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Harry the Dirty Dog Activity for Tots

April 12, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Piglet and I read the classic children’s story Harry the Dirty Dog together and she loved it! So, we decided to share a simple art activity together that would help her connect with the events in the story!

Check out our super easy Harry the Dirty Dog activity! It’s simple enough to try with toddlers, tots, and preschoolers and you can prep it in just a few minutes!

Harry the Dirty Dog Activity for Tots

This activity is extremely easy. Honestly. Plus, it’s guaranteed to get your tots into the story!

What You’ll Need:

The book Harry the Dirty Dog
Crayola Dry Erase Crayons
A copy of our Clean the Dirty Dog Printable
A laminator

Once you print the Clean the Dirty Dog printable, run it through the laminator. Then get out your dry erase crayons.

You’ll only need the black one. 🙂 I like the Crayola Dry Erase crayons, because they come with the cleaning mitt, which you’ll also need.

In the story, Harry hates taking baths, so he hides his scrubbing brush and runs away from home. While he’s away, he gets super dirty – running through a construction site, sliding down a coal chute, and so on.

So our first step was to get our white dog dirtied up!

I just turned Piglet loose with the crayon.

Boy, he really got dirty, didn’t he?

Making our white dog dirty was probably Piglet’s favorite part of the entire activity. 🙂

When Harry returns home, he’s so dirty that his family doesn’t recognize him. Frightened, he digs up the scrubbing brush, runs into the house, and jumps into the bathtub.

Once he’s all clean and scrubbed, the kids know that the black dog with white spots is actually Harry, their white dog with black spots.

Naturally, we had to clean Harry up too! And that’s where the dry erase mitt came in handy.

Aw…look how clean he is!

To do this art activity with your littles, get a copy of our free Clean the Dirty Dog printable below!

Clean the Dirty Dog Printable

Want more book-related learning fun? Check out these posts!

This post is part of the Read It, Make It Book + Craft Week linkup from Emma Owl! Get 50 ideas for arts and crafts based on children’s books!

Follow my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest to get more literacy ideas for your little ones!

50 Beautiful Spring Books for Kids to Read

April 7, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

I absolutely adore spring…mostly because I detest winter. (Cold weather turns me into an actual bum.)

But once the days start to get longer and the weather starts to get warmer, I come alive! And it’s a wonderful time to explore changing seasons with our kids!

This year, I want to put a greater focus on spring reading, so I put together a list of 50 spring books for kids! These are spring books for kids are great for talking about the season, examining how things around us change, and generating ideas for spring break!

Want to share more spring learning with the kids? Don’t miss our All About Flowers printable unit study!

50 Spring Books for Kids:

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1. Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

2. Flip, Flap, Fly! A Book for Babies Everywhere by Phyllis Root

3. A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman

4. Cherry Blossoms Say Spring (National Geographic Kids) by Jill Esbaum

5. Storm is Coming! by Heather Tekavec

6. The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

7. Curious George Plants a Seed by H.A. Rey

8. Kitten’s Spring by Eugenie Fernandez

9. Poppleton in Spring by Cynthia Rylant

10. Spring is Here, Corduroy! by Don Freeman

11. It’s Spring by Linda Glazer and Susan Swan

12. Kite Day! (A Bear and Mole Story) by Will Hillenbrand

13. And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano

14. In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb by Marion Dane Bauer

15. Everything Spring! (Picture the Seasons) by Jill Esbaum

16. Plants in Spring (All About Spring) by Martha E. H. Rustad

17. National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant by Kristin Baird Rattini

18. The Tiny Seed (The World of Eric Carle) by Eric Carle

19. Mouse’s First Spring by Lauren Thompson

20. Let It Rain! by Maryann Cocca Leffler

21. It’s Spring by Samantha Berger

22. Weather in Spring (All About Spring) by Martha E. H. Rustad

23. When Spring Comes by Kevin Henke

24. Springtime Baby! (Baby Seasons) by Elise Broach

25. The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

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10 Amazing Geography Books for Home School

April 5, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Geography was NOT one of my favorite subjects in school. It was boring and dry and I just wanted to run out of class and never return.

So I’m determined to make it one of the best subjects in our homeschool. And that means choosing great geography books for my kids to explore.

Check out some of these amazing geography books for home school! I love these books and we use several of them regularly with our children!

10 Amazing Geography Books for Home School

Of this list, my personal favorite is Hungry Planet. It is a truly eye-opening look at the way world regions, economy, and culture play a role in the food we eat. Plus, it’s an introduction to human geography, not just points on a map. Physical geography is important, but it’s how it affects us as humans that really impacts our society.

