• Dec. 5, 2006
"Animal Tales" by Thornton W. Burgess

We've really been enjoying our latest read-aloud, Animal Tales by Thornton W. Burgess.  It is filled with imaginary short stories of forest animals, all with personalities similar to what they might be based on their animal characteristics and traits.  It is a classic work that was written in 1940 and nostalgically illustrated by Harrison Cady.  Each short story introduces the reader to a new forest character who interacts with at least one other forest character.  A problem or moral is always included as is some excellent nature information on the species that Burgess is writing about.  Burgess must have been quite the naturalist, as his details imply.  Even the youngest listeners can learn more about particular animals, their habits, and their traits as they read the fictionalized, clever, and often funny tales. 

My favorite tale was probably, "Paddy's Surprise Visitor" detailing the humorous adventure of Mr. and Mrs. Paddy the Beaver's encounter with the grumpy Prickly Porky the Porcupine.  In it, the reader learns so much about beavers and their habitats, mating habits (Mr. Paddy has a Mrs. after all!) and their characteristics.  But Mr. Burgess also informs us about the fascinating porcupine with his characterization of Prickly Porky. 

Here's an example excerpt of the clever way that Burgess educates his readers in the natural realm.  "Prickly Porky merely grunted and shook himself.   Some of the little spears he carried in his coat fell out, but no one noticed this.  Finally he waddled down the roof into the water and headed for the shore.  He was a funny sight.  Yes, sir, he surely was.  Paddy and Mrs. Paddy grinned.  At the same time, they wondered how he could keep so high in the water.  They didn't know that each of the thousand little spears in his coat- the things we call quills- were hollow and filled with air.  He could hardly have helped floating so high."  Yes,  here dear Burgess is educating us about the quills of the porcupine all with an interesting and humorous story to boot.  Who knew that quills were air-filled?!

Honestly, I'm not very classic-savvy.  As usual, I came across this one while reading a homeschooling blog.  I'm embarassed to admit that I'd never read, nor even heard of Mr. Burgess.  If I had, I'm quite certain that many of his books would have graced the shelves of my first and second grade classrooms.  What a shame for my students.  But what a blessing for my children that the homeschool community doesn't keep great books to themselves!  Thank you to my friends in the blogosphere who continue to inspire, educate, and encourage me.  And definitely check out  Animal Tales.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

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• Nov. 26, 2006
Author Jim Aylesworth Visits Our Library for National Children's Bookweek

Here are some photos from a recent visit from Jim Aylesworth to our local library. 

He was truly charming and had an obvious love and knowledge of children and what they like.  He had been a teacher until his retirement.  His books ideas often came from ideas he got from his first graders and their antics.  We loved him! 

He signed our Gingerbread Man which my children loved and each of them got called up from the large group for a special meeting with him.  If he is ever in your area, I highly recommend going to see him. 

To see more of the many, many books he's published visit amazon and search Aylesworth.  We're ordering "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Tricky Fox" for Christmas!

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• Aug. 29, 2006
Images from Psalms

We continue to read a Psalm a day at breakfast.  I can't say enough about this practice.  One benefit of it that I see for young children (and adults as well!) is that there are images of God in the Psalms that can give children a picture of who He is and how He takes care of them. 

Yesterday and today we read from Psalms 28 and 29 repspectively.  Psalm 28 portrays God as a Shepherd and his people as sheep.  This is a great picture for kids!  I explained to them what shepherds do (since there aren't a lot of shepherds around here =)).  I reminded them about sheep... how small and defenseless and senseless they are.  I told them that Daddy and Mommy and each of them are God's little sheep and that He protects and guides us like a shepherd.  He give us our food and shelter.  He keeps us from harm.  He's a good Shepherd.

Today's Psalm (29) was about the power of the voice of the LORD.  And it ends with a picture of God as King reigning over all His creation.  That's another great image for kids.  Heaven knows how many playtimes around here are consumed with kings and queens and villains and knights!   That's an image that my children can relate to.  In fact, we used one of our favorite picture books, Rumplestiltskin, to remind ourselves what a king does.  Of course, the king in Rumplestitskin is the antithesis of our kind and generous king.  I was able to use something they knew (kings; specifically the greedy, mean king from Rumplestiltskin) to connect it with something they need to know about God.  That unlike the king in a favorite picture book, Jesus is a good, kind, powerful and generous king. 

Did you know that the that awesome brain God gave each of us is a pattern-seeking (i.e. connective) device?  In other words, as much as we can, we need to work to connect new information that we want our kids to know with something they already know (a pattern).  When we connect God to something they already konw about, He becomes more real to them.

So, I encourage you to use the Psalms to show children who God really is.  The images they portray are powerful and relatable.  And true worship comes only as we know Him more and more.  I want my children to be true worshippers.  How about you?

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• Jul. 21, 2006
Our New Read-Aloud

We've ventured into My Father's Dragon this week.  I used to love to read it to my first graders, so I thought I'd try it out with my own little guys.  They are loving the adventure!  It's the first of a series of three books about a little boy named Elmer Elevator who goes to an island to rescue a mistreated dragon.  The book describes his adventures with various wild animals on the island as well as his clever ways of escaping them using the simple things he has in his knapsack.  My children are really enjoying it.  In fact, I heard my son giving me my highest compliment to his father tonight.  He said, "Mommy is my very favoritest reader.  She's the best reader, Daddy."  Awww.  That makes it all worth every minute.

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• Jul. 16, 2006
Benefits of Wordless Picture Books

Being the mom of two preschoolers and a toddler, we do a lot of reading aloud at our house.  Although my oldest (4 1/2) is just at the very beginning stages of reading, I know he'll always enjoying cuddling on the couch with mommy as we all read together.  Read-aloud time is one of my favorites. 

