The Give Way Reading Challenge

One of the things I love about the TJEd philosophy, is the aspect of “you, not them.”  Essentially it’s about making sure I keep focused on my own education as a way of improving myself and following my passions while also being an example of lifelong learning for my kids. I found a great list…

Book Club: A Southern Linner

This was our cookbook month for our adult/teen book club.  The plan is to read a cookbook or read about a cook and everyone cooks and brings a recipe from it.  This month’s book is: A Love Affair with Southern Cooking I chose this book first because everyone loves to read it and the recipes! …

Book Club: Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Book for this month’s adult/teen book club: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Even though this book club is for older teens and adults, sometimes, when we read kid’s classics, we’ll ask the rest of our families to join us.  This was one of those instances. Nursery Alice is a simpler version Lewis Carroll wrote for younger…

Book Club: A Tale of Two Cities – Bangers and Baguettes

Book for this month’s adult/teen book club: A Tale of Two Cities This book is about a 9th or 10th grade reading level and would interest 14/15 year olds and up.  If you’d like to include younger kids, I would suggest Great Illustrated Classics: A Tale of Two Cities, which is a 5th or 6th…

Teen and Adult Book Club

I took a homeschooling test, which said one of the areas of homeschooling that I leaned toward was Thomas Jefferson Education. I’d never heard of it, but looked into it.  I liked a lot of what I read.  But, like any of the homeschooling philosophies, I pick and choose what I think will work for…

Kids’ Book Club — Destination: Wonderland!

  This month’s kids’ book club book: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland This book is about a 7th grade reading level.  I’d say it is appropriate for some 4 and 5 year old’s, but generally speaking probably 6 and up.  My four year old understood most things, but, of course, the jokes and puns were beyond…

Historical Fiction: The Great Depression

[Part of an ongoing series of historical fiction book lists for students and teachers. For the full list and to see more info, click here.] Lower Grades (K-3) Angels in the Dust-Raven (4.2/0.5) The Babe and I-Adler (3.2/0.5) Born and Bred in the Great Depression-Winter (no level) Don’t Forget Winona-Peterson (2.8/0.5) The Dust Bowl-Booth (3.8/0.5) Dust for…

Historical Fiction: War of 1812

[Part of an ongoing series of historical fiction book lists for students and teachers. For the full list and to see more info, click here.] Lower Grades (K-2) An American Army of Two-Greeson (2.9/0.5) The Battle for St. Michaels-McCully (3.1/0.5) The Battle of New Orleans: The Drummer’s Story-Evans (3.4/0.5) Chet Chestnut-Sargent (4.2/0.5) Snow (White)-Sargent (4.5/0.5) (Description: A…

South African Safari Photos (Pilanesberg National Park)

Here are a photos from the spring in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa. Find a list of historical fiction set in Africa here. These photos are published under a creative commons license (CC BY-SA 4.0). If it seems like the photo isn’t downloading at a res you’d like, please leave a comment with the number of…

Dachau Concentration Camp Photos

Here are images taken by me at Dachau Concentration Camp in 2008. I put them in order of entering the camp, turning left and going clockwise around the site.  Go here for information about each area. Here’s a map of the camp.  Find a list of historical fiction related to the Holocaust here. These photos are…

California History Field Trip: Native Americans and Exploring

My  sister-in-law is homeschooling her 4th and 2nd grader.  She is not a fan of California history (crazy!), so I offered to try and put together some field trips for the kids.  We live in the general LA/San Gabriel Valley area, so you won’t be finding us taking any Sacramento trips. I love my niece…

Historical Fiction: The Civil War

 [Part of an ongoing series of historical fiction book lists for students and teachers. For the full list and to see more info, click here.] Civil War Causes and Events Lower Grades (K-3) Abraham Lincoln-D’Aulaire (5.2/1) A. Lincoln and Me-Borden (3.5/0.5) Abe Lincoln’s Dream-Smith (3.0/0.5) Alec’s Primer-Walter (3.4/0.5) Billy and the Rebel-Hopkinson (3.2/0.5) The Blue and the…