A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Homeschooling

On Account of the Gum

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Silliness, that’s what you get with On Account of the Gum.  Silliness in pink gum and brown hair and laden with cats and aunties.  Adam Rex must have had a hoot writing and illustrating this grade school picture book.  Come on and laugh with me!  Affiliate links will be used. 

On Account of the Gum

About “On Account of the Gum”

Adam Rex wrote a hilariously fun read with On Account of the Gum”.  Written kinda like the books “If you give a mouse a cookie” where one action leads to another.  A fun read where you wonder just what pit-fall will happen next.  Your children will enjoy the unexpected consequences of good intentions. 

Published by Chronicle books, this 56 page picture book will delight children 5-8 years.  The bright colours will draw them in, the silly antics will bring out the laughter.   Can you imagine a rabbit in your hair?

The font is huge!   So great for reading with a group of children.  I can well imagine a circle of children giggling away.   Wouldn’t it be fun to stop at the end of a page and ask “what do you think will happen when they bring in the cat?”  Wouldn’t it be fun to hear all the answers?

Should you get it?

If you are looking for a silly book to enjoy with your children, On account of the Gum will fit the bill marvellously.

The full-colour images fill the pages and just add to the humour found within.  Wacky ideas, improbable solutions, and bizarre mishaps.  You never quite know what might happen next.   It was my pleasure to review this picture book for Raincoast Books. 

Turning the Page

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Today’s challenge with the crew is Turning the page.  Oh… that can mean so many things can’t it?  When I think of turning the page it makes me think of books to read and just how much I love reading an actual physical book.  Though in the past couple of years I really discovered the joy of listening to audio books as I work.  So many more books I can read that way!  🙂 

As I consider the books I’ve read this year I thought it incumbent upon me to share with you my favourite picture books I have reviewed over this past year.  Some of them have been wonderfully good.   Let’s talk shall we?  

I’ll link to my reviews as well as give you hot links to amazon (affiliate) should you be interested in turning the pages of these books with the children in your life.

Turning the page the best picture books

Picture Books for Fun

The Keeper of wild Words: Taking a journey using words removed from the children’s dictionary. 

The Fish Who found the Sea.  Discovering how to be comfortable with where you are. 

Build Your Own History Museum.  A fun build it yourself museum book. 

Cannonball.  Oh the fun of summer fun. Just a fun read. 

Florence and her fantastic Family Tree: the challenge of creating a family tree when you have a diverse family. 

Little Red Sleigh.  Can a little sleigh achieve her dreams? 

Pirate Nell's Tale to tell

Solve a mystery and find a library. Where is our library?

A Place inside of me.  Coping with pain inside of your community. 

A tender story of foster care, from both sides.  No Matter what.

A Word For Friend.  New places can be hard, making friends even harder.

Pirate Nell’s Tale to tell.  A fun read with a pirate who likes to read!

Santa Baby: just a fun Christmas read really.  🙂 

A seek and find book, a fun read with cats and mice.  Let’s Get Sleepy. 

Tiny Bird

Picture Books for Learning

Emily Writes.  Learn about the life of Emily Dickinson as a child.

Tiny Bird. The life of a hummingbird and the big trip it takes. 

Iceland: the puffin series.   Learn about Iceland AND puffins in a series of three books.  Solidly good books.  

My Friend Earth. Helping children see the wonder of the earth and ways they can help her for Earth Day. 

no reading allowed review

Laugh and Learn Bible for Littles.  A bible story book to help your children learn the bible stories. 

Run Salmon Run: The life cycle of the salmon. 

Let’s Fly a Plane. science exploring…this time with flight!

No Reading Allowed: Having fun with letters and sounds in words. 

Roadblocks in writing can be hard.  Get past them with My Pencil and Me.

Turning the Page continues

Books I have coming down the pike that I am looking forward to reviewing.

