A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Homeschooling

It’s Just a Bunnypalooza

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (It’s Just a Bunnypalooza) through Ascot Media Group.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂 

It's Just a bunnypalooza

The Basic Details

From the Press Release:

When the contagiously enthusiastic Lizzy tells her classmates that she’s learning jump-jivin’ moves from bunnies, the children giggle at her over-active imagination. Feeling embarrassed and self-conscious, Lizzy decides she no longer wants to be laughed at.

Lizzy becomes an avid “non-believer” and ceases any further communication with animals. Naturally, the bunnies organize an intervention. These furry little creatures will not allow Lizzy’s fandango to falter, and they sure don’t want to lose a good friend.

You will find this a delightful 40-page book written for children 4-8 years old.   I received a hardcover book with a dust cover of It’s Just a Bunnypalooza through Ascot Media Group.  This is book three in the “it’s just a….” series, written by Brenda Faatz along with Peter Trimarco.   Peter Trimarco doubles as the illustrator.

Learning more about It’s Just a Bunnypalooza

What’s not to love in a book with full colour images and a delightful young lady exploring her love of animals?  She wants a talent to make her own and calls upon her animal friends for help.  Chirpy Bird, Moose, Owl, hummingbird, squirrel, and opossums too.  Everything was a bust, until… bunnies!  Bunnies and their love of dance ignite a spark in Miss Lizzy’s heart! 

Bunnies, just so you know, in THIS girls heart (me), always make everything right!  🙂 

Throughout the lyrical text, you’ll discover all kinds of highlighted words.  The rhyming, large print text makes it easy to read and share with a group of children.   This book is so easy to read, and I love the heart shown.  It’s a fun read, really!

Those highlighted words are explained in the bunny dance glossary.  These terms come from all over the world, all related to the world of dance!  It’s made me want to look up the Bharathanatyam dance of India.  I’m trying to imagine a dance that looks like fire….

Using this picture book could be a fun introduction to learning about dance from around the world.  What a great way to explore the cultures of other lands through the love of dance! 

The colourful illustrations by Peter Trimarco bring the poignancy of this moment into full clarity.  Such a sad young girl, but trust me…  the bunnies find a way to work it out!  How you might ask? You’ll have to read the story to find out!  🙂 

Add it to your shelves?

It’s Just a Bunnypalooza is a fun book for children.  A young lass having fun with bunnies, learning to dance, as the reader learns dance terms from around the world.  The world around her seeks to change her outlook on life, and kinda succeeds, until.. the bunnies take action!  Seeing those bunnies in action made my heart smile, and I can well imagine children smiling as well.   In fact, I wish I had a child that I could share this heart-warming story with!  🙂  

Other bunny related picture books

Others in the series are:

How to Homeschool

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (How to Homeschool) through Ascot Media Group.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂 

As a veteran homeschooler, I wanted to check out How to Homeschool to see if it would present accurate information to new homeschoolers, and if perhaps it might be thought-provoking.  Miguel Varella-Cid using examples from his own life to present ideas to homeschoolers, new and old, to encourage us in our journey.  The goal, to help our children learn and to become good, functioning adults. 

Basic Details and Press Release

Miguel Varealla-Cid has a Canadian connection! He wrote to tell me “some of my family are from Toronto, and I spent a fair chunk of my childhood in Ontario. I’m originally from the U.K., though I moved to Japan in 1998, then settled here when I met my wife Yuko, soon afterward”.  Always good to see a Canadian connection eh?   Anyways, he’s the author of How to Homeschool: A guide for progressive parents. 

Panoma, a rethink Press company, published this 262-page softcover book.  With 17 chapters, you’ll find that it covers much about homeschooling. 

From the Press Release:

Homeschooling has surged in popularity, especially during the last couple of years, and is the fast-growing choice for parents seeking an empowering alternative to traditional classroom-based or online school learning. 

But how can parents know if homeschooling is the right choice for their children?
And when they decide it is, how can they get a good understanding of what methods of learning may best suit their individual children?    …… Miguel Varella-Cid, and his wife, Yuko, have explored the options for years and applied homeschooling methods based on nurturing children’s individual passions to help them learn much more than they would at school. …..

In it, Miguel Varella-Cid answers commonly asked questions from new homeschooling parents, explores the pros and cons of free homeschooling, examines what makes children smart, shares seven steps to homeschooling success, and much more.  …. He uses many examples he and his wife used with their own children to illustrate how their techniques facilitate a child’s individual passions and abilities while helping the child attain fruitful academic progress.

Reviewed on behalf of Ascot Media Group, Inc. 

