Using "As We Grow" by Libby Walden in Y1 Human Body Lessons
"As We Grow" by Libby Walden is a lovely picture book that explores the stages of human growth and development from birth to old age. While it may not be the most direct resource for teaching the specifics of human anatomy in Y1, the book could still be a valuable addition to your human body lessons for several reasons:
Gentle Introduction to Life Stages
The rhyming text and beautiful illustrations gently introduce the concept of how people change and grow over time. This could provide a relatable starting point for discussing the human life cycle as part of your Y1 human body topic.
Diversity Representation
The book depicts people of diverse skin colors, hair textures, and ages, which helps normalize the variety of ways people can look at different stages of life. Seeing this diversity represented in a book could be affirming for your students.
Emotional Literacy
Some reviewers note that the book could be useful for exploring emotions and helping children identify and express how they feel. This emotional literacy is an important part of overall health and wellbeing.
Calming Resource
One Amazon reviewer mentioned using the book to help calm children, suggesting it has a soothing, comforting quality that could be beneficial in the classroom.
While "As We Grow" may not be your primary resource for teaching the specifics of the human body, it could be a lovely supplementary book to include in your Y1 human body lessons. The gentle exploration of growth and diversity, along with the potential for emotional learning, make it a worthwhile addition to your classroom library.
