Teaching the Crew

Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs Science Unit-Part Two

2012-01-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

We have been using Crinkleroot's Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs as a science spine for the Littles for the past few weeks. I blogged about the first part of the book here. We're finally done so the book can be returned to the library. I really do need to invest in them for our own shelves. Here's the remaining activities:

We met Owl next. As I began reading about Owl, I asked each child what they already knew about owls. I was pleased that they knew so much already! They learned nothing new from this section, but did enjoy doing a virtual owl pellet dissection. If I had planned ahead, I would have ordered a pellet kit. They are inexpensive and a fun, hands-on activity that they would have enjoyed. We did an owl coloring page and talked about owl characters in books we've read. There are many!

We read about Snowshoe Rabbit and Bobcat on the same day, since they are a common prey/predator pair. The Lambies enjoyed learning about the way the Lord camouflages the hare during the different seasons. They were also amazed at the size of his feet! I used this amazing video (even though it has a lynx rather than a bobcat) to show how agile he can be. Be sure to preview this one if you have sensitive littles.

We watched several videos of bobcats winning the race and enjoying their meal afterward. We also enjoyed the "Bobcat Kittens" videos. This is the coloring page we used. We discussed how wild animals are not pets, of course, and how, now matter how very cute they are, we mustn't touch any wild animal we may see in the forest. I have at least one child who wants to be a wildlife rehabilitator when they grow up.

We live close enough to take a trip to CatHaven and I plan to take all the children there this spring or summer. They even have a 'Track and Trail' class they can take!

Red Fox came next. We have some foxes around here and saw one once, running across the road. None of the Littles remembered it, though. We watched a video or three and looked at this page. We're not in Virginia, but I appreciated the big pictures and simple summaries. Note, too, the links at the bottom to useful videos and a coloring page. (Can you NOT mention Redd Foxx during this lesson?)

Last but not least was the Grouse. What a pretty bird! We used this site to learn a bit more about this handsome fellow. There are tabs for additional info, including the interesting sounds a male makes with his wings and a video, too. I printed off this coloring page.

So, that's all for this Crinkleroot book. I let the children color a picture of Crinkleroot himself, too, so they could remember this fun unit and all we did. I hope you find it in your library and share it with your children, too!

Elementary Christian Reading

2012-01-19T12:44:00.000-08:00

My dear nearly-non-blogging friend Twiggy wanted me to do a post about Christian reading for kids. I have to admit that I don't seek out many specifically Christian series or books. I mostly keep the reading to classic things that don't go against our beliefs. That being said, there are some that are in our library and come to mind.

First and foremost, the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. Every one of my children who are able have read these. Most have listened to at least one read aloud. I really love these books. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was read to me, and the rest of the class, in the third grade by my favorite teacher, Mr. C. I'm so glad that he introduced me to Narnia!

Another from my childhood was "In Grandma's Attic" by Arleta Richardson. My parents bought me the first while we were driving from Northern Oregon to Northern Washington. I began to read and read until the book was finished. I looked up and we were at the ferry boat, ready to end our drive! Those were the fastest hours ever. I received many of the remaining books as I grew, buying the last few that I didn't have as an adult. I have a complete series now and enjoy sharing them with my girls.

This is a new publication, but we enjoy it. The Good and Evil comic Bible is published by The Pearls of No Greater Joy (in)fame(y). I recommend caution when reading their parenting books, though I agree with a good portion of what they teach. I stay away from their Bible studies altogether since I don't have the time to study their Biblical beliefs in depth and am hesitant due to a few things I have read in their publication. Their comic Bible, however, was well received by my older children and I saw nothing that gave me pause.

Brian Wildsmith's Jesus, Joseph, Exodus and The Easter Story are beautifully illustrated, fairly simple stories. I was put off by a rather clear drawing of Joseph's hiney in his story.

Paul Maier's excellent, beautiful books are a great addition to our library. He has done a great job relating the stories of Genesis, Exodus, Easter, Christ's birth, Martin Luther and the first Christians. I put these out often and the children pore over the beautiful paintings.

I have The Sugar Creek Gang series and The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black, but have not read them through so I can't review them. Do any of you have something to share?

Learning Bursts

2012-01-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

My daughter, Missy, is developmentally delayed. She learns differently than all of my others, even her twin brother. Over the years, I've discovered that she learns in fits and starts. She'll learn new things, whether academic or physical, and be "open" to learning for a while. Then she'll plateau for weeks at a time, not able to learn anything new, even struggling to remember what she had so recently learned. Then, seemingly without reason, it's like a switch turns and she's back to learning. I have begun calling these her "learning bursts".

During her academic plateau times, we simply review the basic things she knows. We cement them into her brain. She reads the same phonics stories and does the same type of math over and over, and gets enough wrong, or needs enough help, that I know her brain is "off". I continue in these times to read aloud rich literature and have her narrate. She continues copy work and other hands on projects. I continue having her sit in on lessons with siblings, even if she doesn't seem to be absorbing the information. Then, suddenly, she starts getting pages done super fast, without help and reads her stories easily. I know it's time to introduce new things.

During her most recent learning burst, I had her begin to do her math without the assistance of blocks. It had taken her over half of a school year to master the use of blocks. The last time I asked her to attempt problems without blocks she was unable to complete even the simplest of problems. It was simply to much for her brain to take in. This time, however, she easily accomplished it. She did page after page, (asking for more!), and scored 100%.

Today I introduced subtraction. I explained it and had her try without blocks. Best to skip a step, right? Well, that was too much, at least at first. So she completed her page using blocks and got 100%! We'll see what tomorrow brings. I love learning bursts!

Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs Science Unit

2012-01-04T12:22:00.000-08:00

I've been using this Crinkleroot book for science for the Littles. We love Crinkleroot!

The first animal mentioned is Beaver. We read the section here, then went through Getting To Know Nature's Children: Beavers. We did a coloring page and watched some videos on YouTube.

Otters are next. The kids had fun sliding down the back of the bathtub like an otter slides down a muddy bank. I showed them pictures we had taken when we saw the otter exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium a few years back. Of course we also watched some videos, including the MBA Otter-Cam and colored a page.

Raccoon is the next one we met. In addition to videos, we did a coloring page and read Jim Arnosky's Raccoons and Ripe Corn. We discussed why raccoons are considered pests in some places and how dexterous they are. We looked at the anatomy of their hands and how they have functional (but not opposable) thumbs. I taped down the children's thumbs to show them how hard life would be without thumbs!

I found a great video showing Beaver and Otter together during wintertime. I now can ask a Little is he or she is acting like Beaver or Otter and they will have a character trait to identify.

Whitetail Deer was next. We saw a doe and her two fawns last summer when we were camping and the children have a great memory of it. We learned about how bucks grow their antlers and why. We learned how they shed them every year. The Lambies spoke of trying to find some next time we are in the forest before the mice nibble them away. I let them feel some faux-velvet so they knew the texture of the velvet on the antlers as they grow. We read Deer At The Brook and watched a clip or two of the graceful creatures.

I'll continue blogging our activities for the second part of the book when we are finished with them!

Nice How That Happens

2011-12-29T12:17:00.000-08:00

We're back to school after a two week break for Christmas. I love how things are coming together, too. The Littles are enjoying a science book called "Crinkleroot's Book of Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs". One of the first animals mentioned are beavers. We are reading a beaver book to get to know more about them before moving on to Crinkleroot's next friend. We're also beginning our geography study on Oregon, which is known as The Beaver State. Happily, when choosing a book to read for history, Trouble and Anna picked out "Roughing It on the Oregon Trail", not knowing what our geography study would be! I'll probably write out a Beaver Mini-Unit with links even though we aren't really doing a mini-unit this time.

Thanksgiving Mini Unit

2011-11-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

It's nearing Thanksgiving! Time for the little ones to learn all about pilgrims, Native Americans and turkeys, right?

Books we read:

Mousekin's Thanksgiving

Cranberry Thanksgiving

On the Mayflower

Samuel Eaton's Day

Sarah Morton's Day

Tapenum's Day

Three Young Pilgrims

We read portions of Turkey, Pilgrims and Indian Corn.

We listened to real Turkey Calls and watched some videos of wild turkeys. We compared their lives to that of factory turkeys.

We made the Cranberry Bread recipe from Cranberry Thanksgiving. That was a lot of fun! I also made a Gluten-Free version so I could enjoy it, too. I also want to try the grain-free version. I'll blog pictures of the baking later on in their own post.

I printed off a few coloring pages:

Turkey

Pilgrim's Give Thanks

Mayflower

Feast

There are, of course, many crafts ideas for Thanksgiving/turkeys. I am NOT fond of arts-and-crafts. When we actually do a crafty thing, the Little really enjoy it, though. Now that the Bigs are big, they can run crafts, and they enjoy it! Hooray!

Duel Reading

2011-11-16T19:15:00.000-08:00

Troubles and Polly have been working together, reading Days With Frog and Toad. Polly is reading aloud and Troubles is following along...but did you see his book?

Look closely...

Nope, he didn't want the same one as she was reading. He chose this one instead.

Think he'll be conversing en Espanol soon? He just might the way his crazy little brain works!

Cross Lateral Movements

2011-11-06T15:26:00.000-08:00

I've been researching cross lateral movements to assist Missy, age 9.5, with her reading. She has learning challenges and I am hoping that these will help her recall the phonic sounds and how they blend into words. We've been using 100 Easy Lessons for a couple of years and it just isn't clicking with her.

When I first introduced Cross Lateral Clapping (think of "Miss Mary Mack"), she couldn't do it, even slowly. She had fun trying, though! After a few days of practice, it was if she'd been playing this game for years! I call her a few times a day now and just clap with her for a minute.

I looked up some more exercises to add to our play time. I found one idea on one site, another couple on another. Finally I found one blog that had lots of ideas in one place: Brain Exercises. What a resource! This week we will begin doing windmills and elbows-to-knees in the mornings.

I have also dropped 100 Easy Lessons for now and began using Progressive Phonics. We're doing the alphabet portion first, beginning with Alphabetti Book 1-1. It's enough challenge for her and she's enjoying it. She's mastered the first book, "Dod the Dog" and has moved on to "Dod and Bob". It's a nice blend of phonics and sight work and has accompanying copywork, coloring pages and other busywork to print off if you want.

She may not ever read "War and Peace" but I do want her to have basic reading skills. If sight reading is something that will help her, I am going to give it a try.

Elementary Boy Books

2011-11-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

It's always a little easier to find books for girls than for boys. My friend Crystal asked for ideas for her handsome readers, so here goes! I tried to choose books that might not be on the lists of great books that are easily found on the Internet.

Any and all Clyde Robert Bulla books. There are way too many to list, but every single one is good.

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth

The Bones on Black Spruce Mountain by David Budbill You'll not find this book on any list of great literature, but it captured my imagination as a child, and all of my children have enjoyed it as well. I forgot the name of the book, but gave the librarian at every library of every school that I worked the details I remembered. I searched in vain. Not one knew the story. When I was around 25 years old, I finally found a copy at a used book store. I was ecstatic!

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George There are also sequels to this story.

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks Read all of the series.

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden Another excellent series.

Autumn and Thanksgiving Books

2011-10-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Hard on the heels of Halloween, it's time to discuss autumn books. I love this season, though we experience little of it here in the Central Valley of California. We do get cooler weather and changing leaves, but not the brilliant colors so many of you enjoy. We get our fall color on the pages of favorite stories! Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year (along with Christmas and spring). Oh, how we need to remember to be thankful to the Lord for His abundant blessings! Here are a few (and I do mean a few!) of the books we enjoy this time of year.

The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dagliesh is one that we read every fall. Helen Sewell's illustrations are so gentle and classic.

Now It's Fall is a tiny little Lois Lenski story. It's a perfect before-bed story, short, sweet and filled with LL's gracefully illustrations.

A Plump and Perky Turkey is the funnest book to read! It's a traditional November book for The Crew. It's got great rhymes and cadence and a creative, humorous story.

Leaf Man is one that I do not own, but it's one I will grab the first time I see it. I like all of Lois Ehlert's other books!

I have many of the adorable Mousekin books. Mousekin's Thanksgiving is as good as any. The details of Mousekin's life, and the animals he encounters, make this series useful for nature studies as well as literature.

Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving I love the way this book gives all the glory to God. Squanto's life parallels the Bible's Joseph and it's clearly laid out in this well-illustrated story.

Sarah Morton's Day and the rest of the series are good for studying the life of the folks who lived in the 1600's. They are accurate representations of the activities of their days.

If You Were At The First Thanksgiving is full of facts about the life and times of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Small paragraphs make the nuggets of information easily understood by younger readers, while not being "dumbed down" in content.

Scary Books...

2011-10-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

... but not too scary! I am not a big fan of Halloween. I very much dislike the ugly, death-exalting facets of it. I don't mind "Hallowee-lite" costumes; the innocent, playful Halloween of days past. I'd rather attend a Harvest carnival than trick-or-treat. I do like to read some 'scary' books to the Littles at this time of year. Here's are some favorites.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is a classic. Every one of my children has listened to this repeatedly. Now, my older children are reading it to the younger.

Teeny Tiny is a teeny tiny paperback book that shares an ancient folktale. It's not a very long or complicted story, but children love it anyway.

We were introduced to the the Cranberry Family by FIAR. This is a fun story with engaging characters.

Another illustrated by Tomie de Paola, The Vanishing Pumpkin tells the tale of a couple, each HUNDREDS of years old, bickering their way through a spooky adventure. I think it's a darling story!

Mercer Mayer has a great series of books with monsters and such. I avoided these books with little-Littles until they were about six. No need to introduce the idea of things living under the bed or in the closet if they haven't made that up themselves already. If I did have a child with a fear of creatures, I would use these books to assuage them. He also has a series of Little Monster books that are similar to his classic Little Critter books.

McBroom's Ghost is just part of the great McBroom series with which every child should be familiar. I can't say enough about McBoom and his family. I love their tenacity, their aplomb and the simple fact that they are always there for each other.

Mommy? is a great pop-up books that we have enjoyed. I have even blogged about it before.

The Trip is a sweet book, like all Ezra Jack Keats books. It's another story in the Louie series.

Can I add another Tomie book? Four Scary Stories is always worth the read.

What about you, Do you have any favorite scary-but-not-too-scary stories? Please share! I'll post The Crew's favorite Autumn Books next time.

New Books

2011-10-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

I went to a book sale tonight and came home with a mixed bag of great books. The first is "A Voyage of the Basset" by James Christensen. Wow. This book leaves me speechless.

The art is truly amazing. I can't believe that I hadn't heard of it before! Make a search of the title in Google images and enjoy some of the lovely artwork. Here's a sample:

I haven't read the story yet, but if it matches the illustrations, it'll be wonderful!

The next one is "Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like" by Jay Williams.

This is illustrated by Mercer Mayer, so you know the art is great. The colors in this book are deep and earthy, just like I like best. The story is good, too! Han is polite and generous, to the joy of all involved. He also knows not to judge a book by it's cover!

I grab any and all Patricia Polacco books I see, if they are a reasonable price. This nice hardcover is a library-bound copy that looks new. Bonus-I didn't have this title yet!

Bill Peet doesn't write great literature, but he does write entertaining stories that stick with my children. The vocabulary is challenging, but the Littles understand just fine and always want another book. I am *this* close to having ALL his stories now!

I will be reading about the Kweeks with the Littles tomorrow, I believe.

Stand Back......

2011-09-29T17:25:00.001-07:00

I picked up a gem of a book at the thrift store today! For one thin little dime, I became the owner of "Stand Back," Said The Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!" by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Wallace Tripp. Have you read this story? It's hilarious! I am always on the lookout for good rhyming books. Two of my sons and one of my daughters seem to have been born without the ability to rhyme or recognize a rhyme when they hear it. We read lots of rhyming books to help them overcome this lack of poetic ears.

I read it to Troubles, Jack and Missy and they immediately asked to hear it again. That's a sign of a great book. As I was looking it up on Amazon to get the link for this post, Troubles saw the computer screen and gasped, "Your going to sell that book???? I don't want you to sell that one!". That's another sign of a great book!

Anatomy Dude

2011-09-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

I've written before about how much Troubles likes anatomy. He's enjoying sitting in on Exploring Creation with Anatomy with the bigger kids. He's not required to do anything he doesn't want to, but he's listened to most of the lessons and participated in several of the "Try This's" and experiments. Today we got out Anatomy Dude to examine his muscles. Guess who has been playing Dr. Frankenstein all day?

I showed Jack and Troubles an Amazon page of anatomy models. Oh, how they want everything, especially the Anatomy Dude's Head, Skull, Heart and Hand! Maybe "Santa" will be bringing human models for Christmas!!

California State Unit

2011-09-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

Image from geology.com

Here's a nice colorful map to show the different regions of California. We discussed the mountain ranges (Coastal and Sequoia), the Central Valley, the desert regions (Mojave, specifically) and the differing climates, plants and animals.