Looking deeper into How to Homeschool

One of the things I enjoyed about How to Homeschool was the author’s attention to detail.  He wants to help progressive parents to do the job well.  His goal is to help us think through various issues and decide how to approach them.   He starts by giving us information about himself and his family.  

In each chapter, you’ll find examples of how homeschooling worked in his family and how different things most impacted his family.  From there he’ll go on and explain his thinking behind different ideas.  

He’s fairly thorough in his approach, talking about pros and cons, objections, difficulties, and such.  He frequently interchanges free schooling, homeschooling and unschooling terminology, which I found a bit confusing.  

I did find him verbose and using bigger words than he needed to.   Not that I don’t know how to read or understand big words!  I love language and interesting words! But occasionally it made his ideas more complicated than they needed to be.  There’s value in keeping your language simple. 

I love that he highlighted sections so you could easily bookmark important ideas to research, return to or think more deeply upon.   His asking of questions I find encourages me to ask new questions of my own.  It’s like my own mini-brainstorming session!  

Throughout the text you’ll find statements in bold, lists, headers, etc, all making it easier to read and highlight important concepts. 

I can’t say I agreed with everything he had to say, but it was often thought-provoking. 

He does list a number of online resources for homeschoolers.   Many are ones I knew like Khan Academy, talkbox, outschool etc.  Others were new to me like Sue Patterson, funancial freedom, and thought co.  These were in a chapter called Free homeschool resources, and while some of them are free, others most definitely are not.  So I’m not sure why he didn’t separate them out to make it more clear. 

Add it to your resource shelf?

Well, I don’t know.   There was much I found worthy of browsing through, but overall I found myself feeling a bit irritated.  I’ve been trying to figure out why. After all, How to Homeschool is a good topic.

I’ve mostly boiled to his style of writing and his encouragement to adopt his lifestyle? I think.  The occasional confusion due to his language/style of writing was too frequent.  The whole “I’m a vegan, I know other vegans and their lifestyle and health is much better thing was, for me, off-putting.  

Mr. Varella-Cid presents a lot of good information.  He has a gentle, free-flowing style, and with a goal of lovingly encouraging us to think about our children’s long-term needs.  We need to figure out what our children need and then help them figure out how to learn! 

Our World is a Family

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Our World Is A Family) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂 

Our World is a Family in someways feels like a very Canadian book, one that warmly welcomes people who have come from away into our land.  A land that recognizes the pain of having to leave your own land and come into a new one that can be bewildering.  In this full-colour picturebook, let’s learn how we can help our new neighbours, truly become a part of our global family. 

our world is a family

What I am Looking at Today

Published by Sourcebooks Explore, this lovely picture book of 32 pages is an encouraging read for your youngest readers.  Our World Is a Family: Our Community Can Change the World came to me by way of Raincoast books as an ARC copy. You’ll find it at your local store or on amazon in hardcover form.  Authored by Miry Whitehill and Jennifer Jackson with pictures by Nomar Perez.  Geared for children who are 3-8 years old. 

Our World Is a Family, the details

People immigrate for a whole variety of reasons, but the reasons focused on in Our World is a Family are the sad ones.  Perhaps there’s war, natural disasters, or has become dangerous in other ways.  They need to leave their home and start a new home.  And new homes can be scary.  How can we help them feel less scared?  That’s the point of this lovely picture book. 

But even if the reason for leaving is a challenge, it’s still hard to leave, to miss friends, or maybe special belongings. How can we make them feel welcome?  How can we help to fill that hole in their heart?  Come and get some ideas won’t you? 

While you are doing so, take in the vibrant colours, and the wide variety of people seen. From skin colour to clothing styles, and even to language spoken.  We are given a front door to people from all over the world and it’s just so fun.  Really.  Don’t you find it interesting to observe other cultures up close?  And here we have a chance to do so right in our own neighbourhoods! 

The text is straightforward and encouraging.  A good amount of white space showcases the text, written with the sole purpose of opening eyes to the new people around us.  Don’t you find it so easy to not really understand? 

I know I don’t think about the refuge children missing their toys, or their parents struggling to find new work, or even the difference in bird calls.  So much is different for new immigrants, it’s hard to comprehend just how much they need to grieve the loss while celebrating their safety.  So why not do the small things, invite over for a cup of tea, or to have fun at the playground,

Add to your shelves?

Oh, I do like this book.  I like that children are helped to understand that sometimes people come here from difficult situations.  I would have loved to have seen a broader scope, such as people coming because they want to, not just because they have to.  But the way the difficulties were presented was good even for sensitive readers. 

