Thursday, January 28, 2010

Away for a couple of weeks.

I won't be posting much for the next couple of weeks. I'll have so much to share with all of you when I am able to again in a couple of weeks. I will try and continue on with Book Sharing Monday.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

100 Books-A-Month Challenge, Reading My Library


 

Here is our reading for the month of January. We only have one book left from our library to read before leaving on vacation. So, I'll just add it to the list when we read it. I may only read the last one to Austyn. Here is our list. In this list we also are reading through our library. The link to join both of these challenges are above or can be found on the left bar of this blog.

Read to both children:
1. Abu Ali Three Tales of the Middle Ease Retold by Dorothy O. Van Woerkom
2. And the Train goes… by William Bee
3. A Place To Sleep by Holly Meade
4. April Foolishness by Teresa Bateman
5. Arthur Goes to Camp by Marc Brown
6. Arthur’s Teacher Moves In by Marc Brown
7. Arthur’s Valentine by Marc Brown
8. A Snowflake Fell by Laura Whipple
9. A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
10. Babies in the Bayouby Jim Arnosky
11. Baby Duck’s New Friend by Frank Asch and Devin Asch
12. Big Brave Brian by M. P. Robertson
13. Boo to You! By Lois Ehlert
14. Bubblegum Delicious by Dennis Lee
15. Buster and Phoebe The Great Bone Game by Lisze Bechtold
16. Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson
17. Camille and the Sunflowers A story about Vincent Van Gogh by Laurence Anholt
18. Can You Growl Like a Bear? By John Butler
19. Cat Mummies by Kelly Trumble
20. Chester by Anyano Imai
21. Choo Choo Clickety-Clack! By Margaret Mayo and Alex Ayliffe
22. Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service
23. Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle
24. D.W.’s Library Card by Marc Brown
25. D.W., Go to Your Room! By Marc Brown
26. Edna’s Tale by Lisze Bechtold
27. Elliot’s Emergency by Andrea Beck
28. Elliot’s Noisy Night by Andrea Beck
29. Everyday Materials Glass by Andrew Langley
30. Fly High Fly Guy! By Tedd Arnold
31. Franklin and Harriet by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
32. Franklin Goes To The Hospital by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
33. Franklin is Messy by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
34. Franklin Rides a Bike by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
35. Franklin Says I Love You by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
36. Franklin’s Baby Sister by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
37. Franklin’s Bad Day by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
38. Franklin’s Blanket by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
39. Franklin’s Class Trip by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
40. Franklin’s New Friend by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
41. Franklin’s School Play by by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
42. George Paints His House by Francine Bassede
43. Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
44. Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite! By Diane DeGroat
45. Gorilla by Anthony Browne
46. Green Wilma Frog In Space by Tedd Arnold
47. Pete and the Ghosts  by Janet Amsden and John Beder
48. Hit the Ball Duck by Jez Alborough
49. Hoot and Holler by Alan Brown
50. Hunting the Daddyosaurus by Teresa Bateman
51. I Am The Mummy HebNefert by Eve Bunting
52. I Dreamt I Was a Dinosaur by Sella Blackstone and Clare Beaton
53. I’ll Never Share You, Blackboard Bear by Martha Alexander
54. Into The Forest by Anthony Browne
