Let's Get Planning: Read Alouds

Whew! It's September 20th already!! Where does the time go?  I really want to get up the rest of our plans.  I have really tried to simplify this year and so far it seems to be working.  I still have to add in a few small study items but otherwise our schedule seems to be moving along swimmingly.

Religion:
Term 1:
See How She Loves Us by Joan Carroll Cruz
Illustrated Catechism by Inos Biffi

Term 2:
Advent and Christmas with Fulton Sheen
Saints and Heroes for Boys and Girls by Doris Burton

Term 3:
Our Holy Father, the Pope by Ignatius
the Life of Christ by American Bible Society

History:
Challenge of Freedom by Neumann Press

Term 1:
Time for Battle by Susan Martins Miller
Children of the Civil War by Candice F Ransom

Term 2:
The Rebel Spy by Norma Jean Lutz
My Brother's Keeper by My America
The Story of the Gettysburg Address by Kenneth Richards

Term 3:
The War Ends by Norma Jean Lutz
Children of the Emancipation by Wilma King

Literature:

Term 1:
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
When We Were Very Young by AA Milne
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde

Term 2:
Pollyanna

Term 3:
Swallows and Amazons

Audiobook :
Heidi
Shakespeare Audio Dramas

Miscellaneous:
Term 1:
The Shed that Fed a Million Children

Term 2:
Life is Precious Unit Study
Come Look with Me Exploring Landscape Art with Children

Term 3:
Handel at the Court of Kings by Opal Wheeler
G is for Googol A Math Alphabet Book

What are you reading this year?

Let's Get Planning: Buddy's Lesson Plans 3rd Grade

Well, I decided not to reinvent the wheel this year.  I modeled his plans on Mater Amabilis, although I couldn't help but do some tweeking and trimming here and there.  However, all and all it was much easier to start with a pre-made list of books and build from there.

Religion:

OSV Catholic Encyclopedia (reference)

A Catholic Child’s Illustrated Lives of Saints

Great Saints of World History by Seton

Math:

Life of Fred Goldfish

Life of Fred Honey

Life of Fred Ice Cream

Life of Fred Jellybeans

Kumon Multiplication workbook

English:

(Harp and Laurel Wreath--dictation and memorization)

Primary Language Lessons

Readers: Seton, Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers 1-3,

Writing: Nature Journal 10 mins daily

Literature:

Audiobooks: (*all are public domain books available on Librivox or Loyal Books.)

Jo’s Boys by Alcott*

Little Men by Alcott*

Peter Pan by Barrie*

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Sidney*

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Narration books:

The Green Fairy Book by Lang

Favorite North American Indian Legends by Smith

National History:

The Catholic Faith Comes to America

This Country of Ours by Marshall (audio on audible)

Ancient History:

The Story of Civilization vol 1 Audio and activity book

The Story of the Bible (Old Testament) Audio

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Payne

Ancient Civilizations by Cooke

Geography:

Map work: Asia

People and Places:

Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Godden

Soviet Trek by Buettner

A Little Tiger In the Chinese Night by Zhang

Water Buffalo Days by Nhuong

Earth Studies: Extreme Environments

1. Desserts

• 52 Days by Camel by Raskin

2. Jungle

• Jungle Islands by Coffey

3. Arctic:

• Antarctic Journal by Dewey
• Antarctic Journal by Hooper

Earth Studies: Mountains and Volcanoes by Kingfisher

Science:

(Adventures with Atoms and Molecules by Mesane and Rybolt)

Apologia Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day with audio

Sea Life Notebooking pages by Harrington Harmonies (**See my affiliate link to the right, and stay tuned for a review of these pages.)

Music Appreciation: (on the go)

• The Story of Bach in Words and Music
• The Story of Mozart in Words and Music
• The Story of Chopin in Words and Music
• The Story of Schumann & Grieg in Words and Music
• The Story of Mendelssohn In Words And Music
• The Story of Schubert in Words and Music

Masters of Classical Music

Practical Work:

Make a paracord belt

Learn to stack wood

Learn to cook on a fire

Handwriting:

D'Nealian Cursive

Latin:

Song School Latin 1 and 2 videos

Great Books Preschool Story Time

So, I am finally getting to sit down and publish the next set of plans.  I really wondered how much I should do with Little Man this year and what type of curriculum would work best for him.  Then I thought of one of his favorite activities, sitting on my lap and reading. Every time I sit down, he grabs a book he wants to read.  This could be why I haven't gotten much posted lately.