Do you have a favorite book for teaching geography in your home school? Share your picks in the comments!

Get even more ideas to make geography fun for kids!

For more geography fun, stop by and follow my Geography for Homeschoolers board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Homeschool Geography Guide from iHomeschool Network! Click over to read more geography posts from my fellow bloggers!

The Best Picture Books for Three Year Olds

February 1, 2016 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Piglet turned three last winter. And, while she’s always been part of our family storytime, she’s really started to take an interest in storybooks lately. She constantly asks “Can you read this to me?” It melts my heart every time.

Naturally, she loves picture books. So I started looking for the best picture books for three year olds that I could share with her. So far, these are her absolute favorites! And, since many of these were classics when I was a kid, they were my favorites back in the day too.

By the way, these are all books that I’ve actually read. Trust me, they’re pretty great.

Image c/o: vadimphoto1@gmail.com via depositphotos

The Best Picture Books for Three-Year-Olds:

Did I miss any of your favorite picture books for three-year-olds? Share your family’s favorites in the comments!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

And catch some of our other book lists for kids below!

10 Kids’ Books about Monster Trucks

10 Children’s Books about Butterflies

10 Awesome Picture Books about Bugs

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

10 Picture Books about Firefighters

January 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

My boys are seriously into firefighters right now. When they see a fire truck go by on the street, you’d think that the sky had started raining cotton candy. Even Piglet jumps up and down shouting “FIRE TRUCK, MAMA!”

We got to learn about firefighters with a firefighter unit study a couple of months back, but I wanted to read a few more kids’ books about them. Pooh is reading chapter books now, so we’ve started Flat Stanley and the Firehouse.

But Roo is still in the early reader stage, so I started searching for picture books about firefighters that he’d love. Here are 10 of them that are full of pictures and firefighting fun!

10 Picture Books about Firefighters

If you want to use these books as the basis for a unit, check out our Firefighter Unit Study!

And for more great children’s books, follow my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

10 Kids’ Books about Penguins

December 15, 2015 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

One of our upcoming unit studies is going to be about penguins, so I thought we’d get started now by finding some children’s books about these super cute creatures. Today I’m sharing 10 kids’ books about penguins that would be perfect for a winter or polar unit!

Today is also another edition of the Laugh and Learn linky, so all of the ladies have shared their favorite picks from last week below. Be sure to check out our picks and read the newest posts shared!

Note: The Laugh and Learn linky will be going on vacation until the first of the year, so look for the next edition on January 5th!

10 Kids’ Books about Penguins

1. National Geographic Readers: Penguins by Anne Schreiber

2. Penguins! by Gail Gibbons

3. Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

4. How Do Penguins Play? by Diane Muldrow

5. If You Were a Penguin by Florence and Wendell Minor

6. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

7. Penguins by Seymour Simon

8. Scholastic Discover More: Penguins by Penelope Arlon

9. Penguin Says “Please” by Michael Dahl

10. Penguin Chick by Betty Tatham

For more winter animal fun, check out some of our other posts!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Linky time!

We are very EXCITED to bring you some new changes to this weeks Laugh and Learn Linkup! We hope you like them, and will continue to support us.

Welcome to our 63rd week of Laugh and Learn – Home & Family Linkup!
Laugh and Learn Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.
New: We have decided to expand our linkup to home and family categories! You are still welcome to share homeschooling or parenting posts with us. That will always be part of the #LaughLearnLinkup!

Each and every week, all of the hosts will pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on four blogs.

We are also sharing the top four posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!
Reminder: Please share this linkup! You can help us build a great family, home, parenting, and homeschool group.

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Tina

Tina lives abroad in Latin America with her husband and four children. Currently in Mexico, Tina is active in homeschool, travel, and her Bible ministry. She blogs about all of their adventures, and more at Los Gringos Locos.
Find Tina at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Twitter
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Selena

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!
Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
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Instagram

Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help them learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids, and their funny antics. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Twitter
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YouTube
Stumble Upon

Grab a Button / Badge:

If you were featured this week, we would love for you to use this badge below. We really appreciate all your hard work, and sharing with us each and every week!

I was featured at Laugh and Learn Linkup: Join us every Tuesday to share your favorite home or family posts!

We would also love if you could use this badge on any post you shared with us. Or a text link would also be greatly appreciated. More shares and links helps us build a better and bigger linkup for all us to benefit from.

Laugh and Learn Linkup: Join us every Tuesday to share your favorite home or family posts!

Tina’s pick for this week…

Note from Tina:
This soup sounds amazing.

Selena’s pick for this week…

Note from Selena:
We’re entering the time of year when homeschool mom need a little encouragement. I can definitely use these tips!

