Non-Fiction Monday: Flamingos (A Cybils Nominee)

Flamingos by Jean M. Malone is an Easy Reader nominee for the 2009 Cybils.  It’s part of the All Aboard Science Reader series.  The book is well-written and filled with fascinating facts about these iconic pink birds. Among other things, I learned that the high level of carotene in their diet turns flamingos’ feathers pink [...]

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Non-Fiction Monday: Pilgrims

M has loved the Magic Tree House series for several years but we’ve only just begun to use the Research Guides that accompany some of the books.  Last week, taking a chapter at a time, we read Pilgrims (Magic Tree House Research Guide #13).  This is a companion to Thanksgiving on Thursday which we “re-read” [...]

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A Hodgepodge of Cool Links

Homeschool Inspiration A great take on the workbox system at Early Bird Homeschool Creative word bank idea also at Early Bird Homeschool Paint Chip reading game at Dirt Under My Nails Thanksgiving Fun (edited to add) Great list of resources at Wild Rose Reader Turkeys and painting fun at Let’s Explore How to Draw a [...]

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Prehistory Study: List of Topics

From January-May, we’ll be concentrating on prehistory for our science and history studies. You’ll find the tentative booklist for our prehistory study here. This is a list of topics we plan to cover in our prehistory study. Some of these we’ve already done a lot of reading on and others will be new areas of [...]

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What We’re Reading This Week, November 19

M and her dad are reading Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris by R. L. LaFevers.  She loved Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. book but found this one a bit too scary the first time they tried it.  This time, she’s completely into it. M and I read The Yellow House Mystery (Boxcar Children [...]

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Cybils Reviews, November 17

I’ve gotten to read so many wonderful books as an Easy Reader and Short Chapter Book panelist for the Cybils.  I’m trying to review the ones that I’ve enjoyed the most and especially ones that M has read or I’ve read to her. You can see more Cybils book reviews here. Alice’s Shooting Star by [...]

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Non-Fiction Monday: Dinosaurs in Your Backyard

We found Dinosaurs in Your Backyard: The Coolest, Scariest, Creatures Ever Found in the USA by Hugh Brewster on the new books shelf at the library.  M loved the cover picture of a roaring dinosaur in front of a suburban neighborhood and the idea of learning about dinosaurs who might have lived where we live [...]

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Advent Approacheth

I know I just posted my list of Thanksgiving books but Advent (the 24 days leading up to the celebration of Christmas) will be up on us very soon. No one should miss Karen Edmisten’s wonderful series for a no-panic Advent.  She has a host of wonderful suggestions to help families enjoy the season rather [...]

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Thanksgiving Books

I looked at my list of favorite Thanksgiving books for kids and realized it was quite short.  I’d love to hear more suggestions! Here are our favorites: In November by Cynthia Rylant Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin Squanto’s Journey by Joseph Bruchac Over the River and Through the Woods by Lydia Maria Child [...]

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Reality Check

Conversations with two different friends this week led me to believe that my recent posts have given the impression that I have everything running smoothly at our house and that our days are filled with nothing but cozy reading sessions, happy homeschooling endeavors, and yummy meals and treats.  Like one of my favorite bloggers, Melissa [...]

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