Here's a nice selection of printable maps of California.

We discussed the state symbols: flag, motto, bird, flower etc. This was just an overview, with no requirement for memorization of this information.

California State Flag Online Coloring Page I like activities like this since they use no ink to print, create no paper to manage, are fun and engaging for a time and teach mouse skills and hand/eye coordination.

Lots of printable and interactive activities

Mission Pictures We briefly discussed missions, but we do not devote very much time to them. We looked over the pics we took at Mission San Buenaventura when we visited and talked about how the Spanish helped and hurt the Indian culture.

We played a game with California trivia.

We learned about the failure of the Kaweah Colony. This area isn't too far from us, and we have been to the site in the past.

Here's an Amazon Listmania that I found helpful.

We watched a neat video clip of Market Street in San Fransisco days before the Great Quake. We also looked at lots of pictures of the aftermath and compared the with the 1989 quake in Loma Prieta. This, of course, led to a discussion of earthquake preparedness, the reasons we prep, and the real-time earthquake map I have bookmarked. Go to the left sidebar to change to a view of the whole USA or the world.

Books we read:

Nine For California by Sonia Levitin
John Muir by Charles Graves
If You Lives At The Time Of The Great San Fransisco Earthquake by Ellen Levine

The Tower of Babel

2011-08-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

We are using Mystery of History this year and are studying Sumer and the Tower of Babel. Among other activities, the younger kids created ziggurats using Lego. I love how each has their own personal style, yet all are similar to the pictures we looked at online.

These are the remains of a ziggurat in the ancient city of Ur. Abram probably walked past this!

This is an imprint of a seal from ancient Babylon showing a ziggurat. I love history.

How I Teach Larger Place Value (MUS Beta)

2011-08-27T19:34:00.001-07:00

How do you turn 200,000 + 40,000 + 6,000 + 500 into 246,500 instead of 2,465?

Most of my children have had difficulty learning to order these big numbers. Personally, I wonder if this lesson group should be in a later book, but it's in Beta, so we deal with it. Here's what I do.

I have them turn lined paper to the side, so they can write one number in each lined column. I have them write the biggest number first, ie. 200,000. It takes SIX columns to write it out. I mention that you have to think about these big numbers right to left, which is backward from reading, so it makes it hard. I use my fingertip to block out most of the number and say "units", move it to the left slightly, "tens", repeat movement, "hundreds" etc. to teach the names of the places. I tell them that they can count the number of digits to make sure it is the same as the one printed on the page.

Then I have them write the next number (40,000) underneath the first, UNITS FIRST! I know it's backwards from the usual way, but it's what worked for me. That way units end up under units, tens, under tens, etc. I cover the number again, and verbally point out that the units are lined up, then the tens, then the hundreds, etc. Then they write the next number, units first, (6,000), then the next, units first, (500). Then we add the units, the tens, the hundreds, etc, to get the right number. I emphasis that in this kind of problem, the answer must have the same number of digits as the largest (and usually it's the first written) number in the series they are to add.

Some of my older students overheard me teaching this and came to say that it was the hardest part of the book. They also said that when these problems come up (very infrequently) later on, it seems much easier than it does when you are first learning it. I love spontaneous encouragement!

Also, I do not make my students *master* this skill like I do math facts. It is not really used much after these lessons and, like I said at the beginning, it is a higher skill, in my opinion, than is needed at this level. It comes much more naturally later on.

Black Bear Mini-Unit

2011-08-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

Our school year has officially started! For my Littles (ages 9,9 and 6) we are beginning the year with a bear study. We're focusing on black bears, since they are our 'local' bear, with a sprinkling of grizzly, sun, koala, polar and panda for good measure. We had the good fortune of having a personal encounter with a black bear a few years ago while camping. The children were eating s'mores around the campfire in the afternoon. A bear came wandering near our camp, so my Honey, my SIL and I stood between the bear and the kids and watched him walk past. The children could see him well and they all, except Troubles, remember the experience.

For our study we read some books:

Bears for Kids by Jeff Fair
Black Bear Baby by Alan Lind
The Three Bears by Paul Galdone
Bearskin by Howard Pyle
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (This was made even more relevant by a recent gift to our family of pounds of blueberries from a friends bush.)
Little Bear (and the others in the series) by Elsa Holmelund Minarik
Jessie Bear stories by Nancy Carlstrom

If we want to spend more time with bear characters, we'll read some Paddington. We read both Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh's Corner last year. I have all my early readers read "The Bears on Hemlock Mountain", so I did not read it with them now.

We did not, please note, read any Berenstein Bears. I do not like them. Father Bear is portrayed as an idiot and he is looked at with scorn by Mother and the children. I won't have those disrespectful storylines in the house.

We watched some videos:

Baby Bear Squeaks
Lost Baby Bear Calls For Momma
Grizzly Roars
Sleepy Baby Bear

We used some other sites, too.

Here's a bear den webcam that we have kept an eye on.

Of course we discussed bear safety. This is old hat to my Lambies since we camp in bear country often.

We have seen a replica black bear paw, real teeth and even skulls several times in the ranger station that we visit when we go camping. I'd love to see a model of a black vs grizzly paw in real life. This would make a real impression!

(awesome picture from CoolRVers)

I created a pretty easy bear word search for them using this tool.

They did a coloring page or two.

Since bears love honey and seeds, we made these Sesame Honey Candies. We did not sprinkle them with ants or grubs to make them even more like a bears natural diet.

State History and Geography Overviews

2011-08-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

Image from http://thehiddentreasure.org

This year (and likely next) we will be studying each state's history in overview fashion, its geographical features and learning things like its capital, famous residents, quirky stories, etc. We'll read story books that are representative of each, as well. I think it will be a fun study! Since we live in California, we're bucking tradition and beginning our study on this coast, working north (and west), then east. It's more important to me that my children are familiar with the states they may visit sooner than later.

I plan to blog the sites and resources that I use for each state. If you have a great state/regional story that we should not miss when we get to your state, please share it! I can use all the great story ideas I can get!

Petunia

2011-07-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

I've been reading through the Petunia books with the Littles. What a treasure this collection is! Poor little Petunia has some mighty common character flaws but she always learns her lessons at the end. Roger Duvoisin's bright, sketchy drawings illustrate her plights perfectly! Here, Petunia suffers the natural physical effect of pride...

which of course, results in a fall.....

...but leads to a search for real wisdom...

...which leads (in family discussion) to discovering James 1:5 (NLT) "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking."

Planning 2011-2012

2011-07-17T22:02:00.001-07:00

It's planning time again! I'll share some of the resources I am planning to use this year, along with links to some of the printables I am using.

I write out our term's week-by-week work using this form created by Linda Faye. I've used it for years and am so thankful that she made it available for all to use. Linda Faye is the creator of a great site called Charlotte Mason Help. It's a wonderful resource that should be bookmarked.

This year I printed off these cute little reading logs for the four youngest Lambies. When the book is filled, I plan to either take them out for something or get them a special treat. What that treat is, I have not decided.

My favorite attendance sheet is from Donna Young. I find her site helpful, but sometimes it's hard to find a particular page you saw that you liked. I usually make a master copy to keep on hand in case a favorite form goes missing. :)

EmBlem will continue with Apologia Science. She loves it. She'll be in Chemistry this year! GirlofGod has chosen to study astronomy in depth. She's using Jeanne Fulbright's book as a spine and other books to supplement. The rest of the children will be studying Human Anatomy, using Exploring Creation with Anatomy. Nature study will continue as it always does.

We're using Mystery of History Vol. 1 all together this year. I am not sure how it will work out, but I am looking forward to teaching history all together rather than to each child individually as I had been when using AO more closely. We'll be using our Book of Centuries as the timeline. I will likely use "A Picturesque Tale of Progress" as appropriate. I love this series!

Of course we will identify the area we are studying in MOH on the map, but the bulk of our geography will be US this year. I will use a few different resources. This free site has almost everything I'll need! I also have "Yo, Sacramento". It helps the kids remember states and capitals in a unique way.

For Bible, I am considering studying character traits this year, along with our through the Bible readings. This chart will be useful. I really like this printable record for personal Bible time. I also want to listen to J. Vernon McGee on a regular basis. The Way of the Master is very useful for learning how to share your faith.

We'll continue to do grammar, composition, spelling and such in various books depending on each child's abilities. My oldest will be doing Larry Burkett's Money Matters for Teens. I'd love to get Dave Ramsey's homeschool program to use in the future.

Some of the kids will be doing workbooks from Evan-Moor: "The Daily ______" series. They are quick and easy activities that pack a lot of punch for the time spent. I have a couple of kids who prefer this kind of independent work and I am glad to have found Renee's recommendation.

Edward Ardizzone

2011-07-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

Missy, Troubles and I are reading through our Edward Ardizzone books. We love his sketchy watercolors with their soft colors. Having visited the ocean recently, the children are quite taken with the Little Tim series. I have found all of ours at library sales, but some are available for fairly reasonable prices online. We've already enjoyed "The Little..." series, written by Graham Greene and when we finish the Tim books that we have, we'll read "Nurse Matilda" or the beautiful "A Child's Christmas in Wales".

Maurice Sendak

2011-07-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

I have a large collection of Maurice Sendak's books. Everyone knows and most folks love "Where the Wild Things Are" (book only, skip the movie!). Many folks have seen and enjoyed "Seven Little Monsters", "In the Night Kitchen" and "The Nutshell Library". Some were even familiar with "Higglety Pigglety Pop!" before they made the short for the Wild Things movie.

Having written and/or illustrated over 90 books, some are bound to be out of print and/or lesser known. I recently found out from Little Lamb Books that Maurice Sendak made a pop-up book. It's called "Mommy". As soon as I read about it's existence, I ordered one from Amazon. It came yesterday. It's classic Sendak, with slightly creepy but cuddly monsters and a simple storyline that lends itself to imagination. It's been in one child or another's hands since we got it. Troubles rolled out of bed this morning, layed on the couch for about five minutes, then stretched out on the floor with it, naming the various monsters and watching the mechanics of the book as he slowly opened and closed it.

"Outside Over There" was Mr. Sendak's last book, written in 1981. He has finally written and illustrated a new book! It's called "Bumble-Ardy" and it's due to be released in September. I can't wait! I have it in my Amazon cart even now.

Whatever the title, you can't go wrong with a Maurice Sendak book. Go get one today and READ with your children!

Tide Pool Study

2011-07-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

We went to the Oregon coast and were blessed to be able to see some tide pools. While walking to them, the Lambies collected random crab parts. Later, they assembled the fine specimen you see above.

Many of the children spent the 2010-2011 school year in "Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures". Therefore, these animals were familiar and they had *that* much more fun seeing what they had studied.

Someone else pried this starfish off of his shelf and left him out on the rocks, upside down and vulnerable. We held him for a little while, noticing his rays, suckers, eyespots and mouth. Then we returned him to a pool, in a safe location.

There were SO many mussels! We recalled reading in "Pagoo" that they sent out strings to anchor themselves. Looking carefully, we did indeed see byssal threads! We also identified several kinds of seaweed and sea grass. We had a great time, learning and playing in God's great creation!

Summer Learning

2011-06-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

We are on summer vacation right now, as many of you are, too. Around here, the learning never stops, even on vacation! 100 EZ Lessons go on, a few times a week, for the littlest Lambies. Everyone has time for reading favorite books and various projects have been started, worked on and/or finished. Lots of time is being spent on physical education in the forms of biking, basketball, football, skateboarding and swimming. My eldest son is learning the manly skills of lawn mowing and pool maintenance. He also has expressed interest in learning how to make jam. The girls are doing lots of cooking, beading and some creative writing. The Littles are doing lots coloring, painting and imaginative play. We also like to spend lots of time in our beautiful mountains, hiking, camping, fishing, and admiring God's amazing handiwork!

I try to do something "schoolish" every day or so, besides reading, so we have less loss of skills to deal with when we start again. Here's some of the things we have done or plan to do:

Learning Wrap Ups
Puzzles
Homemade Play Dough
Schoolish Computer Games
Sewing
Cooking
Math-U-See blocks (the Little love building with these!)
Janice VanCleave's books (when I want a bigger project)
Anatomical models
Work in the garden
Playmobil
Lego blocks
Lego games

Do you have any activities that you do especially in the summer? Any websites, kits or ideas to share?

Book Review: The Fight of Our Lives

2011-05-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

I recently received this book from Thomas Nelson to review. What a timely title! I appreciated that author realizing, and stating, that things are changing so quickly that some of the information would be out of date before the book was published. I found all the information given worthwhile. There were so many things to think about while reading of the threats to our dear nation. There have been many more attempts at terror inside our nation than has been covered in the media. The appeasement that our government is practicing is so apparent! Reading this book should be on the to-do list of every American that still cares about America. There is still time to change our course.

Hen Mini-Unit

2011-05-11T19:17:00.001-07:00

Today's letter is "H". We chose to study Hens. What a great spring activity. Besides, May is National Egg Month and what better way to celebrate eggs, than to learn about hens?

We read a few good books:

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
Henny Penny by Paul Galdone
Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox

We enjoyed a few fun activities:

Hen online puzzle

Online Farm and HenHouse game

Hen and chicks coloring page

"H" Tracing Page

Of course, we ate a good snack...

Chicken salad sandwiches

I also had a few dry wishbones that the children were able to snap.

For math, we learned that an egg is oval and why an oval isn't the same as a circle.

We also played a variation of Scrambled Egg Math. I took an egg carton and wrote numbers 0-9 inside each indention, along with an few extra 1's. I added two marbles. Each child got to shake the carton, then open it to see what numbers the marbles landed in. Then they counted out that many markers that were set nearby.

Gold Mini Unit

2011-04-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

Gold! Everyone loves gold. It brings to mind a sense of adventure, like pirate gold, or security, like golden riches. We are studying gold today, but with a different mindset. Our memory verse is "How much better to get wisdom than gold!" Proverbs 16:16. There were many, many verses having to do with gold.

I used Printshop to design a bookmark with our verse on it. The children got to choose a colored ribbon to tie in a punched hole.

We did a pot of gold coloring page/handwriting page.

I showed them some gold that my husband and I panned out of the American River years ago and my golden ring and earrings. We also looked at pictures of ancient golden jewelry.

We read parts of some books:

King Midas and the Golden Touch by Nathanial Hawthorne, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
The Story of California by May McNeer, the gold rush section
Eyewitness: Rocks and Minerals, the gold section
The Wild West by Tim Wood, the gold rush section

I didn't use anything from it, but this is a neat looking resource!

We could have had goldfish for snack, but I can't stand the ingredients in those things. I could have made hardtack, but didn't think that would go over well. Instead, we juiced some beautiful oranges and had some fresh OJ with sandwiches.

Wednesday Morning Math

2011-04-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

So I was correcting math with 9 year old Polly. She got four problems wrong. Not too bad, but not her best, either. I started off the correction session by saying, "You missed four problems, and you did the same thing wrong in each problem." She replied, in all sincerity, "Wrote down the wrong numbers?"

He's a Reader!

2011-04-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

Troubles has begun to read! He's been doing 100 Easy Lessons since we began school in the fall. He has flown through them. He would want to do two or even three lessons at a time. Since he wasn't all that challenged at first, I let him. At about Lesson 20, he slowed down to one lesson a session. Last week I introduced him to "Hop on Pop". He was thrilled to have a book to read. He wanted to read it right away, so, of course we did.

He felt so good to be reading a Real Book. He asked to read several times a day. It didn't take too long to get through it! Maybe we'll try Fox in Socks next. Do you have a favorite book suggestions for beginners?

Teaching Christian Witness

2011-03-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Teaching about Christian history is important to me. I want my children to know what being a Christian can cost. I want them to know what it has cost many and what it still costs today. Being a Christian in America isn't hard. It costs little, if anything, most of the time. Perhaps this will change sooner than later. We are promised tribulation in this life, not from God, but from man. I want them to be prepared for this eventuality. Will they see physical persecution of Christians in America in their lifetimes? Will I? Only God knows.

After studying the deaths of the Apostles, who can help but be inspired to die for God's Word, should circumstances demand it? Who could bear the thought of denying our Lord? The lives of Polycarp, Tyndale, Luther, Bonhoeffer, Jim Elliot, and others show that the Holy Spirit gives grace in times of need.

"And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Luke 12: 8-12

Here, in no particular order, are some of the resources that I either use, have used or plan to use to keep my children aware of past and current Christian reality.

The Religion of Peace (may show graphic images, I read this myself and verbally share some stories with my older children, but never all!)