Sarah’s pick for this week…

Note from Sarah:
Never having enough help to keep the house neat and clean is one of my pet peeves. I love this easy to manage “zones” idea.

Haley’s pick for this week…

Note from Haley:
I love the tips here. My oldest is constantly complaining about how he thinks it’s not fair. I can’t wait to apply some of these.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image. If you enjoyed these picks as much as we did, please share them also!

Have you joined our Pinterest Board yet?

Follow Tina Ernspiker’s board #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites} on Pinterest.

Now give us your best posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

Love to Read? Get Free Kindle eBooks with eBook Arrow!

December 4, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of eBookArrow.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

There aren’t many things I love in this world. But books are near the top of my list – the very top of my list.

I bought an Amazon Kindle way back in 2011 and that thing has truly become my partner in crime. I keep it bedside and I fall asleep with it every night. When I wake up in the morning, it’s usually tucked away under one of the piles of covers. I’m amazed I haven’t cracked the screen by rolling over onto it.

Naturally, since I love my Kindle so much, I also love getting Kindle eBooks. What I don’t love is spending a lot of money on them.

I mean, the entire selling point of eBooks was that they would be cheaper than print books. Sadly, though, this is not always the case. As a result, I have drastically cut down on the number of Kindle eBooks I get each month.

But – I just learned about a site that features cheap and free Kindle eBooks every day! Even better, I can browse the listings through a single email, instead of wading through the thousands of Amazon titles.

Read on to see how to score cheap and free Kindle eBooks everyday in just three easy steps!

Cheap and Free Kindle Books from eBook Arrow

eBookArrow.com is a daily Kindle eBook site that features cheap and free Kindle titles available for download. Now that you’re there, you only have to complete three steps to start getting your daily list of Kindle titles!

Step 1: Choose your favorite genres: When you first visit the site, you have the option to choose your favorite eBook genres, including mystery, romance, science fiction, and more. You can even choose titles for children and young adults – perfect for creating a reading list for your kids!

Step 2: Enter your email address: Once you enter your email address, you get subscribed to eBook Arrow’s daily eBook email featuring titles for the genres you selected.

Step 3: Confirm your email address: Click the link in your confirmation email to confirm your email address.

When that’s done, you’ll start getting your daily email of books to gorge on. Even better, you can browse the current deals while you’re waiting for your first email to come in. (I’ve already grabbed four myself.)

To get started building your Kindle library with cheap and free Kindle ebooks, visit eBookArrow.com today!

10 Fun Children’s Cookbooks

November 2, 2015 by Selena Robinson 8 Comments

Now that the weather is turning colder, I’ve started baking more often. And my three oldest are definitely ready to help out more in the kitchen. So I thought I’d look for some fun cookbooks for kids that would encourage them to want to learn how to cook.

Today I’m sharing 10 children’s cookbooks that are easy to use, full of pictures, and feature yummy recipes! After all, if the recipes aren’t good, the kids aren’t going to want to make them, are they?

If you and the kids enjoy these books, don’t miss our ideas for using a lapbook to teach kids to bake!

Fun Children’s Cookbooks

1. The Disney Princess Cookbook by Disney Book Group

2. Baking Kids Love by Sur La Table

3. My First Baking Book by Susan Akass

4. Cooking Class: 57 Recipes Kids Will Love to Make (And Eat!) by Deanna F. Cook

5. ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family by Sally Sampson

6. Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens

7. Kids’ Fun and Healthy Cookbook by Nicola Graimes

8. Sesame Street: C is For Cooking by Susan McQuillan

9. The Williams Sonoma Cookbook for Kids by Lisa Atwood

10. Pillsbury: Kids Can Cook! by Pillsbury Editors

For even more ideas on cooking with kids, check out how we used a cooking lapbook from Knowledge Box Central to get our children started in the kitchen!

Plus, find some sweet desserts to bake together in this list of cookie bar recipes!

Follow my Sweet Treats for Kids board on Pinterest for more sweet desserts to prepare with the family!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

10 Children’s Books about Construction

October 29, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Roo is a HUGE fan of construction, and I mean, HUGE. You know how kids change what they want to be when they grow up almost every other day? Well, Roo has said that he wants to be a builder for the last two years. He is unwavering on that point.

Whenever we go to the library, he asks to find books about building. So I thought I’d round up 10 children’s books about construction we’ve found – just in case you’re also living with an aspiring builder in your family. 😉

We’ll also be sharing a construction unit study later this year, so be sure to stay tuned for that!

