Summer Reading List 2020

I’m still working on determining my own personal summer reading list, but I thought I would share with you today some of the books my children are reading this summer in case you still needed some ideas.

summer reading 2020

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This year I decided that both my twelve and fourteen year olds were going to be responsible for reading three ‘classics’ over the summer. I had a fairly broad definition of classics and I let them choose as long as it was one they had not yet read. They, of course, also both have stacks of fun books that they intend to read over the summer. Current favorites include anything about Duck Commander, The Callahan Cousins, Nancy Drew, and anything by Robin Jones Gunn.

Goldtown

My twelve year old daughter has chosen, The Hobbit, The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, and Little House in the Big Woods. She wanted to read the Hobbit so that she could watch the movie with us and her older brother. She has started reading it and we have also started watching the movie so she is getting the experience of both at the same time. This is a good book, but a little dense so I don’t’ recommend it prior to middle school. The movie is rated PG-13 because of the violence so I do not recommend it for younger children. We do not watch many movies with that rating in our family, but felt that the overall plot was worthy of watching with the older children.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a family favorite and my daughter has listened to it on audio but had never actually read the book for herself. I personally think you can never get too much of C. S. Lewis so I was happy to have her choose that as her second book.

Finally, I’m not sure how she managed to get to seventh grade without having read the Little House series, but I think she will fall in love with the series when she reads the first one and I expect she will end up reading the rest. We have the collection of them because my son read them all.

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My fourteen year old is still working out all of his selections but he wanted to start with Moby Dick and Fellowship of the Ring the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He read the Hobbit this year and enjoyed it and is looking forward to getting more of the story. He may also read the Father Brown Mysteries. We have been reading the abridged versions as a family and he really enjoyed them.

He is also reading Debt Free Degree by Anthony Oneal. This is the second summer that we have chosen to each read a book and discuss it together. As he is entering ninth grade this year and making plans for college, I hope that this book will give us some great ideas and strategies for helping him achieve his college goals without student debt.

My six year old and two year old will be enjoying a variety of picture books and audio books as we go through the summer. Some of the current favorites are the Goldtown Beginnings Series and Albert Whitman Boxcar Children readers. We have plenty of picture and simple books on hand, but if anyone has a new favorite to recommend I may pick up one or two special ones for the summer.

If you are looking for ways to help you incorporate reading into your summer, you may want to check out the free summer reading programs from Not Consumed or Pam Barnhill. I will also include links to a few posts to help you incorporate reading into your days.

Please share with me in the comments what you are reading this summer! Also, check out the other Review Crew summer reading lists here.

Reading Posts:

Our Summer of Reading!

5 Days of For the Love of Reading

Creating a Book Club Culture (Read Aloud Family)

Read All the Books: Free and Discounted Online Literature Resources

Library and Educational Services LLC (Review)

You can also check out the books section of my Reviews page.

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When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

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This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale! I have multiple reviews on the blog about different courses we use from them. This is an amazing price for an entire year for your whole family and lots of really neat bonus gifts! Simply click on this link and use code: 19GIFTS

If you are looking for a fun way to encourage reading this summer, check out the FREE summer reading materials from Your Morning Basket with Pam Barnhill. The passport and reading bucket list are a great way to encourage reading!

Homeschool Complete is offering a special 10% off discount to my readers! Just use code: SWAG

Evan-Moor is offering their Daily Fundamentals book FREE right now to help out during this time.

Get a FREE Literature Kit from LitWits using Code 11READ4FUN. We are currently enjoying the Heidi kit but have also previously loved the My Side of the Mountain kit.

IEW is offering some great free resources right now.

FREE Baby Yoda Art Lesson from Nana!

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Page a Day Math (Review)

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

This post contains affiliate links. See below for more information.

My son finished up his kindergarten math book in April and we were both excited and grateful for a break. I didn’t want to start a new curriculum until the fall, but I knew that he needed to have some practice and review to keep everything fresh. Page a Day Math was a perfect fit for being simple, short, and easy to use. We received the PreK Math Starter Kit, Addition and Counting Kit, and Subtraction Starter Kit to review.

