Archive for category Recommended Homeschool Books
High School Credit: Computer Programming
Posted by Diane in Recommended Homeschool Books on August 10th, 2010
I’ll bet when you hear the word python, you think of the snake instead of classical education, right? Well, now I will always associate python with my son’s first programming experience. Who doesn’t have at least one high school son who shows some interest in video games? My 16 year old son, Connor, has been an aficionado for years, and recently as part of our own post-trivium strategic planning, we decided to let him tackle computer programming. Using this simple text, he learned his first computer language, and as a result, he also earned a full high school credit in technology for the homeschool transcript. This adventure was his first real plunge into supervised independent study. Here’s his book review:
Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners, by Warren and Carter Sande, is the book to go to for an easy jump into programming! It focuses on the language Python, which is definitely not the easiest language out there, but Hello World makes the hard stuff simple and simple stuff simpler. It has had a major effect in how I view programming, and I’m looking forward to learning other languages because of this book.
In essence, “Hello World!” is a book about the basics in programming. It starts off with something easy to understand, and gradually pushes you farther into the deeper and more complex parts of the language. The book is paced very well, and it never left me feeling overwhelmed. Throughout “Hello World” you will find boxes that contain programming lines. These are the exercise boxes, and you have to write out this code, and then check it for typos! This part of the book may seem slightly strenuous in the beginning, but over time you actually start to understand what the language is telling the computer to do, which is a great feeling. These code boxes follow the pattern of the book, starting out small with simple math equations, and ending strong with actual games like Pong.
I only had two complaints with this book: Sometimes the code displayed errors I didn’t know how to fix, and other times I just felt like I was writing out code, not understanding what it was saying. When the code had problems that I hadn’t learned about yet, I couldn’t solve for them, therefore not being able to see my final project (in one of the chapters). These two problems only happened a couple times though, and aren’t a consistent theme.
So, should you buy it, borrow it, or burn it? Buy it! This is a must buy, it’s simple, easy and satisfying. I didn’t know a thing about programming before, but this book showed me a glimpse of what programming can accomplish.
So just to give you an idea of how we did this, Hello World! has 25 chapters, so he completed one chapter a week. When you purchase the text, you’ll get the python software download link which he will install as part of his assignment in the first chapter. I hope you found this homeschool teaching resource helpful, and if you have any questions, just leave a comment below so that I can give it to Connor.
Classic Storybook Appeals to Mom and Child
Posted by Diane in Recommended Homeschool Books on April 6th, 2010
Rare children’s books like those wonderful elementary “primers” your grandmother used to read to you when you were a little girl are often difficult to find; however, homeschool mom, Barbara Frank, has recently published a beautiful new vintage book of short stories for reading aloud to young children called Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks. Isn’t that cover illustration scrumptious?
With over 125 vintage illustrations to supplement this 1894 text and an emphasis on virtues such as truth and gratitude, Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks is sure to please your young homeschooler as you snuggle and read about animals, nature, fairy tales, fables, and even how old-timey household objects were made and chores were performed like how to churn butter. Here’s an excerpt from the “Milk, Butter, and Cheese” chapter:
Alice was greatly interested, when after this the milk to grow thick and form curds. She watched Aunt Lizzie chop the curds and press them till all the thin liquid whey was squeezed out of them, and they were salted and pressed in a round, solid form like those in the dairy, each cheese being put into a large hoop of wood, until it became of the right shape.
“See! this is a cheese, Alice”; and then kind Aunt Lizzie let Alice press and salt a tiny cheese with her own hands. How pleased and proud was the little girl when it was placed on the supper table, and mamma, papa, and even Aunt Lizzie each ate a small piece of Alice’s own cheese.
Especially interesting to me are all the references to what we now call “homesteading” and the lost art of homemaking from scratch with whatever resources you have on hand at the time. My mother-in-law would love this classic storybook, and I’m sure that she would stop every now and then and tell stories from her own childhood. In fact, this would be a great gift to purchase for read aloud time at granny’s house.
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Are you looking for classic storybooks for your young homeschool children? Check out my favorite selections in Best Homeschool Books for Preschoolers. There you’ll find my picks for predictable plot lines that are sure to please both parent and child during read aloud time. And if you know of a rare, vintage children’s book to share with us, tell me about it in the comments section below.
TOS Homeschool Book Review | Trivium Mastery
Posted by Diane in Recommended Homeschool Books on April 4th, 2010
The following homeschool book review of Trivium Mastery: The Intersection of Three Roads was published in The Old Schoolhouse magazine in August 2009 and has been reprinted with express permission of the editor.
