That is awesome! My daughter used to get terrible nose bleeds on a regular basis, but they have stopped in the last year too. I never thought about it being connected to being home more. I attributed it to her growing up. If the nosebleeds ever return, having the child blow their nose while it is bleeding is very helpful. It is a tip my daughter’s pediatrician shared with us. Also, an ice pack on the back of the neck helps. If you can remove the clot, the bleeding usually stops. It got to the point where we had codes for the clot size (sister, mama, big daddy, grandpa 🤣) just to take her mind off it.

Sounds like the perfect plan to inspire a deep love of literature! I would second the suggestion of taking a few books and diving deeper into the worlds, or stringing together several books with similar themes. About seven years ago I started a “Family Dinner Bookclub” in our home. We all read a single book per month and then discuss it over a fancy (usually at home) dinner. I have slowly collected themed table cloths, dishes and serving platters for our dinners. We always use the wine glasses and have a fancy, kid friendly drink. I try to tie the menu to the book when possible, but if that is not an option I find a new recipe. I created a card deck of literary analysis questions from the Teaching the Classics teacher’s manual to facilitate our discussions. We each draw a random card or two and discuss. It helps to save us from the “Did you enjoy the book?” question. Although, ever since we read Swallows and Amazons my husband always leads with, “Who was your favorite character and why was it Titty?” Sometimes we also take a field trip, or watch a movie adaption of the book together and discuss. My husband and I take turns with our daughters choosing books so everyone has a voice. This is in addition to our normal school work. My husband and I always have a read aloud going. We still spend an hour reading aloud to our teens at bedtime. I also read aloud to them during the day and occasionally we will substitute an audiobook, especially for British literature. Our read alouds cover science, history and literature. They are both voracious independent readers. If I can graduate my girls with one thing I hope it is a deep love and appreciation for literature.

I will add one more “must watch†to any study of Dickens. The movie The Man Who Invented Christmas did a wonderful job of bringing Dickens to life for my girls. We all thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

We made our own didgeridoos from pvc pipe, a pvc pipe fitting and colored duct tape from Home Depot. My girls still play with them 3 years later. We also read (and loved!) How to Scratch a Wombat by Jackie French.

I think this is what you are looking for. http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/B000EU1JL0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412194165&sr=8-2&keywords=tolkien+ensemble My oldest daughter fell in love with the Lord of the Rings after my husband read it aloud to her. I bought this cd set to feed her interest, and she has listened selections every day for the last year and a half. Some of the poems are spoken/chanted, but most are sung. The music is beautiful too.

Magformers are great for hands on geometry. We used them along with Beast 3a with great success. I do not have it, but this cd looks llike it would stretch the educational potential of the product as well. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magformers-CD-/321149895208?pt=Educational_Toys_US&hash=item4ac6068228

Thank you everyone! We made a viking ship from a washing machine box, but using a refrigerator box for a wardrobe never occurred to me, brilliant! They would love it. The unit study and Key To book looks great too. We always celebrate the end of a book series with a theme dinner and the cookbook will save me a lot of work!

A year ago my husband read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy to my daughters. My oldest daughter fell head over heels in love with them. I have added numerous supplements to help bring the stories alive. Extra books, a copy of "the ring", maps, music from the Tolkien ensemble, literary analysis (at her insistence), all the LEGO sets and costumes have helped fuel her interest. I even converted a walk in closet in their playroom into Bag End complete with a decorative round door. My husband is reading Narnia to them and I see the same passions emerging. This time my youngest is also very into the stories. She was only 4/5 when we were reading LOTR so she was not as interested as my 7 year old. If your kids love Narnia, have you found any fun extras to add to their studies? They both want a wardrobe, but that isn't possible right now.

My oldest is a perfectionist and most things come easily to her. She has progressed through Singapore without any struggles. Even the IP and CWP did not really challenge her, but Beast knocked the wind out of her sails. There were tears of frustration at first, but we continued slowly and now she loves it! I learned not to push it and let her determine when she is done working for the day. Also using Magformers for the geometry, perimeter and area chapters in 3A really helped her.

It is great as a read aloud. My husband read it to my girls a few months ago and they loved it! Tolkien ensemble to the rescue! All of the poems and songs from the trilogy set to beautiful music. My oldest daughter has listened to selections from it every single day since last summer and memorized a lot of the songs as a result. We bought the cds midway through the second book and my husband would stop and play the corresponding track when he was reading the books. http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/B000EU1JL0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1402443820&sr=8-3&keywords=Tolkien+ensemble

I would not call them great literature, but Rick Riordan's books really sparked my girl's interest in Egyptian and Greek mythology. We spread SOTW vol 1 over 2 years (K and 1st). I read the Kane Chronicles aloud in K and the Percy Jackson in 1st. We followed them up with the D'Aulaires, Mary Pope Osborne and some Rosemary Sutcliff.

I have so many favorites. I started reading chapter books aloud when my oldest was 3 and we haven't stopped since. I can only think of a small handful that I haven't enjoyed, but here are some of our favorites: The Oz series (started our read aloud journey 5 years ago) The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy (read by my husband) Charlotte's Web, Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little Where the Mountain Meets the Moon The Secret Garden Little Women Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, Little Plum and other "doll books" by Rumer Godden TumTum and Nutmeg series (hilarious and fun) Alice in Wonderland Tale of Despereaux The One and Only Ivan Letters From Father Christmas Wesley the Owl was one of our all time favorites and it spurred a lasting interest in owls. It is a memoir written by a scientist who adopted a barn owl. It has some mature content some I am not sure what the reading level would be. I edited a few things on fly.

I love pretty books! I have spent years building up a huge library for my girls and the heart of it are hardcover, illustrated editions of the classics. Books of Wonder has lovely editions of many of them. The illustrations are fewer, but those that are included are pretty and they bindings are well done. We have the entire Oz series from them and they have their own special shelf in our family room. I have two editions of Peter Pan and both are beautiful: http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Pan-100th-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0805072454/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399938589&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Pete+pan+hague http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Pan-Wendy-Centenary-Illustrated/dp/1402728689/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399938666&sr=8-1&keywords=peter+pan+and+wendy+illustrated I have such fond memories of Oz. I started reading the Oz series to my oldest daughter when she gave up her afternoon nap at age 3. I still remember that first afternoon cuddled on the couch with her. She loved it so much we read all the Baum books, plus half of the Ruth Plumly Thompson books. We read Baum's Life And Adventures of Santa Clause every December. Enjoy your Oz journey! I think we might travel down the yellow brick road again this summer now that my girls are older.

My girls are 6 and 7. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was one of our favorite read alouds this year. Grace Lin's second book, Starry River of the Sky did not win the Newbery, but it was also very good. I read The One and Only Ivan to my girls last year and we all loved it. I did edit out a few parts about animal cruelty while I was reading it, but other then that it was a wonderful, sweet story and one that I plan to read to them again. We have also enjoyed The Tale of Despereaux and Ella Enchanted. I have Flora and Ulysses in my summer read aloud stack and I think it will be another favorite. We have enjoyed everything we have read by Kate DiCamillo.

Thank you! I found our new Christmas read aloud for this year. I try to add one new chapter book to our Christmas book rotation every year and I have never heard of the Birds' Christmas Carol. It sounds like a wonderful book! April isn't too early to plan for our December read alouds, right? Personally I would not buy their packages because I prefer to buy beautifully illustrated hardcover versions of the classics, but I love finding new reading lists.