Second Son's Kindergarten and First Grade Book Lists

I started some reading lessons with Second Son, my fourth and youngest child, during his pre-kindergarten year, focusing on phonics using Doodling Dragons and alphabet books. Read about that loose plan here.

Once he had mastered the letters and basic phonics, we started lessons in The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (skipping the first 26 lessons on the letters). Each day, Second Son and I would work through a lesson or two (or half a lesson, depending on how it went) and then we'd read a book together. Sometimes we'd alternate paragraphs and sometimes pages. Gradually he increased how much he read until by the end he was reading whole chapters aloud to me.

This plan worked very well for Second Son. However...if I were just starting out to teach multiple children to read over the next decade (as opposed to having taught four children to read over the past decade), I would be very tempted to buy the Foundations series. (This is not an affiliate link and I've never seen it in person.)

So here you'll first find all the books Second Son read for our reading lessons. Given that he's read all seven of the Harry Potter novels and is currently working his way through Stormy (which I haven't read) and a graphic novel version of The Odyssey (which I'm not necessarily recommending for your seven-year-old), I probably didn't challenge him enough. I suppose that's what happens when you're the fourth and last; I didn't want to skip any of my favorites and I wanted to let him read whatever he wanted out loud to me.

Unless otherwise noted, these are books we owned. I would grab a handful of books and let him choose one. These are therefore only loosely in reading-level order.

• A Bug, a Bear, and a Boy by David McPhail
• Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff
• Danny the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff
• Walpole by Syd Hoff
• Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
• Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik
• Danny and the Dinosaur Too Tall by Syd Hoff (library) - Second Son found the Danny and the Dinosaur books hilarious, so we checked some out from the library.
• Danny and the Dinosaur and the New Puppy by Syd Hoff (library)
• Danny and the Dinosaur Go to Camp by Syd Hoff (library)
• Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
• Happy Birthday Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff (library)
• Bear's Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson
• Grasshopper on the Road by Arnold Lobel
• Oscar Otter by Nathaniel Benchley (library)
• Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
• There's No Place Like Space by Tish Rabe (library)
• Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
• Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
• Cookiebot by Katie Van Camp - one of our favorites
• Findus Moves Out by Sven Nordqvist (library) - I adore Findus and even have a little stuffed Findus that sneaks around our house, entertaining us with bizarre antics.
• When Findus Was Little and Disappeared by Sven Nordqvist (library)
• The Fox Chase by Sven Nordqvist (also called Findus and the Fox) (library)
• A Story of Saint Blaise by Brother Franklin Cullen
• Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay - I wrote all about Lulu on the blog; she's terrific!
• Lulu and the Dog from the Sea by Hilary McKay
• Daisy Dawson Is on her Way by Steve Voake
• A Story of Saint Benedict by Brother Ernest
• Hot Fudge Hero by Pat Brisson - I just love this book and its sequel (Bertie's Picture Day).
• Bertie's Picture Day by Pat Brisson
• Anna, Grandpa, and the Big Storm by Carla Stevens
• The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dagliesh
• Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner - A little sad, so be prepared or pre-read.
• The King's Equal by Katherine Paterson
• The Giants' Farm by Jane Yolen
• A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla

First Son's lists: kindergarten and first grade. In comparison, they are generally much harder much faster than Second Son's list. Since they both read well and neither of them hate me (or reading), perhaps this is some slight evidence that there's a lot of leeway for mistakes in this business of teaching someone to read.

First Daughter's first grade list is here. She doesn't have a kindergarten list because I didn't read "real" books with her until she had finished the lessons in The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.

Second Daughter's kindergarten and first grade book lists, which I only posted last week.

We are officially done teaching reading here on the Range!

Second Daughter's Kindergarten and First Grade Book Lists

Second Daughter just finished her third grade year in 2018, so of course it's time to post her kindergarten and first grade books.

In her pre-kindergarten year, Second Daughter and I read some alphabet books (though not as extensively as I did with Second Son) and played lots of phonogram games from the Phonogram and Spelling Game Book. She's always loved games. Then we worked through the lessons in The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. With First Daughter, I waited until we finished all of the lessons before reading any "real" books, but I realized later that wasn't necessary. With Second Daughter, we started reading books together after her official lesson each day so she could have some actual stories along with her phonics.

First, we alternated paragraphs. (I would read one, then she would read one.) Then we moved up to pages. Eventually, she would read half of a chapter or a whole chapter out loud to me.

The combination of The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading and reading books together worked very well. She can read! If, however, I were just starting out to teach multiple children to read over the next decade (as opposed to having taught four children to read over the past decade), I would be very tempted to buy the Foundations series. (This is not an affiliate link and I've never seen it in person, but I did purchase and use Essentials with First Son and, a little, with First Daughter, and I have heard good things about Foundations.)

Unless otherwise noted, all of these books are from the library.

The kindergarten books (2014-2015):

• The Lion and the Bird by Marianne Dubuc (library) - I remember this sweet day.
• Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon by Cynthia Rylant (purchased at a library book sale)
• Harley by Star Livingstone
• Henry and Mudge The First Book by Cynthia Rylant
• Henry and Mudge and Annie's Perfect Pet by Cynthia Rylant
• Tye May and the Magic Brush by Molly Bang
• Curious George: A Home for Honeybees by H. A. Rey
• Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble by Cynthia Rylant
• Henry and Mudge in the Green Time by Cynthia Rylant
• Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel

The first grade books (2015-2016):

• Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
• Blaze and Thunderbolt by C. W. Anderson
• Henry and Mudge in the Sparkle Days by Cynthia Rylant
• Dinosaur Time by Peggy Parish
• Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff (own)
• Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea by Cynthia Rylant
• Henry and Mudge Get the Cold Shivers by Cynthia Rylant
• Daniel's Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla
• Hot Fudge Hero by Pat Brisson (own) - Such a good book!
• Henry and Mudge and the Bedtime Thumps by Cynthia Rylant
• Grasshopper on the Road by Arnold Lobel (own) - Second Daughter still enjoys this book, years later!
• Little Sister, Big Sister by Pat Brisson (own)
• The Giants' Farm by Jane Yolen (own) - This book has a candy recipe in the back that First Son still likes to make!
• Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Peter and Connie Roop (own)
• Saint Germaine and the Sheep by Eva K. Betz (own) - She also read the other books by Betz published by Neumann. They are beautifully bound books and make good gifts.
• A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman (own)
• The King's Equal by Katherine Paterson (own)
• Anna, Grandpa, and the Big Storm by Carla Stevens (own)
• The Shoemaker's Boy by Joan Aiken (own)
• Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay - I wrote about this series before.
• Saints for Girls from Neumann Press (own)

I posted First Son's first fifty books of kindergarten. Apparently I intended to post more but never did and I suspect I don't even have them written down anywhere. Here's the list of books he read with me in first grade.

First Daughter didn't have any kindergarten books (because I was waiting to finish The Ordinary Parent's Guide), but here are her first grade books.

Learning Letter Sounds: Second Son's Alphabet Books in 2015-2016

We're nearing the end of the school year, the time when I start to think about updating the blog with all the things we've done this year and always discover half-started posts of homeschool plans from long ago. Like this one: the alphabet books I read with Second Son in 2015-2016 when he was in pre-kindergarten. (Now he's finishing up first grade). He had turned five the summer before, but we wait on kindergarten until age six for our July birthday kids.

Doodling Dragons: An ABC Book of Sounds by Denise Eide, illustrated by Ingrid Hess (purchased new)

We read Doodling Dragons the first week. Then, once a week, we read through another alphabet book with Doodling Dragons open near us so we could make all the sounds for each of the letters as we went through the books. I could easily have found enough alphabet books to last the whole year, but I figured we'd get tired of them before that and I also found that Second Son mastered all the letter sounds in Doodling Dragons before we were done. So if you're trying something like this, you might want to plan your favorite books early in the year so you won't feel sad when you drop it because your child is ready to start putting the letters together in proper reading lessons. We followed these books with The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading. (Read my post on that here.)

Here are the alphabet books I read with Second Son back when he was oh so little. Our favorites are marked with asterisks (**). Unless I've said otherwise, we checked all these books out of the library.

A is for Angry (library) and A to Z (own) by Sandra Boynton - We've had A to Z since First Son was an infant and Boynton will always have a special place in our home library memories.

A is for Artist by the Getty Museum - I loved this book which uses details from works of great art to highlight the letters. Each page only has one letter and one word so it can be a simple one to start, except that the illustrations are rich and full. The end of the book shows the whole paintings, though in small size. My son was not as excited about this book as I was, except for the dog. He loved the dog.

The ABC Bunny by Wanda Gag - In this story, bunny encounters each of the letters (or, rather, things starting with the letters) in black and white illustrations. It's sweet and set to a song. The music is included at the beginning and the end.

** LMNO Peas by Keith Baker - This book shows peas performing jobs and activities for each letter of the alphabet. They are adorable and hilarious. It rhymes, too.

** Richard Scarry's Find your ABCs by Richard Scarry - My husband and children bond over their mutual love of Richard Scarry, so of course this book was included in our study. There are lots of details in each page and chances to identify the letter. The matching words are shown with the letter of the page in different colors.

** Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak - Classic Sendak illustrations of alligators in ridiculous activities. Fun and with few words so a great one to use when just introducing letter sounds.

Anno's Alphabet by Anno Mitsumasa - In general, my children didn't like the Anno books as much as I did. I guess his style didn't appeal as much to them. Sometimes that happens.

Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur - Each page of this book describes a fall scene with an acrostic poem beginning with each of the letters in alphabetic order. The beginning letters of each line are red, standing out well. The illustrations are linoleum-cut and brightly colored as well. I picked this book because we read it early in the school year, when it was fall, but there are versions for Spring, Summer, and Winter as well.

A is for Altar, B is for Bible by Judith Lang Main is an alphabet book filled with pictures of a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium (own)

** The Z was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg - This book shows each letter of the alphabet being destroyed, mangled, or outright murdered by methods that begin with their letter. The text is on the back of each page, so children have a chance to identify the method before seeing the word. It's grim but my children loved it. They laughed and laughed...Let's not dwell on what that means about their personalities.

** B is for Bethlehem by Isabel Wilner - I just love the illustrations in this book. We read it during Advent (of course) and, though we read a library copy, I've since gotten one of our own. (own)

Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni is a good book to read later in the study because it's not an alphabet book proper. Instead, it introduces the idea of words, phrases, and sentences. Second Daughter (7) enjoyed this book even more than Second Son (5) because she'd learned the secret of reading. The idea of connecting the letters together delighted her.

An Alphabet of Catholic Saints by Brenda and George Nippert is an adequately illustrated book of saints, a saint for each letter of the alphabet with four lines of simple verse and a short description for each one. Kateri Tekakwitha's name is misspelled on the K page, which my nine year old noticed immediately. (She was making cornstarch quicksand a few steps away while I read the book to Second Son.) It also mentions the "legend of Santa Claus," just in case your children are believers who will be confused or dismayed. The main dissatisfaction I have with the book lies in the stories of St. Odilia and St. Ursula. For example, for St. Urusla, it says "When bad men tried to make them sin, / they said "We'd rather die!" These women lived long ago and their stories are clouded. It's possible they were killed because one of them wouldn't marry a pagan, but it's too easy in my mind to read this as the insistence on purity that can make a young girl feel she has sinned when she is a victim. So I've read this book to my kids but I don't really recommend it. (owned, purchased used on Cathswap)

** Into The A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet Book by Deborah Lee Rose, pictures by Steve Jenkins - I wrote about this book a few years ago and I still love it.

