April 27, 2016
For Kami
My sister just moved and she now has a four hour drive to the nearest temple. Since she's making the trip monthly with all her kids in tow, I told her I'd post all my favorite audio books so she could check them out of the library. Then I decided it was more advantageous all around to just make an "Audio Book" label and go through my posts and update the labels. So that is what I did. My sidebar now boasts an "Audio Book" linky. Enjoy!
January 23, 2016
Kindergarten
My sister, Lindsay, has decided to homeschool her kindergartener this next school year. I am impressed by her decision because she has absolutely zero interest in homeschooling. However, like moms have done since the beginning of time she is choosing to do what she thinks is best for her daughter instead of what she thinks is best for herself.
I have absolutely no delusions that Lindsay will actually homeschool the way I do as we all adapt homeschooling to our own personalities and the personalities of our children, but I had so much fun daydreaming about just having a kindergartener again (of school age--she has two younger kids as well) that I decided to post how I would homeschool in that situation. It is essentially how I did homeschool Miriam, with a few tweaks that I would make as I have more experience now.
Subjects I would teach: penmanship, math, reading prep/reading, history!!!, science.
Things I would buy:
Letters and Numbers for Me by Handwriting Without Tears.
I See Sam Phonics Set One black and white edition. Color would be fine, but my kids didn't mind the black and white, it is cheaper, and if your kids want to color the pages you can photocopy them easily.
The Letter Factory. It is only $6.00 on amazon and I used it to teach all my kids their letters and sounds.
Other than that, I would use the library and internet for everything. If you felt that you absolutely had to have a math book I would definitely go with The Critical Thinking Co Mathematical Reasoning Level A. I think most people would be better off not using a math book but it doesn't do any damage and some kids (like all my weirdos) love worksheet type stuff. Plus, it does provide peace of mind to those who are new at homeschooling that they are adequately covering the basics. We use Critical Thinking Co for all our math books. We have used the kindergarten book before and it was just as good as the others.
I teach (or I did, before the last two babies) by units and I really think that is the way to go for the younger crowd. I would pull out my calendar and plan out what units I wanted to teach in four week on, one week off, increments. I know I usually do a six week on plan, but if you only have a kindergartener than a shorter unit is probably wise. Then I would teach whatever I thought my child would love best. Definitely an animal unit or two thrown in (what kids don't love learning about animals??), a history unit about something really fun like ancient Egyptians or slavery in America or exploring the world. I'd probably throw in a geography unit--use the one I created for the Babies documentary or create something that interested my child. Maybe a science unit on weather or magnets. That is always fun.
So let's say I decided to start with a unit on mammals. I would go to my library website and reserve a bunch of kids' books about mammals. Then I would reserve a bunch of books about numbers and counting. Then I would create a basic lesson outline for each of the weeks after reading through all the books and taking back the ones that are less good. It would look something like this:
Unit One: Mammals and Counting
Week One: Horses and Identifying the Numbers 1-5
Monday: Morning Devotional (read an article in the Friend, memorize something, morning prayers), read ______________ (a book about counting) then put up numbers around the walls, call out a number and have the kids smack that number with a fly swatter or their hands. Read ____________ (a book about horses) and read ____________ (another book about horses). Color and cut out several pictures of horses. Count how many legs one has and then how many more you have when you add another horse and then if you add another horse. How many heads? How many tails? What else can you count? Do any of the horses have spots? Etc. Complete one page in your penmanship book.
During naptime, snuggle with kindergartner on the couch with a white board and marker and have her write "at" and make the word "cat" by adding a "c" and then make the words bat, sat, hat, fat, rat. Put the first six letters of the alphabet in order (get some alphabet cards). Only read phonics books when the child already understands how to sound out and that every letter makes a sound.
And that's it for day one. Day two would be similar with different books and a different horse craft or maybe an education horse movie on youtube. Or maybe look at pictures of different kinds of horses in a horse encyclopedia, or look at all the pictures of Grandpa's horses, maybe pick names for the horses you colored. There are lots of counting activities you can look up online.
One day could be the care of horses, anatomy of horses, match the baby mammals with their mom, what makes a horse a mammal . . . that kind of thing. What can we count around the house? How many toes do we have individually and how many do we have altogether? Let's group the straws by color. Which groups have five straws? Which groups have three? Then just make sure you're reading a bunch of books.
