Do you ever take a walk around your neighborhood at night and notice all of the different windows lit in the buildings around you? Do you think about your neighbors or the people in the office buildings and wonder about their lives? Today we are looking at a new book that talks about all of the windows we see, and the natural curiosity we have for the world around us.

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Windows was written by Julia Denos and illustrated by E. B. Goodale. This vividly illustrated story invites the reader to walk around your neighborhood at the end of the day, looking at all the different windows and the life you see around you. The book follows a young child and dog as they take their nightly stroll and imagine what is happening in the homes and buildings around them. It shares some ideas of things you may see, from animal life in the street to TV shows and family dinners inside houses and apartments.

From the differently shaped windows on certain houses, to the empty and abandoned ones that encourage the imagination to soar, there are lots of stories to be told. All of these observations are illustrated in colorful artwork, taking you right along on the walk with them. The book not only touches on our natural curiosity in the events around us, but also on the warmth and love that you experience when the window you are looking through is your own.

Take a look around you

The Windows in Your World– Take a walk as a family around your own neighborhood and take note of the different windows you see. Are there different shapes, sizes and styles? What do you think is happening in the houses and buildings around you? (I am not encouraging you to stare in people’s windows though. That would be weird). Make up stories about the people that live in the buildings around you, or the cars driving past you. Where are they going? What are they doing when they get home? This is a great activity for encouraging creativity and discussion.

Creating Your Own Story – Give kids the opportunity to create their own addition to the story. Have kids think about one of the houses you saw on your walk. Let them create their own story about the people in the building and what they are doing. If they are too young to write their story, have them tell it to you while they illustrate it. This is not only a great way to let kids be creative, but hearing their stories can be a lot of fun for you too!

Have some fun with shadows and shapes

What Do You See? – When the lights are on in the windows at night, you can often see what is happening behind them. We decided to have a little fun with this idea and work on making inferences. Hang a curtain in your home and put a bright light a few feet behind it. Stand between the light and the curtain and act out certain actions or activities. Pretend you are making dinner or reading a book. Have kids guess what you are doing based on the shadows they see on the curtain.

Window Shape Sort – The book takes a look at some of the different shapes of windows that the narrator recognizes on various homes. I decided to use that part of the story to create a game to give my daughter a chance to play with shapes. This game is an easy one to set up, but promotes shape recognition and sorting practice for young kids. Cut out a set of shapes from different colors of construction paper. These will be your buildings. Cut smaller versions of those shapes out of yellow paper. These will be the windows. Have kids sort the correctly shaped windows onto the different shape houses. You could also assign numbers to the houses and have kids place the correct number of windows on each one.

Look through your own windows

Suncatchers – Decorate your own window for the people outside to see! There are lots of different suncatcher crafts that you can easily do with your kids. Choose one (or several!) and fill your windows with them to give passers-by something to look at. We created suncatchers with tissue paper and contact paper. She rips the paper up and sticks it to the sticky side of the paper. When she is finished, I lay a second layer of contact paper down so the sticky sides are together. I then cut a shape out of it and attach a ribbon. I like that ripping the paper gives my daughter practice with fine motor skills, while the open ended design gives her the freedom to be creative.

Window Art – What would people see if they looked in your window? I was inspired by this post by the Pinterested Parent to create our own windows that we could light from behind. While her family created beautiful Christmas scenes, I thought this activity paired perfectly with the book. Kids can draw a scene from your own home onto a piece of wax paper, then you can light it from behind with a flameless candle. Check out her post for the full instructions! 

Creating stories about the world around you is a great way to encourage creativity in your kids. Windows gives you a great way to start a conversation and have some fun together!