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Trivium Mastery is a revolutionary look at the classical education model. Author, former CPA, and homeschool mom Diane B. Lockman researched the classical method and found some wrong assumptions regarding the trivium which have led to discrepancies in the original intent and current practice of classical education in the homeschooling community. The book begins with a brief overview of the history of classical education and contrasts this with the current classical movement.
According to the author’s research, during ages 11-14, classically educated children began and quickly mastered all three stages, and then in high school, “they were able to study discrete ideas in depth.” In other words, “concurrent does not equal consecutive.” Diane Lockman says [M]y objections relate to the current classical renewal movement’s uncritical affirmation of [Dorothy L.] Sayer’s personal opinion on child development as gospel truth and unquestioning application of Sayer’s hypothesis to a 12 year public school schedule. And she further states, “The urban legend of the twelve-year, three-stage trivium” is a commonly held story used to legitimize the imposition of a public school schedule on a classical education.”
After this thesis, the author explores the three “roads” of the trivium: language, thought, and speech which are her terms for the grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages. She clearly states how to use this book and thereby revamp your classical homeschool. First of all, ensure personal mastery of the trivium and implement self-education as needed. Second, review the interview questions in the appendix and use the three “road maps” (described below) to evaluate each child’s progress. Third, make a plan based on the results of the evaluation process.
Several chapters are devoted to each of the three road maps (language, thought, and speech), including a list of specific skills for each and strategies for achieving the skills listed. Diane Lockman has some excellent ideas here, many of which can be implemented without spending a cent: reading and discussing newspaper editorials with children, keeping a learning journal of your own and sharing it with your children, training your children to give concise and direct answers when dialoguing to name a few.
Homeschool “makeovers” make up the second half of Trivium Mastery. Diane Lockman interviews and examines five homeschool families with a total of 12 children, ages 5-13. (Her upcoming sequel, Socratic Paideia: Dialogue Drives Instruction, covers the high school years.) Here you see the author’s evaluation process at work as she analyzes the education within real homeschooling situations and provides specific game plans for each child. By the way, the author believes in leaving Latin and science to the high school years.
In this section of makeovers, the reader will find brilliant ideas to use in one’s classical homeschool: have an older child who has trouble emoting when he reads orally pick some easy picture books from the library to practice reading out loud to you; spend a week at a time learning individual literary elements using a book the child is currently reading; choose a topic of interest from the encyclopedia to practice outlining skills. This is just a mere sampling of the myriad suggestions. The author does an exceptional job of tailoring assignments to the individual child, capitalizing on his or her interests and gifts; playing mystery board games to improve thinking skills, including words from recipes on spelling lists, and memorizing a speech from a book on knights. Diane Lockman’s worldview is apparent in her references to the Bible as both an example of classical education and a tool for classical education.
In the appendices, you will find interview questions for evaluating your own homeschool and a long set of assessment tools. I wish there were specific instructions accompanying these. Some of them are clearly meant for testing skills; some are more like reference keys. For example, what is the recommended use for the five reading excerpts? Oral reading check? Reading comprehension? Dictation exercises? Perhaps I missed something.
An index would be a helpful addition to this book. And although many useful titles are mentioned throughout, I wish the author had included an annotated list of recommended curriculum resources. Also, it would be interesting to know the ages of her children, but I could not find that in any of the author bio info in the book.
I believe Trivium Mastery has the potential to attract a dedicated following similar to that of other classical homeschool manuals, and I eagerly await the publication of the sequel. I would encourage all homeschoolers to take a good look at this book, especially those who have discarded the classical paradigm because they thought it was too difficult to attain.
–Homeschool book review by Kathy Gelzer, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, August 2009.
Trivium Mastery: The Intersection of Three Roads
How to Give Your Child an Authentic Classical Home Education
by Diane B. Lockman
Outskirts Press, paperback, 312 pp., retail $21.95, ISBN 1432733281
Mossflower: An Engaging Experience
Posted by Diane in Recommended Homeschool Books on March 22nd, 2010
For those of you who contacted me about how much you enjoyed Andrew Sanders’ first home-school book review for 9-12 year old kids, you are in for another treat!
The book Mossflower, written by Brain Jacques, starts the series of Redwall. Published by the Berkeley Publishing Group in 1998, this fantasy adventure invites the reader to experience the highs and lows of the woodlander life. Brain Jacques lives in Liverpool England, where he invents his lovable stories for children and takes long walks with his dog. Initially, his stories were only known in England, but in 1986, with the appearance of the Redwall series, children around the world have followed Martin the Warrior and his legendary sword. Talking animals fill the pages. In the forest of Mossflower Woods, the story dramatically unfolds.
