Book Review: Mission:Explore

 
I was really drawn to "Mission:Explore" because my daughter is such a curious little girl. She loves the outdoors and is always looking for a new adventure. "Mission:Explore" was created by The Geography Collective (based in the UK) and is illustrated by Tom Morgan-Jones. "Mission:Explore" is a collection of over one hundred activities to help children explore their environment. Noel Jenkins Noel Jenkins stated in Geographical Magazine that this journal is "designed to be read, scribbled on, illustrated, smeared, scratched and sniffed, it may just be the most revolutionary geography-related book ever published."

I received an ebook copy of this book, which was a little disappointing because my daughter really wanted to keep the journal. I wrote down the instructions on a separate piece of paper and she was then able to keep her own notes. My daughter attempted several of the activities so far, including "Follow A Friend", "Spend A Day Without Turning Anything On", "Find A Red Stone", and "Let A Dog Take You For A Walk". My daughter had a wonderful time doing these activities, giggling throughout. She was not that successful on the first two activities. "Follow A Friend" requires you to follow someone around while you hold a newspaper with two eyes cut out and see how long you can go without being noticed. She lasted all of about five seconds because of her giggling. "Spend a Day Without Turning Something On" didn't go so well either because it was a dark day and she kept turning on the bathroom and hallway lights. However, she was successful with the last two activities, particularly "Let Your Dog Take You For A Walk". We do not let her hold the leash often because our dog will sometimes bolt and take our daughter down! I held my breath and allowed her to take the leash for this activity though and I was relieved to see the dog didn't act up! My daughter had a blindfold on and was led around the backyard. She was required to take in information about her environment using her other senses. She loves these types of activities! She is such a little scientist! She is definitely excited to try more of them. It was also nice to have ideas of activities for her to do outside because she has been bored with her usual routine.

More about the book:
"Mission:Explore is a brilliant way to stimulate children's and young people's interest in their social and physical environment, their curiosity and their sense of the absurd. The case for risk as a necessary and exciting part of life, that needs handling intelligently, is acknowledged well. This is geography, and fieldwork, at its most creative, and has the potential to inspire a new generation of thoughtful, ethical and courageous geographers." Susan Buckingham, Professor of Geography

“It is very important for children to experience adventurous play and risk so they can learn to manage risk and keep themselves safe. Mission:Explore helps to do this in a fun and exciting way.” The Child Safety Education Coalition

"Should be compulsory reading for all university geography students" Professor Danny Dorling

This book is wonderful and I would highly recommend it to parents who want to get their children outside!

How can you get a copy? You can visit HERE to purchase a copy for $10.39!

You can also visit the website to read about hundreds of other missions. Although the website has missions for the city of London, they also have missions that can be done anywhere.

Read more about the Love Outdoor Play Campaign here!