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Our family loves to read, but one thing that is lacking in our reading repertoire is a good dose of classic literature. I’m busy reviewing popular YA and children’s fiction and curriculum for our website, and my boys tend to gravitate to book series and fantasies So, to stretch our literary experience, I’ve put together a classy list of books for the boys (and me) to read over the summer. As no reading program is complete without an incentive, I am paying them a penny a page. They can’t collect any money until they have written a brief book report and have passed an informal oral quiz on the book’s content. And, they can collect an extra 75 cents if they list and define ten unfamiliar words from the book. I also set up a cute “book nook” area for them with a basket chock full of some of the books on their list. And, they were given a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble to help them kick things off (which they spent within hours of receiving).
If they tackle a good portion of the reading list, they will have accumulated about $100 each, but most importantly, will have gained a priceless addition to their education.
See below for our 2008 Homeschoolbuzz.com summer reading list.
Book report guidelines
Title read:
Author:
Pages read:
Date completed:
Book report: Include basic plot summary, interesting characters, morals or things learned, and overall impressions of the book. Should be between 25-75 words.
Rate book: 0-5 stars (0=bad, 5=outstanding)
Also, list 10 words you read that were new to you, include the definition (brief) worth an extra 75 cents.
You should write daily in your journal, include progress or notes on your reading (or a word definition, or write about ideas, feelings, special events, etc.
Labels: Books, homeschool, Reading, Reviews
In this tale about the homeless, we meet 11-year-old Clay, a boy whose misfortune leads him to the streets of NY. His father abandoned him and his pregnant mother suddenly disappears, leaving Clay to fend for himself with only twenty-eight dollars and the clothes on his back. Clay meets two homeless men named Calvin and Buddy who befriend him and take him under their protective watch. But life on the streets is harsh as Clay soon finds out. Read more...
This book, based upon the author's own childhood experiences with a mischievous older brother named Tom is set in 1896 Adenville, UT. John D. tells the stories about Tom D. Read more...
If you want great historical fiction for younger children, The Matchlock Gun, which won the 1942 Newbery Medal, by Walter D. Edmonds, who also wrote the classic novel Drums Along the Mohawk, is it. Set in 1757, when New York was still a British colony during the French and Indian War, it tells the true story of ten-year-old Edward Van Alstyne, who lives with his father Teunis, mother Gertrude, and little sister Trudy, outside of Albany in upper New York. Read more...
While on vacation recently, I read all the books that I took with me, so I went out and purchased four children's books that I have been longing to read for a good while, including this one. Two of the presents that Omri received for his birthday were a small plastic Indian from his friend Patrick and an old medicine cupboard that his brother Gillon had found in the alley. Read more...
Nobody Owens is a lucky boy. Though a man known as "Jack" tragically murdered his family, he alone survived the attack. Being just a wee 18 mos old at the time, he wandered off into the night and into the graveyard. There he found a home, and some new guardians. They may be dead ones, but when the fleeting image of his slain mother pleads for his life, the dead couple Mr. and Mrs. Owens vow to take good care of the toddler they named Nobody (Bod for short). Read more...
