20 Best Tips

Our Current Read Aloud – Raiders from the Sea

The summer months flew by and sitting down to read together just didn’t happen. We did listen to quite a few audiobooks while driving back and forth to the pool, but otherwise – well, we were having summer fun!

With the weather cooling down and having our school routine back in place, we’ve started reading together in the afternoons or evenings.

Raiders from the Sea recommended read-aloud

A few weeks into the our school year, Raiders from the Sea by Lois Walfrid Johnson was pulled out for one of the girls to use as her daily assigned reading. At first, there was a lot of whining and crying. There may have even been comments like, “This book is dumb!” or “Why do you make me read these books?”

After four chapters, the complaining stopped and a little girl disappeared into her room, curled up with a book that she just couldn’t put down. As soon as that book was finished, she begged and pleaded for us to get the four other books in the series.

She may have been a little hooked.

The other four books in the series were all ordered, and a little girl finished the series much to her delight. Now – since we own all five books in the series – it seemed only logical to read them together and find out what all the fuss was about.

Breeana O’Toole didn’t realize who it was that she rescued from drowning in the river. The term ‘Viking’ puts fear into the hearts of everyone. Bree’s peaceful family life is about to be disrupted in ways she never even fathomed.

Set around the year A.D. 1000, Raiders from the Sea follows the story of Bree and her brother Devin as they are captured by Vikings and taken from their home in Ireland – and into slavery.

*Note – contains faith-based elements

As a family, we’re about halfway into the story together. A few children are building LEGO Viking ships while we read, but everyone is listening and guessing what will happen next.

Words from Raiders from the Sea

One thing that I love from reading out loud together is hearing how different children interpret a passage based on their age. We came across this one line that prompted a fun conversation – “At first, a thundercloud passed over his face.”

There was a puzzled look for a moment and then a ‘lightbulb’ moment – but just so fun to watch! Books and styles of writing give us so much to talk to our children about and to learn together.

If you’re interested in peeking at any of the books, just click on the widget below. They are available in both paperback format {around $7 each} or the entire series is less than $14 on the Kindle.

 

Books We’ve Previously Read Together

Here are a few other books that we’ve read together and blogged about. Click over to see our thoughts on them!

    What book or books are you reading together right now?

    Leave a comment and share a good read with us!

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Reading Challenge Charts

Reading Challenge Charts

Each year our kids look forward to a summer reading challenge. We try to keep it fairly simple, but it is so much fun to put together some simple treats and surprises for the kids that they ‘earn’ as they reach different reading goals as they work through their reading challenge charts.

The older kids get ‘credit’ for reading to their siblings, and we modify rewards based on their ages and reading abilities. For example, older children can earn 3 points for a REALLY good {and thick} book, but our struggling reader can earn 2 points for a chapter book that is more than 60 pages. Our youngest gets 1 point for any book he reads out loud, or for books that are read to him.

Future Read Alouds

As we work on read-alouds together, we mark off spots on our chart – any reading counts. And those audiobooks – they count too and are a great ‘rest time’ activity on a hot afternoons!

Prizes and treats are fairly simple and we set short goals too {i.e. for every 15 books read, etc…}: a pack of gum, an ice cream cone, a trip to the Dollar Tree, or a special breakfast with mom or dad. We make the prizes fun and an incentive to read!

If the kids finish the charts quickly – well, there is always time to do another round! Because we can make the prizes as simple as we want to, it typically isn’t a huge deal to do the challenge multiple times.

The reading challenge chart printables have a page for each season {because we love reading and decided to run the challenges year round} and also a modified version for younger children so they aren’t as overwhelmed. There are free downloads for the spring, summer, fall and winter months.

 

Looking for More Free Printables?

Be sure to visit the main printable hub that links to all of the free printables shared here on this site. Click on the button below to find a listing from A to Z.

Printables from A to Z copy

 

Need Ideas for Summer Reading and Listening?

Here are a few of the paperback and audio books that our family has enjoyed immensely. What books do you recommend?


We’ve Fallen Off the Read-Aloud Wagon

Mysterious Benedict and the Perilous Journey

For the first half of our school year we did a great job {i.e. were consistent} in reading out loud together as a family. Over the last few months we read {and read and read} The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. The kids loved it {and so did the adults}, but it was a long book. Long.

Did I mention there are a few more books in that series that are equally as long? I tend to forget how quickly I can read to myself until I see how little of a dent we’ve put in a book reading it out loud.

But – reading out loud is a whole lot of fun. Really.

Since Christmas though, our reading together has dwindled, which seems strange since the nights are cold and curling up together with a good story seems that it would be the perfect thing to do.  The truth is, we managed to get out of the habit and need to put ourselves back into it.

{It may also be that the next book in the Benedict series is taunting me with it’s thickness – ahem}.

Future Read Alouds

So this week, I’m making it a goal to pull out a shorter book from the pile that I put aside to read aloud this year with the kids and get us back on track. Something quick and fun that will get everyone excited and ready to read more.

Pulled from the stack are The Bears on Hemlock Mountain and Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

What are YOU reading with your kids right now?

 

Books that we’ve previously read together {and blogged about}:

 

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Maestro Classics ~ introduce great music and classics stories to children with this classical music series. Check out their FREE homeschool music curriculum guides!

Teaching Your Child to Read

teaching children to read

Several times a week I get emails from readers asking about tools for teaching children to read. With our oldest two children we didn’t use a set program, although we did work on spelling rules {using All About Spelling} and that set a fabulous foundation for both of them.

Our boys, however, have been a different story – more hesitant in their reading. Different teaching methods were needed as well as a more hands-on approach than our girls had needed. To say there were moments of frustration for me would be an understatement.