10 Children’s Books about Construction

1. A Day with the Animal Builders by Sharon Rentta

2. Construction by Sally Sutton

3. Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? by Brianna Caplan Sayres

4. Pete the Cat: Construction Destruction by James Dean

5. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker

6. How a House Is Built by Gail Gibbons

7. B Is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABC by June Sobel

8. Building a House by Byron Barton

9. Amelia Bedelia Under Construction by Herman Parish

10. Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail by James Horvath

For more construction-themed fun for kids, try our Construction Contractions Language Arts Pack!

Construction Contractions Language Arts Pack – Look! We’re Learning! Store

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Fun Kids’ Books about Farms

September 28, 2015 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Spring and fall are perfect times to talk about farms with kids! In the spring, new baby farm animals are born and in the fall, farmers get out in the fields to harvest their crops. So farms are pretty busy all year round!

As one of our homeschool unit studies, we’ve done a farm unit study before. During the unit, we read plenty of farm books for kids. After all, what better way to introduce farms to kids than by reading about them?

Today I’m sharing some fun kids’ books about farms that we’ve found! I hope you find some great ones to read with your family as well!

If you love these books, don’t miss our free Farm Do-A-Dot Shape Mats! They’re awesome for introducing toddlers and preschoolers to shapes!

Fun Kids’ Books about Farms

1. On the Farm by David Elliott

2. Pete the Cat: Old McDonald Had a Farm by James Dean

3. Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm by Joy Cowley

4. Around the Farm: Play A Sound by The World of Eric Carle

5. Before We Eat: From Farm to Table by Pat Brisson

6. World of Farming: Jobs on a Farm by Nancy Dickmann

7. Farming by Gail Gibbons

8. Down On the Farm by Merrily Kutner

9. Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

10. Farm Vehicles: My First Sound Book by Annette Rusling

And here are 10 more to choose from!

1. Thump, Quack, Moo!: A Whacky Adventure by Doreen Cronin

2. Down by the Barn by Will Hillenbrand

3. The Farm Book (A Golden Super Shape Book) by Jan Pfloog

4. Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig

5. A Year at a Farm (Time Goes By) by Nicholas Harris

6. Lullaby Farm by Stephanie Shaw

7. Biscuit’s Day at the Farm by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

8. National Geographic Readers: Farm Animals (Level 1) by Joanne Mattern

9. Tractor Mac Arrives at the Farm by Billy Steers

10. The Berenstain Bears Down on the Farm by Jan and Stan Berenstain

For more farm-themed fun, check out some of our farm learning ideas!

And find more tips to make your kids into readers on my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

10 Spanish Books for Kids

September 2, 2015 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Will you and your kids be learning Spanish this school year? We’ve been studying español for a while and we’ve found that printable Spanish flashcards are a TON of help, especially for memorizing vocabulary.

But there are also some great kids’ books for learning Spanish that can make learning another language even easier! Check out our roundup for 10 Spanish books for kids!

10 Spanish Books for Kids

1. The Complete Book of Starter Spanish: PK-1

2. Easy Spanish Step-by-Step

3. The Everything Kids Learning Spanish Book: Exercises and Puzzles to Help You Learn español

4. My First English-Spanish Picture Dictionary

5. The Complete Book of Spanish: Grades 1-3

6. My First Bilingual Little Readers

7. Spanish: Grades 6-12 Middle/High School

8. 52 Weeks of Family Spanish by Eileen McAree

9. My Big Book of Spanish Words

10. See It and Say It in Spanish

Do you have any favorite Spanish books for kids to recommend? Share your suggestions in the comments!

For even more Spanish learning fun, check out some of our printable Spanish resources!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Our First Grade Reading List Homeschool Picks

August 28, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Well, we’re down to our final reading list for the new school year and it’s time to show off our books for first grade! Roo is reading much more fluently than he was last year, but he’s still not really a leisure reader. He’ll read when I tell him to, but he’d rather play than anything else. Of course, he is six. 🙂

But I really want to encourage him to develop the habit of reading for fun, so I’ve selected stories he can read on his own and stories we’ll read together. Here are our first grade reading list homeschool picks for this year!

Our First Grade Reading List Homeschool Picks

Roo, like many young boys, loves construction, so I included a book with that theme. I also included a couple of books that are funny, since those hold his attention the best.

Several of the books below will be part of unit studies we’ll be completing as a family, so they’ll fit in nicely with some of our themes.

1. Pete the Cat: Construction Destruction

2. Ocean Babies

3. Harry the Dirty Dog

4. Ramona the Brave

5. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

6. The Pigeon Wants a Puppy

7. The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit

8. Aesop’s Fables for Children

9. The House at Pooh Corner

10. The Story of Ruby Bridges

11. Where the Wild Things Are

12. Curious George: Snowy Day

And those are our first grade reading list homeschool picks! Do you have any “must-read” books for first grade? Share your suggestions in the comments!

