Library Loot/ Goddess Girls, Spirit Animals, Wings of Fire, and The Underland Chronicles

New chapter books

Bittersweet. A roller coaster. That's pretty much sums up Madeline's feelings about finishing a fantastic series.

First piquing her interest.  Slowly starting to care for the characters. Learning to love or despise them. Total engrossment! And finally...the end. Satisfying. Shocking. Triumphant?

Madeline is currently nearing the end of The Underland Chronicles and Spirit Animals. Hopefully, more Spirit Animals books are being written! It's been a while since the last of The Underland Chronicles were published. Probably no new ones on the horizon. But one can always hope.

So we're off to find other great reads. Will Wings of Fire be a winner? Only time will tell.

Someone is squirreling books away in her bunk bed...

I wonder if she is part squirrel?

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week from Claire's blog. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

The One and Only Ivan/ FREEBIE Activities

Looking for The One and Only Ivan activities?  Here are two I created for our homeschool book club. Download the free printables! Also read my book review.

ACTIVITY  #1/ WHAT IS A GOOD PLACE FOR A WILD ANIMAL? Children ponder Stella's thoughts about a "good zoo". The next step is to write about a good zoo habitat for either a gorilla or elephant. And lastly, students illustrate their habitat and label each important part of their "wild cage".

Creative Writing and Illustration/ The One and Only Ivan Activity

ACTIVITY #2/ LIVING BY PRINCIPLES
Julia and George had a conversation about principles, or doing what you know is right. Students choose a character who stood by their principles, citing examples and consequences.

Living by Principles/ The One and Only Ivan Activity

If you enjoy these activities, please drop me a note! I'd love to hear about all the fun you and your child had ;)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The One and Only Ivan Discussion Guide by Harper Collins

Fascinating Gorilla Facts via The Smithsonian National Zoological Park

Gorilla Doctors:  Saving Endangered Great Apes, a Scientists in the Field book 

Ivan in his mall enclosure (via Urban Gorilla)

Ivan in his habitat at the Atlanta Zoo

Book Review/ The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

SYNOPSIS
The One and Only Ivan is an inspiring fiction novel based on a real life gorilla. Though it delves into some pretty heavy subjects, the author does an amazing job of balancing sadness with humor and hope. The story follows Ivan (a male gorilla) as he lives in captivity with a menagerie of other animals in a shopping mall. Yes, in a shopping mall.

Despite Ivan's dull and boring existence, he fosters friendships with Stella (an elephant), Bob (a stray dog), and Julia (the mall janitor's daughter). The arrival of a new baby elephant named Ruby brings about anxiety and worry rather than joy. Ivan and his friends are saddened by the type of life she will lead while in captivity at the mall.

It's only when Ruby arrives that Ivan faces his feelings about being taken captive from the wild. And with Stella unable to help Ruby find a better home, Ivan promises to change Ruby's fate.

Katherine Applegate does a phenomenal job imbuing fictional Ivan with human characteristics (anthropomorphism). The book is told from his point of view and you can't help being drawn into his story.

[Enjoy my FREEBIE printable activities for this book!]

THEMES
The One and Only Ivan will leave children thinking about several issues:

-- How we obtain animals in captivity
-- How humans choose to treat and house wild animals
-- Facing your fears in both the present and the past
-- Standing by your principles despite potential consequences

CAUTIONS
The only caution for this book is that it pulls no punches when describing human cruelty. Children will be shocked midway through the book when discovering what happened to Ivan's parents (see **Spoilers/Cautions** below).

However, there are just as many examples of AWESOME human behavior! Proof that every individual can aspire and choose to be the type of person they want to be.

RATINGS
Our family couldn't stop talking about this book! By the last page, you will be inspired by both humans and animals. Because everyone deserves to forge a happy, healthy life -- human and wild animal alike, right?

The One and Only Ivan is definitely a thinking book you won't forget. Neither will your children. 

Madeline's Rating (age 8):  5 stars
Mom's Rating:  5 stars

**SPOILERS/CAUTIONS**
The two main areas that could be disturbing are the description of Stella's training/abuse in the circus ring and the death of Ivan's family. Stella suffers a permanent injury due to being chained. Ivan's mother is shot while he and his sister cling to her. His father is shot next, and then the parents are dismembered. Ivan's sister dies in their shared transport container (to captivity).