  • From Here to There.
  • Dino Dana
  • Snow Friends
  • The Song for everyone
  • Marie’s Ocean
  • The Wanderer
  • Me and the world
  • Natalie Portman’s Fables
  • Bear meets Bear
  • You are a beautiful beginning
  • Art is life

How about you?   What books will you be turning the page on?  Any favourites to share with me?  I’d love to hear. 

O Little Town of Bethlehem

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I originally posted about O Little Town of Bethlehem on my previous blog.  We sang it recently in an advent service and I thought it was worth repeating for you today.  🙂  

o little town of Bethlehem

Lyrics to O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together,
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessèd Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

Author and History

Written by Philip Brooks, was an American, an Episcopal preacher.  Although he failed as a teacher, he ended up as the rector at Boston’s Trinity Church for a long time.  He was active in the political and religious circles, and spoke against slavery.  The city of Boston has pictures and a bit of a biography into his life. 

Brooks wrote O Little Town of Bethlehem three years after he took a trip to Bethlehem.  This poem, turned song, was a fond recollection of his trip to that tiny town of Bethlehem and the sights he saw there. His organist, Lewis Redner, put his poem to music creating an easy song for the children of his congregation to sing.   Most hymnals today omit the fourth verse. 

Pondering

Until today I didn’t know about this orginal fourth verse

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the undefiled;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

I love those last two lines eh?  Seeing the hope shown when glory breaks and Christmas is here again!  That celebration of what God wrought in the world.  A marvellous thing don’t you find? 

Favourite Christmas Cookies

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The crew challenge for this week is Peppermint.  I don’t do peppermint well so this was a difficult one for me.  I finally decided to simply talk about my favourite Christmas cookies.   (and how I avoid too much mint!)  Who doesn’t like a good Christmas cookie?  I think almost every household has them.  I for instance LOVE a good lemon cinnamon cookie, but this time of year I tend to make Hershey cookies, sugar cookies, and papernauten. 

Oh… why do I tend to avoid peppermint?   Well, combine it with chocolate and you’ll find me very energetic and talking a mile a minute and then having a bad crash.  It’s fun, but yet very NOT fun. 

favourite Christmas cookies

So just why do I like baking for Christmas?  Like seriously.. with all the chocolate, candy canes, and goodies offered up… do we REALLY need all those extra calories?  We don’t!

But you know … I grew up with making cookies with my mom.  Now I get to make cookies with my lad.  In many ways, it’s a family tradition, and it’s GOOD to have those.  They bring normalcy to a season, and frankly this year, with all the precautions being taken, I feel really MEH about Christmas.  But these Christmas traditions.. baking cookies, spending time with my lad, talking together, figuring out who will do what, it makes it better.  Much less MEH!  Good tasting cookies help too!

Favourite Christmas Cookies

Over the years we’ve had students from other lands come live with us.  One year we had a very sweet Brazillian lad living with us.  He made us Brigadeiros.  These are Brazilian chocolate fudge balls.  They are extremely easy to make and VERY tasty.   They bring us such happy memories. 

You can roll them in whatever topping you like.  We tend to do chocolate and candy sprinkles, but I’ve seen them with icing sugar, cane sugar and just plain.  Apparently others do them with cut up fruit or crushed nuts, candy cane etc.   It’s up to you and your taste buds!  

Brigadeiros

We started to make Peanut butter blossom cookies… I think two years ago?  HUGE hit.  OH MY WORD… I was so surprised at how well they went over.  They are fun to make so it’s a great cookie to make with children and teens.  We have played around with different types of hershey kisses on top, and mostly prefer the plain chocolate.  This year we got gifted white chocolate spiral cookies… so we used those instead.  The pepperminty tasting ones my son stole quietly to his room.  🙂   YEAH!!   I don’t have to be tempted by something NOT good for me.  🙂 

peanut butter blossoms

We’ve made gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies.   It’s fun don’t you think to make fun shapes with cookies, to surprise a boy with a cat, or to indulge your fancy with bunnies, reindeer or snowmen. 

