Read Aloud Family Chapter 7: Debunking 5 Myths

Years ago when I first started homeschooling, I had visions of us all sitting curled up on the couch with me reading. The children would be sitting quietly with their full attention tuned to what I was reading. Sound familiar? That vision was never our reality. Thankfully it did not take me long to figure out that my son was not going to sit quietly and contentedly for me to read. However, if I gave him something to occupy his hands, we could still enjoy many great books together.

This is what myth four in chapter 7 of the Read Aloud Family(aff) is all about. ”My kids should be sitting still while I read aloud to them.” For many children sitting still will actually make it harder for them to focus on what you are reading. By providing something for their hands (and sometimes bodies) to do their brains can more easily focus on the story. My daughter enjoys coloring, crafting and my oldest son tends to build with Legos or sketch in his notebook. My four year old will color, build with blocks, or play in a sensory bin. He even tends to wander around the room if I’m reading a chapter book but as long as he isn’t disruptive we let him go. He will sit with me to read picture books with him and we talk about the pictures and the story.

Another myth that hits close to home is myth number two, “It only counts as reading aloud if you do the reading yourself.” We love to listen to audio books while we ride. I can’t read aloud in the car because I get car sick but a good story makes the miles go by quicker (and more peacefully). Sometimes this feels a bit like ‘cheating’ since I’m not actually doing the reading but the children are still getting the benefits of a read aloud. We have listened to many stories as a family while driving. In addition to the benefits of the read aloud (vocabulary, story, etc), it makes long drives so much more pleasant. I’m sure we aren’t the only family who struggles with unrest during long car rides. The children tend to ride more contentedly with less arguing when there is a story being told.

While all 5 myths are important, the one that I needed to hear most and that I’m still working on remembering is, “light books don’t count.” Light books most certainly count and can have a great many benefits. There are so many classics that I want my children to know, it can be hard to remember that it really can be beneficial to read light and fun books together as a family. Like many things in life, there is a time and place for classics and a time and place for light and fun books. We recently read Mr. Lemoncellos’s Library. The children, and myself, laughed through most of the book. It was fun to just enjoy a funny story together.

Remember it doesn’t have to look like the picture in your mind, be an extended process (even ten minutes of reading is beneficial), be a classic book, or even be you doing the reading for your family to get the benefits of reading aloud. Don’t wait for the perfect time or even the perfect book. Grab a book from your shelf and get started today! Which myth most resonated with your family?

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Deals and Freebies!

FREE: Check out this great new FREE resource for classical and Charlotte Mason education! Classical Christian Education & Charlotte Mason. Great for folks already homeschooling or if you have friends that are looking into it!

FREE Poetry Pack from Write Shop! 20 Printable Activities and Worksheets, including: Practice exercises, brainstorming worksheets, poem planning worksheets, word banks, and colorful lined writing pages

You Are An Artist is having a 25% off sale this week on several of their programs including American Landmarks, Sharks, Backyard Nature Study, Seashores and more. There are some great free lessons you can try to see if this program is a good fit for your kids.

If you are looking for a reasonably priced homeschool curriculum to get you going next year then this is a great deal! We use it for my preschooler as well as select courses for my middle schooler. The price is for all the classes for all of the children in your home and this is a great 3 day sale! By Fall they will have over 400 courses all included for that same price! https://schoolhouseteachers.com/dap/a/?a=59468 (ref)

Our Summer of Reading!

My ‘big goal’, this summer, is to have a summer full of reading for the whole family!

I’ve been leading a book study on, The Read Aloud Family (aff) and I was very much convicted that I needed to get back to spending more time reading both aloud to my children and on my own. I have loved reading since I was a small child but as an adult I found that the busyness of life and the ready availability of technology made it easy to put my reading aside.

At the beginning of the year, I made a goal of reading 12 books during my personal reading time and I’m well on my way to achieving that goal.I am working hard to put the phone/computer away earlier at night and settle in with a chapter or two in a good book. I also am trying to go back to reading being my default activity if I have to wait somewhere instead of scrolling through my social media.

In addition to my personal reading, I really want to make sure that I’m prioritizing reading aloud to my children. Reading aloud to the little ones comes naturally and easily most days. The picture books take only a few minutes to read and the four year old is always reminding me ( some would say begging me) to read.

