Books

Lego Books

This isn’t about books about Lego, although we certainly have plenty of those:

But about books made out of Lego. They’ve been making books for a while now, including a Lego Ideas pop-up book (which we don’t have), and some cute free-with-purchase sets that we’ve collected over the years:

The newest addition to the Lego books family is the Hogwarts Moments collection, which is a set of four, each featuring a different Hogwarts class/house (plus another cute free-with-purchase, the Monster Book of Monsters):

I had foolishly hoped to have these sets for the children on Epiphany, but that was unrealistic on pretty much every level (although, under normal circumstances in a regular year, it was not out of the realm of possibility). The sets finally arrived yesterday, and they had fun building them in the afternoon.

The way each set unfolds for play is pretty incredible, and they were able to pack a huge number of details into a small space.

I really love how clever these sets are, and I’m curious to see if they create more like them in the future!

Chickadee Thursday

Here’s a look at the books Chickadee is currently reading…like her big sisters, she doesn’t limit herself to just one book at a time. I’ve never really understood how my girls can have so many books going at once, but it seems to work for them!

Chickadee Thursday

Here’s a look at the books Chickadee is currently reading. Other than Winnie-the-Pooh, which I’m reading out loud with her as part of her latest literature study, she’s reading them all on her own. I love how varied her interests are!

What We’re Reading–All About South Korea

Some of the books we’ll be using to learn about South Korea during this year’s Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang have already been covered in our “Learning About Asia” book list. I looked for some new titles (many by Linda Sue Park, who is of Korean heritage), with good reviews though, (to be honest, however, we don’t have them all at home, and I don’t know yet if we’ll be able to get them from the library), and also found a new cookbook, so we’ll be trying some Korean cuisine, as well!

Fantasy Maps: Imagined Worlds

Yesterday, the children and I hopped on the train into downtown St. Louis so we could visit the big Central Library.

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While I’ve been meaning to take the tour there for quite some time, I really wanted to see the maps exhibit they currently have on display. We started in the Great Hall (which I learned used to be called the “Delivery Room”), where they have covered the floor with a whimsically illustrated map of St. Louis. While most of the pictures are easy to identify, there is also a legend on the wall, giving the history behind every location. We were able to find almost all of our favorite St. Louis places…except for Seamus McDaniel’s and the Missouri Botanical Garden!

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There were also a few maps from literature in the Great Hall, including Bunny’s favorite from the Harry Potter series:

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The exhibit continued in the third floor Carnegie Room, where they have different fictional maps from many great books on display. We all enjoyed locating some of our favorites, including Hogwarts, Middle Earth, and even the map from my favorite childhood book, The Phantom Tollbooth.

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This exhibit will be on display through October 15, so if you’ve been looking for an excuse to visit the Central Library, you still have plenty of time!

The Top Five–Children’s Books

I’ve shared my top five books list before…I thought I should also share my five favorite children’s books (there is one books common to both lists!):

  • The Phantom Tollbooth–This is my absolute favorite children’s book, and one I enjoy as an adult, as well. I can’t tell you how many times I have wished I could visit Dictionopolis for myself!
  • Ramona the Pest–I’ve read this book so many times, I can no longer tell what I’m remembering from my own kindergarten experience, and what is just in the book. I think it is the definitive book on being in kindergarten!
  • Henry Reed’s Journey–I read all of the Henry Reed books as a child, and enjoyed each one. This is the one that I really looked forward to reading to my children, however, because I love the Reed/Glass adventure across America.
  • The Monster at the End of this Book–I remember this book from my childhood, and then again as a teen and young adult when I would babysit. Now I read it to my children. I still laugh every time!
  • In Grandma’s Attic–Really, I could just list the entire Grandma’s Attic series, but if I have to pick one, it’s the first in the series, and the first one I read. I still remember where I purchased it, and where I was when I read the first chapter.

I read many, many books as a child, and even more as read-clouds over the years to my children, so it was hard to narrow it down, but these are my absolute favorites!

What We’re Reading–The Fourth of July

Every summer around Independence Day, I like to make sure that the children are learning about the time of the American Revolution (and the time from about the French and Indian War until about the time of the War of 1812, just to provide some context), even if we’re also doing something else in summer school. We’ve found quite a few books that we all enjoy that focus on that period of time, as well as American symbolism and history in general:

Of course, we have to add a few DVDs to our studies:

And a few CDs, as well:

While we don’t have lots of special activities and crafts in school for this holiday like we do for Thanksgiving or Christmas, it is one of my five favorite holidays of the year, so I like to make sure we’re at least doing a little something special! Stay tuned for details on our Fourth of July tea party!

What We’re Reading–Baseball

Our summer school this year is focusing on the history of baseball, particularly as it pertains to American history. We’ll be looking at things like WWII and the Civil Rights Movement, and the impact they had on our national pastime. I have to admit, the reading list is slightly biased towards the Cardinals, but what can I say…they are “America’s Team!” We’ll also be taking a few field trips…a Busch Stadium tour, a Cardinals game, and a visit to the new Cardinals hall of fame (I warned you that it’s going to be Cardinals biased!). This is one of the most exciting summer school units I’ve planned so far…I can’t wait to get started!

We’ll also be using a few non-book resources for our studies:

And a few movies, just for fun:

  • A League of Their Own
  • Field of Dreams
  • The Natural
  • The Sandlot
  • Bad News Bears