The Magic Tree House Books
/I love when we find a new book series to read with our rascals. As much as the kids want to read the same books over and over, I personally need a change from time to time. While there is much research supporting the habit of reading and re-reading the same books to your kids (so keep it up!), when a switch is needed, embrace it.
Recently, I was reminiscing with friends and we were discussing some of our favorite childhood books. Walking down memory lane was a ton of fun and so good for my soul, and it turned out to be a profitable business for my neighborhood bookstore (Blue Willow Bookshop).
The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne was an all-time favorite of mine. I cannot even believe it has taken me this long to bring this series into the lives of my kids! The imaginative details, the descriptive plots, the historical components, the beautiful rapport between siblings, and the pure joy of magic - these books have it all. What a fantastic series for kids.
We started by reading the first four books, all of which we devoured in a day! My wallet said we needed to make the most of these books, so of course we read them and read them again. Then we looked up educational age-appropriate videos about the historical and factual parts of these stories. We learned a bit more about dinosaurs and why people didn’t live at the same time. We learned about the armor worn by knights and their horses during battle. We realized (or at least they did) that the pyramids were built by hand and early machines, nothing like the great machinery of our day. Lastly, we made maps to guide each other through the house, backyard, and neighborhood (I wasn’t ready to tackle the idea of pirates, so we focused on maps).
Still, I thought we needed something more. Something active. My brain yelled: SCAVENGER HUNT and VOCABULARY. What a way to reinforce the new concepts and words learned in these books. I began creating scavenger hunts on paper and then formalized them using Microsoft Word (I’m not that technologically savvy). Some items were more obvious (tree), while others required a bit of creative and imaginative thinking (mummy). My boys loved getting to create their own “story” by actively participating in their scavenger hunt.
Once we have fully exhausted books #1 - 4, we will move on the next few books in the series, and eventually reading all 34. Stay tuned!
Written by Brandi Stanton, mama of 2 rascals ages 2 and 4.
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