I didn't want to just read, though. I wanted to read him great books.  So, I sat down and looked through our collection, what was available at the library, and what I wanted to order online.  Here is the list of what I chose.  Certainly, there are more great books to read, but I am only one mama and have only so much time.

We are keeping a small stack of books (I really want to get a basket) next to the upstairs sofa, so that we can read while the other kids are doing their independent work.  I let Little Man choose what to read and then swap out the ones we have read over and over again at the end of the week.  This way it puts him in charge, but makes sure that we cover all the books I've chosen.

That's it, that's all we are doing.  No fancy projects, no workbooks, no formulaic study, just reading from great books. And you know what?  He's learning!  He is already learning to recognize some of his letters, making comparisons between stories, and telling me about different animals.  It isn't happening quickly, but it is happening joyfully and that, for me, is more important!

So here it is my " Great Books Preschool Story Time."  Enjoy!

**Please note that most of these links are for Thriftbooks.com. If you have not joined them, I highly recommend that you do.  They have made homeschooling so much more affordable. On top of great prices, they offer free shipping on orders of $10+, and a $5 coupon off your next order, every time you spend $50 cumulatively. Can't be beat! Click here and sign up for a 15% off coupon for your first order, any size. (I will receive a small reward for you signing up to help my family keep reading! Thanks.)

Literature:

On Christmas Eve by  Brown

Miss Rumphius by Cooney

The Little Engine that Could by Piper

Owl Moon by Yolen

Too Many Pumpkins by White

Ox-Cart Man by Cooney

Little Golden Book Collection: Farm Tales

Rembrandt’s The Story of Christmas

Mother Goose Rhymes and Poems  (I have several vintage collections we are using)

Scuffy the Tugboat by Crampton

The Rooster Crows by Petersham

Nicolini’s Song by Wilcoxen

Math:

One Grain of Rice by Demi

One is 1 by Tasha Tudor

One Tractor by Siy

One Horse Waiting for Me by Mullins

Count Your Blessings by Reeder

Going to Sleep on the Farm by Lewison

Religion:

The Picture Story Life of Christ by Egermeier

The Bible in Pictures by Rev Kirby

My Little Golden Book of Saints

My Little Golden Book of Mary

My Little Golden Book About God

A is for Altar, B is for Bible by Main

Tasha Tudor First Prayer

A Treasury of Old Testament Heroes by Pingry

Science:

The Burgess Book of Birds by Burgess

The Fresh Water Alphabet by Pallotta

W is for Wind: A Weather Alphabet by Michaels

Autumn Leaves by Robbins

One Small Square Series

The Underwater Alphabet by Pallotta

My First Big Book of Questions and Answers Under the Sea by Graham

Five Senses by Tasha Tudor

Have any you would add?

Seven Super Quick Takes: First Week of School Lessons

I am linking up with Kelly--a little late but I hear late is better than never--to share what I learned this first week of schooling!

1

Scheduling two birthday parties within five days is kind of crazy.  Scheduling two birthday parties within five days when it is the first week of school and you are six months pregnant should be considered criminally insane!!!  What was I thinking?  

Buddy had a party on Sunday which included an "old fashioned, proper, sit-down family dinner" with his best friend (and future bride) and her family.  Cowgirl is currently downstairs in the family room making s'mores on the fireplace with dad and two of her best friends (camping got rained out) and we will be doing a campfire breakfast in the morning.  All good kids, all great memories, still one tired mama!

2

The curriculum I planned for the year seems to be working well, but I got all the plans together too late and am struggling to catch up with the prep work--like reading all the books I assigned my children.  Next year, I will be going back to my usual plan of having a rough plan done by the middle of June.

3

If you write an article outlining all your grandiose plans to make this year super special, but forget to write these plans in your planner--they probably won't happen.  I am going to make up for it on the feast of St Therese.  

