What We've Got Checked Out: Non-Fiction Books for Cycle 2

   After my recent post explaining our current schedule and showing off our amazing new table, I was asked by more than a few people what non-fiction books my kids, ages 11, 0, 5 and 3, read before lunch. Honestly, I have compiled books from a hodgepodge of sources, many of which I'm sure I'll forget. Mostly, I've taken the recommendations of lovely ladies that I follow online like Sarah Mackenzie, Pam Barnhill, and Brandy Farrell, and even some of my real-life friends-gasp! 😉 I am also an Usborne Books and More rep, and I try to order their amazing non-fiction books as often as I can afford. However, since I'm not much of a salesperson, I mainly just check out a ton of books at the library. Thankfully our library has an educator card which lets me check out unlimited books with NO FINES or late fees! This summer I googled "living books" and came up with several great lists that I have used to fill our library basket. Here are a few lists of living books I have really loved with links to buy the books if that's your cup o' tea.
Living Books for Science and Nature Study
Living Book for History and the Middle Ages
Living Books for Math

When I look at all these lists, I like to get a wide variety of levels. Honestly, more often than not I like to get the simpler books. I want my older kids to really enjoy this time and I want them to read to their younger siblings during this time at least once a week. With that in mind, here is a quick list of the non-fiction books we currently have checked out from the library:

(We do have a gazillion fiction books checked out and we love Audible, but these are books I've picked and assign them time to read to reinforce our learning)

History Books:
The Kitchen Knight: a tale of King Arthur retold by Margaret Hodges
Caedmon's Song by Ruth Ashby
Year of the Pilgrims, 1620 by Genevieve Foster
Year of Columbus, 1492 by Genevieve Foster
Abraham Lincoln's World, 1809-1861 by Genevieve Foster
Son of Charlemange by Barbara Willard
Leonardo and the Flying Boy by Laurence Anholt
Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard

English Grammar:

I, You and Don't Forget Who: What is a Pronoun? by Brian P. Cleary

Mine, All Mine by Ruth Heller

Behind the Mask by Ruth Heller

Animals:

Lemurs and Other Animals of the Madagascar Rain Forest by James Martin
The Galapagos Penguin by Kim A. O'Connell
Meerkats by Therese Harasymiw
I Am a Sea Turtle by Darlene R. Stille

Science Books:
Nicolaus Copernicus: the Earth is a Planet by Dennis Brindell Fradin
Neptune: the Stormy Planet by Greg Roza
Pluto: the Dwarf Planet by Greg Roza
Mars: the Red Planet by Greg Roza
Saturn: the Ringed Planet by Greg Roza
Uranus: the Ice Planet by Greg Roza

Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey
The Stars: a New Way to See Them by H.A. Rey
Stars by Steve Tomecek
Asteroids, Comets and Meteors by Giles Sparrow
The Moon by James Buckley Jr.

Planets: a LEGO adventure in the Real World by Penelope Arlon and Tory Gordon-Harris
Planets by Becky Baines
The Water Cycle by Rebecca Olien
Full STEAM Ahead by Paul A. Reynolds (Water Cycle)

Nature Study:
Crinkleroot's 25 Mammals Every Child Should Know by Jim Arnosky
Crinkleroot's Guide to Walking in Wild Places by Jim Arnosky
Butterfly House by Eve Bunting
A Tree is Nice by March Simont
Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst

Math related:
The History of Counting by Senise Schmandt-Besserat
Bedtime Math by Laura Overdeck
Bedtime Math: The Truth Comes Out by Laura Overdeck
Getting Started with Coding by Camille McCue
The Adventures of Penrose, the Mathematical Cat by Theoni Pappas
Sir Cumference and the...series by Cindy Neuschwander

Art Related:
The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock (Kandinsky)
The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst

And a few others that I have purchased for this year:

History/Biography:
The Magic Runes: A Tale of the Times of Charlemange by Emma Leslie
Ten Boys Who Changed the World by Irene Howat
*The Story of Inventions by Anna Claybourne and Adam Larkin

