We are now in the middle of the Little Britches series, written by Ralph Moody. I cannot speak for Ralph Moody's later books, or his fiction. I am referring to his series of books for children which are also his autobiography. The books have all of the elements you would expect in a good story and more! Family love, courage, disappointments and celebrations, birth, death, creativity and adventures galore.
Recently during our school hours the iPad told us of a new study on salmon behavior--a link to it was posted by a prolific Facebook friend.
It was an "Aha moment"! We are using Behold and See 6 for Science and had read recently about the curious and amazing behavior of the salmon: it returns to the very place it was born to lay its eggs even after years in the open ocean. The article in question was about a new study where scientists think the salmon may actually use earth's magnetism to help direct them on their way back to their birthplace.
Baby Bat learns about the importance of guano to a cave's ecosystem in Janet Halfmann's new book "Home in the Cave." Children learn about bats and other creatures that live in caves through the exploration of Baby Bat and his pack rat friend. As with all Sylvan Dell books, the last pages contain more information and activities related to the story. Don't let the insects and guano deter you from this fun and informative book!
Here is a geology text that assumes no conflict between Christianity and science and is faithful to Church teaching. This book covers basic topics in geology, including the Earth's age and composition, the dynamics of continental plate motion, classification of rocks and soil, effects of glaciers, radiometric dating, and more. The illustrations are lovely and hand-drawn – not what you would expect in a textbook. However, I prefer a few glossy photographs as well, but you can find these on the internet.
The author and illustrator pair have done many children's picture books together, including the nice "Picture Book of..." American history series.
Many books cover large periods of history, but I've yet to see one that includes so many personal experiences and fascinating stories in such a stunning, sweeping manner as does The Chronicle of Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Most of us will never set foot in the Holy Land. Traveling there is a lot easier than it used to be, but, for me and most of the families I know, living our vocation takes up every spare minute—and most of our money. Nevertheless, we each have a strong and devotional attraction to the Holy Land.
This is an impressive, complete, scripted, Montessori-based Math program. Though it's not 100% purist Montessori (for example, some of the manipulatives will provide changes in color and shape at the same time, where Montessori was very fussy about only working with one attribute at a time), I think it does a really nice job of incorporating her most critical ideas.
In Sophia's dream, all the animals had their coats blown off and so she has to make new ones for them, adding her own special touches. This is the story of "Fur and Feathers" which introduces young children to animal classification.
The story has a good variety of common animals with different coats. A few parts are a bit contrived, like the frog finding the slime, but otherwise the story is engaging. The "For Creative Minds" section at the end of the book contains activities based on animal classification.
The Core is a practical guide to those who are new to the idea of classical education and are looking for an outline of what to teach in different subject areas. Leigh Bortins has written this book for all parents and teachers--those in a regular school setting as well as those who are homeschooling--but her methods would work particularly well within a home education environment. Bortins uses the ideas laid out in Dorothy Sayers’ oft quoted 1947 essay, The Lost Tools of Learning, as a guide upon which to build her lists of necessary skills for students of the trivium.
This is a beautifully-performed, profesionally produced complete dramatization of the New Testament in the reknowned Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (sometimes referred to as the Ignatius Bible).