{Review} Hold on Tight by Sara Acton

Hold on Tight is an easy to read adventure story triggered from a mothers simple request of not letting go of her hand. The illustrations are a great trigger for season changes and the differences that occur in weather, particularly the leaves of trees during autumn. The illustrations are a great conversational piece and can easily be used to capture a completely different story.
I can hardly wait to dig into our water colour paints and mimic some of the artwork with the children.

• Age 4+
• A young girl and her teddy get swept up in a story of imagination and adventure
• Beautifully written and illustrated by Sara Acton, 2012 winner of the Crichton Award for New Illustrators

"Hold on tight to my hand today.

You wouldn't want to blow away.

Would you?"

A whimsical autumn story from author and award-winning illustrator Sara Acton.

Sara Acton won the CBC Crichton Award for New Illustrators in 2012. Her first book, Ben and Duck, was published in 2011 by Scholastic Press.

Other books include:

Lots of Links:
Author: Sara Acton



Disclaimer: I was generously gifted this book for my personal review and opinion by Scholastic Press

[Continue Reading]

{Review} King Pig by Nick Bland

King Pig
Nick Bland

This is a great story to share with children on the characteristics of kindness, being kind to others as well as in judgement of when you are unkind and put yourself greater than others, people just don't like you. As a family, laying your life down for another is something we both honour and strive for, that includes giving rather than receiving. King Pig is a classic story example of how this can be done and the result when we are unkind. Actually, the story is quite humorous and not as deep as I just put forth but definitely underlying in value.
The illustrations make this story even more humorous while the expressions on faces show the serious side of the story.

• Ages 4+
• From the award-winning creator of the best-selling The Very Cranky Bear - Nick Bland
• Laough-Out-Loud tale of a colourful king who walks all over his sheep. Literally!
• A clever story with a simple message - be nice!
• Wide appeal to a variety of ages

Because he was the king, he could make the sheep do whatever he wanted, whenever he pleased. But he just couldn't make them like him. 

A royal romp about a little pig with a lot to learn, from best-selling picture book creator Nick Bland.

Nick Bland is one of Australia's best-selling authors and illustrators. His picture books, including the hugely popular The Very Cranky Bear, have been published around the world. In 2012 The Runaway Hug, illustrated by Freya Blackwood, was named the winner of the CBCA Book of the Year, Early Childhood. In 2010 The Wrong Book was shortlisted by the CBCA in the Early Childhood category. Nick lives in the Northern Territory.

Previous Publications:

 

 
 
 



Lots of Links:
1+1+1=1 ABC activites for toddlers - use the P for Pig

Disclaimer: I was gifted this glorious book for Review purposes from Scholastic Press

[Continue Reading]

Home School Library - Organising it

Once you've built up your Home School Library how are you meant to keep it altogether? With books easy to be found when needed.

In short... Like an actual Library.

Fiction 
I like to keep all the fiction together. That is.. all the story books, reading books or just for fun books. At the moment they are kept in the dining room as that is where the shelves are. Eventually they might be moved into the learning room.
I find having them in a main walk way place means they are easier to grab on the way through so we can read in many areas of the home. Having them in a central location means putting books away is faster also. Plus it inspires me to read at the dining table during that time we might be waiting for someone or something before a meal takes place.

Without some kind of book storage a home library really does not work. I used to have them stored in boxes stacked on top of each other and they never got read or even thought about. Get yourself a decent book shelf!!

Board Books for babies
I keep what ever board books that are found in a cubby hole together (middle hole), they are meant to be in a tray facing outwards but it has disappeared. A shallow tray or box (like a kitty litter box) or basket helps little children put them back, and they are stored facing the toddler which makes it easier to find something or catch their attention. Having them in a small container also means you can take the entire container out and read oh I don't know.. 50 books in a sitting.

Sets of Books
I like to keep 'sets of books' together, such as all the Dr Seuss books together. We know the author of the books which helps find them faster, plus it looks nicer and it is begining to teach children book order. Remember. I have lots of LITTLE kids, so books are not always put back exactly where they started off and not a priority of mine to keep in a specific order.

All Other Fiction Books
All other Fiction books are kept in the other cubby holes in any order. I like it this way because they can practically be dumped back on the shelf and are in the 'right' place.
I do not care to sort them into any sort of order whether it be by author or theme. When we are looking for a reading book there are plenty to choose from.
I do not plan what books we are going to read in advance or for special unit studies so it is not a necessary practice.

Added note
Even though I do not enjoy our local library they keep their children's fiction books in much the same 'order'. None. They get taken out of the boxes and returned to other boxes. If it can work for a library which has more kids checking out books than my home then it can work for us too.



