The Best... So Far

I want to preface this post by saying this has been a school year I don't feel great about. And I can't really put my finger on why, except that I just plain worry if I am doing enough and if we are where we should be.

I know all you encouraging moms who homeschool will rush to my defense and tell me we are just fine and we are doing enough and that all will be well. And in my heart of hearts, I know it is true. But I still don't feel great about this year.

So the best thing for me to do is share the books and activities that we have done so far that have been a big hit with my kiddos. They really do get quite passionate about what they are learning sometimes and it is so thrilling for this mom. I wish math was one of those subjects. Well, I suppose I do get some passionate responses when I call them to the table for math, but not the favorable kind of passion that these grand things have elicited from my children:

The All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor was a book that both older kids begged to hear more of. It's the story of a Jewish family with five young daughters living in Brooklyn in the earlier part of the 20th century. We all delighted in the tales of these girls and I spilled some happy tears over it so it definitely gets top rank among our favorites. There are several others in this series which I would love to get my hands on to read aloud to the kids, but they are all out of print and used copies are ridiculously expensive. I'm keeping my eyes peeled at Goodwill!


Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling was another book they couldn't get enough of. It is an excellent fictitious story to read to learn about geography around the Great Lakes and northern part of our continent. It follows a carved Indian in a canoe that is released from Canada by an Indian boy who would love to go exploring... but he must stay and help his father. The kids loved to see where Paddle was going in each short chapter and have memorized the Great Lakes by the shape they resemble- a trapper, a carrot, and... well, they could tell you the others. I must confess I cried AGAIN at the end of this book! The quiet joy of the now-grown Indian when he discovers his beloved carving did, indeed, make it to the sea!

Because they loved Paddle so much, I got a copy of Minn of the Mississippi, also by Holling C. Holling. While I don't like it nearly so much, and Isabelle seems to feel the same, Caleb frequently reminds me that we need to read Minn and find out what this turtle is doing on the great river in the next chapter. This book is much more detailed and poetically written than Paddle so it is very verbose. But because they seem to enjoy Holling's work, Pagoo is also in our reading queue.

Not even a month ago I purchased the first two elementary books in the Life of Fred math series. We are nearly through with the first book, Apples, and Isabelle especially begs to read about "Freddy". I enjoy Fred too, though I can't say I'd rely on him to give my children a complete math education. But I'm the one who's worried about not doing enough. As you can see, the kids love to be read to, so I bought the Fred books in hopes that they could solidify some of the math concepts they are already learning. I would say they have done this and I will probably be purchasing the rest of the series. If they ask for math and laugh when we are doing math, I am sold!

One particular activity that garnered a better-than-expected response was designing the interior of an Egyptian pyramid in our current study on architecture. Using graph paper, we were assigned the task of creating either a maze or a secret passageway system that would protect the king's tomb from robbers. I really expected a lot of frustration from the kids, but they loved it! There is no way a thief could have made it through Caleb's pyramid, as it was complete with snake pits, fire pits, spikes, and, my favorite, squeeze walls. It was awesome! Today they enjoyed designing their own building using geometric shapes. They have come so far and gotten so creative. I remember our first few art lessons using ARtistic Pursuits.... all they created was stress!

Caleb's favorite independent reading books so far this year seems to have been Tornado by Betsy Byars. It's the one he seemed most excited and animated about when relaying what he had read. Isabelle really loves the Bible Stories for Early Readers series by Lavaun Lynde and Mary Quishenberry. Caleb really enjoyed them too when he was learning to read.

Kathryn can't be forgotten. Though she doesn't care to sit and listen to Freddy or chapter books, she could look at her books for hours! Her most recent favorites are I Love You Stinkyface (we just love to hear her say it - stinkyface) and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? She loves to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the ABC's and it is so, so, so, so, so adorable. So adorable! She loves blocks and puzzles, lining things up in rows, rings and bracelets and necklaces, and coloring... everywhere. Still. She has recently branched out from watching primarily just Baby Einstein videos to things like Blues Clues and Curious George. So often I can see those imaginary gears turning in her little head as she is solving little problems and intently studying things. It's a pretty precious sight.

So there... I think I feel better. My kids are pretty cool and they LOVE learning. Just as long as it's not from a math textbook.