I apologize, as it took me a few days to get the rest of these up. For some reason MediaFire was not cooperating with me. I spent hours trying to get these uploaded-arrgh.
To answer Kimmer’s question, I am really interested in the phonics tables in the books and their use in relation to the stories. My son is a pretty strong reader, but at some point in time he went from using phonetic skills to relying purely on memory. I realize that memorization does play a role in his reading ability, but I also see how his memory does not serve him when we do things like dictation, and he is faced with writing something unfamiliar. When he comes across a word in a text he does not know, he is overwhelmed. Often the word(s) could be sounded out if he would only fall back on phonics. For whatever reason he no longer does this.
I will use the McGuffey Spelling Book with the same purpose in mind. I also think it offers a great list of vocabulary words that he can benefit from.
McGuffey’s Fourth Eclectic Reader
McGuffey’s Fifth Eclectic Reader
McGuffey’s Sixth Eclectic Reader
McGuffey’s Eclectic Speller
Filed under: Phonics, Reading on October 20th, 2007 | No Comments »
I recently found the McGuffey Eclectic Reader Series in PDF form, and I thought it would be a great addition to Nick’s curriculum. I am adding the readers to the library section of the blog. The books are being hosted on MediaFire. Hence, you will be redirected to the MediaFire site to download. The series is $46 at Amazon. In this format, I can print what I need, as I need it and save some money in the process. You can do the same 
I will be adding the speller and the fourth, fifth and sixth edition to the blog as soon as I get them uploaded to MediaFire.
McGuffey’s First Eclectic Reader Revised
McGuffey’s Second Eclectic Reader
McGuffey’s Third Eclectic Reader
Filed under: Reading on October 17th, 2007 | 1 Comment »
johnny-crows-garden.pdf
Here is a cute book you can read to your toddler or preschooler, and once again it has some really fun illustrations. I hope you enjoy it. Tomorrow I will be posting another “Science Saturday.” I had hoped I could show you the t-shirts we made using red cabbage, beets and spinach for dye. The project took nearly a week, and when I removed the shirts from the their sunbath jars they looked pretty good. But upon drying them their vibrant colors took a rather dreaded turn. If you have any experience in this area, and you want to share some tips please feel free to do so. I want to try it again.
Why pay to have someone detail your car when you can do it yourself for a fraction of the cost? To make it even easier you can purchase automotive detailing supplies from an online retailer. Don’t forget to visit on Science Saturday. I’ll be posting our next science experiment as soon as I get down “detailing” the car 
Filed under: Reading on July 6th, 2007 | 2 Comments »
It’s funny how life works. I was completely unaware of Ohio Treasure Chest until I came across the Rippling Ponds Blog which is written by Kathy Shields in Alpharetta Georgia. Ohio Treasure Chest provides lists of websites catagorized by grade and subject matter. It then breaks down resources by the following:
Web Resources - Educational web sites that support that indicator - This is the main focus of the Treasure Chest
Lesson Plans - Lessons that help teach that indicator (Note: This section is new and still developing)
Connections - Other indicators in any content area that relate to that indicator - Or click to get full list for this subject and grade
Comments - General comments or ideas related to that indicator (Note: This section is new and still developing)
Assessments - Assessment questions related to that indicator (Note: This section is new and still developing)
The site was created by the Canton School system, and I applaud their efforts. It is great seeing a public school system embracing technology and providing an open resource to guide students in Canton and beyond. Check it out!
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This post was brought to you by DNA -the stuff you and I are made of
Filed under: Phonics, Math, History, Science, Reading on July 6th, 2007 | No Comments »
You have probably noticed the Storynory widget in my sidebar by now. I most certainly should have given it a proper introduction, but often I get sidetracked. So before anymore time passes, allow me to introduce Storynory.
Story Nory offers free podcasts of classic children’s stories. As it stands, they have 75 in their library and there are plans to add more. In today’s world where our children spend their time playing with things like Wii, Storynory maybe a little too low tech for some tastes. Afterall, why would anyone want to listen to a story when they can watch a DVD, and then play the movie themed video game on their PSP?
Storynory offers the opportunity for a child to use his/her imagination as they paint the imagery of the story within their own minds without any further visual influences. What better way to entertain and engage on a long car ride than to have your child listen to various stories and draw the characters and scenery as they see it in their minds eye. Another option is to allow you child to listen to the first half of a story and then write their own conclusion to the story. Once they are done have them listen to the ending. How was there ending the same? How was it different?
So use Storynory to entertain. Better yet use it as an exercise for the imagination, because with all the widgets and gidgets in the world creativity is losing ground.
Filed under: Creative Thinking, Reading on June 28th, 2007 | 3 Comments »
We spend a great deal of time at the library, often going to get books 3-4 times a month. But in the past our trips were often unproductive. What I mean by unproductive is we often returned home with literary duds. My son has a rather simple technique when it comes to picking out books. If it has a shark, a lizard, a snake or any kind of fish on the cover he’ll take it. Initially these books were entertaining, but as time wore on they all sounded the same. My son started to lose interest in books because as he would tell you, “everything at the library is borrrrring.”
One day I stumbled across a site called Book Adventure. This site changed everything for my son. We now have the ability to search for books based on grade level, level of reading, fiction or non-fiction, author, theme and ISBN. And because we are able search multiple criteria we have always been able to find books that are of interest to him and right on target for his reading level. Thanks to Book Adventure my son has read great books like Captain Abdul’s Pirate School and Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1) and now we are back on track where the library is concerned.
Book Adventure offers not only reading lists, but quizzes and resources for both parents and teachers. It is free to use, so why not check it out?
Filed under: Uncategorized, Reading on June 6th, 2007 | No Comments »
Children and adults alike rarely consider the affect their behavior has on others. In the pursuit of our own amusement we do not consider consequences. The story demonstrates the value of thinking before doing.
The Boys and The Frogs
Some Boys were playing one day at the edge of a pond in which lived a family of Frogs. The Boys amused themselves by throwing stones into the pond so as to make them skip on top of the water.
The stones were flying thick and fast and the Boys were enjoying themselves very much; but the poor Frogs in the pond were trembling with fear.
At last one of the Frogs, the oldest and bravest, put his head out of the water, and said, “Oh, please, dear children, stop your cruel play! Though it may be fun for you, it means death to us!”
Always stop to think whether your fun may not be the cause of another’s unhappiness.
Other Aesop Tales on My Education Junction: The Lion and The Mouse and The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse
Filed under: Reading on June 5th, 2007 | No Comments »