Non-Fiction

Bible Books
Most of our bible books are in sets and have had more money spent on them then the other books. I keep the vast majority of these books in the lounge room on the 'fancy' bookshelf up higher than the baby can reach. Yeah, I do get a bit emotional when a child thoughtlessly ruins one of these books and so I keep them out of reach of the smaller children. Older children will collect a book when they desire.

Keeping the bible books separate from the Fiction books means I know exactly where the book should be that I am looking for and I like it that way.

Non-Fiction books

The book shelf for these books are in the storage room, so out of immediate access but still accessible when we are looking for something specific. Children know where they are.

I know where all the 'learning books' are when the children ask a specific question and I need to find references or pictures to flow on from the information I am presenting (Alternatively, google works too!)

The 'learning books' are then kept together in their subject matter eg science, social studies, and within those categories all the human body books, all the atlases etc are grouped together or on display for children to easily seek themselves, depending on what interests are going on at the time.

Display for Non-Fiction books
Currently I have a 'human biology' area where several human body books sit on display with a few posters and a real life x-ray taken of one of our children. With the impending birth of our baby children are interested in the growing babe and the home it is currently living in.
Having these books on display arouses interest even in children previously not interest.



Parent/Teacher Books
Within our Home School Library I like to keep all the 'parent/teacher' books together, so all the art & craft books are kept together, all the maths books are kept together and all the english books are kept together, same with all the Social studies and science books.

As the library itself continues to grow this will continue to develop.

Cooking Books
In the dining room as a 'feature' I keep all our cooking books. It makes sense for cook books to be within easy reach for kitchen needs, so it is. And because I like things to be kept pretty, that is my aim.

Adult Books
All the adult books are in a separate bookshelf so children or rather babies stay uninterested and leave them alone. Sorry book lovers, there is no reason a toddler needs to be flipping pages of our books!

There you have it.

How do you organise your Home School Library? I would love to know

5 Things I am Thankful for:

1. Book shelves

2. A large home to store and have books in

3. Children who learn through reading and actively seek information through books

4. Growing interest areas in all the children + me

5. The love of books within our family

[Continue Reading]

Building a Home School Library on a budget

One of the beauties of Home Schooling is the multitude of books that come through the home. One of the not-so-beauties is having to pay for them all. At a cost of $20 per book can get a bit.. You know.. Pricey.

Naturally there are more frugal alternatives like using the library.

Library

Personally, I am not a library fan. Perhaps it is because our local library seems to have more inappropriate content in reach of my very small children, or because I would rather not attempt at choosing decent living books with four small children to supervise also.
It could be a bit of a drama when the baby would prefer to play with the toddler-sized-chairs rather than be read to or look at books quietly and a tantrum has ALWAYS ensued a visit, and perhaps the library staff take their sweet time to check out all 30-odd books when we go, and perhaps carrying out 30-odd books to the car while attempting to hold two-toddler hands and stop a runner-5-year-old from skipping her merry way in front of a car crossing the car park.
In short, I don't enjoy library visits as a family outing. Perhaps one day we will, this is not a one-day. I could possibly just go on my own but that would have to be timed well.

Enough about the library.

Home Library
Building a library for home use is an adventure and super fun. Especially when you bring them home by the box load. Here's how:

• Garage Sales
• Op Shops
• Gorgeous Friends who's children have outgrown their books 
• Book Sales
• Library Book Sales
• Toy Library Book Sales
• Online Home School sites
• Birthday and Special Occassion Gifts
• Buy when on $ALE

There, easy. And 1/8th of the price of Regular Retail

(Yes, I would prefer to take my kids into an op shop than the library!)

Buying Second Hand means we are recycling what others are no longer using. 

My Experiences
In the picture above the right hand side cubby hole is Dr Seuss books only. I only have like 38 of them (although I think I have acquired a few more since last count). I picked most of them up for $2ea and the bigger two for $3 in a bulk lot with loads of other books.

At an opshop I went through the entire shelf piling up books of interest, took my pile to the counter and said "How much for all of these? I only have $x so I will have to put some back" She gave them to me for $10 (would have been one of those cubby holes full). I was prepared to put some back but she was happy that the shelves were being cleared.

At another opshop I got two huge boxes full of books, homeschool curriculums and non-fiction books + educational games and puzzles + a few outfits + new glasses and bowls + things for the kitchen. For $30!! I can go to McDonalds for lunch with 4 kids and spend over that amount!!

Honestly homeschoolers, it is worth doing it!! 

