Review: Homeschool in the Woods

When we first moved to Missouri, Schnickelfritz used to say we lived in “the woods,” there were certainly more trees than our old home built in a former cornfield.  So with all due respect to the Home School in the Woods company, we also fit that description.  We just don’t offer wonder lapbooking kits or timeline figures.   This year I’ve been using their Project Passport on the Middle Ages and loving it so there was no way I was turning down the chance to review their Great Empires activity study for elementary students.




The fourteen empires included in the study are:

1. Ancient Egypt—The New Kingdom, Akhenaten & Tutankhamen
2. Ancient Greece—The Archaic Era, the Golden Age, Alexander the Great
3. Ancient Rome—the founding of Rome, The Punic Wars, Julius Caesar
4. Ancient China –The first two dynasties and then jumping forward to communism
5. Arab/Muslim—Mohamed, Islamic invasion of Europe, the Fall of Constantinople
6. Mongolian—Mongol culture, Genghis Khan
7. Viking—European invasions, Erik the Red, Leif Eriksson
8. Spanish—The Reconquista, Ferdinand & Isabella, Phillip II
9. French—Charlemagne, Louis XIV, French Revolution, Napoleon
10. English—Battle of Hastings, War of the Roses, Queen Victoria
11. German—Charlemagne, Protestant Reformation, Third Reich
12. Japanese—Shoguns, Emperors, WWII
13. Russian—Tsars, Revolution, Soviet Union
14. The United States of America—Revolution, Civil War, Cold War

Since we couldn’t get through all the empires, we chose to focus on the ones we’d already been studying from the Middle Ages—Rome, Viking, Mongolian, and Japanese.

The download we received is mostly PDF files (there are images of finished projects for reference). For each empire there is a 2-3 page lesson to read.  They all also have an art/craft project.  You can wee several in the composite picture above: a clay Egyptian cartouche, a Roman fresco panting of a yellow bird,  circullar Viking coins made with cardboard, glue, and spray paint and painted clay pots representing Greek pottery.  We’re not really artsy/craftsy folk so we stuck with the minibooks and map exercises (there’s a teacher’s guide for reference).


Better still are the typical (if not authentic) recipes to try—some empires, like the Vikings did not keep written records so we don’t know exactly how they prepared their food.   The Beef stew was favored by my meat and potato boys, but having been to the Middle East myself and liking Tzatziki sauce I liked the Jalik (cucumber soup).  If you’re curious, the American dishes are Apple Pie and Chili Dogs.



There were no pictures of a finished project—some pages seemed better suited for a notebook (the maps and lesson texts) while others seemed sized for a lapbook (like the Citizens of Impact of the Roman Empire, below)



In the end, there seemed to be more notebook pages than lapbook pieces so we went with that format—gluing the smaller booklets on card stock.



There was a 3-page timeline to get an overview of all the empires.



I ended up trimming the tops of the second and third pages so I could fold it up and only be held in the notebook by the first page (it’s clearer in the picture below)



We certainly enjoyed the activity portion of this activity guide. Our one disappointment was in the lessons themselves—it was just too much like a textbook—a series of dates and names, giving each person and event a sentence or two at most. It didn’t hold my son’s attention, even when he was listening for facts to write in the notebook pages.  It was just too many facts at once for him to keep track of.  By contrast, Our Project Passport from the same vendor went into depth to describe everyday life for a Viking—their work, their homes, their ships, etc.  Since we’ve only used these two studies, I don’t know which format is the norm.  You can follow the link below to other Crew reviews and see what they thought of their products.

Great Empires is available as a download for $18.95 and on CD for $19.95 plus shipping.

 

Technorati Tags: Review,history

2013 FIRST Championship

As the Metrolink train proceeded toward the St. Louis Convention Center, the normal passengers got a sense that this wouldn’t be a typical weekday commute.  It began in the suburbs with a group of 5th grade parochial school students going on a field trip.  The closer we got to downtown we were joined by a group  of kids with pink, metallic streamer wigs, then came the group with the Viking helmets, the robed Jedi, and the ones in the neon green lab coats.  When we got off at the Convention Center station we merged in with the streams of humanity—this group wearing bowling pin hats, another in orange jumpsuits, still others in matching T shirts but draped with flags from around the world.  Clearly they were all teams, some even bringing fully costumed mascots, but who were they and what were they doing here?  I knew and I wasn’t the least surprised by the garb.

