A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Books for Upper Elementary

Canada Book: Our Canadian Flag

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Do you want a neat little book to help you understand Canada’s Flag better?   Well.. have I got the book for you!

Written by Maxine Trottier and Brian Deines, this picture book brings you the story of the Canadian Flag.  From how the maple tree drew in the hearts of the Canadian people (despite all the other trees around) through the making of the flag and it’s approval by the queen. 

This symbol of Canada is flown at important functions, printed on our faces, and endeared to our hearts.   May the leaf fly above our homeland forever!  🙂

You will find simple text along with boxes with further information on each two page spread.

The larger font text is simple enough for a child to read.

 Whereas the small text box is geared at adults for increased learning and talking points.

The full colour pictures that illuminate each two page spread will delight the eye of any child or adult viewing them.  It might even inspire some to display a maple leaf in their own way.  🙂

But seriously, this is a great book to introduce children to the Flag of Canada.

Where can you get it?
Well you can buy my copy from me for a couple of bucks as we’re done with it OR you can go to Amazon.ca for it.  You’ll find the link: Our Canadian Flag

Other books to inspire your learning

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©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Review: Secrets and Sequences

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Do you want a painless way to interest your students or children in coding?   Secret Coders has come out with a series of graphic novels to intrigue and entertain.   Mystery mixed with coding.  It’s a good thing eh?   Last year I reviewed another Secret Coders book, and today I have Secrets and Sequences to share with you.   Learn coding through reading a graphic novel!   Neat Idea eh? 

Hopper and the gang have a mystery to solve.  What’s going on with Professor Bee, who is one-zero and still.. where is Hopper’s Dad?   Will they get closer to figuring this out?
As the gang works through the mystery they make new friends (who would have thought!) but danger does make for strange bed fellows.  🙂   They learn how to code better (even Josh) and before you know it, they have worked out more of the mystery’s answers!  WOOT WOOT!!!

They learn to work together all the better, though sometimes it’s not so easy.

I love how the graphics are simple and not hard on the eyes like the graphic novels of old.   These are clearly legible, with simple colours that don’t detract from the storyline.

This graphic novel does what many do well… leave you hanging so you want to get the next book so you can solve the mystery.   Will they be able to see it through?   Will the gang solve the code?

Do I recommend it?
For sure.  It’s an easy read that introduces coding to your students AND if they decide they are interested, they can visit the secret coders website and learn more!  Pretty cool that!  🙂

Title: Secrets and Sequences
Author: Gene Luen Yan
Illustrator: Mike Holmes
Series: Secret Coders
Publisher: First Second Books
Pages: 112
Age: 8-12 years
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

 Where can you find it?
 Amazon.ca – Secret Coders: Secrets & Sequences

 Amazon.com – Secret Coders: Secrets & Sequences

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Review: Tournament of Champions

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Rip and Red are at it again, basketball is the name of the game and these two boys, one autistic and the other from a single parent home, are full into the spirit of the game.   Oh the joy of it!   They are going to part of a basketball Tournament of Champions.   My son and I were eager to read this newest book in the Rip and Red series since we enjoyed A Whole New Ballgame so much.

Challenge one: Can Rip get Red to be part of the tournament?
Challenge two: How will Rip handle the person from the past?
Challenge three: Can they win the tournament?

Team Motto: We will rise to the occasion which is life. 

The tournament they are to be part of is called the Jack Twyman Spring Showdown.   I thought I would see if Twyman was an actual player and learned that he was.  According to Wikipedia, he took guardianship of a fellow basketball player who became paralyzed and cared for him until his death. 

16 teams are invited, Clifton United is one of them and they have only two weeks to prepare. The tournament will be played single elimination style.   The boys are totally stocked with bams, booyahs and high fives all around.

The chapters are short and laced with a lot of communication.   I actually found all the communication with little scenery, or setting made for a less interesting read.  It seemed to me that every other work was “bam” or “balling” or “booyah”.  I used it as a read aloud with my 11 year old and he commented on it as well saying “it’s not as good as the first book mom”.

That said though, it was interesting enough to keep us reading it, we wanted to know if Red would actually play in the game, or if Clifton United would do well, and later on, to see how Rip would do with a situation that popped up in his life.

The chapters are short, short enough that we frequently had time to read two or three chapters  instead of just one. Those short chapters are what help to carry the book along.

Illustrator Tim Probert adds to the story with his great illustrations.

My Recommendation:
 If you have a sports minded child living in your house, this is a book well worth getting.
Short chapters.  Oodles of dialogue, real players discussed, and two active boys in the midst of a big tournament.  It makes for interesting reading.  The side stories add intrigue and what ifs which make the book all the better.

Title: Tournament of Champions
Author: Phil Bildner
Illustrator: Tim Probert
Pages: 235
Age: 8-12 years
Series: Rip and Red
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux 

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca – Tournament of Champions

Amazon.com – Tournament of Champions (Rip and Red)

 This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Art Series: A Boy Named Giotto.

