Picture Book Saturday: July 21th, 2018

Picture Book Saturday

Picture Book Saturday is where I share the picture books we have been reading as a family, focusing specifically on the books we are using for homeschooling, though sometimes I may add in some of the other fun books, especially if there is one that we really enjoyed. The chapter books we are enjoying are shared in my Fun Fiction Friday posts.

We started our summer session of our homeschool, finishing up our study of The Josefina Story Quilt and continuing our study of Ancient Greece which we had started back in June. We finished reading the books that helped enhanced our study of The Josefina Story Quilt, reading some stories on quilts, wagons, and pioneer days. And we started reading books about life in Ancient Greece.

Arion and the Dolphins by Lonzo Anderson is based on an Ancient Greek legend. It tells the story of Arion who can sing to the dolphins. These dolphins come to his rescue after he is threatened by the crew of the ship he is sailing home on after winning a prize of gold in a contest.

Count Your Way Through Greece by Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson is one of a series of  "Count your way through" different countries. We have read some of the others before, when we were learning about other countries in our Exploring Countries and Cultures year with My Father's World. Each double-page spread is devoted to one number, which is shown as a numeral and then given in the language, in this case Greek. Then there is some fact about Greece that is associated with the number, such as their being one official religion, or six main gods and six main goddesses in ancient Greek mythology. I appreciated that the pronunciation for the Greek numbers was included. 

I Wonder Why Greek Built Temples by Fiona Macdonald is a 31-page book that answers one to two questions about Ancient Greece per page. There are answers to such questions as "Who were the ancient Greeks?," "Who was the goddess of wisdom?," "Why did farmers beat their trees?," " and Who had his best ideas in the bathtub?."

The Ancient Greeks by Pat Taylor is a 32 page book that starts with an introduction which includes a map and timeline of Greece. Then each double-page spread focuses on different aspects of ancient Greek life, from the gods and goddesses, to clothes, food, health & sickness, and country life and The Olympic Games. Each section is just a quick look at these different parts of Ancient Greek life, accompanied by photographs or illustrations.

Sightseers Ancient Greece is a guide to the Golden Age of Greece, giving the reader information about Ancient Greece, while giving tips as if you were actually going back in time to visit. It suggests how to travel around, what to wear, what you may find to eat, where you can go shopping, along with such things as where to stay and different attractions. Each double page spread also includes little bits of trivia along the top of the page, sightseers' tips, and various pictures with added information. The book concludes with a "Souvenir Quiz" and a fold-out map.

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo was a technically taken out as a variation of the "Cinderella" story, but I figured it worked well as a review of Ancient Egypt. It fit in with Ancient Greece as well, seeing as the main character, the "Egyptian Cinderella" was a greek slave in Ancient Egypt. It is supposed to be based up on a true story.

This week we will continue reading the books on Ancient Greece, but we will also be adding a literature study of the picture book, Paddington by Michael Bond. The lit study is from Branch Out World, a company owned by homeschool mom Helen Royston. Yes, this is a review product and I will be sharing my review in mid-August. 

To enhance our study we will begin by learning a big about Peru and England, two countries we haven't learned about in our past studies. 

We will also be watching episodes of the "Adventures of Paddington Bear" stop-motion series. And will conclude our study with the recent Paddington movies.

I have also received quite a few books for review lately. Last week I posted my review of Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings. I hope to have reviews posted for a few more books within the next few weeks, hopefully with some giveaways.

Don't miss your chance to win a copy of this sweet book . The giveaway is open to US residents and ends July 29th, 2018.

Enter to win

Picture Book Saturday (on a Sunday): May 27th, 2018

Picture Book Saturday

Picture Book Saturday is where I share the picture books we have been reading as a family, focusing specifically on the books we are using for homeschooling, though sometimes I may add in some of the other fun books, especially if there is one that we really enjoyed. The chapter books the older girls and I are enjoying are shared about in my Fun Fiction Friday posts.