I looked over all of them and decided to have my son start with the Addition and Counting Kit. As the name of the company says, you simply do one page a day. These pages are relatively short and only took him five to ten minutes to complete. For the addition, each page started with a new addition fact, and shows that fact as counting, tracing, and copying. Then each page has addition facts for them to practice, starting with several repetitions of the fact of the day and then mixed review of the facts that were previously covered. The numbers are done in a box that has been marked off into a four square grid to help with proper number formation.

One thing I noticed and appreciated about this program is that it is split into manageable chunks. In addition to each day’s work being one page (front and back), the worksheets are split into books that each cover fourteen days. We reviewed this program in a digital format and I could choose to print the whole book or just the pages I needed for each day. However, if you were using it in a physical book format the shorter books may help keep it from feeling overwhelming to a young child and give them a sense of accomplishment by being able to quickly complete a book. There is also a progress tracker which allows them to mark off each book when they have completed it so that they can track their progress through the kit.

There are ten books in the addition kit (not including bonuses), taking you all the way from 0+1 to 10 + 10. The subtraction kit works the same way but goes through subtracting twelve. We have not gotten there yet, but intend to work our way through it once we finish the addition kit. The books feature cute pictures of funny dogs that my son enjoyed.

page a day review

In addition to the books and progress chart, there are a variety of bonuses included in each kit. There are assessment pages that help you check for fluency, flash cards for extra practice, and even handwriting sheets. Some of the handwriting sheets practice print and some cursive.

All in all, I thought this was a great way to keep my son’s math progress for slipping away, without feeling like a burden during the ‘lazy days of summer’. We will continue to use them 3 or 4 days a week throughout the summer to continue to build fluency with his basic facts. I think this program is great for anyone who is looking for a simple way to increase math fact fluency in children. I did not review them, but Page a Day Math also offers multiplication and division kits that various crew members reviewed. I highly encourage you to click on the graphic below and check out the other reviews.

This post contains affiliate or referral links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Hymn Study: Just As I Am

This hymn may be best known from the Billy Graham crusades but it was written in the 1800’s by Charlotte Elliott. Elliott wrote over 150 hymns but this was the first time I recall hearing of her and her story. She was a preacher’s daughter and granddaughter who became ill in her early 30s and was sick and considered ‘invalid’ for the rest of her life.

She became bitter due to the pain and the story goes that she made a rude comment to a preacher (who became a mentor for her) when he was talking with her. After she apologized, he told her that Jesus loved her just as she was. This conversation is what later inspired the now famous hymn.

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Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

This hymn is one that really resonates with me because so often I have heard people talk about needed to ‘get their life together’ so they can go to church or come back to Jesus, but Jesus wants us just where we are. He doesn’t leave us that way, he changes us to be more like him, but he wants us to come just as we are. There are many scriptures that could be used when studying this hymn, but one of my favorites is Mark 2: 17. ^“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.””

As we study this hymn there are some really beautiful versions to enjoy, everything from Alan Jackson’s county sound to Mahalia Jackson’s strong gospel voice. It is a wonderful opportunity to talk with our children about how God can take us where ever we are and bring us back to him.

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If you would like to add some art to your study this month, Nana has this wonderful chalk pastel painting of the Apostle Paul shipwrecked to match this Just as I am hymn. Verse three says, “Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt”. Paul was literally tossed about in his ship, but we can often relate to feeling like life is tossing us about.

I pray you enjoy time with your children studying this hymn this month. I would love for you to share your thoughts on this hymn in the comments.

Hymn Study Resources:

Just As I Am (Lyrics and Music)

Just As I Am ( Alan Jackson)

Just As I Am (Selah)

Just As I Am (acappella)

Just As I Am ( Willie Nelson)

Just As I Am (Mahalia Jackson)

Just As I Am (sang with stringed accompaniment)

Just As I Am (piano instrumental)

Download Your Freebies Below!

Hymn Study Fact Sheet

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Deals and Freebies

Homeschool Complete is offering a special 10% off discount to my readers! Just use code: SWAG

Evan-Moor is offering their Daily Fundamentals book FREE right now to help out during this time.

Get a FREE Literature Kit from LitWits using Code 11READ4FUN. We are currently enjoying the Heidi kit but have also previously loved the My Side of the Mountain kit.