Reading aloud to my older children (12 and 10) has been far more apt to get pushed to the side. I always planned to read aloud to them at the end of the night just before bed. It seemed like such a great way to wrap up the day. However, the reality of our life is that the end of the day almost never worked out like I wanted it to. The little ones were tired and cranky, I was exhausted many nights, and clean up and showers always took longer than we planned.

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So what is a mom to do? I decided to switch things up and try reading at other times. Sometimes I’m reading in the mornings and sometimes I’ve been reading in the late afternoon while we sit on the front porch. I keep the book handy and I try to make reading aloud my default whenever we have a few extra minutes. I’m still a work in progress, but I am definitely seeing an increase in our read aloud times.

We are also working as a family to make reading a fun and enjoyable part of the summer. The older children both have comfy spots in their rooms to read as well as hammocks that they can hang outside if they want to read outside. We make sure that their shelves are well stocked with lots of books that interest them so that picking a new one is fun and easy.

To help hold me accountable and encourage others to join me on this journey I’ve been posting pictures of the books we are reading and the children reading in various places on my Instagram. I’d love to have you join us! Share a picture of your current book or your favorite reading spot. Join me in making this the summer of reading and making memories with our children. If you are looking for more help with incorporating reading into your home check out our 5 Days for the Love of Reading Series.

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Friday Deals and Freebies!

Starting tomorrow (Saturday) You Are An Artist is having a 25% off sale on several of their programs including American Landmarks, Sharks, Backyard Nature Study, Seashores and more. There are some great free lessons you can try to see if this program is a good fit for your kids.

The Master and His Apprentices (Art History) Review

I am excited to share with you my family’s new favorite art history resource. The Master and His Apprentices: Art History from a Christian Perspective is a full art history course that would satisfy requirements for a high school elective credit if it was completed as written. However, my children are in middle and elementary school and so we took a different route for this review and used it as a supplement. We love incorporating a bit of art into our history studies. The layout of this program makes that so simple.

Honestly, art history is not a strong subject for me. It was not something that was covered much at all during my educational experience (I did get a little in a fine arts course in college). This can sometimes make it difficult to include in my children’s studies without doing a lot of research and work. I love that this art history book by The Master and His Apprentices made it so easy for me to find what I needed. the chronological layout makes it a perfect fit for using it to supplement our history program.

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The textbook starts all the way back at creation and shares about God as the master artist and his creations. Then it moves into art in ancient cultures and moves forward chronologically through modern times.

As we have been studying more modern history we skipped towards the end of the book and focused on chapter 18, Rococo to Today. I would read the information aloud and then show the children the art work on our television screen (hooked to our computer). We then talked through some of the discussion questions and just a general conversation about the art work. Since we were not using it as a high school course but rather a supplement we did not complete the exams or suggested papers.

Important Highlights From the Website

Written from a Christian perspective

Contain NO nudity or other objectionable material

Satisfies requirements for a full high school elective credit

Helps readers create a “visual” timeline of biblical and world events

I was really pleased to have a resource that had so much wonderful art from so many different cultures and time periods. That was made even better by not having to be concerned about whether the art work was appropriate for the children. This was truly the first resource I’ve ever found that was so comprehensive in the coverage of art work while not including any nudity or other inappropriate material.

The pictures were beautiful and included such a variety of art work. I loved that in addition to paintings, sculptures, and other traditional art they included lots of architecture and other pieces that were created as more than just artistic works.

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In the fall, we will be studying ancient history and I’m so excited to be able to use this to tie art into our studies. In addition to be separated chronologically they have it separated by culture. This means that when we read about Ancient Egypt, I can show them art work from Ancient Egypt, and the same for Greece, Rome, etc. I think it will be so powerful to be able to show them examples of canopic jars when we talk about mummies, statues and mosaics from ancient Greece, and Roman Architecture. I really enjoyed how they tied in Biblical events and references throughout the book.

The textbook includes several resources that really added to the ability to use this book as a supplemental resource. There was a great breakdown of art work from various geographic regions. This would be a great way to study art from one area over the course of time. Then they had a lengthy index that would make finding information or art very easy. There was also a section explaining various art terms. There was so much history included in this art history book that it could probably function as a complete world history course with a little bit of supplementation.

