Weekly Reading Highlights (April 20th 2009)
The book that the girls were most excited to hear this week was Gooney Bird and the Room Mother by Louis Lowry, with only 76 pages. This is the 2nd in a series that we just found and deeply enjoy. Mrs. Pidgeon is organizing the class into a play about Thanksgivng, and everyone wants to be Squanto. It's a neat coincidence that we will soon be reading about Squanto soon as part of our history studies. When I asked the girls how many stars they would give this book, Laurel said 5 and Ella said 8 thousand. Let's just say they are very eager to hear the 3rd book in the series, Gooney the Fabulous.
Weekly Reading Highlights (April 13th 2009)
Another great week of reading!
The top book this week was most definitely TheDoll People, a chapter book written in 2000 about dolls that come alive andmove when people aren't looking. I read this one aloud over the course of theweek and the girls kept begging for more chapters each night. They both give it5 stars.
After we finished that chapter book, wepicked up the next one, Jenny and the Cat Club. This book is aimedmore at children Ella's age (6) but Laurel's enjoying it too.
Ella has really been enjoying the sillypoetry book by Jack Prelutsky , Be Glad Your Nose Is On YourFace. However, we skip some of the poems because they are too gross.
For Story of the World we are reading about William the Silent and Mary Queen ofScots. We had read the Royal Diary version of Mary Queen of Scots a month agoso it was neat to hear about her life again.
Reading Highlights from March 2008
We've recently expanded our audio book collection and I've found some really great books to listen to in the car. All of these were completely free from the library (Boulder-Broomfield-Louisville system). I also wanted to share about some really great books I've actually read aloud... :)
.......... audio books ..................
Reading Hightlights from February 2007
Of all the home education that I share with our children, I would say that reading books aloud is the one that seems like it is doing the most good to nourish our children's minds. I love to read aloud and they love to listen, and together we read many tales. We are really enjoying this journey we walk together. Choosing books is fun and I am grateful that there are so many choices in our abundant world. Here are some books we have enjoyed recently:
Corey, Shana - You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer
Thanks Kiki for the recommendation, we enjoyed this book too! What did proper ladies wear and how did they act in the mid 1800s? A fascinating account of women's history that my girls (ages 7 & 4) want to hear over and over. 4 1/2 stars.
Tudor, Tasha - A Time to Keep
Reading Highlights from Januray 2007
I remember reading the Ramona books as a child and I hesitated to read them to our girls, because I remember so much school stuff in them, and we usually don't read chapter books that have a focus of school. But, when Laurel (7) found Ramona and her Father on the bookshelf, I decided to give it a try, and we absolutely loved it. We have been reading Beverly Cleary's books for two months, at Laurel's enthusiastic request. So far, we have read:
Ramona and Her Father, read it twice -4 stars
Beezus and Ramona, read it twice, listened to once until the tape broke -5 stars
Ramona the Pest, read it twice -4 stars
Ramona the Brave, read it twice -5 stars
Ramona Quimby, Age 8, read it once, listened to it 4 times -4.5 stars
Ramona and Her Mother, read it once, listened to it twice -5 stars
Ramona Forever, read it twice, listened once -5 stars
Ramona's World, read it once, listened once -4.5 stars
Ellen Tebbits -4 stars
Otis Spofford - 4.5 stars
Henry and Beezus -4.5 stars
Reading Highlights from April 2007
"Homeschooling tends to develop good habits of reading. Because of the influence of electronic media (television, radio, iPods, Internet, cell phones, video games), few public school students are now developing good reading habits. In contrast, homeschoolers display almost an opposite trend: on average they read widely and voraciously. Yet reading is the most important single determinant of the quality of a child's education."
Michael Pakaluk
http://www.thebostonpilot.com/articleopinion.asp?ID=4438
Here's our favorite books:
Williams, Vera B. - A Chair For My Mother
This Caldecott Honor book really touched my heart. A helpful girl and her mother (a waitress) save up coins in a huge glass jar to buy a much needed easy chair. 5 stars.
McPhail, David - Mole Music
Reading Highlights of Christmas 2006
This year I had a lot of fun trying to get all the Christmas books I could to read to our girls. It was a real joy to find books we loved last year and read them again, and some were extreamly difficult to locate but well worth the effort. What are some of your favorite family holiday books?
Chapter books...
Jones, Elizabeth Orton - Big Susan, 82 pages
We read this book last year and Laurel loved it, and requested it again for this year. She's been playing with her own doll house for days, imitating some of the sceans, it's really encouraged her imagination. All the doll's in Susan's doll house come alive only once a year, from midnight on Christmas Eve to Christmas morning, and this is their adventure. 4 1/2 stars.
De Angeli, Margerite - The Lion in the Box, 63 pages
Reading Highlights of November 2006
This week I am feeling especially grateful for the Boulder Public Library's book-hold change - you can now pick up your 'books on hold' at the library, which means it's very convenient and completely free to order an abundance of interesting books.
Taylor, Sydney - All-Of-A-Kind Family Downtown 187 pages
This is the 3rd book in the series, another excellent story that we all enjoyed. Even though it takes place in the early 20th century, the tales are timeless, and so heartwarming. 4 1/2 stars.
Eager, Edward - Knight's Castle 198 pages
Reading Highlights October 2006
We had one of my dear friends and her family visit us for a week and it was so wonderful to hang out with her little family. I spent a lot of my time talking to my friend, and read to my children less. After the visit was over I realized just how important out reading time is for us, we had all missed it. I am grateful now to be able to guiltlessly read to them for several hours each week...
We went through 3 chapter books in a short time.
Eager, Edward - Half Magic, 217 pages, written in 1954
This book is timeless and hilarious. One of the most wonderful parts of my life is laughing out loud with my children and we did that many, many times throughout this book. Four children find a magic charm that will grant wishes, and how they handle it and the lessons they learn is fascinating. The imagination in this book is inspiring. The reading level is 9-12 but this was appropriate for our 7yo, it's a wholesome 50's book. 5 stars!
Reading Highlights of August 2006
When I think about how many books children had 100 years ago, and the variety of stories and other information they were exposed to, I give thanks for the abundance we have today. We are living in the information age, and that is a wonderful blessing. And one of the best parts is: that most of it comes freely. Almost all these books at easily attained at the library, you can check out over 30 every week if you wish.
We are practicing child led learning and I can tell you, hearing stories is our daughters greatest hunger for knowledge. It also happens to be a joy of mine to read aloud, a passion for excellent children's literature. Seeing that hunger in their eyes, begging to know more - I know I am doing the right thing by making time to read to them an hour or two a day.
Berger, Barbara - Grandfather Twilight
