Our family has a love affair with books.
My kids are 11 and 8 and the both LOVE to read. Going to the library is a huge treat for them. They look forward to Tuesday afternoons (our weekly library visit), where the librarians greet them warmly, ask what they are interested in that week, and then direct them to resources.
I don't believe there are any "secrets" to developing readers, but I do think there are some key ingredients to CULTIVATING them.
- make good books available everywhere and all the time
- visit the library often
- no TWADDLE!
- don't make television readily available
- discuss the books you are reading with your children - they will catch your enthusiasm for a good book
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Reading Books
Last week I shared with you how my kids are doing a lot of Delight Directed Learning. This week it continued.
Anna has taken an interest in Anne Frank (I think it stemmed from an article I read her about Justin Bieber's comments at the Anne Frank house a few weeks ago - and how he thought she would have been a "Belieber". Oy. ). We checked out many Anne Frank books. She is nearly finished with The Diary of a Young Girl.
Grant's love affair with baseball continues. He checked out many books about Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. He also read Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All Star Game of 1934.
As our official schoolwork is dwindling (we are nearly done with our year), the kids interests are leading them in such marvelous ways. It makes me so happy to see them loving learning.
{I need to revisit a favorite book of mine, Guerilla Learning - it's been a while since I've read it.}
Selling Books
We spent A LOT of time this week sorting through books and tagging them for our homeschool group's used book sale.
I'm so impressed with the organizers of this event. All sellers get a spreadsheet and it's as easy as entering your books, printing your tags, and dropping your books at the gym. (There's even a MAP of the sale to help you place your books where they will sell the best!)
The kids helped me so much this year. They tagged 162 items (all mine - I have a book problem!). I can't wait to see how much money we made (I find out after the sale this afternoon!).
The blessing in this sale is not only reduced priced curriculum, but also the many mothers there talking about what has and hasn't worked for them. I've learned so much at these sales in the past.
*While I was sorting through books this week, the kids did many Time 4 Learning lessons. I love Time 4 Learning for times like this - when I still want the kids to be learning but haven't had the time to plan formal lessons or they just need something less "mom initiated". They did many science lessons and Anna even reviewed math concepts.
Our New Favorite Outdoor Game
Last week Grant and I were out shopping by ourselves.
He suckered me into buying Trac-Ball. I am SO glad we did! We've all had so much fun with it this week.
My favorite part of our house is our big, green backyard. (In our old house we had a small, fenced in yard with one tree) The kids have been out each afternoon and evening playing with neighbors, each other, and their dad and me.
Since we cut back on extracurriculuar activities this year, we've been home almost every evening, playing games together, and eating together as a family.
Life is just too short to be running ragged and not seeing your family members. We made a conscious decision at the end of last year to STOP the running. Other than Anna's choral ensemble commitment, we have kept things to a bare minimum and we're all much happier.
Odds and Ends
Using one of my favorite iPhone photo apps, I made this picture about doing timed math drills.
Do you time your kids for math drills? I have one child that LOVES it and another that strongly dislikes it. I think, however, they have proven themselves quite valuable in our homeschool. Since we have been timing (thanks mostly to Saxon math) the kids facts are rock solid.
We are also starting some beautiful composer activities, thanks to Homeschool in the Woods' Composer Activity Pack. I have long drooled over the artwork in all of their products, and using them is such a treat. This study is going to be the perfect addition to something I have been working VERY HARD ON for several months.
Speaking of composers, we took the kids to a fancy concert last Saturday night. Kudos to them for sitting through an evening of chamber music. It was simply beautiful - Anna loved every minute of it. Grant declared before the concert that he didn't have the "appreciation" for classical music that Anna has but "he would go because he knew I liked it."
One day this week we also went with a friend to visit Anna's teacher from elementary school. She was blessed to have the same wonderful teacher for first and second grade. This teacher really ruined us for any other teacher, and I'm fairly certain she played a large part in our decision to homeschool.
Mrs. Reynolds is a treasure, and it's so nice to visit with her, even if it's only once or twice a year.
We enjoyed many pleasant evenings on our deck. We love eating outside this time of year.
This week's favorite recipe was a very simple Taco Casserole. Five stars from my family!
LEGO Happenings
The kids have been working together on a LEGO stop motion video (using Stop Motion Studio). I'm so happy to see them working together on this.
They have been using all of the LEGO Education® StoryStarter elements, as well as the Historic and FairyTale Minifigures (have you entered the giveaway I have for these right now?).
I Instagramed the above picture and my friend, Jimmie, said she thought it looked the minifigs were at a drive-in movie! It's actually the little setup my daughter has with her iPod touch for filming.
These two kids have been working on this video endlessly (I hope to share it with you next week) and it does my heart such good. You know I just love LEGO Learning, don't you?
Recommending Books
I talked about selling and reading books - now for recommending books.
We've read so many great things, and I want to share them with you. I find most of our reading selections on blogs, after all.
Read Alouds:
- Blood on the River - (goes with Story of the World, Volume 3)
- Amos Fortune, Free Man - (goes with SOTW, Volume 3)
- Navigating Early (we have the audio - such an awesome book!)
Anna's Reads:
- Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates (SOTW, Volume 3 - free for Kindle)
- Diary of a Young Girl
- Rock Harbor Search and Rescue
Grant's Reads:
- Stars in the Shadows
- The Story of Dr. Dolittle (recommended in Writing With Ease - free for Kindle)
On My Nightstand:
- Guerilla Learning
- The $100 Startup (reading this for the #storymedia Twitter chats each Thursday night)
- Desperate
I hope everyone had a wonderful week. I can feel our school year winding down and am looking forward to a long summer vacation.
The next few weeks we have so many graduations, confirmations, concerts, recitals, and special events. May is always one of my favorite months!
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