Homeschool Lesson: Using a Globe, Atlas, and Timeline to Discover Ancient Egypt

Back to learning about Ancient Egypt! Because of our summer break, I thought it would be wonderful to start back at the beginning.

Where was Ancient Egypt? How can we find it?

First stop, our little globe. 

Modern day Egypt on the Northeast portion of Africa

As luck would have it, we had just recently discussed the continents. After practicing finding them on the globe, Madeline easily located Egypt on the continent of Africa.

Next stop, our trusty World Altas.

A total bargain at Half Price Books for only $10 (retail $25).
Brand spanking new.

What I love about this atlas is the amount of information it has on the various geographical areas. There is always a map to pinpoint a location in a broader context, then an enlarged detail.

Egypt detail from Atlas of the World

Next we constructed an Ancient Egypt timeline. Ours came from Evan Moor's History Pockets Ancient Egypt. Of course, you can always make your own timeline from books and online research.

After pasting together the parts of the timeline, the difference between A.D. and B.C. was discussed. We played a short game where she would compare two dates on the timeline and pick which one was closest to our current date (2014). It was fun!

Finally, Madeline colored in her timeline illustrations with pencils. I love how she pulled out an art book about Egypt to inspire her color choices ;)

Nefertiti illustration from Ralph Masiello's Ancient Egypt Drawing Book contrasted
with Madeline's timeline illustrations

Full width timeline illustration,
Ralph Masiello's Ancient Egypt book in the background

So many resources, so much fun

Here's this lesson's list of resources. Leave me a comment if you use them and tell me what you think!

• Globe
• The Eyewitness Atlas of the World by DK Publishing
• Ms. Frizzle's Adventures Ancient Egypt by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
• History Pockets Ancient Egypt by Evan-Moor
• Ancient Egypt Drawing Book:  Become an Artist Step-by-Step by Ralph Masiello

Trying to get kids excited about Science? Lego robotics!

Our newly built EV3 robot, built at our very first First Lego League team meeting!

During the summer, one of my homeschooling friends had the fantastic idea to field a First Lego League (FLL) team with children in our homeschool group. I had never even heard of FLL.

There was so much interest that we were able to form 2 teams! Madeline's team has 6 members (ages 8-11) and this week was our very first meeting. Of course, I volunteered to be the robotics coach because I'm absolutely crazy ;)

Two team members built a basic robot from instructions. It isn't the final version of our robot. But to practice the programming tutorials a robot is necessary. Can you believe they built this in less than an hour?

Lego EV3 Robot Side View

The robot will need to interact with various components called mission modules. While one team was building the robot, the other two pairings built mission modules.

Scale Mission Module : 2014 World Class Challenge

Mission Module in Progress : 2014 World Class Challenge

Cloud Mission Module : 2014 World Class Challenge

Alternate view of Cloud Mission Module : 2014 World Class Challenge

With over 10 mission modules total, we still have quite a bit more to build. All the kids LOVE constructing the mission modules. And working on the robot. And playing with the robot.

Did I mention they like the robot?

The robot building duo even finished with enough extra time to start a mission module as well. What can I say? Except that my heart is bursting with pride for these talented and driven homeschoolers...

This weekend, my husband has volunteered to guide me through the robot software tutorials. I can't wait!

Oh, Peaches!

This week the peaches turned color ~ luscious, beautiful red and yellow! They are still small, but no longer green.

Some little birds are starting to take nips out of them. I'm wondering if they need to be picked? Or do I let them ripen on the tree?

Growing upside down? I never knew they did that :)

So cute together

We definitely lost a ton of peaches due to a late freeze. There are much fewer peaches on the tree after the frozen blooms fell off. At least the little tree is growing with lots of pretty foliage :)

Everyday Madeline and Sophie have been checking on the peach tree. It's fun to count the peaches, measure their size, and see how the final crop will turn out!

Project Mummification {Ancient Egypt Unit}

We've officially started our more relaxed summer homeschooling routine, and that means Ancient Egypt! Up first, mummification. I scored this Lift the Lid on Mummies kit by Jacqueline Dineen at Half Price Books for a lot less than the suggested $20 retail price.