Stephan's Test of Faith (available on Netflix instant play)

Jesus Freaks Vol. I and II (we read through these aloud in school)

VOM Torchlighters (available on Netflix)

21st Century Martyrs (a collection of true stories missing from the nightly news)

Trial and Triumph (used in Ambleside Online)

Voice of the Martyrs (we get their free magazine monthly, along with the quarterly Kids of Courage insert)

Foxe's Book of Martyrs

Martyr's Mirror (similar to Foxe's Book; free online)

Have you any resources to share? Please add them in the comments!

Hans Christian Anderson

2011-03-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Having finished "Winnie the Pooh" and "The House at Pooh Corner" with Missy and Troubles, I have decided to enjoy various Hans Christian Anderson books with them. We have lots to choose from and they are such great stories!

This morning we read "The Woman With The Eggs". Troubles laughed at her at the end and said, "Prideful, greedy woman!"

You can get many of these classic stories online. Here's one source and another. I also found some free audio recordings!

ETA: I found "Seven Tales by H.C. Anderson" by Eva Le Gallienne illustrated by Maurice Sendak at a used book store today. Hooray for Maurice Sendak illustrations!!

Shakespeare Books

2011-03-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

We've read a bit of Shakespeare around here in the past, but The Bard has been newly discovered lately. Last year, we read several selections from "Beautiful Stories From Shakespeare" by Edith Nesbit. Ambleside Online introduced us to this great book. After reading a play from Beautiful Stories, we re-read it from "Lamb's Tales of Shakespeare". The Lambies got the main ideas and didn't get exposed to the more adult themes in some of the plays. However, they didn't LOVE any of the stories.

Recently, my friend Veee introduced me to the Bruce Colville adaptations. Hooray! Beautiful pictures to go along with well written, simplified stories! So far we have A Mid-Summer's Night Dream, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Winter's Tale and MacBeth. I'll certainly be watching for the remaining ones. Get them soon, as several seem to be out of print.

A few other favorite Shakespeare books for varying ages....

The Bard of Avon by Diane Stanley
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood (there are others in the series, but I haven't read them)
William Shakespeare and the Globe by Aliki
Welcome to the Globe by Peter Chrisp

Flower Mini-Unit

2011-03-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

Today we are studying flowers. It's a lovely 74 today and it seems like the perfect thing to learn about for "F".

Coloring Page

Handwriting Page

We observed the lettuce plants, the pea flowers and the sprouting carrots in our garden.

We took a walk and identified the many flowers gracing the neighbors yards. We took pictures till the camera battery died! All the trees are in bloom and there are hundreds of bees working on the blossoms. What a nice way to tie in previous lessons!

We learned the different parts of flowers.

We read:
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
Flowers
Wildflowers of California's Central Valley and Sierra

Thumbprint flowers would have been a fun activity, too, but we didn't have time to get to it. GirlofGod made the children a flower balloon, instead.

Earwig Mini-Unit

2011-03-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Earwigs are today's topics! These little creatures are often seen but little studied. Did you know it's very easy to tell males from females? Just check out their pincers!

How to Recognize an Earwig

Earwig coloring page

"E" in sign language coloring sheet

We collected several earwigs from our yard and observed them in a jar. We found one "Big Queen" earwig and five tiny ones.

We talked about what earwigs eat (plant matter and occasionally other bugs) and what they do not (whatever is in people's ear canals). We discussed their life cycle: how they lay eggs, protect them and care for the nymphs that hatch and how they grow.

We sang the ABC song, and our version, too, which is personalized with the units we have done. We talked about the many sounds of "E". We also played with the Pattern Blocks and talked of shapes and colors. The girls built and built with those blocks!

A fun day was had all around. In fact, the little darling above wanted to take the earwig specimens home, believe it or not!

2011-2012 Curriculum Needs

2011-02-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

Here's my list of things I need this spring, in preparation for fall. This is for my own planning, more than anything else. If I don't write things down, I forget! I'll likely add to this list as I plan, but this is the bulk of next year's needs.

~~MUS:~~

~~SB Delta~~
~~SB Epsilon~~
~~SB Zeta~~

~~Mystery of History Vol. 1, 2nd Edition~~

~~Mystery of History Vol. 1, 2nd Edition, Printable Resources CD~~

~~Experiment kit for Astronomy~~

~~Experiment kit for Anatomy~~

~~Notebooking Journal for Anatomy~~

~~Experiment kit for Chemistry~~

~~Handwriting Without Tears Printing Book (2)~~

~~Daily Math~~

~~Daily Science~~

~~Daily Language Review~~

~~How the Heather Looks~~

Dinosaur Mini-Unit

2011-02-16T21:18:00.000-08:00

D is for Dinosaur! What a fun little study. We had to take a couple of weeks off due to coughs and colds, but preschool mini-units are now ready to continue. Here are links to the pages I used:

D is for Dinosaur handwriting page, take your pick, there are SO many!
This week's first coloring page
This week's second coloring page

We looked at pictures, read portions and discussed MANY cool dino books:

Dinosaurs By Design
D is for Dinosaur
Life in the Great Ice Age
A is for Adam
What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?
Dry Bones and Other Fossils
The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs
Fossils
EyeWitness Dinosaur
EyeWitness Fossils
Dinosaur Hunters
Dinosaur Dinners

We explored our box filled with assorted fossils, rock and bones. We even have a real dinosaur bone that they got to hold. We got ours years ago from a company that no longer offers them. Many of these fossils came as a gift from a friend in Illinois. Thanks, Newtons!

We played with the many plastic dinosaurs that we have. Some Littles liked that more than others.

We ate Salted Dinosaur Eggs for snack. I just spiderweb cracked the hard-boiled eggs and soaked them in food coloring/water solution for a while (KoolAid also works) but here's a very detailed blog about it with a cool picture.

Several of the children also played a short game of Monopoly Junior, Dinosaur Edition. What a day we had. Fun was had all around and we are looking forward to next time when we study "Ee".

*ETA: We found a neat show on Netflix, free for the streaming for members: Dragons or Dinosaurs.

My "Year 0.5" Plan

2011-02-11T06:49:00.000-08:00

So what do you do if you've finished all the AO Y0 books and your child isn't ready for Year 1? Here's what I did. I also like to do occasional mini-units.

My "Year 0.5" Plan

Bible

Daily Bible reading and memorization with the family

Small Rain selections chosen by Jessie Orton Jones illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones

Wise Words for Little People by Kenneth N. Taylor

Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth N. Taylor

History

The Bear The Heard Crying by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Helen Kinsey illustrated by Ted Rand

Will’s Quill by Don Freeman

Various historical I Can Read books: ie: George the Drummer Boy, Clipper Ship, Six Silver Spoons, The 18 Penny Goose, The Drinking Gourd, Hill of Fire, The Josefina Story Quilt, Sam the Minuteman, etc.

Various historical Step Into Reading books: ie: George Washington and the General's Dog, The Statue of Liberty, Pompeii: Buried Alive, Tut's Mummy: Lost and Found, Abe Lincoln's Hat, Gold Fever, etc.

Science

Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tomie dePaola

The Year At Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen

The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward

Various science related I Can Read books: ie: Greg's Microscope, Red Tag Comes Home, Egg to Chick, Let's Get Turtles, When an Animal Grows, Seeds and More Seeds, Plenty of Fish, etc.

Various science related Step Into Reading books: ie: Bones, Moonwalk, Benjamin Franklin and the Magic Squares, Monster Bugs, Dinosaur Babies, Microscopic Monsters, etc.

Math/Counting

1 is One by Tasha Tudor

Ray's Mathematics (free online book)

The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno

Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni

The King's Chessboard by David Birch

How Much is a Million by David Schwartz

G is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book by David Schwartz

Folk Tales

The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde illustrated by Hilda Boswell (preferred) or by Lisbeth Zwerger

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Wanda Ga’g

The Man Who Didn’t Wash Dishes by Phyllis Krasilovsky illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Assorted folk tales retold and illustrated by Paul Galdone

Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed and others by Steven Kellogg

Natural Sciences

Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky

Little Black Bear Goes For A Walk by Berniece Freschet illustrated by Glen Rounds

Assorted books by Gladys Conklin and Herbert Zim

Rhyming/Poetry

My First Books of Prayers

Hairy MacClary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd

Mother Goose Rhymes published by Platt and Munk

ABC Books

Peter Rabbit’s ABC by Beatrix Potter

The ABC Bunny by Wanda Ga’g

Apricot ABC by Miska Miles

Imagination

The Happy Day by Ruth Krauss illustrated by Marc Simont

Play With Me by Marie Hall Ets

In The Forest by Marie Hall Ets

Corgiville Fair by Tasha Tudor

Tim’s Friend, Towser and others by Edward Ardizzone

School Comes Out in Real Life

2011-02-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

One of my children studied the Alps, specifically, The Matterhorn, in geography. She's reading "The Occident" by Richard Halliburton, one half of the great series, "The Complete Book of Marvels". When we were at the park the other day, she constructed a Sand Matterhorn. It's pretty good, I think!

Caldecott Medal Winners

2011-02-08T07:24:00.000-08:00

Again, via Our Little Library, a literature list! This time it's the Caldecott Medal winners. I used her star rating system, too. Bolded are ones I own, italicized are ones I've read.

My ratings, because I don't necessarily love or even like all the books on this list. If this was at a library book sale / garage sale / thrift store for $2 or less I would:
****Grab it with a squeal of joy!
***Probably buy it, especially if the library doesn't have a copy.
**Would only buy it if the library didn't have a copy.
*Sorry, I don't like it.

2011: A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip Stead
2010: The Lion & the Mouse, illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney
2009: The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson
2008: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
2007: Flotsam by David Wiesner
2006: The Hello, Goodbye Window, illustrated by Chris Raschka, written by Norton Juster
2005: Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
2004: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein***
2003: My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
2002: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
2001: So You Want to Be President? Illustrated by David Small; text by Judith St. George
2000: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat Simms Taback**
1999: Snowflake Bentley, Illustrated by Mary Azarian; text by Jacqueline Briggs Martin***
1998: Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky****
1997: Golem by David Wisniewski**
1996: Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann**
1995: Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz; text: Eve Bunting**
1994: Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say; text: edited by Walter Lorraine***
1993: Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully***
1992: Tuesday by David Wiesner**
1991: Black and White by David Macaulay**
1990: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young***
1989: Song and Dance Man, illustrated by Stephen Gammell; text: Karen Ackerman****
1988: Owl Moon, illustrated by John Schoenherr; text: Jane Yolen***
1987: Hey, Al, illustrated by Richard Egielski; text: Arthur Yorinks**
1986: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg**
1985: Saint George and the Dragon, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman; text: retold by Margaret Hodges****
1984: The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice & Martin Provensen****
1983: Shadow, translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown; original text in French: Blaise Cendrars
1982: Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg***
1981: Fables by Arnold Lobel***
1980: Ox-Cart Man, illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: Donald Hall****
1979: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble**
1978: Noah's Ark by Peter Spier****
1977: Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: Margaret Musgrove**
1976: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: retold by Verna Aardema**
1975: Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermot**
1974: Duffy and the Devil, illustrated by Margot Zemach; retold by Harve Zemach***
1973: The Funny Little Woman, illustrated by Blair Lent; text: retold by Arlene Mosel***
1972: One Fine Day, retold and illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian***
1971: A Story A Story, retold and illustrated by Gail E. Haley**
1970: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig****
1969: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, illustrated by Uri Shulevitz; text: retold by Arthur Ransome***
1968: Drummer Hoff, illustrated by Ed Emberley; text: adapted by Barbara Emberley**
1967: Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness***
1966: Always Room for One More, illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian; text: Sorche Nic Leodhas, pseud.****
1965: May I Bring a Friend? illustrated by Beni Montresor; text: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers**
1964: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak****
1963: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats****
1962: Once a Mouse, retold and illustrated by Marcia Brown***
1961: Baboushka and the Three Kings, illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov; text: Ruth Robbins**
1960: Nine Days to Christmas, illustrated by Marie Hall Ets; text: Marie Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida***
1959: Chanticleer and the Fox, illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: adapted from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales by Barbara Cooney****
1958: Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey***
1957: A Tree Is Nice, illustrated by Marc Simont; text: Janice Udry***
1956: Frog Went A-Courtin', illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky; text: retold by John Langstaff****
1955: Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper, illustrated by Marcia Brown; text: translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown**
1954: Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans***
1953: The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward****
1952: Finders Keepers, illustrated by Nicolas, pseud. (Nicholas Mordvinoff); text: Will, pseud. [William Lipkind]**
1951: The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous***
1950: Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi***
1949: The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader***
1948: White Snow, Bright Snow, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin; text: Alvin Tressel***
1947: The Little Island, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard; text: Golden MacDonald, pseud. [Margaret Wise Brown]***
1946: The Rooster Crows by Maud & Miska Petersham****
1945: Prayer for a Child, illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones; text: Rachel Field****
1944: Many Moons, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin; text: James Thurber****
1943: The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton****
1942: Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey****
1941: They Were Strong and Good, by Robert Lawson****
1940: Abraham Lincoln by Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire****
1939: Mei Li by Thomas Handforth****
1938: Animals of the Bible, A Picture Book, illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop; text: selected by Helen Dean Fish****

Newbery Honor Books

2011-02-06T18:54:00.001-08:00

Via Our Little Library, here's a list of all the Newbery Honor books. I've bolded the ones I own, and italicized the ones I've read.

2011 Honor Books:
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

2010 Honor Books:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

2009 Honor Books:
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, illus. by David Small
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
Savvy by Ingrid Law
After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

2008 Honor Books:
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

2007 Honor Books:
Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Rules by Cynthia Lord

2006 Honor Books:
Whittington by Alan Armstrong, illustrated by S.D. Schindler
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott

2005 Honor Books:
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (G.P. Putnam's Sons/a division of Penguin Young Readers Group)
The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin)
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin)

2004 Honor Books:
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books)
An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy (Clarion Books)

2003 Honor Books:
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (Atheneum)
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff (Random House/Wendy Lamb Books)
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf)
A Corner of The Universe by Ann M. Martin (Scholastic)
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan (HarperCollins)

2002 Honor Books:
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Carver: A Life In Poems by Marilyn Nelson (Front Street)

2001 Honor Books:
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech (Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins)

2000 Honor Books:
Getting Near to Baby by by Audrey Couloumbis (Putnam)
Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm (HarperCollins)
26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola

1999 Honor Book:
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck (Dial)

1998 Honor Books:
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (HarperCollins)
Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff (Delacorte)
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli (HarperCollins)

1997 Honor Books:
A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer (Richard Jackson/Orchard Books)
Moorchild by Eloise McGraw (Margaret McElderry/Simon & Schuster)
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (Greenwillow/Morrow)
Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White (Farrar Straus Giroux)

1996 Honor Books:
What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman (Front Street)
The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (Delacorte)
Yolonda's Genius by Carol Fenner (Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster)
The Great Fire by Jim Murphy (Scholastic)

1995 Honor Books:
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman (Clarion)
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (Jackson/Orchard)

1994 Honor Books:
Crazy Lady by Jane Leslie Conly (HarperCollins)
Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep (HarperCollins) (I just got this one a few days ago!)
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman (Clarion Books)

1993 Honor Books:
What Hearts by Bruce Brooks (A Laura Geringer Book, a HarperCollins imprint)
The Dark-thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack (Knopf) (I had this one, read it, and didn't like it, so I got rid of it.)
Somewhere in the Darkness by Walter Dean Myers (Scholastic Hardcover)

1992 Honor Books:
Nothing But The Truth: a Documentary Novel by Avi (Jackson/Orchard)
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman (Holiday House)

1991 Honor Book:
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (Jackson/Orchard)

1990 Honor Books:
Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle (Jackson/Orchard)
Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples (Knopf)
The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen (Jackson/Orchard)

1989 Honor Books:
In The Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton (Harcourt)
Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers (Harper)

1988 Honor Books:
After The Rain by Norma Fox Mazer (Morrow)
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (Bradbury)

1987 Honor Books:
A Fine White Dust by Cynthia Rylant (Bradbury)
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer (Clarion)
Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber (Bradbury)

1986 Honor Books:
Commodore Perry In the Land of the Shogun by Rhoda Blumberg (Lothrop)
Dogsong by Gary Paulsen (Bradbury)

1985 Honor Books:
Like Jake and Me by Mavis Jukes (Knopf)
The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks (Harper)
One-Eyed Cat by Paula Fox (Bradbury)

1984 Honor Books:
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt (Atheneum)
Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky (Macmillan)
The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain (Harper)

1983 Honor Books:
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (Greenwillow)
Doctor DeSoto by William Steig
Graven Images by Paul Fleischman (Harper)
Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz (Putnam)
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush by Virginia Hamilton (Philomel)

1982 Honor Books:
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944 by Aranka Siegal (Farrar)

1981 Honor Books:
The Fledgling by Jane Langton (Harper)
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle (Farrar)

