What We are Reading Wednesday: 2020-2021 Chapter Book Read Aloud Calendar

Last year I planned out a year long calendar of chapter books to read aloud.  I didn’t stick to it 100% but I really liked the idea of planning out the books in advance so I can coordinate them with certain months/ seasons or to coincide with other things we will be learning.  I decided to do it again this year and wanted to share our calendar and plans on the blog:

Chapter Books for 2020-2021

Here are the books I plan to read aloud to the kids:

Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy and Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

The Vanderbeekers of 141st St by Karina Yan Glaser

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dagliesh

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

The Tale of Desperaux by Katie DiCamillo

Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Poppy by Brian Floca

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

I put a lot of thought into the books we will read each year.  I want to introduce my children to heroes, to beautiful stories with a benevolent worldview and I want to help them fall in love with reading.  Of course there comes a responsibility with reading classic books to children in today’s society.  We have plenty of discussions as we read and I am careful to present historical context.

I created the read aloud calendar using Excel.  I added in the pictures of the book covers simply because I like the way that looks.  It’s completely unnecessary!  I print this out and keep it with my homeschool records.  I check off each book after we read it or I cross out a book and replace it with a new title if I need to.  This is also a helpful tool when filing homeschool reporting information.

What We are Reading Wednesday: Books about Sharks

My son, Ethan, who is now 7, went through a serious shark-loving phase.  We have SO many books about sharks in our home!  Do you have a shark lover in your house?

Here are our favorites:

Smart Kids: Sharks: And Other Dangers of the Deep by Priddy Books

National Geographic Readers: Sharks! (Science Reader Level 2) by Anne Schreiber

Sharks (Discovery Kids) (Discovery 3D Readers) by Discovery Kids (This book comes with 3D glasses!  I had to tape ours together because they were falling apart from so much use!)

I Survived: The Shark Attacks of 1916 by Scholastic

Hammerhead vs. Bull Shark (Who Would Win?) by Scholastic (This Who Would Win? series was so appealing to Ethan as a 5 and 6 year old!  He loved these books so much.)

Amazing Sharks! (I Can Read Level 2) by Sarah L. Thompson

Fly Guy Presents: Sharks (Scholastic Reader, Level 2) by Tedd Arnold

Uncover a Shark: An Uncover It Book (Uncover Books) by David George Gordon

These are actually just a few of our favorites!  You can download my full list of recommendations here:

Children’s Books about Sharks

What We are Reading Wednesday: Books about Evolution and Early Humans

When Ethan turned 6 years old he began asking a lot of BIG questions…

1. How was the Earth formed?
2. Who was the first person?
3. How did the first person get here?

I found some great books that helped answer these questions with science in a kid-friendly way.

Here is what we read, and what I’m sure we will be re-visiting soon as Lillian nears her 6th birthday.

One Day a Dot by Ian Lendler

The Story of Life:  A First Book about Evolution by Catherine Barr

Big History Timeline Wallbook by Christopher Lloyd

Have you read any good books about evolution to your children?  I have my eye on Grandmother’s Fish by Jonathan Tweet.

Here is a link to download a list of even more books about the Big Bang Theory and evolution:

Children’s Books about Evolution

Do you have any books that you would recommend?

What We are Reading Wednesday – Scholastic Branches Books

Last Wednesday I shared about some books that Ethan loves from Scholastic’s Acorn series and this week I wanted to share about the next level of Scholastic books, the Branches series.  Ethan loves these too!  These are a great next step after the Acorn books and are aimed at readers ages 5-8.

According to Scholastic, the Acorn books are “high concept stories with decodable text for newly independent readers.”  Each book is 80-96 pages with a “50:50 text to illustration ratio.”

Below are some affiliate links for Ethan’s favorite Branches books.

The Notebook of Doom

The Notebook of Doom is by far his favorite!  Each book is a new adventure for a group of kids who track down monsters (that only kids can see) and in turn, save their town from impending doom.  The books are equal parts silly and exciting!

The Binder of Doom

The Binder of Doom is a continuation of the Notebook series.  Ethan is eagerly awaiting the release of the next book in the series!

Time Jumpers

The Time Jumpers is very similar to Magic Treehouse.  While the reading level is higher than Magic Treehouse, the storytelling is not as good in our opinion.

Dragon Masters

The Dragon Masters reminds me of Harry Potter.  8 year olds are chosen from across the globe to train with dragons.  The main characters live together in a castle with a wizard.  Together they travel the globe to protect various kingdoms from harm.

The Last Firehawk

The Last Firehawk is a story of three animal friends who battle an evil enemy who threatens the forest where they live.

Haggis and Tank

Haggis and Tank are dogs who love puns and adventures!  I am honestly surprised by how much Ethan loves these as I think a lot of the humor goes right over his head.  But he really likes them.

Kung Pow Chicken

These books are very comic book-esque with a chicken superhero and an egg for a sidekick.  They are very silly and another favorite of Ethan’s.

What We are Reading Wednesday: Scholastic Acorn Books

I was so happy to find chapter books for early readers, something that could come after simple readers and before books like Magic Treehouse.

Enter, Scholastic’s Acorn Books, specifically designed for readers ages 4-7.  Scholastic lists their special features as,

• easy to read texts
• color illustrations
• color coded speech bubbles

I really love that each book is part of a series so your child can become familiar with the set-up, characters and patterns of the book which helps build confidence in your young, budding reader.

Ethan has really enjoyed these series below (affiliate links) but there are many more in the Scholastic library:

A Crabby Book

Dragon

Hello Hedgehog

Scholastic says, “grow confident readers with Acorn!” and it’s so true!

Has your child enjoyed any Scholastic Acorn books?

