We’ve only been back in school for a matter of days and I’ve already got a child complaining about going. Anyone else? Aren’t kids supposed to realize that education is something to be grateful for and that their future depends on it? Obviously they won’t know that unless we teach them. So, how do you teach your children to value their education? Luckily, I came across a few resources that have helped my kids feel a little more grateful for school and learn a few other valuable lessons in the process. Books always seem to do the trick, so here are a few of our current favorites to drive this lesson home.
First up is a winner of a book called Here and There. The book dives into into how kids all over the world live every day–everything from the way they get to school (subways, on foot, boat, horse, etc.), what they eat for school lunches, how they play at recess to the different ways they shop for groceries– my kids were super intrigued by that part. It also has spreads devoted to chores, holidays, modes of transportation and if you were to look outside the window in those countries, what you would see. It’s a beautiful, well-thought out book. I often find my kids reading through it unsolicited by me! It’s not available on Amazon (bummer, I know), but you can find it here, along with countless other amazing educational books that I’m semi-addicted to.
Since traveling outside the USA to give your children firsthand experiences and put life in America into perspective isn’t always an option, but spending a few minutes discussing a good book or watching a short film is something we all can do. It might make a big difference to your kids this school year. Here’s a peak inside the book… the illustrations are my favorite!
The next book is called
This Is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World. It’s kind of self-explanatory but my kids were in awe reading about what kids from around the world have to wear to school, eat for their meals and that in Spain it is the law to do homework and help out around the house. Can we get that law passed here,
please? It’s similar to
Here and There but with a few different elements and a totally different style of illustrations. The book starts out with different kids and their families and then shows them doing different tasks throughout their day. At the end, there are real photos of the kids and their families. Such a cool concept! Here’s a peek inside this one:
To really drive the point home of education being a privilege, one night recently, I had my kids watch a documentary called
“On the Way to School.” It follows four sets of kids in different countries on their journey to get to school. Spoiler alert: they aren’t easy journeys and all of them take over an hour, mostly on foot–some of them trek over two hours and have to avoid dangerous situations–like herds of elephants–along the way. The little boys from India will steal your hearts as they push and pull a wheelchair up and down sandy and muddy roads to get to school. I’m pretty sure my kids were grateful for their five minute car ride to school after seeing what kids in other parts of the world go through just to get to school.
We even showed the documentary at a youth night at our house and I’m pretty sure it drilled the point home that 1) education is a gift you should be grateful for and 2) we take for granted the easy access we have to just about everything in this country, education included. My younger kids talked about this documentary for days afterward. It’s well worth either purchasing (from
Amazon or itunes) to re-watch every year or the rental fee to watch just once.
So, there are a few of our ideas to help your kids be more grateful for school and their education. Tell us what you do to teach this to your kids! We’d love to hear about it!
Former White House and Capitol Hill staffer, wife, and mom.
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Wow–these look like excellent resources!! Perfect for kids of any age, too, I think. Perspective is always important. 🙂 Pinned!
I’ve added the movie to my Amazon watch list and am ordering the book now! Thank you so much for sharing these great teaching tools. I can’t wait to share them with my own children. 🙂