1980 Honor Book:
The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl by David Kherdian (Greenwillow)

1979 Honor Book:
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (Crowell)

1978 Honor Books:
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey by Jamake Highwater (Lippincott)

1977 Honor Books:
Abel's Island by William Steig (Farrar)
A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond (Atheneum)

1976 Honor Books:
The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis (Viking)
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep (Harper)

1975 Honor Books:
Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin (Dutton)
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier (Four Winds)
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope (Houghton)
Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe by Bette Greene (Dial)

1974 Honor Book:
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (McElderry/Atheneum) (this series is excellent)

1973 Honor Books:
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss (Crowell)
The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (Atheneum)

1972 Honor Books:
Incident At Hawk's Hill by Allan W. Eckert (Little, Brown)
The Planet of Junior Brown by Virginia Hamilton (Macmillan)
The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin (Atheneum)
Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles (Little, Brown)
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (Atheneum)

1971 Honor Books:
Knee Knock Rise by Natalie Babbitt (Farrar)
Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl (Atheneum)
Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell (Houghton)

1970 Honor Books:
Our Eddie by Sulamith Ish-Kishor (Pantheon)
The Many Ways of Seeing: An Introduction to the Pleasures of Art by Janet Gaylord Moore (World)
Journey Outside by Mary Q. Steele (Viking)

1969 Honor Books:
To Be a Slave by Julius Lester (Dial) (very powerful stories...)
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer (Farrar)

1968 Honor Books:
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg (Atheneum)
The Black Pearl by Scott O'Dell
The Fearsome Inn by Isaac Bashevis Singer (Scribner)
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

1967 Honor Books:
The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell (Houghton)
Zlateh The Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer (Harper)
The Jazz Man by Mary Hays Weik (Atheneum)

1966 Honor Books:
The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (This is one of my very favorite series)
The Animal Family by Randall Jarrell (Pantheon)
The Noonday Friends by Mary Stolz (Harper)

1965 Honor Book:
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (Follett) (I consider this *THE* best Civil War book for young readers)

1964 Honor Books:
Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North (Dutton)
The Loner by Ester Wier (McKay)

1963 Honor Books:
Thistle and Thyme: Tales and Legends from Scotland by Sorche Nic Leodhas, pseud. (Leclaire Alger) (Holt)
Men of Athens by Olivia Coolidge (Houghton)

1962 Honor Books:
Frontier Living by Edwin Tunis (World) (I have most of this series, I wasn't aware it was an Honor book)
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (Coward) (Excellent!)
Belling The Tiger by Mary Stolz (Harper)

1961 Honor Books:
America Moves Forward: A History for Peter by Gerald W. Johnson (Morrow)
Old Ramon by Jack Schaefer (Houghton)
The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden

1960 Honor Books:
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
America Is Born: A History for Peter by Gerald W. Johnson (Morrow)
The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall (Harcourt)

1959 Honor Books:
The Family Under The Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
Along Came A Dog by Meindert Dejong (Harper) (Loved it!)
Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa by Francis Kalnay (Harcourt)
The Perilous Road by William O. Steele (Harcourt)

1958 Honor Books:
The Horsecatcher by Mari Sandoz (Westminster)
Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (Harcourt) (LOVED IT!)
The Great Wheel by Robert Lawson (Viking) (I enjoy EVRYTHING Robert Lawson writes.)
Tom Paine, Freedom's Apostle by Leo Gurko (Crowell)

1957 Honor Books:
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong (Harper)
Mr. Justice Holmes by Clara Ingram Judson (Follett)
The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads (Viking)
Black Fox of Lorne by Marguerite de Angeli (Doubleday)

1956 Honor Books:
The Secret River by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Scribner)
The Golden Name Day by Jennie Lindquist (Harper)
Men, Microscopes, and Living Things by Katherine Shippen (Viking)

1955 Honor Books:
Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh (Scribner)
Banner In The Sky by James Ullman (Lippincott)

1954 Honor Books:
All Alone by Claire Huchet Bishop (Viking)
Shadrach by Meindert Dejong (Harper)
Hurry Home, Candy by Meindert Dejong (Harper)
Theodore Roosevelt, Fighting Patriot by Clara Ingram Judson (Follett)
Magic Maize by Mary & Conrad Buff (Houghton)

1953 Honor Books:
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (Coward)
Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil (Viking)
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh (Scribner)
Birthdays of Freedom, Vol. 1 by Genevieve Foster (Scribner)

1952 Honor Books:
Americans Before Columbus by Elizabeth Baity (Viking)
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling (Houghton)
The Defender by Nicholas Kalashnikoff (Scribner)
The Light at Tern Rock by Julia Sauer (Viking)
The Apple and the Arrow by Mary & Conrad Buff (Houghton)

1951 Honor Books:
Better Known as Johnny Appleseed by Mabel Leigh Hunt (Lippincott)
Gandhi, Fighter Without a Sword by Jeanette Eaton (Morrow)
Abraham Lincoln, Friend of the People by Clara Ingram Judson (Follett)
The Story of Appleby Capple by Anne Parrish (Harper)

1950 Honor Books:
Tree of Freedom by Rebecca Caudill (Viking)
The Blue Cat of Castle Town by Catherine Coblentz (Longmans)
Kildee House by Rutherford Montgomery (Doubleday)
George Washington by Genevieve Foster (Scribner)
Song of The Pines: A Story of Norwegian Lumbering in Wisconsin by Walter & Marion Havighurst (Winston)

1949 Honor Books:
Seabird by Holling C. Holling (Houghton)
Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin (Viking)
My Father's Dragon by Ruth S. Gannett (Random House) (I have each of my children read this series when they are beginners.)
Story of the Negro by Arna Bontemps (Knopf)

1948 Honor Books:
Pancakes-Paris by Claire Huchet Bishop (Viking)
Li Lun, Lad of Courage by Carolyn Treffinger (Abingdon)
The Quaint and Curious Quest of Johnny Longfoot by Catherine Besterman (Bobbs-Merrill)
The Cow-Tail Switch, and Other West African Stories by Harold Courlander (Holt)
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

1947 Honor Books:
Wonderful Year by Nancy Barnes (Messner)
Big Tree by Mary & Conrad Buff (Viking)
The Heavenly Tenants by William Maxwell (Harper)
The Avion My Uncle Flew by Cyrus Fisher, pseud. (Darwin L. Teilhet) (Appleton)
The Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanor Jewett (Viking)

1946 Honor Books:
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
The Moved-Outers by Florence Crannell Means (Houghton)
Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear by Christine Weston (Scribner)
New Found World by Katherine Shippen (Viking)

1945 Honor Books:
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (Great story!!)
The Silver Pencil by Alice Dalgliesh (Scribner)
Abraham Lincoln's World by Genevieve Foster (Scribner)
Lone Journey: The Life of Roger Williams by Jeanetter Eaton (Harcourt)

1944 Honor Books:
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Harper)
Fog Magic by Julia Sauer (Viking)
Rufus M. by Eleanor Estes (Harcourt)
Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates (Coward)

1943 Honor Books:
The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes
Have You Seen Tom Thumb? by Mabel Leigh Hunt (Lippincott)

1942 Honor Books:
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Harper)
George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster (Scribner)
Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski (Lippincott) (One of my favorites)
Down Ryton Water by Eva Roe Gaggin (Viking)

1941 Honor Books:
Blue Willow by Doris Gates (Viking) (This is set in my neck of the woods.)
Young Mac of Fort Vancouver by Mary Jane Carr (Crowell)
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Nansen by Anna Gertrude Hall (Viking)

1940 Honor Books:
The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy (Viking) (sequel to The Good Master)
Runner of the Mountain Tops: The Life of Louis Agassiz by Mabel Robinson (Random House)
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Boy with a Pack by Stephen W. Meader (Harcourt)

1939 Honor Books:
Nino by Valenti Angelo (Viking)
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater (Little, Brown) (Funny little story. I am reading it to my 1st and 2nd graders right now. We are three chapters from the end.)
Hello the Boat! by Phyllis Crawford (Holt)
Leader By Destiny: George Washington, Man and Patriot by Jeanette Eaton (Harcourt)
Penn by Elizabeth Janet Gray

1938 Honor Books:
Pecos Bill by James Cloyd Bowman (Little, Brown)
Bright Island by Mabel Robinson (Random House)
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

1937 Honor Books:
Phebe Fairchild: Her Book by Lois Lenski (Stokes)
Whistler's Van by Idwal Jones (Viking)
The Golden Basket by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking)
Winterbound by Margery Bianco (Viking)
The Codfish Musket by Agnes Hewes (Doubleday)
Audubon by Constance Rourke (Harcourt)

1936 Honor Books:
Honk, the Moose by Phil Stong (Dodd)
The Good Master by Kate Seredy (Viking)
Young Walter Scott by Elizabeth Janet Gray (Viking)
All Sail Set: A Romance of the Flying Cloud by Armstrong Sperry (Winston)

1935 Honor Books:
Pageant of Chinese History by Elizabeth Seeger (Longmans)
Davy Crockett by Constance Rourke (Harcourt)
Day On Skates: The Story of a Dutch Picnic by Hilda Von Stockum (Harper)

1934 Honor Books:
The Forgotten Daughter by Caroline Snedeker (Doubleday)
Swords of Steel by Elsie Singmaster (Houghton)
ABC Bunny by Wanda Gág
Winged Girl of Knossos by Erik Berry, pseud. (Allena Best) (Appleton)
New Land by Sarah Schmidt (McBride)
Big Tree of Bunlahy: Stories of My Own Countryside by Padraic Colum (Macmillan)
Glory of the Seas by Agnes Hewes (Knopf)
Apprentice of Florence by Ann Kyle (Houghton)

1933 Honor Books:
Swift Rivers by Cornelia Meigs (Little, Brown)
The Railroad To Freedom: A Story of the Civil War by Hildegarde Swift (Harcourt)
Children of the Soil: A Story of Scandinavia by Nora Burglon (Doubleday)

1932 Honor Books:
The Fairy Circus by Dorothy P. Lathrop (Macmillan)
Calico Bush by Rachel Field (Macmillan)
Boy of the South Seas by Eunice Tietjens (Coward-McCann)
Out of the Flame by Eloise Lownsbery (Longmans)
Jane's Island by Marjorie Allee (Houghton)
Truce of the Wolf and Other Tales of Old Italy by Mary Gould Davis (Harcourt)

1931 Honor Books:
Floating Island by Anne Parrish (Harper)
The Dark Star of Itza: The Story of A Pagan Princess by Alida Malkus (Harcourt)
Queer Person by Ralph Hubbard (Doubleday)
Mountains are Free by Julie Davis Adams (Dutton)
Spice and the Devil's Cave by Agnes Hewes (Knopf)
Meggy MacIntosh by Elizabeth Janet Gray (Doubleday)
Garram the Hunter: A Boy of the Hill Tribes by Herbert Best (Doubleday)
Ood-Le-Uk the Wanderer by Alice Lide & Margaret Johansen (Little, Brown)

1930 Honor Books:
A Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame Roland by Jeanette Eaton (Harper)
Pran of Albania by Elizabeth Miller (Doubleday)
Jumping-Off Place by Marion Hurd McNeely (Longmans)
The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Tales by Ella Young (Longmans)
Vaino by Julia Davis Adams (Dutton)
Little Blacknose by Hildegarde Swift (Harcourt)

1929 Honor Books:
Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo by John Bennett (Longmans)
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág (the first picture book ever made, I've heard.)
The Boy Who Was by Grace Hallock (Dutton)
Clearing Weather by Cornelia Meigs (Little, Brown)
Runaway Papoose by Grace Moon (Doubleday)
Tod of the Fens by Elinor Whitney (Macmillan)

1928 Honor Books:
The Wonder Smith and His Son by Ella Young (Longmans)
Downright Dencey by Caroline Snedeker (Doubleday)
1927 Honor Books:
[None recorded]

1926 Honor Book:
The Voyagers: Being Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery by Padraic Colum (Macmillan)

1925 Honor Books:
Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story by Annie Carroll Moore (Putnam)
The Dream Coach by Anne Parrish (Macmillan)

1924 Honor Books:
[None recorded]

1923 Honor Books:
[None recorded]

1922 Honor Books:
The Great Quest by Charles Hawes (Little, Brown)
Cedric the Forester by Bernard Marshall (Appleton)
The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure by William Bowen (Macmillan)
The Golden Fleece and The Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum (Macmillan)
The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs (Macmillan)

Cricket Mini-Unit

2011-01-26T21:29:00.000-08:00

This week's preschool lesson is "C" for cricket. I could have choose many other topics, but I thought crickets would be fun and unusual. Other reasons: 'boy' topics are often ignored in preschool and I like tough kids that aren't afraid of insects! Knowledge is power!

We read:
A Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood
and the appropriate sections of:
Grasshoppers and Crickets by Dorothy Childs Hogner
Bugs of Northern California by Acorn & Sheldon

I almost always have crickets on hand to feed our numerous cricket-eating pets, so I got an observation cube out and captured one. They loved seeing it up close.

For my older students, I saved "How to Draw a Cricket" lesson.
I printed this coloring page for them to enjoy and this handwriting page.
We watched a male cricket chirping here.

We made "Crickets on a Log" and "Cricket Food" (recipe below) for our snack.
We learned about what crickets eat.
We talked about people eating crickets.

We practiced putting manipulatives into groups according to size (big, bigger, biggest) and talked about rectangles.

Recipe for "Cricket Food"

8 oz coconut milk
2 carrots
large handful raw spinach
large handful mixed salad greens
2 Tbsp raw honey
1/4 of a large avocado
1 frozen banana
water and ice

Blend and drink.

Book Review: Unto the Hills

2011-01-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

I received this book from Thomas Nelson in exchange for a fair review. My opinion is my own and not required to be positive.

Billy Graham had amassed a lot of wisdom in his 50+ years of teaching. This daily devotional has some hard truths and many gentle reminders in an easy to read format. Short little stories and recollections help drive home the meaning of the Scriptures and make it applicable to daily life. I've always enjoyed Billy Graham's writings and this was no exception. I would recommend it.

Missy In A Bee Hat

2011-01-21T21:45:00.000-08:00

Missy enjoyed the preschool study on 'B' is for Bee. This was her favorite activity, with her second choice being the snack they stirred together.

Bee Mini-Unit

2011-01-20T17:20:00.000-08:00

This weeks' mini-lesson was on the letter 'B' and Bees. We also counted groups of objects and tried to group counters to match a given numeral. Here are some of the links I used for printables and activities:

Online Bee Puzzle
'B' Handwriting Page
'Bee" Copywork Page
Bee-keeper Coloring Page
A Magnified Bee Wing

We made No-Bake Granola Balls for snack and had so much fun! I pulled out our bee-keeping equipment and let the children wear the beekeeper's hat and work the smoker.

We read a couple of good books:
"The Queen With Bees in Her Hair" by Cheryl Harness
"The Honey Makers" by Gail Gibbons

We had a fun day!

Apple Mini-Unit

2011-01-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

We are having a friend's children over once a week for informal preschool lessons. "M" is 4 years old and "C" is 3 years old. They are SO adorable! This weeks lesson focused on the letter 'A', apples and the number '0'. I also did some assessment work with "M" so I know better what to teach next week. Today we used online printables, story books and some things I had on hand.

"A" handwriting sheet
Apple coloring page
Apple Poems-we used "Johnny Appleseed"

We read Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg and How Do Apples Grow by Betty Maestro.

For lunch we enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sliced Granny Smith apples and homemade applesauce. We saved the seeds from the sliced apples in a baggie, so they could carry apple seeds just like Johnny Appleseed did.

When "C" was telling back the story of Johnny Appleseed to me, he continually called him 'Johnny Applesauce". How cute is that?

To introduce the concept of 'zero', I had "M" hold out her empty hand. I asked her how many pieces of candy she had in her hand. She giggled and said, "None". I told her the number that means 'none' is ZERO. Then I asked silly things like, "How many hats are on your head?", "ZERO". "How many elephants do you have for pets?", "ZERO!" I mixed it up by asking questions that were answered with other numbers: "How many eyes do you have?", "How many people are in this room?"

"M" was able to remember the word "ZERO" and used it properly when her Mama came to pick her up. We had a lot of fun and I am privileged to be able to help this dear family! I'm sure looking forward to next week!

ETA: I like this site, too! I'll certainly be using it next week.

Newberry Medals

2011-01-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

I found this list over at Our Little Library and thought I'd play along. Books in bold are books I've read. Books in italic are books I own.

