Weekly Wrap-Up Link Up

Highlights in Our Homeschool this Week ...

Katie has been completing the quizzes on "The Warriors" website (her idea). 
The girls have been making a miniature village out of paper after starting one at their friend's house.
Chris started writing a prequel to his Daisy and Max series.
The kids have been watching "Beakman's World" on Netflix (Thanks Heidi @ Home Schoolroom).
Chelsea made a "thankful book" in addition to the "thankful trees" they are working on every day.
Katie has been completing  Barb's mammal grid at The Handbook of Nature Study. (She has been using Daisy, Sasha, Sheba, and Bentley as test subjects.)
Chris wrote an expository essay about his favorite holiday.


We're Reading...

Chris is reading #4 in The Inheritance Cycle.  He read Amos Fortune Free Man and has started Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes.
Katie is reading #4 in the second Warrior series.  She read The Courage Of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh.
Chelsea is reading The Boxcar Children #23 and is reading Indian Captive: The Story Of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski.
Katie and Chelsea read The American Girl books Meet Molly and Molly Learns a Lesson to Sarah and Lily (their American Girl dolls.)
I am reading The Hobbit to everyone.
I read Dancing on Broken Glass by Ka Hancock (if you need a good cry, this is the book to read) and Eight Keys Suzanne Lafleur.


Places We're Going...

geography club-Egypt, ballet, and on Sunday a ballet production of "Hansel and Gretel."



Things I'm Working on...

working with the kids to sort toys to donate to Goodwill and still faux painting bricks on the school room walls.


My Favorite Resource this Week...

mathdrills.com ... Chris occasionally need extra practice that his Singapore Math book doesn't provide.  This week we have used these fraction worksheets for extra practice.


I'm Cooking...

Parmesan-crusted chicken, meatloaf, lasagna, pork loin,chili, and spaghetti.


My Favorite Quote this Week...

From Katie to Chelsea: "What's wrong sad sack ?"

Wednesday's Weekly Wonderful World of Words : Our Favorite Thanksgiving Books

There are so many good holiday books out there.  These are some of our favorite Thanksgiving books:

My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola (a board book great for toddlers and young children)

Thank You, Thanksgiving by David Milgrim (simple text, great for emergent readers)

The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George (picture book packed with lots of information)

Let's Celebrate Thanksgiving by Pater and Connie Roop (a book of questions and answers about Thanksgiving)

Fancy Nancy Our Thanksgiving Banquet by Jane O'Connor ans Robin Preiss Glasser ( the girls love Fancy Nancy and this book came with 30 stickers.)

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp (This was a Reading Rainbow book.)

The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing (written in rhyme, modeled after "The Night Before Christmas.")

Clifford Puppy Days: Giving Thanks

This First Thanksgiving; A Counting Story by Laura Krauss Melmed

Clifford's Thanksgiving Visit by Norman Bridwell

It's Thanksgiving by Jack Prelutsky (great Thanksgiving poems )

Who Will Carve the Turkey This Thanksiving? by Jerry Pallotta

Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation by Dianne Stanley

If You Sailed on The Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern

The First Thanksgiving by Linda Hayward ( a step into reading, step 2 book )

Nate the Great Talks Turkey by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie by Herman Parish

Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes

A Turkey For Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting (one of my all time favorites)

A to Z Mysteries Mayflower Treasure Hunt by Ron Roy

New Friends in a New Land by Judith Bauer Stamper

The Pilgrims of Plimoth by Marcia Sewall

Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Water

Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy by Kate Waters

Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl by Kate Waters

On the Mayflower: Voyage of the Ship's Apprentice and a Passenger Girl by Kate Waters

Magic Tree House Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Pilgrims by Mary Pope Osborne

What are your favorite Thanksgiving books ?

Weekly Wrap-Up Link Up

Highlights in Our Homeschool this Week...

     We made thankful trees, raked and tried to make a dent in the piles of leaves, and played in the snow for hours. (It has all melted now.) The kids made a snowman and lots of snowballs. (I made hot chocolate and snuggled by the fire and read; it was lovely.)