 It was the FIRST Championship and Schnickelfritz and I had seen the same kind of hoopla and enthusiasm last year.  What began with 28 teams in a New Hampshire high school gym in 1992 has grown into a worldwide competition with 1000’s of teams.  The two youngest divisions Jr. First Lego League (K-3) and First Lego League (4-8) were each researching senior adults and brainstorming ways to help seniors stay independent, engaged, and connected.   The FLL kids also participate in the Robot Game – building and programming Lego Mindstorm robots that zip around tables flipping switches, dragging objects, even rolling a miniature bowling ball at pins (everything on the table is build with Legos).  We’ve found it’s better to watch these teams practice in the pit area where we can stand close to the table ourselves.



We zipped right through Scholarship row, but the program guide listed over 150  public and private universities offering scholarships to competitors ranging from $500 to $160,000!  The next area were the sponsor/exhibiters.  Last year, this was Fritz’s favorite area controlling the U.S. Army robots.  They weren’t here this year but our new favorite were the 3D writing machines.  Instead of ink, they were fed a plastic filament that melted at the tip and re-hardened to show the path of the pen.



I’m sure they have a great industrial application, but I couldn’t help seeing how beautiful some of the designs were.



The other exhibitor attracting large crowds was Legos, of course!  Want to see what the “must have” toy for Christmas 2013 will be?  They’re coming out with a new Mindstorms robotic set.



Of course, the bulk of the space is devoted to competitor’s pits—part workshop, part party space.  They are usually decorated to match the team name or country of origin.  There is an Olympic Village sort of atmosphere where most have buttons or pins to trade.  Some have games for the public to play (we took a quiz to see how much we knew about the English city of Bath).  You can watch teams calibrate their robots on individual practice courts and team practice fields as well.



This year’s game seems much harder to me.  Instead of throwing foam basketballs which are symmetrical and (I assume) aerodynamically constant,  the robots must fling Frisbees into narrow boxes.  The one in the picture above looks lit up, but that must be some sort of optical tape that the robots visual sensors can detect.    Now your dealing with an object that must be right side up and spinning while in flight.  The second part of the challenge is to make a robot that can climb the pyramid structure.  Schnickelfritz couldn’t take it any longer, we had to go to the competition area in the arena.



Some teams  chose the more difficult but faster route of designing their robots to pick up Frisbees off the ground near the scoring boxes.  Others chose to use humans to load up the robots at “feeding slots” like what I’ve circled in orange above, across the field from their goal (with the arrow).  Of course, some had the best of both worlds and had calibrated their machines to fling Frisbees from the feeding area, sailing the entire length of the court.  The game lasts 2 minutes and 15 seconds and a buzzer sounds with thirty seconds to go so teams can attempt the pyramid climb.  Most teams were content to hang from the bottom rung and collect 10 points.  A few built multi arm systems (two to hang from and two to reach higher) and made it to the very top.



Thursday was the qualification rounds.  Each team compete with two others on an “alliance.”  The highest scoring individual teams than get to pick to others to compete with in the elimination rounds so their were scores of kids around “scouting” potential partners.  So there’s strategy going on along with engineering—do you want to partner with a climbing team or one with good Frisbee aim?   Some teams focused on defense bumping in to other robots and blocking shots with nets.
The arena can get a little raucous with four FRC fields, four FTC fields and eight JLL tables going on at once.  There’s also loud music and beach balls being batted around in the stands.  When we needed a break we could always go back to the basics—a boy and a huge tub of Lego bricks.



If you live in the St. Louis area, there still a chance to attend today or tomorrow—the event is free to the public.  If not this year, be sure to put it on the calendar for next year (Yes they're coming back to St. Louis again April 23-26. 2014!)

Technorati Tags: Field Trip

Pressure Cooked Pot Roast

We had Schnickelfritz's grandparents over for dinner last week.  I let my father choose the menu and he went traditional with Pot Roast and Apple Pie (look for that recipe next week!)  This Perfected Pot Roast recipe comes from Bob Warden's Great Food Fast--I think it's the best in the book.   I have an electric pressure cooker, but you could certainly make this in a stovetop version.

Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

2-3 lb       beef chuck roast
3 T           all-purpose flour
2 T           olive oil
1 1/2 C     beef stock or broth
2 T           balsamic vinegar
1 T           minced garlic
1 t            dried thyme
2              bay leaves
1 t            salt
1/2 t         pepper
6              redskin potatoes, halved
1              yellow onion, cut in wedges
2  C         baby carrots
1 T          cornstarch
2 T          water

Sprinkle the chuck roast with flour.  With the cooker's lid off, heat the oil on HIGH.  Place the floured roast in the cooker and brown on both sides.  Add the broth, vinegar, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper to the cooker.  Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 75 minutes (you may need to add 10 min if your roast is very thick).  Quick release the pressure and add the potatoes, onion, and carrots to the cooker.  Re-pressurize the cooker and cook on high for another 7 min.  Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure.  Transfer the roast and veggies to a serving dish and let it rest under foil while you work on the gravy. Mix cornstarch with water until there are no lumps.  Whisk mixture to the cooker and let it simmer 2 min. on high (without the lid) to thicken.  Pour over meat and veggies.

I'm linking up with Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Review: Progeny Press

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Yo Ho, Mateys!  We’ve been having a pirate adventure the past several weeks thank to Progeny Press and their Treasure Island Study Guide.   While I didn’t mind my son reading this Robert Louis Stevenson classic,  I also didn’t want him to adopt the current world’s view that the pirates are to be celebrated and/or emulated (our local renaissance festival even schedules a separate Pirate Fest in the fall).  Fortunately, Progeny Press’s mission statement is “To teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!” [emphasis added].

The guide, aimed at 5-8 graders,  is available as a printed booklet ($18.99), on CD ($16.99), or an Instant Download ($16.99).  The PDF file I received is 57 pages long and is formatted so the student may type his answers into fields on the form.

The guide begins with a synopsis of the book, a brief biography of the author, and some pre-reading activities (In our anticipation of the review, we’d already begun reading the book when we received the guide).  Most of these activities were researching types of boats and coins mentioned in the book or finding definitions for archaic terms like “hither” and “thither.”   Instead, we just investigated terms as we encountered them while reading. Since this was a review, I chose to read the book with my son and sit with him as he worked in the guide. 

We did opt for the “As-you-read” activity to create a map of the island and note locations and events from the story.  I scanned and enlarged the map from the title page.  We happened to be using the Educator Classic Library edition of Treasure Island that includes many notes and diagrams in the side margins and it included maps so my son didn’t have to “guess” which suits his nature, but your kids may prefer to make an island entirely from their imagination.

 

Fritz’s Map	Map from Educator’s Classic edition

The recommended procedure is for the student to read the book the first week of the study while working on the pre-reading exercises. Beginning the second week, the student will work on one study guide page per day until the chapter sections are completed, referring back to the text as needed. That was a little too much reading for my son to handle.  The guide breaks the book into six sections. Each week, he would read the chapters for a section and then we would work on the corresponding guide material.

Each section begins with exercises for new vocabulary words—finding synonyms, determining meaning from context, etc. Then were a series reading comprehension questions (none of which can be answered with a simple one word response).  We usually ended up discussing these before my son typed anything.  He has trouble determining motives behind behavior so the “why” questions were tougher than the “who” or “what” questions. 

The Thinking About the Story” questions really introduced literary concepts like: foreshadowing, dialect, pace, stereotypes, mood, irony, etc.  I think Schnickelfritz’s favorite exercise involved idioms and imagining if the sayings were literal rather than figurative (like a picture of “Long John’s eyes burned in his head”).

The final Dig Deeper questions led us to Scripture verses and then asks us what these verses could teach us or story characters as the dealt with situations in the book ( e.g. What could Squire Trelawney learn from Proverbs 17:28 and Ecclesiastes 3:1?)

I did not assign any of the essays at the end of the guide.  These involve research on sea shanties, famous pirates, character analysis of Long John Silver, a creative writing  to make Benn Gunn’s diary, and a comparison of Treasure Island to The Coral Island by Ballantyne.  Still, we certainly got more out of this review than just a good pirate adventure.

