Weekly Wrap-Up ~ March Break!

This week was March Break for the local school boards. I wasn't planning on taking the week off, but between the beautiful spring-like weather, the free ice skating, the library programs and all the neighbour kids coming over to play with my kids, I decided to just take the week off and enjoy it! We all took advantage of the fresh air, even our pets!

We all enjoyed this break from our regular routine.

We went ice skating.

We took advantage of $2 movies at our local theatre and saw The Voyage of the Dawn Trader (Narnia). All five of us! The treats we bought at the Bulk Barn cost more than the movie!!

We played board games together, Uno, Mouse Trap, and a new-to-us Artifact. I have found many great board games at the thrift store, this Artifact one was my latest find and my two oldest and I had a great time playing it.

We continued to follow and chart the progress of our selected mushers in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. We also continued our literature study with Black Star, Bright Dawn.

We also read a lot! Below you can our current books. Andre finished Darkwing by Kenneth Oppel today, Adrienne is reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (which I read a little while ago, can't wait to hear what she thinks about it!), I am reading Jane Eyre, and Celeste is reading with me Mia the Bridesmaid Fairy. I also have been reading aloud Peter and the Sword of Mercy from the Peter and the Starcatchers series.

A great and relaxing week! If you would like to read other homeschoolers wrap-up posts, you can visit the Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers blog.

Book Sharing Monday :: The Elson Readers

This week I am sharing a series of books that is partly curriculum. 

Celeste uses them to practice reading aloud every school day . Adrienne and Andre also do, but not as regularly. We haven't enjoyed readers in the past. We didn't like that a story was cut up or too short to be enjoyed, but my children really like these! I think it's because of the content of each short story or passage and the quality of literature.  

The Elson Readers were written by William H. Elson, who also wrote the Dick and Jane series, in the early 1900s. As the back cover explains " The real beauty of The Elson Readers series is the kind of literature within its covers--wholesome literature that views the world of nature with awe, upholds the ideals of service to others and our country, and encourages sound moral development in the reader". As the levels go up, the reading selections increase in difficulty. For example, the Elson Readers book five concentrates more on understanding the meaning of the story or poem. There are discussion questions. There are also teacher's guides available.

All the readers are seperated in sections, in themes. The primer that Celeste is reading now is divided into Animals and Birds, Nature, Festivals and finally Slumberland. As the levels increase, the themes stay similar, Nature, Adventure, Home and Country, and more. As the levels increase, the stories change from being re-written at the lower levels to being actual excerpts.  

You can read more about the Elson Readers at the Lost Classics Books Company. You can also read The Elson Readers, Book Five at Project Gutenberg.

The book you see open in the photo is the Elson Readers Primer, the one Celeste is using right now. She loves it!

Book Sharing Monday :: Author Focus: David Wiesner

Thanks to Fiddler from Rockhound Place, my children and I discovered David Wiesner amazing picture books! We had read The Loathsome Dragon a couple of years ago,

but we hadn't looked for more of his books back then.

Last Monday, when I read Fiddler's Book Sharing Monday, I wanted to find that book "Art and Max", but our library doesn't have it yet. I did request some of his other titles and we have received so far "Flotsam", "Tuesday", and "Sector 7".

These magical books do not have words, just pictures, 

and I think they are perfect just the way they are.

Flotsam is about a young boy that finds an underwater camera washed up on the beach. He gets the film inside processed and buys a new one to replace it.

The photographs that he sees are from the underwater world of the ocean and more.

Truly magical!

Another title we "read" was Sector 7.

This time the story is about a field trip to the Empire State Building.

A young boy makes friends with a cloud who brings him to the cloud dispatch centre.

The two of them try to change the designs of the clouds...

My family has really enjoyed looking at these award-winning titles

and making up the story in our heads. We will be requesting more

of David Wiesner's books!

Thank you again Fiddler!

Book Sharing Monday :: A Cool Drink of Water

A Cool Drink of Water by Barbara Kerley, published by the National Geographic Society is a great picture book about water and how no matter where we are in the world, we all have to common need for drinking water. Photos are from all over the world, and one of the last pages is an explanation of each photo found in the book, with its location and with credit to each photographer. The last double page is a note on water conservation. This short picture book was enjoyed by all my children, especially my six year old, she wanted to know where the photos were from and how come people got their water from a well, a pump, or even carried it on their heads in brass pots.  

If you are participating in Book Sharing Monday, you can include a link to your post below in the mr. linky box.

Thank you and have a great monday!

The Forbidden Sea

I noticed this book in a magazine I was flipping through at Indigo a few days ago and mentioned the book to Adrienne. It will be released on July 1st. The story sounds very interesting to us, as we like mermaid stories.

Here is the description from Amazon:

"When Adrianne comes face-to-face with the mermaid of Windwaithe Island, of whom she has heard terrible stories all her life, she is convinced the mermaid means to take her younger sister. Adrianne, fierce-willed and courageous, is determined to protect her sister from the mermaid, and her family from starvation. However, the mermaid continues to haunt Adrianne in her dreams and with her song.


