book list

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books – 2nd Time Through

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Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books – 2nd Time Through

We are pretty relaxed/eclectic homeschoolers, but one subject we’ve continued to approach in a more orderly manner over the years is history. We start at the beginning of time and then work through all of history to the present day. Rinse and repeat!

As I’ve stated many times in past posts our main approach to learning history has been through reading living books. This has been a very rewarding way to learn history and has helped me and my kids have a more full picture of history, rather than just learning and regurgitating important dates.

This year we have also added in The Mystery of History as our spine. It’s been a nice addition for us!

This past fall we started the whole history cycle again beginning with Ancient History. And we just recently finished going through Ancient Egypt for the 2nd time. (Here are the activities we did and books we read the first time we studied Ancient Egypt four years ago.)

History Timeline

For the past four years we’ve put all significant historical events on our history timeline (we did this using butcher paper and having the kids draw the events on the paper.)

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books — Having fun with our giant timeline on butcher paper

Since we started the whole history cycle again this past fall, I decided we’d change it up, so instead of drawing historical events on butcher paper, I bought each of the kids their own timeline book. They are really enjoying the timeline books so far!

Big sister (9th grade!) is actually taking world history (using this curriculum) at a local co-op this year, so she doesn’t typically join in on our read-alouds, but she IS doing the timeline book with her younger brothers.

List of Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books (2nd Time Around)

Here are the books we did as read-alouds for Ancient Egypt this year.

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone

Unwrapping the Pharaohs: How Egyptian Archaeology Confirms the Biblical Timeline

Tirzah

To find even more books, check out our book list from the first time we studied Ancient Egypt.

And here are our booklists for Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

Happy reading and learning!

Comparing the Reformation and Renaissance

We studied the Reformation and the Renaissance at the same time. While working up a list of all the books we used to learn about these time periods, I realized it might be helpful to note the differences and similarities between the two periods.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Two different movements happening at the same time

While these two time periods happened simultaneously, they are very different from one another. This is a point that many know. However, if you are studying this for the first time with your kids, it may not be as obvious to you. The Reformation was a religious revolution, and the Renaissance was a secular movement and had to do with the revolution of ideas. The book that I leaned on heavily as a resource to understand these differences, and I highly recommend, is “How Should We Then Live?” by Francis Schaeffer.

Both movements followed the Middle Ages

Both the Renaissance and the Reformation followed the Middle Ages, a darker time of not as much growth. The printing press did not exist in the Middle Ages, and books were not readily available. Literacy rates were below 20%, with mostly the wealthy having access to education and books. During the Middle Ages, people did not have ready access to Bibles to teach themselves scripture, or to other books to learn new things. This was soon to change during the time periods of the Renaissance and the Reformation.

The Renaissance – a secular movement, “rebirth” of ideas

The Renaissance and Reformation were both leaving “tradition” but did so in different ways. Renaissance, which literally means “rebirth” was a secular movement focusing on new ideas, music, art, philosophy, etc. The Renaissance introduced us to the idea of humanism, that is man is at the center of his universe. Obviously, humanism is directly at odds with the Bible. This is one way the Reformation was markedly different than the Renaissance.

The Reformation – Gettings back to the basics of the Bible

Ultimately the Reformation was about getting back to the basics of what the Bible said. When we think of the Reformation, we often think about the Roman Catholic church splitting into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. For me personally, when I think of the Reformation I picture Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to that door. It’s important to note the Reformation already had stirrings for quite some time before this. My favorite book from the book list we used was Morning Star of the Reformation. It is about John Wycliffe who lived from 1320-1384 (long before Martin Luther!)

The Printing Press – a common denominator for both movements

While these time periods were very different from one another, they did have some similarities. They were both leaving tradition and both were heavily impacted by the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press around 1440. Below is a list of books we used to learn more about these time periods.

How Should We Then Live?

A Child’s History of the World

Trumpeter of Krakow

Morning Star of the Reformation

The Golden Book of the Renaissance

Columbus

The World of Columbus and Sons

Shakespeare Stories

Little Pilgrim’s Progress

Pilgrim’s Progress Movie (free on Youtube)

Martin Luther

Luther Movie

Joan of Arc Movie

Check out my other history book lists!

And, how we do history, textbook free!

Book List 7th Grade Girl

If left to her own ways, my daughter, who loves to read, would settle in on modern fantasy books alone. And so, we came up with a compromise that worked quite well last year (her 7th-grade year.)

I created a list of books that I’d like her to read by end of 8th grade. I had her choose a book from that list each month for independent reading. These were in addition to her other favorites that she reads… and re-reads. 🙂

Most of these books started off slow for her but were appreciated by the time she got to the end.

The books on this list can be read by boys or girls, and also kids younger or older than 7th grade. These just happen to be the (assigned) books she read during her 7th-grade year.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Book List for a 7th Grade Girl

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Historical Fiction Novel that takes place in 12th century Korea. I had hoped to do this one as a family read-aloud for the Middle Ages, but we did not get around to it, so I was glad she picked this one!

Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter

A classic story about a disabled orphan who overcomes much.

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter

Sequel to Freckles. This well-loved story is about a poor girl whose love for nature leads her to extraordinary circumstances.

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

This is an adventure story about a boy and his beloved hunting dogs.

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

This classic children’s fantasy novel was written in the 1800s and has stood the test of time. Written by George MacDonald whose works inspired and influenced C.S. Lewis.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Another historical fiction piece that takes place in the Middle Ages. This was a favorite of hers!

Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight

Sophia’s War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi

Historical Fiction novel that takes place during the Revolutionary War.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Giver by Lois Lowry

(Not technically assigned but was received as a gift during the summer and ended up being a favorite!)

