Literature, Book Baskets, and Independent Reading

I've been researching, collecting, and purchasing books I've got in mind for the 2008-2009 school year - and beyond! I've been simultaneously dreading and looking forward to this post for awhile now. I've been looking forward to it because it is the end result of research, a few Amazon orders, some swifty ebay bidding and library sales. I've been dreading it because the books were all over the house waiting to be organized, photographed and finally shelved!

It is my great hope that some of these will travel with my children as they grow up. Not literally, of course, but I hope these will grow vocabularies, shape minds, expand imaginations, ignite fires, and all the things great books can do. I don't expect we will get through each and every one - especially the history selections. Many of those will sit in a book basket, there for curiosity's sake. I will highlight some of the definites.

For Picasso (age 6) independent reading:



For Picasso's love of dragons. The Dragon Slayer Academy series is for free reading. Edith Nesbit's The Book of Dragons will be a group read aloud. The others will be for Picasso's read with Mom time.



Read alouds for Einstein (age 8) and Picasso. Trouble can play within earshot, and listen for as long as his attention span holds up. Burgess's Animal Stories are for Einstein to read to his brothers. Other books include: In Grandma's Attic, Railway Children, Ginger Pye, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Enchanted Castle, The Story of the Treasure Seekers. As you can see my boys have discovered Edith Nesbit. Einstein declared Nesbit his favorite author midway through Five Children and It - greater than C.S. Lewis! *gasp* ;) Five Children and It has been the most excited I've ever seen him about a read aloud!



Trouble's preK read alouds. Some of these he has heard as I've read them to his big brothers. Some of these are brand new. All have beautiful illustrations as well as some fun, poignant or memorable classics. Read alouds will include, but aren't limited to what I photographed.

Pictured below:
Mirette on the High Wire, Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, Katy and the Big Snow, Rumplestiltskin, The Clown of God, The Little House, Make Way for Ducklings, Strega Nona, Merry Christmas, Strega Nona, The Empty Pot, Miss Rumphius, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Lentil, The Story of Ping, The Legend of the Poinsettia, Andy and the Lion, The Big Snow, Curious George, Stone Soup, The Little Island, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and Blueberries for Sal.



History, history, history! I don't expect us to get through all of these. I also anticipate for the years of 1600-1850 to take us more than a year. We haven't finished 1500-1600 from last year yet. I do hope to get to the period of the first Thanksgiving by Thanksgiving, but this may be wishful thinking! This lots includes Columbus, Age of Discovery, Colonial Times, Native Americans, Early American History, Revolutionary War time and some info on presidents and states. It ranges from biographies to poetry, amazing facts to "If you Lived..." books. Hopefully it is a well-rounded group to give an impression of this rapidly changing time period in our history. Not pictured, but also included is the "Little House on the Prairie" series. I'm not sure what my boybaric boy-creatures will think of that. I loved them as a girl.

(By request! List coming soon. Or sooner than later. Well, eventually.)



Science. We are doing Earth and Space science this year. Besides this lot, we plan to use Discovery Education Streaming, Learning Resources *huge* inflatable planets and a model of the solar system. It will be a fun year!

Pictured below:
Sea Whales, Deserts, Mountains, DK Space Exploration, Volcanoes, Flat Stanley in Space, Child's Introduction to the Night Sky, The Geography Book, Amazing Space Facts, Our Solar System, Starry Messenger, Stars (All Aboard), Earthquakes, Moonwalk (Step into Reading), There's No Place Like Space, and The Planets in Our Solar System.



Last but not least... my summer reading. This is what I'd like to get through before summer vacation is over. In addition, I need to make a plan to coordinate those history read alouds chronologically, choose a writing plan, and be more purposeful about working with Trouble. Since he's so tiny, it's easy to forget that my older boys were reading at his age. Also, even though "Slow & Steady" is meant for ages birth to five, Trouble has been diagnosed as having a "developmental age" of 31 months. He will spend this year working on letter recognition, skills like cutting and pasting, simple math with manipulatives (teddy counters, rods and beads, etc.)

Pictured below:
The Sense of Wonder, Slow and Steady Get Me Ready, Real Learning, Primary Language Lessons, and Frommer's San Francisco day by Day.