The teachers manual included a sample syllabus that could be used to make it a full high school class. The syllabus and included worksheets and exams would make it a very easy to implement class, even for those people like myself that do not have a strong art background. They have separate instructions for using this in a classroom (or co-op) setting and at home, answer keys for the worksheets and exams, and art history paper instructions.

I am looking forward to using The Master and His Apprentices: Art History from a Christian Perspective to supplement our history studies for the next several years and possibly using it as a full course for my children once they reach high school. The worksheets in the teachers guide are considered consumable and for use by only one child. However, they only charge an additional $2 for each additional child making this a great resource to use with multiple children. While the hardback version of this book would be out of our price range (through probably a reasonable price given the number of full color pictures) the digital version is very reasonably priced, especially for a resource that I can use for years to come.

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How We Celebrate Independence Day!

“It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews [shows], Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations [fireworks] from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” John Adams

The 4th of July, or Independence Day, is a fun-filled and educational holiday in our home. On or around the 4th of July, we are blessed to be able to celebrate with family and friends (some of whom live in other states and only come to visit once a year).

We enjoy a great local festival and parade, lots of good food, some lazy time on the river, and hours spent catching up with old friends. However, we also want to make sure that our children understand the significance of this holiday.

Learning Through Teaching History

Our local historical site and the first permanent capitol of North Carolina, Tryon Palace, offers a day full of fun and education on the ‘Glorious Fourth’. As volunteers with Tryon Palace, we will spend a portion of our day assisting in teaching others about the history and significance of July 4th.

My husband is involved with their Continental Line unit, and my children will demonstrate how to load and fire a cannon (using a child-sized model), play colonial games, and answer questions about colonial and revolutionary times from a child’s perspective.

They also get to hear a great recitation of the Deceleration of Independence and talk with other historical interpreters as they revisit that day in history. For our family, this is the perfect balance of fun and education. Many towns and historical sites have fun Independence Day activities, and I encourage you to try to find one near you.

In addition to an educational program, there are many fun activities you can do leading up to Independence Day. I’ve included some resources below that can get you started on a great study of the history behind this celebration and some fun, hands-on art activities. We would love to hear how you celebrate July 4th.

Independence Day Resources

(May include Affiliate Links)

Liberty’s Kids DVD

American Landmarks Art Course (including the Washington Monument with Fireworks!)

7 Layer Flag Dip (my daughter is making this one for us this year)

What is the Declaration of Independence

The Fourth of July Story

Independence National Historical Park (some great online resources for those that can’t visit)

Fourth of July Scavenger Hunt

How Fireworks Get Their Color

Videos and Activities on Declaration of Independence

Fireworks with a Fork (I’m so excited to try this one with the 4 year old)

Declaration of Independence Worksheet

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Deals and Freebies

Schoolhouse Teachers is also offering a great sale!

Journey Homeschool Academy is offering 40% off their printed products this week!

Tuttle Twins American History Books are on sale in honor of Independence Day.

Homeschool Complete (Review) is offering my readers a 5% discount with code SWAG.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Silverdale Press LLC White House Holidays Unit Studies Review

20180618_112600 — Voting Rights Posters! (yes I saw the typo 😉 )

When I signed up to review the White House Holidays Unit Studies by Silverdale Press LLC my plan had been to incorporate parts of several of the studies into our existing history program. I figured that I could condense them down and work through several applicable ones.

However, while I personally looked over several of them, we only did one complete one as a family. Not because we didn’t enjoy them but because I felt like they were so good that we didn’t want to skip around and miss out on valuable content. I wanted to take the time to review the entire unit study and let it sink in.

How Did The Unit Studies Work?

These unit studies are broken down by holiday, but I made my choice based on the fact that we were studying the civil rights movement as a key part of our history last month. I had planned to use several resources and supplement them with parts of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Study. When we received the unit studies, I realized that I would not need to supplement our studies with anything other than our family discussions.

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In our home, we typically do history studies twice a week. As civil rights was only one component of the era we were studying, we decided to devote one day each week to the unit study and complete our studies of the other events of that time period on the second day.

While this was a Martin Luther King Jr. unit study, it also talked about other people involved in the civil rights movement. The name White House Holidays Unit Studies also focused on how Martin Luther King Jr. interacted and worked with the men who were president during his time as a civil rights activist.

How We Used the Study

Each week I would read one of the lessons aloud to my children. This would inevitably bring about family discussions about this very difficult time in our nation’s history. Once I had read and discussed any questions the children had, we would complete the various activities that were included for that week.