The next unit might be a geography unit.
Unit Two: Denmark, Germany (we have ancestry from both countries) and Addition
Do the whole thing again. Get the books from the library, put together some fun craft and lesson ideas. Everyone loves coloring maps, so print off maps. There are lots of educational videos about every country under the sun on youtube or available from the library. You can make food from those countries, which is great for math. Teaching kindergarten should be fun, fun, fun, and cheap.
Definitely include a graphing/data gathering math unit. Miriam was so cute calling her relatives to ask what their favorite dessert was and tallying how many red cars there were in the parking lot vs. blue cars.
One last note. I would also have my kids listening to books on tape whenever we're in the car. I've done that for years and I think it really helped with comprehension--especially for my son who struggles with reading. He can't decode quite at level (he's made such huge improvements this year though!!) but his comprehension is way above level. Books on tape are AWESOME. My sisters have pointed out that I need to organize my book posts better and have a separate category for books on tape. I probably won't ever get around to that, but I have a ton of audio book recommendations on the blog.
And that's how I would do it.
I have absolutely no delusions that Lindsay will actually homeschool the way I do as we all adapt homeschooling to our own personalities and the personalities of our children, but I had so much fun daydreaming about just having a kindergartener again (of school age--she has two younger kids as well) that I decided to post how I would homeschool in that situation. It is essentially how I did homeschool Miriam, with a few tweaks that I would make as I have more experience now.
Subjects I would teach: penmanship, math, reading prep/reading, history!!!, science.
Things I would buy:
Letters and Numbers for Me by Handwriting Without Tears.
I See Sam Phonics Set One black and white edition. Color would be fine, but my kids didn't mind the black and white, it is cheaper, and if your kids want to color the pages you can photocopy them easily.
The Letter Factory. It is only $6.00 on amazon and I used it to teach all my kids their letters and sounds.
Other than that, I would use the library and internet for everything. If you felt that you absolutely had to have a math book I would definitely go with The Critical Thinking Co Mathematical Reasoning Level A. I think most people would be better off not using a math book but it doesn't do any damage and some kids (like all my weirdos) love worksheet type stuff. Plus, it does provide peace of mind to those who are new at homeschooling that they are adequately covering the basics. We use Critical Thinking Co for all our math books. We have used the kindergarten book before and it was just as good as the others.
I teach (or I did, before the last two babies) by units and I really think that is the way to go for the younger crowd. I would pull out my calendar and plan out what units I wanted to teach in four week on, one week off, increments. I know I usually do a six week on plan, but if you only have a kindergartener than a shorter unit is probably wise. Then I would teach whatever I thought my child would love best. Definitely an animal unit or two thrown in (what kids don't love learning about animals??), a history unit about something really fun like ancient Egyptians or slavery in America or exploring the world. I'd probably throw in a geography unit--use the one I created for the Babies documentary or create something that interested my child. Maybe a science unit on weather or magnets. That is always fun.
So let's say I decided to start with a unit on mammals. I would go to my library website and reserve a bunch of kids' books about mammals. Then I would reserve a bunch of books about numbers and counting. Then I would create a basic lesson outline for each of the weeks after reading through all the books and taking back the ones that are less good. It would look something like this:
Unit One: Mammals and Counting
Week One: Horses and Identifying the Numbers 1-5
Monday: Morning Devotional (read an article in the Friend, memorize something, morning prayers), read ______________ (a book about counting) then put up numbers around the walls, call out a number and have the kids smack that number with a fly swatter or their hands. Read ____________ (a book about horses) and read ____________ (another book about horses). Color and cut out several pictures of horses. Count how many legs one has and then how many more you have when you add another horse and then if you add another horse. How many heads? How many tails? What else can you count? Do any of the horses have spots? Etc. Complete one page in your penmanship book.
During naptime, snuggle with kindergartner on the couch with a white board and marker and have her write "at" and make the word "cat" by adding a "c" and then make the words bat, sat, hat, fat, rat. Put the first six letters of the alphabet in order (get some alphabet cards). Only read phonics books when the child already understands how to sound out and that every letter makes a sound.
