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10 Books That I Cannot Bear To Get Rid Of
 A Giraffe and a HalfIf you had a giraffe and he stretched another half … you would have a giraffe and a half. And if you glued a rose to the tip of his nose … Children will be kept in stitches until the very end, when the situation is resolved in the most riotous way possible. Shel Silverstein’s incomparable line drawings add to the hilarity of his wildly funny rhymes. |
 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad DayAlexander knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up with gum in this hair. And it got worse…His best friend deserted him. There was no dessert in his lunch bag. And, on top of all that, there were lima beans for dinner and kissing on TV! |
 The Cat in the HatPoor Dick and Sally. It’s cold and wet and they’re stuck in the house with nothing to do . . . until a giant cat in a hat shows up, transforming the dull day into a madcap adventure and almost wrecking the place in the process! |
 Chicka Chicka Boom BoomA told B, and B told C, I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree. In this lively alphabet rhyme, all the letters of the alphabet race each other up the cocunut tree. Will there be enough room? Oh, no – Chicka Chicka Boom! Boom! |
 Goodnight MoonIn a great green room, tucked away in bed, is a little bunny. “Goodnight room, goodnight moon.” And to all the familiar things in the softly lit room—to the picture of the three little bears sitting in chairs, to the clocks and his socks, to the mittens and the kittens, to everything one by one—he says goodnight. |
 If You Give a Mouse a CookieIf a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk. He’ll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn’t have a milk mustache, and then he’ll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim….The consequences of giving a cookie to this energetic mouse run the young host ragged, but young readers will come away smiling at the antics that tumble like dominoes through the pages of this delightful picture book. |
 The JungleAnimal themed board book with googly eyes. |
 The Monster at the End of This BookBy all accounts, this book is a favorite among toddlers and adults alike. Generations will recall their first time reading along as lovable, furry old Grover begs the reader not to turn the page . . . for a monster is at the end of the book! But, of course, the monster is none other than Grover himself. |
 There Are Monsters EverywhereWhat kid doesn’t suspect that there are monsters lurking under the bed, behind the shower curtain, in the basement, and even outside by the garbage cans? Mercer Mayer brilliantly and hilariously captures this classic childhood fear—and conquers it! Kids will cheer as the young hero of the story takes matters into his own hands by learning karate. Soon he has the monsters running scared! |
 There’s Something There!: Three Bedtime ClassicsIncludes: There’s Something in My Attic, There’s a Nightmare in My Closet, There’s an Alligator Under My Bed The pesky nightmare in the closet won’t stay in there at night, even with the door closed all the way. When he gets out, what do you do? Comfort him and put him to bed, of course! Next, the nightmare’s gone, but what about that alligator? Maybe a midnight snack to lure him into the garage will do the trick. Then, convinced there is something making noise in the attic at night, a brave little girl sneaks up the stairs, lasso in hand, to capture whatever it is. |
Every Tuesday, for the next ten weeks, I will be participating in a special Ten in Ten blog hop with iHomeschool Network. This blog hop is inspired by our dear friend and sister Angie of Many Little Blessings. We would love to have you join us during our ten week adventure. Please link up at Angie’s blog by clicking the image below.
Our Top Ten Science Toys
My 11 year old son is a scientist. Almost every toy we buy him is either LEGO or science related. Below is his list of ten awesome toys. These are in no particular order.
2. Celestron NexStar 6 SE Telescope
3. CHEM C1000
4. Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden
6. Prof. Noggin’s Science Games
7b. 100 Piece Assorted Specimen Collection Microscope Slides
9. Survival Craft (this is an iPad app similar to MineCraft, but my son says it is so much better.)
Okay, he didn’t want to stop at 10 and he has 3 more to include.
11. Advanced Earth Science Collection, 105 specimens
12. LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT Base Set
13. Simple and Motorized Mechanisms Base Set
Every Tuesday, for the next ten weeks, I will be participating in a special Ten in Ten blog hop with iHomeschool Network. This blog hop is inspired by our dear friend and sister Angie of Many Little Blessings. We would love to have you join us during our ten week adventure. Please link up at Angie’s blog by clicking the image below.