That's not an error, the price is $6.49. It's a steal!

Upon opening the kit, half of the items seemed to be missing. After much inspection, my blind eyes finally spotted this little notch at the bottom:

Hmm...what's that?

Voila! Discovery of all our missing pieces.

A short pamplet is included with directions and a bit of history. When making the canopic jars, there was no picture of which head corresponded to which jar. Only the name of the god was printed on the inside of the template.

Canopic jar template

Madeline quickly remembered that Ms. Frizzle's Adventures Ancient Egypt had a whole section on mummification. And a picture of the canopic jars. Go, Maddy!

So much easier to figure out which head went on which jar :)  We did eventually find that info in the directions, but Madeline had a great time using the Mrs. Frizzle book. The illustrations were a bit more kid-friendly and who doesn't love Ms. Frizzle?

All the organs were separated and then put into the appropriate canopic jar. She couldn't believe the brain was discarded!

Itty bitty lungs

After preparing the canopic jars, Madeline wrapped the figure in linen. I offered to let her salt the body, but she decided against it since there was nothing to decompose. Protective amulets were inserted into the linen wrapping just like in Egypt. Last was the headdress, which she really liked!

The kit's final component is a 3D paper cat. It's a total HOT MESS. No painstaking amount of work could fold it properly. Glue wasn't holding it together like the directions stated either.

Madeline got completely frustrated with the cat. Even I had trouble folding all the parts, the tabs were so small. Many tabs were smaller than an eraser head. If a degreed Fine Artist can't follow the directions {that would be me}, it's a miracle if any child can.

Undeterred, I whipped out the scotch tape. Take that glue, you're outta here! 

Didn't the mummy come out awesome?

Despite some of the heads looking creepy in the photo -- especially the baboon one on the top right -- they're super cute in person. Not sure if they are supposed to be cute, but they are ;)

Madeline completed everything herself except the cat. Because we obviously didn't follow the cat directions, the stand didn't work with the cat. But at least we got it folded.

Her verdict on the kit? Amazingly awesome! Yes, those were her exact words. Even with the frustrating cat.

For the $6.49 paid, it was an INCREDIBLE value. I could never replicate the overall quality for such a price. A fantastic, lucky find!

The canopic jars have a paper bottom and a resin/plastic head top that is very durable and weighty. The figure is well made, also of resin or plastic. A bit like a Barbie but without hair and clothes. The "linen" is a gauge-like strip of fabric. All the amulets and the headress are made of paper.

Madeline is reading through her Ancient Egypt books like crazy and keeps bugging me about more activities. I've got to pace this child! We are going to have so much fun this summer...

End of Year Curriculum Review: Science

We love our science book!

Science:  McGraw Hill 

This year we skipped a science workbook and used McGraw Hill Science Grade 2. Our first year using a textbook was a resounding success!

Madeline is a science sponge. She LOVES science and will literally read her textbook like a chapter book. It's not uncommon for her to keep reading until she's finished a whole unit ;)

UNITS 

Life Science/ Plants and Animals

Life Science/ Homes for Plants and Animals

Earth Science/ Changes on Earth

Earth Science/ The Sun and Its Family

Physical Science/ Matter and Energy

Physcial Science/ Watch It Move {Forces and Machines, Forces and Magnets}

WHAT I LIKE

Full-color pictures make for a stunning book that makes science come to life! All the photographs and illustrations make the topics easy to understand. It's easy to read with age-appropriate text. Students can easily read and comprehend the book on their own.

This book is well organized, making it easy to plan and incorporate enrichment activities. Each chapter starts with a critical thinking skill, a list of vocabulary, and an experiment or exploration activity.

Units are comprised of 6-8 lessons, depending on the unit. At the end of each lesson, 2 to 3 comprehension questions follow. A test for each unit is also included.

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
I wish there was more about the Kuiper belt and smaller dwarf planets. Of course, astronomy seems to change every few years so we read lots of library books and online articles about space.

While this book is primarily for reading, adding more activities would be beneficial. We supplemented with Enchanted Learning online. They have tons of science booklets and activities for the lower grades. You can see our planet printables here.