IEW is offering some great free resources right now.

FREE Baby Yoda Art Lesson from Nana!

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Simple Strawberry Turnovers

The Review Crew is sharing summer recipes this week and I decided to share the Strawberry Turnovers that I made last week because they are super simple, tasty, and perfect for this strawberry season.

A friend of mine shared a picture of some she made a couple weeks ago and I decided I wanted to give them a try. She gave me a general idea of how she made them and I decided to try my hand at making my own. It took me a couple weeks because I needed to get fresh strawberries and puff pastry in the house at the same time and with grocery ordering and social distancing, I am limiting my trips. However, I was able to get them added to an order and we went and picked some fresh strawberries last week.

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Strawberry Turnovers

I took half a block of cream cheese and let it come to room temperature, added about a quarter cup of sugar and mixed them together. Then I diced up about one cup of strawberries and added them to cream cheese mixture. I think you could probably sub in peaches, blueberries, or blackberries depending on what was in season.

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Putting it All Together

Next, I laid out the puff pastry (you could make it but easy is the name of the game these days) on my sheet pan and cut it into six squares. Then, put a spoonful of filling in each square and fold it over into a triangle. Press the edges down with a fork and bake using the directions on the back of the puff pastry (it varies a bit depending on the brand). You can also use an egg wash, and a few sprinkles of sugar in the raw, to give them a more brown finish if you would like.

While they bake, mix a quarter cup of powdered sugar with about a tablespoon of milk to make a glaze. You could also use strawberry juice for the glaze if you wanted a pink glaze. Once the turnovers are done drizzle on the glaze and serve. These are good hot or cold, expect your glaze to ‘run’ a little if you pour it on piping hot pastry.

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Strawberry Turnover Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 block cream cheese
1 cup cut up strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 pack puff pastry
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 TB milk

I hope you enjoy this simple treat and encourage you to click on the link below to check out all of the other fun summer recipes!

https://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=297726

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Deals and Freebies!

Tuttle Twins is currently offering a HUGE sale of 75% off their books, workbooks,and audios. This is a great series for teaching about economics and government.

Homeschool Complete is offering a special 10% off discount to my readers! Just use code: SWAG

Evan-Moor is offering their Daily Fundamentals book FREE right now to help out during this time.

Get a FREE Literature Kit from LitWits using Code 11READ4FUN. We are currently enjoying the Heidi kit but have also previously loved the My Side of the Mountain kit.

IEW is offering some great free resources right now.

FREE Baby Yoda Art Lesson from Nana!

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Boredom Busters Round-Up

I know many folks are starting to feel the strain of being at home and are looking for creative ways to keep their children engaged. We have honestly been so busy at home that bored is not a word that comes to mind. We have been spending some extra time getting our school year wrapped up, gardening, riding bikes, and going to zoom meetings.

Most of our extracurricular activities didn’t entirely cancel, they just switched to zoom. I can’t say that I recommend the zoom meetings as a boredom buster but I have found that many of the other activities work great for keeping everyone engaged. I am sharing a few general ideas for keeping boredom at bay and will also include some links to other ‘themed’ posts that have more specific ideas if one of these areas appeals to you.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

Outdoor Time

The recommended amount of time for children to be outside is four to six hours a day. Sometimes this seems a little unachievable with everything else that is going on but during the slower summer months you may be able to get some extra time outside. You may be wondering, what would they do outside for three to four hours a day? There are many options depending on the ages of your children and your location.

My children love to ride their bicycles and scooters, color with sidewalk chalk, play ball, and work with their animals and garden. Gardens have the double benefit of providing science lessons and food for our family in addition to the outside time. In the past we have also enjoyed sprinklers and kiddie pools. As my children were getting older, we decided to get a larger pool this year and they plan to spend many summer days swimming.

Homestead Homeschool: Gardening

Our Summer Bucket

Take a Child Outside Week!

Our Hiking Adventures

Books

When the weather is poor or during the heat of the day you may not want to be outside. That is a great time for reading (though we also take our books outside for reading when the weather is nice.) You can read aloud to younger children or have older children read independently. I have also found that audiobooks are a great choice for younger children that cannot read fluently, or struggling readers.