Yet, when the islanders find out about Adrianne's encounters with the mermaid she is scorned, for this small and superstitious community believes the mermaid will bring devastation to the island if Adrianne does not give herself to the sea.

A powerful and lyrical story of one girl who must choose between having everything and having those she loves. "


Find out more about The Forbidden Sea here and here.

books books books!!

WOW! My in-laws came for a visit this week and had told me, before they arrived that they were bringing us books. My father-in-law (my husband's step father) told me he had noticed a man throwing out books in his building and asked him if he could take them. He had called me that day and told me he had rescued a bunch of books for me, not knowing if there was anything we could use for our homeschool or not, but I thought it was so nice anyway for him to think about us.

Anyway, this week they brought all the books and I just finished sorting through them with Andre.

There are so many!!

You can see the huge stack of National Geographic magazines in the photo above. The oldest year I noticed was 1988 and the newest is 2002.

There are a few different sets of books.

A Grolier Encyclopedia, 20 books in total, from 1960, photo on the left, below, the tall yellowish stack.

In that same picture, the smaller stack of books is a set from National Geographic Society from 1968, 1969 and 1970. I am not quite sure if there is a theme with this one. We just put them together because they are all the same size. You should be able to click on each photo to see the titles.

In the photo on the right, there are 2 different sets. The one on top is from Grolier, called Lands and Peoples. There are 7 books in this one, from 1960.

The red stack on the bottom is from Newsweek,  a set called Great Museums of the World. I can't wait to look through that series!

The rest of the photos show all the other books that don't belong to a big set, but all are still very interesting looking! Most of are older books, from the 60s and 70s. There are a few even older ones from the late 40s and 50s. Many are from National Geographic, which we will enjoy a lot.  

A few textbooks are in this pile...That very bottom one that is missing the spine is a physics textbook called Ordinary Level Physics by A.F. Abbott, from 1969. We are studying physics next school year, so this might just be perfect as a spine or reference book. I still need to have a look inside it.

More textbooks, this time on carpentry, and a few how to books. We can learn how to build a home in the woods!

What a find! I am so glad my father-in-law rescued all these wonderful books! Now I am off to make room for them on our bookshelves, and I will be using this great advice from Barb with our current books and this new-to-us collection of older books (and the magazines too).

If you recognize any of these books and have comments on them, please let me know!

ps.  I forgot one box! This is another set by National Geographic:

100 books challenge ~ May and an update on reading my library challenge

We made it! We read 104 books this month! Celeste is contributing this month again, reading books to me. She is slowly progressing with her reading and it is so exciting to see and hear.
Andre, who hasn't been into reading novels over the last few months, has been devouring the Harry Potter series lately. He has seen all the movies, but he is enjoying reading the books a lot, seeing the similarities and finding out more details too. He's on the 3rd book right now, and is also reading some other Harry Potter guides. When Andre likes something, he completely immerses himself in it!

The reading my library is going well too. This past month we read many wonderful nature-themed books by Jean Craighead George and Celeste also enjoyed listening to a few books by Marie Louise Gay. I started bringing home a few picture books from the H, I, J, and K section . We'll be moving on to the L section this month.

ADRIENNE

Choco Mimi #2 by Konami Sonoda
Dungeon: Zenith Vol. 3: Back in Style by J. Sfar
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Home Sweat Home (For Better or For Worse) by Lynn Johnston
Get Some Fancy Book Learnin’ (Simpson Comics) by Matt Groening
Tornadoes! By Gail Gibbons
Pinky & Stinky by James Kochalka
Media Meltdown: A Graphic Guide Adventure by Liam O’Donnell
Kingdom Hearts #1 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl) by Eoin Colfer
Deep-Space Disco by Erik Craddock (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #2 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #3 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #4 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Ruby Gloom’s Guide to Friendship by Matt Riser
The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl) by Eoin Colfer


ANDRE

The Storm breaker (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz (graphic novel)
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)
Choco Mimi #1 by Konami Sonoda
The Book of King Arthur by Howard Pyle
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Choco Mimi #2 by Konami Sonoda
Cardcaptor Sakura #1 by Clamp (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #1 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts # 2 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #3 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #4 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

CELESTE

Curious George Takes a Job by H.A. Rey (audio book)
1 2 3 by Tom Slaughter (she read)
Duck & Goose by Tad Hills (she read)
Barbie Phonics Reader #1 Pat the Cat (she read 2x)
Barbie Phonics Reader #2 Red Jet (she read)
Barbie Phonics Reader #3 Kick the Ball (she read)
Barbie Phonics Reader # 4 Hot Dogs (she read)


READ ALOUD

PICTURE BOOKS:

