What We're Reading in July 2015

What We're Reading in July 2015 {The Unlikely Homeschool}

We reached a wonderful reading milestone in our home this month. For the first time, my five-year-old was able to read a devotional Bible all by himself. Up until this point, the older kids and I have had to each take turns reading him a Bible story every morning. But not anymore! Slowly, but surely, he is crossing the great divide between those who can read for pleasure and those who can not.

It gives my book-lovin'-heart warm tinglies. (That's a thing...trust me.)

He's reading.
I'm reading.
We're all reading 'round here.


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Read Aloud- Everybody

The Penderwicks- I am taking a big gamble with this book as I am unfamiliar with the author or the series. But, it came highly recommended by a source I have grown to respect. We are only three or four chapters in and so I hesitate to give it a glowing endorsement. So far, there have been a few sassy-sounding dialogue portions that I have edited out as I have read aloud. Other than that, the story itself is a humorous, light-hearted look at the summer adventures of four sisters.


Update: While we did end up reading this book to the end, I had to edit out quite a lot of sassy and flirtatious talk from it. Since there are so many other wonderful worthwhile books that do not require editing, I'd not recommend this one.

Jamie- that's me!

College-Prep Homeschooling- Whether I like it or not, high school is on the horizon. My daughter will be in the seventh grade this coming school year, but will be doing some high school level courses. For the past several months, I been
  1. trying to come to terms with the fact that she's not in kindergarten anymore AND
  2. slowly planning a tentative course outline for her upcoming high school years.

The Power of a Praying Parent-My Monday night small group Bible study has decided to read through this book as we pray with purpose for our children.


The Prophecy Answer Book-I came across this little coffee-table book while walking through the kid's section of the library. It was clearly out of place and caught my eye. When I went to re-shelve it in its proper spot, I found myself unable to put it down. I've always respected David Jeremiah's interpretation of end times events and appreciate the short excerpt-style of this particular book. 



Sweetie Pea- 7th grade

The Return of the Indian- She is revisiting a series she began a few years ago and never finished. She only has one more chapter in this book.



After that, she is hoping to move on to The Borrowers.


Super Boy- 4th grade



The Tower Treasure- (Just-for-fun book)


Blonde Warrior- 3rd grade

Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom- (Mom-assigned book) The tender heart of my son combined with a book about the injustices of slavery has been a good reminder to me of the fact that books can help shape and mold a person's core values. My son's heart has been broken while reading of the unbelievable struggles one man faced simply because of the color of his skin. Even at the tender age of seven, he is beginning to formulate his own thoughts on loving others as Christ loves them.


Larryboy and the Abominable Trashman!- (Just-for-fun book) He's still working his way through this one from last month.


Greased Lightning- 1st grade

Big Egg-This is just one of many staged readers he will be reading to me this month. I usually bring home a big stack each week from the library and we slowly work our way through them together. 


What's on your reading list this month?

7 comments:

  1. Fun list! I'm getting ready to begin Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse Fitzpatrick. Also, I am reading aloud The Chocolate Touch to my three year old. Some of the details are over his head, but overall he's finding the story line very entertaining. And, in true three-year-old fashion, picture books. Loads and loads of picture books. Happy reading!

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    1. My son just read The Chocolate Touch not too long ago. We had many good conversations about the idea that you CAN have too much of a good thing.

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  2. We are reading aloud The Penderwicks right now as well! We're at chapter 8, and so far, this book has been a fun summer read. I agree, some of the dialogue is a little sassy now and then, but we've had good discussion around whether or not it's appropriate to speak that way. I am wondering how much of a romantic situation will develop if at all, and how much my kids will pick up on it. I also picked up The Hardy Boys The Tower Treasure for my 4th grade son, but he is not interested in reading it on his own, so it looks like I'm going to have to read it to him. If you have any tips for getting kids into good books, I would so appreciate you sharing!

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    1. I'm kind of wondering the same thing. So far, a bit of momma-editing has done the trick for the sassy parts.

      My biggest tip is to recognize that some kids just aren't that interested in reading fiction, especially boys. And that's OK. My oldest son is very similar. He loves hearing fiction, but struggles to enjoy reading it himself. Give him a non-fiction book, though, and he's all over it. And that's OK. In the end, the more a child reads what he/she likes, the more his/her reading pallet will grow. Exposure to many types of good books is really the best route to take.

      I, personally, don't enjoy reading adult fiction all that much. I love non-fiction and I love children's fiction. Eventually, all life-long readers develop a personal preference. So, while he's young, allow him to explore lots of different types of books in order that he can develop a unique pallet all his own.

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  3. My 1st grader has been reading to me King Tut's Mummy Lost and Found.
    My 3rd grader has been reading lots of information books lately, particularly science books from the library. She liked Basher Science's Extreme Physics and A Drop of Water by Walter Wick. She started Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott and The Hobbit. Not sure how long those will take her to get through. We finished Henry
    Huggins by Beverly Cleary as a family bedtime red aloud tonight. And I downloaded The Green Ember for free today to the Kindle so may do that for our next read aloud. I'm personally working my way through CM's first volume and enjoying another book right now about various positions Christians take on creation called Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding Creation. Finding that one interesting with my biology background. :)

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    1. Love, love, love this. Thanks for giving me a peek into your bookshelves.

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  4. Love these what we're reading posts!

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