A timeline continued throughout the study and each week that would add the events that had been discussed to the timeline. There was also a map where they could mark the various cities where the event occurred. There was a printable map included at the end of the study, which is sufficient, but after a couple of weeks, my children decided that it was more fun to find them on our big wall map.

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Activities for All Ages

In addition to the timeline and maps each week, there were various activities broken up by age. Some activities are for grades K-6, and some for 7-12. I went through each week and chose the best fit for our family. The children’s favorite activity, and possibly one of the most eye-opening activities, was completing a quiz that was used as a barrier to keep blacks from registering to vote. They were surprised at how difficult the quiz was and how unimportant and random many of the questions were. Honestly, I was surprised. By most standards, I am a very educated voter, and there were questions on that test that I could not answer.

Other activities included listening to freedom songs, making protest posters, analyzing speeches, and participating in a service project. There were craft activities for those children that learn well in that modality, writing activities that could easily count towards your language arts program, and other relevant and engaging activities.

Videos

Each lesson also included links to various video clips. We watched a couple each week to help the children better understand what we had read and discussed that week. My son was particularly enthralled with one of the clips, which featured the President on the phone with Martin Luther King Jr. We had just recently traveled to the Eisenhower National Historic Site as we studied through that era in history. So my children were very excited to make the connections of the Civil Rights movement with President Eisenhower.

Other Studies

In addition to the Martin Luther King Jr. study, they have studies for Labor Day, Valentine’s Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and one coming soon about George Washington. These studies could be done as your curriculum for a week leading up to the holiday or spread out over a month as we did. You could pick and choose a few of the activities or go all in and complete all of the options. We chose to use a study that correlated with our history studies that were in progress, but they could easily stand alone. They can be done around the holiday, but this one also worked fine for a different time of year. I look forward to doing the Labor Day study in September as we start our new school year.

Which White House Holidays Unit Study sounds most interesting to you? Please let me know in the comments, and use the link below to check out reviews of other studies by our wonderful Crew!

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Creating a Book Club Culture (Read Aloud Family)

“Home is the only place where our children have a fighting chance of falling in love with books. “

When our children are small, it is so easy to read to them for their enjoyment. We sit down and we read picture books with them and point out all of the animals or trains. Sometimes reading the same books over and over again at their request. I loved watching their eyes light up when they brought me a book to read.

As children get older and start formal schooling (be that at home or in a public/private school building) reading tends to become less about pleasure and more about work. It is so easy during this time for children to lose that love of books. Don’t get me wrong it is important that children learn to read and I think it’s ok to sometimes specify what book they need to read. However, I think and this chapter affirms that it is so important that they be able to just sit back and relax with fun books that they choose.

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Sometimes it is easy to fall into the mindset that they need to be focusing their time on challenging books or nonfiction books that correlate with our studies. There is nothing wrong with those types of books but we don’t need to forget that they need the chance to read what they enjoy if we truly want them to love reading. For my daughter that meant sticking with shorter chapter books long after I thought she should be reading more challenging material. For my son, that means reading the Little House on the Prairie series more times than I care to count. At times it was frustrating but now they both love reading.

I told the ladies in my book study that this might be my favorite chapter because it combined brownies with books! I love how she talks about making those memories and making books fun. Howe much fun is it to sit around the table with tea and cookies while reading or to curl up on the couch with brownies and milk. We even sit on our front porch with lemonade and snacks to read a good book. This helps foster a love of learning and make memories that will last a life time.

What is your favorite suggestion for making your home a book club culture?

Deals and Freebies!!

You ARE an Artist is having a 20% off sale on all of their nature themed studies. We have been enjoying the summer camp themed series!

Peter Rabbit Collection Audiobook for only .48 cents! (at the time of posting always check prices)

The Last Archer (Green Ember Series) is only $.99 (prices subject to change)

The Black Star of Kingston (Green Ember Series) is FREE (again always check Amazon changes prices frequently)

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Field Trip Friday: Gettysburg National Battlefield Park

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During our whirlwind mid-Atlantic trip we made our way as far north as Pennsylvania before heading back home to North Carolina. We made a lot of stops and saw some really neat places. We all enjoyed the trip but everyone had their own favorites. For my husband and twelve year old son, Gettysburg National Battlefield Park was certainly one of the highlights. This was a ‘bucket list’ item that we were all grateful to have the chance to visit.