I Spy: An Alphabet in Art devised and selected by Lucy Micklethwait is an alphabet book with a painting for each letter. The little reader is drawn into the painting by searching for something that begins with the featured letter. Second Son loved this book. Some items are obvious and easy (apple and dog, for example), but some were more difficult (even for me, luckily the "answers" are listed in the back of the book). A wide variety of interesting and lovely paintings are included.

** If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet by Leslie McGuirk is an alphabet book created around rocks found along the coast of Florida, collected over many years by the author and designer. Rocks form the alphabet and items beginning with each letter sound.

There are, of course, probably millions of alphabet books. I knew of a few of these before I decided we'd read through alphabet books once a week for the first couple of terms or so, but it was easy to find more just by using a few search terms on our library catalog: alphabet and abc.

Here are a few we didn't read, but you might not want to miss.

Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert - We own this book and had read it a hundred times already, so I didn't include it, but it's lots of fun. Bright colors and unusual fruits and vegetables as well as more familiar ones. (own)

A B See by Elizabeth Doyle - This was a new book when we started our study and I think I'd already chosen them all before it was published. Since then, I've gifted it many times. Each letter is shown as an embossed collage of things that start with the letter and a sentence using some of the items shown, so you can search through the letter to find them. At the end is a list of all the things you can find for each letter. The textured pages are inviting even for young pre-readers, but the illustrations and sentences are worthy of any child old enough to be learning to read.

The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's (the Hard Way) by Patrick McDonnell - This is a new book (fall 2017) and contains few words. Instead, you have to figure out the alphabetic connection of each sketch. It's entertaining and enjoyable for a range of ages, including those who are learning to read and identify letter sounds. If I were doing this study again, I would definitely include it.

D is for Dress-Up: The ABC's of What We Wear by Maria Carluccio - This is another book that came out after we were done with our alphabet book study. There are boys on almost every page, but it's mostly illustrated with girls. I love how the boys and girls are all different colors and shapes. And the girls are not all wearing pink. There is a boy wearing a pink shirt, too. The illustrations are full of colors, designs, and textures. It's a wonderful book and I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up gifting it a time or two.

Because there are so many alphabet books being published and stored in libraries, it's easy to find the ones that will appeal to your child. It's important to take into account age and maturity; lots of alphabet books are designed for babies or toddlers. There are plenty with more integrated plots and quirky jokes to entertain pre-kindergarteners and even kindergarteners.

Homeschool Review: Writing with Skill Level 1

Writing With Skill, Level 1: Student Workbook (The Complete Writer) by Susan Wise Bauer

I selected this text for First Son based on the success we had with the Writing with Ease series (I wrote about Year One here.) and because a friend with a slightly older son had used it successfully. The Writing with Skill series is a continuation of Writing with Ease, building on the skills developed by narration, copywork, and dictation. In the first book of Writing with Skill, the student starts with the basic skills of narration and outlines. Over time, the student practices skills like incorporating descriptive words, understanding metaphors or similes, and transforming indirect objects into prepositional phrases (and vice versa).

For each day, the student reads through the lesson in the book, practicing skills along the way. Some of the exercises are designed to be done right in the book. These we did orally. Most of the others are done in a writing notebook. The text recommends using a computer, so First Son had a few documents in GoogleDocs.

The excerpts used in nearly every lesson were interesting and at an appropriate level for First Son in fifth grade. His reading level is probably a little above average for fifth grade, but his interest level in anything "school" is low. He found most of the readings accessible, only needing help in understanding a few of them. More importantly (for him), most of the readings intrigued him so he was encouraged to keep reading.


The Instructor Text is a separate book, just as large as the student text. It does not contain most of the excerpts, but does include all of the student text instructions. I found it invaluable when working with First Son. It provides examples and potential answers (many exercises have more than one correct answer) as well as helpful questions to ask the student to guide him or her through exercises found difficult.

For a student willing and able to read a text and work independently on writing, this book is an excellent choice. I would have loved it as a student myself.

For First Son, however, who had no interest in learning to write and even less in reading a text book on learning to write, it was nearly a disaster. He struggled with simple requests and then would quickly become frustrated when I tried to work with him. He neglected to read the directions carefully and would become angry when I pointed out that he had either not done part of the lesson or had done it incorrectly. Many of the finer points never showed up in his writing until I specifically asked him to rewrite part of the lesson to incorporate something he had "learned" previously.

I'm still considering my options for next year, but it will not be Writing with Skill. There was simply too much frustration on both sides. I think I need something more formal than simply written narrations to help guide him to better writing, but I'm not sure how much time I want to devote to it.

First Daughter's First Grade Books

We started First Daughter's first grade reading by finishing up The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, which I reviewed here last year. We did two lessons a day for a few weeks. Near the end of the book, the lessons get quite a bit longer, so then we went back to one a day and even sometimes split one between two days. She finished the book in week 6 and we moved on to real books. I wasn't sure what her level would be and she read a few books at the beginning that were pretty far below her challenge reading level, but they are good books so it was fun to read them.

I had First Daughter read aloud to me for the entire year. She had a bad habit of skipping words and I wasn't sure why. Was she struggling with words she should know how to read? Was she skimming and substituting a word she knew fit the sentence? (First Son used to do that, replacing words he couldn't read with a word he knew fit.) In the end, I decided she was just reading really fast and skipping short little words she didn't think were very important. So while her reading level was quite good, I asked her to continue reading aloud and made sure she slowed down enough to read each word. If I had been busier this year or had a newborn or something, I would certainly have switched her to independent reading. To provide some practice and time when she was forced to read slowly, I would have asked her to read aloud to me once a week or so, but probably a book I would otherwise have read aloud to her to decrease the time involved.

