Games for Writing

I recently shared my review for Games for Math by Peggy Kaye.

This series of books is such a valuable tool in our homeschool that I'm reviewing three of the titles over at The Curriculum Choice. Here are the links:

Games for Writing

Games for Math

(Games for Reading will be up later this month.)

I invite you to head over to The Curriculum Choice to check these out. They are full of easy-and-quick-to-make-games that will spice up your language arts and math time. My kids have really enjoyed the games in these books!

You can also click on the button below to read more curriculum reviews and helpful articles written by a great team of homeschooling Moms!



Enjoy!

Portfolio Assessment: Book List

Tomorrow I meet with the teacher who is doing our portfolio assessment this year.

In Ohio, homeschoolers can choose to either have their student take a standardized test or submit a portfolio with samples of work to an Ohio certified teacher.

For these early grades (kindergarten and second), I prefer the portfolio assessment. In third or fourth grade I will probably begin standardized testing.

Our "assessor" - as I like to call her when I find it necessary to provide certain children with extra motivation to do their work - is asking for a variety of samples from the children's work over the past year.

She also requested a list of books read in the past year. Due to lax record-keeping on my part, it's taken me the better portion of the evening to put it together, so I thought I'd share it here too.

Enjoy!

Unit Study Read-Alouds 2009-2010

Westward Expansion
Seaman’s Journey: On The Trail with Lewis and Clark by Patti Reeder Eubank
Lewis and Clark: A Praire Dog for The President by Shirley Redmond
How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer
A Picture Book of Sacagawea by David Adler
Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson
If You Were A Pioneer on The Prairie by Anne Kamma
Daily Life in A Plains Indian Village 1868 by Michael Terry
Chief Crazy Horse: Following A Vision by Larry Dane Brimner (American Heroes)
Sitting Bull by Lisa Trumbauer (First Biographies)
P is for Peace Garden: A North Dakota Alphabet by Roxanne Salonen

Apples
How to Make An Apple Pie And See the World by Marjorie Priceman
Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro
Johnny Appleseed by Stephen Kellogg
Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer
Apple Picking Time by Michele Slawson
Apple Cake by Nienke van Hichtum
Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson

Rocks and Minerals
Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst
Thank God for Rocks by Esther Bender
The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole
Everybody Needs A Rock by Byrd Baylor
Rocks in My Pockets by Marc Harshman
If You Find A Rock by Peggy Christian
Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough by Natalie Rosinsky
Rocks! Rocks! Rocks! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Let’s Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans

Fall and Thanksgiving
In November by Cynthia Rylant
Poppleton in Fall by Cynthia Rylant
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas?
Goody O’Grumpity by Carol Ryrie Brink
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale by Derek Anderson
This First Thanksgiving Day by Laura Krauss Melmed
P is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet by Carol Crane

Christmas
One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham
Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers by Andrew Clements
A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith
This Is The Star by Joyce Dunbar
The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
The Friendly Beasts by Tomie de Paola
Room for A Little One by Martin Waddell
O Come Little Children by Anita Reith Stohs
Who Is Coming to Our House by Joseph Slate
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
This is The Stable by Cynthia Cotton
The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett
Mouse and Mole and The Christmas Walk by Doug Cushman
Waiting for Christmas: A Story about the Advent Calendar by Kathleen Long Bostrom
The Candymaker's Gift: The Legend of the Candy Cane by David Haidel
The Christmas Troll by Eugene Petersen

Easter
The Parable of The Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs
Benjamin’s Box: The Story of the Resurrection Eggs by Melody Carlson

Knights and Castles
The Duchess Bakes A Cake by Virginia Rahl
The Knight And The Dragon by Tomie de Paola
Saint George and The Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges
The Cookie Tree by Jay Williams
Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess, Page by Richard Platt
You Wouldn’t Want to Live in a Medieval Castle by Jacqueline Morley
The Making of A Knight: How Sir James Earned His Armor by Patrick O’Brien
The Best Book of Knights and Castles by Deborah Murrell
Marguerite Makes A Book by Bruce Robertson
A Medieval Feast by Aliki
Knight: A Noble Guide for Young Squires by Sir Geoffrey de Lance
Knights and Castles by Mary Pope Osborne
Days of the Knights: A Tale of Castles and Battles (DK Eyewitness Reader)
by Christopher Maynard
You Wouldn’t Want to Be A Medieval Knight by Fiona MacDonald
Coat of Arms by Catherine Daly-Weir
Castles by Stephanie Turnbull (Usborne Beginners)
The Squire and The Scroll: A Tale of The Rewards of A Pure Heart by Jennie Bishop
The True Princess by Angela Elwell Hunt

Games for Math

While I'm trying to get back on the blogging wagon, I thought I'd share my latest post for The Curriculum Choice.

Early on in our homeschooling I heard about a series of books containing learning games by a veteran teacher/tutor named Peggy Kaye. I started using her Games for Math several years ago and just recently purchased Games for Writing.

I can't say enough good things about these books. They are jam packed with terrific, no-hassle teaching games that my kids love!

I invite you to head over to The Curriculum Choice and see my review for Games for Math. The Games for Writing review will be posted toward the end of this month.

If you've never visited The Curriculum Choice, I think you'll like it - lots of good info. written by a great team of homeschool Moms!