Search Results for: blog top 10 books for grades 3 and 4

My Brave Year of Firsts

When was the last time your child’s bedtime story included details on the book’s main character crashing her two-wheeler and her mom recording the entire incident on an iPhone? Not exactly Goodnight Moon, but this is 2012, baby. If you are looking for a book modern-day kids can really relate to, then My Brave Year of Firsts is sure to be a fast favorite. While the playfully written page-turner has a classic theme–celebrating the triumphs and tribulations associated with a child’s major milestones–its approach is far from traditional. Actress turned bestselling children’s book author Jamie Lee Curtis and award-winning illustrator … Continue reading →

Am I Raising a Hoarder Or Is This Her Security Blanket

One thing that can be counted on when you have a child or two, is the mountain of “stuff” that comes with them. First there are bottles and diapers and strollers and the like, and then come the toys. The toys never seem to stop coming, birthdays, Christmas, good grades, whatever it is, there always seems to be a toy or ten attached. Every time I walk into my daughter’s room I’m amazed at the amount of stuff she has collected in her short life. Coming from a divorced family on accelerates the collection. Christmas at Mom’s and Christmas at … Continue reading →

An Affordable Homeschool Math Curriculum: Life of Fred

I will start by saying that I haven’t used this new math curriculum… yet. I am certainly intrigued. First of all, math curriculum is very expensive. Saxon math, a very popular homeschool math curriculum is probably the cheapest at $40-$75.00. New CD based math is sure to cost more. Teaching Textbooks another popular and newer math curriculum for homeshoolers cost approximately $200.00 per year for the ginormous workbook and CD set. Math U see, another popular math set costs approximately $50.00 for lower grades, but when you get into upper grades, the price doubles. When it comes to choosing a … Continue reading →

Why are Some Curriculum So Expensive?

I had a rough start this year, basically because I spent so much money for curriculums. I realize I could have taken a cheaper route by using internet based free resources, but this would have taken more time and energy than I had available. My options were to take teaching and piecing together a curriculum on my own, or paying through the nose. This was my most expensive year to date, mostly because my son is high school level now and I needed a good self-learning curriculum Spanish and for Geometry. The other reason the year was so expensive is … Continue reading →

Extreme Pets! – Jane Harrington

If you have an animal lover in the family, or if your family is considering a new pet, pick up a copy of Extreme Pets! by Jane Harrington. The book is loaded with marvelous color photographs. While Extreme Pets! makes owning these unique pets look very exciting, it also deals with the realities of cage cleaning and costs. The book also emphasizes responsible pet ownership. The book starts with a pet pact – making sure that the owner knows they are responsible for special feeding, care, safety, potential allergies, and medical care. Extreme Pets! is wire bound, which makes the … Continue reading →

But What am I Supposed to Teach?

This is one of the first questions new homeschoolers ask. How are we supposed to know what to teach? Some homeschoolers will turn to the public school system and some systems are very happy to lend texts and materials. Other districts are not so accommodating to homeschoolers, but I have to posit that if what the public school was doing, was working, then perhaps one wouldn’t be homeschooling. In any case, there are several places to look for information on standards and what you should be teaching. Remember that in the younger grades, it is better to look at the … Continue reading →

The Best of Children’s Literature – Bagel’s Lucky Hat

Books rule, TV drools! Here is a write-up of one of the best kiddie books to come across my desk over the past couple weeks. This one will make an awesome Christmas gift for a smart youngster and/or a fan of comic books anywhere between age three and nine. Bagel’s Lucky Hat By Hector Mumbly The story of Mr. Mumbly, the book’s author and artist, is nearly as fantastic as the story of Bagel, our lead character, and his lucky hat. Mr. Mumbly, you see, had never put pen to paper and crafted a children’s book before this one. He … Continue reading →

Substitute Teacher’s Corner: What To Bring With You

Welcome back to the substitute teacher’s corner! As we talked about before, when you get the call, you need to be ready to go. When I get the call to fill in and substitute, I keep a ready bag that I can just grab on my way out the door. So let’s talk about what’s in the ‘ready’ bag. The Ready Bag I like to keep a couple of picture books for the lower grades, usually something that fits the season. For example, if I’m going to be teaching a kindergarten class in October, I might have The Halloween Kittens … Continue reading →

Dr. Doolittle (1967)

“Dr. Doolittle” is based on a character by Hugh Lofting and carried over several volumes. The movie loosely embraces the basic elements of the story, with a whole lot of Hollywood thrown in for good measure. It also includes elements from books farther along in the series and is not limited to just the first volume. The movie stars Rex Harrison as the good doctor, the owner of a parrot named Polynesia. This amazing parrot understands the languages of many different types of animals, and has taught them to Dr. Dolittle. This helps him immensely in his practice as a … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Orphan Train Children: Will’s Choice

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The Orphan Train Children series, a spin-off of the Orphan Train Adventures Series, tells the story of children who were sent West on “orphan trains” to be fostered by townspeople. The children in this series are fictional; the orphan trains themselves are not. In Will’s Choice, twelve-year-old Will, whose mother died when he was four, travels with his father who works in a circus. When Will shows no signs of being talented enough to earn a living with the circus (okay, he’s rather clumsy), his father tells him that he has arranged for him to go “on a grand adventure”—to … Continue reading →