So, on to the real books! Here's the list of books First Daughter read aloud to me in her first grade year:

Grasshopper on the Road by Arnold Lobel, because no education is complete without Arnold Lobel. I made sure there were a few of his books lying around so she could read them for fun, too, but she was already pretty far beyond this reading level.

Hot Fudge Hero and Bertie's Picture Day by Pat Brisson, both of which are among my very favorite books. Bertie is a great kid and the relationships he has with his parents, his sister, his friend, and his neighbor are the kind I want my kids to emulate. First Daughter also read Little Sister, Big Sister by the same author about a different family. These books are all out of print, but our library has them all. I snagged my copies on PaperBackSwap.com, where as I write they are all available, though not necessarily in hardcover.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner is the first of the Boxcar Mysteries. First Daughter enjoyed this book and I like introducing it to kids because it gives them a whole series to read on their own, but I'm not going to have the other two read it aloud to me. I can't explain why, because the children are sweet and the content of the stories are perfect for early readers (exciting, but not too exciting), but I just don't care for it. We own the first six books in the series and neither First Son or First Daughter read them all.

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie by Julie Sternberg is a book about change. It's sweet and funny.

The Best-Loved Doll by Rebecca Caudill is an older book, but the love of little girls for the dolls is still strong today. First Daughter loved this book. I think she read it over two days.

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh is one of those easy to read chapter books that are worthy of being read by anyone. First Daughter was a little frightened by this book, but I kept encouraging her to read on and she persevered.

Daisy Dawson Is on Her Way! by Steve Voake is a wonderful little book and the beginning of a series. It's perfect for early elementary readers, especially girls. First Daughter and I were both delighted by Daisy.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan is a classic for a reason. First Son never read it because I didn't realize how simply it is written. First Daughter loved it and I was as happy to listen to her read it aloud as I had been to read it myself the summer before.

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh is another of those books I love to hear my children read aloud. Sarah's courage is the kind that of courage we all need to do things that seem frightening but are surmountable.

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, a story of high entertainment for the early elementary crowd.

"B" Is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood is the first book in a series. Betsy is in first grade in this one and the descriptions of her class and her adventures are sweet. First Daughter loved this book and I actually enjoyed it more listening to First Daughter read it than I did when reading it to myself.

Unlike First Son, First Daughter devours books, often reading for long stretches of time during the day. In addition to the books she read aloud to me, I have a need to provide lots of supplemental reading for her. Throughout the year, these are the books she read in her own time:

The Complete Ramona Collection, multiple times. She has, in fact, read some of these books so often that my old copies fell apart. Thank goodness for the library.

The Magic Tree House books, though she tired of these after the first twenty or so.

The Junie B. Jones books, which I have never read. First Daughter thought Junie B. Jones was based on Ramona, and she's probably right.

Bramble and Maggie: Horse Meets Girl and Bramble and Maggie: Give and Take by Jessie Haas, which First Daughter particularly enjoyed because she thinks we need a pony here on the Range. (If only they were not so expensive to feed!)

Like Bug Juice on a Burger, the sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie.

The rest of the Daisy Dawson books

The sequels to Sarah, Plain and Tall, of which there are four. (I've only read the first two of these, though I keep meaning to read the last two just to see what happens.

A variety of Flat Stanley books, none of which I have read, but which First Son and First Daughter have both been enjoying.

Off and on throughout the year, she read from the Little House books. She is now currently in the middle of The Long Winter and intends to read the rest of the them this summer.

Just for comparison, here's the list of books First Son read when he was in first grade. It's interesting to me to see how different their interests are. First Daughter didn't really want to read any of the Magic School Bus chapter books. First Son had to be forced to read the Little House books and the Narnia books in third grade. They basically took him through the whole year. Even though he enjoyed them, he had no interest in reading ahead on his own time. First Daughter will probably jump at the chance to read the Narnia books all on her own.

I have a long list of books for First Daughter to read, but given her propensity to read at all hours of the day, I'm always happy to hear more suggestions. Let me know if there's something you think she'd enjoy!

Homeschool Review: The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading

The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading

by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington

I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with First Son (an older version shown in my review). He did indeed learn to read, but there seemed to be a great many words that he would mispronounce. He couldn't seem to recognize or remember phonograms that were slightly different than what he had learned. He also seemed intimidated by more difficult words, skipping them, guessing at them, or merely replacing them with a word that he knew from the context had an appropriate meaning. I thought this would dissipate over time and I suppose it did get better, but through all of first and second grade I felt like he had to read everything aloud to me because he was consistently reading certain words incorrectly.

I was on the search for something more systematic and thorough for First Daughter and decided to try The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. I have been very pleased with it! After reading Uncovering the Logic of English, I was pleased to see how well it followed the same thought pattern, introducing a more thorough list of phonograms. I modified the teacher text a little to take into account some of the different language or additional information in Uncovering the Logic of English. I think they complement each other well.

The lessons clearly state at the top what will be taught, the parent's role is clearly written out (though I often paraphrased the instructions), and the lessons follow a pattern that quickly becomes familiar - review words, new sounds and sample words, and a story to read. There are no pictures, which I liked because pictures are often more distracting than helpful. The stories are simple, of course, but I was often impressed with them given the small number of phonograms. I can only recall a few instances where a phonogram appeared in a story before it was introduced. (I should have written them down to report back to the author, but life in the midst of a school year is hectic.)

