Living Books to Read-aloud to Your 2, 3 or 4 Year Old (Preschool)

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I think few people would argue that reading to your child is both enjoyable and essential in any education.  Reading has the potential to impact their life in the most positive way.  Where do you start?  How can you begin to instill this love of reading, and in turn, a lifelong love of learning?

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
― Albert Einstein

 
Reading aloud from good living books is the first step to building a lifelong learner.  Start now gathering a collection beautiful literature that will be both inviting to your Preschooler and enjoyable for you both.  Read them aloud, read them again, put them aside and then read each book over and over.  

This is a book-list to be used over a LONG period of time, you SHOULD NOT read all of these books in a single year.  Slow and steady, patiently and methodically, in small bite-sized sessions.  Got it?  Now, go forth and read ...

• Aesop for Children, by Milo Winter

The Aesop for Children by: Aesop $3.59

• A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Lewis Stevenson
• Real Mother Goose, by Blanche Fischer Wright
• The Family Time Bible in Pictures
• Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey

Blueberries for Sal by: Robert McCloskey $3.59

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin, jr.
• Baby Animals, by Garth Williams (Little Golden Book)
• The Margaret Wise Brown Treasury, by Margaret Wise Brown
• Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown 

• Goodnight Moon 60th Anniversary Edition by: Margaret Wise Brown $3.59

  The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown
• First Virtues, by Mary Manz Simon
• The Carrot Seed, by Ruth Krauss
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Picture Puffin) by: Eric Carle $3.59

• Happy Prince and Other Fairy Tales, by Oscar Wilde
• The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats
• Stories Around the Year, by Thorton W. Burgess 
• Poems and Prayers for the Very Young, by Martha Alexander
• Prayer for a Child, by Rachel Field
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin
• We’re Going On a Bear Hunt, by Michael Rosen

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by: Michael Rosen $3.59

• The Tall Book of Nursery Tales (treasury)
• Corduroy, by Don Freeman
• Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina
• A First Book Of Fairy Tales (treasury)
• I Am an Artist, by Pat L. Collins
• Now We Are Six, by A.A. Milne

Now We Are Six (Full-Color Gift Edition) by: A. A. Milne $3.59

• When We Were Very Young, by A.A. Milne 
• Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales (treasury)
• The ABC Bunny, by Wanda Gag

I hope that you and your Preschooler will enjoy countless hours of cuddling around these wonderful books.  

The key is inviting them to enjoy reading moments. To build a good relationship to both books and reading. To spend quality moments elevating the importance and value of learning in your home. 

Little by little. Moment by moment. One step after another, with joy.

What books are you enjoying with your preschooler right now???

Joyfully Learning with You,

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, & Instagram and our IG SHOP

Heather's Highly Recommended Helps: 

• Homeschool Mom Winter Summer - No other homeschooling event is quite like this refreshing, encouraging, vision-restoring weekend for homeschool moms!  See you at Summit!
• The Art of Fall: Mixed Media Workshop for Kids - Create beautiful autumn art with your kids this fall with this affordable workshop for the entire family from Alicia. 
• A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels - A great art course for children of all ages.

5 Must Read Articles If You Are NOT A Perfect Homeschool Mom

You are reading 5 Must Read Articles If You Are NOT A Perfect Homeschool Mom, posted by Heather Mac, published originally at Joyful Socks Mom blog.

** This post may contain affiliate links.  Thank you for your support. You can read my full disclosure policy here.**

Let me just lay it out there ... If you are a "perfect homeschool mom", stop right there.  You may want to proceed with caution, or not proceed at all, because this post is NOT for you.

However; little Mrs. Perfect, while I have your attention, may I just add ...
If you are, in fact, a "perfect homeschool mom" then you may want to be thinking about permanently exiting this perpetual state of "cukoo-cukoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs" land that you are currently residing in and think about joining the real world.  I mean really sister, you have completely deluded yourself and you need deliverance!  Just in case you were interested.

For the rest of us who live in a real home, with a real husband and real children ... you have come to the right place.

Perfection in home educating is one of the many unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves & others.  I pray that every home educator would be delivered from the real bondage of perfection. We are already the "ideal homeschool mom" not for our perfection, but for our willingness to be used of God to teach and guide our children.  We are already the perfect match for our children, because a perfect and good Maker predetermined to make you to be the mom of your children.  That is the only perfection which we can trust.  Here are a few of my favorite posts from some more moms who ARE NOT perfect, just like the rest of us:

• When they say, "Be yourself", they don't mean me from the incomparable Lisa at The Pennington Point
• 5 Thoughts That Really Help When Marriage Gets Difficult another from Lisa at The Pennington Point
• Making Home a Haven: Praying Mom from Brandy at The Marathon Mom
• The True Account of the Interrupted Shower from my homeschool friend who makes me laugh the most, Connie at Smockity Frocks
• How To Completely Loose It Over Your Struggling Learner by me 
• ***BONUS READ*** Why You Should Give Up On Comparing

Joyfully Learning with You,

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, & Instagram and our IG SHOP

Heather's Highly Recommended Helps: 

• Homeschool Mom Winter Summer - No other homeschooling event is quite like this refreshing, encouraging, vision-restoring weekend for homeschool moms!  See you at Summit!

