Planning for Second Grade

Over the last few weeks, I’ve spent many a night pouring over homeschool curriculum catalogs, websites, and downloadable samples, feeding my planning obsession and my love of booklists and actually trying to nail down what we’ll be doing in the fall (or the summer if we choose to continue with certain subjects) as we start [...]

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What We’re Reading This Week, March 30

M and her dad are reading a book I had trouble putting down, Tentacles by Roland Smith, the sequel to Cryptid Hunters.  M is so excited to be reading more of Grace and Marty’s story. She and I are re-reading The Mitchells by Hilda Van Stockum.  Both of us love the antics of the Mitchell [...]

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Non-Fiction Monday: Adventures in the Ice Age

Adventures in the Ice Age by Linda Bailey is part of the Good Times Travel Agency series.  We checked it out from the library last week and M picked it up as soon as we got home and didn’t stop reading until she was done.  As soon as she closed it she said “are there [...]

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Rainbow Cupcakes

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the first day of spring, we made these rainbow cupcakes from Family Fun. The girls loved the bright colors and though I was nervous that the layered effect would not work out like the magazine picture, the inside of the cupcakes was indeed just like a rainbow.  These would [...]

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Non-Fiction Monday: Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar

We were all thrilled to learn that butterflies have been around since the Cretaceous. In Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar by Bob Barner, the simple explanation of how butterflies and flower contributed to prehistoric life and survived the extinction of the dinosaurs is paired with delightful illustrations making this book perfect for even the youngest dinosaur [...]

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Happy Spring!

Spring has finally sprung here, though I have to remind myself we’ll likely have one more cold snap before winter is banished completely. For now, though, I’m soaking up the sun, the flowers, and the joy of being outside.

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What We’re Reading This Week, March 19

M and her dad recently finished The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas, and they are now reading The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan.  I had thought to save it for when we study Ancient Greece next year, but M had seen Brent and me reading the series, [...]

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Dinosaur Extinction and Food Chain Demonstration

Last week, we talked about how the dinosaurs died out and that led to a discussion of the food chain and how ultimately all lifeforms, even top carnivorous predators rely on lifeforms that make their energy from the sun.  Using Playmobil plants and animals and some silk flowers, we set up a simplified food chain [...]

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Things That Have Made Us Happy Recently

1) Pingu – We discovered this Clamation series while looking for something C to watch streaming from Netflix and now we’re obsesses.  Pingu and his sister Pinga are hilarious.  They speak in their own penguin language which C now imitates constantly.  And I love the family dynamic between Pingu, Pinga, and their parents.  They have [...]

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Non-Fiction Monday Round-Up, March 15

Every Monday, kidlit bloggers celebrate some of the fantastic non-fiction available for kids and teens.  I’m excited to be hosting today’s Non-Fiction Monday Round Up!  Leave a link to your post about a non-fiction title in the comments, and I’ll update throughout the day. My selection for today is DK Animal Families. During an excusion [...]

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