And that's it for day one. Day two would be similar with different books and a different horse craft or maybe an education horse movie on youtube. Or maybe look at pictures of different kinds of horses in a horse encyclopedia, or look at all the pictures of Grandpa's horses, maybe pick names for the horses you colored. There are lots of counting activities you can look up online.
One day could be the care of horses, anatomy of horses, match the baby mammals with their mom, what makes a horse a mammal . . . that kind of thing. What can we count around the house? How many toes do we have individually and how many do we have altogether? Let's group the straws by color. Which groups have five straws? Which groups have three? Then just make sure you're reading a bunch of books.
The next unit might be a geography unit.
Unit Two: Denmark, Germany (we have ancestry from both countries) and Addition
Do the whole thing again. Get the books from the library, put together some fun craft and lesson ideas. Everyone loves coloring maps, so print off maps. There are lots of educational videos about every country under the sun on youtube or available from the library. You can make food from those countries, which is great for math. Teaching kindergarten should be fun, fun, fun, and cheap.
Definitely include a graphing/data gathering math unit. Miriam was so cute calling her relatives to ask what their favorite dessert was and tallying how many red cars there were in the parking lot vs. blue cars.
One last note. I would also have my kids listening to books on tape whenever we're in the car. I've done that for years and I think it really helped with comprehension--especially for my son who struggles with reading. He can't decode quite at level (he's made such huge improvements this year though!!) but his comprehension is way above level. Books on tape are AWESOME. My sisters have pointed out that I need to organize my book posts better and have a separate category for books on tape. I probably won't ever get around to that, but I have a ton of audio book recommendations on the blog.
And that's how I would do it.
July 24, 2015
A rough sketch of how we try to eat--plus RECIPE LINKS
I've had several people ask me for linkys to some of my favorite healthy recipes. I've had other people ask me to just post all my weekly menus from the past, present, and until the end of time. Ha. I won't be doing that. I will post a prototype of our weekly menus, though, with some linkys to the recipes I've tried lately that I love.
Sun
B: cold oatmeal (we have 9:00 am church so always have cold oatmeal)
L/D: whatever I can scrape together--I'm terrible at planning Sunday food items
Snack: popcorn
Mon
B: hot nine grain cereal (I get mine from Kitchen Kneads in 25 lb bags) and banana smoothies
L: roasted cabbage (usually without bacon, but sometimes with--yum)
D: tacos with lentil-walnut meat substitute (don't be scared by the meat substitute--my children, husband, and I all LOVED it and we are not vegetarians. I use it because it adds more lentils into our diets)
Snack: peanuts and apple slices
Tues
B: whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana slices
L: green salad (we eat a lot of lettuce salad for lunch--we add kidney beans for fiber)
D: apricot mint salad with brown rice
Snack: cut up veggies and ranch dressing
Wed
B: oat pancakes with yogurt and maple syrup dressing
L: roasted cabbage (we love that stuff) with a slice of bread
D: plain old white pancakes because we have them whenever I don't manage to get supper on the table and that happens at least once a week
Snack: banana smoothie
Thur
B: hot cereal and watermelon (I love watermelon for breakfast)
L: green salad
D: steak edamame salad with homemade baked potato fries
Snack: strawberries
Fri
B: hot cereal (we eat it the most of anything for breakfast) with scrambled eggs (I always add onions and green peppers to our scrambled eggs because I love it. We also add mushrooms, spinach, asparagus--a favorite--or any other veggies I have on hand that sound yummy)
L: whole wheat toast with peanut butter and bananas
D: baked potato, fried green beans, cucumber and tomato slices (this is one of my favorite meals)
Snack: celery sticks with peanut butter
Sat
B: oat pancakes with yogurt maple syrup
L: leftovers (when I make rice I make double what I need so I can have one quick meal ready to go--a bowl of rice. I usually broil some zuchinni to toss in and some scrambled eggs. My children love this and call it a "rice bowl" though I think they use the term loosely. Bulgar wheat also works well for this).
S: Sandwich with some sort of fruit. I dislike cooking after a long, physical work day.
Snack: nothing. My kids grab carrots if they are hungry.
There you go--a one week menu. I usually have four nice meals per week, and the other three nights we munge along with lesser meals. I used to shop for one week, but now I can't fit all the milk and fresh produce in the fridge so I switched to shopping for three days. I find I waste WAY less now because if something happens and meals get switched around, there is more wiggle room. Someday, though, I'd like a second fridge.
