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Books for Homeschoolers

Raising Bookworms in the Digital Age

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

I am a booklover, I love physical print copies of books. I will forever search for a print book long before I look for a e-book. Both for myself and for my kids. Raising bookworms in the digital age isn’t necessarily hard, the key is loving books, any kind of books.

Raising Bookworms in the Digital Age

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In this digital world it might seem hard to make sure that you kids are reading enough, what with television, video games, tablets, and more. We

Surround your kids with books.

Have them in your house, have them in their rooms, in the living room. We have books in every room of the house. (I did not completely plan to have them in EVERY single room, but my kids had their own plans). We take books with us when we drive any where.

There is not a day that goes by that my kids don’t pick up a book to flip through on their own.

If you find your child is not reading as much as you would like, then maybe they haven’t found the right books yet. I don’t limit the books my kids check out of the library. Educational non-fiction books, novels that are probably over their reading level, graphic novels, magazines, and more are all going to encourage them to read.

Raising Bookworms in the Digital Age

Read to your future bookworms.

Read to your kids. I started buying children’s books, and reading them the moment I found out I was pregnant with my oldest. I never stopped. We are currently reading books together for our library’s Hackmatack programing.

You can read to your older children as easily as you can your younger children. I didn’t enjoy reading myself until I was older.

Audiobooks are not horrible. Yes we want our kids reading themselves but listening to audiobooks occasionally isn’t bad. My kids will listen to an audiobook in their room while they are playing with Lego.

Read to your future bookworms.

Let them see you read.

My kids know I read, they see me reading all the time, they always have. I buy myself books from a specific author, and hunt up the library for the rest of my reading. They have been known to help carry my books out of the library in their backpacks because I wasn’t planning on taking out as many as I end up with.

Raising bookworms in the digital age right now can be crazy. But if your kids are interested in reading e-books, let them! My kids read them from time to time as well, the library has such a great selection of e-books.

Similar posts you may be interested in:

Cozy Reading Days on Cold Winter Days

Curriculum Reading – Do Your Kids Love or Hate It?

Why Audiobooks Totally Count for Reading

Filed Under: Books, Books for Homeschoolers Tagged With: bookworms

Arctic Animals Books for Kids

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

You know we love learn about animals, and we have enjoyed learning about arctic animals. We watch documentaries all the time, but we always love reading books about animals. Arctic Animals books are a great way to learn about these great animals that live in such a cold, and far away place.

Arctic Animals Books

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I don’t buy every book that we use in our homeschool. We are big fans borrowing materials from the library, which is always our first step in reading books. I do not have enough room in my house for the books we currently have, let alone all the books that I wish we could own.

Finding Books on Arctic Animals

The library is going to have, at least in our case, more books on a subject than I was planning to check out because they aren’t all brand new but often they are really great resources.

Books we often look for are:

  • Usborne
  • Eyewitness
  • National Geographic Kids
  • DK Books

Arctic Animals Books for Kids

You know we love learn about animals, and we have enjoyed learning about arctic animals. We watch documentaries all the time, but we always love reading books about these animals.

Polar Animals (Scholastic Reader Level 1)

Fabulous photographs, eye-catching design, and simple rhyming text constitute this Level 1 reader about the fascinating lives of polar animals!

Snow Babies (Scholastic Reader, Level 2)

Learn all about baby polar bears, penguins, and more cute and cuddly animals who live in the snow in this level 2 Scholastic nonfiction reader.

Amazing Arctic Animals (Penguin Young Readers, Level 3)

Why does an Arctic hare have tiny ears? To conserve heat! How does a walrus feel around for food on the bottom of the sea? With its whiskers! Learn cool facts about the arctic fox, the beluga whale, the snowy owl, and more in this book.

Brrr!: A Book About Polar Animals Level 3

Lively, full-color photos bring these animals to life as detailed text provides informative facts about how these diverse creatures, such as the humpback whale and the arctic fox, live in their natural habitat.

Animals of the Arctic Tundra: Polar Region Wildlife

What are the animals that survive the cold in the arctic tundra? Open the pages of this educational book to find out! The pictures included in this book, accompanied by simple texts, will definitely pull your child towards learning.

Arctic Animals (Cold Feet)

Children love to learn about animals! The reason for this is because there are many types of animals in the world that look adorable, can be seen in the wild, and also kept as pets.