How To Live Forever by Colin Thompson
Cliff Hanger by Jean Craighead George
Froggy Went A-Courting by Gillian Tyler
Pigaroons by Arthur Geisert
Silly Billy by Anthony Browne
The Wolves are Back by Jean Craighead George
Rodeo Time by Stuart J. Murphy
Good Night Sam by Marie Louise Gay
Yuck, a Love Story by Don Gillmor
Say No and Go: Stranger Safety by Jill Urban Donahue
Penguin Post by Debi Gliori
Jorinda and Jorindel retold by Bernadette Watts (Grimm brothers original)
Roberto The Insect Architect by Nina Laden
Blueberries for the Queen by John and Katherine Paterson
Frightful’s Daughter by Jean Craighead George
Nutik, the Wolf Pup by Jean Craighead George
Frightful’s Daughter Meets The Baron Weasel by Jean Craighead George
The Wolves are Back by Jean Craighead George
Good Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell
The Tooth Book: A Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums by Edward Miller
How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colours? by Jane Yolen
How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten? By Jane Yolen
How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms? By Jane Yolen
How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Cats? By Jane Yolen
Annie and Snowball and the Prettiest House by Cynthia Rylant
Annie and Snowball and the Pink Surprise by Cynthia Rylant
Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin by Cynthia Rylant
Henry and Mudge and the Funny Lunch by Cynthia Rylant
One Red Apple by Harriet Ziefert
Our Apple Tree by Gorel Kristina Naslund
Watch me grow Kitten by Lisa Magloff (DK)
Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly by Jane O’Connor
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Old MacDonald had a Woodshop by Lisa Shulman
Little Smudge by Lionel Le Neouanic
Pretty Pru: A Tilly and Friends Book by Polly Dunbar
Stella Fairy of the Forest by Marie-Louise Gay
Leaf by Stephen Michael King
Bushbaby by Adrienne Kennaway
Why Do You Cry? By Kate Klise
Love You When You Whine by Emily Jenkins
Slim and Miss Prim by Robert Kinerk
Bowl Patrol by Marilyn Janovitz
H. Prince by Dick King-Smith
The Surprise Visitor by Juli Kangas
Going to Sleep on the Farm by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
The Daddy Longlegs Blues by Mike Ornstein
Dear Katie, The Volcano is a Girl by Jean Craighead George
Mama Says: A Book of Love for Mothers and Sons by Rob D. Walker

NOVELS:

The Cats of Roxville Station by Jean Craighead George

MOM:

Hold on To your Kids (half) by Gordon Neufeld
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
Dumbing Us Down by John Gatto
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Guardians of Being by Eckhart Tolle with art by Patrick McDonnell

100 books-a-month challenge ~ april & reading my library challenge

We didn't read 100 books in April. I think it might be because we were outside a lot more! I also found that I didn't want us to read just for the sake of adding another book to our list, something that I could feel this challenge was turning into this particular month. We read two excellent novels for History, Robin Hood and Adam of the Road this month, along with the excellent A Child's Introduction to Poetry to learn more about poetry.

This month I am able to add Celeste to this list. She has started reading a few easy readers on her own.  It is so exciting to see and listen to her read!

Towards the end of the month, we picked up a bit on the Reading my Library Challenge, and chose authors from the G section. We discovered wonderful picture books from Jean Craighead George, who is famous for the novels Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain. We love her focus on nature. We are continuing this month with reading more of her titles.

ADRIENNE:
Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
The Traveler by Connie Martin
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
The Snack Smasher by Andrea Perry
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (The Graphic Novel)
Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch
The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs by Robert Munsch
Pigs by Robert Munsch
The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl series) by Eoin Colfer
The Wonderful World of Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman
Yuck, a Love Story by Don Gillmor
Good Night Sam by Marie Louise Gay
A Sam and Friends Mystery: Lake Monster Mix-Up by Mary Labatt (graphic novel)
Benny and Penny in The Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes
Vanishing Girl by Shane Peacok (The Boy Sherlock Holmes #3)

ANDRE
Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
Power and Responsibility (Ultimate Spider-Man #1) by M. Bendis
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (graphic novel)
The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Art Fraud Detective by Anna Nilsen
A Sam and Friends Mystery: Lake Monster Mix-Up by Mary Labatt (graphic novel)
Choco Mimi #3 by Konami Sonoda (graphic novel)
Beastly Birds and Bats by Lynn Huggins-Cooper
Yuck, a Love Story by Don Gillmor
Scary Fright, Are you All Right? By Scott Gibala-Broxholm
A Pack of Riddles compiled by William R. Gerler
CELESTE
Peanut and Pearl’s Picnic Adventure by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Best Friends by Anna Michaels
Chicken Said, “Cluck” by Judyann Ackerman Grant
Read Me a Book by Barbara Reid

