To challenge my children to step outside of their reading comfort zone, we’ve been working on the Badges for Books genre reading challenge. Badges for Books is a simple way to encourage a diverse diet of reading, and I’ve found it allows my children to each choose books at their own reading level to complete […]
The Best Poetry Anthologies for Children
It’s poetry month! I love poetry, and I’ve found some wonderful resources for children that my son also loves. Here are a few of the best poetry anthologies for kids. Find more of my favorites on my Amazon page!
Picture Books to Inspire Unique Story Organization
I had a lot of fun considering favorite picture books as I considered the variety of ways one could organize a story. So many times in elementary school kids are given a prescription for writing and they must follow that. Writing is more fun when students are free to organize their thoughts or ideas creatively. […]
An Introduction to U.S. Geography inspired by folktales
Before we jump in to our lessons about American history, I wanted to make sure my daughter had a general understanding of the geography of the USA. The United States of America would be nothing without the land. Before we study the people who live here, we need to understand where “here” is! Our introduction to […]
Treasure Island-Inspired Compass Treasure Hunt
I’ve recently finished reading Treasure Island in the original and unabridged language with my son. In Treasure Island, young Jim Hawkins travels across the ocean to a remote island, where the crew of the ship mutiny and turn out to be pirates! They spent plenty of time on the beaches of Treasure Island, and both my son […]
Practice Writing with Personal Note Cards
It is about time that I provided a blank note card alternative to my Thank You Cards product for my son’s personal use. ‘Tis the Season for….writing Christmas cards! I admit, I am really bad at this one. I put it off every year. A few years I have not sent anything. My son, on […]
Second Grade Curricula
It’s hard to believe, but I’m ready to share my curricula for my son’s grade year. My daughter, at age 2, is going to be enjoying learning too, but I don’t have anything formal for her this year! From ancient and medieval history to Logic of English, here’s what we will be doing this year.
Six Traits Sunday: Word Choice
I have struggled to decide what book to feature for word choice this week. I’ll try to think of more for next week. One that comes to mind is Falcon by Tim Jessell. In this book, the narrator, a child, dreams he is a falcon soaring through the sky. Before I talk about words, let […]
Six Traits Sunday: Voice in A River of Words
On my reading blog, I’m about to begin a poetry reading month. So I thought for my Six Traits Sunday about voice, I’d focus on a picture book about a poet, William Carlos Williams.
Six Traits Sunday: Ideas
A fellow blogger is hosting a weekly blog hop for the next six weeks about the 6 Traits (TM). Since I am going to be teaching the 6 Traits in my K-4 homeschool co-op this fall, I am very excited about this! Each week, we are to explain a book that we feel does a […]