Read-Aloud Thursday - Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type & More

 

We are only now getting around to reading the Click, Clack, Moo books by Doreen Cronin. Right now my 4 year old is fascinated with these and I think they are just perfect for her stage of life. I am usually brought a different book every night to read to her. She can't get enough of these. She liked Duck for President , Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack: An Alphabetical Adventure, and Click, Clack, Splish, Splash: A Counting Adventure, but her favorites have been Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, Giggle, Giggle, Quack, and Dooby Dooby Moo (which was my personal favorite). We haven't read Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure but I'm sure by the end of the day this will have been remedied.

Honestly, I find them on the twaddly (is that word?) side but I think there are several things which appeal to kids. The first is the repetition of phrases such as:

Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo.

 

Delani just loved rolling these phrases around in her mouth and then trying to make up her own. She would also take the books and 'read' them to herself since she had a good idea of how the stories went.

The second is that the characters are pretty much the same in every book with a few exceptions, but not enough to make it seem like a whole separate book. Delani could recognize from the covers that they 'went' together.

Lastly, these are just crazy stories. Cows typing notes to the farmer? Cows, ducks, sheep and pigs that perform in a talent show? Then there is Duck who some how by the end is the star of every book.

Even though I would consider these stories as twaddle they are just a great fit for my daughter as it is help build her pre-reading and comprehension skills, plus she is having a great time doing it!

So now I am going to share my favorite part which comes from Dooby Dooby Moo:

The cows sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Dooby, dooby, dooby moo. Dooby moo, moo, moo, moo, moo.
 

This just tickled my funny bone and I had fun reading this part. And lest you think these may drive you nuts, these books aren't too dull for adults. There is quite a bit of humor interspersed for the older reader.

See what others are reading aloud over at Hope is the Word.

Reading Journal: The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

Book Description:

Originally written to entertain his four young sons, Johann David Wyss based The Swiss Family Robinson on Daniel Defoe's classic shipwreck story, Robinson Crusoe (1719). Upon its initial publication in 1812, The Swiss Family Robinson was received with great enthusiasm not only as a first-rate adventure story, but also as a practical guide to self-sufficiency.

My thoughts:
The Swiss Family Robinson is a book that I had very fond memories of reading back in my grade school days. When making my Classics Club list I added as a re-read just for old times sakes.

It was interesting to read on how they set up their island and make use of the things that they rescued from the ship wreck and put it to very ingenious uses. One of my most favorite aspects of the this story was their gratitude to God that they showed over and over in the story. But....(you knew that was coming, right?)

This is really a very fantastical story--too much so! Everything they could ever desire or want they eventually came across. They had lions and tigers on the same island. Birds from all over the world lived there. The desert and tropics were right at hand. I told my husband they had everything a person could possible want or need outside of other human contact, which does eventually appear at the end of the story. And don't even get me going on all the unnecessary killing of animals and trust me I am NOT even close to be any kind of animal rights activist!!

So my biggest problem I've had with this book is with myself. Have I just grown up and realize that this could never happen in any one's lifetime? (I hope.) Has today's culture made me a very cynical person? (I pray not.)  Am I subconsciously absorbing today's mind set on "animal rights"? (God forbid!) Do I not have a little child still lurking inside of me who can look past all of the fantastical parts and just enjoy it for the adventure story that it is?

I definitely have been pondering these questions and I in the meantime I'm very curious to read Robinson Crusoe and compare it to The Swiss Family Robinson . I think this is one I'll be mulling over for awhile. My two middle children will be reading this soon and I'm going to be interested in seeing their reaction. I have really kept my feelings under wrap about this book because of what I experience when I read it as a child and I don't want to ruin it for them. Maybe it would be a good idea to read it to them aloud. I may find pleasure in the story if they do.

So there you have it. All my disjointed thoughts that don't make any kind of sense!  I'll leave you with my poor excuse of a book review and I think I'll go off and search and see if I can find my inner child.  

Coming Soon! 5 Days of Teaching Creatively Blog Hop

 

Coming Soon!

Learn more over at the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

 

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



Publish and Perish (Ben Reese Mystery) by Sally Wright

"She's a very nice person. It's a sentence I often mutter like an incantation." p. 24

The Homeschool Mother's Journal: Trying to Keep Up Our Routine

1. My four year old is getting too old! 2. Twirling in her new skirt.

3. Laundry service by Delani.

4. The Mysterious Benedict Society has invaded the house!

5. Curious George has too. 6. Destini's cross-stitch project.

7. Math U See Stewardship for Caleb.

In my life this week…
We have had a very hectic two weeks and this week started off that way, but thankfully things seem to settle down by the end of the week. Now my house doesn't look like anything settled down, but we did

In our homeschool this week…
We are almost done with our second term. Destini and Chantry shouldn't have too many changes going into the third term, which is nice for me.

Chantry started Rod and Staff Spelling last week and it has made the school day so much easier. He also has been reading a reading workbook aloud to me. The readings aren't very long which isn't overwhelming for either of us. When he gets to a word he doesn't know we go back to it and work on breaking it down to sound it out.

Destini is enjoying Artistic Pursuits, which I will be reviewing soon for the TOS Review Crew. She also has gotten a lot finished on her cross-stitch projectm[6].