The Coldest Tundra! | Arctic & Antarctica Animal Wildlife | Children's Polar Regions Books

Animals are amazing! There are some that can survive the hottest deserts while others can live in the coldest parts of the Earth. This book will give information on the Arctic and Antarctica animal wildlife.

Eye Wonder: Arctic and Antarctic

Young readers will take a journey to the Arctic and Antarctic regions with this adventurous book of over 100 full-color photographs and fun stickers. Children's imaginations will transport them to icy places where they’ll meet the local people and animals who live there.

Eyewitness: Arctic & Antarctic (Eyewitness Books)

Arctic & Antarctic Animals Book

All About Arctic Animals – 11 Different Animals – Google Slide Presentation

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Arctic Animals – Science Experiment

Arctic Virtual Field Trip

Mini Unit Study on Arctic Animal

Filed Under: Books, Books for Homeschoolers Tagged With: arctic animals, Books

Thinking Tree Books in Our Homeschool

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

We don’t homeschool the same way ever year. We change things up, and things change. Because life is not consistently the same every year. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can roll with the changes, you can makes changes as they are needed. This year we are trying Thinking Tree Books in our homeschool.

Thinking Tree Books in our homeschool

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Our first four years were spent some what structured in Saskatchewan, our fifth year was super relaxed, boarding on unschooling. This year, I am looking for the middle ground. Going interest led with my kids, letting them learn about what they want in an organized fashion.

All About Arctic Animals – 11 Different Animals – Google Slide Presentation

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Thinking Tree Books

I had a couple of these books way back when we first started homeschooling, but we didn’t use them because I didn’t understand how to use them for our lessons. I was still stuck in a curriculum mind set. I donated them before we left Saskatchewan. I wish we had them now.

Something I have noticed lately is that secular homeschoolers seem to be a lot more relaxed in the material options. These books are great for a creative homeschooling method. Each page is ready for coloring, doodling, creating, and learning.

There are books for bible use, but there are so many that are perfect for anyone! We currently have four for my kids, ready to go, plus I have more for later in the year, or next year, or for whenever I decide we are going to use them.

Books we are using:

  • Endangered Species – if you know my kids you know this is a favorite!
  • Learn Any Foreign Language
  • My First fun School Zoo Curriculum
  • All About Animals – Creative Writing

I also have a couple of these for myself. That’s right, they have books for mom!

  • Mom School: Teach Your Children by Being a Good Example
  • Homeschooling Handbook for Moms: How to Teach by Example

Why I like Thinking Tree Books

I like allowing my kids to learn about what interests them. These books let’s us do that. There are so many great books.

They are fun. They are perfect for kids who like to doodle, or are creative and like to color, which fits my kids.

They aren’t formal. These books aren’t telling me what to teach my kids , when to teach my kids it. They are more like suggests on how to follow your child’s interest.

How We Use them in Our Homeschool

We’re eclectic homeschoolers which means we draw from different resources for our education instead of using a particular curriculum. These books, these journals, have been a great way for us to homeschool using books and topics of our interest.

A homeschool routine is important for us. School starts when my kids are finished breakfast and getting ready for the day. It starts with their math lessons and then moves to the subject of day. That might be learning about endangered animals, and then creative writing. Or it might be foreign language.

We do things our way. We learn from watching documentaries and reading books. Thinking Tree books just give a place to collect our thoughts or knowledge in a fun and interesting way.

Similar posts you may be interested in:

Learning to Read in Kindergarten

Teaching Photography in Your Homeschool

5 Ways Kids Can Learn to Code

Filed Under: Books, Books for Homeschoolers, Curriculum, Homeschool Tagged With: Homeschool Books

How to Fill Your Homeschool Bookshelves

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

Part of building your homeschool library, or any library is is finding the best books for your homeschool needs, while not breaking the bank. Your homeschool bookshelves do not have to be a physical bookshelf in your home, because e-books can be so much more cost effective and space saving for you.

Fill Your Homeschool Bookshelves

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I am a huge advocate for using your public library but there are times when I think that buying a book for your own homeschool library bookshelves. Those books that you are checking out of the library again and again and hate having to return. That’s one of the things I keep in mind when deciding to buy a book for our home.

You can fill your library with fiction and nonfiction resources that are not just informative but fun. You’ll find it helpful to have books on hand as resources for lessons, activities, fun days, and just because.