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 I want to thank Kirsten for coming to my rescue this week with another guest post with an art book.  I am SO pleased to have learned about this neat book.   Won’t you join me in learning about it?

This is a wonderful treasure of a book that tells the
life of Giotto and explains his drive to create art that led him to
become one of the greatest painters of all time.

This is a book that tells most in its pictures and has
little text, although the reading level is beyond the reach of little
ones. It is a perfect book to give to older school-aged children and even
teens. But I used it as a read aloud book so my children could listen,
look at the glorious pictures, and discuss ideas that came up along the
way.

You can pair this book with a number of other activities
like painting with egg (as Giotto did), reading a short biography of
his life, and perusing a book by Madeline L’Engle that is filled with
his pictures telling the story of the life of Jesus.

So pick up “A Boy Named Giotto” at a bookstore or library today and open up a window to the past for your children.

Additional resources:



Egg painting activity – just like Giotto

The Glorious Impossible by Madeline L’Engle:A retelling of the 25 important events in the life of Jesus in a beautiful picture book.

Title: A Boy Named Giotto
Author: Paolo Guarnieri

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: A Boy Named Giotto

Amazon.com: A Boy Named Giotto

Kirsten West is a Christian Homeschooling Mom who blogs at DoodleMom’s Homeschooling Life.  Isn’t she a delight?   She found time in the midst of a crazy busy week to share this lovely find with us.  THANK YOU Kirsten!  🙂

Learn more about Giotto, through Amazon.com:

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Review: Millennium Falcon, Star Wars Builders

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My lad has been waiting for .. what seemed to him like forever…until we could build this lovely kit that came our way via Raincoast Books.   Little did he know I had an agenda.

First… work through his Apologia Astronomy book and read through the book on Pluto. Now admittedly he’s not completely done with the apologia study (but he’s close), but he’s got a cold, it’s a blah rainy day and I thought.. why not today!  So that’s what we did. 🙂  We opened up the kit Star Wars Builders Millennium Falcon.  Oh my, did the lad have fun!

What do you get?
This kit comes as a complete unit, a box attached to a book.

A clear direction sheet that has instructions on both sides. One to show the numbering, the other to show how to put it all together. 

The book is a nice one with good quality paper and full colour pictures throughout.  The text appeals to a variety of ages.   64 pages of good information for the Star Wars fan. 

The build is made of cardstock that is very thick and sturdy.   It has layers in it, but they are held together well and do not separate when putting it together.  One piece buckled a little when being bent to form the curved lines…but that was more a learning how much pressure needed to be applied.  It did not affect the integrity of the finished product.

An easy to put together 3-D puzzle.   Follow the instructions or it won’t go together well.

My Thoughts

I have to admit that it was hard to not want to do the build myself or to offer help.  I contented myself with reading parts of the book out-loud to my lad and asking him how he thinks it reflects real life (as movies are supposed to reflect life right?).   It was enjoyable to listen to his thoughts.

New Horizons is a real spacecraft from Pluto Mission

Concern:
 
I
can’t say the box is very sturdy as it came to us ripped although it
was in secure packaging and taped closed. None of the pieces were damaged as they were
tightly packed, a good bit away from any damage to the box.  So I can’t say the damage was really worth anything, just spoiled the initial look of the kit is all it did.

My Son’s Thoughts:
My son loved this.  Oh my!  He had fun building it.  He thought it was one of the best builds he’s ever done.

Kit Synopsis: 
Discover what makes the Millennium Falcon the most famous ship in the Star Wars
galaxy with this awesome master builder kit! Featuring a 64-page book
detailing out some of the ship’s most daring adventures and introducing
members of the crew, Star Wars fans will enjoy learning more
about one of the most legendary starships in the galaxy. When fans
finish the guidebook, they can follow the included instructions to build
their own to-scale replica Millennium Falcon with the included cardstock model pieces. It’s everything Star Wars fans need to begin an adventure in the galaxy far, far away. 

Where can you find it?

 Amazon.ca – Star Wars Builders: Millennium Falcon

 Amazon.com – Star Wars Builders: Millennium Falcon

Just so you know.. if you want to teach your child astronomy, SchoolhouseTeachers is having a sale right now AND it’s an really great sale.  The sale price for the monthly membership is $9.95, and the sale price for the yearly membership is $99.   Not only can you take the everyday astronomy course but you can use all the interactive elements of the World Book Encyclopedia.   AND you could even make Hans Solo’s Sound Blaster!

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Art Book Series: Spot the Differences

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HI!   Guess what, Joanna is nice enough to guest post for me with what sounds like a fascinating book.  Joanna commented on my blog about this book and I asked if she’d please please please write a blog post for me as I wanted you all to know about it too!   Come check it out with me eh? 
I am always looking for ways to keep my boys interested in learning about art. 