For audiobooks there are three resources that have been very beneficial to our family. First, we love audible! I can purchase the books with credits or at a discount throughout the month (always use your credits on the more expensive books and pay directly for the cheaper ones for the best deals), then we can listen as a family or I can send them directly to my children’s kindle libraries so they can listen on their own time.

Focus on the Family has some wonderful free streaming options. Their radio theater productions are some of our very favorite audio dramas. We also enjoy Adventures in Odyssey and the Pond.

Finally, while our family does not normally take advantage of our local library, my six-year-old has been loving listening to the Boxcar Children on audio using overdrive and his library card.

Read All the Books: Free and Discounted Online Literature Resources

Our Summer of Reading!

5 Days of For the Love of Reading

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Hobbies

Finally, I think hobbies are great ways for children (and adults) to increase knowledge and skills while keeping themselves engaged. For our children they spend an hour or more most days practicing their music lessons. There are many resources to help them get started with music.

We also enjoy a variety of crafts, from coloring and painting to weaving and sewing projects. These can be lots of fun for a variety of ages. You can start with basic art supplies and their imaginations, use online art lessons, or purchase fun kits to put together. There are also a variety of online resources to teach most any craft your child would like to pursue.

Finally, there are many other hobbies from coin collecting to square dancing. With the internet at our fingertips we can help our children research and get started on a new hobby that will keep them interested and engaged.

Adding Fun to Your Homeschool: Incorporating Hobbies

Adding Music To Your Homeschool (When You Aren’t A Musical Mom)

Keeping Children Engaged and Active During COVID 19

Exploring Hobbies on a Time and Money Budget

I hope these ideas will help you through the rest of these days at home and through the summer. If all else fails, you can always offer chores and a remedy for boredom. You would be amazed at how quickly boredom disappears when dishes are the antidote. I would love to have you share your favorite boredom busters in the comments and you can check out ideas from other Review Crew members here.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

Tuttle Twins is currently offering a HUGE sale of 75% off their books, workbooks,and audios. This is a great series for teaching about economics and government.

Homeschool Complete is offering a special 10% off discount to my readers! Just use code: SWAG

Evan-Moor is offering their Daily Fundamentals book FREE right now to help out during this time.

Get a FREE Literature Kit from LitWits using Code 11READ4FUN. We are currently enjoying the Heidi kit but have also previously loved the My Side of the Mountain kit.

IEW is offering some great free resources right now.

FREE Baby Yoda Art Lesson from Nana!

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

No-nonsense Algebra (Review)

Normally, when I agree to review a product, I am not really sure what to expect or what I am getting, but this review was a little different. My oldest son was already working through No-Nonsense Algebra by Math Essentials and I was excited to get the newest edition for my daughter to use.

$No-Nonsense Math Pinterest$

If I am being completely honest, I NEVER liked algebra. Not when I took it in eighth grade, not when I took Algebra II in high school, not when I helped tutor it later. I just never found it to be easy and I was not looking forward to teaching it in our homeschool. I would much rather sit and read aloud or do a science experiment. However, I know that algebra is an important part of my children’s education so I set out to find a curriculum that would help me through this process as painlessly as possible.

My son is very bright but struggles with the attention to detail needed for upper level math. He does not like a lot of frills and wanted a basic laid out approach. I needed something that could help teach him the concepts each day. No-Nonsense Algebra is a text book that provides written instruction and a short video tutorial (typically about 3-5 minutes) for each lesson. Then there are 12 to 18 problems for the student to complete related to that lesson and four review problems covering concepts from previous lessons. This provided enough practice and review to ensure understanding of the concepts without feeling like there was a lot of ‘busy work’. Often in math curriculums I see every practice problem similarly worked in an example. With Non-Nonsense Algebra the practice problems tended to be of increasing complexity, forcing the learner to ‘take the next step’ in solving the problem.

One issue we had with the older edition were occasional mistakes in the answer key (which is located in the back of the book). These simple mistakes were causing us a lot of problems, because I was not working out the problems and thus would not realize that it was wrong until he had tried it again several times and my husband would work it out later. However, when we received the 2nd edition, I was pleased to find out that those mistakes had been corrected. There are also some extra chapter quizzes included in the 2nd Edition to help with review and retention.