The book recommends a magnet board and letters for the lessons. First Daughter loves these. In fact, all the children love them and I've even used them with First Son. I bought the Little Red Tool Box: Magnetic Tabletop Learning Easel and Smethport 120 Foam Magnetic Letters. The board has held up really well to two years of use. The letters are all great except for the ones Second Daughter chewed. Even those still stick to the magnet board. I always watch carefully when my children are using magnets, though Second Daughter would only swallow them accidentally. I think the magnets in the letters are probably not strong enough to cause any health problems, but it's good to be vigilant. If you dislike magnets or wanted to avoid spending much money, a movable alphabet would also work.

I started First Daughter in this book the year before she started kindergarten. She turned five at the end of September that fall. We struggled. She was so wiggly! She would stare at the ceiling and complain that she couldn't see the words. I broke lessons down so we would only do about a third of a lesson each day. It was terrible and we both dreaded it, but it was also clear that she was learning, so I continued. That was a mistake. We finished a whole school year of lessons that way, getting through relatively little of the book. I considered continuing over the summer, but I was exhausted by the thought. So I put it aside.

In the fall of 2012, she started kindergarten. She was about six weeks shy of six years old when we picked up the book again. I thought about reviewing some of it with her but decided to see what she remembered if we just jumped right in. It was amazing. She finished an entire lesson (remember, we were only doing a third of a lesson the year before) without any complaining and much less wiggling. (She is naturally a very wiggly girl.) By the end of the year, we were often doing two lessons in less than ten minutes, and sometimes she would want to do more. As I write this, we're about thirty lessons from the end of the book.

Second Daughter is starting kindergarten in the fall, but if she behaves at all like First Daughter, I am going to put this book aside and wait. I've also decided to teach Second Daughter her phonograms using Doodling Dragons: An ABC Book of Sounds rather than the first twenty-six lessons in The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Those lessons were a little boring (though remember First Daughter was probably not ready for them when we started). I haven't used this book yet, so don't take this as a blanket recommendation.

There is only one thing I wish this book had: recommendations for early readers (preferably living books, of course) my child would be able to read as we go through the book. For example, after Lesson 124, there might be a list of books that use the phonics learned so far and maybe a few stretch words. I'm sure it could be done, but it would be a time investment. At this point, First Daughter could probably fly through a lot of the books First Son read after he finished Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

I plan to follow The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading with Essentials (see my pre-review here) in first grade for First Daughter. The same organization is making a program designed to teach younger children to read that looks fantastic, but also a lot more expensive than The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. If you anticipate having difficulty with a child learning to read, I would recommend checking it out. If I had unlimited homeschooling funds, I would be very tempted to buy it for the two who don't know how to read yet.

The Range Version of a Salt Box for Handwriting

Along with our handwriting program for next year, Cursive First, and recommendations for young children learning to write in Essentials, I decided to make a real salt box. I wanted to make one using only materials I had on hand. Counting the time to wander around the house looking for supplies, I only needed about twenty minutes to make this box.

I found a box that had arrived in the mail full of pictures (minus the pictures) that opened nicely and covered it with the remnants of a shimmery green gift bag. For the bottom of the inside, I cut a piece of black construction paper to fit. (That paper is perfect for colored chalk drawings, just as an aside.) I used double-stick tape to hold the paper in place on top and inside.

On the inside, I made sure to put double-stick tape lined up in the corners so they would stay nicely in place.

I added packing tape around the edges of the green bag so no little fingers would be tempted to peel it off.

After adding salt, I realized I needed to tape up the corners on the bottom. The box had enough spaces for salt to sprinkle out on the table and floor.

I think it'll be perfect! If it doesn't last forever, I'll make another one. The girls have already been using this box on a regular basis. Second Daughter in particular loves to pull it out, but I have to watch her because after a bit of drawing she likes to scoop up the salt and let it slide through her fingers -- and not always back into the box.

Of course, I put the extra bits of shimmery green paper in the craft box so Second Daughter can continue gluing creations like this masterpiece:

I searched online a bit and found some other homemade salt boxes (much more beautiful than mine): this one and this one were my favorites.  (I think the sandpaper letters in the second link look awesome! So much nicer than the ones I made. I have been tempted to make new ones with cursive letters...if I ever get around to it, I'm going to put them on colored card stock and round the corners. Somehow I have a feeling I'll be making those for my grandchildren.)

Homeschool Review: Primary Language Lessons

Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl, updated and reprinted by Hillside Education

This book is recommended by Mater Amabilis in Level 1A for second and third grade. We completed lessons 1 through 82 in second grade and will finish the remaining lessons in third grade. The exercises become more complicated as the book progresses.  In second grade, I spread the lessons out. Usually we had grammar three times a week, but every third week or so we'd have only two lessons. I think we had fewer during Advent as well.

The Hillside edition of this book is a spiral-bound paperback, about 8" by 10". I love the spiral binding because it made it so easy to lay the book open on the table and read together from it or copy from it. In addition, many of the paintings in this edition are in color. The lessons vary between narration, poetry, picture study, conversations, fill-in-the-blanks and discussions about word choices and very basic grammar. An answer key is available on the Hillside website, though I don't think I ever used it.

The grammar lessons in this book are wonderfully simple and conversational. Usually, an exercise that focused on grammar would show a few example sentences and then provide some leading questions to allow the student to discover the element of grammar for him- or herself. Often, it would be followed by a few sentences for additional practice. As the year progresses, there are lessons on the comma, capital letters, initials, and sentences (to name a few).

I also appreciated the word choice lessons. Without expanding on tenses and conjugations, the lessons allow the student to get a sense of whether "is" or "are" should be used, whether "a" or "an," "eat" or "ate" or "eaten." Of course the language to describe the differences should be taught eventually, but it seems to me it will be much easier if the student can already tell what the choice should be. There are also word choice lessons for homophones like "their" and "there."

