Kids Books About Enthusiasm

I love Taylor Swift. I’ve loved Taylor Swift from the first time I heard Teardrops on my Guitar on country radio driving home from my job as a hostess at a pizza restaurant. I loved Taylor Swift even when she was uncool, when she was “trying too hard”, when she was a “snake”. I can truly say I’ve never wavered in my fandom of Taylor Swift and her music.

One of my favourite Taylor Swift quotes is “the worst kind of person is someone who makes someone feel bad, dumb, or stupid for being excited about something.” I would agree with that. I get excited about a lot of things that most people don’t. Check out my post a few weeks ago about jellyfish as a case in point.

But I don’t care – I love being enthusiastic about things I find interesting. I love sharing my enthusiasm with others.

What is Enthusiasm?

According to Google, the word enthusiasm comes from the Greek word, “enthousiasmos (from enthousiazein) which means to “be inspired or possessed by a God” (Greek word for God is theos), or being possessed by a positive confident spirit.

When you are enthusiastic, you are bright, happy, and you think good thoughts about the future. You look forward to things. When you do something enthusiastically, you put your whole heart into it, you try your best, and you do it with a cheerful, eager, and happy attitude.

It’s easy to be enthusiastic about fun things you love, like going to the playground. It is harder to be enthusiastic about jobs you don’t like – taking out the garbage, doing laundry, or cleaning your bedroom. But you can choose to bring enthusiasm along with you for these jobs. You can still choose to be cheerful while you take out the garbage – maybe by singing a happy tune, or making it a game by timing yourself and awarding yourself points for completing the job. When you choose enthusiasm, even the most boring jobs can be fun.

Sometimes adulthood can really be a drag. The endless laundry, the meals nobody eats, budgeting, taxes, scheduling doctor’s appointments – it’s hard to be enthusiastic about adulthood sometimes, or even ever.

While reading the Brave Learner, I was struck sideways by the question of enthusiasm for my adult life.

“Children know the day will come when it’s up to them to live alone and pay the bills. What they also know is that their independence can mean all kinds of delicious opportunities for adventure. Or not. You’re their chief role model for adulthood. When they look at you, what do they see? Do they see an adult who makes adulthood look awesome? Or do they see adulthood as a painful sacrifice filled with endless responsibility and little pleasure?”

Julie Bogart, the Brave Learner, p. 219

I had to stop reading and reflect on that question. Was I doing things in my adult life that I found “awesome”? Could my kids see the big, exciting things I was pursuing in my free-time away from homeschooling them? Being a homeschool mom – my kids are around me almost all the time. Am I making it seem like teaching them [math] is an enormous burden, or am I enthusiastic about it?

Julie continues with some excellent life advice,

Make adulthood look awesome and watch your children aspire to great things. In fact, your strongest gift to your teens is taking real pleasure in your skills, hobbies, talents, and opportunities, not theirs.”

Julie Bogart, the Brave Learner, p. 221

How was I taking pleasure in my own skills, hobbies, talents, and opportunities? Certainly writing this blog standing at the kitchen counter while the fish sticks cook in the oven is a hobby. I also play music with my husband at the church a few times per month. Last night I spoke up at a city council meeting on behalf of a local museum where I volunteer. I’ve started sewing another quilt just for fun. I don’t finish books that I’m not enjoying.

As I homeschool my kids, it’s all too easy to get bogged down in the daily grind of the 3 Rs. But even more important learning happens in those moments when my kids are enthusiastic about something. Following their interests yields great learning. A Mark Rober youtube video about an Octopus lead to reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which lead to researching Atlantis, which lead to a Disney movie, which lead to submarines, submersibles, the Marianas trench, and…you guessed it, jellyfish. All without fighting, cajoling, or threatening. Enthusiastic learning is the best kind of learning. I know I need to be reminded to make space for my kids’ enthusiasm in the day’s plans and not just plod on ahead with checking off the school list and ask myself the question: How am I making space for enthusiasm in our school day today?

Below are some books that I think have enthusiastic characters (or characters that change from unenthusiastic to enthusiastic as the story develops). This is certainly not the only virtue in these stories, it’s just the one I decided to highlight with these stories this week. With my kids we talked about what they are enthusiastic about, what kinds of jobs they aren’t enthusiastic about, and how we could make even the most boring task fun with a little bit of cheer.

Kids Books About Enthusiasm

The Raft – Jim LaMarche

In The Raft by Jim LaMarche, a little boy is not happy about having to spend his summer with his grandma in the woods, disconnected from his television and video games. Yet, over the summer he discovers a raft which brings him to a place of peaceful cheerfulness. I love this book. I would love to spend a summer drifting around a river on a raft.

A Journey to the North Pole in Alfie Weather by Shirley Hughes

Alfie Weather is a compilation of a few shorter stories. In a Journey to the North Pole, Alfie, Annie Rose and their grandma try to go for a walk in the rain, but it is too rainy – so they adventure forth inside grandma’s home instead. They take a dreary day outside and make it fun with some enthusiasm and imagination.

Today I will Fly by Mo Willems

Piggie is one of the most enthusiastic characters I’ve ever met. I love Piggie. I love her zeal for life and her quest for pigs to fly.

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown

In Stone Soup, many villagers are unenthusiastic about having to share their meager food stores with returning soldiers. With the soldiers’ enthusiasm for soup made from a stone, the villagers all come together to prepare a wonderful feast to share.

I am Invited to a Party! by Mo Willems

Piggie is back to drench us all in enthusiasm! Introverted Gerald is not really sure about going to this party…but Piggie makes sure they are prepared for all types of parties.

How could you make adulthood more “awesome”? Are you doing things that you enjoy, or are you only leaving time for work? Are you coming at your non-preferred tasks with a positive attitude or dread? How can you model enthusiasm for your children?

Warmly,

-Heather

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