Showing posts with label Book of the Week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book of the Week. Show all posts

What We Are Reading This Week : June 7, 2020 - June 13, 2020




I took a mini-break from blogging. I don't have the right words but one of the only ways I know I can make the change is to continue educating myself and my children. I will educate myself by listening to others and by reading. So with the current events of the country, our book list for this week will reflect that. One of the small, very small, changes will be that our books will have more diversity to them. I realized that my children's books are mainly white authors. I believe in the Black Lives Matter movement and that I have white privilege. Our book list this week will be just one of the small steps I take.

With that brief introduction here are the books we are reading this week. This post does NOT contain any affiliate links.


Description from Amazon: "Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Most important of all, it has spawned a whole generation of criminal justice reform activists and organizations motivated by Michelle Alexander’s unforgettable argument that “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.” As the Birmingham News proclaimed, it is “undoubtedly the most important book published in this century about the U.S.”

Now, ten years after it was first published, The New Press is proud to issue a tenth-anniversary edition with a new preface by Michelle Alexander that discusses the impact the book has had and the state of the criminal justice reform movement today."



And


Description from Amazon: "Have you researched Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education but discounted it as old-fashioned and overtly religious? Then this is the book you need to read. In A Literary Education, Emily Cook lays out how she has brought Miss Mason’s ideology into the modern age for secular homeschoolers. In conversational prose she discusses the key tenants used in Charlotte Mason homeschooling and explains how to make them work for your family. You’ll read about:

· Living books and how to use them
· Reading aloud: the why and the how
· Nature study in the 21st century
· How to inspire creativity in your children
· How to get the most out of the preschool years
· How to combine children of multiple ages
· And much more!

In A Literary Education, Emily shares her 14 year homeschool journey and how she has learned to take Charlotte Mason’s method of home education into the 21st century to give her children a beautiful living books education.
"


I am just going to share the two books we are reading aloud this week. I will start to include individual children's books in July when we officially start back with homeschooling.



Description from Amazon:

"In this imaginative adventure from Newbery Medal–winning author Beverly Cleary, a young mouse named Ralph is thrown into a world of excitement when a boy and his shiny toy motorcycle check in to the Mountain View Inn. This timeless classic now features a foreword written by New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo, as well as an exclusive interview with Beverly Cleary herself.

When the ever-curious Ralph spots Keith's red toy motorcycle, he vows to ride it. So when Keith leaves the bike unattended in his room one day, Ralph makes his move. But with all this freedom (and speed!) come a lot of obstacles. Whether dodging a rowdy terrier or keeping his nosy cousins away from his new wheels, Ralph has a lot going on! And with a pal like Keith always looking out for him, there's nothing this little mouse can't handle."



And


Description from Amazon: "Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates.

Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack."


What are you reading this week for yourself and as a family? What is your favorite read aloud?

Also, I do plan on reviewing these books after we finish them and sharing any activities/discussions that we did while reading the books.

Book of the Week: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Book of the Week: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
 

 


 
Last week, with my toddler we dived into the world of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 
 
He has been obsessed with butterflies lately. They feature a butterfly at the very end but it was fun to talk about the many types of foods while counting. The pictures kept him interested in his reading. Here are some of the activities that we did. I also share these on Instagram, if you would like to follow us there. 


I put red and green paint on paper plates and handed him a potato masher. We created the body and head by dipping the masher into the paint and placing it onto the paper. We also did this with the head. I let him dip his fingers into the red paint to create fingerprint feet for the caterpillar. Once the paint dried I drew a face.

 
 

The day we did this activity we focused on circles. I cut out a couple of green circles and one red one from construction paper. I had him glue them onto a piece of paper in a wavy line like a caterpillar. Afterward, I had him practice drawing lines for legs. He also drew eyes onto the caterpillar. He is three and is finally attempting to draw facial features. It is an exciting milestone for me.

Here is our final caterpillar activity for the week. I cut out strips of green and red construction paper. I helped him create a chain link caterpillar by creating rings and gluing them into each other. Again, he drew eyes onto the caterpillar.

Since the book ends with the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, we ended up creating a clothespin butterfly, at the end of the week. To do this we took a coffee filter and painted it with watercolor paint. Once it dried we accordion file folded the filter and clipped it into the clothespin. I did glue a small magnet on one side to create a magnet that he plays with the refrigerator or he can use to hang up some of his art.

This week we are doing a dinosaur book, check back next week for those activities.