2010 Medal Winner: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books)

2009 Medal Winner: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illus. by Dave McKean (HarperCollins)

2008 Medal Winner: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick)

2007 Medal Winner: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illus. by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)

2006 Medal Winner: Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)

2005 Medal Winner: Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)

2004 Medal Winner: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering, (Candlewick Press)

2003 Medal Winner: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (Hyperion Books for Children)

2002 Medal Winner: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin)

2001 Medal Winner: A Year Down Yonder by by Richard Peck (Dial)

2000 Medal Winner: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Delacorte)

1999 Medal Winner: Holes by Louis Sachar (Frances Foster)

1998 Medal Winner: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Scholastic)

1997 Medal Winner: The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (Jean Karl/Atheneum)

1996 Medal Winner: The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman (Clarion)

1995 Medal Winner: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (HarperCollins)

1994 Medal Winner: The Giver by Lois Lowry (Houghton)

1993 Medal Winner: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (Jackson/Orchard)

1992 Medal Winner: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Atheneum)

1991 Medal Winner: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Little, Brown)

1990 Medal Winner: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Houghton)

1989 Medal Winner: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (Harper)

1988 Medal Winner: Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman (Clarion)

1987 Medal Winner: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (Greenwillow)

1986 Medal Winner: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (Harper)

1985 Medal Winner: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (Greenwillow)

1984 Medal Winner: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary (Morrow) (I've never been fond of Beverly Cleary; I've passed this one up at library sales quite a few times. Is it really worth reading?)

1983 Medal Winner: Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt (Atheneum)

1982 Medal Winner: A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard (Harcourt)

1981 Medal Winner: Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson (Crowell)

1980 Medal Winner: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832 by Joan W. Blos (Scribner)

1979 Medal Winner: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Dutton)

1978 Medal Winner: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Crowell)

1977 Medal Winner: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (Dial)

1976 Medal Winner: The Grey King by Susan Cooper (McElderry/Atheneum) (very good series!)

1975 Medal Winner: M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton (Macmillan)

1974 Medal Winner: The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (Bradbury)

1973 Medal Winner: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (Harper)

1972 Medal Winner: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (Atheneum)

1971 Medal Winner: Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (Viking)

1970 Medal Winner: Sounder by William H. Armstrong (Harper)

1969 Medal Winner: The High King by Lloyd Alexander (Holt) (EXCELLENT series!)

1968 Medal Winner: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (Atheneum)

1967 Medal Winner: Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt (Follett)

1966 Medal Winner: I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (Farrar)

1965 Medal Winner: Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska (Atheneum)

1964 Medal Winner: It's Like This, Cat by Emily Neville (Harper)

1963 Medal Winner: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Farrar)

1962 Medal Winner: The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Houghton) (one of the best books ever!)

1961 Medal Winner: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (Houghton)

1960 Medal Winner: Onion John by Joseph Krumgold (Crowell)

1959 Medal Winner: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (Houghton)

1958 Medal Winner: Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (Crowell)

1957 Medal Winner: Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen (Harcourt)

1956 Medal Winner: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (Houghton)

1955 Medal Winner: The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong (Harper)

1954 Medal Winner: ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold (Crowell)

1953 Medal Winner: Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark (Viking)

1952 Medal Winner: Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes (Harcourt)

1951 Medal Winner: Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (Dutton)

1950 Medal Winner: The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (Doubleday)

1949 Medal Winner: King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry (Rand McNally)

1948 Medal Winner: The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois (Viking)

1947 Medal Winner: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (Viking)

1946 Medal Winner: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (Lippincott) (Great stuff!)

1945 Medal Winner: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson (Viking) (Love everything by Robert Lawson)

1944 Medal Winner: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (Houghton)

1943 Medal Winner: Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (Viking)

1942 Medal Winner: The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds (Dodd) (Love all his books!)

1941 Medal Winner: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry (Macmillan)

1940 Medal Winner: Daniel Boone by James Daugherty (Viking) (I've been watching for this one for a long time!)

1939 Medal Winner: Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright (Rinehart)

1938 Medal Winner: The White Stag by Kate Seredy (Viking)

1937 Medal Winner: Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer (Viking)

1936 Medal Winner: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (Macmillan)

1935 Medal Winner: Dobry by Monica Shannon (Viking)

1934 Medal Winner: Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs (Little, Brown)

1933 Medal Winner: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis (Winston)

1932 Medal Winner: Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer (Longmans)

1931 Medal Winner: The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth (Macmillan) (I didn't care for this one)

1930 Medal Winner: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (Macmillan)

1929 Medal Winner: The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (Macmillan)

1928 Medal Winner: Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji (Dutton)

1927 Medal Winner: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James (Scribner)

1926 Medal Winner: Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman (Doubleday)

1925 Medal Winner: Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger (Doubleday)

1924 Medal Winner: The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes (Little, Brown)

1923 Medal Winner: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (Stokes)

1922 Medal Winner: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon (Liveright) (I don't have any interest in this one...quite evolutionary and anti-Christ, I have heard.)

The First Drawing

2011-01-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

My daughter EmBlem received a large Derwent drawing set for Christmas. It had charcoals, among other mediums. She also got some new sketchbooks. Here's the picture she drew Christmas afternoon using the charcoals. Don't you just want to throw out a blanket and sun yourself on that beach?

She's excited about all the new things she can draw now that she has the proper tools. Drawspace, here she comes!

Lion Mini-Unit

2010-12-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

I pulled an old favorite from the shelf the other day. It was "Andy and the Lion" by James Daugherty. Remember that one? I love the graceful illustrations: the swing of Andy's books from their tether, the torment in the lion's face as Andy pulls the thorn; and the relief afterward... Troubles, Missy and the 3 year old I babysit listened to the story.

Then we watched this clip, this clip, and this clip on YouTube. After the little one went home, we watched this amazing video. We were astounded! The next day I read "Lion" by William Pene Du Bois (and discovered that I have two copies each with different covers) and "The Monkey, The Lion and The Snake" by Kurt Werth.

We learned that ancient people drew lions on the walls of caves:

We learned some new lion-related words: pride, savanna, predator, mane, carnivore. We located where lions live on the map. The Littles created lions out of playdough:

We printed off a lion coloring page.

We read about Jesus being called the Lion of the tribe of Judah and discussed why he would be called that. We also recalled how David killed a lion that threatened his sheep and that Sampson defended himself against an attacking lion and killed it.

Other books that will be read together over the next few days are:

Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and A Prologue by Maurice Sendak (sang by Carole King in this clip)
The Happy Lion by Lousie Fatio
The Happy Lion's Quest by Lousie Fatio
The Tawny, Scrawny Lion by Kathryn Jackson
Herbert the Lion by Clare Turlay Newberry
Various Aesop's Fables with lions as characters (there are many!)
A Peaceable Kingdom illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen (not really about lions, but the cover is beautiful!)
Dandelion by Don Freeman
The Big Cats by Herbert Zim (Lion section only)
ZooBooks: The Big Cats (Troubles has been most fascinated by this one)

ETA more books (I can't believe I forgot about Bill Peet!):
Randy's Dandy Lions by Bill Peet
Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure by Bill Peet

How I Organize My Books

2010-12-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

Since I have so many books, I need to have some method of organization so I can find them when I am looking for a particular book. My library is the same size as our bedrooms, lined with bookshelves. When you walk in, if you begin at the left side, you are in the science section. I organize this section by The Days of Creation. First are topics that have to do with light, creation, etc. Then subjects like atmosphere, weather, etc. Next comes geology, water systems, plants, seeds etc. Then astronomy topics, oceans and all water creatures, birds, land animals, dinosaurs (I put fossil, evolution and paleontology books here) , reptiles, amphibians, insects, bacteria etc. Finally, I have all topics related to man, such as anatomy, human biology, digestion, etc. here. I follow these sections with groupings of books about technology, architecture, locomotion, medicine etc. etc. Basically, science-related human accomplishments, I guess, for lack of a better term.

Once past science, I begin my author/illustrator section. I collect many different authors and illustrators and keep them in alphabetical order here. Some pose a problem, like Margaret Wise Brown books illustrated by Barbara Cooney. In this case, I think of who I would first associate the book with, the author or the illustrator and shelve it accordingly. This is the funnest section of the library, I think.

Following the author/illustrators, comes some miscellaneous shelves. Once holds living math books, one poetry, one musical arts (ie: composer biographies and related items), some hold series (ie: The Bible Story, The Book of Knowledge, The Picturesque Tale of Progress), one folk and tall tales, one Brothers Grimm books, one past times and how-to books (ie: drawing books, how to play chess, how to perform card tricks and illusions, etc), one Christmas books.

Next come my favorite shelves: historical. I begin this section with the Ancients. Ancient Greece and her stories, Ancient Rome, Ancient China. Each historical books I get goes on these shelves in the proper timeline order. I can find any particular book quickly since its chronological. I can also pull a section easily for a topical study. This is the largest section of the library.

Finally come the novels. Lots and lots of novels. Poor double shelved (and more, sometimes) novels. The novels begin here, but many are also shelves on bookcases in the older childrens rooms. On occasion, I switch all the novels shelves around. This leads to the older Lambies finding books they had overlooked or never seen before.

Books that are used for our curriculum (Ambleside Online) are shelved in the family room by Year. I can easily move a child up or down in books, as needed, since they are already pulled and ready.

Easy reader books are in the bedroom of the child or children that are at that level. Board books are in a wicker basket in my youngest sons room. I've given away most, since he's five and we have no babies. I've kept any that are good literature for visitors and future grandchildren. Troubles looks at them still, too.

I hope you have enjoyed a peek into my library. Please tell me about your organizational system!

Christmas Books: Shift Three

2010-12-19T21:38:00.001-08:00

It's the final installment of Christmas books! See the rest of the lists here and here.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore illustrated by Arthur Rackham
Christmas in the Woods by Frances Frost
Our Christmas Story by Aldren A, Watson
The Very First Christmas by B. A. King; woodcuts by Michael McCurdy
This is the Star by Joyce Dunbar
Benjamin's Box by Melody Carlson
Dream Snow by Eric Carle
The First Christmas Tree by Helen Haidle
Jacob's Gift by Max Lucado
Jingle the Christmas Clown by Tomie de Paola
The Christmas Donkey by Gillian McClure
The Christmas That Almost Wasn't by Ogden Nash illustrated by Linell Nash
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem illustrated by Patrick McRae
Tomie de Paola's of of Christmas Carols
Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren and Ilon Wikland
The Story of Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke
The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie de Paola
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore illustrated by Tomie de Paola
Guess Who's Coming to Santa's for Dinner by Tomie de Paola
Cranberry Christmas by Wende and Harry Devlin
Hark! A Christmas Sampler by Tomie de Paola

Christmas Books: Shift Two

2010-12-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

It's time to change out the Christmas books! To be enjoyed this week:

The Very First Christmas by Paul L. Maier illustrated by Francisco Ordaz
Over the river and Throught the Woods by Lydia Maria Child illustrated by Brinton Turkle
Plum Pudding for Christmas by Virginia Kahl
The Three Begger Kings by Rosalys Haskell Hall illustrated by Kurt Werth
Santa's Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki and Ivan Gantschev
Christmas in the Stable by Astrid Lindgren and Harald Wiberg
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Ilonka Karasz
The Holy Night by Aurel von Juchen illustrated by Celestino Piatti
Good King Wenceslas by John Mason Neale illustrated by Christopher Mason
The Christmas Mouse by Elizabeth Wenning
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer AND Rudolph Shines Again bu Robert L. May

December Storybooks

2010-12-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Fisherman and His Wife by The Grimm Brothers, retold and illustrated by Wanda Ga'g
Seahorse by Robert A. Morris illustrated by Arnold Lobel
The Josefina Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr
The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Barbara Cooney
Me and My Flying Machine by Marianna and Mercer Mayer
Who Put the Pepper in the Pot? by Joanna Cole
Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Barbara Cooney
The Story of Christmas illustrated by Jane Ray
Good King Wenceslas by John Mason Neale illustrated by Christopher Mason

Christmas Books: Shift One

2010-11-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

We are gearing up for the month of December here. I do not even think of Christmas decorating until December 1st. I have, however, already begun thinking of Christmas books and decorated my blog! I have lots of Christmas books, so I usually pull them off the shelves in shifts of about a week. I will set out the Christmas basket of books along with the decorations.

First Shift books:

The Christ Child by Maud and Miska Petersham (my very favorite!)
The Story of Christmas by Felix Hoffman
A Wreath of Christmas Legends by Phyllis McGinley illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
The Friendly Beasts illustrated by Tomie de Paola
The Story of Christmas illustrated by Jane Ray
The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown
The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie de Paola
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
A Pussycat's Christmas by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Helen Stone
The Christmas Cat by Efner Tudor Holmes illustrated by Tasha Tudor
On Christmas Eve by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Beni Montresor
Take Joy: The Tasha Tudor Christmas Book

What Not to Buy

2010-11-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

My friend, Vee and I are wrapping up the book collecting series. I'll be doing one more post, highlighting illustrators that I collect, despite the author. Today, we are discussing "What Not To Buy".

Vee said almost everything that needed to be said about in her recent post, but I'll have a go with a post, too.

1. Twaddle, of course. However, what is twaddle in my home may be beloved in yours. For example, we adore Little Critter. Some folks don't. I don't care for David Shannon's books and despite winning the Caldecott medal, I think they are ugly both in text and visually. Investigate lots of different books even if they are 'twaddle' to others. Don't feel bad for getting rid of books that everyone else loves if they are not right for your family.

2. Abridgments. You simply miss out on what makes a great story great. Reading abridgments can also make your child a lazy reader. They are dumbed down and fail to inspire. They are also often missing references that the author made about the Lord, so a great Christian story becomes just another story.

3. ALL the books in a series. So many times a great story is conceived and written, and then the franchisement of it begins. Book Two is pretty good, Book Three is just ok, Book Four is downright silly Book Five stinks. However, there is still Book Seven. Eight, Nine and Ten to go! When a series goes downhill, let it go without you. Inkheart, Nancy Drew and The Boxcar Children (after #19) come to mind when thinking of series that go downhill fast.

4. Exclusively pristine hardcovers with dustjackets. Please don't be a book snob! Books are meant to be handled and they will get grubby. Hardcovers are expensive and it's much harder to find them used. Is it better to have only a few really great titles, high on a shelf where they are safe, or to develop a love of reading in your tots with books surrounding them? I like a hardcover as much as the next person but I won't ever pass up a softcover copy of a book I want simply because it's not hardcover.

5. Disney and other adaptations of classics. Vee mentioned this and it goes hand-in-hand with twaddle and abridgments. Please read the original versions of stories. There is so much more to them than can be expressed in a movie, and the Disney books will almost always be simply printed versions of the movie.

Do you have any guidelines to add? I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Book Organizing Project

2010-11-19T15:07:00.000-08:00

We're taking some time off for Thanksgiving, so I am undertaking a HUGE project. I am noting the titles (and other information) of ALL of my books, and reorganizing them. I began a couple of days ago with novels. Here's the stack that the Lambies brought:

This isn't all the novels, by all means, but they are the ones from my elder daughters' room and from several of the library shelves. I can only work with so many at once! By Friday afternoon I was done cataloging them and putting them back into order. That stack had 840 books in it! I even found a small stack of doubles and "I don't really need this one, I guess" 's. School books will be next, and then I'll begin the science section.

Shipwreck and Treasure Hunting Mini Unit

2010-11-12T13:45:00.001-08:00

We watched a couple of episodes of "Treasure Quest" on Netflix last night. It's an interesting show that makes treasure hunting look very exciting! Today I pulled out some appropriate books and let the Lambies spend some fun time learning about various shipwrecks and treasure. I thought I'd share the books so you could share them with your family!

True Life Treasure Hunts by Judy Donnelly
Sunken Treasure by Gail Gibbons
The Treasury
Treasure Hunt by George Sullivan
The Mutiny on the Bounty by Russell T. Clement
EyeWitness: Shipwreck
Ghost Liners by Rick Archbold
True Tales of Buried Treasure by Edward Rowe Snow
True Tales of Terrible Shipwrecks by Edward Rowe Snow
The Vasa Saga by Bertil Almqvist
Vasa published by the Vasa Museum in Stockholm
The Swedish Warship Vasa published by the Vasa Museum in Stockholm
The Martyr of the Catacombs by an Anonymous Christian-found on an abandoned sailing ship in 1876

The Little Lambies made some treasure, too. Crowns, scepters and necklaces were made from paper and crayons, and lots of "what-if" stories were made up. The Legos are out, so I bet there'll be some sailing adventures soon. Their imaginations have definitely been sparked by this study! Too bad my camera battery is dead. I think we'll watch some Gillian's Island this afternoon.

We'll see where this interest takes them over the next few days! Do you have favorite books on the topic? Please share in the comments.