4

Audio books of all sorts are a homeschooling mom's best friend!  I know I haven't gotten the rest of my plans posted--see number 5--but I have added in audio books for Buddy and Cowgirl, along with audio textbooks for Buddy.  It really has made schooling so much easier.  I still need to supervise their progress, but it gives them independence and me a little more time to work with the other children. A bonus is, they WANT to do the subjects on audio more than any others.  SCORE!  Oh, and if you have never heard of Phonetic Zoo, check it out, best spelling program and completely hands off for the mom.

5

Pipe dreams and delusions, I say! I somehow thought I would not only accomplish a week of school with all new curriculum, write five blog posts, host two parties, and get my garden weeded this week.  I blame the hormones.  So the plans are still coming, but at least I got this up!

6

To eliminate the glut of "not-me's" glasses that would fill up the table and sink each day, we got each person their own, distinctive glass. Amazingly, not-me stopped showing up and raiding our glasses.  I am thinking that I need the same thing for plates.  The amount of dishes we have been going through as my boys eat eight meals a day is mind boggling.  I just can't keep up.  Anyone ever try this?

7

A "Great Books Story Time" curriculum was the perfect fit for Little Man.  However, I need to discover some clean, hands-on, engaging activities for when I can't be reading stories.  Coloring with markers was great, until he colored most of his hands and then started running through the house as I chased him envisioning red hand prints on every wall and piece of furniture from now until the end of time.

 Also, I found all these great documentaries that go along with our curriculum so I could have some time off when I needed it when baby comes--or when I am just too uncomfortable to deal with it all as I wait for baby to come.  However, Murphy is a cruel companion.  Our Wii has decided to stop working and that was our source of "TV."  Now, I need to research other options or figure out how to fix the Wii, however, I know if I call customer service they will laugh that I want to fix a Wii that "we just got" six years ago!

How did your week go? 

  

{p, h, f, r} It's a Party for Books!

Party, did you say???  Books, did you say??  We all like a little time to chit chat with our friends and enjoy a break from the everyday.  For busy moms like me, the idea of a party has changed drastically over the years.  I consider an hour without interruptions and a cup a tea with my friend Dara a rocking good time. Let's be honest, with eight kids between us, fifteen minutes without someone yelling "Mom!" is a victory.

But I digress,  the other night I had a Facebook party for Usborne with a few friends and my sisters.  They have great books, and what is better that books???!!!!??? (I think the real reason I homeschool is that I am a closet book-aholic so it gives me an excuse all year to shop for books--can we say curriculum?  LOL)

Facebook parties are the best because there is no need for a babysitter but it gives you an excuse to lock yourself in your room with yummy snacks and chat with all your friends on-line for an hour while hubby gets the kids to bed and you shop for Christmas gifts in your pj's six months early.  Does that sound like I have too much experience in this?  Cass Heck is an Usborne Consultant and a lovely lady to work with.  Her parties are fun, engaging, and easy.  This is my second party with Cass and I'm hoping it's not my last because I have really enjoyed "hanging out" with her via Facebook.

 

Superhero Cass rescuing bored children one book at a time!

Now for my post.

Pretty

These books are pretty amazing!  Not only are the illustrations beautiful but they have hidden pictures that can only be seen with a flashlight. One of these and a sturdy flashlight is on Buddy's list of gifts this Christmas.  Best of all, I got one of these beautiful books free just for hosting a party with Cass!  I really want more....my wishlist keeps growing!

happy

 

While on the subject of happy, what makes me happy?  Books, of course.  What makes me happier?  Books on sale!!!!  When Hubby and I were younger we banned ourselves from book stores just because it was too tempting, especially the ones that put the sale items up front! Now we go to curriculum fairs and homeschool book sales because you know, they don't count, we NEED them--lol!

Oh, golly, I can't stay on topic today. But, today is the day for you!  All books that have anything to do with veggies are on sale 10% off!  Today only!!  I think I need to pick up that garden book I keep pining over.

funny

 

Moms of a certain age all remember those egg commercials that played after school--you know the ones.  I'm not sure how effective they were, but this graphic gave me a chuckle.  If you need more proof that your kids need books, listen to the master, himself, dear C.S. Lewis:

 

real

 

 

 

Okay, so I ave joked a lot about my book hoarding  collecting habits, but kids really do need books.  The more you know, the more you grow.  Even in this age of technology, children need actual books to fuel their imagination and teach them critical thinking.  The other side of the coin is that ALL kids need books, especially those in greatest need. That's why Cass not only hosts rocking parties, but is passionate about book drives to get books into the hands of the children that need it most.

