Rocking...

I don't know about you, but in my family rock collection is a favorite past-time. My boys simply LOVE collecting any type of rock they can find, so this book is really great for them. It not only provides a lot of information, but it can be read independently by my 7 year old, and helps both of them achieving some sort of organization in their ever-growing collection.

You can download this free book (in a .pdf file) here: The first book of rocks

Have fun!!!

Homeschool Enrichment

If you are looking for inspiration and ideas for this upcoming year, here is a great homeschooling magazine, Homeschool Enrichment, which is offering for a limited time a pdf download of all their 2012 issues... find the link below

http://homeschoolenrichment.com/goodies/all-issues-of-hse-magazine-from-2012

Free poetry book

Getting ready for National Poetry month? In case you did not know, that is the month of April, according to the Academy of American poets. Is there a better way to celebrate the love of music and beautiful words than enjoying a little sample of the wonderful poems the English speaking world has produced?

That is what you'll find in this volume of selected poems for children. This collection progresses from little poems written for children in the past centuries, to examples of the best British and American poems both past and present. Hope you enjoy!!

You can download "100 Poems for the classical child" for free from my blog. I have 2 versions, one for Kindle and one as a pdf, just in case you want to print the work. 

100 poems for the classical child (Kindle version)


100 Poems for the classical child - .pdf file (you will need Acrobat Reader)


All materials for personal use only. Thank you!

And, if you are interested in more Kindle books for children, see here. I am planning to add more titles soon :)

Living books

One of the main tools used in Charlotte Manson’s educational approach, ‘Living books’, have always been very attractive to me. These books, unlike normal text books, are texts written in first person form by a single author with a lot of passion about the subject written.

Living books are engaging to read as well as understandable and interesting.

I have been working to make some of these books more accessible, in particular the ones that retell classic works of literature, together with the ones that  help understand a particular historical period either by fictional narrations or by biographies of actual historical figures.

Some of these beautifully written books are almost 100 years old, but have lost none of their charm, and the beauty of the language is hard to find elsewhere, at least as far as children's literature is concerned.

The idea of using living books that retell a classic is really a very fruitful one: you get the benefit of a well written, engaging book paired with the introduction to works of literature that have formed the backbone of our civilization. The children grasp the main plot and the characters, and thus the ground is prepared for a later time when the classical work is to be read in its entire form.

As a secondary benefit, children are exposed to a richness of lexicon and variety of sentence structure that highly benefits their literacy, their cultural background and their vocabulary and expression.

Here are the links I have adapted to the Kindle format, with the added value of artwork from well know artist which have depicted the stories throughout the ages, thus incorporating some art study to the main literature and history line.

HISTORICAL FICTION

 LITERARY CLASSICS

BIOGRAPHIES

I hope to publish many more, so I'll keep you posted.


NOTE:  If you do not own a Kindle, you can read these books in your computer. 

Botanical Book with wonderful art

 Today, I'm sharing this resource  TOTALLY FREE, courtesy of Botanicus.org.

Botanicus is a free, Web-based encyclopedia of digitized historic, botanical literature from the Missouri Botanical Garden Library. They have been digitizing materials from their library since 1995, focusing primarily on beautifully illustrated volumes from their rare book collection.

 Go here, scroll through the pages list on the left  and enjoy. And if you want to download the whole book in .pdf format, just press "download" at the top of the page. The individual plates then can be printed as needed.

I personally find this botanical plates quite fascinating, and even young children, with their enormous appetite for everything natural and real, are quite attracted to them.

You can browse the complete catalog here

Wonderful art resources

If from time to time you feel a bit depleted of art ideas, here are some projects from this wonderful blog, The elementary Art Room, that can give you fresh inspiration!

Here is a little sample of what you can see there:

I am also pretty happy with this site, Artcyclopedia, which has wonderful pictures of artists for art appreciation.

Enjoy!!