We love many picture books, but I wanted to tell you about a couple of wordless picture books we really enjoy.  It's a series of books by Mercer Mayer about a boy, a dog, and a frog.  The first book is called, "A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog".  The one we read tonight is called "One Frog Too Many".  There are others in the series as well.  If you have boys, they would definitely relate to the boy's adventures at the pond!  The boy has a pet dog, a turtle enters the mix, and of course, the frog is his buddy as well.  These wordless picture books describe their very boyish exploits.

Why a wordless picture book, you might ask?  Wordless books are great for pre-readers and early readers because they can make up the story to match the pictures.  Wordlesss picture books can give children a sense of story, characterization,and practice in storytelling themselves.  They can tell the story all by themselves, so the books also give pre or early readers a sense of independence.  All these elements are important for beginning readers to become proficient readers.  Another great thing to do with these books is to have older children actually write the text for the books.  It is a very meaningful and fun writing exercise.  As a classroom teacher, it was one of my first and second graders favorite things to do. 

These are great reasons to use wordless books.  And the Mercer Mayer series that I mentioned above is a great place to start.  Why not see if your little guys love them as much as mine do?

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• Jun. 16, 2006
A New Favorite Beatrix Potter Book

I've shared before in this blog that we love the Beatrix Potter books at our house.  I hope to collect all of the little books, and we have a few, but for now we are checking most of them out at the library.  Recently we found a new favorite.

"The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes" is about a little squirrel, Timmy, and his wife, Goody who are trying to prepare for the cold season by gathering up nuts and storing them as squirrels do.  Great little lessons can be taught on diligence and preparedness.  As usual, the pictures are quaint and exquisite pictures of the English countryside.   My children's favorite funny in this book is the character, Chippy Hacky, a little chipmunk who rescues Timmy, but ends up being a bit of a lazy cad.  He definitely brings a bit of fun to the story and an anti-hero of sorts.  A fun little thing to do is to compare the work habits and character of Timmy Tiptoes with that of Chippy Hacky.

Yes, "The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes" has been read a lot lately at our house!  See if your children like it as much as mine do.

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• May. 22, 2006
Great Book

Have you read The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman?  If not, you should!  A homeschooling mom friend of mine introduced our family to it a while back and we all love it. 

The story starts with a new mom and her sweet baby boy, who is a bit of a picky eater.  It continues as she gives birth to six more children who are every bit as picky as the first, each wanting their own special food.  The mother, Mrs. Peters, starts getting very tired of the whole scene.  In the end, the seven silly eaters surprise their mother and the dynamic of the family's strange eating habit changes, not necessarily for the better, nutritionally speaking.  But definitely for the better for this busy mother.

The illustrations in this book are wonderful.  You could exhaust yourself looking at all the details.  And dare I say that the illustrator herself must be the mom of many children.  Her depiction of the untidy house might give her away!  I could really relate to the mother who was always pregnant and with young children. She looks a bit weary sometimes.  Hoberman's text rhymes, but not in a sing-songy trite kind of way.  Actually, her talent at rhyming and rhythm will leave you impressed and wishing you were so gifted.

Any homeschooling family would enjoy the story line, lessons, illustrations and relatability of The Seven Silly Eaters.  Check it out at your library or bookstore today and send us a comment if you like it as much as we do.

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• May. 19, 2006
Our Favorite Classics

Here are a few of our favorite classic books for children:

Peter Rabbit and any other book by Beatrix Potter

Courduroy by Don Freeman

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

On a Summer Day and others by Lois Lenski

If you haven't checked out any of the above, go to the library and get one.  You'll love them as much as our family has, I'm sure.  That's why they're classics!

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• May. 19, 2006
Beatrix Potter Books

We love the Beatrix Potter books at our house.  I had always heard the Peter Rabbit story as a child, but don't recall hearing or reading any of the others. 

The illustrations are phenomenal, the language is delightful and very English, and the stories most usually have a lesson of some sort to discuss.  The characters are so child-friendly, but I love them as an adult as well.  Another great aspect of the books is that the characters are often seen again and again in the stories, even if in the background, or on only one page. Children love this familiarity.

I recommend the actual little books as opposed to a compilation or anthology, because they are perfect for little hands and can be taken anywhere.  If you haven't tried these classics with your little ones, you need to!

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• Apr. 18, 2006
Reading

My sweet dd3 is doing reading by imitation, which I love.  She loves to read "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" (My favorite line is " 'haps she'll die!) and just today read "Go, Dog, Go".  Now I know Charlotte Mason would say both of those books were probably twaddle, but my children love their silliness, and because of that silliness they enjoy reading, so we'll keep using them, as well as the non-twaddly classics!

My son on the other hand is starting to recognize some words, and one-to-one corrsepondence as he reads, so he is really on the road to reading.  He enjoys reading board books to his baby sister and usually tries really hard to match up his fingers to the words.  He is also beginning to notice beginning sounds and letters, so sometimes corrects himself as he's reading if he notices that something wasn't quite right.  I know from Reading Recovery training that I took as a public school teacher, that these are all good signs for beginning readers, so I am so excited for him.

My baby dd14 mo. loves Bingo.  When asked to go choose a book for story time, she always toddles away to find Bingo.  Today she did choose a Maisy story (Where Does Maisy Live?) as well.  We love Maisy!  This one is especially cute for toddlers because it has lots of flaps to open.

It seems to me that all this reading and a house littered up with books seems to be paying off!  Whew!

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