Playful Learning: A Review

I recently had a chance to read through Playful Learning: Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder by Mariah Bruehl. This book came highly recommended to me by Finn's preschool teacher (who is also my dear friend), and I am so glad that I read it. I actually enjoyed it so much that after I had to return it to the library, I immediately put this book on my wish list (and am hoping that I may find it under my Christmas tree this year). We own a lot of books at our house, and I get tons of hand-me-down reads from my mom as well. Almost everything I read comes from the library or was given to me by my mom. For me to actually want to purchase a new book means that I really, really liked it.
This book is geared towards either a homeschooling family, or families who want to spend time nurturing their child's educational development. The activities are developed for the 4 to 8 year old range. Bruehl breaks the book into chapters, each of which is a school subject: writing, reading, math, science, art, geography, and conflict resolution. Within each chapter she includes games and activities that teach aspects of each of these topics.... but in ways that are both interesting to the child and relevant to the real world. There are no boring worksheets or 'scenario' situations. The focus is on hands-on exploration and in sensory learning. Along with each activity comes a list of "books to inspire"; additional reading that relates to the learning activity.
This book is so well put together that I can't wait to put it in action in my own home. I don't homeschool Finn, but I do strongly believe in nurturing his learning, and try to include "educational" activities whenever I can . I put "educational" in quotations as I believe that almost everything a child does is truly educational, but I also want to encourage his learning in the traditional school-based subjects as well. Anyways, as soon as I ever find some time, I plan on doing some organizing and setting up several of the activities that are included in Playful Learning. Once I get a system down, I can rotate through, and offer different activities during different weeks.
If you have not yet gotten your hands on this book, please do! I would say to borrow it from your local library, but I am guessing that you will love it so much that you will want a copy of your own. I know that I do!