READ ALOUD
Fancy Nancy’s Favourite Fancy Words by Jane O’Connor
Fancy Nancy’s Explorer Extraordinaire by Jane O’Connor
Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton
Wake Up House! Rooms full of Poems by Dee Lillegard
Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
Swing Otto Swing! By David Milgrim
See Otto by David Milgrim
Snow Day! A Winter Tale by Joan Holub
Monster Museum by Marilyn Singer
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
Once I Ate a Pie by P. Maclachlan
Food Hates You, Too and Other Poems by Robert Weinstock
Beware, Take Care by Lilian Moore
Raining Cats & Dogs by Will Moses
Rhyolite: The True Story of a Ghost Town by Diane Siebert
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Dirk Bones and the Mystery of the Haunted House by Doug Cushman
Seaweed Soup by Stuart J. Murphy
Midnight Mimi by Marie-Louise Gay
Little Toot and the Loch Ness Monster by Hardie Gramatky
Pirate Pearl by Phoebe Gilman
Jillian Jiggs and the Secret Surprise by Phoebe Gilman
Morning, Noon, and Night by Jean Craighead George
Look to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary by Jean Craighead George
Frightful’s Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel by Jean Craighead George
Air is All Around You by Franklin M. Branley
A Zebra’s World by Caroline Arnold
Henny Penny by Paul Galdone
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni
Caramba by Marie-Louise Gay
Scary Fright, Are You All Right? By Scott Gibala-Broxholm
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
A Child's Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll

MOM
Trouble in High Heels by Leanne Banks
May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Book Sharing Monday :: Fancy Nancy

Celeste has loved all the Fancy Nancy books we have found at our library. I didn't think I would like them at first, but once I started reading them aloud to her, she grew on me!

These two titles are the last ones we found and our favourites so far.

Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire! and Fancy Nancy's Favourite Fancy Words from Accessories to Zany are written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser.

In Explorer Extraordinaire, Fancy Nancy shares her love of the outdoors while she is exploring her backyard, discovering butterflies, wildflowers, birds, and more. The book has recipes and lots of interesting facts about nature. It's my favourite of the series so far.

Fancy Nancy's Favourite Fancy Words from Accessories to Zany is a guide of fancywords with explanations and great illustrations. Great for learning new vocabulary!

Fancy Nancy has her own website, filled with ideas, games, and more information about the books: Fancy Nancy .

100 books-a-month challenge ~ march

We did it! We read over 100 books in March. You can visit home-grow love for more participants of the 100 books-a-month challenge.

ANDRE:
Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost by Cornelia Funke (audio)
Artemis Fowle by Eoin Colfer (audio)
Petunia’s Christmas by R. Duvoisin
On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole
Beowulf by Stefan Petrucha (Graphic Novel)
Pirates Past Noon by Mary Pope Osborne (MTH series)
The Extinct Files: My Science Project by Wallace Edwards
Dragon of the Red Dawn by M. P. Osborne (MTH series)
Monday with a Mad Genius by M.P. Osborne (MTH series)
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Leprechaun in Late Winter by M.P. Osborne (MTH series) (audio)
Marvin K. Mooney will you please go Now! Dr. Seuss
The Trouble with Dragons by Debi Gliori
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
Alphabeasts by Wallace Edwards

ADRIENNE:
Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock

Stargazer (The Land of Elyon Book 4) by Patrick Carman
Clever Tom and the Leprauchan by Linda Shute
Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk by G. McDermott
On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole
Fritz’s Fish by G. Elschner
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by J. Krosoczka
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Institute by J. Krosoczka
Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta by J. Krosoczka
Mortimer’s First Garden by Karma Wilson
The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon by Mini Grey
Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funke
Space Station Mars by Daniel San Souci
Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke
Beowulf by Stefan Petrucha (Graphic Novel)
Choco Mimi by K. Sonoda (Graphic Novel)
Sienna’s Scrapbook: Our African American Heritage Trip by Tony T. Parker
Thea Stilton and the Dragon’s Code by Geronimo Stilton
Ranch by Roxie Munro
Fancy Nancy Every Day is Earth Day by J. O’Connor (to Celeste)
Fancy Nancy’s Favourite Fancy Words by J. O’Connor (to Celeste)
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Death in the Air by Shane Peacock
Protecting the Planet : Environment Activism by Pamela Dell