We continued on with some new books with Home School Navigator.

Tabitha and Amelia were reading two books by Jon Scieszka: The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales, plus The Frog Prince Continues.

Hannah was reading Lon PoPo by Ed Young and Anansi and the Talking Melon by Eric A. Kimmel

And Harold was reading Bernadette Watts's retelling of The Three Little Pigs, plus The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell.

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown was a book from a previous week which they wanted to read again.

And The Talking Eggs was a book that actually goes with level Green, which is one of the levels we aren't doing anymore. However, I still had the book, so they wanted to read it.

You can read more about Home School Navigator in my review, which posted this past week.

I have also received quite a few books for review lately. I hope to have reviews posted for these books within the next few weeks, hopefully with some giveaways.

Speaking of giveaways, don't miss your chance to win the 2-book set of Maud the Koala. The giveaway is open to US residents and ends tonight at midnight (EST).

Enter to win

Picture Book Saturday (on a Sunday): May 20th, 2018

Picture Book Saturday

Picture Book Saturday is where I share the picture books we have been reading as a family, focusing specifically on the books we are using for homeschooling, though sometimes I may add in some of the other fun books, especially if there is one that we really enjoyed. The chapter books the older girls and I are enjoying are shared about in my Fun Fiction Friday posts.

We didn't read very much last week as it was a no-school week. However, as we were working on Home School Navigator for a review, we did do some of our work. We read the first books for each level for the week.

Tabitha and Amelia are officially going to be staying in the Blue level, as we had to choose a level this past week. They read the hilarious book titled The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith

This book contains funny versions of several different fairy tales, which fits in quite well with the fact that the girls are supposed to be writing their own "fractured fairy tale." Some of the stories are only a page long, though a couple are a little longer. 

Hannah, who is officially using the Yellow level, read Little Red Riding Hood the previous week, and now got a chance to compare it to this tale from China.

Personally I liked that LonPoPo: A Red-Riding Hood Story From China by Ed Young was quite different, with just a little bit of similarity to the well-known tale. Instead of one child, there are three who get left home alone while the mother goes to the grandmother's. The biggest similarity is the wolf who comes to trick them. I like that they aren't fooled and they are the ones who beat the wolf. I mean, I like Little Red Riding Hood, but she sure was foolish.

And Harold is going to stick with level Orange. This week he read The Three Little Pigs by Bernadette Watts.

This was a sweet retelling of the classic tale, with just a few differences. I loves the illustrations, especially the small animals that were in the straw and stick bundles who also found a home in the houses once they were made. 

Last week I told you that we had received some children's books for review. This week I did get my review posted, and I was able to offer my readers a giveaway. So, I invite you to stop by and read my review of these Maud the Koala books and enter for a chance to win. The giveaway is only open to US residents and will end on May 27th.

This coming week is a school week, so I should have more books to share next week. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Picture Book Saturday: May 12th, 2018

Picture Book Saturday

Picture Book Saturday is where I share the picture books we have been reading as a family, focusing specifically on the books we are using for homeschooling, though sometimes I may add in some of the other fun books, especially if there is one that we really enjoyed. The chapter books the older girls and I are enjoying are shared about in my Fun Fiction Friday posts.

It's been a while, as I seem to always run out of time, but I really would like to share Picture Book Saturday on a regular basis. Fun Fiction Friday too.

We have been reading a bunch of fun fairy tale type books with our current review product, Home School Navigator. The children have been working on summaries, comparing the different stories, working on grammar and vocabulary/word wall words, using these books as a focus for these lessons. Tabitha and Amelia started out working in one level, but then I switched them to a higher level. Hannah got moved down a level and Harold is using the one I first started him at. So, as each level is reading a different story, we have been reading quite a few.

Here, take a looksie.

Tabitha and Amelia started out in the green level and we read these books in the week and a half we were using it. Then we decided the level was a bit easy for them.