gingerbread and sugar cookies

Haystacks and chocolate chip cookies just for fun.  You know what I love about haystacks?   They are SO versatile.  We made our using coconut and rice krispies.  My boarder makes hers using chinese noodles, My mom using large flake oatmeal and a friend does her using oatmeal crisp cereal.    So very versatile and no need to bake them.  Just melted chocolate goodness mixed with toppings of choice.  🙂 

Yet to come

Yet to be made yet are my papernauten, homemade turtles, mini rolo cookies and dipped pretzels.  You’ll find recipes for most of these in the collection of posts below.  You won’t find much in the way of peppermint in them though!  🙂 

So what are you baking this year?  Do you have favourite Christmas cookies that are part of your family traditions?  Share the recipe in the comments if you’d like, perhaps they will become favourites in our household too!

Away in a Manger

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Away in a Manger is a beloved Christmas that has been sung by people of all ages for a long time.  I have memories (dim though they are) of singing this song in Sunday school Christmas programs at church.  I also wrote a post about Away in a Manger on my previous blog.

away in a manger

Lyrics to Away in a Manger

 
Away in a manger
No crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down His sweet head
 
The stars in the sky
Look down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay
 
The cattle are lowing
The poor Baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes
 
I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my side
‘Til morning is nigh
 
Be near me, Lord Jesus
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me, I pray
 
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And take us to Heaven
To live with Thee there

Author and History

Martin Luther is purported to be the author, yet many think this song is completely of American origin.  It’s one of those songs for children that has been adapted/changed over the years.  The reason so many think that Luther is the author is due to the existence of his cradle song.  But Luther isn’t the author since he never claimed it and the earliest copies were created after his death.  Discipleship Ministries spells out the history of this American-made cradle song.  The earliest version found is from 1934. 

Two main tunes, those I’ve sung at least three different tunes are Kirkpatrick and Murray.   I tried to pick two different versions for you to enjoy, and perhaps sing along with.  🙂 

Ponderings

The truths of scripture can be found with this cradle song.  In a manger, no bed, and the stars were probably visible from where he was born. 

Heartfelt sentiment and hope are found. Love for the Lord Jesus, Jesus looking down from the sky, staying with us, and God to whom we pray.

Questionable theology: No crying he makes.  It could be the Jesus was the best baby ever, but is crying a bad thing?  Isn’t it a human response to need? Is the “no crying he makes” the wanting to look past Jesus as a human baby and only seeing his God-hood? 

I dunno.  It’s good though to think about the words we sing don’t you find?

Top New Middle School Reads

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Every year I do a wrap-up post of my favourite books I reviewed from the past year. It’s good to remind myself about all I’ve done, as well as to really pick through the best of them.  So without further delay here are my top new middle school reads for you today. 

I will provide links to my reviews, and affiliate quick links if you are intrigued.  Helps my blog, doesn’t affect your bottom-line. 

Top New Middle School Reads

Non-Fiction Books

Fever year,  Graphic novel style about the Spanish Flue that hit during World War 1.  Well done, very informative, without being icky. 

On the Horizon.   Another World War book, this one of poetry.  Covering both sides of the war.  World War 2 hard-fought, pain on both sides of the equation.   Worth reading. 

This Light Between Us.  Fiction, yet, not-fiction.  A weaving between the two.  An excellent read about Japanese internment camps and the Nazi death camps.   Such a good book. 

How the moon landing affected people around the world.  For all Humankind.  An interesting read. 

The Radium Girls, such a fascinating read. Such a dangerous substance, new laws needing to be made, hardship for these girls.  A hard read, but sometimes it’s necessary to read hard things. 

Another WW2 book, Displacement draws us into the life of Japanese internment camps in a different way than the book above.  Graphic novel style. 

The Light Between us

Fiction

Some subjects are difficult to address.  Child Trafficking is one of them.   Invisible Boy sensitively addresses this issue. 