If you would like to purchase a book for your children to beat the summer blahs or to donate, please contact Cass.  My party is open through midnight tonight, but she is a fabulous consultant any day of the week.  Thanks, and may the literary force be with you! 

Linking up with Auntie Leila 

  

#5Fav: Cheap Books!!!

It's that time of year when I start planning for next school year and begin hunting for books for Christmas gifts.  I have hit on some tremendous deals and am so excited, although I keep telling myself that I must pace myself because there are months and months until the new school year and even more until Christmas and I always end up with too many books!  Are there really ever too many books?  There are never too many children, that is for sure, Mother Teresa reminds us of that.  I think books would come in second behind children, there are always more to read and explore!  I'm linking up with Ashley to bring you my Fave Five places to find good books, cheap!

1

Have you heard of Thriftbook ?(affiliate link)  Oh, you are in for a treat. I discovered it a couple weeks ago and it is now my number one pick.  Oh, the books!!!!  A mother on the Mater Amabilis Facebook group recommended the site and I am so happy she did.  I purchased fourteen high quality, beautiful books for only $52.  Shipping is free on all orders over $10 and for every $50 you spend, you earn a $5 off coupon.  I know, it just keeps getting better!  When it is time to shop for books, definitely hit them first.   The only down side that I can see with the site is that browsing is not as easy as on Amazon or other large book sellers.  However, that hasn't stopped me from buying a bunch of books and compliling a long wishlist.  Two of the new books arrived today and they are in fantastic shape, even though they were listed as "good condition."  Thriftbook is a keeper.

2

Christian Book Distributors (affiliate link) is not a discount book store, however they have fantastic sales.  There is always a homeschool sale over the summer, that is when I purchase my consumables like handwriting along with Christmas gifts.  Their regularly priced books are often discounted from the list price.  Be sure to sign up for the coupon alerts, there are some great ones that come along each year. I purchased some Adventures in Odyssey Cd's last summer to use as Christmas gifts, between their discounted prices and the 30% homeschool sale coupon, I got them for about half off the list price.

3

If you can get to a homeschool conference with a used book sale, you have hit pay dirt.  Honestly, you cannot believe what can be found and how much can be saved until you try it.  Since that isn't always possible, there are online mom to mom sales that are just as amazing.  Cathswap, Homeschool Market, and Mater B/S/T are three of my favorites.  These groups seem to be gaining popularity and new ones are always popping up. I like that I not only get a deal but get to help out another mom.

4

Speaking of buying online, this one deserves its own listing.  The Facebook group Operation Adoption has absolutely incredible books, most new or like new, for highly discounted prices.  Not only do your dollars go further, they help bring a child to a forever home.  I could not help but support the latest sale wholeheartedly.  I planned on buying two books and ended up with a whole stack, but I am so excited about them.  I can't wait to give them as gifts.  I really had to restrain myself, the books were that good.  Now, I must add that while I think there are never too many books, I also think that books need to be well written and good quality.  My favorite are beautiful picture books, the kind that don't even need words, the prints are so captivatig.  We are a book collecting family, but we are also discerning readers.  The books on Operation Adoption may be low in price, but they are all high in literary value.  Please check them out and help bring a waiting child home!

5

There is no link for this, you will need to search yourself.  The hands down best places for books are library sales and thrift stores.  Seriously, I spent $2 at the last library sale and walked away with ten books, most of which were like new.  There are lots of people who don't appreciate a good book, and children that outgrow books more quickly than expected.  These barely used treasures are often donated to thrift stores and libraries.  Your money helps with mission trips, charity works, and purchasing new books for a town library.  If you don't know where any thrift stores are, check out The Thrift Shopper for a nationwide directory.  There is also Book Sale Finder, although I have never actually used this site, so I cannot speak to their reliability for information.

Where do you like to book shop?