*Important note for LINDSAY: I make my homemade frozen burritos by taking one tortilla, adding a bit of the lentil-walnut meat substitute, sauteed green peppers and onions, and one scrambled egg. Then I roll that up, wrap it in saran wrap and stick three into one ziploc bag. When we eat one, we microwave for two minutes and douse with green salsa. Yum!
Here are some linkys:
Banana peanut butter smoothies: http://www.cranialhiccups.com/2014/10/chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-smoothies.html
Roasted cabbage: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-roasted-cabbage-with-bacon-recipes-from-the-kitchn-105338
Lentil-walnut meat substitute: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/06/17/ultimate-green-taco-wraps-with-lentil-walnut-taco-meat-vegan-gluten-free/
SO YUMMY Apricot/Mint Salad: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/romaine_salad_with_chicken_apricots_mint.html
Oat pancakes with yogurt maple dressing: http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000001991442,00.html
Edamame salad (this will be a staple for my kids' lunches this year--it is very hearty and is eaten coldish--though I'll omit the steak most of the time): http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/edamame-salad-with-crisp-steak
ONE BONUS RECIPE; this is the recipe Timothy wants me to make and have on hand all the time for his snacking pleasure. It is a granola bar, but there is no sugar, so you should think of it as something else entirely or you won't like it. I like it because it is pretty healthy and filling, and I like all the crunch and chewiness. So--a healthy alternative to a granola bar. It is also gluten free, which matters to some of you and I like because I'm always trying to diversify my grains: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/05/20/feel-good-hearty-granola-bars/
Hope this helps someone!!!
Sun
B: cold oatmeal (we have 9:00 am church so always have cold oatmeal)
L/D: whatever I can scrape together--I'm terrible at planning Sunday food items
Snack: popcorn
Mon
B: hot nine grain cereal (I get mine from Kitchen Kneads in 25 lb bags) and banana smoothies
L: roasted cabbage (usually without bacon, but sometimes with--yum)
D: tacos with lentil-walnut meat substitute (don't be scared by the meat substitute--my children, husband, and I all LOVED it and we are not vegetarians. I use it because it adds more lentils into our diets)
Snack: peanuts and apple slices
Tues
B: whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana slices
L: green salad (we eat a lot of lettuce salad for lunch--we add kidney beans for fiber)
D: apricot mint salad with brown rice
Snack: cut up veggies and ranch dressing
Wed
B: oat pancakes with yogurt and maple syrup dressing
L: roasted cabbage (we love that stuff) with a slice of bread
D: plain old white pancakes because we have them whenever I don't manage to get supper on the table and that happens at least once a week
Snack: banana smoothie
Thur
B: hot cereal and watermelon (I love watermelon for breakfast)
L: green salad
D: steak edamame salad with homemade baked potato fries
Snack: strawberries
Fri
B: hot cereal (we eat it the most of anything for breakfast) with scrambled eggs (I always add onions and green peppers to our scrambled eggs because I love it. We also add mushrooms, spinach, asparagus--a favorite--or any other veggies I have on hand that sound yummy)
L: whole wheat toast with peanut butter and bananas
D: baked potato, fried green beans, cucumber and tomato slices (this is one of my favorite meals)
Snack: celery sticks with peanut butter
Sat
B: oat pancakes with yogurt maple syrup
L: leftovers (when I make rice I make double what I need so I can have one quick meal ready to go--a bowl of rice. I usually broil some zuchinni to toss in and some scrambled eggs. My children love this and call it a "rice bowl" though I think they use the term loosely. Bulgar wheat also works well for this).
S: Sandwich with some sort of fruit. I dislike cooking after a long, physical work day.
Snack: nothing. My kids grab carrots if they are hungry.
There you go--a one week menu. I usually have four nice meals per week, and the other three nights we munge along with lesser meals. I used to shop for one week, but now I can't fit all the milk and fresh produce in the fridge so I switched to shopping for three days. I find I waste WAY less now because if something happens and meals get switched around, there is more wiggle room. Someday, though, I'd like a second fridge.