Review: Knowledge Quest

I confess that growing up I didn’t like history class.  The textbooks seemed like paragraph after paragraph of name, date, name, battle, name, invention, etc., etc. I did my best to keep everything straight for a week or two until test time and then I flushed it all out to make room for the next chapter of information.   Now, thanks to vendors like  Knowledge Quest , I’ve been able to teach my son history with books and stories that “put skin on” the names of historical figures—heck, sometimes they even put blisters and callouses on the skin.   Such is the case with Sacagawea (Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know) Complete PDF e-book .

  
Growing up, my only exposure to Sacagawea was the Schoolhouse Rock cartoon “Elbow Room”  (sing along if you remember…)

They hired Sacagawea to be their guide
She led them all across the countryside

 

If this is the extent of your knowledge too, then you might be surprised to learn she wasn’t hired as a guide.  Her husband was hired to be a translator for the Corp of Discovery and she came along because she was familiar with the Rocky Mountain territory, having been kidnapped from there 4-5 years before.

  The e-Book is available in Kindle format ($4.97) and is targeted to kids ages 10 and up.  There is an interactive feature with certain words and phrases underlined.  When you click on them you are directed to a variety of educational websites with photos and more information on the subject.  This feature may work well on tablets where you can zoom in and out or a regular computer screen, but it wasn’t so great on our Kindle Keyboard .

I started this book as a read aloud with my son, but ended up finishing it on my own.  To be fair, this isn’t the first time we’ve studied the Corp of Discovery.  We learned about them in our Missouri History, we’ve visited the Fort where they prepared for the journey and several of their campsites along the Missouri River.  We make annual trips to Lewis & Clark Days in St. Charles, MO and Hermann, MO to see the re-enactors.   This book was written from the perspective of the one person on the trip he was least interested in….the girl!  On the other hand, this may make the exploration story more appealing to female students.

I wouldn’t just hand them the novel to read on their own though.  Everything we know about Sacagawea comes from the brief mentions in the journals of the exploratory party.  The author has had to fill in the dialogue and details from her imagination.  She hints at a romantic attraction between the young Indian girl and Captain Clark (although there is no written evidence of such).  This creates a love triangle where Charbonneau (Sacagawea's husband) becomes jealous of their relationship.  In perhaps the most disturbing passage he begins to beat her savagely.

Charbonneau slapped me and threw me to the ground. “Man-With-Red-Hair! [Capt. Clark] That’s all you ever talk about.”

He pinned me down and leaned into my face. “France sold this land to these Americans. And now they will take it from you and all your kind. They are your enemies. You understand? Man-With-Red-Hair is your enemy.”
I do not know how long I lay on the ground feeling the blows of my husband. I had been beaten many times by Buffalo Woman.  I was not afraid of being beaten. I learned to go inside myself to a secret place where I could not feel the blows.  Inside myself was courage and strength. I wrapped my emotions around them and held on until the beating  time was over. ..
Once, when Charbonneau thought no one was looking, he hit me so hard I fell to the ground and cried out because I had not seen him coming.
Man-With-Red-Hair grabbed Charbonneau’s fist and stopped it from finding my face. “You will not put your hands on Janey again.”

I’m not denying that Charbonneau hit his wife.  Clark’s own journal states “I checked our interpreter for Strikeing his woman at their Dinner..”   Still, I don’t think it was necessary to expound on this event in a book meant for children.  I certainly wouldn’t let this passage pass without explaining to my daughter that going to a secret inner place is NOT  the way to handle physical abuse.

Cinnamon Blueberry Smoothie

I haven't blogged about it lately, but I'm still making green smoothies for breakfast.   This is the best one so far--but don't judge it by it's color. I've seen this shade of green when changing diapers.  In fact, when we served it to Papa and Schnickelfritz I suggested we turn the lights out before bringing in the glasses.  One taste though and the cinnamon and honey won everyone over.  It comes from 50 Superfoods Green Smoothie Recipes by Rebecca Fallon.