To see our other book suggestions for this year, check out our Fifth Grade Reading List and our Second Grade Reading List!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Our Second Grade Reading List Homeschool Picks

August 19, 2015 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Last week we shared our choices for Tigger’s fifth grade homeschool reading list. Today, I’m sharing our second reading list homeschool picks for Pooh!

Pooh is at a point in his reading journey when he’s definitely ready to take on some chapter books on his own. However, I still prefer to read most of our books together, so that he will slow down and really absorb the story. Sometimes he tends to rush through a book and only pick out the parts that are instantly amusing to him.

So we’ll be covering these books in-depth this year. Take a look at our choices for second grade below!

Choosing a Reading List for Second Grade

First grade was really a stepping stone that helped Pooh become a more fluent reader. And because we took a short break to try public school, he got a chance to read for his class pretty often. I really think that’s helped him step outside the box and take on more challenging books.

So I wanted him to read some books with me this year and some on his own as well. He likes mysteries and funny stories and this list features plenty of both!

Our Second Grade Reading List Homeschool Picks

1. Ramona and Her Mother

2. Oliver Twist

3. Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing (Yes, I realize the title character is in fourth grade. But I think Pooh will relate very well to Fudge…lol.)

4. Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme

5. The Mouse and the Motorcycle

6. The Boxcar Children

7. What’s Cooking, Jenny Archer?

8. The Wind in the Willows

9. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

10. Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures: The Intrepid Canadian Expedition

11. Freckle Juice

12. Geronimo Stilton: The Race Across America

And those are our second grade reading list homeschool selections! Unit studies for these books will be coming soon!

Catch our other reading list selections for this school year below!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Do you have any books you think second-graders should read? Share them in the comments!

Amazing Hurricane Books for Kids

August 18, 2015 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

It’s hurricane season! And we’ve been talking about hurricanes, tropical storms, and tropical depressions with the kids lately. We even got to review a Hurricane Lapbook a few weeks back.

As part of our hurricane studies, I put together a list of kids’ books about hurricanes that are awesome for introducing this topic to children and explaining it in an interesting way.

Check out our picks below! And if you want even more ways to learn about hurricanes, don’t miss our hurricane unit study!

Amazing Kids’ Books about Hurricanes

1. Eye of the Storm: A Book about Hurricanes by Rick Thomas

2. Hurricane by David Wiesner

3. Hurricanes by Seymour Simon

4. Hooper Finds a Family: A Hurricane Katrina Dog’s Survival Tale by Jane Paley

5. Tornadoes and Hurricanes! by Cy Armour

6. Hurricane! by Celia Godkin

7. Where Albatross Soar: A Beachside Story of Waves and Storms by Bryan Knowles

8. Read about Hurricanes by Sally Morgan

9. Hurricanes! (First Graphics Wild Earth) by Marcie Aboff

10. The Superstorm: Hurricane Sandy by Josh Gregory

11. Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms by Patricia Lauber

12. Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina by Rodman Philbrick

13. Hurricanes by Gail Gibbons

14. Hurricanes Vs. Tornadoes Vs. Typhoons: Wind Systems of the World by Baby Professor

15. Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown

16. Hurricanes! (Hello Reader) by Lorraine J. Hopping

17. Hurricane Watch! (Let’s Read and Find Out Science 2) by Melissa Stewart

18. Storms by Seymour Simon

19. I Wonder Why Hurricanes Have Eyes (and other questions about natural disasters)

20. Hurricanes (Wild Weather) by Jim Mezzanotte

Do you have any go-to books about hurricanes that you’ve read with your kids? Share your picks in the comments!

For more hurricane learning ideas, you might also like:

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Our Fifth Grade Reading List Homeschool Picks

August 14, 2015 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

If you follow the Charlotte Mason method strictly, then you already know about what she called “twaddle”. Mason felt that kids should avoid books that had no educational or intellectual value. Instead, kids were to read “living books” – works that enlightened them and taught them new concepts.

Even though I love the CM method, I believe that there’s a place for “twaddle”. I’ve always been of the opinion that I want my kids to develop a love for reading. We can help them choose challenging selections later.

Eventually, however, it is definitely time to ease away from twaddle and into books that are designed to make kids think or dream. And that’s where we are with Tigger. So – here’s a look at our fifth grade reading list homeschool picks!

