Summer is the perfect time to ignite a child's imagination and foster a love for learning. With the freedom of long, sunny days, children can dive into creative and educational activities that make learning fun. One of the best ways to inspire young minds is through picture books, which offer a wealth of themes, adventures, and lessons. We’ve rounded up a variety of children’s learning activities inspired by The Secret Mountain’s musical picture books. These activities are designed to enhance reading skills, promote critical thinking, and provide endless hours of enjoyment. Whether you're looking for arts and crafts, language exercises or interactive games, these video-led activities will help you create memorable and educational summer experiences for children.
Learn about family members with comparative adjectives
Learn how to spell and compare size and height with the song “Family,” an upbeat duet all about family relationships, from the musical picture book Free to Be Me.
Introduce classical music to children with this animated story
In That’s My Piano, Sir!, travel through time following a charming little mouse called Minim as he bumps into Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister. In this short, animated film – narrated by Colm Feore – children meet Mozart as a young boy, long before he became the illustrious composer he’s known as today. Looking for more? Meet Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Paganini, Schubert and Hadyn in the Little Stories of Great Composers collection.
Follow along as acclaimed author Tomson Highway demonstrates how to count to 10 in Cree. For more Cree language activities, download the free teaching guide, developed with the support of the Cree Literacy Network to accompany the musical picture book Grand Cheif Salamoo Cook Is Coming to Town!
Explore how musical keys and tempos express emotion
The Piano by Joaquin Camp invites children to explore how music makes them feel. Hear how sounds attune to emotions. See how music colours the imagination. From synesthesia to onomatopoeia, these musical sketches show that learning big words and even bigger ideas can be as simple as PLINK, PLANK, PLONK.
Singalong to “Pop Goes the Weasel” and more folk songs for kids
Classic folk songs — including She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain, Little Bingo, This Old Man, Pop Goes the Weasel, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star — take on a life of their own in the album and picture book Sing Out! Six Classic Folk Songs for Tomorrow.
Get to know African and Caribbean instruments like the valiha
If you listen closely, you’ll discover a world of musical instruments on the albums that accompany the picture books Songs in the Shade of the Cashew and Coconut Trees: Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from Africa to the Caribbean and Songs on the Vanilla Trail: Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from East and Southern Africa. Find playlists, free activity sheets and teaching guides at the link below.
This empowering ditty from the musical picture book Free to Be Me offers children a vocabulary for bravery. It’s normal to be afraid sometimes, but we can also be calm, strong, and brave in all sorts of ways.
Singalong to “I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”
Get to know a quirky old lady who swallows a heap of animals—from a dog, cat, bird and spider to that infamous little fly. The children’s classic sets the table for several timeless folk tunes, written over 50 years ago. Tongue-in-cheek and smart at heart, this buffet of singalong alphabet, counting and rhyming songs is jaw-droppingly silly as it is devourable.
Improve French language skills with picture books and songs
Stories and songs are a gateway to understanding language and culture. We’ve rounded up our favourite French picture books and songs for improving speaking and reading skills.
Once upon a time there were four friends who always had oodles and oodles of fun together. Create a paper bag puppet character to join Bertie and gang in the musical picture books A Picnic in the Sun and A Feast Beneath the Moon!
Create birds and flowers with this arts and crafts tutorial
Learn how to create flowers and birds, inspired by the musical picture book “The Four Seasons of the Pipa,” with illustrator Josée Bisaillon. For this craft, you’ll need: A few sheets of coloured paper, crayons or markers, scissors and glue.
Practice vocabulary for professions, jobs and occupations
Improve your English jobs and occupations vocabulary with this song from Free to Be Me. Inspire young dreamers to imagine what they will be when they grow up with this pop-rock anthem, which includes the refrain: “I can be anything I want to be.”
“Jambo Bwana” was written by Kenyan musician Teddy Kalanda Harrison as a fun way to teach tourists a few words of Swahili. Here it's performed by Kamay Pelasimba for the musical picture book Songs on the Vanilla Trail:Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from East and Southern Africa.
Singalong to the incredibly catchy “Possum Anthem” from the musical picture book series We’re a Possum Family Band! The series follows Mama and Papa Poss on their travels across North America to the birthplaces of Cajun, jazz, country, rock’n’roll, blues, and traditional Quebecois music.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay informed about our new releases and events and for a chance to win our subscriber giveaway. To order books for your library or bookstore, please contact Hornblower Books/University of Toronto Press (Canada, United States) and MMS/BookSource (United Kingdom). For additional information, email info@thesecretmountain.com.
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14 Summer Learning Activities for Kids, Inspired by Picture Books
Summer is the perfect time to ignite a child's imagination and foster a love for learning. With the freedom of long, sunny days, children can dive into creative and educational activities that make learning fun. One of the best ways to inspire young minds is through picture books, which offer a wealth of themes, adventures, and lessons. We’ve rounded up a variety of children’s learning activities inspired by The Secret Mountain’s musical picture books. These activities are designed to enhance reading skills, promote critical thinking, and provide endless hours of enjoyment. Whether you're looking for arts and crafts, language exercises or interactive games, these video-led activities will help you create memorable and educational summer experiences for children.