WILL WE CONTINUE THIS SERIES?
Absolutely, yes! We love the McGraw Hill texbooks the most of any we've tried. Grade 3 is purchased and ready to go.

Preparing for Memorial Day

With Memorial Day approaching, we took a moment to recognize our veterans! With tons of flags in hand, Madeline and Sophie lined the walkway at Grandma's house.  

Flags ready!

Sophie would not give up her flag :)

After reading the Raiders' Ransom series, Madeline has an understanding of what war is. How people sacrifice themselves for the protection of others. Our family is filled with veterans, most of them with us only in spirit. But we honor them and all the veterans still living :)

With so many flags, I took a few home to line our walkway as well. At only $1 per flag, we stocked up! You can find these big, beautiful flags at Dollar Tree.

Book Review: Early Bird Gets the Worm by Bruce Lansky

My Goodreads win!

This little gem arrived in the mail, complete with creator Bruce Lansky's signature on the inside cover page.

Thank you so much, Mr. Lansky! What a delightful gift. 

This is the first wordless children's book we've read -- that's right, no words. How was I unaware of this genre? Children 3 to 6 read the illustrations and enjoy the story on their own or with their family. Sophie is thrilled to read just like her big sister!

Early Bird Gets the Worm follows a little bird on its worm finding adventure. Not every worm is what it seems, or as easy to catch as it looks! The ending is sweet and will warm the hearts of mamas and little ones alike. Use the book as a springboard to talk about birds, perseverance, the bond between mamas and babies, and feelings.

Sophie's little face was pure concentration on our first read through. She made me read it three times straight!

Even as a soon-to-be eight year old, Madeline wanted in on the fun! So she created a story, then another, and then another. It's so rewarding to see her reading to her younger sister :)

Finally Sophie decided she didn't want to share the her book anymore. Snatching it up, she headed to her favorite rocking chair.  Draped in her favorite blanket, she began "Once upon a time..."

So far, Sophie's read the book everyday {more than once a day} for the last week and a half. She is so exited about her new, shiny book. Though with all its use, it might not stay shiny for long!



Disclosure:  I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway! Receipt of an item free of charge does not guarantee a positive review. By choice, only quality products are shared with my readers -- the items that I love, enjoy, and use :)

Growing Dramatically ~ Black Krim and Indigo Sun Tomatoes {Heirloom Grafted}

Goodness gracious, the Black Krim tomatoes grew over an inch in diameter this week! The larger tomatoes measure over 3" in diameter.

Black Krim heirloom hybrid cluster of 3

Newer, bigger Black Krim cluster of 2

The Indigo Sun cherry tomato heirloom hybrid is covered with clusters like this one:

Indigo Sun heirloom heirloom grafted

Some of the clusters are ALMOST ripe. They're not bright yellow yet, still green. I couldn't resist and tried one but it was not sweet. Super juicy though. Can't wait until we taste our first ripe one!

End of the Year Curriculum Review: Writing

The BEST teaching guide for writing

Scholastic Grade 2 Writing Curriculum

Hands down, this is the most fabulous series for writing curriculum! Writing is one of the few subjects that we use the same text for the entire school year. After seeing the progress made last year with Grade 1 Writing Curriculum, I will use ONLY this series for teaching writing. If you use it, prepare to be amazed at your child's progress.

Grade 2 Writing Curriculum Week-By-Week Lessons provides a year's worth of exercises. Each month has daily writing prompts. We cut and paste our writing prompts into a journal {composition book}. I highly recommend doing so, you will not believe the gains your child makes from the beginning of their journal to the end of the year.

After the month of writing prompts, there are four longer lessons -- one for each week of the month. A full page of directions explain how to present the assignment. Typically, Madeline brainstorms and fills out a planning page on the first day of the lesson. Then, the first draft is composed on the second day. And finally, Madeline self edits her work and turns it in for grading on the third day.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT SCHOLASTIC GRADE 2 WRITING CURRICULUM

This book is comprehensive. In addition to the daily writing prompts and weekly assignments, you'll learn how to help your student achieve success! The front portion contains lots of tips for teaching writing. Also included are writing samples typical of the age range.