Choosing Our Reading List Picks

This year with Tigger, I wanted to encourage her to focus on some of the classics. She likes modern books like the Ramona series and “Smile” by Reina Telgemeier. And those are great books, but for her school reading list, she needs to be challenged.

During our public school experiment last year, Tigger got tested with the LEXILE reading system. Her score was within the 10th-grade range. However, she’s not quite ready for the advanced topics covered by high school books, so classics it is! I also added a few books featuring characters of color so she can have some figures to whom she relates.

I’ve only included 12 books on our “official” list, because I want her to finish one per month. We’ll be doing unit studies for each one (stay tuned!), so that will give us time to drop anchor and really explore each work.

Our Fifth Grade Reading List Homeschool Picks

1. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

2. Charlotte’s Web

3. Anne of Green Gables

4. The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond

9. Kidnapped

10. The Secret Garden

11. The Mighty Miss Malone

12. Where the Red Fern Grows

And those are our fifth grade reading list homeschool picks! To get a look at our other reading lists for this school year, visit the posts below!

Get even more of our homeschooling tips by following the board Homeschooling with Look! We’re Learning! on Pinterest!

What’s on your homeschool reading list this year? Share your picks in the comments!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Lovely Children’s Books about Butterflies

June 2, 2015 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Butterflies are one of my very favorite animals. They are beautiful to look at, fun to chase, and they go through one of the most amazing transformations ever observed by scientists. In the space of a few days, caterpillars turn into butterflies – completely different animals with elegant wings. It still amazes me.

The past few weeks we’ve been exploring butterflies with the kids, as you might have noticed from our Butterfly Identification Cards and our free Butterfly Unit Study, so I wanted to share some lovely children’s books about butterflies! Check these out to add to your booklist!

If you love these selections, check out this list of fun insect activities for kids you can try!

Lovely Children’s Books about Butterflies

1. The Butterfly Tree by Victor Biton

2. The Life Cycles of Butterflies by Judy Burris

3. National Geographic Readers: Great Migrations Butterflies by Laura Marsh

4. Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies: Take-Along Guides by Mel Boring

5. My, Oh My, A Butterfly! (Cat In the Hat’s Learning Library) by Tish Rabe

6. Are You a Butterfly? by Judy Allen

7. A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston

8. Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison

9. The Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Butterflies and Moths by Sally Morgan

10. Butterfly Colors and Counting by Jerry Pallotta

Here are ten more butterfly books for kids to try!

1. National Geographic: From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Laura Marsh

2. Pinkalicious and the Little Butterfly by Victoria Kann

3. Butterflies by Seymour Simon

4. DK Readers: Born to Be a Butterfly by Karen Wallace

5. Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly by Jane O’Connor

6. Flutterby, Butterfly: A Slide-and-Seek Book by Emma Parrish

7. Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman

8. A Butterfly’s Life (Time for Kids) by Dona Herweck Rice

9. Explore My World: Butterflies by Marfe Ferguson Delano

10. From Caterpillar to Butterfly (Let’s Read and Find Out Science) by Deborah Heiligman

Try these other spring learning ideas!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

5 Simple Activities for Early Readers

April 28, 2015 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

Welcome to another edition of the Laugh and Learn linkup! This week, we’re sharing our favorite features from last week and extending an opportunity to share even more parenting and homeschooling posts on four different blogs!

I also wanted to share an article that I got to write over at Thinking Outside the Sandbox that’s perfect if you’re trying to grow young readers in your family. 🙂

5 Simple Activities for Early Readers

Sometimes we can overthink teaching our kids to read. While it’s true that some children need formal instruction in phonics in order to master reading, we can do a lot to encourage them by making literacy a regular event in the home.

The great news is that you don’t need an expensive early reading program to get started! There are lots of simple ways to get kids excited about reading at an early age. Stop over at Thinking Outside the Sandbox to check out five simple activities for early readers!

Five Simple Activities for Early Readers – Thinking Outside the Sandbox

Linky time!

Welcome to our 30th week of Laugh and Learn – Homeschool and Parenting Linkup. Last week we hit an all time high of 74 links! Thank you everyone for participating and please continue to share so we can continue to grow

Laugh and Learn – Homeschool and Parenting Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning. We will pick our four favorite posts and feature them on the following weeks linkup. Be sure to link your best content and maybe we will pick you! When you link your post with us it will be featured on four blogs.

We pin our favorites to a special Pinterest board for #laughlearnlinkup – homeschool and parenting posts. Check the board out here: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Tina

Tina lives abroad in Latin America with her husband and four children. Currently in Mexico, Tina is active in homeschool, travel, and her Bible ministry. She blogs about all of their adventures and more at Los Gringos Locos.

