Branch Out World (A REVIEW)

I absolutely love curriculum that uses real picture storybooks as the basis of all the learning. I have used many types of these over the years starting from preschool all the way up to older elementary. That is why I was thrilled to try out a new literature based curriculum from Branch Out World. The family that created these literature studies is from the UK, and they homeschool, so these are really unique and fun units. The crew had the opportunity to try the Paddington Bear literature based unit study, which is part of the Picture Book Explorers series. They also have Chapter Book Explorers and Lapbooks that they offer.

With this review we received a digital download of the unit study. That included all the instructions for the activities and lessons, and the printables. We had to acquire our own copy of the picture book, which proved to be kind of difficult. My library had several versions of this picture book, but not the one recommended for this unit. I was finally able to find a copy online. In fact, I found a whole set of the Paddington picture books, and went ahead and got those since my kids like the stories. Actually, when I first heard about this Picture Explorer Series I didn't even realize there were picture books of Paddington Bear. We had just recently finished the chapter book (which the picture book is based on), and it was delightful. The picture stories can definitely appeal to a  younger audience, and I was happy to discover them.

This is the collection of books I bought for this unit study. Only the top book in this stack was needed for the unit, but we'll enjoy reading all of them. There are other books and movie recommendations within the Picture Book Explorers as well.

How do the Branch Out World Picture Book Explorers Work?

It is crucial to have the picture book to go along with this because not only are the activities based on the story, but the book is read aloud together for 5 days. The idea is that you read the book with your child each day for 5 days, and do the days' activities after each reading. It's pretty simple, really. It's ideal to read the book 5 days consecutively, but we've done 5 days over a few weeks if you find more things to explore or just can't get to it everyday for 5 days. As long as you come back to the story each time and read it again. It can be hard to get kids to read a story for 5 days, but it is really rewarding, and so worth it. You really do discover new things each reading. The kids really grow to learn the story well, and by the end of the 5 days they usually have the story memorized.

Day 3--Exploring the Pictures

For example, on day 3 the topic is Exploring the Pictures. This includes getting to know the author, picture studies, looking at the architecture, and principles of design. All using the Paddington picture book!

One picture study uses this page, the page where they are bringing paddington home.

One suggested activity is to have the child look at this page and memorize it, then close the book and see how many things they can remember. There are a few other suggestions to go along with this page, but that will give you an idea of the fun hands on activities and ideas that are in this Picture Book Explorers unit. I also really love the pictures in the Paddington Bear book, and the quality of the book being studied.

I really enjoy the nature of these literature based studies. It includes so many subject areas including geography, spelling/vocabulary, art, history, science, math, crafts, and Language Arts. I really love learning this simply with my younger kids. The memories that are made, and the rabbit trails that we follow when we do these literature studies is great. I think Branch Out World has some great books and topics to explore. I'd definitely try out another in the future when we have time to do another unit study.

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