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An easy step-by-step book to help kindergartners learn to draw simple creatures accompanied by rhymes.

Synopsis

What if there was a way to make difficult things easy to learn?

One of the big childhood struggles is learning how to write. Mastering the fine motor skills necessary for handwriting requires tedious repetition of abstract graphic signs. Children quickly develop resistance to this kind of activity, not only because it is physically difficult, but mostly because the ”abstract” part of it makes it intellectually and emotionally unrewarding.

Lucia Muntean faced this challenge year after year as a kindergarten teacher until she came up with the idea behind Riddley-Doodley Drawings. One day she put the graphic signs required to write letters and numbers together in a drawing that made sense to her pupils, that of a hedgehog. She then wrote the step-by-step instructions for making the drawing in rhymes so that her pupils would find them easy to remember. She tried this activity in her next class and was quick to discover not only that her pupils loved it, but they also loved playing with it again and again.

Rooted in over 40 years of direct classroom practice, Riddley-Doodley Drawings helps educate children on handwriting while keeping them naturally engaged.

Meant for children aged 4-8 years, this book gives step-by-step instructions on how to draw creatures like mice, spiders, hedgehogs, butterflies, rabbits, and ladybirds. The instructions are given in the form of rhyming riddles so that children may find it entertaining and easy to remember.


The author suggests turning it into a game where the parent draws a picture and reads the rhyme, asking the child to guess the creature's name. Then the child draws and the parent takes a guess. In the end, they color the pictures.


I loved the concept of the rhyming riddles because I think it will help children visualize the creature and different shapes and patterns. However, the drawings themselves may be a bit difficult for younger children (4-5 years), although they will enjoy listening to the riddle and coloring the pictures.


The illustrations are great--simple, thick lines and solid colors. No unnecessary complexity or busyness.


I'd recommend this book as a great teaching activity to help children practice drawing lines, shapes, and patterns. It can be a good bonding activity for parents and their children or teachers and their pupils.

Reviewed by

My reviews are for readers. I attempt to write balanced reviews to help people decide if they'd like to pick up the book. I also post reviews to Amazon India, Goodreads, and my blog: www.satabdimukherjee.wordpress.com.

Synopsis

What if there was a way to make difficult things easy to learn?

One of the big childhood struggles is learning how to write. Mastering the fine motor skills necessary for handwriting requires tedious repetition of abstract graphic signs. Children quickly develop resistance to this kind of activity, not only because it is physically difficult, but mostly because the ”abstract” part of it makes it intellectually and emotionally unrewarding.

Lucia Muntean faced this challenge year after year as a kindergarten teacher until she came up with the idea behind Riddley-Doodley Drawings. One day she put the graphic signs required to write letters and numbers together in a drawing that made sense to her pupils, that of a hedgehog. She then wrote the step-by-step instructions for making the drawing in rhymes so that her pupils would find them easy to remember. She tried this activity in her next class and was quick to discover not only that her pupils loved it, but they also loved playing with it again and again.

Rooted in over 40 years of direct classroom practice, Riddley-Doodley Drawings helps educate children on handwriting while keeping them naturally engaged.

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1 Comment

Timothy FayThanks for this review!
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almost 5 years ago
About the author

Lucia Muntean is a kindergarten teacher who problem-solved her own way towards a child-centered education. She has been writing for over 40 years, having published more than 30 children books based on her discoveries. This is her first international book. Product details File Size: 39549 KB view profile

Published on March 25, 2020

Published by

1000 words

Genre:Children's

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