Many of the lessons are conversations between the student and the teacher, discussing a poem, a painting, a parable or merely something of interest like the student's favorite season. The topic of the conversation is not nearly as important as the process the student employs to organize and deliver their thoughts. In our lessons, I always asked First Son to tell his stories or compositions rather than write them so we could focus on the thought process rather than the physical process of getting his thoughts on paper. (Sometimes I would type them for him.)

Many of the poems are meant to be memorized. Some of them I typed out for our memory binder, but most of them we just read together. In third grade, I'm going to ask First Son to read them aloud. He will be able to practice enunciation and inflection.

We modified this program quite a bit as we went along. It seems to advance quite rapidly in dictation and composition. First Son struggled with these skills in particular and I found Writing with Ease to give us a better structure for learning them. (See my review of Year One of Writing with Ease here.) I also decreased the amount of writing in the program (actual physical handwriting) for First Son in second grade because I didn't want to overwhelm him. It was very simple to change the exercises to oral ones rather than written. As the year progressed, we would complete them orally and then I'd have him write a certain number of them out. I think the physical act of writing is helpful in instilling a feel for the correct use of words in complete sentences and I didn't want him to miss out on that completely.

I really like this book and it's gentle introduction to grammar. We end up touching on grammar in a number of ways in second grade (and next year in third grade) but if I could only keep one, it would be this one.

I did not receive anything in exchange for this review. I purchased the book myself. I do not receive anything if you follow a link to Hillside and make a purchase. You can also find a different edition of Primary Language Lessons on Amazon for a bit less, but I would highly recommend the Hillside one if you have a bit of leeway in your budget.

Homeschool Review (Preview): Essentials: The Logic of English

Essentials: A Systematic Approach to Reading, Spelling, and Writing (The Logic of English) by Denise Eide

A few months ago, I read and reviewed Denise Eide's book, Uncovering the Logic of English. Immediately, I knew I wanted to implement her ideas in my reading instruction for First Son, but I was reluctant to figure out how to modify the information in the book for him. When I saw she had a curriculum, I wanted it! I received a discount on the materials in exchange for an honest review, so I'm going to do something I don't usually do here: I'm writing a homeschool review for a product we haven't actually used yet. I didn't want to wait until the end of next school year to post about it. Instead, I'm going to pre-review the curriculum now that I've read through the introduction and written lesson plans for the first five lessons.

The program systematically teaches how and why English words are spelled in a particular manner and how to build words into phrases and sentences, thereby providing students with the tools needed to decode, spell, and write.

This curriculum could easily be used in a homeschool, as a supplement for a struggling reader (perhaps with a tutor or parent at home) or in a very small classroom. Many of these activities will work best with only a few students, which is probably the best way to teach reading to any student.

You have to read the introduction to understand how the lessons should be implemented. Otherwise, you'll overwhelm your students. For example, Ms. Eide clearly states young emerging readers should use large motor skills, a whiteboard or a salt box to practice writing rather than writing by hand until they have developed physically enough to handle the fine motor skills.

The introduction provides sample schedules for older students not reading at grade level, older students struggling with spelling, emerging readers (6-7 years old), young emerging readers (5-6 years old), and ESL students. The recommended sample schedules are still pretty intense for all but the emerging readers. Ms. Eide's program is designed to bring students up to speed very quickly, with an upfront investment of time and resources: 75-130 minutes a day, to complete the forty lessons in the book in 8-16 weeks. Because First Son is not what I'd call a struggling reader, but more someone who needs supplemental instruction to cover what we neglected the first time around, we'll be following a more relaxed schedule. I intend to complete one lesson every week or every other week (depending on the content of the lesson) with about thirty minutes a day.

A large section in the Introduction explains all the skills students should have before beginning Lesson 1 in the book. Before you despair, all of these skills, and nearly everything you need to know to teach them, are presented in the Introduction. She encourages teachers to move quickly through these, especially for older students. Though all the phonograms A-Z should be introduced, students do not need to have memorized every sound for every phonogram before moving on to the Lessons. We'll be spending one week on phonemic awareness exercises, many of which I expect to be new to First Son, but only because we haven't spoken of them explicitly. Then, we'll spend two weeks introducing the phonograms and finishing up his cursive instruction on the lower case letters. (He's about two-thirds of the way through the alphabet now.) During this time, First Son will be reading other lessons out loud to me or independently in addition to our work with the Essentials curriculum. I'll include First Daughter (a kindergartner) in any of these lessons she likes as well. If she has trouble with any of the phonemic awareness exercises, I'll add them to her lesson time for extra practice.

In the phonemic awareness, phonogram exercises and throughout the book, Ms. Eide includes a recognition that students learn best in different ways. Many activities combine two or more of these modalities and all of the optional activities are labeled to show whether they are particularly good for kinesthetic learners, visual learners, auditory learners or creative learners.

Finally, we get to the lessons themselves! The book contains forty lessons. Every fifth lesson is an assessment and review (Lesson 5, Lesson 10, etc.). The other lessons are composed of three parts.

Part One includes: Phonograms, Exploring Sounds, and Spelling Rules. In Part Two students learn fifteen spelling words and how to analyze their spellings. Part Three integrates the spelling words into a Grammar Lesson, Dictation, Composition, and Vocabulary Development Activities. 

The lesson plans are very detailed with example scripts and expected responses from students. They are extensive, which is why hours are necessary to complete a single lesson and why they are spread out over many days for younger students. I haven't actually used these lessons, of course, but it seems like they will provide a structured and organized way to learn the logic of English. Notice there are no sections called "Reading." Students will be reading in every section, but the reading itself is broken down into decoding the phonograms and learning how the phonograms stand for sounds. The Spelling Rules meet two needs: helping students think about how a word will be spelled when they hear it and recognizing the spelling rules in the words they are reading so they can determine which of a phonogram's sounds are in a particular word.