The last lie.  This book made me ask lots of questions, making me wonder about language and how it all works together.   

Fly on the Wall.   Caught between worlds, learning to be seen for who you are.   A combination book part graphic novel, part chapter book.  Worth reading indeed. 

In the mood for a doggie based mystery?   A Dog-friendly town might suit your needs perfectly. 

The Space between Lost and Found.  Dealing with a parent lost without being gone. A tough thing for a child. A story about how a young lady learns to cope with Alzheimer’s in her mom. 

A place at the table.  Girls, competition, cross-cultural challenges, and baking.  All make for an excellent middle school read. 

Lupe Wong won’t dance is a book I thoroughly enjoyed.  Might be something your middle schoolers might enjoy as well.  🙂 Strong-willed young lady tackles big (and small) issues. 

Middle School boys can be a lot of fun, Boys in the Back Row is all about those boys, music, and middle school struggles. 

My last book today might not appeal to all audiences based on the pandemic we are currently in.  The possible end scenario might alarm some people.  But Cleo Porter and the Body Electric showcases a young lady with a lot of determination.  It’s worth reading to see her action.  

A place at the table

How about you?   What top new middle school reads have you discovered this year?  It’s great to read new books and discover new authors to brighten our days and enliven our minds. 

Help with Novel Studies

fresh start

One of the things I love about having good books for middle schoolers to read is that it gives you the opportunity to lightly start novel studies. SchoolhouseTeachers.com has an analyzing, understanding and exploring literature course that you could take the bones of and help your children dig deeper into the books they love. 

With over 450 courses covering all grades from PreK through highschool, and four different ways to approach using this on-line resource.  It’s well worth looking into ST for all your homeschooling needs. 

If you come to Earth

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Oh my what fun!   Learn about the world and everything in it with “If you Come to Earth” by Sophie Blackall.  If you were an alien coming to earth…. you’ll get a whirl-wind tour of what to expect in this wonderful hardcover picture book.   Let me tell you all about it in this review (affiliate links used) 

If you Come to Earth, the details

Chronicle Books, along with Sophie Blackall, take visitors on a fast-paced tour of the world.  Teaching the world’s guests through our cities, people groups, events, and much much more.  Children in Kindergarten through grade three will delight in the colourful illustrations, and learning about the world we live in. 

The reader will discover 80 pages of discovery and exploration about planet earth. Learning about the environment and events that help shape us. 

My review is on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

What you’ll get

You’ll learn about our solar system, people groups, buildings, transportation, wildlife, jobs, clothing, family styles, and much more.  Children will be delighted with the colourful illustrations that bring the social studies of earth to life. 

Just check out all those families you can talk with your Kindergarten to grade 3 children with.  Children, parents, grandparents, activities, blankets  and so much more.  The depth you could get into if you wanted to.  Ms. Blackall did an excellent job of using more than words. 

The illustrations more than make up for the smaller text size.   I rejoiced in the friendly portrayal of how people can help each other, and how we need each other at different stages of our lives.  This is very much a sit together and read book.  The excellent illustrations make it also a great book for children to simply sit and look through on their own.  They can still learn a great deal about the world even if they can’t read on their own yet. 

We get to not only see the good things of the people and animals of this work but very lightly we were shown how sometimes people hurt people.  Sensitive youngsters might need to avoid those two pages. 

Should you get it?

Is Sophia Blackall’s book If you come to Earth worth getting?   For sure!

I love the sheer number of talking points found within the pages.  my appreciation is great for how not everything is spelled out but shown in pictorial form.  So we can point out the different modes of transportation and learn what they are.  We can see the houses, apartments and castles.  People showing the different jobs they do.  Making this picture book very interactive.  

If you come to earth is simply a fantastic book that you can use in your social studies, geography, or people studies.  Help your children learn to ask good questions about what happens on our earth.  Well done.