November Storybooks

2010-11-01T15:03:00.001-07:00

The Bun: A Tale from Russia by Marcia Brown
Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown
The Queen with Bees in her Hair by Cheryl Harness
The Three Billy Goats Gruff by P. C. Asbjornsen and J. E. Moe illustrated by Marcia Brown
The Elves and the Shoemaker by Freya Littledale illustrated by Brinton Turkle
Steven Kellogg's Yankee Doodle by Edward Bangs
The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons
There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight by Robert Quackenbush
Curious George by the Rey's
Fannie in the Kitchen by Deborah Hopkinson
The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer
Crictor by Tomi Ungerer
Amelia's Fantastic Flight by Rose Bursik
The Happy Lion by Louise Fatio, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat by Lucille Colandro
Happy Birthday, Jesse Bear by Nancy White Carlstrom
Sleeping Beauty illustrated by Felix Hoffmann
Thorn Rose by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Errol Le Cain
Sleeping Beauty- Rand McNally Publishers- illustrated by Elizabeth Webbe
The Story of Ping by Marjorie Flack
Brother and Sister by The Brothers Grimm, from The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm by Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak
The Three Lucky Ones from More Tales of Grimm translated and illustrated by Wanda G'ag
Curious George Rides a Bike by H. A Rey
The Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
In The Forest by Marie Hall Ets
Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Burningham
Tom by Tomie de Paola
Mouskin's ABC by Edna Miller
Little Nino's Pizzaria by Karen Barbour

The Declaration of Independence

2010-11-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Now to get them read the Constitution!

Where, Oh Where Do You Get The Books?

2010-10-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

Veee and I are continuing our books series with the topic of where to get books. For me, this is easy. I am a frequent customer of all the Friends of the Library sales in our area. The Friends of the Library takes donated books, DVDs, etc. as well as culled library books and sells them to benefit the library. We have two libraries in close proximity. One has a monthly sale and one sells twice a year. If I want to drive an hour away, I can find three or four more. Use Swagbucks to search for your town or county's FOL sale!

There are a few other book sales in our area that I go to. The AAUW sale is a week long, twice annual one I never miss. You can find sales around you by using BookFinder. I found several sales that I hadn't heard of by looking here.

Thrift stores are another good source of books. You must check them over carefully to check for missing pages, scribbles and other damage. Also, smell the books. They might be smoky or have been peed on by an animal. Not all folks who donate are thoughtful about their donations, nor are the staff of every store always observant. We have three thrift stores in our area that I shop every couple of weeks. There are other stores in my town and the next, but their prices are too high or selection too limited.

Yard and garage sales are my next favorite. You can usually find good books for a dime to a quarter. Do watch for scribbles or rips. My favorite technique at a yard sale that has many good books is to offer to buy the whole box or lot. Often, they just want to get rid of things and aren't looking to make a huge amount of money. Look through to make sure it's worth it, then ask something like, "Hey, would $5 buy the whole box? You don't want to drag it back inside tonight, right?" Almost always they consider and then agree. This kind of purchasing leads me to my next place to get books:

Paperback Swap. If you don't have an account, click the link, join (I'll get a credit for referring you) and post some books! It's a wonderful place to get books. I have even gotten treasures! Remember all those Lois Lenski's I got a couple of months ago? I got all for the price of three little credits from a sweet lady in New York who had collected them for her grandchildren. I have gotten very expensive books for our curriculum from PBS and unusual children's books. I have my 200-spot wish list constantly full. I'm so glad I found it!

When I find good, inexpensive books at a thrift store or garage sale, I often post the ones I don't want to keep on PBS. You can search the wishlists section to see if it's wanted. If you simply post it, it will be held if it's on someones wishlist. By being attentive to oft-wished-for books, I can usually keep my credits up to a comfortable level. Since I have so many books on my wishlist, I hate to be low on credits when something becomes available! PBS is my go-to when I read about a neat book on someone's blog.

When all else fails and I really want a certain book, I turn to the Internet. My online sources are mostly well known. Amazon (my favorite, due to my free gift cards), Half, Ebay, Vegsource, Abe, Alibris, and occasionally Craig's List are all decent places to find books. You will likely pay shipping, though, so you have to know what you want to pay and stick to it.

I also ask on my local homeschoolers Yahoo loop if anyone local might have what I am looking for for sale. You never know what other homeschoolers might be done with and want to pass along! I recently bought Pre-Algebra MUS TM and DVD for only $40. It was in brand new condition, too! I also asked her to consider contacting me directly next year when she was ready to sell Algebra. Her only hs'ed child is just one year ahead of my eldest, so it works well. She said she would!

Do you know have any tips, or know of any other great places to get great books? Please share!

My Favorite Children's Fiction Authors

2010-10-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Favorite Children's Authors is the next topic Veee and I are writing on. What a topic! I have so very many favorite authors. I took the camera into the library and just chose a few. Some that I considered will be featured in a later post about Favorite Children's Illustrators, since they also illustrate stories for other authors. In no particular order....

We'll start with the great Marguerite de Angeli. Her most known books are Door in the Wall and Yonie Wondernose, but she has many other gems. I grab them every and any time I see one at a sale. Her tales and illustrations are always gentle and soft, even when dealing with tender topics. She seemed to love the Amish, the Mennonite, the Quakers and other hardy, simple folk. Her illustrations are luscious and I can look at them and dream of simpler times. You can find her first works, The Ted and Nina Storybooks, online, with illustrations included. Not as good as a paper copy, but better than not seeing them at all!

One of the newer series in my library, the Hairy Maclary books are Lambie favorites. I blogged about them already once. I love, love, love the complex, but readable rhymes. Poetry is not my strong suit, and I often struggle to get the meter of the words correct. These I can read aloud with confidence.

Next up is Patricia Polacco. I found my first one, Babushka's Doll, about three years ago at a book sale. I liked the look of her illustrations, so I grabbed it. It was a cute little story. I liked that she wrote a lot about family stories and historical topics. When I learned that she couldn't read until the age of 14, I really liked her! I love when an author brings personal stories into their books. Pink and Say is my favorite Polacco story so far. It actually made me cry, and HAS every time I read it. If you hurry, I saw that there are two copies of Thundercake available on Paperback Swap!

Finally in tonight's reviews is Bill Peet. Bill Peet worked with Walt Disney on many of the early cartoon movies we know so well: Pinocchio, Fantasia, Cinderella. He didn't really enjoy the work, though, and began writing and illustrating his won books. I'm so glad he did!

Now his books are not great literature. They may even be considered twaddle by some. I, however, appreciate his unusually stories and rich vocabulary. How could you go wrong with titles like "How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head"? Bill Peet died several years ago. He left many unfinished stories. I'm so glad that he finished as many as he did!

Who are your favorite children's fiction authors? Who do you think I should have included in this post? Who would you like to see featured in the future?

October Storybooks

2010-10-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to begin Octobers list on the first! Guess we'll be several days short of documented stories this month.

Nibble Nibble Mousekin by Joan Walsh Anglund
Elizabite by H.A. Rey
Selections from The Glorious Mother Goose
I Like Caterpillars by Gladys Conklin
Alexander by Harold Littledale
Sir Kevin of Devon by Adelaide Holl
Rain Drop Splash by Alvin Tresselt
Spotty by Margaret and H. A. Rey
The Vanishing Pumpkin by Tony Johnson illustrated by Tomie de Paola
Cranberry Halloween by Wende and Harry Devlin
Lucky Ladybugs by Gladys Conklin
Witch Hazel by Alice Schertle illustrated by Margot Tomes
Nobody's Cat by Miska Miles
Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC by June Sobel
Little PeeWee or Now, Open the Box by Dorothy Kunhardt
A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
We finished Winnie-the-Pooh. We'll begin "The House At Pooh Corner" next week.
Sylvester, The Mouse with the Musical Ear by Adelaide Holl
Selections from Aesop's Fables illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff
Calf, Goodnight by Nancy Jewell
The Teeny Tiny Woman by Margot Zemach
The Milk Makers by Gail Gibbons
Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill
We began "The House at Pooh Corner"

Treasuries

2010-10-04T05:37:00.000-07:00

Veee wrote a wonderful post about the treasuries she owns. What a nice selection! I have some of the same books (Aesop, The Real Mother Goose, Herriot) and would LOVE to get Milly, Molly Mandy. I am not a huge fan of treasuries. I like stand alone books better. They are easier to read, lighter, have all or most of the original art and seem to be more likely to be pulled off the shelf and used. I thought I would have only a few to post about but as I went over my shelves, I found more than I expected.

These are some of the tall tale type of treasuries I found.

I have the Dr. DoLittle Treasury because it has one or two stories that I have not yet found in singletons. I will pass it on when I find them. Yankee Doodle Cousins is a recent acquisition. It's full of American tall tales. It is written by Anne Malcomson and illustrated by Robert McClosky. You can't go wrong with that pairing! I have read a few of them and like her style. Tall Tale America is written by Walter Blair and my copy is illustrated by the great Glen Rounds. There are a lot of great stories in these two books!

Poetry anthologies are the easiest kinds to find at library book sales! After looking for a long time, I finally found the Oxford Book of Children's Verse. It's our main poetry tool. I have blogged before about the many manifestations of Mother Goose that grace our shelves. This one, illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen, is one of my favorites. I love the folksy style of their drawings. The Boys Book of Verse by Helen Dean Fish and The Girls Book of Verse by Mary Gould Davis are also worth sharing with your children. They are what we used for the last couple of school years.

Bullfinch's Mythology is a collection of his three great works: Age of Fable, Age of Chivalry and Legends of Charlemagne. These books are used extensively in AO beginning in Year 4. I was lucky enough to find a copy of this collection at a library books sale and then another at a garage sale. I also had an illustrated version that I thought my art-loving ninth grade daughter would like. It had classical illustrations (read that: some folks was nekkid here and there!) She wasn't at all comfortable with that! I passed it along.

Great Stories Remembered and The Moral of the Story were both books I won from our local radio contests, long ago when I listened to the radio. I don't think I have read the Great Stories one. Looking at the price on Amazon makes me want to, though! I'd pop over to E-Bay if I was looking to buy that book. I did read The Moral of the Story at least twice. I liked it very much. Hero Tales was a gift from a friend of our family. These are nice, short character sketches. This book is well used in the homeschool community. I like to read it occasionally during lunch while everyone is sitting around the table.

How did that picture flip? Why can't I flip it back? :sigh: Oh, well. Here are the children's treasuries I have. Curious George was purchased at Costco for a Christmas gift to my eldest her second year, Beatrix Potter and Pippi Longstockings were library sale finds. The Potter book is suffering from the cheaply-made malady Veee mentioned. When it was taken down last a big chunk of pages separated from the spine and fell out. I'm not too worried about it. I have all the books in singletons. George gets used by each Lambies as they go through the right phase. Pippi hasn't caught anyone's eye yet. Perhaps I'll leave it out on the livingroom table for a few days and see if someone 'takes the bait'!

Hymn Study: All of the Way My Savior Leads Me

2010-10-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Fanny Crosby was a very prolific hymn writer. She was blinded as a newborn, but said as an adult that she would not be sighted if she had a choice. She said she might not have written and sang hymns of praise to the Lord if she had been distracted by all the beautiful things around her. How many today would have such a humble and contented attitude? I doubt I would.

"Oh what a happy soul I am,

Although I cannot see;

I am resolved that in this world

Contented I will be.

How many blessings I enjoy,

That other people don't;

To weep and sigh because I'm blind,

I cannot, and I won't."

All of the Way My Savior Leads Me was written in response to an incident from Mrs. Crosy's life:

This hymn came to Fanny as a result of a prayer. Struggling financially, she desperately needed some money. As her usual custom, Fanny began to pray. A few minutes later, a gentleman offered her five dollars, the exact amount she needed. Later recalling the incident, she said, "I have no way of accounting for this except to believe that God put it into the heart of this good man to bring the money." The poem she wrote afterward became "All The Way My Savior Leads Me" - Aldrin Lapitan

Here are some resources we used to study this great hymn and hymnwriter.

Sang by the late Rich Mullins

Performed by Chris Tomlin

Played beautifully on a piano

A Biographical Sketch

Lyrics:

vs.1
All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

vs.2
All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread;
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

vs.3
All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way.

A Crustacean Dissection

2010-10-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

The Lambies got their hands dirty today. Several are studying crustaceans in Apologia, so yesterday we bought a cooked crawdad at the grocery store.

Today they dis-assembled it.

They removed his compound eyes and their stalks, the antennae and antennules, the chelipeds, the swimmerettes, the walking legs, the tailfan and other body parts. They prepared slides and observed some of those parts under the microscope.

Here's a pic of after the removal, before they took off the carapace and examined the innards.

So much fun and learning for 14 cents! Some of the braver Lambies even tasted the tail meat. Polly took apart one of the chelipeds and picked out that meat. Most thought it agreeable enough. One of these days we'll have to go mudbuggin' in the mountains.

Book Collections Part Two

2010-10-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Part Two begins with the Dr. DoLittle series. What delightful, fun little stories! Our collection was hiding beside and behind Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series. It's an excellent acquisition, itself. I bought "The Grey King", read and enjoyed it. I didn't realize it was the middle book of a series! I have been collecting them ever since. When I get all of them, I will be reading them. I'm still missing one. Back to Dr. DoLittle.....I have read the first one to most of the kids for school. It is a free read selection in Year Two of AO. A few months ago, I snagged all of these titles at the Friends of the Library sale. Yay! I don't think that any of the Lambies have pulled these down, yet, but I will be pointing them out as possibilities when they ask what they should read next.

Black Beauty is a classic, but did you know that Walter Farley wrote many more stories in the series? Nineteen in all. I grabbed these all at one shot at a library sale. I haven't read any but the first, but I think they are worth the shelf space. One of the Lambies will be enthralled by it one day.

For the younger readers, Paddington Bear can't be beat. I have many more to find. Polly likes Paddington very much. I am running out of time, so I will simply link to other favorites. There are so many...but I will limit it to five series and favorite authors:

The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black
The Greene Knowe series by L. M. Boston
Jean Fritz
Robert Lawson
Rosemary Sutcliff

I hope you have enjoyed this topic. Next up will be a post on Treasuries.

Book Collections Part One

2010-10-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

I am teaming up with my friend, Veee (Veee, not Zeee) to talk about books. The hows', whys' and whos' of our collections, more specifically.

We were asked by a mutual friend: "What books do you collect? What have you gotten the most mileage out of? When you are somewhere where there is a vast quantity of used books available cheap, what is your criteria for choosing what you choose? What do you NOT buy? Where do you get books to fill in your collections? When do you just go with what the library has? When do you give in and buy new?

That's a lot of questions. We are starting with the first: What books do you collect?

You can see read Veee's first post here. I own every one of the collections she listed (except the Francine Rivers, of which I have no knowledge). I won't be duplicating her list, but if I had posted first, her most of her choices would be here.

Narrowing my focus down to longer stories and chapter books, I will begin with The Grandma's Attic Series by Arleta Richardson.

My parents bought me the first book in the series when we were driving from my home-town in Oregon to Whidbey Island, WA for a visit with family. I remember choosing the book off a rotating rack in a gas station and begging for it. I remember sitting in the back seat and beginning to read, then I remember finishing it, closing it with a contented sigh, looking up and realizing that we were waiting in line at the ferries. I had read the entire trip! When I was an adult, I learned that there were more books in the series, and of course, I had to own them all!

Here's the list of titles in the series:

In Grandma's Attic
More Stories From Grandma's Attic
Still More Stories From Grandma's Attic
Treasures from Grandma
Away From Home
A School of Her Own
Wedding Bells Ahead
At Home in North Branch
New Faces, New Friends
Stories From the Growing Years

I have a daughter who is a horse lover. This next collection was obtained with her in mind. C. W. Anderson wrote The "Billy and Blaze" books that are so great for beginning readers. He also wrote many, many chapter books about children and their horses. She enjoys them very much. In fact, there are quite a few missing titles in this picture. They are on her bedroom shelf. You can get a full list of his works by clicking his name above.

Hans Christian Anderson is another that I have made a point to collect. What wonderful stories he told! How he sparks a childs imagination! One of the first 'big' books my daughter Polly read was "The Little Mermaid" She has read it several more times, too. With 168 works, there's a lot of collecting to do still. I have more of his work on other shelves, but this is the bulk of it. I like to use his books to show the Lambies how different illustrators can make a story 'feel' so differently.

Lloyd Alexander is another of my favorites. His "Chronicles of Prydain" are included in the Ambleside Online curriculum. They are excellent. He also wrote many other series' and stand alone books. I have read half or more of the ones I have collected, and enjoyed them all!

I will be sharing a few more favorites in my next post. My friend Veee is already onto Treasuries, so I am behind. Watch for Part Two soon!

Frogs and Toads Mini-Unit

2010-09-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

My son Troubles is a frog-fanatic. He is fascinated by frogs. We caught one a few weeks ago in our yard. It was only about 2" long and FAST! We tried to hold on to it, but it jumped everywhere, including onto Troubles' cheek. He laughed and laughed about that! We managed to get it into a glass jar and observe it that way. We noted its colors, its smooth skin and especially the pads on its tiny little toes. Well, ever since, he's been talking frogs almost daily. We have learned and learned about frogs. I thought I'd share some of the frog activities we've done.

