Favorite Read Alouds of the School Year
Our school year very nearly came to an unceremonious end. We went on vacation and then just kind of stopped lessons for a few weeks. I’m ramping up next week to start a summer “rhythm” which will include some lesson time (we loosely homeschool year round). But I wanted to commemorate our year of learning in some way… a bookish way, of course 🙂 So, I wrote out a list of the chapter books that we’ve read this year and read through it with the kids. It led to some fun reminiscing about the “friends” (characters) we met along the way and the memories we have attached to each (“remember? we listened to this in the car on the way to co-op every week when it was soooo cold!”). My kids are finishing 2nd grade and kindergarten, ages 8 and 6.5.
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Top Favorites:
Chosen by the 8 year old. The My Side of the Mountain series had a tremendous impact on my boy’s heart. He fell in love with peregrine falcons and wildlife protection. He now wants to be a falconer when he grows up. He used his money on St. Nicholas day to “adopt” a peregrine at the local wildlife rehabilitation center.
Chosen by the 6 year old. Nutcracker Mice. This little boy followed the path of his older brother at this stage and became obsessed with the Nutcracker around Christmastime. It was all battle scenes all the time through that joyous season of peace. lol. I was surprised when he selected this from the list as his top favorite since it was 6 months ago at this point, but he did truly love this story and he can retell it to me even now.
Chosen by the Mama. The Very, Very Far North was both boys’ second favorite, and I have the most wonderful memories of snuggling and laughing and just cherishing the time reading this (and its sequel) during the cold months of 2020-1. A modern classic in my opinion with memorable characters and lessons that touch the heart.
Other Favorites
Bubba Jones: Time Traveling the National Parks
The Moffats and Rufus M.
Springtime with Geraldine Woolkins
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Vanderbeekers: Lost & Found
Human Body Theater (the kids told me to add a caveat that this is more of a “learning book” but it was 200+ pages and totally goes on our chapter book list and they liked it! lol)
Those are 18 of the books that shaped my kids’ hearts and minds this school year!
If you’d like to read my thoughts on any of these titles, you can use the search feature on my site to find the monthly book log where I reviewed them (I publish quarterly).
The other school year end-cap that we enjoyed was looking through our photo book of the year. I document once per month on Shutterfly by recording the activities we participated in, stand-out lessons, field trips, etc. It’s like a super informal portfolio (in my state, we don’t have to put together a portfolio) but really it’s so special! I highly recommend it (and keeping up with it each month or it’s just so overwhelming!).
Do you commemorate or celebrate the end of your school year? I’d love to hear how! Connect with me in the comments below or on my instagram or facebook accounts.
