Xapa to the World

Tag: Books

  • FIAR Vol. 1 – The Story About Ping

    FIAR Vol. 1 – The Story About Ping

    We started with the first book in Five in a Row Vol. 1. I’m going to tell you, I had a hard time with this book being on the list. I had a hard time because I have been to China, in a river city. I saw the cormorant fishing boats and the children running around the edge of the Li River, jumping into the water to cool off in the hot summer sun. It’s been a few years, but I know that the country is not as it is depicted in the book. Of course, I understand the book was written in 1933, BUT the racial undertones and the artist’s renders of the people and the countryside left a lot to be desired. So, I decided to take this book as a teaching tool in how we can look at older books and recognize problematic content. I decided that with my supplemental books and activities, I would do my best to present a more accurate and respectful picture of China and its people. Stories of Color has a great new list called “Read This, Not That” and “The Story About Ping” made the list of books NOT to read. Our library doesn’t have their suggested alternative, but it’s on my list to nab whenever it comes available!

    Below you will find pictures of the books I used for the different subjects and additional books I found that fit for more read aloud time. At the bottom of the page are links to each book for purchase.

    Social Studies

    I found these books valuable in that they presented how China looks today. A lot of the country is still rural, as depicted in the book, but much of it has been highly developed and metropolitan. I appreciated the current pictures of the Yangtze River – showing that the waters are not, in fact, yellow. We also visited a local Chinese restaurant and discussed how the people who work there look nothing like the people in the book. We talked about how the book depicted a way of life in a much earlier time in history and a particular part of an extremely large and diverse country.

    Math

    Math is not my forte, but at this level, I really have no excuse for working it out. These books were perfect today. We read How Do you Count a Dozen Ducklings? together and for our bedtime read, we did Ducks on the Road. My little man (5 yrs) grouped the ducks in 3 and counted them easily that way. I was floored. Numbers are going to come easy for him like it does for his dad.

    Math day is also our outdoor nature club day. We spent the afternoon with other homeschool friends, and amazing grown-up volunteers at a nearby state park. We always have great time there. Here’s hoping that we have a healthier year and are able to go more regularly throughout the winter.

    Science

    Oh this was a fun day! We did an experiment (provided in the book) where we picked a variety of objects and predicted whether they would sink or float. The kids did great and were surprised at some of the results. “Swim Swim Sink” was a perfect picture book tie-in.

    This Safety Smart DVD with Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King was a great watch while I got our lunches put together. Not too long, but memorable. We discussed what we already knew (from swimming lessons this summer) and what we didn’t know yet. I’m our designated family life guard for swimming outings. I’m glad I wasn’t rusty on the big points. We’re also going to try to trek out tomorrow for some wild duck observations, that is if we can get ahead of our ragweed allergies. The assault on our sinuses is strong this year!

    Additional Reads

    These three stories are very different in origin and setting. The Ugly Duckling is a classic, as is The Nightingale. I had these easy readers left over from my ESL tutoring years. “Along the Tapajós” follows two siblings on their way to school and their life on a Brazilian tributary to the Amazon River. This book was translated from Portuguese and I’m always glad to include stories from own voices.

    The “Duck on a…” books found their way in my list and they’re silly enough that I knew my kiddos would love them. And they did. “I Am Golden” addresses the challenges that Third Culture Kids (specifically Chinese American) face belonging and not belonging to two different cultures. Another great Own Voice picture book.

    We also memorized a poem by Jack Prelutsky called “Yellow-Bill Duck.” I found it in our “Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright!” anthology of animal poems for each day of the year. The kids loved the repetition of it:

    I’m a yellow-bill duck
    with a black feather back,
    I waddle waddle waddle,
    and I quack quack quack!

    I dabble for my dinner
    with a swish swish swish,
    and I gobble gobble gobble
    all I wish wish wish!

    https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jack-prelutsky

    Have you used this book for homeschool or just a general read-aloud? How did you teach through it? What did your kids find most interesting?

    Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.

    Booklist:

  • Five In A Row Vol 1

    Five In A Row Vol 1

    Hey everyone! I thought I’d try to show what we’re using for our homeschool and supplemental books and strategies for each week. This is our first year doing a “true” homeschool curriculum, but we went through the Treehouse Schoolhouse year-long Nature Studies last year while the kiddos were 2 and 4. That was so much fun and we learned so much (yes, me too!) and I decided that, especially at this age, a picture book-based curriculum would be the best set up for our home. By the way, I’m planning to pull out the Nature Studies in another few years for a repeat use, with the writing practices this time – my kiddos are still learning their letters. 🙂

    Our local library system isn’t quite as extensive as some (only two branches) but we are relying heavily on their resources. I’m also depending on a massive spreadsheet (I’m such a nerd) listing a plethora of picture books and their topics so that I can easily search for applicable picture books which I have sourced from a wide range of online lists as well as the weekly notices of new additions at our local library. It’s an illness…but I need all the lists! Here are some of the online booklists I’ve used:

    For our 2023-2024 school year, we are using Five in a Row Vol. 1 for both my 5 yr old (primary learner) and my 3 year old (I’m calling her the Tag-along).

    I have rearranged the order of the weeks to fit with certain seasons/holidays. I’ve also given us some gap weeks not just for our own seasonal breaks, but to fit in a Christmas and an Easter Study (through Treehouse Schoolhouse). We did the Christmas one last year, gently, but this will be our first time going through the Easter one.

    I’m also planning to do an American civics study in May and enroll the kiddos in a local intro to music class. Above all, I LOVE reading aloud to my kids. We have so much fun and I learn so much with them. Picture books are poignant, silly, creative, emotional, and beautifully illustrated. Here’s to a great school year with you!

  • C.S. Lewis and Friends Blog

    C. S. Lewis
    Image via Wikipedia

     

    So, I’ve had this dream for a while:  to have a group of readers called “C.S. Lewis and Friends.”  Actually, it’s not really just my dream.  It is a brain-child of a group of friends of mine discussed several years ago.  The primary draw at that time was the t-shirts we planned to make and wear, but I digress (The book club we never had but desperately love). 

    I’ve really wanted to have something like a book club relating to C.S. Lewis books and other like-minded or not so like-minded authors.  However, it is next to impossible to gather a group of people together at the same time for multiple weeks to read one book, let alone an infinite number of books.  So, like a bolt from heaven, a thought came into my mind:  Why not a Book Review blog? 

    Not such a unique concept, by itself, but hang on for the kicker.  I can’t read all these books myself, and many times, when I finish a book my only response is, “Wow, that sucked.”  or “Wow, that was great!”  I’m sure that could get boring real quick.  So, my idea is to use your brains a bit by inviting you to write on a blog YOUR thoughts after you’ve read such and such a book.  I know…I’m obsessed with the blogging thing, but I’m pretty jazzed about this idea. 

    The one question that came into my mind was, “What if I don’t agree with what someone is saying?”  Well…that’s why they’re called opinions and I really don’t care what someone says (vulgarity excepted) so long as a discussion can be started.  The great thing about WordPress is that you can have multiple authors on one blog. (I’ve never seen this on a blog-site before…but then again, my experience with platforms is limited.) 

    So, what do you say?  I know I’ve got some super-smart people out there who like to read.  I know that I’ve got some not-so-smart (wink) friends who have had some very smart responses to books and would willingly enter discussions on them.  Let me know if this is something you may be interested in.  If you are, AWESOME!  I will jump for joy and get right on setting it up.  If you aren’t, I will scrap the whole idea and be thrown into the depths of despair for years to come.  If enough are, I’m sure that one or some of my particularly artsy people would be able to come up with a super-cool banner for the blog (and, yes, maybe even a t-shirt!) 

    God bless ya! 

    Sarah ><>