Find Tina at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google +
Linkedin
Tsu

Selena

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!

Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Google +
Instagram

Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.

Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram

Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help moms learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids and funny things that happen. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.

Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Pinterest
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Our Favorite Posts for the Week of April 27th:

Written by Annie at Annie and Everything

Written by Jennifer at Study At Home Mama

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the posts above by clicking on the image.

Now, let’s see your best posts for this week so we can share them as next week’s favorites!

An InLinkz Link-up

Fun Booklists for Kids with Family Fun Friday!

April 9, 2015 by Selena Robinson 6 Comments

As you all might know, I’m a huge, unabashed bookworm. Naturally, we’re raising readers in our family. So I was thrilled to see so many great literacy-themed posts during last week’s Family Fun Friday!

This week, I’m featuring several of the fun booklists for kids that were linked up! If you’re a blogger, be sure to share your own posts below!


Monica created Family Fun Friday and blogs at HappyandBlessedHome.com where she shares free preschool tools and printables, encouraging words for moms, and ideas for having fun together as a family. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter /Google + / Bloglovin’/ Instagram. Monica will feature Family Fun Posts.

Selena is a homeschooling graduate and a veteran homeschooling mom to four super special kids. She blogs at Look! We’re Learning! about unit studies, foreign language, and homeschooling with ADHD. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram / Twitter. Selena will be featuring homeschooling and kids’ crafts.


Herchel enjoys blogging about parenting, organizing, crafting, and having good old-fashioned kid fun her blog Scrggbug Corner. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter /Google +. Herchel will feature organizing and family fun.

Britta was a military kid and is a military wife, now living in the high desert of Arizona and far, far from her New Orleans family. She happily homeschools and writes about the intersection of God’s Word and her world at Britta Lafont ~ Everyday Holiness. This year Britta wants to find that sweet spot between getting more done and enjoying the process. Britta will feature Delicious Recipes. Follow: Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram.

Christin blogs at illuminate. As wife to her high school sweetheart and mother to three premature children, she’s learned that God is the Perfect Party Planner and sometimes the unexpected is the greatest gift of all. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram / Twitter. Christen will feature Inspirational Posts.

Here are my favorite posts for this week!

1. Planet Smarty has a great booklist featuring spring-themed books for preschoolers!

2. Learn how to use books for the letter L along with activities for different types of intelligence at Mimi and the Grands!

3. Sunny Day Family has a super cute sensory activity to go along with the book Little Blue Truck!

4. If you’re a dog lover, you’ll love this roundup of 10 chapter books about dogs at This Sweet Life of Mine!

5. Sheila at Brain Power Boy has a great booklist featuring exciting kids’ books about weather!

6. For a funny take on historical events, try this list of fun history books for kids at The Sunny Patch!

Were you featured? Grab the Family Fun Friday button below!

Stop by to see what my co-hosts are spotlighting this week!

Bloggers are invited to share their best family-friendly and mom-inspiring posts in the link-up below.

Link guidelines:

Link your post.
Link back to the link party.
Follow your host(s).
Spread the word. Share and pin your favorites.
Mingle! Bloggers love comments.
Grab a button.
If you link up, you permit the hosts of Family Fun Friday to use your pictures/ideas as part of future posts and/or social media.

Family Fun Friday is a growing link-up with over 200 bloggers sharing their posts each week. Each host shares her favorites from the week before, increasing your chances of being featured. Co-hosts will also be pinning their favorites to a community Family Fun Pinterest Board. This link party opens up at around 4 pm EST on Thursdays.

Please be aware that by linking in Family Fun Friday you give our hosts permission to use your images to create a collage for our features. We may also use the collage to promote Family Fun Friday through our individual social media accounts.

10 Children’s Books about Flowers

March 24, 2015 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

It’s officially spring! And it’s a great time to read about spring flowers with kids! Today, I’m sharing 10 children’s books about flowers that are perfect for this time of year. 🙂

If you enjoy this list of books, check out some of our other spring learning ideas! We’ve got spring crafts for kids, spring books for kids, and a list of 50 free spring printables you can use for homeschooling!

10 Children’s Books about Flowers

1. The Flower Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta and Leslie Evans

2. Flowers are Calling by Rita Gray and Kenard Pak

3. The Reason for a Flower: A Book about Flowers, Pollen, and Seeds by Ruth Heller

4. Zinnia’s Flower Garden by Monica Wellington

5. Garden Flowers Coloring Book by Stefen Bernath

6. Fran’s Flower by Lisa Bruce and Rosalind Beardshaw

7. Flowers and Showers: A Spring Counting Book by Rebecca F. Davis

8. The Life Cycle of a Flower by Molly Aloian and Bobbie Kalman

9. How Flowers Grow by Emma Helbrough et. al.

10. Xochitl and the Flowers by Jorge Argueta and Carl Angel

Love these selections? Don’t miss our other book lists!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Beautiful Children’s Books about Bees

March 3, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

If you liked our Busy Bee Scissor Practice sheets last week, we hope you’ll love even more learning about pollinators with these children’s books about bees!

