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The Learning Basket

You Are Your Child's First and Best Teacher

Kittens for Keeps: Beaches, Kittens and Making Choices

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There are only three books that we haven’t yet read on the Before Five in a Row (BFIAR) booklist: My Blue Boat by Chris Demarest, The Quiet Way Home by Bonny Becker, and Jenny’s Surprise Summer by Eugenie. All are out of print and have exorbitant price tags around the web; I’m not going to feel bad about not having those on our bookshelf – or so I tell myself! When my … [Read more...]

Doctor De Soto: Going to the Dentist

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I prepare my children for new experiences the best way I know how – through books, music, and games. That’s how we were able to enjoy a long road trip to Baguio City and a second first-time on an airplane. For Little T’s first visit to the dentist last year (yes, this is a much-delayed blog post!), I filled our Learning Basket with three books, cotton balls, cardboard, a … [Read more...]

Lentil: Harmonicas, Lemons, and Charcoal Pencils

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Lentil, published in 1940, is a classic picture book by multi-awarded author-illustrator Robert McCloskey. Lentil is a young boy who decides to become an expert at playing the harmonica after realizing that he can't sing, or even whistle! His harmonica-playing leads him to become the town hero when the town band fails to welcome a very important person at the train station.The … [Read more...]

Delighting in Poetry

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I have never had the pleasure of reading poetry for pleasure. Throughout my school career, poems were just something to memorize and to recite in front of a class - "Three Little Kittens" in Grade 3, "Invictus" in high school. It was distressing more than it was pleasurable!As a homeschooling mama, I am always challenged to overcome old fears and prejudices, to go beyond my … [Read more...]

Roll Out The Red Carpet For Father’s Day

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  I love planning learning activities around great books, even out-of-print ones. Relating a story and its elements to what is happening to us and the world around makes it more relevant to our lives. One such book is The Red Carpet by Rex Parkin, which I thought would be perfect for Father’s Day. Published in 1948 and part of the Before Five in a Row (BFIAR)booklist, … [Read more...]