So we moved to the blue level and the girls have been reading the following books.

Hannah was using the Orange level at one point, which was too easy, and she joined in with the Green level a bit, but we found that too hard. We finally found the level that was just right for her: Yellow. And these are the books she has read so far.

Harold has been slowly making his way through the Orange level. Here are the books he's read:

I will be sharing my review of Home School Navigator, with a lot more detail about the program, in a couple of weeks.

During our Bible time we have been including a couple of pages of the following books.

We are reading To Every Thing There is a Season by Leo and Diane Dillon because we had read about King Solomon in the Bible and it is thought he wrote Ecclesiastes. This passage is quite popular and we have been enjoying this book. I'll share more details when we are done with the book.

T is for Tree: A Bible ABC by Connie L. Meyer, is a Homeschool Review Crew review product. I will also be sharing more about this book in a couple of weeks in my review. Each letter of the alphabet has a word that is focused on, which then has a short poem or verse to go with it, and a Bible verse that the verse is based on.

I also received the following books to review.

I posted my review of A Round of Robins by Katie Hesterman a couple of weeks ago. You can read that review and enter for your chance to win a copy here.

It is a cute book about the life cycle of a robin told in verse. Each poem is one part of the life cycle.

Harold really enjoyed reading the following books to me.

I will be sharing my review of these books, plus a giveaway, this week. 

Picture Book Sunday: 12 Fun Scarecrow Books

Picture Book Sunday

12 Fun Scarecrow Books

Picture Book Saturday is where I share the picture books we have been reading as a family, focusing specifically on the books we are using for homeschooling, though sometimes I may add in some of the other fun books, especially if there is one that we really enjoyed. The chapter books the older girls and I are enjoying are shared about in my Fun Fiction Friday posts. 

This past week I shared my Scarecrow Fun Round Up. We have been reading some really cute books, and I wanted to share them with you.

The Scarecrow's Dance by Jane Yolen is about a scarecrow who gets blown away on a magical wind. He dances and skips around until he finds himself outside the window of a young boy who is praying. The scarecrow hears how important his job is, and he goes back to his field. 

Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant tells of what a scarecrow is and what he might be feeling and seeing.

The Scarecrow's Hat by Ken Brown is about a hen who loves a scarecrow's hat and would love it for herself. The scarecrow would be willing to part with it for a specific item, which she doesn't have, but knows where to find. Thus begins her adventure from one animal to another, discovering what they would trade for the item the next animal had. We find out what the hen has to give the final animal, in order to give it to the previous animal, and so on until the item the scarecrow wanted is able to be retrieved, getting her the hat. 

The Lonely Scarecrow by Tim Preston tells the tale of a scary looking scarecrow who is lonely because everyone is afraid of him, until winter comes and he is covered with snow, and looks like a friendly snowman. 

Otis and the Scarecrow by Loren Long is about a little tractor named Otis and his farm friends. They all like to play together and can't understand why the scarecrow just continually frowns and ignores them. 

The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown is about a family of scarecrows, the father, mother and little boy. The father goes into the fields to make faces and scare the crows, and the little scarecrow wants so bad to be able to do what his father does. But he keeps being told he is not ready and is too young. One day he decides to sneak out and try to scare the crows on his own.

Scarecrow Pete by Mark Kimball Moulton is about a boy and a scarecrow named Pete who is stuck in the field on a pole. Pete introduces himself to the boy one day and starts talking about the friends he has made from the books he reads. The boy isn't too impressed, until they start reading together in the garden and become good friends. 

Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is about a skinny kid who is drawn to the barn by music being played by a scarecrow. The animals and the scarecrow are having a hoe-down and invite the child to join in, which he does until the break of day. 

The Shy Scarecrow by Mary Packard is an easy reader book. Rags is a scared and shy scarecrow who can't do his job scaring the crows. That is, until the farmer realizes there is something he forgot that belongs to the scarecrow that will help him. 