Cinnamon Blueberry Flaxseed Smoothie

2 Cups      beet greens
1               sliced apple (we used Gala)
1/2 Cup    blueberries  (ours were frozen)
1               banana
1/2 t.         cinnamon
1 T            honey
1 T            flaxseed
1 C            cold water


One year I made blueberry spice jam as Christmas gifts so I already knew combining them with cinnamon was a winning combination. 

Review: Supercharged Science

Whenever I gather with other home school moms and we chat about favorite subjects I am always in the minority.  I  favor math and science--both when I was the student and now as a teach my son.  When I taught a hands-on science class at co-op all the other moms were telling me how brave I was to tackle a subject they found intimidating.  From my perspective, the hardest challenge was finding experiment that the kids would find fun but were still packed with learning.  Our latest review product from Supercharged Science may be just the help for everyone concerned.   Their e-Science subscription series offers a plethora of streaming videos with a real rocket scientist explaining concepts for the intimidated set.  For those just looking for fun experiments--there are HUNDREDS!  Seriously, there are about 900 activities, experiments & projects.

The lessons are organized into Units:

1. Mechanics
2. Motion
3. Matter
4. Energy 1 (Levers & Pulleys)
5. Energy 2 (Potential & Kinetic)
6. Sound
7. Astrophysics
8. Chemistry 1 (Molecules, Atoms & Chemical Kinetics)
9. Light
10. Electricity
11. Magnetism
12. Alternative Energy
13. Thermodynamics
14. Electronics
15. Chemistry 2 (Reactions, Bonds, Acids & Bases)
16. Life Science 1 (Living Organisms, Cells, Genetics, Microscopes)
17. Life Science 2 (Prokaryotes, Plants, Protists & Fungi)
18. Biology 1 ( Invertebrates, Fishes, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds & Mammals)
19. Biology 2 (Skin, Bones, Muscles, Cardiovascular)
20. Earth Science--Coming Soon

There are also special "bonus" units on The Scientific Method, Award Winning Science Fair Projects, Mathemagic, and a summer Science e-Camp.  For each unit, you'll find an introductory video and audio clip,  reading materials (you can read on screen or print out the PDF files), a printable lesson plan (with concepts taught, shopping list, answer key), and videos explaining the experiments and how to build them.  I wish I'd had access to this series when I was teaching hands-on science at our co-op.  The Try It project for one lesson was to build a hovercraft using a leaf blower and cutting a board with a jigsaw--way beyond what I was comfortable doing with a dozen kids.  Supercharged Science also has a hovercraft experiment with the same concept but uses a CD and a balloon and a hot glue gun (something I'm much more comfortable with). 

Blowing over paper lowers air pressure, making it rise

You can use the e-Science program as a stand alone program going from unit to unit (think of it as delight-directed--if you kid wants to learn about astrophysics, let him) or you may download PDF files on which units correlate with popular science curricula like Apologia, A Beka and Switched on Schoolhouse.

We had already finished our science book for the year so I let Schnickelfritz pursue whatever suited his fancy, although I made him begin the Scientific Method Project Guidebook.  It was full of puzzles and games to introduce the importance of observation;  how to recognize variables and why we should only change one at a time; and exercises in being clear and concise in our communication of results.  Here's a chance to test your observation skills...what do your read in the picture on the right?   If your student is old enough for Science Fair projects, the Guidebook ends with walking them step by step through a Linear Accelerator experiment complete with report, display board and oral presentation.

A basic Catapult

Fritz is still at an age where I want him to recognize learning can be fun.  So he could watch the videos and choose the experiments he wanted to try.  If he was interested in learning more then we could go back and read the lessons.  I, on the other hand, am absorbing the articles like Keeping a Scientific Journal, and Seven Biggest Mistakes in Teaching Science.

The majority of experiments use objects you probably already have in your home: rubber bands, string, washers, straws, index cards, etc.  We also used a few hand tools and a glue gun.  There are so many experiments in each Unit, you don't need to go buy "specialized science stuff" unless you want to.  These materials might include Neodymium magnets, neon bulbs, and electrical supplies that can be found at Radio Shack (they even supply the RS part numbers).