     Our reading of The Hobbit for book club has inspired us to paint our schoolroom.  The girls and I painted "rocks" behind the fireplace and we are working on painting faux bricks on the walls. (Chris was content to sit on the couch and chat while we painted.) We are making the support poles in the basement into trees.  The kids are now calling our schoolroom the hobbit hole.  Anyone have any "hobbit" decorating ideas ?


We're Reading...

     Chris finished reading #3 in The Inheritance Cycle and is rereading book #4, Katie is on the 4th book in the 2nd Warrior series and is reading Clementine and the Family Meeting, Chelsea read #21,#22,and#23 in The Boxcar Children series.  Katie read Ivy and Bean No News is Good News to Chelsea and I began reading The Hobbit to everyone.  I finished reading The Passage by Justin Cronin, The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson, The 24 Hour Bookstore and Jumonia by Kevin Henkes.


Places We're Going...

ballet, watercolor class, and friends' house to play and have dinner


Things I'm Working on...

making lists of all of the things I have to do to get ready for the holidays.


My Favorite Thing this Week...

the look on the girls' faces when I said they could paint the walls.

Wednesday's Weekly Wonderful World of Words

     I love to read.  I am always looking for good books.  There are a lot of books out there...

  In our house, it's a challenge to find good books that we haven't read yet.  So on Wednesdays I thought I'd share with you a book I/we (my kids don't always read my recommendations) have enjoyed.  Why Wednesdays ? (I liked the alliteration :0).

My pick of the week:

The Seven Tales of Trinket by Shelley Moore Thomas (2012)

The author had me at the first page:

MY FATHER WAS A TELLER OF TALES.  It runs in the blood, I think, for never have I loved anything so much as a story.
Except for my mother, of course.
I loved her well.
Her death was the worst thing I've ever known...
... My mother's last breath begins this story, for each story has a beginning.  That is the first thing a storyteller must learn.

     Don't let the beginning put you off.  This is not a sad story.  Before I hand my kids a book with such a beginning, I tell them what happens.  We are big fans of happy endings ( I used to read the last pages of a book first, to make sure it had a happy ending.)
     Trinket follows an old tattered map in search of her father.  On her journey the adventures that she shares with Thomas the Pig Boy are her seven collected tales.  The author uses folklore from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland to weave her story.  Shelley Moore Thomas works as  an elementary school teacher and a professional storyteller.  It shows in her writing.  This book would make an excellent read aloud.  Lexile level is 730, recommended for ages 8-12.
I read lots of books, so the question for me always comes to, would I buy it for my library? Yes...
     Do you have any any good book recommendations (children's or adult) ?  Let me know, we are always looking...

Weekly Wrap-Up Link Up

Highlights in Our Homeschool this Week... Chris finished writing his book (typed 49 pages) and read it to us.  Great job Buddy !  We spent a lot of time preparing for our Halloween Party.  Chris made Melted Witch Puddles, Katie made Creepy Crawly Cupcakes, and Chelsea made Pumpkin Pops.  We also made several games for the party.



We're Reading... Chris finished reading Eldest and began reading the 3rd book in The Inheritance series.  Katie is reading #3 in The Warriors series.  Chelsea read #19,20 in The Boxcar Children series.  Chris is reading Gregor #3 to the girls.  Katie read Ivy and Bean: No News is Good News to Chelsea.  Chelsea read Mercy Watson (several of the books) to Chris and Katie.  Chelsea is reading The Boxcar Children Halloween Special to me.  I am reading The Passage by Justin Cronin and The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson.



Places We're Going... a production of "Treasure Island" at a local theater, geography club-Egypt, ballet, and a book store.


My Favorite Thing This Week... I loved watching the kids make their Halloween Treats.  They were so proud of their creations.






Things I'm Working on... I put away all of our Halloween decorations, and decorated for Thanksgiving.  I'm reorganizing the schoolroom again.