We
have read many great books about artists, carried out artist studies
complete with copied works, and go on field trips to local art museums.  

But
I always wanted my boys to really stop and study the works of art.
 Look for the nuances that make them so spectacular, learn the names of
major works of art and the artists who painted them.  

I
was so thrilled when I stumbled upon the Spot the Differences book!  So
far we only have book 1 but there are 4 of them in the series.  

I love this series because my boys were excited about using it!  

The
book has 25 famous paintings– each painting is pictured twice.  The
first page shows the original painting complete with name and date it
was painted.  The opposing page shows the same picture with anywhere
from 6-14 change and you are challenged to find all the differences
between the original work of art and the changed picture.  There is an
answer key in the back of the book if you get stumped and a handy box
for checking off all the differences you have found. 



 Surrounding
both pictures are snippets of information about the artist, the
painting itself, and some facts about the historical period in which the
artist lived and painted. 

It has made art study so fun! 

  You can find Joanna over at Our Unschooling Journey Through Life.   Do be sure to visit her there as well eh?

Where can you find it:
 Amazon.com: Spot the Differences Book 1: Art Masterpiece Mysteries (Dover Children’s Activity Books)

Amazon.ca: Spot the Differences Book 1: Art Masterpiece Mysteries




Joanne Rawson is the author of the blog Our Unschooling Journey.
Known around the web as Mother of 3, Joanne began her blog when she
first started homeschooling her three boys in 2012. She lives in
Connecticut with her family and enjoys reading, crafting, and
travelling… all of which usually ends up on her blog.

Social Media:

 

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/

Books read in April

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This month has seemed very busy, so I’m trying to recall what all we read this month.   Not as much as some months.  🙂

Oh.. before I begin I have to tell you this funny story.

I told my mom-in-law how much we enjoyed the book Irish Chain… and suggested she read it.  She’s about 78 years old and she liked this book so much she stayed up all night.  Oh my…she looked so tired and frail but wow.. she was full of her enjoyment of it.  🙂   Gave her and the lad much to talk about. 

It took her four days to recover from her reading adventure.  🙂

So what else did we read this month?
We’re continuing our natural world adventures with Natural world.   We’re in the midst of learning about a variety of birds. It was rather interesting today, we had recently learned about swallows, and today we saw some swallows in real life.  My lad was fascinated!

The lad is continuing to read through Shepherd, Potter, Spy and Star-Namer.  Tells me he likes it.   His bed-time reading is all about the Warrior Cat series by Erin Hunter.

At breakfast we are reading the Golden Goblet.
So far this book has us very intrigued.  Has the lad asking lots of questions about why the boy’s brother has to be so mean.  

I’m glad my lad doesn’t really understand such cruelty.. he hasn’t experienced it.  I’m also pleased that it bothers him as much as it does me.

We are also reading a book about animals in urban life (very interesting), a book about Canada (a bit young but the lad asks questions so good), and a book about muskoxen (more fascinating than you might think).  OH… And we are also reading a second book in the Rip and Red series (review coming soon).   I don’t have pics as the books are upstairs in my sleeping sons room.


I have just started a new book: A Train in Winter. I picked it up at the hospital’s rummage sale.  I was hoping it would be written as a novel, but it wasn’t.   Still interesting, but won’t be as fun a read.  Well..I phrased that poorly.. as reading about women in the French resistance who were shipped to a death camp from the Nazi’s wouldn’t ever be a “FUN” read, but more clinical I guess this will be.

So far it’s been a good explanation as to why the French started to resist so much against German occupation.

Oh Remember Fledgling from last month?   I have the boys hooked, so we’re listening to it on MP3’s in the car!   They like it so much we’re into book two!  AND they are mad that I want to listen ahead to book three so my listening fun has been curtailed a bit.  🙁

Avian is not a book for young listeners though as there is a fairly NASTY fellow in the book who likes hurting people.   But Javed holds true to who he is learning he really is, even if others warn him not to be.   A compelling story that the lad says “NO drive around the block, drive longer!!  PLEASE!!!!”

I also read a Valdemar compendium.. thoroughly enjoyed it.  🙂
Tempest.  It’s fun to read fan fiction.. to see what people come up with that’s in the light of the whole series.

Some of the stories are really well done, others just leave you wondering “what were they thinking!!!” cause it seems so off.

This one was quite well done.

And that’s all I have in my brain for now.   NOTE!  A linky is up at the end of the post so… join in!

Books read for reviews:

Curious Constructions.  Engineering marvels from around the world.
Fish Girl.  A well done graphic novel.
Quick tips for busy families.  Parenting hacks
Your Next 24 Hours.   A book to teach us how to be kind.
John Deere, that’s Who.   I liked this meaty picture book.
Once Upon a Time Storybook.   I had mixed feelings about this bible story book
God’s Easter Miracles.  Picture book for Easter for children.

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This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/