READ ALOUD:
Summer Party (The CobbleStreet Cousins series) by Cynthia Rylant
Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk by Gerald McDermott
Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute
Whose Chick are You? By Nancy Tafuri
Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson
Max Counts his Chilckens by Rosemary Wells
D.W.’s Guide to Preschool by Marc Brown
In Aunt Lucy’s Kitchen (The CobbleStreet Cousins series) by Cynthia Rylant
To See the Moon by Ethel Bacon
A Little Shopping (The CobbleStreet Cousins series) by Cynthia Rylant
Special Gifts (The CobbleStreet Cousins) by Cynthia Rylant
Fancy Nancy - The Show Must Go On by Jane O’Connor
Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak
Big Enough Anna: The Little Sled Dog Who Braved the Arctic by P. Flowers
Mole Music by David McPhail
Some Good News (CobbleStreet Cousins) by Cynthia Rylant
Giddy Up, Cowgirl by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Jethro Byrd Fairy Child by Bob Graham
Zen Ties by John J. Muth
Sweet Tooth by Margie Palatini
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Mortimer’s First Garden by Karma Wilson
The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon by Mini Grey
Mike Mullingan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey
Panda Foo and the New Friend by Mary Murphy
Animal Colours: A Rainbow of Colours from Animals Around the World by B. Fielding
A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
The Three Pigs by Paul Galdone
Our Earth by Anne Rockwell
Birdsongs by Betsy Franco
Wedding Flowers by Cynthia Rylant
Animal Music by Harriet Zieffert
The Story of the Orchestra by Robert Levine
My Dog, Buddy by David Milgrim
What’s That, Mittens? By Lola M. Schaefer
Weather by Melissa Getzoff
She Did It by J. A. Ericsson
Dancing Class by H.M. Ehrlich
Duke the Dairy Delight Dog by Lisa C. Ernst
Gueris vite, petit dinosaure by Jane Yolen
Abracadabra by D. Jolin
Caillou Joue avec moi by C. L’Heureux
Petit Lapin by K. Hall
The Little Fire Engine by Lois Lenski
Binou-la-bulle by D. Jolin

READ ALOUD NOVELS (Chapter Books)
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green (up to pg 135)
The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan (up to pg 74)
The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis (39 Clues) (up to pg122)
The Sword Thief (The 39 Clues, book 3) by Peter Lerangis

MOM
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Dragon of the Red Dawn (Magic Tree House) by M. P. Osborne
Monday with a Mad Genius (Magic Tree House) by M. P. Osborne
Dark Day in the Deep Sea (Magic Tree House) by M.P. Osborne
Trouble in High Heels by Leanne Banks
Eve of the Emperor Penguin (Magic Tree House) by M.P. Osborne

100 books-a-month challenge ~ february and Reading My Library Challenge

Here is our list for this month. We didn't read the whole 100 books this time, but we still enjoyed many books.
We read picture books from the C and D section as part of the Reading My Library challenge. We discovered two new-to-us authors  Roger Duvoisin and Julia Donaldson.
Andre has been enjoying audiobooks again. He really liked the Ghosthunters one by Cornelia Funke. He is now listening to a second title from the series and also trying out the Artemis Fowle series.
Adrienne has been devouring a new series "The Land of Elyon". While she is waiting for the fourth book to come from the library,  I picked up another book for her and she loves this one too! It is another series called "The Boy Sherlock  Holmes" written by Shane Peacock (a Canadian!).