10 Things I’ve Learned About Myself Through Homeschooling
1. This homeschooling choice is a lifestyle.
Homeschooling is not just something you do from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. True, authentic homeschooling takes place at all hours of the day, 7 days a week. Homeschooling is also not restricted to home.
2. My husband trusts me. Really truly trusts me.
My husband is a director. He is used to telling people what to do. Sometimes it is necessary to micromanage people. He has very high standards too. His personality makes him really good at his job. However, he doesn’t do that with me. He trusts me. He never questions my homeschooling or parenting decisions. He believes in my abilities. It breaks my heart to hear from women who desperately want to homeschool, but their husbands will not let them. I hear that several times per week. Because of that, I never take my husband’s complete blessing for granted. Homeschooling has shown me just how much my husband believes in me and trusts my judgments.
3. Books are way better than movies.
Confession…I had not read a single classic until we started homeschooling. But, I’ve seen a million movies based on the classics. Homeschooling has taught me that the book is always greater than the movie. It has become a rule in my house that we have to read the book before seeing the movie.
4. TV is not an enemy.
Many homeschooling, Christian families are anti-TV. We are not. Star Trek opened my son up to the world of astronomy and also vastly increased his vocabulary. Mythbusters taught him the general concepts of physics. Doctor Who enhanced his story writing creativity. Shows like Mysteries at the Museum and Digging for the Truth showed my son the excitement and importance of archaeology. We utilize Netflix, Discovery and The History Channel a lot.
5. My son is really cool.
Of course I love my son, but I also really really like him too. He is funny, fun to be around, intelligent, sweet, honest, inspiring, and just plain weird. Weird people are always the greatest people to be around. Because of homeschooling, I get to spend my days with this amazing kid!!
6. So are his friends.
My son has great taste in friends. I make it a point to try to spend time talking to and getting to know my son’s friends and they are great little people. It makes me so proud of the choices my son makes when he chooses his friends. Homeschooling has given me the time and opportunities to get to know these awesome little guys.
7. You do not have to finish everything that you buy.
I am a curriculum junkie. I spend way too much money on homeschooling stuff. Sometimes, this stuff just does not work out because it is not a good fit. Homeschooling taught me that just because you started it, you do not have to finish it. Give it away, sell it, let it sit on your shelf, or pack it away, but do not force your child to finish something just because you feel guilty about buying something and not completing it.
8. I am not a teacher.
I think teachers who lead classrooms are brilliant. Most of their hearts are in the right place, they are just sometimes hindered by the system. I never could be a teacher. This is one that baffles a lot of public or private school moms that I talk to. They do not realize that there is a huge difference between a teacher and a homeschooler. I am a terrible teacher. But I am a fantastic mom and homeschooler. I am. Not only is homeschooling just different, educating a gifted child is also just different. My son doesn’t necessarily need to be taught. He never really did. I feel more like a resource provider, facilitator, organizer, assistant, conversationalist, and researcher. For 4 years now, I’ve been asked to teach at Classical Conversations and I keep saying no. God sure knew what He was doing when He put us together!
9. I am left brained.
I am not sure why, but before my son was born I always thought I was right brained. Maybe becoming a mother and homeschooler actually changed my brain. Now I know that I am unequivocally, positively, 100% left brained. The process of homeschooling, with all the organization, planning and research involved, has shown me my gifts, helped me hone my skills, and taught me that I am more analytical and logical than I ever thought I was. Now that I can pick and choose what we learn and the methods that we use, I realize that I love subjects like science and math much more than subjects like art and music.
10. I am an introvert.
Homeschooling has also taught me that people.exhaust.me. Because of my son’s activities and the amount of time I have to spend talking to other parents, I’ve realized just how much of an introvert I am. I love my friends, I love the parents of my son’s friends, I love his coaches and instructors. But being with people in general sucks the energy right out of me. I am not shy or rude or insecure in the least, but I strongly dislike being in groups or talking openly with too many people at one time.
Every Tuesday, for the next ten weeks, I will be participating in a special Ten in Ten blog hop with iHomeschool Network. This blog hop is inspired by our dear friend and sister Angie of Many Little Blessings. We would love to have you join us during our ten week adventure. Please link up at Angie’s blog by clicking the image below.