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No-Nonsense Algebra did not make my son fall in love with algebra. He would have still rather letters have never been included with math. However, he did like the way it was laid out and I feel like it was an effective program for him. Many days, especially once he started following the directions and writing down the practice problems with the video lessons, he was able to work through the lessons independently and understand the concepts. Other days, my husband would sit down and help him with the concepts that challenged him. The video lessons were still beneficial for those lessons because it gave my husband a quick review of concepts he hadn’t seen since middle school.

I think this program is great for student that wants to work independently and has a fairly good grasp of basic math concepts. A student that doesn’t need lots of extra practice and instruction can do very well with this program. It is also beneficial for parents who need a quick review. If you have a student that really struggles with math, enjoys long(er) lessons, or needs lots of detailed explanations, this might not be the best fit.

Be sure to check out No-Nonsense Algebra over at the Math Essentials website to get more information. Don’t forget to click on the graphic below to check out the reviews from other Review Crew members who reviewed this program and some of the other math products from Math Essentials.

Beyond the Stick Figure Art School (Review)

When the opportunity to review Beyond the Stick Figure Complete Drawing Course PLUS 3 Bonus Courses by Beyond the Stick Figure Art School came available, I decided to show my daughter to see if she was interested. We watched the sample video and she was very excited to give it a try.

This program included a three-part drawing course, a pen and ink course, acrylic course, watercolor course, and a 3D design course. Over the last month or so my daughter worked through the first level of the drawing course. This consisted of 15 short video lessons (about five minutes each). While it is designed to be done one lesson a day, we decided it fit best into our schedule to do art 2-3 days per week and do several lessons each day.

beyond the stick figure

The program starts with the very basics of understanding lines, dots, and circles. One thing that seemed insignificant but proved to be really helpful, was that the instructor had the students cut their papers into small sheets. This made the assignments less overwhelming because you had a smaller space to fill. To complete these lessons, we needed a nice set of markers that had both narrow and wider tips and paper.

beyond the stick figure

When I asked my daughter what she thought, she shared, ” All in all, I like the program. She went through each video quickly and it was easy to understand. However, it did take a lot of videos to get to where it felt like we were really drawing.” She felt like it would be a good program for people that are interested in learning to draw but do not have much of a drawing background and recommended it for ages 8 and up. She also mentioned that she was disappointed that she never got to draw something like what was in the sample video, however, she plans to continue the lessons over the summer to see what else she can learn.

We took some time to look through the rest of the drawing program and take a look at the pen and ink course. She is excited to give that course a try and likes the fact that it takes fewer days to have what she felt like was more of a ‘finished product’ than the geometric designs she did in the drawing course.

beyond the stick figure 2

As a parent, I loved that the lessons were done via video (art is not my strong suit) and they were short and simple. The fact that it started with the very basics and went step by step meant that we didn’t feel left behind or like it was too complicated. However, I do think it might be a bit too simple and broken down for some students. I am excited to try more of her other courses including the 3D design; however, I dislike that I have to mark each of the lessons in the other courses complete before I can move to that course. Once you have marked them complete you can still go back and view them but you cannot move onto the next lesson or course until each one has been marked complete.

If you are looking for a step by step drawing program that is very easy to implement and does not require a lot of parent involvement you might enjoy this program. If your child does well learning one step at a time in small chunks this might be a good fit, however, if you have a child that will be frustrated to not jump right into a big art project this might not be the program for you.

Be sure to check out Beyond the Stick Figure Art School to get more information about Beyond the Stick Figure Complete Drawing Course PLUS 3 Bonus Courses. Don’t forget to click on the graphic below to check out the reviews from other Review Crew members who reviewed this program and see what their artists created. Some of those reviewers also focused on other parts of this course.

Fermentools Starter Kit (Review)

Most of the time when you see a review here on the blog it is for homeschool curriculum or books, but I have a real treat for you today. I had the privilege of trying my hand at fermenting using the Starter Kit from Fermentools. This great little company is run by another homeschool family and offered wonderful customer support and service.