Tiny Tyrant by Lewis Trondheim - Andre - Adrienne

Beowulf: A New Telling by Robert Nye - Read Aloud for history
Mr. Popper’s Penguin by Richard and Florence Atwater - Audiobook
Yukon: Larger than Life - Read Aloud for Canadian Geography
Adverb by Michael Dahl - Read Aloud Non Fiction
The Rabbit Pirates: A Tale of the Spinach Main by Judy Cox - Read Aloud
The Friends of Emily Culpepper by Ann Coleridge - Read Aloud
The Dark Hills Divide (The Land of Elyon Book I) by Patrick Carman - Adrienne
Leave it to PET! #3 by K. Sonishi - Adrienne - Andre
Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin - Read Aloud
“Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth by Eric Carle - Read Aloud
What Do You Know? By Lorinda Bryan Cauley - Read Aloud
Maisy Goes to the Museum by Lucy Cousins - Read Aloud
Zero is the Leaves on The Tree by Betsy Franco - Read Aloud
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett - Read Aloud
If You Were an Adverb by Michael Dahl - Read Aloud
Days of Trial and Tears: The Child Labour Diary of Flora Rutherford (Dear Canada Series) by Sarah Ellis - Adrienne
Dark Day in the Deep Sea (Magic Tree House #39) by Mary Pope Osborne - Audio book - Andre
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - Mom
All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle - Read Aloud
Maisy Goes to the Library by Lucy Cousins - Read Aloud
Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child - Read Aloud
The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child - Read Aloud
MacBeth retold by Charles Lamb - Read Aloud
Black Holes by Dana Meachen Rau - Andre
Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young - Read Aloud
Eve of the Emperor Penguin by M. P. Osborne - Audio book - Andre
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt - Mom
A Desperate Road to Freedom (Dear Canada series) by K. Bradford - Adrienne
Redwoods by Jason Chin - Read Aloud
The Magic Rabbit by Annette Le Blanc Cate - Read Aloud
The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
Petunia by Roger Duvoisin - Read Aloud
The Secret Keeper by Kate Coombs - Read Aloud
Raven and River by Nancy White Carlstrom - Read Aloud
Where’s My Mom? By Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
Little Rat Makes Music by Monika Bang-Campbell - Read Aloud
Maisy Goes to the Hospital by Lucy Cousins - Andre to Celeste
Maisy, Charley, and the Wobbly Tooth by Lucy Cousins - Andre to Celeste
Where Does Pepper Come From? By B. Raab - Read Aloud
Viking Town by Jacqueline Morley - Read Aloud for History
Viking (DK Eye Wonder) - Read Aloud for History
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood - Adrienne
Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson - Adrienne
Henry and Mudge and the Wind by Cynthia Rylant - Andre to Celeste
Henry and Mudge in the Green Time by C. Rylant - Andre to Celeste
Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat by C. Rylant - Andre to Celeste
I Love You, Blue Kangaroo! By Emma C. Clark - Andre to Celeste
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood - Andre to Celeste
Beyond the Valley of Thorns (The Land of Elyon Book 2) by P. Carman - Adrienne
NurtureShock by Po Bronson - Mom
Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost by C. Funke - Andre (Audiobook)
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson series) by Rick Riordan - Read Aloud
Veronica and the Birthday Present by Roger Duvoisin - Read Aloud
No One Saw: Ordinary Things Through the Eyes of an Artist by B. Raczka - Read Aloud
It Begins with an A by S. Calmenson - Read Aloud
The Race of the Birkebeiners by Lise Lunge-Larsen - Read Aloud (History)
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown - Read Aloud
Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
The Fish Who Cried Wolf by Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
Once I knew a Spider by Jennifer Owlings Dewey - Read Aloud
No Matter What by Emma Dodd - Read Aloud
The Best Book of The Moon by Ian Graham - Read Aloud
The Old House by Pamela Duncan Edwards - Read Aloud
Splitting The Herd by Trudy Harris - Read Aloud
Punctuation Celebration by Elsa Knight Bruno - Read Aloud
Math-earpieces by Greg Tang - Read Aloud
The Tenth City (The Land of Elyon series) by P. Carmon - Adrienne
Under Pressure: Rescuing Childhood from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting by Carl Honore - Mom
Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires - Andre - Adrienne

Book Sharing Monday :: The Race of the Birkebeiners

The Race of the Birkebeiners is written by Lise Lunge-Larsen and illustrated by Mary Azarian. We have been studying the Vikings in history and I thought this would  be a nice addition to our reading list. The time period is a little bit later than where we are at at the moment, by about 200 years, but it was still relevant.

The story is based on real events, the rescue of young Prince Hakon of Norway. The Birkebeiners were brave warriors from Norway, there were not rich but they were loyal to their king. The name came from the birchbark that they wrapped around their legs for protection. They helped bring the Prince to Nidaros by traveling on cross-coutry skis in very rough winter weather. They had nothing to eat, only snow, which is what they gave to the baby.

Every year, in Norway and in the United States, there are cross-country ski races, "Birkebeiner",  that commemorate this rescue. They even carry a eight pound pack to symbolise the weight of the baby.

Book Sharing Monday :: Miga, Quatchi and Sumi: The Story of the Vancouver 2010 Mascots

Celeste and her Miga mascot, she collected Wonder bread upc codes to get it!

The 2010 Winter Olympics are starting this Friday, in Vancouver, Canada. We are proud and excited to have them in our country this year and we will be following certain events online. At the bottom of this post, I have included a few links that might be helpful to you if you include studying the Olympic Games in your home school studies this month.

I mentioned this book when we first bought it in April 2008, but thought it would be allright to share it again with you today.

Miga, Quatchi and Sumi: The Story of the Vancouver 2010 Mascots is a fun book to share with children, it is even dedicated to "all children and critters with a dream". A bilingual book (english and french), this is the story of how Sumi, Quatchi and Miga, who they are and how they became the mascots for the Vancouver Winter Games.

"Miga is a sea bear from the waters off Vancouver Island. Like the sea bears in First Nations legend, Miga and her family pod are orca whales that, on land, can change into bears."

"Quatchi is a sasquatch who loves to travel and explore. He's one of the shy, giant beasts that are described in many West Coast First Nations stories, but are rarely seen."

"Sumi is an animal guardian spirit who wears the hat of an orca - similar to the beautiful First Nations hats that are carved by great artists across British Columbia. He has the strong legs of the black bear. And he flies with the wings of the great thunderbird."

From the inside flap description of the book.

Here is a little video about the mascots:









The mascots have a fun website, filled with games, printables, and videos.

Currclick has an inexpensive Winter 2010 Olympics lapbook with study guide (grades 2 to 7) available for purchase as a pdf file.

The Canadian Olympic School Program is filled with great teaching resources. It is a free website.

If you are able to find the science magazine for kids called KNOW, the January/February 2010 issue has a big section called "The Science of the Winter Olympics".

Are you following the Winter Olympics as a special homeschool project? I would love to know, so please leave me a comment if you are!

