Second grade science has not been very methodical at my house.
Everyday, I hand my son a notebook and tell him to go observe something, draw it, and come talk to me about it. No matter the season, he heads out the door, pencil in hand, compact microscope in pocket, and looks for something amazing.
He never comes back with a blank page. His wonder is contagious, leaving me humming Keith and Kristyn Getty’s hymn, “Don’t let me lose my wonder.”
Amanda Dykes’s latest book has me feeling the same way, and it has enriched our family’s creation appreciation, giving a little more structure to our science classes.
A Pocketful of Wonder: 50 Hands-On Adventures for Kids to Discover God’s Creation goes beyond nature study. It is a handbook to help your family delight in reading God’s creation as a love letter, and it’s as simple as my unmethodical science class.
Wait! You might be thinking, like I did, that Amanda Dykes writes Christian fiction!
When I first heard Amanda on Sarah Mackenzie’s Read Aloud Revival podcast, she was talking about her novel, “Whose Waves These Are.” Even though I don’t often read that genre (give me middle-grade adventure anyday!), I loved it!
Amanda’s fiction writing captures the wonder and sparkle of the everyday. A Pocketful of Wonder brings that element to the nonfiction genre, and is a blessing to families with children. If you’ve never been into nature walks, this book is for you. If you’ve been homeschooling for decades and specialize in Charlotte Mason style nature study, this book is still for you.
Divided into chapters about seasons, water, day, night, along the way, and more, thoughtful insight in each topic will provide ample opportunity for your family to consider the world God has made from a new angle, whether you live in a rural or urban setting, no matter the season.
Each entry includes poems, ponderings, prayer, play, and paired music that cultivate multi-sensory adventures in a low-stress way to develop your wonder-spotting habit. Aimed at families with young children, ages 3-7, I found this guide to be a good fit for older children as well.
Instead of adding to your already busy to-do list, Amanda crafts the book to be accessible and low-prep or no-prep, so that it is more of a Delight List.
While helping families to treasure moments spent together, A Pocketful of Wonder seeks to “broaden the moment, not crowd it.”
Two of the activities that I am looking forward to doing with my children are becoming footprint artists (I can just imagine the fun of that in the snow!) and painting the snow with food coloring. In all our years of living in the frozen tundra of North Dakota, I have never thought of doing that. It sounded like such fun, it made me wish for snowy weather immediately, even though I read the idea during a balmy September.
At the end of the book, there are plenty of pages that give space for field notes as your family adventures together.
On every page of A Pocketful of Wonder, it is evident that Amanda lovingly crafted this guide for families of all sorts. Whether you homeschool or not, have special needs or not, enjoy the outdoors or not, or ever find the time to do science or not, A Pocketful of Wonder aims to help your family enjoy creation together all while treasuring every moment.
“Sometimes wonder looks like delight,” Amanda writes, “but other times, it looks like comfort, right where it feels impossible.”
Use this book to spark wonder, and I hope it brings you as much delight and comfort as it did for me. I hope we never lose our sense of wonder.
At night, she writes articles, Bible study curriculum for children, and books, including her latest novel The Winning of Lady Wisdom. You can follow her adventures at SarahDixonYoung.com
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Sarah, thank you so much for this wonderful feature– I love your insights so much!