I’m so, so excited for spring (can you tell?) and I’m ready to read, learn, and explore bees with the kids, especially since they seem to be obsessed with the hedges in our front yard. 🙂

I started out with a list of 10, but I’ve added even more kids’ books about bees below! Check out these beautiful storybooks and picture books with the children this year and then try these fun spring crafts for kids as well!

Children’s Books about Bees

To introduce your kids to our helpful friends in the bee world, try these children’s books about bees!

1. Are You a Bee? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

2. Flight of a Honey Bee by Raymond Huber and Brian Lovelock

3. What If There Were No Bees? A Book about the Grassland Ecosystem by Suzanne Slade and Carol Schwartz

4. Bee & Me by Elle J. McGuinness

5. The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe by Loree Griffin Burns and Ellen Harasimowicz

6. The Very Greedy Bee by Steve Smallman and Jack Tickle

7. In the Trees Honey Bees by Lori Mortensen and Cris Arbo

8. The Buzz on Bees: Why Are They Disappearing? by Shelley Rotner and Anne Woodhull

9. These Bees Count! by Alison Formento and Sarah Snow

10. Buzzbee’s School Day by Penguin Random House Company

And now – even more books about bees for kids!

11. When the Bees Fly Home by Andrea Cheng

12. You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Bees by Professor Alex Woolf

13. Thomas and the Buzzy Bees (Thomas & Friends) by Christy Webster

14. National Geographic: Bees by Laura Marsh

15. The Bees (Down In the Garden) by DC Swain

16. Bee Dance by Rick Chrustowski

17. Little Honeybee by Katie Haworth

18. Bee: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup

19. A Season to Bee by Carlos Aponte

20. The Life and Times of the Honeybee by Charles Micucci

Don’t miss these other learning ideas!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

20 Lovely Children’s Books about Birds

November 24, 2014 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

We were riding home the other day and Tigger spotted a flock of geese flying south for the winter. She shouted “V formation, Mom! V formation!” She was super excited to see that birds actually make the V formation when they fly together.

Since that was such a big hit, I thought we’d look up some great children’s books about birds to share with our kids over the next few weeks. And today I’m sharing the same list with you all.

These are great for learning about birds during fall when birds are migrating to warmer weather or during spring when they’re returning home and making nests!

Read on to make up your own booklist featuring these wonderful bird books for kids. And, for more animal learning fun, don’t miss our printable Nocturnal and Diurnal Animal Sorting Activity!

20 Lovely Children’s Books about Birds

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1. The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess

2. Birds by Kevin Henkes

3. National Geographic Kids’ Bird Guide of North America: Second Edition by Jonathan Alderfer

4. About Birds: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill

5. DK Eyewitness Books: Bird by David Burnie

6. The Cat in the Hat’s Fine Feathered Friends: All About Birds by Tish Rabe

7. The Bird Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta

8. Bird Talk: What Birds are Saying and Why by Lita Judge

9. The Birdwatcher’s Coloring Book by Dot Barlowe

10. A Children’s Guide to Arctic Birds by Mia Pelletier

Originally, I only had ten books about birds for kids in this list, but so many new children’s books about birds were released that I wanted to add a few more. So here are another ten to choose from!

11. The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs by Andrea Pinnington

12. Birds, Nests, & Eggs by Mel Boring

13. Backyard Birds: Field Guides for Young Naturalists by Karen Stray Nolting

14. Birds (Hello, World!) by Jill McDonald

15. Sounds of Nature: World of Birds by Robert Frank Hunter

16. Bird Watching for Kids: Bite-Sized Learning & Backyard Projects

17. Bird Builds a Nest: A First Science Storybook by Martin Jenkins

18. The Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of North America by Bill Thompson III

19. Birds and Their Feathers by Britta Teckentrup

20. Birds: A Fully Illustrated, Authoritative, and Easy-to-Use Guide by Herbert S. Zim

Since some of these books are for younger readers, they’d be excellent for introducing birds with great birding crafts or projects! If you plan to write a unit study about birds, these would also be a great foundation for science facts and activities.

Do you have any favorite children’s books about birds in your family? Be sure to share your suggestions with us in the comments!

Don’t miss these other learning ideas!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!