One of the best things in the book is the 'START' handout. No longer will you have a child that doesn't know what to write about. No more writer's block! The handout specifically gives students a formula for writing descriptive, interesting sentences and paragraphs.

The back has quite a few handouts including a brainstorm page for the weekly assignments, a list of commonly misspelled words, and checklists for students to edit their own work.

COST
Originally, I purchased the Grade 1 book from Scholastic's website. However, our copies for Grades 2 and 3 came from Amazon used. Expect to pay around $7 for each copy plus $3 for shipping {about $10 total}.

Very inexpensive considering this is a reproducible book. Since it's meant to be photocopied, you can use it with as many children as you like!

WILL WE CONTINUE?
Definitely! Grade 3 Writing Curriculum has already been ordered.

Top 5 Reasons Why We Homeschool in the Summer

Homeschooling is such a gift. Madeline absolutely THRIVES when she's learning. We've tried extended summer vacation vs. continuing to homeschool. Continuing lessons was the clear winner!

There are so many reasons we homeschool year round, it was hard to narrow it down! After much thought, here are my top five:

Reason #1:  The kids go stir crazy if we disrupt their daily routine. 
We made the mistake of taking the summer off between 1st and 2nd grade. Yikes! It wasn't pretty and the kids completely abandoned their normal patterns.

Eating at random hours, not sleeping consistently, getting agitated and flustered very easily. Lessons resumed after a month. All was once again right with the world.

Reason #2:  Our child WANTS to continue learning. We have so much fun homeschooling, burnout doesn't exist. 
To be honest, we take mini breaks all throughout the year. It takes us a lot less time to cover the same material a public school would, so we don't face burnout by year's end. No stressful exams or standardized testing. Quite the opposite, without homeschooling we often feel LOST and BORED!

Once a curriculum is finished and mastery is demonstrated, we just jump right into the next one. So it's not like we have one text for the whole year. Everything just seamlessly flows into the next.

During summer, our 'core subjects' per day are decreased. Instead of 4-6 subjects, we might only do 2-3. Extra time is devoted to art, especially the more complicated projects that have multiple steps and require several sessions to complete. So summer is different, new, and exciting!

Reason #3:  It's the perfect time to introduce unit studies! 

FREE clip art source:  KingTutOne.Com

Sometimes you just want to immerse yourself in a subject. Right now, Madeline is super excited about our summer unit -- Ancient Egypt. When she saw the books I reserved from the library trickling in, she started reading right away! Just a bit more prep is needed and then we'll jump into all these fun activities:

• Building pyramids
• Preparing an Egyptian meal
• Studying the gods and goddesses
• Reading nonfiction books
• Making papyrus-style paper
• Creating maps
• Dramatic play with paper dolls
• Writing in hieroglyphics {Scored this book with a set of stamps for just $6}
• Studying commerce and practicing bartering
• Drawing Egyptian-style
• Making mummies
• Weekend trip to visit The Hall of Ancient Egypt at the Houston Museum of Natural Science 

Reason #4:  The real world doesn't stop just because it's summer. 
The opportunity to learn in the real world is one of my favorite things about homeschooling. But the real world seems to amp up during summer, not take a break.

Our homeschool peeps still want to get together. After polling book club members, no one wanted to break for summer! Discussions, creative activities, games, and crafts are just too fun to miss. Plus, all the kids love seeing their friends.

And then there's all the cultural venues -- taking advantage of extra summer attendance by introducing exciting new exhibits. The World's Largest Dinosaurs at the Perot. Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. So excited to tie in Archaeology with our Ancient Egypt unit!

Reason #5:  It's easy to forget what you've learned if you don't keep applying it!
Maybe this is more true for me than the kids, but I cannot remember anything from three months ago. It might be just too much to ask of the kids, too :)

End of Year Curriculum Review: Reading Comprehension

Spectrum Reading Grade 2
This is the second book in the Spectrum Reading series we've purchased. If you follow common core standards, this book is wonderful! If you aren't concerned with common core standards, you'll still be pleased with this book.

Spectrum Grade 2 teaches reading comprehension in an approachable, fun way. Every lesson is in a two-page format. A story is printed on the left {or first page} and the comprehension questions are printed on the right {or second page}.

