We loved “The Trumpet of the Swan and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh.”

I use Character Concepts along with We Choose Virtues…these are some great resources, thank you!

I loved "The Trumpet of the Swan"!! Read it in our home this last few weeks and I think it's my personal new favorite children's story, it's so delightful

We just finished the worm whisperer, and it was amazing.

Have you considered Math u see? It works really great for my kinesthetic learner, it is a mastery approach.

4:37 wow! that’s the cutest page in this book!

Where the Mountains Meet the Moon was a great audiobook but it's a fantasy/adventure style . I thought it was hard to read and enjoy. The audiobook is definitely the way to go.

Heartwood Hotel was great! Thanks for sharing your book choices!

A lot of books here that I don’t hear about/am not familiar with. We did read Trumpet of the Swan a couple years ago and my kids loved it. One requested to reread it.

I read most of those books, but when I taught 5th grade, we read Hoot, and it was my absolute favorite.

I didn’t realize Last Chance Detectives was a book, I remember loving those movies.

Easton read through The Lemonade Wars series a few summers back and enjoyed them! He also loved Toothpaste Millionaire😊 Have fun!🎉

As toddlers I would read to them constantly! As time has passed I’ve gotten away from reading to them because …well they can read…🥴…lol… fast forward here we are and I want to incorporate living books, and use the Beautiful Feet Geography this year… but I literally can’t get my kids to read😖 I’ve bought books that look cool to me and things that I think they would like… & nope…

Lily was sick recently and I started the audio book of Trumpet of the Swan. She immediately protested and said she didn't want to listen to it, then promptly fell in love and started replaying parts that she said I just HAD to hear. lol There is a book just about to come out that is like a sequel to Frindle.

Is the summer reading for good and beautiful still going on?

On average how long do you read a day? In terms of read-alouds.

Ginger pye is so fun

I recently read The View from Saturday and liked it as an adult but wouldn’t read it to my kids. I think there were only a couple of words I would edit out but overall I think there are better read alouds.

The audiobook for Trumpet of the Swan read by the author is excellent!

We are waiting for The Toothpaste Millionaire in the mail! I wondered if your girls would like the Heartwood Hotel series. We also loved Once Upon a Camel and Firefly Hollow.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a favorite here. Another one we loved that I don't hear much about is Swallows and Amazons, such a fun summer read.

My 13 year old is reading Holes right now :)

If your girls like tall tales, don't forget about Pippi Longstocking! They will laugh the entire time!

My son LOVED The Toothpaste Millionaire and Frindle when he was younger!

After trying to read aloud we listened to the audio of Trumpet of the Swan and realized that’s the way to go! It’s read by the author which I was unsure of how my kids would take to it but his voice really is just perfect for making this story great and touching! ❤️

I love these kind of videos :)

My son just checked out Restart to read from our local library!

For the dog lovers, we received several books written by W. Bruce Cameron, such as Bailey's story. My daughter loves them.

My son read The Secret Door series in two days and loved it. Holes is an excellent book. Esp if your girls haven’t seen the movie. It comes together so perfectly at the end. Thanks for sharing! I get almost all my read aloud book choices from KZfaq videos and comments

I loved Charlottes Web, one of my favorite read alouds. Just read Poppy with my oldest, very good. Currently reading A Wrinkle in Time…have not seen the movie yet, it’s interesting…jury is still out lol The Trumpet of the Swan wasn’t my favorite, but the kids liked it. I love seeing your growth in loving to read chapter books now!!! Love the list! I’m excited to pick our read alouds for next year!!

We have enjoyed charlottes web. My oldest loves animals and i have a feeling this one will make her cry. She cried at the end of the movie. We have the trumpet and the swan to read too.

I'm reading aloud Treasure Island this year to my boys and can't wait! It's such an exciting story and Long John Silver is a wonderful character. The copy you have might actually be unabridged because the novel is less than 200 pages.

Thank you so much. I love what you said about your mom as well. So sweet. ❤

How long did you spend on each chart before she mastered and moved on?

BEST BOOK EVER🎉🎉 Dont know why I didnt find this before last year as well. Now my son will be using this as well..🙂

We used this curriculum for English and Literature in the High School I went to. None of us, especially the ones of us that actually liked to read and write, enjoyed it. The teacher made us do all the activities and homework assignments, which sometimes took well over an hour every night. You're right about your buffet analogy. To me, all the extras tempt the teacher to take a "quantity over quality" approach to teaching. And that's not what a homeschooling family is typically looking for. I guess what I'm saying is if your child likes this curriculum, is doing well and learning from it, you might as well keep them in a traditional school... it's the same.....

I have debated on switching my girls to Abeka because I wasn't sure if TGTB was advanced enough but thanks to your reviews, I think I will stick with TGTB!! I've been so sooo stressed as both of my girls are 2 levels behind and are going to be caught up by the end of next Summer (yes, they are working their booties off- but loving their school). Thank you for the reviews!!

Abeka grade 3 LA or TGATB? I can’t decide!

What I’m learning with “writing” is that it’s a skill that doesn’t seem to click until around grade 6. I’m relieved knowing that because I was panicking during writing in the past.

My 7 year old prefers to do most of the reading. She is a fast reader and I guess I don't go fast enough for her. Lol. Having older children read to younger children is a great way to get everyone involved too and sometimes changing it up, or taking turns keeps everything fresh and exciting. Also, changing the scenery can help. Say you usually read on the couch, try cuddling up in bed or taking it outside to do the readaloud.

How helpful are the teachers manual for math?

Is this just like a chapter a day kinda thing you do?

We did elapsed time in abeka in 1st grade.

Thank you for this review! I absolutely love books reviews. I'm a book lover and live new titles to look into and choose from, so thank you so much. I also noticed you cut your hair and it looks really good

Loved this video and seeing that my kids aren’t the only ones who get the sillies! Your videos have been a huge help in my journey to start homeschooling! ❤

Our oldest loved Mr. Lemoncello and had to read the rest of the series also. Loved your list. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for sharing!

I remember my mom reading us "Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" when I was a kid! Mr. Lemoncello's Library sounds so interesting!

I used TGTB Math level 3 this past school year with my 4th grader and he did really well and started level 4. He really likes it and wants to continue it for his 5th grade year! I just feel like he needs a supplement. Like a page per day he can do for straight review! Do you have any recommendations??

I love this review! Sonlight/Bookshark book lists are gold ✨what a great idea to incorporate the chapter book read alouds to your BF picture books to satisfy your whole age range. 💡