If you are interested in participating in Book Sharing Monday, please visit this post! Thank you :)

100 books-a-month challenge ~ january

Last day of January and another month of the 100 Books-A-Month Challenge completed!

Andre

Polly and the Pirates by Ted Naifeh - Graphic Novel
Macbeth by William Shakespeare - retold by S. Haynes - Graphic Novel
Swords: An Artist’s Devotion by Ben Boos
Alice Becomes A Queen from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (aloud to me)
The Wise Jackal: A Tale from India (aloud to me)
The Foolish Jackal: A Tale from India (aloud to me)
Agreed to Disagree by Sydney Dayre (aloud to me)
The Wharf by Benjamin Franklin
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Book Two by Bill Watterson
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke - first 6 chapters

Adrienne

The Princess and the Painter by Jane Johnson - Picture Book
Charlotte in New York by Joan MacPhail Knight
Charlotte in Giverny by Joan MacPhail Knight
Queen Clarion’s Secret by Kimberly Morris
Into the Volcano by Don Wood - Graphic Novel
Vampire Island by Adele Griffin
The Knaveheart’s Curse by Adele Griffin
Creature Carnival by Marilyn Singer
Charlotte in Paris by Joan MacPhail Knight
The Birds and I by Liberty H. Bailey (aloud to me)
The Brown Thrush by Lucy Larcom (aloud to me)
Sing On, Blithe Bird (aloud to me)
Baby Penguins: At Home On The Ice by Jennifer Boudart
Penguins by Daniel Gilpin (sections)
The Dark Hills Divide (The Land of Elyon Book I) by P. Carman - first 125 pages

Read Aloud Picture Books

Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch
Moondance by Frank Asch
My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
Quiet in the Garden by Aliki
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston
To The Beach! By Linda Ashman
The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter
Roar of a Snore by Marsha Diane Arnold
The Serpent Came to Gloucester by M.T. Anderson
Me, All Alone, at the End of the World by M.T. Anderson
The Tale of the Turnip by Brian Alderson
The Tale of the Tricky Fox retold by Jim Aylesworth
Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda by Margaret Atwood
Five Ugly Monsters by Tedd Arnold
Mr. Maxwell’s Mouse by Frank Asch
Mrs. Marlowe’s Mice by Frank Asch
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter
Babies in the Bayou by Jim Arnosky
Armadillo’s Orange by Jim Arnosky
Beachcombing by Jim Arnosky
The Snail House by Allan Ahlberg
Grandfather Buffalo by Jim Arnosky
Dolphins on the Sand by Jim Arnosky
Rattlesnake Dance by Jim Arnosky
Nothing by Jon Agee
Persephone by Sally Pomme Clayton
Creature Carnival by Marilyn Singer
A Midsummer Night’s Dream retold by Bruce Coville
Monsieur Saguette and his Baguette by Frank Asch
Hercules by Robert Burleigh
The Hero and the Minotaur by Robert Byrd
Little Bear’s Valentine by Else Holmelund Minarik
The Best Valentine in the World by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen
I Know the Moon by Stephen Axel Anderson
Unwitting Wisdom - An Anthology of Aesop’s Fables retold by H. Ward
Knock on Wood: Poems about Superstitions by J. Paschkis
Valentine’s Day by Gail Gibbons
When They Are Up…by M. Spicer
Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela Curtis Swallow
The Lion’s Share: A Tale of Halving Cake and Eating it, Too by M. McElligot
Franklin and the Tooth Fairy by Paulette Bourgeois
The Peanut-Free Café by Gloria Koster
The Reluctant Flower Girl by Lynne Barasch
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
For Sure! For Sure! By Hans Christian Andersen
The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland
Martha Doesn’t Say Sorry! By Samantha Berger
The Tortoise and the Hare Race Again by Dan Bernstein
The Umbrella by Jan Brett
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Arthur’s Birthday by Marc Brown
Arthur’s Family Vacation by Marc Brown
Arthur’s Baby by Marc Brown
The Princess and the Pizza by Mary Jane & Herm Auch
Too Many Monsters by Eve Bunting
One Rainy Day by M. Christina Butler
Tumble Bumble by Felicia Bond
Mythology: Greek Gods, Heroes, & Monsters by Lady Hestia Evans
Franklin’s Bad Day by Paulette Bourgeois
Bradley McGogg: The Very Fine Frog by Tim Beiser
Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colour by Joyce Sidman

Read Aloud Non-Fiction Books

Crystals (p20-21) and Metal Marvels (p28-29) in Mysteries and Marvels of Science (for our science studies)
Metals (p30-31) in Usborne Science Encyclopedia (for our science)
Groups of Metals (p32-33) in Usborne Science Encyclopedia (for our science)
Prince Edward Island - Canada’s Land & People (for Canadian Geography)
Fizz, Bubble & Flash: Element Explorations & Atom Adventures (pages 4-20) (for Science)
Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude by Louise Borden (in preparation for Journey North)
Northwest Territories - Spectacular - (for Canadian Geography)
The Man Who Made Time Travel by Kathryn Lasky (in preparation for Journey North)

Read Aloud Novels (Chapter Books)

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & The Olympians series-Book 1)
The Trumpeter of Krakow (for Adrienne’s history)

Mom

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Ecoholic by Adria Vasil
The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise (relevant parts)
The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer (not complete)


You can join this reading challenge by visiting home-grown love. This challenge has been great in our family so far. We love reading together!