Science/Animal:
Astronomy by Emily Bone (Usborne Book)
Penguins Usborne Book

Bees and Wasps 

The Solar System

Art:
Usborne Book of Famous Paintings

Encyclopedias:
Usborne Encyclopedia of World History 
The Usborne Medieval World 

Math:
Life of Fred Apples through Honey by Dr. Stanley F. Schmidt
The Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
Fractions, Decimals and Percents by David Adler
Math Start Books by Stuart J. Murphy

*Disclosure: None of the Amazon links are affiliate links, but the Usborne Books are linked to my own Usborne Website. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the books that I own*

Feeling Bloggy

I haven't blogged in ages for a myriad of reasons, but I am feeling the itch and have several posts ruminating. So be on the lookout for the following:

Summer Fun Wrap Up

My Firstborn Turns Ten

School Plans and Goals

and maybe one about my some personal ups and downs...maybe...

Plus, we have another birthday next week, so there will be a post entitled Sam the Great Turns Eight

A couple friends who we don't get to visit often said they were missing the updates they could find here. That was all the encouragement I needed to squeeze in some writing time-the laundry can wait, right?

What's in the Bible Guest Blog!

Hi friends,
Have you heard of the series What's in the Bible? Created by Phil Vischer, of Veggie Tales, it uses puppets and cartoons, humor and catchy songs to teach your kids about God's Word. I am a huge fan of their DVD's and have been an affiliate of theirs since their first few DVDs came out. If your kids haven't seen them yet, you should definitely check them out. My kids have learned so much about the Bible as they've laughed and sung along. What's in the Bible? is currently having a fantastic sale: all the DVD's are marked down to $9.97, plus the more you order the better the deal. And free shipping sitewide! Click on the link below to go to their online store.

This month, I am excited to be a guest blogger on their site. I had been thinking and praying about how to keep our focus on Christ this Advent season, and summed up my thoughts in a blog post called Simplifying the Celebration. I'd love to hear ways that you are keeping your holiday festivities simple yet meaningful. And I'd love for you to pop over to What's in the Bible? and check out my post. :)

Thanks!

Getting Started with Classical Conversations

Currently, I know at least five families who are starting with Classical Conversations in the fall. I am so excited for them since, as I have mentioned before, our family has been so blessed by our involvement with CC. Each of those moms I mentioned before have asked me for advice about starting out with CC. I definitely don't have all the answers, but we have been in CC for four years, so I can give my opinions on what has been helpful for our family, and what I would recommend for a first year CC family.

What do you need to buy:

1. The Foundations Guide: We use this weekly, and sometimes daily. You will use it each week when your community meets. I bring a pencil along and jot down notes next to each subject. For example, if the tutor shares a clever tip, trick, or song to help my kids remember a certain subject, I scribble a little something to help remind me when I'm home and reviewing with them later. Besides the weekly facts that (you and) your kids will be learning, there is also fabulous information from Leah Bortins, the founder of CC throughout the book. This is a must for every CC family.

Sam and his buddy, Luke, playing the tin whistle in their class

2. A tin whistle: Each child will use one for six weeks each year, so this is another must. I am tutoring this coming year, so we now have three tin whistles in our home. Since we've been at this for a few years now, the practicing isn't so painful anymore...except when the little ones get their teeny hands and mouths on the whistles! 

If you are working with a tight budget, this is absolutely all that you will NEED to do Classical Conversations as a part of your homeschool journey. If you intend to follow the model set forth by CC, they recommend you supplement what you are learning each week with your community with a math curriculum, a language arts program (this usually includes: spelling, phonics, grammar, and handwriting), and lots of reading. The first year it is vitally important that you take a deep breath and try to just soak up the information with your kiddo(s). Don't give in to the pressure to do everything out there. Start simply and if you feel led to add in some way, maybe dive deeper into some of the memory work. I have found going deeper to be more rewarding than trying to go "wider" and cover more things in a more shallow way. 

Reading the best book, his Bible

That said, our family has used the following curriculum at one point or another:

Math: Saxon Math

Phonics: Explode the Code, Phonics Museum (Veritas Press)

English Grammar: Shurley English

Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears, and more recently CC's Prescripts

We've supplemented with many books from the library that correlate with our science and history and the time period that we're studying. 