The monthly subscription to Supercharged Science is $37/month for K-8 material. To add the high school material (in addition to K-8) is $57/month.  This is no small sum, but if your kid has a bent for science it's certainly cheaper than a course at the community college.  A new subscriber has access to the first 7 Units (see the list above) and gains access to 2 additional Units each month they continue.  There's a 30 day satisfaction guarantee.  Still not sure?  You can try this FREE Science Activity Manual and Video Collection (normally $30).  

 

 

Review: Salem Ridge Press

This year we've been studying the Middle Ages in history.  While I won't say we use the Unit Study method in our home, I'm always looking for good books that fit our historical studies because it can bring the period so much more to life than a textbook.  My latest find came during our review of Salem Ridge Press.

For Merrie England ($10.95, softcover) is one of five titles by Emma Leslie the vendor refers to as the "Junior Church History series" for ages 8+  (I previously reviewed Soldier Fritz from the same series).  The story's setting is England during the Hundred Years War with France, so it falls towards the end of the Middle Ages.  Two Brothers, Roger and Tom,  set off on differing paths to help England during the war.  Roger runs away to become an archer; Tom, younger and lame, is given the opportunity to learn the art of weaving wool into cloth.  The story focuses more on Tom and his learning to weave, learning to walk, and learning the God desires a personal relationship with him. 

I read this book aloud to my 10 year old son.  He could have read most of it himself --archaic terms are defined at the bottom of the pages and I had no concerns that there would be anything that needed to be edited/sanitized for language, sexuality, etc. Instead as I read, he was having so much fun acting as an archer with his PVC bow & arrow set.  That's not to say he wasn't engaged in the story.  I was constantly interrupted with commentary and questions: "Don't they know how we can pray directly to God and not go through saints?"  "Why do they think Tom is helpless just because he has weak legs?"  "If Tom would just look ahead he could see his brother ahead in the line!"    In the end, he did read the last chapter on his own because I developed laryngitis and he couldn't stand wondering if the brothers would ever meet again.

I feel that Salem Ridge Press choice of labeling these books as "church history" is doing them a great disservice.  Yes, they are written from a Protestant Christian worldview and the characters ofter speak about God, prayer, and the saints, but it is not the main focus of the story.  So if you were truly looking for a book on what has happening in the Church during the Middle Ages, you'd probably be disappointed.  On the other hand, if you're looking for a book to bring the Middle Ages to life,  you might pass this book by thinking its just about the church.  Following Tom's journey), we picked up plenty of new information on life in the Middle Ages.  We learned that towns rang curfew bells when everyone had to return home, stop talking , and put out their fires.  We learned people slept on straw on the floor--even in the castle.  We learned about traveling in large groups for safety from bandits and highwaymen. 

Yesterday I posted that 80 percent of books have been published since 1980 and 80 percent of those would have been better left as trees.  For Merrie England was first published in 1890 and its definitely worth a tree or two.

Where have all the good books gone?

"Eighty percent of all books have been published since 1980.  Eighty percent of those would have been better off left as trees."

This quote appears in Jan Bloom's reading guide (listed below) and has to be at least 10 years old now so the percentages are certainly greater.   Now we have Nooks, Kindles, and other e-readers so maybe we aren't killing as many trees to make paper. Still  it seems whenever I check out the top 100 list on Amazon, I find   mostly quickly churned out romance novels supernatural teenage angst stories.  I once stood in line at a library book sale behind a public school teacher hoping to nab multiple copies of the latest teen "must read" for her class room.  "At least it gets them to read" she sighed.   And in an age of video games and apps on phones maybe she thought that was the best she could do.  I'm not willing to settle though.  It's like feeding a kid a diet of chocolate ice cream and Twinkies, but at least they're eating something.   My Schnickelfritz is required to read as part of our school day.  When I let him pick titles for his own amusement (with my approval) they usually lean toward Hank the Cowdog. However,  I also get to pick titles for him to read: to expose him to different genres, to bring historical settings or characters to life,  etc.  So where do I find the good books...  in other books!  Consider the resources I keep on my shelves.