Due to our schedule we only had about half a day to visit Gettysburg. If you are interested in history you could easily spend two days at the park in order to get the full experience. To make the most of our time we chose to purchase the guided tour on CD. We wanted the benefit of the guided information but the flexibility of being in our own vehicle on our own schedule. With a four year old and a baby we sometimes need to stop more frequently than a regular tour would allow. Having the tour CD also gave us the opportunity to listen to parts of the story later even if we did not have time to see the entire park that morning.

The CDs told the story of the Battle of Gettysburg as well as the Gettysburg Address. They gave us directions to follow and told the story of each location as we drove. There were various stops along the way to get a closer view of some of the monuments and other important locations. There were three different tour options depending on the amount of time you had for your tour. The stories and the sound effects were riveting and well done. It made it easy to imagine that you were there watching the battle those many years ago.

For those that prefer an actual guide to the CDs they offer both bus tours and guided tours where you pay a tour guide to ride in your personal vehicle as you tour through the park.

On the day we were there it was unseasonably cool but sunny. We had the opportunity to talk with a reenacting group that had set up a camp near one of the monuments. This allows for the children to see what they would have been wearing, eating, and even the sleeping conditions. They also offer various walking tours and demonstrations throughout the park at different times and dates. You can check the calendar prior to arriving or check at the ranger desk inside the visitors center for that day’s schedule.

Since we decided to spend the afternoon at the Eisenhower National Historic Site we did not get a chance to watch the movie or tour the museum that are inside of the visitors center. You can enter the visitors center for free (this is where you will get your National Park Passport stamp if you participate in that program) to enjoy the restaurants, gift shop, restrooms, and information desks. However, admission to the museum and movie areas are ticketed. If your children wish to participate in the Junior Ranger program you will also want to stop here when you first arrive to get the free Junior Ranger booklet for them to work on as you complete your tour.

If we are able to make it back in the future I look forward to visiting the museum. You can find more information about the museum portion of Gettysburg on the Gettysburg Foundation website.

We felt that this was a wonderful field trip. There is so much to see and learn at Gettysburg and it has an important place in American History. I truly recommend it to anyone that can make the trip. If you cannot make an actual trip to Gettysburg, there are many videos and pictures on the website. They even have a virtual tour of the National Cemetery.

Where: 1195 Baltimore Pike Gettysburg, PA 17325

Hours of Operation:

Park Grounds and Roads

April 1 – October 31: The park is open daily from 6 am – 10 pm
November 1 – March 31: The park is open daily from 6 am – 7pm

Museum and Visitor Center

April 1 – October 31: 8 am – 6 pm
November 1 – March 31: 9 am – 5 pm

Costs: Visitors Center and Grounds are Free. The museum and other features have varying ticket prices. There are also paid tours available.

Homeschool Discount: There are group rates available for the museum and film.

Website: https://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm

Food:

There is a restaurant and snack bar back at the Gettysburg Visitors Center. There are also places for picnics.

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Deals and Freebies!!

Peter Rabbit Collection Audiobook for only .48 cents! (at the time of posting always check prices)

The Last Archer (Green Ember Series) is only $.99 (prices subject to change)

The Black Star of Kingston (Green Ember Series) is FREE (again always check Amazon changes prices frequently)

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The Good and The Beautiful: A Guest Review

I am pleased to bring you this guest review from my friend and fellow home school mom Crystal Levin. She has been homeschooling for 12 years and has children ranging from 16 years old to 4 months. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and I’m excited to have her share about the new curriculum she is using this year.

The Good and The Beautiful

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I have been promising this review for a while but with life and new babies it just got pushed back. However it’s because of the new baby that I even tried this curriculum. I am a homeschool mom to 8 wonderful children, but I had noticed that even I was dreading school. When that happens I know it’s time to reevaluate what we are doing. Enter The Good and The Beautiful. This curriculum is fairly new to the homeschool scene and made all kinds of promises. I have to tell you they were promises that I loved. It combines grammar, Art study, handwriting, spelling, literature, and geography into ONE. All of this and and zero prep, it was really too good to be true. I decided that at the price point I didn’t have too much to lose so I bought Pre K, Kindergarten and Level 5.

