the road to inspired learning
If your preschool student is not ready to read yet, but you want to help your student get ready, what can you do? One simple thing you can do together is learn nursery rhymes. I know. I know. It sounds a little bit unbelievable, but the research tells us that kids who learn to rhyme […]
Emergent reader books typically have strong picture support, repetitivepatterns, and limited text on each page. They encourage beginning readers to read or “read.” What are the benefits of emergent readers? Emergent Reader Books Are Important for Early Learners One of my nieces, Penelope, is just about ready to learn how to read. After chatting with […]
My littlest guy was desperate to read when he was just five-years-old. He asked me to teach him to “read and spell and write and type.” We did the phonics-y thing. He knew all of his letters and sounds before he was four-years-old. Because I wanted him to learn to love stories, we read. And […]
You guys. This is one of my favorite books from childhood. There’s just something about a boy who is bored and receives a surprise package then gets to drive off on a fantastic adventure . . . a boy who gets to meet all kinds of crazy characters (The Whether Man, The Witch, The Watchdog, […]
This The Whipping Boy book club was for 3rd-5th grades. My goal for this age group is to give them a book based experience while lightly learning literature concepts. Discuss Setting The first thing we did was discuss setting. I gave the kids a quick description of what setting is. The setting of a piece of literature is the […]
If I could choose only one staple for my homeschool, it would be read aloud time. I know my boys are better readers, better writers, better thinkers, and better people because of the time we invested in reading books together. I hope to inspire you as well with this list of 101 reasons to read […]
The other day I noticed Simon snuggled in on the couch reading another fantasy book. Reading the same genre is okay. Really. But I want my kids to at least take a bite of books from other categories. I remember creating some book challenges for Elijah after he had read about fifteen-million mystery books. The […]
Before I start this post I want to give you a little laugh for the day by telling you my son's suggestion for my last blog post title. Here is his idea: "Spastic Homeschool Moms, Audio Books Are the Answer!" However, I don't think "spastic" and "homeschool mom" should be in the same sentence together. I certainly don't […]
Within the past few months I have had four friends who homeschool approach me with different problems: Panicked Mom We've unschooled for several years, but now that my son is going to be entering high school, I want to "catch him up" in reading. Desperate Mom My middle school daughter is crying her way through a […]
I’ve professed my love of poetry here on the blog in the past. I’ve given you my Ten Favorite Poetry Books for Children. But I don’t think I’ve ever admitted that sometimes it can be difficult to bring my danger-loving, adventure-seeking kid into the wonderful world of versed words. Sometimes poetry for kids is tricky. I found […]
This post is sponsored by How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night Sailed off in a wooden shoe,— Sailed on a river of crystal light Into a sea of dew. “Wynken, Blyken, and Nod” was the first poem I ever memorized. I was a squirrely 2nd grader squirming in […]
I have another reading list for your voracious elementary reader! If you missed my previous lists for 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, you can find them on this page. Here is the tried-and-true 4th grade reading list. Non Fiction The Balloon Boy of San Francisco by Dorothy Kupcha Leland The Story of Inventions by […]
Hans Christian Andersen was born in Denmark on April 2, 1805. He was zany and lanky and an amazing writer who is best known and loved for his timeless fairy tale classics. Some of his tales are sad, but they are important to read to our kids. After you read and discuss the rich stories together, […]
Elijah is currently finishing up his 8th grade year, so I am going to go ahead and share his 8th grade reading list. As always we both chose books for this list. I give him a list at the beginning of the year, and he adds to it based on his interests and authors he enjoys. […]
Are you looking for a homeschool co-op class idea? You may want to consider this delightful class (created and taught by my sweet friend Jenny) which included tea, treats, and Beatrix Potter stories! Students also learned etiquette, manners, and how to give a proper tea. Students were encouraged to dress-up for tea! Students took […]
I have received some comments and messages asking me if I plan to continue with the reading lists for voracious readers. I do! I have shared three lists so far: 5th grade, 6th grade, and 7th grade. I am close to finishing 4th grade and 8th grade, so hopefully those will be coming soon along […]
Word Family Coloring Cards can be used to give your beginning reader a boost! Ways to Play with Word Family Coloring Cards Use the word cards to practice reading in lots of different ways: 1. Add the bonus words found in Pack A to make sentences. 2. Have your student sort them into rhyming groups and […]
Before I had children, I had grandiose dreams for my motherhood: a squeaky clean house where art and play were always colliding; a disposition that never resembled stressed, impatient, or borderline psychotic, and idealist visions of read-aloud time including hours and hours of cuddling up on the couch together. And then I had children. I didn't keep the house perfect. My […]
I have already shared Elijah's 7th grade reading list and 6th grade reading list. I want to share more–especially for those of you who have kids who read like crazy-cakes, so here is his 5th grade list (from 2012-2013). I am sure I have missed some of his selections because it is impossible for me to […]
Our seventh book discussion for the Bibliovores Class was on The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Reactions Pass out small papers and let students write one of the following on the paper: love it, like it, hate it. Collect and tally the vote on the board. Voting with the papers allows shy students to stay […]