Stocking up on books for your homeschool library may sound awesome but expensive.

Best Places to buy homeschool books

Best Places to Look for Your Homeschool Bookshelf:

Amazon

Amazon has great prices for a lot of books. Often when looking for a book on Amazon, you’ll find that the book is available new, but there are often used copies available as well through Amazon, and through other

Plus there is Amazon Kindle. An e-book subscription that gives you unlimited reading from over 1 million e-books, that you can read from any device.

Costco

If you have a Costco membership then keep your eye out for great book series like Harry Potter to go along with your Wizard’s and Wands curriculum. They are often really great prices for new books.

Costco typically has workbooks too for homeschooling, I have found some really great ones for my kids in the past there. They love using them during down time, and they are great for keeping that summer slide away.

Walmart

There aren’t always great books here, but occasionally they have one that we want. And you know what Walmart does have here that makes me add them to this list: 40% off.

Creative Writing Journal – All Subjects

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Facebook Groups

This is where I get a lot of books for my kids. Whether it is someone giving away a box of books, or a homeschool mom selling books that she no longer needs. This is what I do with books that no longer fit out needs or my kids have out grown.

You can search for Homeschool groups, Buy and Sell groups, other local groups.

Thrift Stores

Thrift store finds can be amazing! You aren’t always going to find some thing great here, but when you do chances are the price is going to be amazing.

Local Library Book Sales

This is another great place to find used books at an amazing price. Austin, my oldest, has found great human body books that she loves to learn from on her own.

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Similar posts you may be interested in:

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

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Filed Under: Books, Books for Homeschoolers Tagged With: Homeschool Books

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

I am going to say book a lot in this post, but that’s because my kids and I love books. But the library offers more than just books. There are documentaries, and often times workbooks and other curricula materials for borrowing. Homeschooling from the library could be just what you homeschool budget needs.

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

We are big fans of the library, if I can get a book from the library for myself, or for my kids, that is what I am going to do. I very rarely buy new books and just as rarely buy used books for our homeschool.

Pros of Homeschooling from the Library

Let’s start with the fact that borrowing books of any kind is going to be cheaper than buying, as long as you don’t lose or damage a book causing a fine.

You don’t have to have a lot of storage space in your home to store it all. Books for a curriculum can, and do, take up a lot space. Our books for the Level 1 BookShark curriculum we have used filled a cube on our storage shelf with books layered and piled in. I don’t have a lot of space for all the books.

If a book doesn’t live up to the hype you have heard from other homeschoolers, then you can return it, no harm no foul.

You can easily jump from topic to topic as your child’s interest change. This is a great way to school interesting and exciting for your kids too. Let them pick out books on a certain topic that interest them.

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

The biggest problem with homeschooling strictly from the library is that the book you want, the book you need, may not be there. The library may not own it.

The books you want and may need may be checked out and may have long long waiting list.

Due dates and loan times may not work for you. Some libraries offer longer loan times for homeschoolers which can be extremely useful.

Are you going to be able to change your plans, or topic if that happens to you? Do you have a back up plan?

Planning for Homeschooling from the Library

If you are a planner and have a back up plan for when a book you need is unavailable then you are ahead of the game. But, you need to watch out of fines. Late fines for, obviously, returning materials late. But also fine for damage caused to materials or for lost materials.

Where to Find Books Online With Libraries Closed

How can You Plan to Homeschool from the Library?

Plan ahead. Have a couple different topics planned out that you can cover depending on when you are able to get books from the library.

What if a book just isn’t going to be available for from the library? The question is, do you really need it? Are you able to get and use a different book instead? If no, I look for used on Amazon and Amazon’s Warehouse Deals or used books. There is also the option of looking for a Kindle version which is often times cheaper, and you don’t have to store it.

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Sign up to join my Resource Library mailing list and you’ll be among the first to know about new items in the FREE resource library, new posts, and more!

Recommended Products for Homeschooling

Similar posts you may be interested in:

How to Start Homeschooling Mid-Year

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Filed Under: Books, Books for Homeschoolers, Homeschool, Homeschool Helps Tagged With: homeschool budget, Library Books

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A Little About Me

I'm Ashley, a Canadian secular homeschool mom of 3, living in Nova Scotia.

I share our adventures in homeschooling and parenting.

You can usually find us at the library surrounded by books.
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