Picture books are a wonderful way to introduce your children to all kinds of topics. The selection of quality picture books is amazing and reading aloud to your children is such a natural and gentle way for your children to learn. I can’t encourage you enough to be purposeful in carving out a designated read-aloud time every day. If Morning Time or a Morning Basket is already a part of your regular routine, these should be in there! (If you are not familiar with the concept of a Morning Basket, click here to link to a short video that will help you get started.) Cycling through these stories throughout the year will give your young children a solid grasp of basic grammar. My 7-year-old, who has not been introduced to any grammar concepts yet, had a clear understanding of nouns after the first read-through, and even my 9-year-old who has completed 2 years of formal grammar curriculum enjoyed these books. There is a suggested game at the end of each book that is simple and fun. Don’t dismiss big kids before you read one of these to a younger one; they work well as a simple review, and I found that my young ones enjoyed having the big ones participate in the game. Order a few to get started with but you’ll probably be back for more. If You Were a Noun If You Were an Adjective If You Were a Verb If You Were an Adverb If You Were a Preposition If You Were an Interjection If You Were a Conjunction If You Were a Homonym or a Homophone If You Were an Antonym by Adrianne Curwen Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children. She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there. Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new. She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.
Many of these book covers take me back to my childhood. I always looked for Bill Peet books in my school library to sign out. Kermit the Hermit The Wump World Hubert’s Hair-Raising Adventure Farewell to Shady Glade Chester the Worldly Pig The Ant and the Elephant Buford the Little Bighorn The Gnats of Knotty Pine Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent Big Bad Bruce Smokey Huge Harold Jennifer and Josephine Cowardly Clyde How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head Eli Ella Capyboppy The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock The Caboose Who Got Loose The Whingdingdilly Go beyond reading these great picture books to your children and introduce them to the author. Bill Peet An Autobiography
The Wind in the Willows Emma The Scarlett Pimpernel The Swiss Family Robinson Little Women My Antonia Eight Cousins Where the Red Fern Grows Anne of Green Gables
Rikki Tikki Tavi Velveteen Rabbit Frog & Toad Together Guess How Much I Love You Saint Valentine The Monkey & The Crocodile The Owl & The Pussycat
I really enjoy allowing the rhythm of the year to guide us through some of our learning. February has a lot packed into it and this Book Stack has great titles to help you move through the month and all the learning themes that go along with it. Started off February by reading Groundhog Day. It’s a cute picture book that takes you through the history of this fun tradition and teaches about groundhogs. We also carry a sweet story about a groundhog and his shadow called Gregory’s Shadow. Black History Month You can use any of these titles to help you learn about and commemorate Black History Month: Elijah Underground to Canada If You Travelled on the Underground Railroad Valentine’s Day Saint Valentine was a historical figure. Take the time to learn about him and the story behind this special day. We also carry a couple of fun Valentine’s books, Nate and the Mushy Valentine is a short easy to read chapter book and Cranberry Valentine, a picture book. Family Day It’s Family Day on February 12th in New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. Little Fur Family We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Nova Scotia Heritage Day, Yukon Heritage Day, Islander Day B is for Bluenose, I is for Island, and T is for Territories are fun alphabet picture books. The pictures will take you on a mini-tour of each area and help you celebrate Nova Scotia Heritage Day, Yukon Heritage Day, and Islander Day (Oh, and don’t forget Anne of Green Gables and all the sequels). Chinese New Year February 12 is Chinese New Year. This is a great time to learn about China, the culture, traditions, and legends. Ping Anno’s China Ruby’s Wish Ming Lo Moves the Mountain Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Chu Ju’s House Happy Reading! by Adrianne Curwen Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children. She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there. Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new. She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.
Whether books are the foundation to your child’s learning, something you use to supplement curriculum, or you simply value what books bring into your home, CEB’s Book Stacks are something we’ll be pulling together on a regular basis to help you educate your children. Making Memories Themes are fun and a key ingredient to making memories. I use them regularly in life and book themes are no exception. I pull out all the fall-themed picture books off our bookshelves every September, we have a bin of Christmas books that gets hauled out in December, and I love finding books that coordinate with the other things we have going on. Our trip to an ocean cabin included a bin full of ocean-themed activities: picture books, puzzles, games, and coloring sheets. What stuffies do you bring on an ocean vacation? Well, the mermaid and sea star of course. During our family read-aloud time of The Green Ember, it just made sense to find picture books about Rabbits. This year my plan is to purchase books about bacteria, viruses, and pandemics. Boundaries Help Creativity Themes introduce boundaries. We don’t often think of boundaries as enhancing creativity or opening up our world, but they do. A few years ago, we had a fun and creative time planning our meals for Valentines’ Day when we decided that everything had to be red. And there was that year we had silent reading themes: Mondays were for science, Tuesdays were for history, Wednesdays were for fiction, and Thursdays were for bible stories. This was a good strategy to encourage reading outside of the “go-to” genre. Books are a Curriculum Complement Homeschool Mamas have a special relationship with books. We know that there is a heap of learning that can be pulled out of living books. I find myself leaning more and more on books particularly in the primary years. It’s such a sweet and gentle way to learn. I encourage you to weave living books into your curriculum where you can, especially when you notice a child being drawn into a particular topic. Benefits of Living Books -spark curiosity -are a delight -present facts as part of a storyline -lead to greater retention -are exciting -are whole books -draw a reader in -make the subject matter come alive Immersion Immersing a child in a topic is a great way for them to learn. This Winter Book Stack has so much to offer. Snow is Falling, Snowflake Bentley and Snowman-Cold=Puddle are all science books. Robert Frost’s Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening is a poetry book, Winter on the Farm is a social studies book, and Snow is a Language Arts book where you can introduce your children to what it means to write lyrically. I love how the pictures in Owl Moon capture the feeling of a winter’s night and White Snow Bright Snow captivates the delight children feel when it starts to snow. Katy and the Big Snow is a sweet fictional account in which your child can share in Katy’s shining moment experience, The Mitten is a traditional Ukrainian story, and in Brave Irene, you’ll be sending your child out on an adventure as the main character faces a snowstorm. How fun would it be to have these books on hand for the next snow week? Add a snowflake craft and you’ll have a week to remember. I hope you enjoy this Book Stack. We can’t always add the book suggestions that you all have. We sure love to hear about them though and add them to our Wishlist. by Adrianne Curwen Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children. She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there. Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new. She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.