Linked Up At:

How My Child's Learning Struggles Made Me A Better Person

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 You are reading How My Child's Learning Struggles Made Me A Better Person, posted by Heather Mac, originally posted at Joyful Socks Mom blog.

*This post may contain affiliate links.  Please see our full statement of disclosure here.  Thank you for your support.

We have spent time realigning ourselves in relation to our struggles and in turn, to our struggling learners.  This next step in the journey takes us from acceptance and into a direction of surrender.  This step cannot be skipped over and it is literally one of the most difficult steps in the struggling learner wilderness.  Give God time to minister to you through this all important step, because the goal is to be able to abide in Him amid raising struggling learners for His glory ... and until we surrender, we cannot reach that goal.

Surrendering is a giant step toward totally abiding in Christ on this journey.  Surrender requires I lay down my plans with the intent of not pushing my own agenda.  Surrender is the total and sum of belief, faith and trust.  This step is a bold declaration of faith that requires the daily choice to give all that you now hold back into Christ's ready hands. 

During the wilderness journey of teaching my struggling learners, I am consistently humbled. I am now able to see that much has changed in me as I walk alongside my kids as they struggle, grow and learn.  Here are just few changes that you may look to acquire in the struggling learner wilderness after learning to completely surrender: 

• Empathy abides.  Let me just be real here ... Giving grace is not a natural talent that I possess.  Before I journeyed beside my struggling learners, extending grace was incredibly difficult for me as an individual. Another direct result of being raised on the side lines of a football field, you know coach's daughter-itis! 

• Patience is a virtue.  The longer I journey with struggling learners the more understanding I find that I possess.  This patience is given as a gift in order that I may apply it again, and again toward others ... Especially my children. 

• Kindness more. Judgement less.  I can typically size-up a situation and tell you exactly "WHAT" the problem is with any person & how they should fix it.  After years with struggling learners my attitude in this area has completely changed. I have stopped saying "WHAT" and started asking "WHY". Why is that person responding that way? Why did they choose that path?  The answer I come to is usually quite humbling.  We have no idea what another person has had to suffer or endure to get to that point in life.  Kindness becomes much simpler in the light of this revelation.

• My life is not all about me. My child's learning struggles have magnified the fact that this life is just not all about me. (nobody should really be shocked by that statement)  Perhaps I could even venture out and say, my child's learning struggles have more to do with shaping them, and their relationship with God, than shaping me.  Me being a better person after these struggles is just a glorious side-effect really.  My kid's life is about them and God, not them and me and God.

• Living by faith and not by sight.  When you trust that Christ can do all things, He actually will.  Having the privilege of raising struggling learners has brought me to the cross of Christ, again and again.  The ability to let go of control and allow Jesus to do His job with my life ... well, let me just say that letting go has not ever been my strong suit.  Until now.  Having to let control go to the wayside on a moment to moment basis truly places you in the daily practice of total dependence of Jesus Christ.  Humbling yet beautiful to behold. 

"And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose." Romans 8:28 (AMP)

 

Please journey along with me in the coming weeks:

• How To Completely Lose It Over Your Struggling Learner (Week 1)

• (You Are Here) How To Appreciate Your Struggling Learner (Week 2)

•How My Children's Learning Struggles Made Me A Better Person (Week 3)

•Savoring the Wilderness Journey (Final Week)

Joyfully Learning with You,

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, & Instagram and our IG SHOP

Heather's Highly Recommended Helps: 

• Homeschool Mom Winter Summit - No other homeschooling event is quite like this refreshing, encouraging, vision-restoring weekend for homeschool moms!  See you at Summit!

 Linking Up At:
 
 

Top 10 + Sci-Fi & Futuristic Books for Teens

Or, otherwise entitled, How-To Keep Your Teen Son Reading!

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You are reading Top 10 Sci-Fi and Futuristic Books, posted by Heather Mac, originally posted at Joyful Socks Mom blog.

*This post may contain affiliate links.  Please see our full statement of disclosure here.  Thank you for your support. 

In a culture of technology and Insta-everything, the struggle to encourage our children to be dedicated readers is real. I believe the struggle is compacted when you have a teenager, or in my case, a teenage son.  

With my teen son the pull of technology and gaming appears, some days, to threaten his love of reading that we have spent years building.  Keeping him reading means helping him choose living books that will engage his increasing need for adrenaline.  Please note that I used the world "help" and NOT "demand".  There is a distinct difference, and as a home educator I get all too comfortable with issuing demands to my teens, rather than reach for a gently invitation.
  
No worries, I have my go-to list of good books for action-packed, spine-tingling, science-fiction & futuristic dreaming!

