Early Years (0-5 Year Olds)
Concept:
• The importance of creative play in nature for child development when we are young.
• Guidance for parents/adult carers/nursery staff with activities to further support children's creative learning and play.
Key Words:
• Very active, doing, looking touching, pointing, brain development, creativity, nature deficit disorder, visual spatial learning, child development, feeling.
Size and type:
• A4. Digital format (Kindle, iPad etc) is highly recommended.
Type of Learner:
• Adults across the ability and experience spectrum. Needs to be accessible and applicable to early years workers/specialists.
Example Page:
• How we first find our way in life (early route finding).
• How we begin to develop language through seeing, hearing about and remembering environmental features (development of visual spatial thinking).
Other Notes:
• What we can do when taking children to parks, the supermarket.
• Developing play opportunities in the garden and nursery settings.
• Link to web resources.
My Thoughts?
I'm really drawn to the idea of creating a children's book for both the parent/carer and child to read together, and I feel like I could be really creative and playful, while also adding some wildlife and nature facts, although I do feel like a young child could pass these facts by and may be more interested in the colours and shapes, rather than the actual content. I feel as though I'd prefer to stretch out to a slightly older audience, but I'm certainly not crossing this idea out.
5-7 Year Olds
Concept:
• For children and adults to use and read together.
• Designed to encourage the reader to get outside and try some of the age related activities which they can see illustrated.
Key Words:
• Countries, India, China, Peru, Australia, Norway and UK, landscape, vocabulary.Size and Type:
• A4. Digital format (Kindle, iPad etc) is highly recommended.
Type of Learner:
• Offer support in terms of readability to those younger children who learn well through visual learning styles
• Will probably have a section at the back which supports parents on how to use the book with their child.
Example Page:
• Very colourful and diverse landscape to include rural and urban, coastline, weather clothes.
• Try not to conform with stereotypes of countries.
• Focus on games and activities - things to make and do at home.
Other Notes:
• The book should try to be interactive.
• Involve digital format.
Influential Books:
• Once Upon a Time Maps
• Where's Willy?
• Great Global Puzzle Challenge with Google Earth
My Thoughts?
5-7 year olds are a brilliant age group to design a book for, as they're young enough to be swept away by colours and shapes, but are growing and becoming old enough to understand facts, examples and instructions. This age group could quite potentially be the one I end up designing my 'Naturesbase' children's book for, as age group, I feel, is the best of both worlds, in the sense that they appreciate both the younger and older elements of the book I will be creatring.
7-11 Year Olds
Concept:
• Encourage 7-11 year olds to investigate their environment with their friend.
• They should not need adult help.
• Adventure, explore, collect, clues, evidence, excite, search, create, solve mystery.
Size and Type:
• A4. Digital format (Kindle, iPad etc) is highly recommended.
Type of Learner:
• Visual Active.
Example Page:
• Trail and tracks - tribal tracks from around the world.
• History.
• Animal tracks.
• Examples of tracks to follow.
• Arrows.
• Circles with stone in.
• Grid to draw on tracks.
• Go out and make a trail for others to follow (parents, friends etc).
• "Did you know?"
• Geocaching
• Using a digital camera.
• Nature detectives.
Influential Books:
• Durrell
• Amatuer Naturalist
• Play Wild
• Forling Kindersley Type Publication
• Geography Fun
• Atlas of Experience
• Lord of the Rings Mystery Map
My Thoughts?
7-11 year olds may be a slightly tougher audience to adhere to, as they're certainly old enough by this point to make up their own minds and decide for themselves that they either 'understand and enjoy something' or they 'simply do not'. Although, this age group could be an interesting age group to create the 'Naturesbase' children's book for, as they will understand instructions and facts and pick them up a lot easier than younger audiences. This age group could certainly work for my children's book design.
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