Caleb will be finishing up All American History Volume II. I was going to have him start Economics for Everybody but may have him hold off for a few weeks. He is also doing Essential in Writing and he just started Math U See's Stewardship [7](both for TOS Review Crew), which I'm really excited about. Amidst all of that he is trying to keep up with all of his other studies and doing a pretty good job of it.

With Delani we have been reading a lot of books [5] and working on Touchmath's Pre-K program.

We also got back around to picking up our artist and music studies. That had slipped by for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, Mary over at Homegrown Learners just posted a list of resources for Bach, who is our current composer. We made good use of that today.

I am inspired by…
The Top 10 Reason NOT to Organize Your Homeschool. A fun read--go check it out.

My favorite thing this week was…
I love 4 year olds! Delani heard the dryer buzz and proceeded to go in the laundry room and unload the dryer into her shopping cart [3]. I saw her bring it in and though it was a basket until I went over and started unloading it. I thought it was pretty clever and I think I'll have to encourage this skill.

So if you notice from the picture above that Delani still sucks her thumb [5]. She also has two special blankets which she calls "Minky." She decided that the white one needed washed and while I was getting ready to wash that load I over heard her talking to Minky, She said, "You're going to be okay. You're going to have a bath!"

The The Mysterious Benedict Society has overrun my house [4]! These are Destini's favorite books and she recently requested that I order the audio books from the library. Well, all three kids, Caleb, Destini, and Chantry have been listening to them, but separately. Destini and Caleb each have been listening to them in their rooms, and Chantry has taken over what ever room is available using the portable DVD player to listen to. I'm thrilled that they are all into these, except I personally can't stand the narrator's voice, so I'm going a little bonkers. If you have never read these I highly recommend them. I think my kids are on their third or fourth time of reading or listening to them.

Things I’m working on…
This week I worked on getting back on track for dinner at home. Next week, I need to work on finishing up Caleb's schedule for Term 3, housework, and deciding if I'm making the girl's new Easter outfits or not.

I’m reading…


I’m cooking…
Breakfast for dinner (with our new waffle maker).
Tacos
(And we won't discuss the rest of the week which included Five Guys Burgers and Fries.)

I’m grateful for…
For the wisdom of my parent's and my in-laws.

I’m praying for…
A special request for our family.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
This song has become a prayer.



I am linking up at:

Reading Journal: Together-Growing Appetites for God by Carrie Ward

Book Description:

Christian parents have a responsibility to make sure their children know and love God's Word. But what if you struggle as a parent to read the Bible yourself. How can you pass a love for God's Word along to your children if you struggle with it yourself? That was Carrie Ward's story. Until God gave her a plan to help her develop a consistent time in the Word, right along with her children. Readers will walk together with Carrie Ward, an everyday mama, as she journeys through the Bible with her small children one chapter a day. As her children re-enact the Bible stories readers will be able to see Scripture through the eyes of a child. Parents will learn how to impart God's truth to their children day by day, and will see its transformative power on their families. Together: Growing Appetites for God is an easy read and includes helpful tools for scripture memorization and charts to follow progress through the Bible.

My thoughts:
Together: Growing Appetites for God by Carrie Ward was a book that I had seen highly reviewed and when I did some Christmas gift ordering I slipped this book into my order for myself. In this book the author shares her story of how she came to read the Bible to her children and the lessons that the learned. She also shares how they  covered the hard parts and memorized scriptures. One of my favorite chapters was where she talked about how their reading for the day happened at just the right time in their life. She also has a great list of resources that they used on their journey through the Bible.

I found Together: Growing Appetites for God a delightful and encouraging read and it really resonated with me.  I think as a parent we can over think the process of finding just the right Bible storybook to read to our younger kids, especially when it comes to the Bible, when in all actuality we already have the perfect book sitting on our shelves or bedside tables--our Bibles. What a better way to teach your kids how to really study the Word of God than to read it to them and if you have questions then together you go searching for the answers. I really think we underestimate what our children can comprehend and learn from just the Bible itself.

I will admit that everything isn't perfect in our house. I do my own personal Bible reading and my two oldest also do personal Bible reading. My biggest challenge has been reading a chapter a day together.  No, we probably we don't have to do it, but I feel it is something we need to do. We have probably have had more days we have missed reading, but I won't give up on it and we just pick up where we left off and keep going.

If you struggled in this area or maybe you're doing just fine but feeling weary, I highly recommend Together: Growing Appetites for God. I think you will come away blessed and encouraged!

Clothing Remodel: Jumper into a Skirt

 

I found several of these jumpers on clearance at The Children's Place. I wasn't really crazy about the jumper, but I loved all the ruffles on the skirt. Another thing I didn't like was that the size 5/6 was almost too short on her. I meandered around the story for awhile trying to rack my brain what I could do with the jumpers, especially since they were sale for around $4 a piece. Finally, it hit me that if I cut off right at the top of the underarms that I could sew it down, run a piece of elastic through it and voilà I would have a skirt.

When I brought them home Delani wanted it as a jumper and I let her wear one of them. I finally got around to trying my idea and thankfully it work. When Delani saw it as a skirt she quickly brought back the one she had worn and told me she wanted that made into a skirt, too. It didn't take much time. I spent more work ripping out a small part of the side seams where a tie belt was sewn in than in putting in casing for the elastic.  I completed a black and gray skirts and have a navy and hot pink ones to finish. The best part is that Delani loves her new skirts and they look too stinking cute!

Showing off her gray skirt.

Great for twirling!!!