55. It’s Summer! By Linda Glasser
56. Knock-Knock Jokes by Pam Rosenburg
57. Leaf Man Lois Ehlert
58. Let’s Clean Up! By Peggy Perry Anderson
59. Little Badger’s Just-About Birthday by Eve Bunting
60. Love is a Handful of Honey by Giles Andreae and Vanessa Cabban
61. Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans
62. Magic Matt and the Jack-o-lantern by Grace Maccarone
63. Math Attack! By Joan Horton – 2 times
64. Math-terpieces by Greg Tang
65. Monster Parade by Shana Corey
66. More Parts by Tedd Arnold
67. Mouse was Mad by Linda Urban
68. Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs by Gail Gibbons
69. My Big Boy Bed by Eve Bunting
70. My Friend Bear b y Jez Alborough
71. My Great Big Mamma by Olivier Ka
72. My Little Sister Hugged An Ape by Bill Grossman
73. Nobody Laughs at a Lion by Paul Bright
74. Olive’s Pirate Party by Oberta Baker
75. Once Upon a Banana by Jennifer Armstrong
76. On Beyond a Million by David M. Schwartz
77. Peanut by Linas Alsenas
78. People in the Community Dentists by Diyan Leake
79. Piggy Monday A tale about manners by Suzanna Bloom
80. Pyramids and Mummies by Simon Seymour
81. Quiet! By Paul Bright
82. Red Sings from Treetops a year in colors by Joyce Sidman
83. Roar of a Snore by Marsha Dian Arnold
84. Rumpelstiltskin by marie-Louise Gay
85. Rupunzel by Amy Ehrlich
86. Say No and Go by Jill Urban Donahue
87. Seven for a Secret by Laurence Anholt and JimCoplestone
88. Somewhere in the Ocean by Jennifer Ward and T. J. Marsh
89. Stagecoach Sal by Deborah Hopkinson
90. Starry Safari by Linda Ashman
91. Still My Grandma by VĂ©ronique Van den Abeele
92. Stop That Pickle! By Peter Armour
93. Super Duck by Jez Alborough
94. Super Silly Riddles by Charles Keller
95. Terrible Storm by Carol Otis Hurst
96. That’s Papa’s Way by Kate Banks
97. The Adventures of Tom Thumb by Marianna Mayer
98. The Alley Cat’s Meow by Kathie Appelt
99. The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind by Heather  Forest
100. The Great Doughnut Parade by Rebecca Bond
101. The Elves and the Shoemaker by Jim LaMarche
102. The Fantastic Flight of the Silver Dart by Linda Brand
103. The Copy Crocs by David Bedford and Emily Bolam
104. The Giant Jelly Bean Jar by Marcie Aboff
105. The Golden Sandal by Rebecca Hickox
106. The Inside Story Pyramid by Dana Meachen Rau
107. The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
108. The Island That Moved by Meredith Hooper and Lucia DeLeiris
109. The Lonely Moose by John Segal
110. The Magic Toolbox by Mie Araki
111. The Raft by Jim LaMarche
112. The Revenge of Ishtar retold by Ludmila Zeman
113. The Rich Man and the Parot Retold by Suzan Nadimi
114. The Scaredy Cats by Barbara Bottner
115. The Sense of Hearing by Mari Schuh
116. The Shortest Day by Wendy Pfeffer
117. The Tale of the Turnip by Brian Alderson
118. The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting
119. Tightrope Poppy the High-Wire Pig by Sudipia Bardhan-Quallen
120. Too Many Frogs! By Sandy Asher
121. Tsunami! By Kimiko Kajikawa
122. Tumbleweed Stew by Susan Stevens Crummel
123. Two Little Trains by Margaret Wise Brown
124. Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast by Jack Prelutsky
125. Up by Jim LaMarche
126. Up, Down, and Around by Kathrine Ayres
127. Valentine’s Day is… by Gail Gibbons
128. Way Up and Over Everything by Alice McGill
129. Welcome to the Green House by Jane Yolen
130. Wiggle and Waggle by Caroline Arnold
131. Wild and Woolly Mammoths by Aliki
132. Will You Be My Valentine? By Steven Kroll
133. Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky
134. You Can’t Buy a Dinosaur with a Dime by Harriet Ziefert
135. Young Thomas Edison by Michael Dooling