What We are Reading Wednesday: Homeschool Workbooks

Earlier in the week I mentioned we have been using more workbooks during quarantine schooling then we usually use.  Below is what we have been using and some affiliate links to the check out some of the workbooks on Amazon.

Gratitude Journals

The kids and I all have a simple notebook where we write down one thing we are grateful for each day.  We have been doing this all year and it was easy and important to continue.  I love this for creating a grateful attitude, positive mindset, handwriting and invented spelling practice!

Kumon
We also were using these before the lockdown began.  But with so much time on our hands my son was able to complete them quickly!  I love Kumon books for extra practice on key skills and will use these in the future with my daughter as well.

Master Books

I used this book as a compliment to our Montessori Math Materials this year.  During the lockdown, this was the only math material we used.  I think it’s a great curriculum.  It moves slowly but not too slowly, has just the right amount of practice and teaches developmentally appropriate skills.

Disclaimer:  these books have religious content.  We are a secular family/ homeschool so I simply omit any parts of the story that I need to.  The math content is great which is why I like using this book.  I plan to use the Level 1 book for my daughter next year.

Handwritng Without Tears

This was also our handwriting curriculum pre-lockdown.  But with lots of extra time, both kids progressed through their levels quickly!  I used this program as an NYCDOE teacher and like using it in our homeschool as well. It is cheaper to purchase this curriculum directly from the company.

https://www.lwtears.com/hwt

Science

Ethan loved completing this sticker timeline of scientific inventions!

All Subjects

Both of my kids love Star Wars and they love these Star Wars workbooks!  This is our 2nd year having these for various kinds of extra practice.

                                      

Fun Type Workbooks!

In March and April when the weather was cold, gray and wet, these books were great to have on hand.

                 

What We are Reading Wednesday: Audible Favorites for 5-7 Year Olds

Sometimes I have to be reminded that Audiobooks count too!  My kids love listening to audiobooks at lunch and whenever we are in the car.  Here are some of our favorites!

The Magic Treehouse

My kids will listen to the entire collection in one sitting!  They love to climb into their tent together to cuddle up and enjoy the books together.  I think these Magic Treehouse collections on Audible offer a great value because for just one credit, you can get 8 books.  We have all of the collections and the Merlin Missions series too.

 

Mercy Watson

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain

Tumtum and Nutmeg (there is some very light suspense in this one so if you have a very sensitive kid, you might want to listen together)

Brave Irene

Do you have any Audible favorites in this age range?  Please share in the comments.

What We are Reading Wednesday: Classic Chapter Books for Young Children

My kids have been so eager to listen to chapter books over the last few months.  They are currently 6.5 and 4.75 years old and both equally enjoy this read aloud time.  I read aloud from our current chapter book every day at lunch and I bring it with us if we are out and about and have any waiting time.  Thanks to NYC parking regulations from time to time we have to sit in our parked car and wait for the street sweeper to come by which is another opportunity to read aloud.  They have loved these books so much that they also ask me to read at other points of the day when we are home.

Here are the books we have read between January and May:

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater

The Mouse in the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary

Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary

James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Now, some of these books were written in the 1930s and ’40s.  Obviously parenting practices have evolved since then.  I was concerned about some topics in these books such as spanking in Mrs. Piggle Wiggle or the physical and verbal abuse endured by young James in James and The Giant Peach.

I even considered skipping over these parts or changing the words.  And, in full disclosure I did skip over a few words here and there (words like stupid, for example). We also talked about the words Indians and Native Americans and how in the past people used words we don’t use today.  

However, the books have opened up some interesting conversations and they have handled these topics beautifully.  They were not scared or traumatized.  

With that said, the kids and I highly recommend the books on this list!  

Here is a sneak peak at the next few classic children’s chapter books we plan to read:

The Littles by John Peterson

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin

Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

What We are Reading Wednesday: Books about Land and Water

*all links are Amazon affiliate links*

I recently purchased this book, Water Land:  Land and Water Forms Around the World by Christy Hale, after seeing it on Instagram.  It’s a beautiful, simple book which very creatively makes comparisons between water and landforms.  It was an instant hit with Ethan who is 5.5.

Ethan is very interested in maps, different landforms and any kind of water so I thought this book would be a jumping off point for a more in-depth study.  I purchased the following books to help our study along:

The Pond by Jim LaMarche

The Raft by Jim LaMarche (I have yet to be able to read this beautiful book without crying.  What a great story!)

The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown

As we move forward I plan to add kinetic sand and water with blue food coloring to our sensory table for him to explore.

I’ve also downloaded these 3 part cards from The Helpful Garden to help us learn the land and water form vocabulary.  There were many great 3 part cards available for free download on the site.

If you follow us on Instagram, I plan to share more of our land and water study there.

 

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What We are Reading Wednesday: Books about Nature

These nature picture books are some of my kids all-time favorites.  We have read them over and over again!

*all links are Amazon Affiliate links*

Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd – This is a great book about nature in an urban environment.

If You Find A Rock by Peggy Christian – This one is my kids favorite right now

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon – This is a board book but the text is just so beautiful.

Wonders of Nature by Jane Werner Watson – This is an old book but I love how it notices the very simple aspects of nature and points them out as wonderful.

What a Wonderful World by Bob Thiele- My kids love to listen to the song by Louis Armstrong as I turn the pages of the book.

A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry – This is such a simple, beautiful book.

The Kids Guide to Exploring Nature by Brooklyn Botanic Garden – We love the BBG and we love this book!

On the Nature Trail by Storey Publishing – This is a beautiful take-along field guide for kids ages 4 and up.

Do you have any recommendations of books about nature?