Through no fault of the company, the timing for getting the Starter Kit was not ideal. It arrived shortly after our state was put on social distancing restrictions and when grocery stores were still a little short on fresh produce. This limited my options for our first trial, but thankfully my son had some cabbage in the garden ready to be picked. The kit included an air lock system, a stainless steel lid, pink salt, a glass weight, 2 rubber stoppers, and instructions for using the kit as well as making sauerkraut (other recipes are located on their website).

In my excitement to get started, I used the wrong attachment in my food processor. That head of cabbage turned into finely chopped pieces instead of nice pretty strips. I was concerned that this would not work correctly, but since it was all I had, and I wouldn’t be getting groceries again for another week, I decided to give it a try. Following the directions that came with the kit, I put my shredded cabbage into a bowl. Then I added the salt that came with the kit and mashed it until it was soft and I had gotten some of the liquid out of the leaves.

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Next, I put the cabbage into a jar and because I did not have enough liquid, I added a brine to finish covering the cabbage. The next step should have been to place a glass weight on top of the cabbage to keep it under the brine. However, because I had shredded the cabbage so finely it actually sank down into it. Then I set up the air-lock and put the jar into the cabinet (to keep it out of the sun), to wait and see what happened. I had to keep a watch on it through the week to make sure it stayed submerged because of the weight not working properly but at the end of the time, I had some salty but tasty kraut! Perfect for serving alongside grilled bratwurst and some of my husband’s German potato salad.

I let the first batch ferment about two weeks, and by the time that batch was done I was able to purchase more cabbage at the store. This time I remembered to use the right attachment and the weight set perfectly atop my cabbage and kept it below the brine. Also, because I had shredded it correctly it made enough of its own brine and I did not have to add any more.

Now that fresh vegetables are becoming more plentiful at local farms and in the grocery store, I am looking forward to trying other fermented vegetables and fruits. It is strawberry season here and they even have a recipe for fermented strawberry preserves. I think this will be a fun way to add in new recipes and store some of our garden produce, in addition to the health benefits of fermented foods.

Be sure to check out the Starter Kit from Fermentools to get more information or to purchase your own kit. Don’t forget to click on the graphic below to check out the reviews from other Review Crew members who reviewed this kit and see how they used it with their families and what recipes they tried!

Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwritng by Everyday Education, LLC (Review)

perfect reading cover

Last year, I really enjoyed an opportunity to review Transcripts Made Easy by Everyday Education, LLC and so I was excited to get the opportunity to review another one of their wonderful products. I received the Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook for review. This book contains both phonics and writing, but we used it mainly for writing. The author asserts that students could learn to read and write in as few as 60 days using this book, though she does explain that some students will need longer.

The most obvious use of Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook is with lower elementary students that are learning to read and write. However, I chose to try it out with my eighth-grade son, who needed some work on his handwriting. We had done handwriting in the past, but somehow his writing seemed to be getting messier as he got older and I wanted to make sure that he had the practice he needed to write legibly. I felt like the beautiful italic style of handwriting was great practice for him and that he showed improvement in his everyday handwriting after consistent practice.

perfect reading combo

In addition to having my son use the handwriting portion, I spent some time looking over the reading portion of the book. It is an older style phonics program that is set up very basically. First, students learn their letters and sounds. Then students learn short vowels sounds, consonant blends, and so forth getting into gradually more difficult phonics. For the short vowel sounds there are pages of words for each sound for the student to sound out and a story using those words that the students can both sound out and copy for handwriting practice.

perfect reading

I loved that the program was very simple to use. Since it was an ebook, I simply printed out the pages that we wanted to use. The first few pages of the chapter showed him what to do and then he was able to do a page a day independently. I think that even a younger child could work on the handwriting portion without much assistance. The reading would require more parental assistance (as does most any reading program) but is still very open and go without a lot of parental preparation.

Parents who are fairly confident in teaching phonics and want a simple, open and go program may really enjoy Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook . However, if you are looking for a program with lots of explicit directions and step by step scripts this is not the program for you. There were suggested schedules and teaching tips, but it was not a scripted program.

Be sure to check out Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook at Everyday Education, LLC to get more information or to purchase the book. You can also check out my review of their Transcripts Made Easy book from last year. Don’t forget to click on the graphic below to check out the reviews from other Review Crew members who reviewed this book and see how they used it with their families.

