Books Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Build Your Library

Category: Books

Teaching With Living Books: A Tutorial

March 16, 2015

You often hear the words “living book” tossed around in homeschooling circles, but what constitutes a living book? Can it be subjective? What are spine books? Do we have to read only literature that was written over a hundred years ago? How can I use living books in my homeschool? Today, I want to explore … Continue reading "Teaching With Living Books: A Tutorial"

February 10, 2015

It happens every year, right around February. The thrill of the shiny new school year has worn off, the daily grind has started grinding on your nerves – maybe the cold weather is keeping you inside and your family is suffering from a bout of cabin fever. Winter burnout hits all of us, homeschool newbies … Continue reading "Beating the Winter Blues"

January 25, 2015

For the last month or so, I’ve been on a book-collecting spree. I knew for a while that I was going to do World History for the Level 8 plans. Then, I got my hands on a copy of The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way at my local library. I fell in love. … Continue reading "A Hint of What’s to Come – Level 8"

January 10, 2015

I am so excited to finally present the Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets unit study! Welcome back to the exciting world of wizards, mythical creatures, magic and danger! Harry’s second year at Hogwarts gets off to a rough start and it only gets worse when students are being mysteriously petrified. You’ll explore Harry’s … Continue reading "Unit Study: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

January 3, 2015

Another year of reading is done. I’m a little OCD about tracking my reading. I love being able to look back at the end of the year and see what I’ve read. I started keeping an excel spreadsheet again this year in addition to my Goodreads account. I’m already planning my 2015 reading – I … Continue reading "My Year in Books – 2014"

November 21, 2014

Last week I shared some holiday gift ideas with a Language Arts theme. This week, I’ll give you some great science-themed gift ideas. Science can be so much fun, what kid doesn’t want to discover how the world works? Every child has a million and one questions about everything – give them the right tools … Continue reading "Educational Gift Ideas – Science Edition"

November 15, 2014

The holidays are nearly upon us, Christmas is right around the corner! I’ve started my shopping, and as I was planning out what my children will be receiving, I thought it might be fun and helpful to share some ideas here with you. I like to try and find interesting, and sneakily educational gifts for … Continue reading "Educational Gift Ideas – Language Arts Edition"

August 27, 2014

This is part 3 of the Literature-Based Education series. Follow these links to read Part 1 and Part 2. It may sound obvious enough – but any school subject can be taught with living books. Science, history, art, grammar, even math can be taught with literature! Most homeschoolers are familiar enough with how to liven … Continue reading "A Literature-Based Education: Teaching Academics"

August 12, 2014

This is Part 2 in the Literature-based Education series. Last week we talked about Choosing Great Literature. Today I’m going to talk about the mechanics of reading aloud. So now you’ve chosen a topic to study and you’ve gathered your books. What exactly does teaching with literature look like? How can you fit all of … Continue reading "A Literature-Based Education: Reading Aloud – Making it Happen"

August 5, 2014

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be doing a blog series about what Literature-Based education is all about. Today, I’ll start by briefly going over what makes a book “living,” and then we’ll talk about how to choose the best books for your child. What makes a book “living?” I should start … Continue reading "A Literature-Based Education: Choosing Great Literature"