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The quality of the materials is amazing. The pages are a heavier paper and it is in full color, something that’s important to my girls. It truly is zero prep, I open the book and read the lesson with my girls and we are done. Each lesson is packed with ONLY important information. I cannot tell you how much that means to me, I do not need 20 worksheets on the A sound but give me a card to review for a min or so before the lesson and I’m good. The Pre K and K is just what you’d expect there is phonics work and poetry memorization along with letter formation practice and practice using each new sound you learn. Pre K also goes over numbers and even starts Art Study. The phonics cards are laminated and numbered and each lesson tells you what you need. The Pre K even has hands on activities that use house hold items such as pennies or cotton balls. The best part, It only takes me about 10 to 20min per kid for the pre K and K and in that time I feel like they have had a full, meaningful lesson with zero fillers.

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Now once you get to the upper level it’s a bit different. Each child has a check list that tells them what they are to do for the day. The book TELLS the child how their week will be structured. They do poetry memorization every other day and alternate days between grammar flash cards and geography flash cards. As the parent I spend about 5 min reviewing these with my student (I have 2 in level 5 at the moment) Next you do sentence dictation. Each day you read 5 sentences to your student, they write them down and you check, any words misspelled they correct and then write 5 times. This takes maybe 5 or 6 min depending on your student. Then my favorite part is the shared reading. You and your student take turns reading to each other. Each day it’s about 2 ½ pages. Once that’s done the student completes the work in their book and you are done. The student then does independent reading in their reading book for the time you decide. In our family it’s 10min.

Every aspect of this curriculum is very well laid out. Everything has been planned for you and it is wholesome. It truly lives up to its name, The Good and the Beautiful. They don’t just stop at grammar however they also do Science, History and Math as well as Art. They also have a Nature Notebook and Creative Writing Note book. Right now we are also using their science and my daughter wanted the Creative Writing Notebook.

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I love how easy the creative writing notebook is for her to use. It starts out by giving you the tools to write. It has you describe colors and sounds, textures and colors. Once you have done that it starts building your creative writing skills. It has made a nice addition to her school work and is something she actually ASKS to do and as a mom it doesn’t get much better than that!

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Science is set up as unit studies and takes about 8min of prep. You have to look at the material list for the experiments (all house hold items) and maybe print off a sheet for your children. I took about an hour and laminated all the vocabulary cards and put together all the mini books so I wouldn’t have to do that later. Each lesson is easy to follow. You review words that you need to know, do an experiment if applicable and read. There are options to find other books on the topic you are studying as well as how to go beyond the basic lesson for your older students. With the Water Unit there is the option to buy a book pack and I did. I cannot tell you how much I love the curriculum I have used so far. It has truly helped me simplify my homeschool while still having a solid quality curriculum. This is a Charlotte Mason style curriculum and so it reflects the values found in the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling.

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So, how much will you spend on this? Not very much at all, I find this is a very affordable curriculum. You can either purchase the PDF which is very inexpensive or buy the physical curriculum. I chose to buy the physical because after look at printing costs and the expense of my time I would much rather buy it all done. Their website is very well laid out and the folks that monitor their Facebook page are very responsive. I will continue using this curriculum with my children. We are all using the Science and so far 4 are using the literature. I have another child who uses her own thing. I have been using this for a few months now and so far I’m really happy!!

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When you sign up for our 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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There are a few great Kindle deals going on right now!

The Last Archer (Green Ember Series) is only $.99 (prices subject to change)

The Black Star of Kingston (Green Ember Series) is FREE (again always check Amazon changes prices frequently)

Reading Goals Update

It has been awhile since I’ve done a reading update but not because I haven’t’ been reading. I am still not picking up a book quite as often as I’d like but I’m meeting my goals and with summer coming I’m hoping to pick up the pace (its always a little easier when I take some of the homeschooling off my plate).

Last time I updated I had finished Heroes Next Door and Finding Selah. I was also getting ready to start Eat with Sinners: Loving Like Jesus. That is a great book that I got a bit side tracked on when the baby came but I’m going to go back and finish it soon. I have also completed reading The Unhurried Homeschooler which was not in my original list of six but proved to be a great book and an easy read.