• Fahrenheit 451 by: Ray Bradbury
• Martian Chronicles by: Ray Bradbury 
• 1984 by: George Orwell 

Nineteen Eighty Four (Penguin Modern Classics) by: George Orwell $6.51

• Frankenstein by: Mary Shelley 
• War of the Worlds by: H.G.Wells 
• The Time Machine by: H.G. Wells
• A Wrinkle in Time by: Madeleine L'Engle 

A Wind in the Door (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet) by: Madeleine L'Engle $3.59

• Out of the Silent Planet by: C.S. Lewis, and Space Trilogy 
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by: Jules Vern  
• From the Earth to the Moon by: Jules Vern 
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by: Jules Vern

20,000 Leagues under the Sea (Signet classics) by: Jules Verne $3.59

Once you have acquired a few of these great reads, leave them lying around your teens room or desk area.  Nonchalantly (that means act like it's no big deal) mention you picked up a few science fiction books that you thought your teen might want to check-out.  As far as humanly possible, make it look like it was their idea and not yours.  Just a suggestion.

Do you have some good teen reading tucked away for a rainy day?  Share with the class!

Joyfully Learning with You, 

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, & Instagram and our IG SHOP

Heather's Highly Recommended Helps: 

• North Star Geography - This is the way we globe trot!  Creating a real love for geography in each of my children.
• Homeschool Mom Winter Summer - No other homeschooling event is quite like this refreshing, encouraging, vision-restoring weekend for homeschool moms!  See you at Summit!

  Linking Up At:

 

 

Help! I am Teaching Foreign Language at Home

 

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You are reading Help! I Am Teaching Foreign Language at Home, contributed by Heather Mac, originally published on Joyful Socks Mom. 

** This post may contain affiliate links.  Thank you for your support. You can read my full disclosure policy here.**

For me, personally, I enjoy teaching certain languages that are within my "comfort zone".  Recently my own children have branched out in their foreign language interests to languages that, unfortunately; extend outside my own expertise.

Alright, alright.  They also fall outside of my "interest zone".  Transparency.

There is really no reason to allow anxiety to overtake the potential joy of your child learning a language that sparks their individual interests.  In a case such as this, I am thrilled to live in an age of technology where the resources appear to be almost limitless. I have been able to locate FREE and excellent instruction, enrichment and resources via the internet, and over the years.  Many of these we have personally used and  the children have done well with these resources in building their knowledge & abilities in languages and cultures of their own interest.

Does the thought of teaching a foreign language to your kiddos send you into the sudden urge to grab a paper sack?  Stop it girl, you got this! The keys to helping your children learn a foreign language are simply a positive attitude, a little excitement (theirs or yours) and consistent practice. 

I was recently asked by a reader how I gather FREE foreign language resources, and which programs do I trust.  I thought it a perfect opportunity to gather my resources and share them with all of you.  This is, of course, not an exhaustive list of foreign language resources.  Instead, this is merely a list of FREE foreign language resources that I have personally utilized.

• Duolingo is a popular source for FREE Online foreign language enrichment learning. They offer multiple courses in many languages including: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and more. They now have an App available for iPhone & iPad that are easy to use & convenient.

• Watching your own DVDs in another language, or watching foreign language television are also both great immersive methods of learning another language. (No kidding, this is one of the best ways to reinforce consistent immersion and learning)

• iTunes U is a great FREE resource for finding many coursed for various foreign language from beginner to expert levels.  We us this resource for teaching many high school requirements and prepping our children for collegiate learning.

•  Spanish Languages on the BBC 

•  Spanish Made Easy Great beginning lessons.

• Learn Spanish Free Spanish tutorials that focus on conversational Spanish. 

• Business Spanish This site is a good grammar resource, especially for high school students.

• Learn A Language Spanish.  This is an excellent online lesson source and they also feature a wide selection of different foreign languages.

• Spanish Internet Picture Dictionary

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• Open Learning Initiative has FREE French I & French II online classes available for both college students & self-taught students.

• FSI Languages offers FREE audio lessons that teach conversational French. 

• BBC French - This is a fun & engaging FREE French instruction for beginners.

• These 24 FREE French Lessons from the BBC

• French in Action is a collection of 52 FREE French lessons available via online video

• University of Texas has FREE French Lessons & printable textbook pages. Hook 'em!    
• 
  
  The last resource is not a FREE resource, but an excellent one that we have personally used and enjoyed.  Middlebury French
  
  Be sure to take a listen to the iHomeschool Network Podcast over on Google Hangouts for more great resources on teaching foreign language.
  
   
  What are your best FREE foreign language resources?  Share with the class!
  
  Joyfully Learning with You,

  
  

  

  
  The Joyful Socks Mom 

  
  

  Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, & Instagram and our IG SHOP

  
  

  Heather's Highly Recommended Helps: 

  • Homeschool Mom Winter Summer - Winter is my complete "break down" month as a home educator.  Winter Summit is where I go to get built back up.  Who is coming with me this year?