Our World is a Family takes a fantastic view on immigration, showing both sides of the equation. I love how this builds understanding between cultures.  I love how Nomar Perez uses his artistic skills to help tell the story, showing proper emotions for the different circumstances.  His illustrations bridge the gap between words and experiences, bringing a deeper understanding. 

How to use

I can see this book used in many different ways.

  1. understanding immigration/emigration.  People leave their homelands for a variety of reasons, this book gives a good jumping-off point.
  2. having a “let’s know/help our neighbours” attitude.  Again, a good start to a brain-storming session with children of all ages.  How do YOU think we can help our neighbours?  
  3. Social studies: a window into cultures from around the world.  What people groups wear turbans?  Who might live in a dry region?  What differences between our culture and ______ can you find? 
  4. Understanding the emotions of immigration and then how to help new immigrants.
  5. What ways can YOU think?  

How to Make a Mountain

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (How to Make a Mountain) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂 

You know how you can get a book that you fundamentally disagree with but can still like? How to Make a mountain is one such book.  I am a firm creationist… believing that God created the world.  Done story.  But then you get a cleverly done book from a evolutionary standpoint and enjoy the journey of exploration and explanation. 

How to Make a Mountain

The Basic Details

How to Make a Mountain: in Just 9 simple steps and only 100 million years by Amy Huntington.  A fun 68-page picture book for 5-8 year olds.  Chronicle books is the publisher, and I am reviewing a hardcover picture book with dustcover.  Raincoast books provided me with this copy.  Nancy Lemon illustrates. 

Learning more about How to Make a Mountain

How to Make a Mountain is a fantastic earth sciences book with 9 chapters listed as steps.

  • Find a rock
  • Crash and Crumple
  • Rivers and Rockslides
  • Freeze
  • Melt
  • Soil
  • Plants
  • Animals
  • Care

It takes a humourous look at how someone might want to help build a mountain.  It is great to be walked through the process from start to finish.  In the process, learning how long it takes for a mountain to form, if you follow conventional science.. that’s a 100 million years! 

The font is an easy to read size, and reads well quietly or outloud.  You will find good use of white space, and these full-colour illustrations filling the rest of the page.  I just love the fun illustrator Nancy Lemon had.  Drawing a little girl pushing hard on a rock with the font changing in size….isn’t it precious?!?!  Can’t you just children giggling over it?  🙂 

Don’t you just love informative picture books? You get to learn so much. Have you ever really stopped to think about what all makes up a mountain…from their creation to all the life they support? Just imagine the conversations you could engage your children in. 

At the close of the book you’ll find a section with definitions and a short summation. 

Add it to your shelf?

Are you doing a unit on earth science or geology?   Perhaps you are interested in understanding what a rock has to do with building a mountain? This book will help you see the steps in creating a mountain, and what all a mountain contains. How to Make a Mountain is such an interesting and fun look into all that makes a mountain a mountain. 

Will youth 5-8 years old like it?  I think so.  It’s a good, informative read, but not only that it’s a fun book! They get to watch a little girl pushing rocks, and canoeing in a river, and planting trees.   Older students will like it just to read with younger siblings, or as a primer before doing a deeper study.  Look into the biome of a mountain, of how mountains are created, and all the different aspects/regions of a mountain scape.  You’ll be surprised, perhaps, at just how much there is! 

Other books that might help:

 

All I Want for Christmas is Ewe

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (All I Want For Christmas is Ewe) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

What do fox, sheep, bears and cats have in common?  They all have Christmas greetings for you!  Sometimes clever, sometimes silly, but always suitable for little ones.  I thought it was adorable…and a bit little clever… and laughingly read it to a friend of mine. 

All I want for Christmas is Ewe

The Fun of a good Christmas book

Based on the ARC I received from Raincoast books I never would have thought this was a board book!  I can totally understand it though when I read the lyrics.  They are short, sweet and rhyming.  The words fit well with the thinking ability of toddlers.  What do wolves do?  Howl.

So when we meet the wolves the verse we read is “Howl be home for Christmas, this you know is true, To hooold you close, I just adore you!”  Isn’t that a clever way of using a well known song and fitting to the right animal?  

You’ll find that cleverness to hold true for each animal on the 20 pages of this toddler focused book.  Each page hosting a rhyming couplet.  All I want for Christmas is Ewe is a very easy book to read, the words rolling off the tongue smoothly. 

Published by sourcebook kids, and written by Rose Rossner.  Illustrator Gail Yerrill does a fantastic job of bringing each set of parent/child animals to life.  Vivid, realistic colours help teach young children what each of these animals looks like.  The Christmas highlights on the prose page just add to the fun. 

Should All I want for Christmas is Ewe be yours?