If you can invest a little more, and it is important to realize that it is an investment, here are a few more of my favorites for doing CC at home. Each year that we have been involved, I have taken the plunge a little more and bought a few more CC products to help us here at home. I have listed them below in the order of their value to me. In my opinion, if you start at the top of this list and add on towards the bottom, as your budget allows, you will be better off for it.

~The Audio CD's: these are SO helpful. We listen in the van all the time. Also, the timeline song is played each night while the kids load the dishwasher. :) They are worth every penny in my opinion!

~CC Connected (or C3): this is a subscription to the online file sharing part of the CC website. So many talented and creative CC parents have shared worksheets, songs, lapbooks, review games and more. For $6 a month, you have access to all of it. We use the worksheets and songs weekly! A word of warning, it can be overwhelming...somewhat like pinterest, more ideas than you could possibly use in one household. However, it is very helpful if you take the time to sort through and find what will work for you. I am considering posting what I am planning on having my kiddos do this coming year in another blog post, and I will list the specific files that we hope to use there. (so subscribe or come back later for that!)

Reviewing CC by playing Trivial Pursuit Family Edition and substituting CC facts for the questions

~Geography Trivium Tables: These were invaluable for us last year in reviewing the geography facts. I bought one for each of my boys that were doing CC. (If you're joining me here and don't actually know me, welcome! I have four kiddos: three boys ages 8, 6, and 3, and one little girl who is 18 months old.) These maps are laminated and very durable. We use these several times a week in various ways-label things with dry erase markers, tape a piece of tracing paper on top and trace things, ask a child to point to a place, etc. I have bought other maps, but these are made specifically to coincide with the geography for Classical Conversations and are such a great addition to our review time. 

~Memory Flashcards: When we first started with CC, I thought to myself, "Why would I pay $30 for those when I could make them myself?" Then I started writing the information on index cards and laminating them...I didn't get very far before I decided to buy the CC cards. They are smaller, neater and to me, worth the money if you can spare it. I stick them in my purse or bag and we can review on the go. Now that both of my older boys can read, they can quiz each other, too. We love these, and use them several times a week.

Jon and Sam organizing the History Cards (aka Timeline cards)

~Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: These cards will be used every year. We use them to review the timeline information at home and to go a step further with learning the information. If you are starting with CC and have only younger students, you might wait on these if money is tight. I highly recommend them, but my younger ones have little interest in them. As my boys have repeated the timeline, different facts have caught their attention and peaked their interest, and by just flipping the card, we can dig a little deeper and extend our learning. We've used these cards in many different ways in the past: hung them in the school room; sorted them and put them in order; kept them in a binder to flip through; and kept them in a basket for easy use.  We use these almost daily.

~Prescripts: Copy work is encouraged in the classical model for many reasons. I love that CC has come out with their Prescripts series that combines handwriting practice, copy work and CC memory work review all in one! Both of my boys have used Prescripts and enjoy it more than I expected--they are boys and it is writing! ;)

Additionally, I do own and use the Classical Acts and Facts Science Cards, and they are used weekly for review. And I will probably purchase the new Classical Acts and Facts Artists and Composers Cards to help me with tutoring and reviewing at home. While not necessary, these can be great to assist you in reviewing at home if you want something that your kids can actually hold onto and use on their own or with your assistance. 

Honestly, I have yet to buy a product from CC that has not helped me here at home. Any product that you can find in their store will be worthwhile, in my opinion. I hope that my compilation here will help someone out there to understand better what might be helpful when you are just starting out. I'd love to hear feedback from you and welcome any questions either in the comments section or on Facebook. 

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If you found this helpful, you might enjoy reading Why We Choose to Homeschool or a post about our schedule, What This Homeschooling Thing Looks Like for our Family. Also, I have a post about copywork and how we review for CC here.

There are some great CC blogs: A Stick and Sand, And Here We Go, Classical Conversations at Home, Half-a-hundred Acre Wood, Homegrown Learners, Mt. Hope Chronicles, and Running with Team Hogan are the ones that I have bookmarked at home, but there are many more. In fact, if you blog about CC, please let me know! I'd love to glean wisdom from others on this journey!