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How do frogs breathe underwater? How much water does a tree drink in a day? Why do hedgehogs curl up in a ball? What would happen if we cut down all the trees? Children ask great questions! They are explorers. They smell the flowers, spot teeny tiny bugs, stop to watch bunnies, butterflies, and deer, […]
When my kids were younger, reading with them was pretty easy. They’d often toddle over, a book in hand, and happily, sit on my lap throughout the day. The older they get, the more I’m finding distractions, separate interests, and outside commitments pull at our time together. As my kids get older, reading together has […]
“For students of every ability and background, it is the simply miraculous act of reading a good book that turns them into readers. The job of adults who care about reading is to move heaven and earth to put that book into a child’s hands.” ― Nancy Atwell When we first started homeschooling and I was […]
Getting teenagers to read, let alone read for pleasure, can be challenging. One of my favorite and sometimes MOST difficult tasks as an English teacher is helping my students find a book they want to read. While some kids love to read, many won’t pick up a book unless they have to. If your teen […]
My kids and I sat down at the kitchen table to begin our morning together. Between bites of egg and sips of coffee, I try to read with them every morning. On this morning we were beginning a new book, Code 7, Cracking the Code for an Epic Life. I read the title. Code 7, Cracking the Code […]
Spread out on the floor, large pieces of paper and markers between them, my students traced each other and turned their silhouettes into Greek Gods. Perfecting the look of the chiton and peplos, they also combed the Odyssey’s text for clues. Who were these gods, goddesses, monsters, and tragic heroes? What did they look like? […]
Greek Mythology has it all- heroes, villains, friendship, love, deception, snake hair, sea monsters, really cool shape-shifters, and Cyclops. The stories are captivating. The gods and goddesses lure readers, even the most resistant, into their adventures. My children, thanks to a little strewing, have spent the last three weeks inviting Zeus, Apollo, Odysseus, Percy Jackson […]
At some point in time, all of us will come across a challenging text and may struggle to comprehend what we are reading. When we’re unfamiliar with vocabulary or lack prior knowledge of a subject matter, a text can be difficult to understand. I can think of a number of occasions since college when I’ve […]
