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Annie’s Thanksgiving Bookshelf
A friend asked me today for Thanksgiving book recommendations, which prompted me to pull all my mine down from their high shelf. The kids quickly flocked around to see their old holiday friends back again. I hope these stories will warm your hearts in a season of gratitude. (Books are listed in order from youngest ages to oldest.)
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4th of July Books
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Cottage School Life Fall 2020 Schedule
One of the advantages to having a small cottage school is the ability to change and adapt our schedule each year. We began our cottage school three years ago with less children and obviously different needs since they were younger. As our group and our children have grown, the classes at cottage school have shifted. This year one of the changes for us will be adding some of the “younger” kids to our IEW class (last year just our “older” kids were in IEW). Another change we are adding is a preschool class for our little kids who haven’t previously had a formal class at cottage school. Here’s a quick…
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4th of July Books
This holiday weekend is for cookouts, fireworks, and all things red, white, and blue. Enjoying our freedoms with family and friends is certainly what it’s all about. Let’s be intentional and teach our kids WHY and WHAT we are celebrating on Independence Day. Here are my favorite 5 books for learning more about the 4th of July:
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Studying History
History is one subject we have chosen not to cover during our cottage school day. We realize that some subjects work well at cottage school, but others don’t. We all decided to do what we want for history: Annie uses Memoria Press (classical) for history lessons; Amelia uses Sonlight (literature based); and Jenny and I use Susan Wise Bauer’s “The Story of the World.” All of us supplement our history textbooks with various books focused on what time period we are studying. The benefits of a good history curriculum are priceless though. What should you look for in one? First, make sure it’s covering world history and not just American…
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Best Books Preschool & Kindergarten
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? Green Eggs & Ham Chicka Chicka Boom Boom The Carrot Seed Runaway Bunny Goodnight Moon Big Red Barn Barn Dance! THe Snowy Day The Big Green Pocketbook The Little Rabbit/Lamb/Kitten/Duck Corduroy & A Pocket for Corduroy We’re Going on A Bear Hunt Play With Me I am an Artist A tree is Nice The Little Engine that Could Choo Choo The Runaway Engine Five Little Ducks Frog Went a Courtin’
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Teaching “A Tree In The Trail”
One of the great joys of teaching is freshly discovering the subject with the students. Even if you know the material, watching new faces learn new material is thrilling. Our geography class also edifies me since it is mixed with familiar and new content, while we have explored the American landscape and the stories of Holling C. Holling. This spring semester, we studied the landscape and the history of the Southwest as we read, mapped, and explored our way through “Tree in the Trail.” Who doesn’t want to talk about Cowboys and Indians? Their life and times are richly fascinating and full of adventure! We followed a similar pattern to…
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Audiobook Resources for Kids
If you know me IRL, you know I hoard children’s books. I have over 1,500 kids books…all. in. boxes. You see, the week before Coronavirus quarantine, we put our house up for sale and are waiting to close the sale in a few weeks. So while I’m a bibliophile, I’m currently cut off from my book collection. With libraries and bookstores closed, we are looking for online options. Audiobooks have been a staple in our house for years. We listen to audiobooks for afternoon rest times (We need a daily break from each other!) and in the car. And it’s not cheating on reading–you are still enjoying the books! Here…
