March's Books

Wow, March flew by. Emma's reading has exploded in the last two months, and I am excited to share the books that she has read on her own, as well as the books we have read together and listened to!

*Disclaimer- I suck at recapping books. I'll do my best, but if you are interested, it may be best to click on the link (or google it) and read the description from there*

Books Emma has read to herself:

Bone Series by Jeff Smith. These are graphic novels that Emma was fascinated with about 2 years ago.   I read them to her, she loved them, we bought the series (or so I thought). The other day I caught her reading one of the books. Unfortunately we seem to be missing a few from the series, not that Emma really minded. 

Rediscovering the "Bone" series by Jeff Smith

The First Dog by Jan Brett. It's fun to watch and listen to Emma read some of her picture books. This book is a cute view on how dog became man's best friend. As always, fantastic illustrations in this book. 

Reading, "The First Dog," by Jan Brett

Rainbow Magic by Daisy Meadows. Another series that we read a year or so ago. I read the first in the series to Emma at bedtime a few nights ago, but had to stop cause my throat was getting sore (dry hotel air will do that to a person). Emma wasn't tired so I suggested she read the rest of the book herself. She did, then decided that she'd like to work on the rest of the series. 

There may be more, but I can't remember. 

Audio Books we listened too:

The 39 Clues. We finished the first series and started on the Cahills vs. Vespers. We really are enjoying these series. Full of history, geography, drama and excitement while also being easy to follow. 

Percy Jackson: The Lightening Thief and The Sea of Monsters. We are really enjoying this series as well. We probably won't listen to the rest of these until Da gets back from his 3 months of training, but that's ok, we have plenty of other books on our list. 

I, Coriander, by Sally Gardner. This was a pretty good story full of magic and mystery. The story takes place during the time of the Puritans, but also in two separate worlds. One of fairies, and one of mortals.  

Bridge to Terabithia by Kathrine Patterson. This was NOT what I was expecting. It was a great book, but I guess I had false ideas about this book. Reminded me a lot of the movie "My Girl." Emma really enjoyed it as did I. 

The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau. Part of the Ember Series. This one provides a bit of history about how the City of Ember came about. 

Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau. The last in the Ember Series. We liked the entire series. 

King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. We have loved all the books we've read by this author. This particular book tells of the history of the Arabian horse breed. This would also be a great one for boys who love horses as the main human character is a stable boy who cares for the Godolphin Arabian. 

Read Aloud:

Yatimah (Horse Diaries #7) by Patricia Hermes. This story is about the Arabian horse breed as well. It was fun reading this while listening to King of the Wind (though not at the same exact time). 

Black Cloud (Horse Diaries #8) by Patricia Hermes. This story is about the mustangs. While the parts about Wild Horse Annie are not accurate, the rest is pretty close. The book does explain some real facts about Wild Horse Annie in the back of the book, as well as factual info about mustangs and how they almost became extinct. 

Tennessee Rose (Horse Diaries #9) by Patricia Hermes. This one is about the Tennessee Walker. A good story, we enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed the rest. Can't wait for the next one to come out!

I actually read an adult book this month! (Well, I started one anyway)

Wild Horse Annie by David Cruise and Alison Griffiths. This is a biography of how Velma Johnston almost single-handedly saved the wild mustangs from extinction. A very interesting tale of a women who was forever disabled by a childhood bout of polio, though refused to let it ruin her life. I am still reading this book, but so far I have found it very interesting and one that I think Emma will enjoy when she is a bit older. 

What was your favorite book you read/listened to this month (kids or adults, we still want to know!)?

Budding Reader

I have been noticing over the last few days that Emma is reading a lot more. She was sitting on the floor yesterday with a Bone comic book, sucking on a lollipop, reading.

Every few minutes she would read a word or two out loud, then keeping doing her thing, then read a few more words out loud. 

I was trying to take a sneaky photo through my hoop weaving project, but the red eye reduction gave me away. 

Eventually she stopped caring that I was taking pictures. 

When we went to Chili's today for lunch, Emma was reading all the words on her cup, as well as the "Food To Go" sign that was right over our table. 

It is so much fun listening to her read!!!

The Reading Begins

Emma has always had a love for books, words, and letters. Ever since Emma could hold a book, she has never been far from one. It may have something to do with all the reading we do with her, both planned and spontaneous (as in street signs, posters, and other things we see in our day to day travels)

A few months ago we where visiting family in NH when Emma decided to sound out a word she found sitting on a window sill in my sisters dinning room. The word was 'family'. With no help, and no prodding, Emma sounded out and read the word all by herself (makes me think this unschooling thing might just work out). I have to tell you, that is an awesome feeling, and the huge smile on her face made it even better.

Two days ago, Emma decided she wanted to learn to read. She has told me this before, and we had given it a go before, but now seems to be different. She seems to really want to learn to read.

So, we start small. When I read with her, I have her sound out a word or two each page or so. Last night in the tub I brought out the laminated words. Emma read a word, then blew bubbles, read a word, blew bubbles. She did a great job, and I am excited about her learning to read.

Our biggest problem I think will be that she likes to try to guess what the word is instead of sounding the word out. We are working on it.

I think a blog post with no pictures is kinda boring, so on days when I have no relevant pictures to post, I think I will leave you with a picture taken by Emma.

From on of the Bone books written by Jeff Smith