The Lazy Scarecrow by Jillian Powell is also an easy reader. This scarecrow is so lazy, he doesn't care about keeping the birds away from the seeds. But because they eat all the seeds, nothing grows and the field is dusty and barren. Then the farmer sees the scarecrow waving himself all around, so he decides to take him to another field to work.

Scaredycrow by Christopher Hernandez is about a scarecrow who is so scared of everything he ends up scary them away unwittingly. Unfortunately that just makes him lonely, until a little mouse who is new to the farm decides to make friends with him. 

At the End of the Garden by Penny Dolan is another early reader book about a scarecrow who is at the end of the garden by the apple tree. The story shares the things he smiles at and the animals that make him their home. 

In my Picture Book Saturday posts, there will also be a section where I share the children's favorite books from the past week(s).

Tabitha enjoyed The Scarecrow's Hat and Scarecrow Pete

Amelia loved The Scarecrow's Hat and The Little Scarecrow Boy

Hannah says she liked The Lazy Scarecrow and Scaredycrow

Harold's favorite book was Scarecrow

I invite you to stop by and check out the fun Paper Plate Scarecrows we made, plus all the fun crafts and activities shared in the round up.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you can come back for a visit again soon.

I'm sharing over at:

Picture Book Saturday (on a Monday): August 28th, 2017

Picture Book Saturday Monday

Picture Book Saturday is where I share the picture books we have been reading as a family, focusing specifically on the books we are using for homeschooling, though sometimes I may add in some of the other fun books, especially if there is one that we really enjoyed. The chapter books the older girls and I are enjoying are shared about in my Fun Fiction Friday posts. 

We finished up our ECC curriculum a few weeks ago and have been enjoying our break before starting our 2017-2018 school year. I promised I would share the rest of the books we read for Australia and Coral Reefs. So, here we go.

Keeping Up with Grandma by John Winch is about a couple who both have things they love to do, but then grandma wants to go on adventures and try different things, which grandpa is really not happy about, and just can't keep up with  her. They end up back at home doing what they love to do.

The Old Woman Who Loved to Read by John Winch is about an old lady who loves to read and moves out to the country to have peace to be able to read. However, she discovers there is a lot to keep her busy in all the different seasons. While we see all the things that keep her busy, we are introduced to many creatures who live in Australia. 

Living in Australia shares different aspects about life in Australia. 

Australia also shares about Australia. Sorry, don't remember what this one was about specifically. It's been too long.

Australian Animals Safe at Home is a cute little board book about, well Australian animals being safe at home. 

Koalas was all about Koalas

Twilight Hunt was a book about an owl searching for food, and we were to find the different animals camouflaged on the pages. 

Why Koala has a Stumpy Tail is a fable type story sharing why koala has a stumpy tail, because koala didn't always have a stumpy tail, but a nice long one. In the story it was a dry year, Koala and Tree Kangaroo needed water, but Tree Kangaroo was the only one digging because Koala kept coming up with excuses on why he couldn't. Then when Tree Kangaroo finally found water, Koala drank it all up. Tree Kangaroo pulled on Koala's tail and it came off.

Snuggle Up, ZooBorns! is about lots of different zoo babies snuggling with their mamas. The koala was just featured on the front, so I decided to read it anyway.

Whose Furry Nose features lots of different animals that live in Australia. First they are just shown in part and you are supposed to guess what it is. The animal is revealed when you turn the page.

Coral Reefs by Gail Gibbons is about coral reefs

Over in the Ocean In a Coral Reef shares rhymes about different sea creatures, while also counting through from 1-10 to show different amounts of the animals.

Coral Reefs

Life in a Coral Reef

I do apologize for not remembering what each of these coral reef books is about. The information sort of blended together. 

What Lives in Coral Reefs?

