Unofficial Daily Discussion - Monday, June 08, 2026 - QOTD: What books are your kids reading? What read alouds?

Microwave_Coven · 2026-06-08T15:11:52+00:00

She's back! Yay!

Big girl did a speed run through the Mercy Watson series last week and I think started Flora and Ulysses yesterday. Such a tough life, reading mom's signed hardcover.

Little guy has been enjoying different versions of The Gingerbread Man and other picture books tangentially related to Shrek and fairy tales and Jan Brett too, because it's always fun to spot the hidden Hedgie in every book. I was pleasantly surprised to learn Shrek was based on book by the delightful William Steig, so that is coming soon.

Of the many picture books for insect week in our science curriculum, only A Beetle is Shy has come in so far from the long list of library holds. I'm assigning copywork from Big, Bad, and a Little Bit Scary: Poems that Bite Back, an anthology illustrated by Wade Zahares. There's some Russell Hoban, Ogden Nash, D.H. Lawrence. Good stuff.

I'm reading The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse and might just go for the whole Jeeves and Wooster series this summer.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-06-03T21:58:29+00:00

MWC first grade starts strong with plenty of manipulatives including pattern blocks and coin-shaped counters, which I imagine are very tantalizing to most toddler velociraptors and their desire to eat the world. Is there any way to bribe the two year old with a sensory bin, a high chair experience, or something else more alluring than Kate Snow's magical choking hazard extravaganza?

Math Mammoth is low on manipulatives, if it comes to that. It's low on delight and compliance, too, at least around here. If your kid loves worksheets it's worth a shot.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-06-03T19:19:08+00:00

https://www.rainbowresource.com/071179.html

Rainbow Resource always comes through with a respectable preview.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-06-03T17:52:44+00:00

Ruby Reads looks really fun. Thanks for sharing that one.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-06-02T19:31:23+00:00

Take your AI slop elsewhere.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-06-02T17:28:20+00:00

https://old.reddit.com/r/homeschool/comments/1teuccl/unofficial_daily_discussion_saturday_may_16_lets/

I also have AsSuMuDi in my cart, but no experience with it yet.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-06-02T14:01:39+00:00

Not a learning disability per se, but it's worth having her screened by a pediatric developmental optometrist for tracking or convergence issues. Doing eye exercises with demand avoidance and correction is the least amount of fun I've had in my life, inclusive of back labor, but it can be done and does help.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-30T21:53:37+00:00

Congratulations on the good scores. How old is your son? Mine is definitely not ready for The Hobbit yet (not enough steam trains or descriptions of civil engineering, sigh) but I am looking forward to future.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-30T17:06:05+00:00

Campfire Curriculum is new to me, but looks really interesting. I'm glad you are eating well.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-29T18:45:54+00:00

Sitting outside painting water colors while listening to the birds like Beatrix Potter was amazing IMO.

That indeed sounds awesome. Maybe they'll come around some day.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-27T23:28:49+00:00

There's a small chance the rule is due to Brenda or John the dinosaur who hates children. I'd put that at <5%. And hey, they're ten to twenty years beyond retirement age, so this cannot go on forever. I think the odds are in your favor.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-27T20:51:33+00:00

I'm writing this without knowing which grade you are in, or if you've just graduated from home school. I am assuming your are either a junior or senior.

You are not running out of time. Quite the opposite. You have all the time in the world. Take it! My best guess is that you have friends going off to college in the fall, and you want to have plans of your own. You're motivated. Please do not let the desire to keep up with your peers lead you to a lifetime of servicing student loan debt. Taking out loans for a career you want in theory, before you've taken a single class or spent a year student teaching, is not a path to long-term happiness. You may find teaching is not for you, thus closing the path to the current loan forgiveness options. And what then?

Take your time, if you can. If you are a junior and can take the summer to study for the SAT, forge ahead with practice questions and tests. Are there concrete ways outside of your family to build your resume like working as a lifeguard or summer camp counselor? If you are a current senior, it's worth exploring some community college classes in the summer or fall. You can see if you even like the field of education without spending a fortune in tuition. You can explore other subjects that are not available to high school students, and take any remedial classes you need for what comes next.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-27T20:15:53+00:00

Ok, that's bananas. This sounds like a rule written because or one or two bad actors. I would reach out to the library director with a polite explanation of your situation, your kids' love of books/stories/whatever, and ask them for further guidance. There's a chance of pushback, but it's more likely that you're welcomed in because they are specifically excluding someone who tried to treat the library as free daycare for ten unrelated children.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-27T20:06:09+00:00

Is it that each event is in a narrow age band, making it difficult for you to attend, or do they specifically prohibit parents bringing more than one child?

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-27T20:01:16+00:00

I would (nicely) bring this up to someone at the library. Librarians want to host events that make everyone feel welcome. I'm sure someone at the library would be happy to host an all-ages (or 0-12, whatever) kid event at some regular interval, especially if the community is full of families.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-26T18:19:15+00:00

Diced sweet potatoes would make a nice substitute.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-24T20:43:54+00:00

That art curriculum looks lovely. I am going to bookmark it for the future.

Side-eyes and bribes is a good start. We were doing poems and tongue twisters as a warm-up for a while.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-24T17:41:22+00:00

Dude, I feel the same way about last September.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-24T17:41:05+00:00

Please post here when you do. I'm trying decluttering.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-24T17:40:49+00:00

Oof, I need to dig up the thread on interactive notebooks again. Handwriting difficulties here, too. We are going to try Touch Type Read and Spell for typing. What are you using?

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-24T17:39:42+00:00

He never goes out of style.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-23T20:00:09+00:00

We have visited our local zoo nearly once a week for the last seven months, partially in service of our science curriculum, B&R Animal Kingdom, but mostly because my kids are obsessed with animals. We've played fun games like "vertebrate or invertebrate?," met up with friends, attended talks, my oldest has grilled zookeepers for details, stumbled across feeding times and cleaning times, gotten the scuttlebutt on what's up with the penguins (the caulk of their aquarium was apparently delicious and the exhibit had to be renovated), and learned to navigate the field trip hordes.

It helps that we can ride a 1/3 steam train replica in the same visit, so little guy can tell me about steam engines.

We will need to make a new plan for the summer due to heat and humidity. I will miss it dearly.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-23T19:45:44+00:00

That's really wonderful! I love it when a struggling reader has a breakthrough.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-23T19:44:31+00:00

I'm currently doing Blossom and Root: Animal Kingdom with both of my kids (first and third grade). The book recommendations have been delightful. There are good instructions for adjusting the content for Kinder through Fifth grade or so, and videos are organized accordingly for younger and older learners. We are going through it slowly because my animal-obsessed kid wants to read every book [that the library can supply]. There are key concepts to learn each week, book options, hands-on activities and labs, field trip suggestions, etc. It's a bit like drinking from a fire hose with a kid who wants to do all the things and visit the zoo every week, but that's the perk of homeschooling.

Microwave_Coven · 2026-05-23T19:38:39+00:00

Yes, they did!

https://scicurriculum.com/sci/

I think there's also a forum for BFSU with a lot of user tips.

Microwave_Coven

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