All About Reading

When All About Reading released their Pre1 reading program, we began using it and are now working through the levels with our boys. We have loved it as a step-by-step program for teaching children to read.

As a mom {and the teacher}, I love the hands-on approach to teaching reading and the pre-planned lessons that walk you through the reading process with your child. We’ve used all three levels that have been released and I really can’t say enough wonderful things about All About Reading. If you’d like to learn more about the program, you can read my reviews on All About Reading here.

Even though our family uses {and recommends} All About Reading, there are some other fabulous bloggers who have put together some reading programs and guides for parents and I wanted to share them with you as well.

You Can Read!

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You Can Read is a sight word program for younger readers created by my wonderful friend Carisa from 1+1+1=1.   The printables in You Can Read are based on the Dolch Pre Primer & Primer Sight Word lists, as well as a few I added in, for a total of 72 words. It is geared toward children ages 4-6 {Kindergarten age} and includes 18 units for you to use with your child.

I Can Teach My Child to Read!

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Recently, Jenae from I Can Teach My Child has a book that she recently released called I Can Teach My Child to Read that is an ebook specifically for moms. This ebook walks you through the basic fundamentals of teaching your child to read and you will walk away from the book with things you can do right away with your child – a great resource for $3.99!

 

Those are just a few resources that I wanted to share with you all – do you have a book or resource that has been a help to you in teaching your children to read? Leave a comment and share!

 

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Apologia Educational Ministries ~ producing resources to help homeschool families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith.

Eleven Books to Read in Kindergarten

Homeschool Preschool: Preschool and Kindergarten Community linkup at Homeschool Creations

There are eleven books on our kindergarten must-read list. With half of our school year behind us and looking ahead at the rest of the year, here are eleven books that we will be focusing on for the rest of the school year.

The learning goes so much deeper when we have a great book that is not only rich in story line, but one that has fun activities and crafts that we can tie into the learning. That allows us the opportunity to remember through the hands-on things that we do as well!

Books We’ll Be Reading Together

Eleven Must Read Books for Kindergarten

 

The following eleven books are ones that we’ll be reading together this year as a part of our homeschool time. If you like these books, you may also enjoy the Literature Based Printables and books we read in the past. Ready to see what’s on our list? Here they are…

Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

The Little Rabbit by Jodi Dunn

The Little Rabbit by Jodi Dunn

Katy No Pocket by Emmy Payne

Katy No Pocket by Emmy Payne

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

The Big Green Pocketbook by Candice Ransom

The Big Green Pocketbook by Candice Ransom

I Am an Artist by Pat Collins

I Am an Artist by Pat Collins

Kittens for Keeps {also called Jenny’s Surprise Summer}

a Golden Book

Kittens for Keeps {also called Jenny’s Surprise Summer} a Golden Book

Play With Me by Marie Hall Ets

Play With Me by Marie Hall Ets  

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Henry the Castaway by Mark Taylor

Henry the Castaway by Mark Taylor

What books and themes do you want to include in your school time the rest of this year? Leave a comment today {maybe the rest of us need some great ideas!!}.

  

 

Follow the PreK and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board

Preschool Pinterest Board

Each week I am  pinning many of your links onto the Preschool and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board. I’m a visual person, so having pictures to help me remember posts is super helpful. Be sure to jump over and follow the board – and find some fun ideas at the same time!

 

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Link Up with the Preschool and Kindergarten Community!

Share what you are doing with your kids! Please link your exact blog post to the Mr. Linky below and link back here too! Grab a button for your post and be sure to take a minute to visit the person who linked up before you.

  

Challenge on the Hill of Fire – an Imagination Station Book

This post is our honest review of a product that we received for free. All opinions expressed are solely mine.

Finding fun ways to learn about history can make such a difference in helping children remember different stories from the past. We recently studied the life of Saint Patrick in our history studies, so Challenge on the Hill of Fire was a great addition to our reading time with the kids.

From the PublishersChallenge on the Hill of FireKidnapped by Celtic Druids in 433, Patrick and Beth are headed to certain death when followers of a former Irish Slave (Saint Patrick, called Patritius in this book) save them. The cousins find themselves in the midst of a power struggle between Ireland’s King Logaire, Patritius, and the leader of the Druids, Lochru. A spiritual showdown begins on the Hill of Slane when Patritius builds a fire, challenging the King’s authority. Will Patritius prove to the king that the God of the Bible is the true God? Or will the king take sides with the Druids? The Emerald Isle holds many tales and legends, but this story of truth and standing strong for God is not one to be missed.

About the Series

The Imagination Station series, published by Tyndale House, is a historical fiction book set for children ages 7 and up. The chapter book series follows cousins Beth and Patrick as they travel through time and visit different points in history. Each book also shows the historical period from a Biblical perspective ~ and in a fun and exciting way for children.

Parents and children can also visit TheImaginationStation.com to find out secret words, family devotionals, parent guides and more that tie in with each of the books in the series. The website also lists what is true or exaggerated for each of the books along with additional links to characters in the stories.

The Imagination Station books are available for purchase through Amazon and are reasonably priced at $4.99/each {they are also frequently part of the 4-for-3 promotion}. We have the entire series and they are great readers for Zachary. They are books that we will continue to add to our library as they are released – and enjoy as a read aloud {unless someone sneaks a book off!}.

AOI book 1 AOI book 2 AOI book 3 AOI book 4 AOI book 5
AOI book 6 AOI book 7 AOI book 8 AOI book 9 Challenge on the Hill of Fire

Visit these pages to learn more about the series:

Official Imagination Station website

Adventures in Odyssey Facebook page

Adventures in Odyssey on Twitter

We enjoyed Challenge on the Hill of Fire as much as the other nine books in the series and are always excited to see when a new book is released! Our family highly recommends this series!