Through the early primary years, learning to read well is one of my top 3 goals. If you can advance a child in reading and math, I feel like they can learn any other subject!

I credit Spectrum Reading and Modern Curriculum Press Phonics with Madeline's reading success. In tandem, they make a dynamite combination. This was the first year she could really read material on her own {chapter books}. She absolutely loves reading! It's easy to love when the right curriculum sets you up for success.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT SPECTRUM READING
There is a great variety of reading subject matter. Grade 2 had both fiction and non-fiction stories. As the book progresses, the stories become longer with more paragraphs. We read about states, sports games, travel, family life, and animals. Madeline enjoyed learning about baseball and baseball cards. Her dad even took her to her first Rangers game :)

This book also contains an answer key. The pages are perforated so you can tear them out if you wish. We choose to leave the book intact to eliminate paper clutter. Simple, colorful illustrations usually accompany the stories.

WILL WE CONTINUE?
Absolutely! We plan to continue with Spectrum Grade 3.

Supplemental Reading Comprehension/ Literature Units
Madeline also has reading comprehension exercises from her homeschool book club selections. I search for free reading guides online. If none are available from the publisher, sometimes units are available from Teachers Pay Teachers. If I still can't find a reading guide, I develop my own :)

My favorite units this year were: Chasing Vermeer, by B. Balliett, Literature Unit, 98 Total Pages!! and Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren: Characters, Plot, and Setting.

New for Fall 2014
For extra practice activities, we plan to incorporate the Reading Comprehension section of Sylvan Super Reading Success. We've not used the Sylvan book before, but are really excited to give it a try!

Book Review: The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors {Vocabulary & Bingo FREEBIES}

Wow, that was a fast read! 

Our homeschool book club {grades 3-6} read The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors for our May meeting. It's a fictional mystery with some fantasy thrown in.

At first, Madeline did not embrace the story. Every time we read one or two chapters, she wasn't eager to read more. That changed once events at Dr. Woo's worm hospital really got going ;)

From that point on, Madeline was hooked. Determined to keep reading until the book was finished! Even though the title is The Sasquatch Escape, the Sasquatch doesn't actually make an appearance for quite some time. We both wish he had appeared earlier!

The humor really picks up in the second half of the book. Sasquatch's escapades are HILARIOUS! The things he does will make you giggle and giggle.

Just toss out what you know about scary Bigfoot. Selfor's gentle giant is sweet, enjoys being cooed at like a baby, and loves his chocolate. You'll love him too.

Although the vocabulary wasn't overly challenging, there were many words new to Madeline. Since we purchased this book via Kindle, it was neat to be able to highlight the word and see the definition pop up!

SYNOPSIS
Benjamin {Ben} Silverstein has been sent to spend the summer with his Grandpa Abe while his parents work out some troubles. Since the button factory closed, Buttonville isn't very exciting. Most families have moved away leaving the town deserted. And worse, the senior center is pretty much the only place to hang out and socialize.

Ben meets Pearl Petal, a girl whose family lives above the Dollar Store. Everyone in Buttonville calls her a troublemaker. But when Ben finds a injured baby dragon, he and Pearl see if the town's new worm doctor {Dr. Woo} can help.

During the visit to the worm hospital, Ben leaves the deadbolt open resulting in Sasquatch's escape. It's up to Ben and Pearl to locate the missing Sasquatch and bring him back to Dr. Woo's hospital - a hospital for Imaginary creatures!

FREEBIES
What a bummer, there is no study guide for this book. Being type-A and all, I've been creating my own study guide. Expect another post with more activities once we meet for book club :)  

Enjoy my vocabulary and bingo freebies:

Click here to download ~ Vocabulary Definitions

Click here to download ~ Vocabulary/Character/Setting Bingo Caller List

Click here to download ~ Bingo Cards Set #1

Click here to download ~ Bingo Cards Set #2

Click here to download ~ Bingo Cards Set #3

RATING
We'd rate The Sasquatch Escape 4 of 5 stars! It's a must-read for any child that loves mysteries, adventure, or animals.

Will we continue with the series? Most certainly!