Read to Zoe:
1. Mama’s Day by Linda Ashman and Jan Ormerod
2. Hug Me by Patti Stren
3. Raggedy Ann and Andy The Little Gray Kitten by Polly Curren
4. Raggedy Ann and the Cookie Snatcher by Barbara Shook Hazen
5. The Bun A Tale from Russia by Marcia Brown
6. Bug Dance by Stuart J. Murphy
7. Hello, Good-by by Arlene Alda
8. In the Spring by Craig Brown
9. Be Brown! By Barbara Bottner
10. I like a Snack on an Iceberg by Iris Hiskey Arno
11. Chickerella by Mary Jane and Herm Auch
12. Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins
13. My Shapes/Mis Formas by Rebecca Emberley
14. Baby Can by Eve Bunting
15. A Girl and Her Gator by Sean Bryan
16. Gerald Mc Boing Boing by Dr. Seuss (Sound recording on the Internet)
17. The Sorcerers Apprentice by Alan Livingston (Sound recording on the Internet)
18. The Earth is Good, A Chant in Praise of Nature by Michael DeMunn

Read to Austyn:
1. An Egyptian Tomb
2. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
3. Thomas Edison by Mike Venezia
4. Cough, Sneeze, Burp, Hiccup, Blink, Yawn, Sweat, and Shiver? Jean Stangl
5. Flying Giants of Dinosaur Times by “Dino” Don Lessem
6. Sea Giants of Dinosaur Times by “Dino” Don Lessem
7. Re-Cycles by Michael Elsohn Ross
8. The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
9. Ocean Seasons by Ron Hirschi
10. The Gift of the Tree by Alvin Tresselt
11. Earth’s Crust by Conrad J. Storad
12. A Platypus, Probably by Sneed B. Collard III

Austyn Read on his own:
1. A Dolphin Is Not a Fish by Betsey Chessen and Pamela Chanko
2. Platypus! By Ginjer L. Clarke
3. Ride Otto Ride! By David Milgrim

Novels/Reference (usually with Austyn only and only read parts of the book):
1. Earth’s Core and mantle by Gregory L. Vogt, Ed.D. (read only interesting parts)
2. The Ancient Greek Olympics by Richard Woff (read only interesting parts)
3. Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Ken Rubin
4. Art Up Close From Ancient to Modern by Claire d-Harcourt
5. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

Books on Tape/DVD:
1. Reading Rainbow Ocean Life – Humphrey The Lost Whale by Wendy Tokuda and Sam the Sea Cow by Francine Jacobs

My own reading:
1. The Tao Of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
2. Alter This! By Alena Hennessy
3. Quiet Mind. A beginner’s Guide to Meditation by Susan Piver
4. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Mongomery


Platypus Lapbook!


This is our platypus lapbook. We are still working on it but it's almost finished. They are amazing animals! A mammal that lays eggs and has a bill?!

This lapbook was free online. Here is the link:  http://www.homeschoolshare.com/platypus.php


(My hubby didn't like the quote I chose for this one, I thought it was a bit funny because it really illustrates how strange this animal is, but if you have a good one feel free to share.  P.S. Robin Williams said it, not me! LOL!)

 

Winter Nature Walk!


 

We went for a family walk by our house on the weekend. It was a beautiful day and the snow wasn't gone yet.  The purpose of the walk was to get out, have fun and to look for cat tails and observe winter trees.



We found no cat tails near our house. NONE! So we didn't observe them. There were many other things to look at though.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is a picture of a hole that houses a small rodent... maybe a mouse? Look at all the tracks and seed shells littering the ground around the hole. And the picture below is near the hole. There are dried plants with seeds hanging that this little guy is enjoying when he can.

 
 
 
Men and boys, generally speaking, naturally end up not being able to help themselves when in the wilderness. They tend to be just a bit louder than girls. They walk a bit stronger. They break sticks and throw rocks and here is my hubby hanging from an old dead tree fallen through other trees. He is bouncing up and down on the ground... men... I'm rolling my eyes but giggling at the same time. LOL!

“Look round and round upon this bare bleak plain, and see even here, upon a winter's day, how beautiful the shadows are! Alas! it is the nature of their kind to be so.” ~ Charles Dickens

Space Travel - added links


I downloaded a couple of space lapbooks and made them into one. Here is one of the activities that went along with the lap-book.  It's a cut out rocket. The rocket sits on a launch pad and when you hit the one end of the launch pad the rocket shoots out the top.

We are still working on the lap-book and may do some of it on vacation. I'll post more of it when it's finished. It's a THICK one!

Here are the links to the lapbooks I found:


“The most important thing we can do is inspire young minds and to advance the kind of science, math and technology education that will help youngsters take us to the next phase of space travel.” ~ John Glenn

Valentine's Day

I'm glad I did Valentine activities early. We'll be taking vacation soon it would have gotten in the way of our fun activities. Here is Zoe making a heart basket out of a paper towel roll. I wish I got more pictures of this so I could share how we made it.


“Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!” ~ Thomas Hood

Monday, January 25, 2010

Book Sharing Monday


The Great Doughnut Parade by Rebecca Bond we discovered this month while we are getting to know our library through the program "Reading my Library". The link to join this challenge is on the left bar on this blog. It was a great find under the B authors.

Who knew that something so small as a doughnut could cause such a wonderful effect through a town?! It's a joyful story about a great parade starting with a doughnut that Billy had tied to his belt with a string. First a hen follows and then a cat and the crowd grows and grows. A quotation from the book reads: "You never quite think of the marvelous things that happen when doughnuts are tied up with strings!"

To join this contest click on the link to the Left that reads "Book Sharing Monday" and join up on the Serendipity blog.