I made a coloring page out of the picture above. I added "Frog are amphibians. Toads are amphibians" as a copywork activity.

We watched frogs eat different things here.

We read quite a few books: the Frog and Toad series, How Do Frogs Swallow With Their Eyes?, Tadpole and Frog, Eyewitness: Amphibians, Frogs and Toad by Herbert Zim, The Tale of a Tadpole, From Tadpole to Frog, and some others I don't recall.

I printed off this Frog Dot-to-Dot.

Here's a bunch of frog themed math ideas.

There were a few cute links at FrogLand.

We listened to a bullfrog sing here.

Since Troubles loves anatomy so, I let him (and everyone else, of course) play around on this virtual dissection site. I found quite a few dissection sites that had real pictures. I didn't really want them to play there.

This has been a fun little study, and not too intensive since it was spread over a few weeks, along with others interesting studies. I'm pretty sure The Littles interest in frogs and toads will continue. I'll likely be adding links and/or pictures as time goes on.

The Way Home

2010-09-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

I received this DVD from Thomas Nelson to review.

Dean Cain stars in this Christian film about a family that loses their two year old son. It's a very gripping story that is appropriate for all family members. It may be a little scary for sensitive little ones not old enough to understand the premise. There are lots of scenes of folks crying and one character in a flashback is killed, though nothing graphic is shown.

I disliked the mother's character. The family was supposed to be Christian, and yet she spoke rudely to her husband and had usurped his place as head of the household. She was critical, demeaning, bossy and overbearing. I used that as a teaching tool to explain to my daughters how ugly a selfish spirit is and warned my sons to watch out for a woman like that.

I loved that it is a true story and they showed pictures of the real people during the credits and included interviews with them in the special features. I will be glad to recommend this film to others.

Top 100 Children's Novels

2010-09-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

I found this list at Our Little Library. I thought I'd play along. I have marked in bold all the books that I own and have already read and marked in italics the titles I have but have not read. Any in regular font I either do not yet own or have no wish to own. I'll note the ones I think are not worth shelf space.

Top 100 Children's Novels (as voted on by students, teachers and librarians)

100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1966)

99. The Indian in the Cupboard – Banks (1980)

98. Children of Green Knowe – Boston (1954)

97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – DiCamillo (2006)
96. The Witches – Dahl (1983)

95. Pippi Longstocking – Lindgren (1950)
94. Swallows and Amazons – Ransome (1930)

93. Caddie Woodlawn – Brink (1935)

92. Ella Enchanted – Levine (1997)

91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School – Sachar (1978)
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall – MacLachlan (1985)
89. Ramona and Her Father – Cleary (1977)
88. The High King – Alexander (1968)
87. The View from Saturday – Konigsburg (1996)

86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Rowling (1999) (Not in my library!)
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek – Wilder (1937)

84. The Little White Horse – Goudge (1946)

83. The Thief – Turner (1997)

82. The Book of Three – Alexander (1964) (EXCELLENT SERIES!)

81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Lin (2009)
80. The Graveyard Book – Gaiman (2008)

79. All-of-a-Kind-Family – Taylor (1951)

78. Johnny Tremain – Forbes (1943)
77. The City of Ember – DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust – Hesse (1997)
75. Love That Dog – Creech (2001)

74. The Borrowers – Norton (1953)

73. My Side of the Mountain – George (1959)

72. My Father’s Dragon – Gannett (1948)
71. The Bad Beginning – Snicket (1999)
70. Betsy-Tacy – Lovelace (1940)
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society – Stewart ( 2007)

68. Walk Two Moons – Creech (1994)

67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher – Coville (1991)

66. Henry Huggins – Cleary (1950)
65. Ballet Shoes – Stratfeild (1936)
64. A Long Way from Chicago – Peck (1998)
63. Gone-Away Lake – Enright (1957)
62. The Secret of the Old Clock – Keene (1959)
61. Stargirl – Spinelli (2000)

60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi (1990)

59. Inkheart – Funke (2003) (This is a great book. The second is eh-ok, the third is awful. Stop at the first and forget it has sequels, in my opinion.)
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase – Aiken (1962)
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – Cleary (1981)
56. Number the Stars – Lowry (1989)

55. The Great Gilly Hopkins – Paterson (1978)

54. The BFG – Dahl (1982)
53. Wind in the Willows – Grahame (1908)

52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Selznik (2007)

51. The Saturdays – Enright (1941)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins – O’Dell (1960)
49. Frindle – Clements (1996)

48. The Penderwicks – Birdsall (2005)

47. Bud, Not Buddy – Curtis (1999)
46. Where the Red Fern Grows – Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass – Pullman (1995) (I wouldn't read this book if I was paid to read it! I've heard it is totally antichrist.)
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing – Blume (1972)
43. Ramona the Pest – Cleary (1968)

42. Little House on the Prairie – Wilder (1935)
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Speare (1958)
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Baum (1900)

39. When You Reach Me – Stead (2009)

38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix – Rowling (2003)
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Taylor (1976)

36. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret – Blume (1970)
35. HP and the Goblet of Fire – Rowling (2000)

34. The Watson’s Go to Birmingham – Curtis (1995)

33. James and the Giant Peach – Dahl (1961)
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – O’Brian (1971)

31. Half Magic – Eager (1954)

30. Winnie-the-Pooh – Milne (1926)

29. The Dark Is Rising – Cooper (1973)
28. A Little Princess – Burnett (1905)
27. Alice I and II – Carroll (1865/72) (I count these as two separate books!)
26. Hatchet – Paulsen (1989) 25. Little Women – Alcott (1868/9)
24. HP and the Deathly Hallows – Rowling (2007)
23. Little House in the Big Woods – Wilder (1932)
22. The Tale of Despereaux – DiCamillo (2003)
21. The Lightening Thief – Riordan (2005) (I'd like to get this series. I enjoyed the movie very much.)
20. Tuck Everlasting – Babbitt (1975)
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Dahl (1964)
18. Matilda – Dahl (1988)
17. Maniac Magee – Spinelli (1990)
16. Harriet the Spy – Fitzhugh (1964)
15. Because of Winn-Dixie – DiCamillo (2000)
14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Rowling (1999)
13. Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson (1977)
12. The Hobbit – Tolkien (1938)
11. The Westing Game – Raskin (1978)
10. The Phantom Tollbooth – Juster (1961)
9. Anne of Green Gables – Montgomery (1908)
8. The Secret Garden – Burnett (1911)
7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)
6. Holes – Sachar (1998)
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – Koningsburg (1967)
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Lewis (1950)
3. Harry Potter #1 – Rowling (1997)
2. A Wrinkle in Time – L’Engle (1962)
1. Charlotte’s Web – White (1952)

Well, I am at 50 of the 100 read. I have to say, I am not that familiar with newer fiction. There were a few titles near the top that I have not heard of. I won't be buying or reading the Rowling books. I've never been fond of most Cleary or Blume. I have the Mouse and the Motorcycle series, but not others. I don't want any of Judy Blume's books. Her characters seem to be mouthy, disrespectful and rude. Am I wrong? Is it just the couple I looked at years ago and the others are great?

There are some that I thought would be on the list, but are not. I'm glad to see Gone-Away Lake and The Little White Horse, but where were Peter Pan and Heidi? Where were Treasure Island and Robin Hood? Where were Swiss Family Robinson and anything by Lois Lenski? I'd have to disagree with some of the titles they chose for this list. I think I'd place #4 in the #1 spot, too. Want to play along (Veronica and Kelly)? Leave me a link so I can read your list!

Author-Illustrator Lois Lenski

2010-09-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have been asked to expound on why I collect Lois Lenski's books. How to express why I like her work? Well, who could resist art like this?

Her "Small Family" series is cute and the stories are short. They are just right to read to toddlers. Her illustrations capture a folksy simplicity that I adore.

I think her historical books are a great way to teach. I can set a child down with one of her books and not have to worry about anything inappropriate. They are very accurate in their details. "Puritan Adventure" was one of, if not the very first Lois Lenski books I purchased. I have read it to every one of my children when they were studying that time period. "Indian Captive" is another one that I have read several times. It also enthralled one of my daughters. She read it, then almost every other 'child-taken-captive-by-Indians" book I had on the shelves.

I so appreciate that for her American Regional and the Roundabout America series she traveled to the places she wrote about and actually lived with local families. Their real-life experiences, as a whole, are the books, with names changed. I had only a few until recently and had read only a couple. I am looking forward to becoming more familiar with this series during the upcoming winter. Here's a list of all of Lenski's books by series.

You can learn much more about Lois in her autobiography: "Journey Into Childhood". She wrote it at the request of librarians and teachers.

As an aside, I came across this neat story while reading up about Ms. Lenski: "Sometimes It Pays To Ask The Right Questions."

Here's another list of all the books she wrote and/or illustrated, with some cover images included: Lois Lenski's Books and another, easier to print version, is here.

A Lois Lenski Bonanza!

2010-09-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

I have been collecting Lois Lenski's books for a long time now. They are usually hard to find and all but a few are fairly expensive to buy. Our library began shedding Lenski books last year and I grabbed up as many as I could. I did pretty good, collecting seventeen of them. I managed to get two more from Paperback Swap. Here's a pic of all of the Lenski on my shelf.....

...until today! A couple of weeks ago, I saw "Cotton in my Sack" listed on Paperback Swap. I was surprised to see it there and quickly ordered it. Then I bragged to a friend of my find. I was saddened to hear that the book had been on HER wishlist for a long time. I had snatched it away somehow! Oops! That should teach me to brag. Sorry, V.!

I received the book and was very happy with it. I thought I might go on PBS and see again if there was anything else wonderful listed. Among other things I ordered that night, there were TWO of Lois Lenski's regional books posted! I ordered them as fast as I could! I PM'ed the person who was offering them and discovered it was the same lady who had just sent me "Cotton in my Sack". I asked her if she might have more Lenski's to post. She did! We made a deal and she sent me a box. It arrived today, bearing all these Lenski's:

Oops! I noticed that Cotton in my Sack is in this pile. I received it a couple of weeks ago, not today.

What a blessing! I am so excited to snuggle down and read these with my Lambies I never expected to be able to enjoy all of these wonderful titles. We are Lois Lenski RICH now!

OOPS AGAIN! I realized I had three more Lois Lenski's on other shelves (Strawberry Girl, Puritan Adventure, Indian Captive). The historical ones I have were all shelved in their appropriate places according to their story.

Math Literature

2010-09-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

Math can be one of the hardest subjects to teach with living books. Most homeschoolers I know use Math-U-See, Saxon or Singapore for their math curriculum. I have used MUS since my 9th grader was in Introductions (now called Primer). I have been very pleased with it. I still like to use some living books for math subjects at times. Today I want to share some of my favorites.

A favorite of my Littles. This silly story is great for introducing grouping numbers and skip counting.

I have read this story several times. They love the clever poor man and how he comes out ahead!

This is confusing for very little kids, but can be greatly enjoyed for kids about 6 up to teens.

I have heard wonderful things about the Sir Cumference Series, but I have yet to find one used. Judging by how popular they are on Paperback Swap, and the fact that I have been watching for them for YEARS and not found any, I may end up buying them new with Swagbucks sooner or later.

I just leave this book on the living room table sometimes. My older children enjoy the short challenges.

Any book Steven Kellogg illustrates is a treasure. This one happens to be math-related!

There are so many more great books. Someone has generously collected ideas into a convenient list over at Amazon. There are quite a few listed that I haven't heard of or seen before. I love adding new books to my mental "watch-for-it" list! I hope you are inspired to use some math literature in your reading time soon!

ETA: I found a tremendously wonderful list of Living Math books: love2learn2day's math picks

Marvelous McBroom!

2010-09-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

We enjoy the McBroom series by Sid Fleischman a great deal. I never read these gems as a child, and didn't even discover them for my children until a few years ago. I happened upon one or two at our monthly library book sale. Why the library is shedding these books, I'll never understand. Of the ten in the series, we have eight. The other two are on my Paperback Swap wishlist. There are some of them available right now. Click here to join Paperback Swap as my friend:

Here's a list of all the McBroom Family Adventures for all you collectors:

McBroom's Almanac

McBroom and the Beanstalk

McBroom and the Big Wind

McBroom and the Great Race

McBroom's Ear

McBroom's Ghost

McBroom Tells a Lie

McBroom Tells the Truth

McBroom the Rainmaker

McBroom's Zoo

You can thank me later. I hope you enjoy Mr. McBroom and his family as much as we do!

Wee Gillis: A Mini Unit

2010-09-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

We began this study after reading "Wee Gillis". I am so fond of Robert Lawson's illustrations! The Little Lambies: Troubles, Missy and Jack all listened and learned quite a bit about Scotland just from one reading.

We looked up the location of Scotland compared to our location in California and Israel. We always address geographical locations from these two points. We named the seven continents and they deduced which continents Scotland is located on. We spoke of what countries are to the north, south, east and west of Scotland.

We Google-traveled a road or two and looked around on street view. How green it is! Of course it's because it rains so much.

We looked at Loch Ness and discussed the Monster. I read to them a few appropriate pages of Jaws, Claws and Dinosaurs by William Gibbons and Kent Hovind.

We listened to bagpipe music. We listened to other traditional Scottish songs, too.

We learned about haggis. The children decided they did not want a sample of that!

We looked at pictures of long-haired cows and Scottish stags.

The Flag of Scotland was built out of Legos (thanks to Renee for the idea!).

We spoke about kilts and why men wear them. We discussed plaid and tartans and their meaning. This craft seemed appropriate.

I made a coloring page out of this image of Wee Gillis.

We practiced blowing balloons up in one breath to show how very strong Gillis' lungs must have been!

This was a fun little study. I think the Little Lambies learned a lot!

Book Review: "What In the World Is Going On?" by Dr. David Jeremiah

2010-09-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

I received this book from Thomas Nelson for review. Dr. David Jeremiah lays out the prophetic Biblical passages in a clear to understand manner, engaging the reader with stories and accounts that hold the attention. It's a basic explanation of pre-trib rapture with current events discussed in the appropriate places.

It, like any book that deals with current events, is dated in places, but I was mentally able to add newer events that have occurred since it was published. That made it even more exciting! I think it would be challenging for my 9th grader, but understandable. I like that the author emphasizes the need for America to support Israel. Also, Scriptures are quoted in whole and not piecemeal. I think anyone who loves the Bible and longs for the Lord's return would enjoy and benefit from this book.

September Story Books

2010-09-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

The first few days of September were school days. We finished reading Jack the Giant Killer and Daniel Boone from the Book House books. We also have been continuing Winnie the Pooh, 100 EZ Lessons and other school books. Here begins the list of other stories that we have read this month.

Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne (began several weeks ago. We read 1-2 chapters a week.)
Rolling Rose by James Stevenson
The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock
Davy Crockett Saves the World by Rosalyn Schanzer
The Soldier and the Tsar by Uri Shulevitz
Yonie Wondernose by Marguarite de Angeli
The Story of Noah's Ark by Tony Palazzo
The Cat on the Dovrefell: A Christmas Tale illustrated by Tomie de Paola
Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf (two times!)
Tim Tadpole and the Great Bullfrog by Marjorie Flack (two times!)
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
McBroom's Ghost by Sid Fleischman
Marguerite De Angeli's Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes
The Story of Babar the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff
The Animal by Lorna Balian
Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw
Tadpole and Frog by Christine Back and Barrie Watts
Pish, Posh said Hieronymus Bosch by Nancy Willard
Now It's Fall by Lois Lenski
The King Who Rained by Fred Gwynne
Three Blind Mice by John W. Ivimey, illustrated by Paul Galdone
The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg
The Mother Goose Book illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen
The Wuggie Norple Story by Daniel M. Pinkwater illustrated by Tomie de Paola
Shrek by William Steig
Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
Harry and the Terrible Whatzit by Dick Gackenbach

Dragonfly Mini Unit

2010-08-31T13:58:00.001-07:00

My little Lambies are learning about dragonflies right now. It all started with a chapter we read in "Among the Pond People" by Clara Dillingham Pierson. I always bring up images of the animals we are reading about so the children can imagine the story better. The Snapping Turtle was illustrated with this picture:

The Dragonfly Children were illustrated thusly:

I printed these for the Littles to color: Dragonfly Lifecycle and Dragonfly and the older children (just those who wanted to participate) drew them using this tutorial: Draw a Dragonfly.

Eyewitness Insects has a beautifully photographed series of an emerging damselfly. A dragonfly's emergence is very similar. My copy of this book is older and has a different picture on the cover than the one I linked to. It seems that the insides are the same though.

I read "Sir Small and the Dragonfly" to Missy and Troubles. They got a laugh out of it.