Who Should We Then Read? Volumes 1 and 2 by Jan Bloom

The Blooms travel the country selling used books at homeschool conferences and curriculum fairs.  Since you may never have the opportunity to walk into her booth and ask "What would you suggest?" she's written it all down for you. Both volumes contain over brief biographies of over 150 authors and lists of their works.  The beginning pages will list authors by reading level and genre

(Adventure, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale/Fantasy, etc).  The end of the book gives titles from famous series link the Landmark Books, Childhood of Famous Americans, and (one of my favorites) Winston Adventure books.  This was the book that introduced us to Walter Brooks and his Freddy the Pig series! We've managed to find most of them in reprinted hardback editions. You'll find familiar names like Charles Dickens, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Beverly Cleary, but also names you should know like the D'Aulaires and their beautifully illustrated biographies and Charles C. Coffin who brings American history to life.  True story:  The first time I attended the Greater St. Louis Book Fair I was so overwhelmed I couldn't get my bearings and find the Children's classics.  I saw a lady sitting on the sideline comparing books she'd picked up in her own copy of Who Should We Then Read? and I knew I could ask her where I should be looking. 

WSWTR? does not include summaries or descriptions of any of the books so if a title looks intriguing you may need to look elsewhere to see what it's about.  I've also found that, sadly, few titles are still available in my local library--they've been discarded to clear the shelves for the latest pulp.  These are great books to take to used book sales, to help you can find treasures from others' trash.

All through the Ages by Christine Miller
There are several great curricula  built on reading "living books":  Sonlight, Beautiful Feet, Veritas Press, etc.  There are also a variety of awards to distinguish quality publications: The Newbery Honor and Pulitzer Prize for example.  All through the Ages has collected all the recommendations from these sources (and more) and organized them Chronologically and geographically.  She's got you covered from Creation, the Ancient Empires, the Middle Ages, the Age of Exploration and Colonization.  Then things focus in on America for Colonial Times, The Revolution,  National Growth, Civil War and the Wild West.  Then we go global again with World Wars I and II and the Modern Era.  For each era you may find Overviews, Specific Events, Biographies, Historical Fiction and Literature from the age arranged by age level (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12).

The Geographic categories may cover a whole continent (like South America), a region (like Eastern Europe) or specific countries (like India and England).  Again, you'll find Specific Events, Biographies, Historical Fiction and Literature for each region by age level.  There are shorter sections with titles based on Science & Math or Art themes and finally the Great Books of Western Civilization. 
The listings are each one line, with Title, Author, two  few words about the subject matter, and a code for the award or curriculum recommending the book.  This is a great book for those who organize their own unit studies or who want to find a real aloud to go with the history study.    When Calico Captive was checked out at our library, I was able to look up an  alternative-- Indian Captive by Lois Lenski (not only suitable, but a Newbery Honor winner!)

Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt
This is perhaps the best known of my "what to read" books along with others in the series (Teen's Heart & Woman's Heart).  The first half goes into depth about what makes a good book and why children should read and be read to.  The second half is filled with recommended book from picture & board books for toddlers through titles for young adults.  The older kids get more attention with chapters for Animal Lovers, Fantasy & Myth, Historical Novels and even poetry.  Usually one work of a author may be described in depth and the others are listed by title only.  This is my go to guide when we're looking for a "just for fun" book to cuddle up and read.

Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson
This book about books  is written by an unabashed Christian and published Apologia, known for its science curriculum but branching out to publish other helpful homeschooling titles.   That should give you a clue to the types of books included here--God honoring if not necessarily Christian in content.  They  could be considered "Living Books" by those with Charlotte Mason tendencies.   You can find: Picture Books, Golden Age Classics, Fairy Tales & Fantasy, History & Biography, and Spiritual Reading for Children.  Each chapter is organized alphabetically by author (the history section is organized by era and then by author).   The title, publication date and recommend reading level of their key works are followed by a one-paragraph synopsis (usually just one or two titles per author).  Occasionally, there may be a caution about bad language or situations that may disturb younger readers.   There may also be a list of some of the author's other titles but with no elaboration.

You may have stumbled onto this "A Good Read" blog cruise looking for just the name of a book to read this summer.  To my way of thinking, that's handing you a fish so you can eat today.  These books will "teach you how to fish" so you can find enough good books to last a lifetime.

You can check out what other Crew members are reading (and probably some specific titles) by clicking here.