The Magic School Bus Takes a Dive: A Book About Coral Reefs

Octopus Under the Sea

Big Fish, Little Fish

In my Picture Book Saturday posts, there will also be a section where I share the children's favorite books from the past week(s).

Tabitha enjoyed Keeping Up with Grandma

Amelia loved Why Koala has a Stumpy Tail and The Old Woman Who Loved to Read

Hannah says she also liked Why Koala has a Stumpy Tail

Harold's favorite book was also Why Koala has a Stumpy Tail

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you can come back for a visit again soon.

I'm sharing over at:

Picture Book Saturday (on a Monday)

Picture Book Saturday Monday

Well, I've been mentioning for the past several weeks that I was going to start posting Picture Book Saturday. Unfortunately, it just hasn't been happening. Then I was all ready to do so this past Saturday, and we had to get going to a wedding and didn't get home til late. The plan is for this to become a weekly feature, where I share the picture books we have been reading as a family, focusing specifically on the books we are using for homeschooling, though sometimes I may add in some of the other fun books, especially if there is one that we really enjoyed. The chapter books the older girls and I are enjoying are shared about in my Fun Fiction Friday posts. 

We are finishing up our Exploring Countries and Cultures curriculum from My Father's World during our summer homeschool session. During this time we have been reading books featuring Australia and coral reefs. 

Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester was about Ernie going to Australia and writing letters to his friends about what it is like in Australia. Then at the end of the book they all send a letter back.

Waltzing Matilda by A.B. Paterson shares the lyrics to the popular song "Waltzing Matilda" and helps to demonstrate what those foreign words mean. 

Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester is about an Australian family that takes a trip all the way around Australia, sharing details about the various places they stop. 

Lizzie Nonsense: A Story of Pioneer Day by Jan Ormerod is about a girl names Lizzie who lives during the pioneer days in Australia. Everything Lizzie talks about, her mother says is nonsense as Lizzie uses her imagination quite a bit. 

The Emu That Laid the Golden Egg by Yvonne Morrison is about an Emu named Emma whose eggs resemble the things that she eats. If she eats gold, she lays a golden egg, if she eats cotton she lays a pillow egg. She was birdnapped by some critters who wanted her to lay golden eggs, not realizing she had to have gold to actually lay the golden egg.

Living in . . . Australia by Chloe Perkins is a book that shares simple information about Australia.

The Rescuers Down Under is the book adaptation of the movie of the same name. The mice from the original The Rescuers story are back. This time they need to save a young boy from a poacher who is after a golden eagle and her eggs. 

Big Rain Coming by Katrina Germein is about a man who knew there was a big rain coming, but on each page it wasn't there yet. Finally it arrived. 

Wombat Goes Walkabout by Michael Morpurgo is about a wombat who is looking for his mother and meets up with a lot of other Australian creatures. All of the different animals bragged about the different talents they had, making it appear that poor little wombat's skill of digging wasn't important, that is until he helped save them from a fire by digging a hole for them to stay safe. 

In One Tidepool: Crabs, Snails and Salty Tails by Anthony D. Fredericks is about a girl finding a tide pool and discovering all the creatures that live there. 

Coral Reefs by Jason Chin shares about coral reefs in a fun way. As a girl reads a book from the library about coral reefs, the world around her turns into a coral reef.

A Coral Reef Tale: Old Shell, New Shell by Helen Ward is about a hermit crab in a coral reef who is looking for just the right new shell. 

In my Picture Book Saturday posts, there will also be a section where I share the children's favorite books from the past week(s).

Tabitha really enjoyed The Emu That Laid the Golden Egg and Wombat Goes Walkabout.

Amelia loved Lizzie Nonsense and The Emu That Laid the Golden Egg.

Hannah says she liked The Emu That Laid the Golden Egg and Are We There Yet?.

Harold's favorite books were Wombat Goes Walkabout and The Rescuers Down Under.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you can come back for a visit again soon.