Reading My Library ~ "A" Authors

We have been reading through the "A" section of the picture books at our local library.

I talked about Frank Asch on Book Sharing Monday here. After going back a couple of days ago for a fresh batch of "A" books, I noticed more Frank Asch titles, especially the Mrs. Marlowe's Mice and Mr. Maxwell's Mouse. Both are illustrated by Devin Asch, who is Frank's son.  Both books are about cats and mice.

Mrs Marlowe is a librarian that keeps mice in her appartment, but not for eating, she shares her home with them. The Catland Security Police is investigating her, because one of her neighbours believes that she is harboring mice (which is against the law!). We all enjoyed this tale, for its suspense and for its detailed illustrations.

We liked Mr. Maxwell's Mouse story just as much. The story of an important cat, going to his regular restaurant, but deciding on a change of routine in his choice of food, to celebrate his promotion at work. He orders a live mouse for his lunch. The mouse comes on a slice of rye toast, and the story becomes quite interesting at that point. The mouse is  smart...but that is all I can say, wouldn't want to give the story away!

The other author that we really enjoy reading aloud is Jim Arnosky. We used to take part in Author Fiesta, which was a monthly discovery of authors. Unfortunately, the blog hasn't been updated since December 2008, but while it was active, Jim Arnosky was one of the authors we discovered (see my short post about it).  We loved all the stories we read, the mix of nature and short stories was a perfect combination for us.

I was able to find some of our favourites of the library shelf, and a few new ones too.

Our 3 favourites from this group are:

:: Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore, which we used as a seashell guide a while ago

:: Dolphins on the Sand, the story of a dolphin rescue. Dolphins are one of my favourite animals, and this story touched my heart. It isn't known why dolphins and whales become stranded on sandy beaches, but I can only imagine how sad a site it would be to see a group of dolphins stuck that way, and how I would do anything to help them. The people in the story tried to comfort the dolphins and keep them safe from the sharks until they could swim safely out to the ocean. Jim Arnosky's note at the back of the book reveals that he had witnessed a similar event.

:: Adrienne's favourite story this time, was Grandfather Buffalo. It is the story of an old buffalo, the oldest in its herd. He is slower than he used to be, and can't always keep up with the rest of the herd. A new calf is born and a new relationship develops with the old buffalo and the young one. It is a beautiful story of the bond between generations.

The "A" section isn't very big at our local branch, so we will be moving on the "B" now. I wonder what new authors we will discover or which beloved ones we will reunite with?!

If you would like to find out more about this challenge, just click on the Reading My Library button below:

100 books-a-month challenge ~ a start on january

I have made some changes on how I record the books we read. I sort them by the reader, and you can see the headers for each below. I also added the reading that we do for our regular homeschool lessons, something I wasn't logging before, along with the chapters/pages read so far in the current novel that I read aloud to the kids.

We are continuing with our chart on our fridge to keep track of our progress visually. We also started reading a few picture books by "A" authors, following the Reading My Library challenge, but I will talk about that a bit more in a future post.

Here is our list so far:

100 books a month challenge ~ January 2010

Andre:
Polly and the Pirates by Ted Naifeh - Graphic Novel
Macbeth by William Shakespeare - retold by S. Haynes - Graphic Novel

Adrienne:
The Princess and the Painter by Jane Johnson - Picture Book
Charlotte in New York by Joan MacPhail Knight
Charlotte in Giverny by Joan MacPhail Knight

Read Aloud Picture Books:
Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch
Moondance by Frank Asch
My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
Quiet in the Garden by Aliki
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston
To The Beach! By Linda Ashman
The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter
Roar of a Snore by Marsha Diane Arnold
The Serpent Came to Gloucester by M.T. Anderson
Me, All Alone, at the End of the World by M.T. Anderson

Read Aloud Non-Fiction Books:
Read Crystals (p20-21) and Metal Marvels (p28-29) in Mysteries and Marvels of Science (for our science studies)

Read Aloud Novels (Chapter Books):

First 10 chapters of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & The Olympians series)
Chapter V to IX of The Trumpeter of Krakow (part of Adrienne’s history)

Mom:
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I am not quite sure how I should count now these books...16 actual books read, and then the chapters read in the novels and science books..
You can visit other participants in this fun challenge at home-grown love.