The assessment and review lessons are not for grading. Ms. Eide explains, "Reading and spelling are subjects that should be taught to the point of mastery for all students." So if a student is struggling, we don't just assign a "C" and move on, we provide supplementary activities for the skill. If a student makes fewer than two mistakes in the assessment, the review portion is skipped, moving on to the next lesson. If more mistakes are made, the teacher is encouraged to select the appropriate activities from the review lesson for additional practice.

One disappointment I had was the relative scarcity of games in the Essentials Teacher's Manual. Every single lesson has multiple recommendations for games, but they are all in the Phonogram and Spelling Game Book. The book is a reasonable $15, but all of the games actually require one or more of the specialized sets of game cards. The complete set is $45. I decided not to purchase the set, thinking I would be able to create something similar myself at home, but without instructions or even a description of the games, I really have no idea what kind of activity to substitute. So if you want to use the games, buy the set.

You absolutely need the Teacher's Manual to implement this curriculum. It contains all the lessons and instructions. The workbook is useless without it. The Phonogram and Spelling Game Book and Teacher's Manual are non-consumable. I can't speak for the game book, but the Teacher's Manual is very well-made. It's a hardcover book that looks like it will hold up to years of use.

The phonogram flash cards are not an optional part of the program. They are used to present all the phonograms and for review on a regular basis. I thought I would save some money here by making my own which seemed simple because the phonograms are clearly identified along with all the information for each one in both The Logic of English and the Essentials Teacher's Manual. For the most part, I hand-wrote the cards. Then I cut them with a paper-cutter, laminated them, and cut them again. Take my advice: buy the cards. Even not counting my time, there's a good chance I spent more money on card stock, ink and laminating pouches. And my cards don't look nearly as nice as the ones pictured.

I also made spelling rule cards. As with the phonogram flash cards, I'd recommend purchasing them.

I selected the Cursive workbook to use with First Son. As far as I can tell, it's "cursive" because the examples are written in a cursive script. You could definitely write answers either in print or in cursive (probably in either workbook). The workbook is large with lots of activities, all of which are referenced in the Teacher's Manual. If you are really motivated, you could do the program without the workbook because there's enough information in the Teacher's Manual to figure out what your student needs to do, but the workbook itself is well-done. It's thick and might be hard to complete without removing the pages. They are well-perforated and look like they'll come out very quickly, too, so I will probably hole-punch them and put them in a binder.

The Spelling Journal is also referenced in every lesson. I think this would be a nice addition if you intend to use Essentials as your only spelling program, but I also think it would be fairly simple to create a spelling journal at home that would meet the same needs.

I intend to discuss the spelling portions of the text with First Son and to use the rules to supplement his spelling program which does not explicitly teach any spelling rules. For now, I plan to continue with the grammar, spelling and writing programs we were using (none of which takes much time), but I am going to re-evaluate that decision regularly during the school year. I think this program could be enough for writing (dictation, not copywork or handwriting), grammar and spelling; I'm just reluctant to give up on ones that I know are working well for us.

Especially for young students, you will want to have a whiteboard, salt box, magnetic letters or other kinds of materials to involve large motor skills rather than fine motor skills as students learn to write the letters.

The cost of this program is substantial, especially compared to some of the non-consumable how-to-read-everything-you-need-in-one-book programs that are available, but I think this program is much more comprehensive that the others. I was discussing it with another homeschooling mother who has a severely dyslexic son. It seemed to compare very favorably with the program she used with him at a much lower cost. I expect this program to fill in every gap in First Son's reading skills and am very excited to use it with him. While I intend to continue with First Daughter's current reading program, I am going to supplement it with Essentials to ensure she never has the gaps First Son encountered.

I've read on the forums for Essentials that a program for young emerging readers that would incorporate real books is currently being developed. I can imagine how that would be the ideal reading program for me (hard to say if it would be perfect for my kids!) and would be very tempted to invest in it for Second Daughter and Second Son.

I will be sure to report back on Essentials when we've used it for a year. In the meantime, you can learn more about the books and purchase all the materials at the Logic of English website.


I received a discount on the Essentials Teacher's Manual and two Cursive Workbooks in exchange for an honest review. I am not an affiliate and will receive nothing if you make a purchase of these or any other products linked in this post.

Second Grade Reading List for First Son

Summer reading (between first and second grade):

• Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner - I'm not sure I would have asked First Son to read this if I had read it myself first. There are some difficult times in the story, but First Son and First Daughter were both enthralled, as was I. 
• Prairie Skies: Pioneer Summer by Deborah Hopkinson is the story of a young boy and his family who move to Kansas Territory from a desire to establish Kansas as a free state. It's the first in a trilogy and I recommend it.

We found ourselves busy enough during the summer that I set aside formal reading lessons. First Son read extensively on his own, mainly picture books and some of the Magic School Bus chapter books.

I'm not sure how it happened, but I have a son who loves to read but refuses to read eagerly for "lessons." When he reads on his own, it has to be a book he can finish in a single session and preferably one without chapters. It's like pulling teeth! I cannot imagine how much more difficult it would be if he were not a particularly good reader.