Best of all, I found a perfectly undamaged deceased dragonfly while I was walking last week, so I had a wonderful specimen to show them. They got to see the compound eyes close up, see the intricate veining in the wings and observe the many jointed legs. We could not pry open the mandibles, but they did get a close look. We used magnifying glasses and also the microscope. It was a good day of science for the Littles.

Grading Helps

2010-08-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

I have three children on whom I keep grades. I begin giving percentage scores and letter grades in Grade 7. I record the grades on one of my favorite forms and keep them in my teachers binder. At the end of the year, they go into the portfolio with a few samples of work. I have a paper grading chart that helps me calculate the grades, but as the kids get older, they sometimes have more problems than my grader can handle. I found this online calculator that is very helpful and thought I'd pass it along. It's now saved in my School Sites Folder in my favorites.

Grade Calculator

Also helpful for end of term or year calculations:

Grade Point Average
GPA Calculator

I haven't figured out which one I like better yet.

The Boys and the Frogs

2010-08-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

The Boys and the Frogs by Aesop, illustrated by Milo Winter

Narrated by Troubles:

The boys were throwing stones and the frogs were scared. One of the frogs, the one who was brave, stuck his head up out of the water. He said....

Narrated by Missy:

"Stop. We don't want to die."

Concluded by Momma:

The Moral of the Story is..."Always stop to think whether your fun may not be the cause of another's unhappiness."

Missy also used the moral for her copywork today.

The Black Widow

2010-08-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

My friend Ginger over at Frugal Freeda mentioned this course. DrawSpace.com is a full art course for the beginning student through the advanced level. My eldest daughter is SO happy with this find! She loves to draw, and now Freeda just supplied an elective credit for her 9th grade year.

EmBlem looked over the course and assigned herself the Intermediate designation. She did read a few tips and hints in the beginners lessons that were helpful. She chose to begin with a Black Window Drawing, since we have so many of the dears around here. Here's the Lesson. Here's a picture of her finished piece.

We'll be shopping for the more specialized pencils that are called for in the lessons this weekend. She did this with a plain old 2B Ticonderoga on basic copy paper bought from Costco. Didn't she do a marvelous job?

A Worthless Piece of Junk? Never!

2010-08-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

We had two non-functioning CD players hanging around. Before throwing them away, Polly and Jack decided to explore them. Out came some of Daddy's small tools and the magnifying glasses. I didn't note the time, but they probably spent more than an hour taking those players apart and marveling over the tiny pieces that were inside.

They compared the two and found the similar parts and noticed the differences.

Should I count this as "mechanical engineering" or "de-construction skills"?

Floor Puzzles

2010-08-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

My Lambies, Polly, Jack, Missy and Troubles spent some time with
floor puzzles the other day. They choose to build the glow-in-the-dark creatures set.

What a great way to learn some biology, practice fine motor and classification skills and have fun
at the same time.

Learning With Dover

2010-08-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

One way I enrich our studies is the use of Dover coloring books. We are blessed to have a bookstore in the next town that carries a large selection of Dover books in-store. When I search my shelves for a certain historical time period, science topic, or famous person and don't find a corresponding Dover, I head out and get one. They make our studies so much more interesting! I like to let the kids color while I read the related story. It helps my kinestetic learners stay tuned in.

Drills...The Fun Way

2010-08-05T23:02:00.001-07:00

Ahhh....it's nearing back to school time! I have every intention of starting Monday (but have given myself until Wednesday, just in case I need more time for something). In the meantime, I am allowing the Lambies to warm up their thinking caps with these fun little games I found. Some mention using the Wii, but they work just fine on the computer, using the arrow keys and space bar, too.

Academic Skill Builders

I love that they can be playing and learning at the same time!

Storybooks for August

2010-08-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

We began school this month, so our lit and science books will be included in this list from now on, as well as impromptu read alouds.

The Chicken Book by Garth Williams
Bomby the Bombardier Beetle by Hazel May Rue
Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall
Eloise Wilkins' Mother Goose
The Roly-Poly Pudding by Beatrix Potter
Over the Meadow by John Langstaff
Baby Whales Drink Milk by Barbara Juster Esbensen
began Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
missed quite a few right through here.....
selections from God Loves You by Catherine Marshall (love this find!!)
Daniel Boone in The Book House Vol. 9 (read over several weeks)
Jack the Giant Killer in The Book House Vol. 6 (read over several weeks)
A Nest Full of Eggs
What the Moon is Like by Franklyn M. Branley
Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg
Tale of a Tadpole by Karen Wallace
Rumpelstiltskin illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Eyewitness Insects (specifically the dragonfly and damselfly pages)
Sir Small and the Dragonfly by Jane O'Conner

Lego Mania!

2010-08-01T21:48:00.001-07:00

I suppose all homeschoolers deal with it. Lego mania, that is. All of my boys and most of my girls LOVE getting out the Legos.

Years of watching yard sales and swap meets carefully have netting us two very large tubs of Legos. We also buy new when the price is right. In addition, we have a tub full of the Legos that my husband had when he was young. The Crew is Lego Spoiled!

One thing that suffers from all the attention is the ever-popular manual. The schematics. The instructions. So many things that they make are freely built, but some Lambies in particular like to follow the visuals. That's hard to do with so few booklets.

Tonight, I discovered the motherlode of Lego-manuals. Every.single.one. is downloadable from Lego.com. I don't know how this nugget of information evaded me for so long. Jack is going to be so happy. He'd better invest in some printer ink, though.

Magic Pen

2010-07-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

I love finding fun little games that the kids can play online, and learn while they are playing. After visiting InAShoe this afternoon, I noticed a link in the sidebar to a game we had enjoyed in the past, but had forgotten.

Magic Pen

Magic Pen is a challenging game that teaches physics, momentum, gravity and logic. Working together with a sibling encourages cooperation, too. I am happy to allow the Lambies 20 minutes to make that little red ball hit the flag! They are much better at it than I am, that's for sure!

Ambleside Online's History Rotation

2010-07-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

Year 1 -- early history, focusing on people rather than events
Year 2 -- 1000 AD - Middle Ages
Year 3 -- 1400 - 1600 (Renaissance to Reformation)
Year 4 -- 1700's up to the French Revolution and American Revolution
Year 5 -- 1800 to 1920 up to WWI
Year 6 -- end of WWI to present day, then a term in ancient history
Year 7 -- 800-1400's Middle Ages (Alfred, King Arthur, Joan of Arc)
Year 8 -- 1400-1600's (Renaissance to Reformation)
Year 9 -- 1688-1815 including French and American revolutions
Year 10 -- 1815-1901 including the American Civil War
Year 11 -- 20th Century
Year 12 -- ancient history

Planning 2010-2011

2010-07-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning the planning our 2010-2011 school year. I will share the forms that I like to use. Perhaps you will find something that will help you in your planning. Check often as I will be adding links as I use them through my planning process and not all at once.

My Preferred Attendance Chart I love the simplicity of a one-page-for-the-year chart.

Grade Record Sheet for One Child for One Year Love the simplicity of this form. I use it for my Grade 7 and up Lambies only. Younger children get 100% or they correct their work and then get a :) .

My Daily Checklist I type the name of each book and the week number across the top. Then the children check off their work as they complete it. You can read how the creator of the form, LindaFaye, uses the daily checklist here.

Book of Centuries Each child has their own Book of Centuries to personalize as they read and learn. They can add anything they choose, whether it's a school related fact or not.

A Bible Reading Chart I have several printable versions. Click the number for 1, 2, 3, 4 more choices.

Copywork Generator

2010-07-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

I came across this link I thought I'd share. It's for a handwriting page/copywork generator. It also has an online test that you can administer to your PK-K children to assess what letters they know. You can print the results, too! I quiz my youngest daughter often to see what she is retaining. This will be easier for me.

Handwriting Worksheets

Enjoy!

House of Education Books Year 7, 8 and 9

2010-07-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

I am compiling these lists for my own sanity. I need a clear list of books I still need to find for HOE, so I can cross them off one by one as I find them. Anyone who has an extra copy on PaperbackSwap or Ebay is welcome to contact me or leave a comment! ;)

Year 7

Saints and Heroes, Vol 1
History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea by William Tyre
The Life of King Alfred by Asser
Ourselves by Charlotte Mason (and the other volumes, if they are cheap)
The Life of the Spider by Henri Fabre (or any others by him , except Insects, I have that one)
How To Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand
The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga), With Excerpts from the Poetic Edda, translated by William Morris or Eirikr Magnusson
The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Hereward, the Last of the English by Charles Kingsley
Feats on the Fiord by Harriet Martineau
The Life and Death of Cormac the Skald
Penrod and Sam by Booth Tarkington
Alhambra by Washington Irving

Year 8

Saints and Heroes Vol. 2 by George Hodges
The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers
The Life of Sir Francis Bacon by William Rawley
The Voyage of the Armada The Spanish Story by David Howarth
A History of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
Johannes Kepler: Giant of Faith and Science by John Hudson Tiner
The Life of Dr. Donne by Izaak Walton
Whatever Happened to Justice by Richard Maybury
Simonds American Literature
Everyman, a Morality Play
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
Rural Hours by Susan Fenimore Cooper
William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood by Thomas Henry Huxley
Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The House of Arden by E. Nesbit
Harding's Luck by E. Nesbit
Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore
The Wonderful O and/or The Thurber Carnival by James Thurber
To Have and to Hold by Mary Johnston
All for Love or Discourses on Satire and Epic Poetry by John Dryden
The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton (might be more appreciated for older folks who enjoy short contemplative readings, rather than Year 8 students)
The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln, available through The Common Reader catalog
Pioneers of the Old South: A Chronicle of English Colonial Beginnings by Mary Johnston
The History of King Charles II of England by Jacob Abbott

Year 9

*I haven't even begun to look at Year 9 and above. Many of these are options and you use only one. I don't mind having all of them to choose from, so I will list them all. If you are a HEO'er more familiar with these selections, please let me know of any pros or cons of any particular one!

Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson
The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith
Oxford Book of American History by Samuel Eliot Morison
A History of the American People by Paul Johnson
Letters to His Son by Lord Chesterfield
Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen
The Invasion of Canada by Pierre Berton
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
Founding Father -- Rediscovering George Washington by Richard Brookhiser
George Washington: A Biography by Washington Irving
Washington: The Indispensible Man by James Thomas Flexner
The Life of George Washington by David Ramsay
Marie Antoinette and Her Son by Louise Muhlback
Napoleon Bonaparte by John S. C. Abbott
The Story of Napoleon by H.E. Marshall
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson by Robert Southey
Life of Johnson by James Boswell
London to Land's End by Daniel Defoe
A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland by Samuel Johnson
The Royal Road to Romance by Richard Halliburton
Are You Liberal, Conservative, Confused? by Richard Maybury
The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot
Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke
Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay
A Letter to a Noble Lord by Edmund Burke, 1796
An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope
War of the Worldviews by Gary DeMar
Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith
Isaac Bickerstaff and Days with Sir Roger DeCoverly by Richard Steele
Tale of a Tub and Battle of the Books by Jonathan Swift
History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia by Samuel Johnson
She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
The School for Scandal by Richard Sheridan
Faust, Book I by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., A Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne by William Makepeace Thackeray
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Man Alive and/or The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton.
The Little Nugget, Uneasy Money or others by P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome
Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini, French Revolution #2 in series
William Carey's "An Inquiry Into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens" by William Carey
Horatio Hornblower books by C. S. Forester
Sir Walter Scott:
The Bride of Lammermoor - East Lothian, 1695
The Pirate - Shetland and Orkney Islands, 1700
The Black Dwarf - The Lowlands of Scotland, 1706 (Jacobites)
Heart of Midlothian - Time of George II. (Porteous Riots)
Waverley - The Jacobites
Redgauntlet - Time of George III.
Guy Mannering - Time of George III
The Surgeon's Daughter - Fifeshire, Isle of Wight, and India (1780)
The Antiquary - Scotch Manners, last decade of the 18th Century
St. Ronan's Well - Near Firth of Forth, 1812

Habits to Cultivate

2010-07-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

I don't recall where I found this list, but it is a helpful one! I choose a few a term, as needed. I have another resource that lays out Scriptures teaching character traits that I review with the children. Then we all make a point to watch for opportunities to practice the habit we are focusing on learning.

Decency and Propriety Habits

Cleanliness
Courtesy
Kindness
Manners
Modesty and Purity
Neatness
Order
Regularity
Candor
Courage
Diligence
Fortitude
Generosity
Gentleness
Meekness
Patience
Respect
Temperance
Thrift
~
Mental Habits

Attention
Imagining
Meditation
Memorizing
Mental Effort
Observation
Perfect Execution
Reading for Instruction
Remembering
Thinking
Accuracy
Concentration
Reflection
Thoroughness
~
Moral Habits

Integrity
Priorities
Finishing
Use of Time
Borrowed Property
Obedience
Personal Initiative
Reverence
Self-Control
Sweet, Even Temper
Truthfulness
Usefulness
~
Physical Habits

Alertness to Seize
Opportunities
Fortitude
Health
Managing One’s Own Body
Music
Outdoor Life
Quick Perception of Senses
Self-Control in Emergencies
Self-Discipline in Habits
Self-Restraint in Indulgences
Training the Ear and Voice
~

Story Books for July

2010-07-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here's my list of July books. These are read to my eight and under set. Older than that read independently most of the time.

The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Crockett Johnson (twice)
I Watch Flies by Gladys Conklin (twice)
The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh
Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson
The Little Boat That Almost Sank-Arch Book
The Fishermen's Surprise -Arch Book
The Man Who Carried The Cross For Jesus-Arch Book
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
Fish Head by Jean Fritz
George Washington and the General's Dog by Frank Murphy
The Bear That Heard Crying by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Helen Kinsey
George and Martha-Tons of Fun by James Marshall
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Outside Over There by Marice Sendak
The Twelve Labors of Hercules by Marc Cerasini

July Party!

2010-06-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Remember that I am trying to have a fun little study/party once a month with the Lambies? Last month, we learned all about Flag Day together. I did not plan ahead enough to make a flag colored dessert or anything fun like that. This month, besides The Fourth of July, which we celebrate as a family, I want to put some forethought into a fun day. Off to the list of July's special days, weeks and month designations.

I found a few interesting ones. My favorite possibilities are:

Blueberries Month
National Unassisted Homebirth Week (1st-7th) (not really suited to a kids party, but fun to know anyway!)
Freedom Week (4th-10th)
Rabbit Week (15th-21st)
Chocolate Day (7th)
Embrace Your Geekness Day (13th)
Cow Appreciation Day (17th)
National Ice Cream Day (18th)

I'll be pondering options for celebrations. Please leave any ideas you may have for me!

Preschool Math

2010-06-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

I spent some time doing math with my preschoolers (and Polly) today. Expecting to spend about a half hour, we played together for over an hour. They didn't even know we were doing school!

Go Fish helps them practice matching numbers and memory skills.
War develops greater than/less than skills and patience (especially for Momma!)
Concentration exercises memory, matching and strategy.

What a great way to spend time with my Littles!

2010-2011 Needs and Wants List

2010-06-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

I am pretty well set for fall. I have only a few needs. I do have some wants that I will be watching for at booksales or buying over the summer with my free swagbucks giftcards. Some of the wants will be needs in years to come.

MUS Student books:

Primer (want)
Alpha (need)
Delta + TM (want)
Epsilon (want)
Zeta (want)
Pre-Algebra (need)

Exploring Creation With:

Astronomy (want)
Anatomy (want a lot)
Land Animals of the Sixth Day (want)

The Uncle Eric books, except Rome and Penny Candy (want)

various David Barton books (want)

Spelling Wisdom Book Two (want)

~~The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges (need)~~

The Fallacy Detective by the Bluedorns (need)

Certificates

2010-06-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

We are at the end of our school year. Tonight we'll be celebrating promotions with some friends, a good enchilada dinner and certificates! What kid doesn't like getting a certificate once in a while? I printed them off from several sites, so that each child will get a unique one. Here are the resources I used:

Donna Young- She has only a Kindergarten certificate. I don't have a K graduate this year. I hope this area of her site gets more variety soon.

123 Certificates- This was my favorite because I could personalize them.

Activity Village

Master Planner I have been very happy with this $5 download.

What do you do to mark the end of the year?

Flag Day Mini-Unit

2010-06-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today is Flag Day. I don't know how long we are going to be able to fly our flags, with the way our nation is headed. I want to instill in my Lambies a love of their country and all that our flag represents. Here's links to the things we are doing today.

D'Aulaire's Star Spangled Banner

Mr. Key's Song

Betsy Ross

*ETA a book: The Star Spangled Banner by Paul Galdone

Tea Party Marine Sings

Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

Various celebrity performances of The National Anthem

Historical Flags

Puzzles

Activities

Printables

Coloring Pages

Games