If you know a toddler, or have a toddler, particularly one that likes animals… get this short read.  Have fun with it!  Laugh about the animals with their Christmas greetings.  Marvel at the love shown.  Enjoy the Christmas illustrations and simply…love on that little one.  Enjoy spending time with them.  This book is a fun, silly read… perfect for reading with a young one in your lap! 🙂 

Find other Christmas reads here. Having good books to read at Christmas is just one of the joys of the season!

Now as I’m thinking about it as I sit here I think… it might be fun to have older children see if they can figure out some of the clever twists in the lyrics. Can they figure out if the line came from a Christmas song, or how a line was changed from a popular Christmas greeting?  Might be a fun Christmasy challenge eh? 

The Bridge to Sharktooth Island

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Bridge to Sharktooth Island) through Ascot Media.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

Three youth, living their lives, and then suddenly they are magically transported else where.  This is the start of an adventure they will not soon forget!  They will have to use all their ingenuity and individual skills to see their way through.  

The Bridge to Sharktooth Island

The Basic Details of The Bridge to Sharktooth Island

The Bridge to Sharktooth Island is the first in a series from A Challenge Island STEAM adventure.  West Margin Press gives us a book put together by Challenge Island Founder/CEO and award-winning educator Sharon Duke Estroff, with award-winning author Joel Ross and internationally-known illustrator Mónica de Rivas. 

Running at 128 pages, youth 7-10 years old are entertained and then challenged to learn the skills presented in this STEAM adventure. 

Learning more

Imagine, you are just out having fun with your cousin, you hear a drum beat and suddenly you are whisked away.  Can you figure out how to get home?  Or even how to get to safety?   Clear text tells the story with clues provided appearing in italics.  Pay attention, you might find the solution before these explorers do! 

Sometimes you need to see a potential solution before you can work it all out.  Will this solution be the key or do they need to re-read the clues given? 

One of the things I like about this book is that readers have a choice.  It’s one they have to actively make.  Will they  wait and let the trio figure it all out OR will they try to figure things out before moving on in the story?   It’s easy to find places to stop to think it through before moving on in the story.  AND if you want to try your skills a variety of activities can be found at the close of the book.   From bridge-building, to learn facts about sharks, to doing art or math.  It’s a full-ahead STEAM adventure!  

Who would this STEAM book be good for?

I can totally see teachers in public and private schools picking up this resource to use with their students.  The natural breaks between the clues and figuring out how to use them.  Wonderful helps at close that you can actually put into practice… fantastic all-round. 

My own quibble was .. it didn’t make sense… these kids just doing their own thing and then suddenly they are transported into a dangerous situation. I was lost for a bit when it happened as the disconnect was so solid.  Other than that the story made sense logically.  

Dangerous situation, they had a strong need to figure out a workable situation and were provided the clues they needed to do so.  The Bridge to Sharktooth Island is a good STEAM adventure to take your 7-10 year olds on. 

OH!  And did you know you could even plan a trip to Challenge Island?  They have a variety of locations in Canada and the USA. 

This Year’s Reviews from The Crew

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So it’s been a busy year with the homeschool review crew.  This is my last year with them I think.  My lad is in grade 11, and I’m finding myself busy with other things.  Maintaining the crew reviews is something that I’m choosing to let go of.  BUT this year… We’ve done some interesting reviews with some favourites.  Soon the crew will be doing it’s blue ribbon winners, and since I needed a topic this week I thought I’d share with you this year’s reviews from the crew. 

this years reviews from the crew

The Reviews I’ve completed

I’ve completed 13 reviews with one left to do.   I’ll update this blog post once I’ve completed that final review. 

Which Review Did We most Appreciate?

My lad came to me just this week. 

MOM!  I’m glad we have CTC Math.  They do a good job of teaching me Pre-Calculus.  They teach a bit, let me practice, teach some more and then help me put it all together.  I just keep gradually learning more and more and it helps me to learn it really well! 

Highschool Math with CTCmath

My favourites are

Total transcript solutions – I need to put something together for the highschool for a program the lad wants to be part of.  Being able to put a transcript together so easily is hugely helpful! 

Though not a flashy resource, The Handbook for Writers is hugely helpful and I appreciate having it as a resource.   Being able to pinpoint areas to help my essay writer is so handy!

Handbook for writers

this year’s reviews from the crew honourable mentions

Those three would definitely be our top products this year.   I would hope that you will find them just as helpful in your homeschool journey. 

We do have our honourable mentions of course.  🙂  I hope to use the style of Progeny Press to help my lad complete some book studies. Pursued to Eternity gave me some questions for my evolution leaning lad to help him think more deeply.  And personal finance lab gave my lad the opportunity to practice budget setting.