Second grade:

• Prairie Skies: Cabin in the Snow by Deborah Hopkinson - the second in the Prairie Skies trilogy
• Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #2) by Gertrude Chandler Warner - a fine book I asked First Son to read in an effort to get him interested in reading the rest of the series on his own. I'd like to see him read more chapter books outside of our reading lessons. No such luck, but he did seem to enjoy it.
• Prairie Skies: Our Kansas Home by Deborah Hopkinson - the third in the Prairie Skies trilogy
• Saint Martin de Porres: Humble Healer (Encounter the Saints,19) by Elizabeth Marie DeDomennico is one of the Encounter the Saints series published by Pauline Books. A friend recommended them to me and I found them wonderful for First Son. They are reasonably well-written books on the saints at a second or third grade reading level, available for many different saints so there's sure to be one to interest everyone. First Son could read this pretty easily except for all the names and a few words now and then.
• Adventures of Saint Paul by Oldrich Selucky was one of our history books. I'm sorry to say it's out of print because he enjoyed it immensely. It is an early chapter book, exciting and enjoyable. The pictures are wonderful as well.
• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh is a classic many people already know. Sarah shows great bravery throughout the book.
• Saint Ignatius of Loyola: For the Greater Glory of God (Encounter the Saints) by Donna Giaimo, another book from the Encounter the Saints series. First Son loves reading about the saints.
• The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz. First Son loved the ending (as I expected) and didn't seem dismayed by reading a book about a girl. He read this fairly easily, too.
• Saint Francis of Assisi: Gentle Revolutionary (Encounter the Saints) by Mary Emmanuel Alves is a book First Son selected and purchased himself. He wanted to read it during our reading lessons, so I allowed it even though I knew these books were not very challenging for him by now. The place and people names still give him trouble, so I think it's valuable to continue to read them out loud together.
• Saint Colum and the Crane by Eva K. Betz. This was the first book I asked First Son to read on his own and then report back to me. He did a rather poor job of narrating it, but I could tell he had read it and enjoyed it. I had to request a copy through inter-library loan, but it was worth the wait.
• A Story of Saint Blaise by Brother Franklin Cullen, C.S.C. is one of a series called In the Footsteps of the Saints, which are being republished by a family-owned company called Mary's Books. This is a Level 1 book, so it's an easy reader, pretty far below First Son's reading level, but he read it for history, not his reading lessons. I think these are nice little books, easier to read than the Encounter the Saints series for younger readers. First Daughter especially enjoys them.
• Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary was one of First Son's favorites of the year. I was so pleased to see how much improvement he had made since he read Ribsy out loud in first grade. He did very well reading this book on his own.

Overall, I think First Son progressed in reading this year and am pleased with his reading...for the most part. I still hear him consistently mispronouncing some words (reading them with the phonics he was taught but reading them incorrectly because, I think, the phonics rules I taught him were incomplete). I'm working on a plan to address that in the coming year, so I think we'll probably start third grade with some phonics lessons instead of reading lessons, though I intend for him to continue reading out loud to me every day. I'll choose a history, science or saint book for him to read each day for a while.

I'm giving him the summer off from required reading out loud to me, though. I imagine he'll be reading plenty of books out loud to Second Son who wanders the house demanding, "Tory! Tory!"

Book Review: Uncovering the Logic of English

Uncovering the Logic of English: A Common-Sense Solution to America's Literacy Crisis by Denise Eide

A few weeks ago, Brandy mentioned this book on her blog after listening to Denise Eide's recorded speeches here. I had some gift certificate money and was intrigued, so I bought it.

Ms. Eide presents a bleak picture of literacy in America today, directly linking the instructional methods used in our public schools with the struggles people have in reading. NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) is the source for much of her data and a reliable one. You can find much of it online yourself.  The most startling is her statement that "fully 48% of adults are not proficient in reading." (She references Why Our Children Can't Read and What We Can Do About It: A Scientific Revolution in Reading by Diane McGuinness for this statistic, which I haven't read.) A lack of literacy, of course, means things like lower earnings, lower quality of life, and increased risk of incarceration.

According to Ms. Eide, one of the reasons many people struggle with reading is the way they've been taught to read. Whole reading, "funny phonics" and incomplete phonics contribute to readers with incomplete educations. Some readers struggle even more when they discover "rules" they were taught only work some of the time in a language full of "exceptions."

Ms. Eide recommends a completely different way of teaching reading and spelling. Begin by teaching all of the sounds letters can make, including many that are often called "exceptions" in other phonics programs. For example, the letter S is often taught as /s/, which is indeed one of its sounds, but Ms. Eide points out that when plural words are included, S stands for the sound /z/ 70% of the time. Instead of telling students /z/ when they encounter it, let's teach them S can be /s/ or /z/ and then talk about instances when each is found. So simple! His then, is not a sight word, for example.

In this book, Ms. Eide presents 74 of the phonograms of the English language, more than many other phonics programs teach. She then discusses spelling rules for English words that help explain which phonogram to use for each sound. I won't go into great detail as you can listen to the recorded lectures above and check out the book yourself, but I was amazed to see clearly articulated rules for words and correct spellings I had never understood before. I have always been uncomfortable with my spelling, not because I was a bad speller, but because I was unsure of my spelling.

I was particularly intrigued with her book because of the pronunciation my son gives while he's reading aloud to me. He often mispronounces words, but I can tell he's pronouncing them as he was taught. Even when we finished his original reading lessons, I was a little dissatisfied which is why I sought something different for my daughter. (I found a more thorough approach, but I'm not sure it's perfect.)

Now I'm wondering how I can incorporate what I've learned from Ms. Eide in lessons for First Son and for First Daughter. An older child in middle school or high school could, I think, learn a great deal from going through this book. A younger one is going to need some assistance as this book isn't meant to be a series of lesson plans or even a complete description of her teaching strategies; it's quite simply a description of the phonograms and spelling rules that reveal how English does in fact make sense with lots of tables and charts that can be referenced when writing or reading (which I've already done).

I do think this book, at the very least, would be a helpful one for anyone who teaches reading, writing or spelling to one student or a classroom full of them.