‘Stay at Home’ Mother’s Day Ideas

For many folks, Mother’s Day comes with a variety of traditions. It might be that you go to church that morning and then out for a nice lunch. Some people like to go visit the grandparents on Mother’s Day, or maybe there is another local event that you like to attend.

My mom, daughter, and I have attended a local tea party for Mother’s Day several years and we have also attended a Mother-Daughter banquet on other years. This year might have to look a little different, but there are lots of ideas that can make the day special while still following governmental restrictions.

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stay at Home Mother's Day

Restaurant Delivery or Pick-Up

So, some folks have more options for this than others, but lots of restaurants are still offering delivery or pick-up. For our family, prior to this situation, only one pizza place would deliver to our house. Now, I can order pizza, Panera, and even Outback delivered to my house. Not to mention that many of our wonderful local places are offering curb side pickup. This is a great way to keep mom out of the kitchen on Mother’s Day.

Family Picnic

Sometimes it is hard to really relax in our homes where we see all of the work and chores on our list. Getting outside for a family picnic can help mom relax and enjoy some fresh air. This might be in your own back yard, or if your local guidelines allow it, you could venture out to a park or the beach. As a bonus, picnic tend to not make the kitchen as messy so there is less to clean up.

Family Zoom Call

Many mothers will be missing that family time with their own mothers or grandmothers this year. One fun way to encourage that connection, even at a distance, is to schedule a family zoom call. You can get a free zoom account and set up a time for everyone to hop on and see each other while you chat. It isn’t the same as in person, but it can be a great option during these times.

Date Night on the Porch (or back yard)

Normally, I am all about spending Mother’s Day with those loud but adorable people that made me a mom. However, this year I am really missing time alone with my husband. We appreciate all the time we get to spend together as a family, but I would love a date night with my husband.

I suggested to him that we might could have a front porch date, where the kids stayed inside and ate (I have teens that can watch the younger children) while we enjoyed a quiet dinner for two on the front porch. If your children are all too young to be left unattended for dinner, you might wait until they are in bed and enjoy dessert on the porch or in your back yard. Some quality time alone can be really beneficial to your marriage.

Family Hike or Strawberry Picking

I know this one will vary a great deal from State to State, but in our state, strawberries are ripe, and the farms are all open for picking. This could be a fun safe outing to get the whole family involved. Our local trails and parks (not playgrounds) are also all open and getting outside with a bit of different scenery can be a great way to make some fun Mother’s Day memories.

A Few Easy Gift Ideas (that can be ordered online or provided with things you have on hand.)

If you need to purchase a gift for a mom in your life, or if you need to send a few ideas to your husband, I came up with a few things that can be ordered online (or given without purchasing anything).

A book AND time to read ( I have lots of books, but I always love more, and the time to read uninterrupted would be such a wonderful gift.)
Fit2B (Fit2B is offering a 30% off sale( see below for code), and this wonderful at-home fitness program is a great gift for a mother that is looking to get into shape or might be missing her regular gym.)
A Hot Relaxing Bath (This is a great gift because all it really requires is time and hot water. I know I’m not the only one that loves the luxury of soaking in a hot bath with quiet music or a good book.)
Breakfast in Bed (With a two-year-old that is up with the sun, sleeping in is a luxury that I don’t often enjoy. How nice it would be to have someone else watch him and fix breakfast on this special day.)

I hope that you have a wonderful Mother’s Day. I would love to hear your ideas in the comments, and you can check out other great Mother’s Day posts by members of the Homeschool Review Crew.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

Fit2B Fitness is offering 30% off their already great prices from May 1-May 12. Just click on this link and use code: Mothersday30off

Homeschool Complete is offering a special 10% off discount to my readers! Just use code: SWAG

Evan-Moor is offering their Daily Fundamentals book FREE right now to help out during this time.

Get a FREE Literature Kit from LitWits using Code 11READ4FUN. We are currently enjoying the Heidi kit but have also previously loved the My Side of the Mountain kit.

IEW is offering some great free resources right now.

FREE Baby Yoda Art Lesson from Nana!

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)