*Important note for LINDSAY: I make my homemade frozen burritos by taking one tortilla, adding a bit of the lentil-walnut meat substitute, sauteed green peppers and onions, and one scrambled egg. Then I roll that up, wrap it in saran wrap and stick three into one ziploc bag. When we eat one, we microwave for two minutes and douse with green salsa. Yum!
Here are some linkys:
Banana peanut butter smoothies: http://www.cranialhiccups.com/2014/10/chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-smoothies.html
Roasted cabbage: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-roasted-cabbage-with-bacon-recipes-from-the-kitchn-105338
Lentil-walnut meat substitute: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/06/17/ultimate-green-taco-wraps-with-lentil-walnut-taco-meat-vegan-gluten-free/
SO YUMMY Apricot/Mint Salad: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/romaine_salad_with_chicken_apricots_mint.html
Oat pancakes with yogurt maple dressing: http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000001991442,00.html
Edamame salad (this will be a staple for my kids' lunches this year--it is very hearty and is eaten coldish--though I'll omit the steak most of the time): http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/edamame-salad-with-crisp-steak
ONE BONUS RECIPE; this is the recipe Timothy wants me to make and have on hand all the time for his snacking pleasure. It is a granola bar, but there is no sugar, so you should think of it as something else entirely or you won't like it. I like it because it is pretty healthy and filling, and I like all the crunch and chewiness. So--a healthy alternative to a granola bar. It is also gluten free, which matters to some of you and I like because I'm always trying to diversify my grains: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/05/20/feel-good-hearty-granola-bars/
Hope this helps someone!!!
March 22, 2015
Miriam's 7th/8th Grade Book List--Weigh In!
I've been trying to compile a required reading list for my oldest. She will be going into grade 7 and she is shifting in her reading from lazy, easy reading (how many Hardy Boy books are there???????) to pushing herself a little. I'm glad because I was starting to wonder how I would push her upward and onward. I read above my level because I wanted to read what my older siblings were reading. I'm already noticing that Emeline (age 8) does this as well. Since Miriam is the oldest she hasn't really had much impetus to push into the YA genre.
With that in mind, I decided to put together a required reading list for her 7th and 8th grade years. The idea is that she will read one book off the list a week. Most of the books can be read whenever, but a few--with similar themes or same historical time period--have to be read at the same time. That way we'll be working on history and/or science along with LA, some of the time anyway.
A few fun things have happened as I've been working on this list. One is that Miriam got wind of the list (I had to ask her if she'd read a few titles), she read through the list, and now she's been reading books from the list. Back to the drawing board again to add more! Not that I mind, funny girl.
The other fun thing is my perusal of every site I can find that suggesst good nonfiction titles. I didn't fall in love with nonfiction until college so I didn't read much YA nonfiction. In putting together the list I had to include some books on other people's recommendation (always scary) and debate internally about books I love. Some made the cut (Frederick Douglass's autobiography) and some didn't (The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary). Some were too old, some too young, some about topics that I don't find interesting but Miriam does (forensic science), or vice-versa.
It is such a joy to read about, think about, make lists about, and plan for books!!!
Bibliophile: a person who loves books, or, alternately, me!
Here's my mostly finished list, including the books Miriam has recently read that need to be replaced. If you have any thoughts, suggestions, comments on quality or age level of the books (or anything else!)--please, I'm seeking after those things.
Yes, I realize I have more books than weeks of school, but I thought that would give her some ownership in her choices.
Thanks for your help!!!!!!
With that in mind, I decided to put together a required reading list for her 7th and 8th grade years. The idea is that she will read one book off the list a week. Most of the books can be read whenever, but a few--with similar themes or same historical time period--have to be read at the same time. That way we'll be working on history and/or science along with LA, some of the time anyway.
A few fun things have happened as I've been working on this list. One is that Miriam got wind of the list (I had to ask her if she'd read a few titles), she read through the list, and now she's been reading books from the list. Back to the drawing board again to add more! Not that I mind, funny girl.
The other fun thing is my perusal of every site I can find that suggesst good nonfiction titles. I didn't fall in love with nonfiction until college so I didn't read much YA nonfiction. In putting together the list I had to include some books on other people's recommendation (always scary) and debate internally about books I love. Some made the cut (Frederick Douglass's autobiography) and some didn't (The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary). Some were too old, some too young, some about topics that I don't find interesting but Miriam does (forensic science), or vice-versa.