Learn about family members with comparative adjectives
Learn how to spell and compare size and height with the song “Family,” an upbeat duet all about family relationships, from the musical picture book Free to Be Me.
See the activities. See the book.
Introduce classical music to children with this animated story
In That’s My Piano, Sir!, travel through time following a charming little mouse called Minim as he bumps into Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister. In this short, animated film – narrated by Colm Feore – children meet Mozart as a young boy, long before he became the illustrious composer he’s known as today. Looking for more? Meet Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Paganini, Schubert and Hadyn in the Little Stories of Great Composers collection.
See the collection, Little Stories of Great Composers. See the book. Download the free teaching guide.
Learn how to count in Cree
Follow along as acclaimed author Tomson Highway demonstrates how to count to 10 in Cree. For more Cree language activities, download the free teaching guide, developed with the support of the Cree Literacy Network to accompany the musical picture book Grand Cheif Salamoo Cook Is Coming to Town!
Watch the musical video. See the book. Download the free teaching guide.
Explore how musical keys and tempos express emotion
The Piano by Joaquin Camp invites children to explore how music makes them feel. Hear how sounds attune to emotions. See how music colours the imagination. From synesthesia to onomatopoeia, these musical sketches show that learning big words and even bigger ideas can be as simple as PLINK, PLANK, PLONK.
See the book.
Singalong to “Pop Goes the Weasel” and more folk songs for kids
Classic folk songs — including She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain, Little Bingo, This Old Man, Pop Goes the Weasel, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star — take on a life of their own in the album and picture book Sing Out! Six Classic Folk Songs for Tomorrow.
Listen to the album. See the book.
Get to know African and Caribbean instruments like the valiha
If you listen closely, you’ll discover a world of musical instruments on the albums that accompany the picture books Songs in the Shade of the Cashew and Coconut Trees: Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from Africa to the Caribbean and Songs on the Vanilla Trail: Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from East and Southern Africa. Find playlists, free activity sheets and teaching guides at the link below.
See more from the collection. Download free teaching guides.
Learn how to express different emotions
This empowering ditty from the musical picture book Free to Be Me offers children a vocabulary for bravery. It’s normal to be afraid sometimes, but we can also be calm, strong, and brave in all sorts of ways.
See the activities. See the book.
Singalong to “I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”
Get to know a quirky old lady who swallows a heap of animals—from a dog, cat, bird and spider to that infamous little fly. The children’s classic sets the table for several timeless folk tunes, written over 50 years ago. Tongue-in-cheek and smart at heart, this buffet of singalong alphabet, counting and rhyming songs is jaw-droppingly silly as it is devourable.
See the book.
Improve French language skills with picture books and songs
Stories and songs are a gateway to understanding language and culture. We’ve rounded up our favourite French picture books and songs for improving speaking and reading skills.
See the playlist. See more picture books written in French.
Make paper bag puppet characters
Once upon a time there were four friends who always had oodles and oodles of fun together. Create a paper bag puppet character to join Bertie and gang in the musical picture books A Picnic in the Sun and A Feast Beneath the Moon!
See more.
Create birds and flowers with this arts and crafts tutorial
Learn how to create flowers and birds, inspired by the musical picture book “The Four Seasons of the Pipa,” with illustrator Josée Bisaillon. For this craft, you’ll need: A few sheets of coloured paper, crayons or markers, scissors and glue.
See the book. Download the free teaching guide.
Practice vocabulary for professions, jobs and occupations
Improve your English jobs and occupations vocabulary with this song from Free to Be Me. Inspire young dreamers to imagine what they will be when they grow up with this pop-rock anthem, which includes the refrain: “I can be anything I want to be.”
See the book.
Pick up some Swahili with the song “Jambo Bwana”
“Jambo Bwana” was written by Kenyan musician Teddy Kalanda Harrison as a fun way to teach tourists a few words of Swahili. Here it's performed by Kamay Pelasimba for the musical picture book Songs on the Vanilla Trail: Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from East and Southern Africa.
See the book. Download the free teaching guide.
Learn to sing the “Possum Anthem”
Singalong to the incredibly catchy “Possum Anthem” from the musical picture book series We’re a Possum Family Band! The series follows Mama and Papa Poss on their travels across North America to the birthplaces of Cajun, jazz, country, rock’n’roll, blues, and traditional Quebecois music.
See the first book. Download the free teaching guide.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay informed about our new releases and events and for a chance to win our subscriber giveaway. To order books for your library or bookstore, please contact Hornblower Books/University of Toronto Press (Canada, United States) and MMS/BookSource (United Kingdom). For additional information, email info@thesecretmountain.com.