I’m currently reading Do Hard Things, The Lifegiving Parent, and Read Aloud Family. I am leading a book study on Read Aloud Family and it is a truly great book. Even for those parents that already enjoy reading aloud it has a wealth of information in an easy to read style that is sure to encourage. In the fall I will be leading a study of The Lifegiving Parent but I’m going ahead and reading it now. It is a little more dense than some of the Clarkson books and it takes me a little longer to read and work through what is written but it is time well spent. The third book, Do Hard Things, I’m working on I’m actually reading with my son. We are each going to read a chapter and discuss it before moving on to the next chapter. My husband read the book last summer and we are hoping to use this book to challenge my son as he approaches his teen years.

When I finish those books I plan to enjoy some fun summer reading. I want to read at least one and maybe two more of the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. They are such fun books that make me want to relax on my front porch with tea and scones. They are clean and wholesome with a bit of adventure. For my more educational reading I am hoping to get into Pocketful of Pinecones. This book is designed to help teach about nature study but it written in a warm story fashion which should make for great summer reading.

If I complete all of those books by the end of August, that will put me at nine or ten books with four months left to complete my goal of twelve books. When I was younger my default activity when I had down time was reading. Unfortunately, I’ve found that I tend to default to e-mail or social media these days and I’m still working on breaking that habit. I do find that the more I read the easier it becomes to make that my default. I have also been doing more reading aloud with the children and they are really enjoying the books we have been able to read together.

I would love to know what books you have been reading and what recommendations you might have! Tell us in the comments about a book you have read recently.

Friday Deals and Freebies!

Peter Rabbit Collection Audiobook for only .48 cents! (at the time of posting always check prices)

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Kids in the Kitchen: Where Do I Start?

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When my youngest son was born in February I was reminded of the benefits of having my children help in the kitchen from a very young age. Both of my older children (10 and 11 at the time) were able to pitch in and help make sure that we continued to have healthy and delicious meals even when I could not spend a lot of time in the kitchen. These are skills not only help our family now, but will follow them into their adult lives.

The two questions that I hear most often are “when do I start?” and “how do I start?” For our family the answer of when is as soon as they are old enough to stand up and follow SIMPLE instructions. Our children start helping us in the kitchen when they are toddlers. They can pass us various items, help stir, put napkins and silverware on the table, and other simple tasks.

Mixing is one of the first activities a toddler can help with and maybe the most fun. They love stirring up the pancake mix or the fruit salad. Sometimes I have to go back behind them and mix a bit more to make sure things are thoroughly mixed or give them something like a small bowl of rice or beans to ‘mix’ when there is not anything that actually needs mixing.

As they get a little older, they want to start learning how to cut fruit or salads. We start our children with some of those basic cutting tasks around age three. I know that can seem young and probably scary to some folks but we use these great kid safe knives (aff) and close supervision. They can learn to cut up the lettuce for a salad or apples for snack. This is a great way to get them active and engaged in the kitchen.

As they are learning those basic skills, they are watching our actions in cooking the meals. It is amazing how much they soak up simply by being in the kitchen with us. As they get a little older they begin to want to tackle entire recipes by themselves. At that time, we have them help us make the recipe. If that goes well the next time (or several depending on the child), we allow them to make it under supervision. Once they have mastered the recipe they can make it on their own. We repeat that process through various recipes until they have the skills needed to follow most recipes. We are still available to help as needed, but at that point they are free to try new recipes without our direct help.

Another frequent question is how to choose recipes for children to try. There are many children’s cookbooks but unfortunately, they are often full of overly processed ‘boxed’ foods that do not work well for us. We do enjoy some great children’s cookbooks but often the recipes are simply the ones we use for foods the children enjoy. For example, my daughter loves pancakes. So, when she wanted to learn how to make pancakes we taught her the recipe we were already using to make pancakes.

You may be thinking about the mess and time that can be involved in having children in the kitchen. It can be a challenge but the benefits far outweigh the challenges. At the toddler/preschool age the benefits include quality time spent together, fine motor skills practice, and often encourages them to be more adventurous with food. As they get older, they work on math skills, life skills, and they can begin to contribute to the family through cooking meals or preparing snacks.

I am so grateful for the time I’ve had cooking and working in the kitchen with my children. I love knowing that they are learning valuable life skills even as we spend quality time together. Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing posts with more details about knife skills, using cooking in our homeschool, and other ideas for helping children in the kitchen. Tell us in the comments when your children start helping in the kitchen and what is your biggest question or struggle with kids in the kitchen.

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