It is such a joy to read about, think about, make lists about, and plan for books!!!
Bibliophile: a person who loves books, or, alternately, me!
Here's my mostly finished list, including the books Miriam has recently read that need to be replaced. If you have any thoughts, suggestions, comments on quality or age level of the books (or anything else!)--please, I'm seeking after those things.
Yes, I realize I have more books than weeks of school, but I thought that would give her some ownership in her choices.
Thanks for your help!!!!!!
Absolutely Normal Chaos, Sharon Creech
The Egypt Game
The Giver
Maniac Magee
Number the Stars
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Summer of My German Soldier
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Kira-Kira
The Dark is Rising series
Among the Hidden
The View from Saturday
The Moorchild
My Louisiana Sky
Holes
Homecoming and Dicey's Song
Esperanza Rising
The Fledgling
Little Women
Incident at Hawk's Hill
The Call of the Wild
Jacob Have I Loved
No Promises in the Wind
The Jungle Book
The Hero and the Crown
Freak the Mighty
Tangerine
Far North
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman
The Outsiders
Across Five Aprils
Adam of the Road
Black Beauty
Cheaper by the Dozen
Christy
Girl of the Limberlost
The Hiding Place
Invincible Louisa
Johnny Tremain
Princess and the Goblin
Rifles for Watie
Snow Treasure
A Wrinkle in Time
A Christmas Carol
A Long Walk to Water
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Treasure Island
The Call of the Wild
The Moves Make the Man
The Red Pony
The Devil's Arithmetic
The Andromeda Strain
Jackaroo
Lyddie
Up a Road Slowly
The Prisoner of Zenda
Smith by Leon Garfield
Westmark
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
NONFICTION
Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor by
Michael Burgan
Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean
Motion by Loree Griffin Burns
Who Was First? Discovering the Americas by Russell Freedman
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by
Phillip Hoose
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to
Get Back on Board by Sheryl Berk
Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds,
Civil War Spy by Seymour Reit
Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism
and Changed the World by Temple Grandin
Kids Who Rule: The Remarkable Lives of of Five Child
Monarchs by Charis Cotter
Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina’s Life by Chan Hon Goh
The Bone Detectives:
How Forensic Anthropologists Solve Crimes and Uncover Mysteries of the Dead by
Donna M. Jackson
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1917 by
Michael Capuzzo
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True
Story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong
Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers
Outbreak! Plagues that Changed History by Bryn Barnard
An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the
Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy
Years of Dust by Albert Marrin
Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During
the Holocaust by Doreen Rappaport
Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine,
1845-1850 by SusanCampbell Bartoletti
Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy
by Albert Marrin
Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet
Below the Chilean Desert by Marc Aronson
Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of
Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming
Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business—and
Won! By Emily Arnold McCully
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for
Civil Rights
The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured
the World’s Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb
Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans During World
War II by Martin W. Sandler
Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles:
American’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World’s Most
Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different by Karen Blumenthal
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by
Cynthia Levinson
The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure,
Heroism, and Treachery by Steve Sheinkin
Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of
Prohibition by Karen Blumenthal
Music was IT: Young Leonard Bernstein by Susan Goldman Rubin
Can I See Your I.D.?: True Stories of False Identities by
Paul Hoppe
Unraveling Freedom: The Battle for Democracy on the Home
Front During World War I by Ann Bausum
Truce by Jim Murphy (WWI)
The War to End all Wars by Russell Freedman
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: A Friendship
That Changed the World by Penny Colman
Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant
Communication by Ann Downer
The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life
of Showman P.T. Barnum by Candace Fleming
Scribbling Women: True Tales from Astonishing Lives by
Marthe Jocelyn
Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by
Land, Sea, and Air by Stewart Ross (maybe use with the other kids for a whole
unit on navigation?)