The story consists of a unique combination of characters. The mouse, Gnoff, who is a thief of thieves, is plump, tricky, and loves to sing. With his ditties he keeps his companions rolling in laughter. Dinny the mole proves himself to be a faithful friend. When diggers are needed to bring about the fall of Kotir, Dinny valiantly steps forward. Martin the Warrior, who is a mouse, completes the trio of main characters. He is cunning and fearless. Undeniably, Martin’s courageous spirit establishes him as a leader of the oppressed woodlanders. On the side of evil, Tsarmina, a wild cat, ruthlessly rules from her castle, Kotir, with an icy grip and demands the woodlanders tribute.
The conflict of the story revolves around Martin’s battle with Tsarmina. In the beginning Martin is put into prison for trespassing on Tsarmina’s land. While he is imprisoned, he meets Gnoff and learns of the woodlander’s plight. After a daring escape, Martin, Gnoff, and Dinny, who is Gnoff’s mate, head to Salamandastron to recruit Boar the Badger Lord and his fighting hares to help defeat Tsarmina. Boar agrees to help them. Using his skill as a blacksmith, Boar fashions Martin a new sword from the metal of a fallen star because Tsarmina broke Martin’s first sword. Unfortunately, before Boar and his army venture to Mossflower, a fleet of sea rats ruthlessly raids the fortress and Boar is killed. Martin and his friends take advantage of the chaos and steal one of the sea rat ships filled with oar slaves. Upon arriving in Mossflower, Martin encourages the woodlanders to take up arms against the army of Kotir.
The climatic ending occurs as the battle erupts between the woodlanders, led by Martin, and the forces of Kotir. Ingeniously, the woodlanders construct a catapult, which annihilates the walls of Kotir. They leave no stone standing. Meanwhile, Dinny and his fellow moles dig tunnels from the River Moss to the underground caverns of Kotir. As the castle floods, Tsarmina, who is terrified of water, cowardly paddles to shore to flee the devastation. Kotir is completely destroyed. With the battle raging on, Martin spies Tsarmina and confronts her with his majestic sword. Tsarmina’s only weapon is her vicious claws, which can not save her from drowning. In the end Martin courageously triumphs over Tsarmina’s tyranny.
Mossflower captures the imagination and carries the reader along the adventure. Using vivid word pictures, Brian Jacques tells his tale with clever characters and intense battles. One example of a lovable character is observed in Dinny’s “mole speech” when Martin and Gnoff begin their journey to Salamandastron. “You’ns baint leaven this yurr mole behoind!” he reminds them (124). When facing Tsarmina, Martin’s courage is described intensely with “the red glitter of total war shinning hot in his eyes”(356). Additionally, the way Brain Jacques describes Tsarmina’s death is perfect. “Water filled her world, dark, swirling, eddying, tugging, longing to fold her in it’s wet embrace…filling her mouth, nostrils, and finally her eyes”(356). Without a doubt the combination of these elements in Mossflower creates on engaging and memorable experience for anyone who loves action and adventure.
Thank you, Andrew! Fabulous critique! I just have one question…how do you pronounce Brian Jacques last name? grins…
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Have you visited my online homeschool bookstore just for preteens? You’ll find my favorite books on Christian faith, fine arts, history, math concepts, novels, and many more categories for 9-12 year olds. If your son or daughter has a favorite book to recommend, please send me an email with the details. I’d love to publish their home-school book review!
The Saturdays | Book Review Ages 9-12
Posted by Diane in Recommended Homeschool Books on March 2nd, 2010
This homeschool book review was written by 10 year old homeschool student, Andrew Sanders.
“The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright is one of my favorite children’s books. The main characters are four children, who go on silly adventures with their dog. My favorite character is Oliver, a six-year-old boy who goes to the circus all by himself. While he is at the circus, he buys some cotton candy and a snotty little girl screams to have it. Another funny adventure is when Mona, one of the girls, gets a manicure without her parents knowing! When she comes home, the whole family is so startled that she is sent to her room! When I finished the book, I learned a valuable lesson for any kid: Ask for permission before you do something. I definitely recommend this book for other people who like to laugh.”
Have you visited my online homeschool bookstore just for preteens? You’ll find my favorite books on Christian faith, fine arts, history, math concepts, novels, and many more categories for 9-12 year olds. And if you like The Saturdays, Andrew also recommends The Four Story Mistake also by Ms. Enright. Thank you, Andrew!
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If your son or daughter has a favorite book to recommend, please send me an email with the details.
