Review: Where Kids Go to School Around the World

As we gear up for another school year to start, your kids might be interested in how other kids learn. Whether you have a child who is getting ready to go to school for the first time, you’re adding back to school books to your classroom library or you’re a homeschooler who wants to talk about how other kids do school, Where Kids Go to School Around the World by Stepanka Sekaninova, Helena Harastova and Michaela Bergmannova is a fun read.

The book looks at different types of schools in different places around the world, from an online school that serves kids in remote Australia to a British boarding school, a school for monks in training in India and a school on a boat in Bangladesh to name a few.

In all, 15 schools are highlighted, including a school in a hospital, a Montessori school, a school in a refugee camp and a sports school. Not all of them have locations mentioned but they give kids an idea of how others kids go about their school day.

Each school is illustrated with a scene on a two-page spread surrounded by facts about going to school and activities they do through the day from the point of view of a student. For example the page about a school in Japan talks about how kids help clean the classroom, what they eat for lunch and how they prepare for earthquakes, among other things.

The page about Finland notes they don’t start schooling until age 7, the school day doesn’t start until 9:30 and the kids don’t take tests. Your kids may have some opinions on which would be their favorite place to learn after reading this book!

Where Kids Go to School Around the World gives you a chance to compare and contrast different learning environments, and could lead to having kids talk about or draw what their ideal classroom would look like. You can talk about how some kids aren’t able to go to school because their families can’t afford it, there isn’t one locally or they just aren’t allowed to.

About the book: 36 pages, hardcover, published 2023 by Albatross Media. Suggested retail price $15.99.

Lacing is a great fine motor activity, and most kids go through a phase where they enjoy working with lacing cards. It helps promote focus and is a great quiet activity for kids to do in the car or to fill time in the classroom. And of course knowing how to lace is the beginning of knowing how to sew, which is great for all kids to learn (more on teaching kids to sew here).

There are lots of ways to make your own lacing cards. This one is just a pin but it’s easy to make lacing cards with any shape a child is into using cardboard and a nail to poke the holes. This could be fun for letter and number recognition or spelling the child’s name. Or try this version from Hey Azka, which uses a hole punch to make bigger holes so you can lace with shoe laces.

You can also just do lacing cards with paper, but it’s a great idea to print them on card stock and/or laminate them to make them sturdier for little hands. Homeschool Share has a set of alphabet lacing cards, which are free with email signup. Deceptively Educational has a set of number lacing cards with numbers 0 to 10.

Picklebums has some basic shape lacing cards, too.

Living Life and Learning has a bunch of cute printable lacing cards, including back to school designs, shoes kids can lace and learn to tie and ocean themed lacing cards. She also has tips for making your own lacing cards.

A Rose Tinted World made their lacing cards with craft foam, which makes them a little more durable than paper and you can cut it more easily than cardboard. They used a die cutting machine but you can also cut shapes by hand.

I also love the cat and mouse cards from Seam Whisperer. They also have some spring themed designs. So cute!

If you want to make lacing cards that are more open ended, check out this tutorial form Pretty Life Girls to make lacing cards that are more like geo boards. Theirs are made with wood but you can also do this with cardboard, craft foam or card stock.

Have you read?

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