonally appropriate.
Each topic has five parts.
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Pause
A poem by the book’s author, Amanda Dykes, introduces each topic, often with playful language, such as in the poem “Twig Tumble,” which begins,
Up from the
ground it
goes,Curling
around it
blows….
This poem’s short stanzas are arranged to reflect the theme of twirling and tumbling.
The poem “Beaches” uses alliteration that will delight children. It begins,
Land of castles
Land of clams
Land of swishing, sloshing sand….
While the poems are above young children’s reading levels, they should be able to discern the meaning. If not, parents can explain them, perhaps using the information in the next section.
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Ponder
The Ponder section directs children’s attention to the theme is some way, while also making a connection to God as creator. This section is written to be read aloud and sometimes includes rhetorical questions or actual questions where parents should pause for children to respond.
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Pray
A short prayer leads children to express thanks to God for this particular aspect of his creation.
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Play
Most topics have one activity, and a few, such as “Rocks” and “Rain,” have two activities—one for outdoors and one for indoors. You will need some arts and crafts resources, such as paints, crayons, twine or yarn, scissors, masking tape, a glue stick, chalk, and sculpting dough, plus a magnifying glass and maybe binoculars for nature observations. Many outdoor activities, such as sand drawing and making a rock-lined path, don’t require any resources beyond what children will find in the environment. Indoor activities might involve painting and other artistic creativity but some are simple, such as tracing raindrops on a window as they move downward and maybe having raindrop races between siblings.
When heading outdoors, children might search for and collect favorite items, perhaps displaying collected items using some of Dyke’s creative ideas.
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Pair
Suggested musical pieces (many of them classical) can be “paired” with outdoor or indoor activities. Dykes has created a playlist to make it easy to access the music.
A related scripture verse concludes each topic.
How Does It Fit into Our Homeschool?
Think of A Pocketful of Wonder as a way to capitalize on the season, the weather, and what children can observe in nature, as well as times when children must learn to wait, face disappointment, or encounter a sad person. Much of it can be used in an open-and-go fashion whenever a suitable moment arises. You might even repeat some topics. This is an easy way to create homeschooling adventures and make them meaningful.