I.M. Pei: Architect of Time, Place and Purpose by Jill
Rubalcaba
Wideness and Wonder: The Life and Art of Georgia O’Keefe by
Susan Goldman Rubin
Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by
Rosalyn Shanzer
Ghosts in the Fog: The Untold Story of Alaska’s WWII
Invasion by Samantha Seiple
Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature
by George Sullivan (go along with the biography of Barnum)
Terezin: Voices from the Holocaust by Ruth Thomson
Raggin’ Jazzin’ Rockin’: A History of American Musical
Instrument Makers by Susan VanHecke
They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American
Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartolletti
The Dark Game: True Spy Stories from Invisible Ink to CIA
Moles by Paul B. Janeczko
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas by Frederick
Douglas
Frederick Douglas by David A. Adler
We Are Not Beasts of Burden: Cesar Chavez and the Delano
Grape Strike, California 1965-1970 by Stuart A. Kallen
Frozen Secrets: Antarctica Revealed by Sally M. Walker
The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton by Connie Nordhielm
Woolridge
Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial
Maryland by Sally M. Walker
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Leaving Glorytown: One Boy’s Struggle Under Castro by
Eduardo F. Calcines
Birmingham Sunday by Larry Dane Brimner (read with The
Watson’s Go To Birmingham)
Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn’t Work), in Words
and Pictures by Michael Goodwin
The Word Snoop by Ursula Dubosarsky (history of the English
language)
The Bat Scientists by Mary Kay Carson
The Hive Detectives: Chronicles of a Honey Bee Catastrophe
by Loree Griffin Burns
The Battle of Britain by Kate Moore
Mr. Lincoln’s High-tech War by Thomas B. Allen (use it with
the novel about three days of the war)
Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of the Trailblazing
Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble-Rousers by Brandon Marie Miller
The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and
Anne by Catherine Reef (would work well with the other books about TB)
The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild,
Wild West by Sid Fleischman
Through No Fault of My Own: A Girl’s Diary of Life on Summit
Avenue in the Jazz Age by Coco Irvine (use with Thoroughly Modern Millie)
St. Paul’s Historic Summit Avenue by Ernest R. Sandeen
March 3, 2015
Books!
My nine year old niece recommended Laura Amy Schlitz's Splendors and Glooms and I am so glad she did!! First Miriam read it and loved it and then I read it and loved it. It is a Dickensian novel for upper elementary/middle school (but delightful for all ages). It has some dark magic in it but nothing too creepy. I thoroughly enjoyed it and put it in my basket at amazon to make sure I add it to my collection. You might be familiar with this author. She wrote Good Masters! Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village, which won the Newbery. She also wrote The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer who Dug for Troy--one of my children's very favorite biographies. In short, we're going to make sure all of Ms. Schlitz's books wind up on our bookshelf. She's fabulous.
We listened to Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke on audio book awhile ago and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that I bought a copy for Emeline (age 8) for Christmas. Since then she's read it twice (that I know about--sometimes I sleep and miss things) and has declared it her "favorite book ever." If you have a child in elementary school who likes humorous adventure stories, I recommend this one.
We had Freight Train by Donald Crews when Cowen was a baby/toddler, but it was destroyed as only truly beloved books can be destroyed. I figured Oskar would like it as much as my other kids had and so I gave it to him for Christmas. It hasn't replaced Babies by Gyo Fujikawa as his favorite book, but it is a very close second. My children were overjoyed when Oskar unwrapped the book because they all remember it and love it. The best Christmas book reaction, though, was when Oskar unwrapped Jamberry, another book that was destroyed out of sheer love, and Miriam grabbed it right out of Oskar's hands and squealed, "Jamberry!" in pure delight. Awesome.
My dad loaned me Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and I loved it. I rarely read adult books, truth be told, as YA was always my happy place, but I'll be purchasing this book for my library. I loved everything about it.
I am always so, so, so, so excited when one of my children read one of my favorite books and love it as much as I do. Miriam just finished Sabriel, my favorite Garth Nix book. She then promptly read the sequel the next day. She loved it, I love it, anyone who likes fantasy will love it. Read it. Gold Star Book.
February 2, 2015
This Blogging Break Was Brought to You By
Clover Mildred
born December 15, 2015
She is perfect and delightful and already sleeping 6 to 7 hours a night.
We started schooling today for the first time since her arrival.
It went well, but we didn't finish until 6:00 pm. Oops.
Hopefully we'll get into the swing of things and I'll be able to blog again soon.
October 2, 2014
Presents the kids can make each other
I'm pretty sure that at least some of the kids should make this for each other for Christmas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNge9xiwdc4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNge9xiwdc4
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