Ancient Greece Book List Grades 3-6

Ancient Greece has been fascinating to study. We’ve used a variety of books to deepen our knowledge and understanding of this time in history. A time in history that has contributed to and influenced so many things in our current society.

One of my absolute favorite things about homeschooling is redeeming my own education and getting to dive deep into things that I was only able to “scratch the surface” of during my time in school.

These are the books we used to dive into the world of Ancient Greece. I gave the suggested age range of grades 3-6 but you know your kids best so don’t feel like you need to be confined to that!

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!)

Our “spine” books that we use for all of history:

A Child’s History of the World by Hillyer. A great overview of history.

Story of the World Volume 1 We only do SOTW on audiobook, the kids (and hubs!) just love listening to Jim Weiss.

Other books that cover much of history:

Time Traveler Usborne (this is one to OWN!)

Atlas of World History Another Usborne book!

Non-Fiction Books

Usborne Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece Usborne yet again 🙂

Horrible Histories: The Groovy Greeks and Rotten Roman’s Confession – these are bit much for my taste BUT based on fact that my kids love it and are learning a ton in the process, I have it on the list… I catch my daughter reading and re-reading this one often! I got this one off eBay, not sure why it’s priced so ridiculously high on Amazon!

Archimedes and the Door of Science We were fascinated by Archimedes and his inventions and creativity!

Ancient Greece by Daniel Cohen – Fabulous illustrations and easy to understand text.

Fiction:

D’aulaire book of Greek Myths BEAUTIFUL illustrations!

Theras and His Town A great historical fiction novel contrasting the Spartans and Athenians. Probably the book that surprised us the most. Despite the slow start it ended up being a favorite!

Aesop’s Fables Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.

Aesop’s Fables: A Pop-Up Book of Classic Tales This is a great book to introduce younger kids (though my older kids liked it too!) to Aesop’s fables. The pop outs are incredible.

The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Illiad, also by Rosemary Sutcliff (we actually did not get to this one yet, but is written by the same author as Wanderings of Odysseus)

The Usborne Illustrated Odyssey Can’t get enough of Usborne! This is a simpler version of the Odyssey and a good book to use to introduce it (The Odyssey) to kids.

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Rome

Middle Ages

Chapter Books for Advanced Young Readers

What do you do when you have a younger child who is a voracious reader? When they still can’t tie their shoes yet can read a novel a few years above their grade level. When they’re capable of reading and understand bigger words but still need a relatively innocent storyline.

I can tell you what I did. I went SEARCHING for books that would be appropriate for their maturity level but still challenging enough to keep them interested. Which by the way, is not the easiest task.

My daughter taught herself to read at the age of 5 and sped through books. It became apparent that she needed more than basic picture books (though she still liked them!) My son was a little bit later (started reading around age 7) but went straight from hardly sounding out words like c-a-t and d-o-g to reading chapter books.

This post is all about the books my kids read (and LOVED) in their early years of independent reading. There were plenty of other books that I did not include here. These were the ones that were read over and over and OVER again – our time-tested, and well-loved favorites!

This post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

The Littles by John Peterson

New to me, these were our daughter’s favorite first chapter books and were read countless times by her independently. Telling the story of tiny 6-inch people living within the walls of a family’s (The Bigg’s) house, “The Littles” are delightful and fast-moving chapter books full of adventure. The books are relatively short. This picture does not include all the books.

The Ramona Books by Beverly Cleary

Ahhh Beverly Cleary. The name alone brings a smile to my face. Takes me back 30 years… The Ramona books were some of MY favorites when I was a kid. Really anything Beverly Cleary is good. Other books not listed here that would be perfect for young advanced readers are The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Socks. (Ramona Forever is missing from this picture)

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

I recently discovered Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is part of a whole series! Oh how I wish I had known that when my daughter was younger! Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is an entertaining character who uses imaginative techniques to engage children and help them correct their attitudes and deal with responsibility.

When our oldest was 6 she came bursting into the room telling us her brother was being impudent. When asked what the word meant (which she knew) and how she knew, she replied simply, “I learned it from Mrs. Piggle-wiggle.” Fun times. 🙂

**Make sure to get the ORIGINAL Mrs. Piggle-Wiggles (linked above)

Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

My son gravitated towards these novels. Obviously, Charlotte’s Web is a beloved classic. Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan are lesser known but still well-loved. All of these novels have lots of heart. (Stuart Little not pictured… I couldn’t find it when I was taking the pictures. We have books all over the house and they’re not as organized as I’d like!)

Magic School Bus Books

These Magic School Bus books were pored over by our science-loving daughter for a couple of years. What I love about them is the pictures combined with bite-sized, yet highly informative, pieces of text. The characters all have unique personalities which definitely creates more interest than your typical non-fiction book. These were a great investment!

These are our tried and true chapter books for young independent readers. I’m looking forward to pulling these out for my youngest eventually. He’s not quite there yet but I am prepared for when he gets there!

What are your favorite books for advanced young readers? Are they on this list or not?

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books – 2nd Time Through

History Timeline

List of Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books (2nd Time Around)

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Two different movements happening at the same time

Both movements followed the Middle Ages

The Renaissance – a secular movement, “rebirth” of ideas

The Reformation – Gettings back to the basics of the Bible

The Printing Press – a common denominator for both movements

Book List

Check out my other history book lists!

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Book List for a 7th Grade Girl

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight

Sophia’s War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Giver by Lois Lowry

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Our “spine” books that we use for all of history:

Other books that cover much of history:

Non-Fiction Books

Fiction:

Check out my other history book lists!

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The Littles by John Peterson

The Ramona Books by Beverly Cleary

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

Magic School Bus Books

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