Benefits of having a Home Library

• A wide variety of books available to all children at all times
• No late fees or return dates *ahem*
• Can have the book for ages and ages not a mere 3 weeks
• Builds interest in children, seeing different subject matter available all the time means they can choose different books so much easier
• When the baby rips a page out... its less a big deal than a library book (hasn't happened to me yet)
• You can lend your books out to other book lovers without pressure
• No library visits. Or reduced library visits
• Have the exact books that you DO want on hand when you want them
• You can pick up a specific book when a child asks you a specific question. Such as our human body books, when children ask questions we can 'research the answer together' 
• likewise when children want to know something or check on something they know they can find the book and 'teach themselves' or remind themselves. Rather than being 'force-fed' like what can happen in schools
• For us having lots of kids means that children are growing out of younger books and being picked up by younger children, so they are getting used and used well

Are you building a homeschool library? I'd love to know, 

and I'd love to know how you are building it :)

5 Things I am Thankful for:

1. Books available to buy at great prices

2. Amazing friends who's children are older and don't read their books anymore

3. Learning that takes place naturally through literature

4. Language development and interest through literature

5. Self-learning children researching areas of interest themselves (& seeking help when they need it)

[Continue Reading]

Book: Good Night, Sleep Tight by Mem Fox - Review Give Away now Closed

The Lots of Little Kids enjoy being read to, especially books with great illustrations. 

They enjoy looking at illustrations and trying to tell the story, or use their creativity and make up a new story. 

I like books that have a certain repetativeness to it, where the children are able to pick up a book and tell part of the story themself or finish off a sentence for you. Even though it can get VERY loud!! Even more so if it can become a little bit sing-song like or rhyming. ;)

I was pleasantly surprised by the book Good night, Sleep tight by Mem Fox. With a free-flowing sound, mixed with classic nursery rhymes the book captures and holds the attention of my little guys, its not too long and easy to read. Actually it is easy to read over and over and over and over and over.... 

Im not very good at remembering nursery rhymes so books with memory triggers really help me.  This book captures an active interaction, even with very small children as you sing along with the nursery rhymes and even put the actions into practice. 

Here is what the publisher has to say:

Good Night, Sleep Tight was inspired by research suggesting that children who have learnt six nursery rhymes by age four will usually be in the top reading group by eight. The book revives seven classic nursery rhymes for new generations and highlights the importance of parents reading aloud to their children. 

Mem Fox is the author of much loved classic children’s picture books, Possum Magic and Where is the Green Sheep? Some we already have and read ;)

Thanks to Impact Communications, one lucky reader will receive a free copy of Good Night, Sleep Tight by Mem Fox. All you need to do is comment below to be in the drawer to be a WINNER drawn Monday 11th february 2013 
The children and I are still enjoying our free copy of Good Night, Sleep Tight by Mem Fox.

[Continue Reading]

Book: We're Going on a Bear Hunt

My kids LOVE this story! Have you read it? Do you know it off by heart?
One of the AMAZING things I find about this book is the simplicity of words making memorization a breeze, especially for little ones. The amount of times I have witnessed my children 'reading' this book to their younger siblings, word for word. Its great.

But more than that! This book turns into a game, a game using the imagination, mud, long grass and some hysterical laughs all round.

I especially love the morning where I looked out the window to see my front yard completely flooding, children traipsing through mud and laughs all round. That day was a sight for anyone!

I wrote this post early 2011, as a reminder of the links that i used to create our first (& last) unit study. Unit studies don't work for me, and don't interest the children. So we don't do them. We do what DOES work. But I still want to include these links in my post, and the reminder of the book.

If nothing else watch the You Tube clip ;)


Lots of Links:
Felt Board Story
AWESOME BLOG POST HERE - My Inspiration came from here. In case you missed the links at the bottom I've added ones I used here:
I used the Story Sequencing Cards from here
YOU TUBE clip by Writer - Very COOL!
Lap Book
Story Pack

[Continue Reading]

Book: Mike Mulligan & his Steam Shovel

A new favourite book in our home. The story is about a man and his steam shovel who suddenly find themselves outdated in their technology. With no job prospects they attempt to dig a cellar for the new town hall in just a day. Digging faster and better the more people watch it they finally finish the job. But with a new dilema...

This book is used with "The Blue Book" for LLATL - Learning Language Arts Through Literature

[Continue Reading]

Book: A is for Adam

                                                  {Photo chosen for its hilariousness}

These books are awesome & a must have for every creation-based home environment schooling or not. The children have been learning their alphabet through this (natural reinforcement) & I've learnt a great deal myself. They are currently my favourite children's books & also the children's.

They are hard copy and have photocopiable (is that a word?) pictures in the back to photocopy. We also have the DVDs (both A is for Adam & D is for Dinosaur) which are great & a must watch. (They can be hired at our local Christian Bookshop if your interested).

Click HERE for more information.

[Continue Reading]

Book: The Lion and the Mouse

I remember LOVING this story as a kid. I was so pleased to come across it at our local library yesterday. Already the children are enjoying the story.

I particularly like the end page:
The Moral "It holds through the whole scale of Creation,
that the Great and the Little have need, one of another."

[Continue Reading]