Classical Conversations Reading List Cycle 3 American History Weeks 1-12

13 Jun

Welcome all Classical Conversation families! Additionally, welcome to homeschooling families that use this list to supplement their study of American history!

A few notes about the arrangement of books in this post:

  1. This book list is a tool and not a checklist! Please use it to supplement your morning time routines or studies of CC memory work.
  2. My family will not read all these books listed each week (there are so many more I could list!). Instead, this will be a reference list for us to utilize in weekly book selections and in chapter book read alouds or read alones. (Note: We ceased using Classical Conversations last year and have transitioned to a more Charlotte Mason approach; however, I know what a valuable tool book lists are for our family so I have continued to complete the 3 cycle book lists for families like yours! )
  3. Additional books are listed after the twelve week suggestions which can be used throughout the cycle. 
  4. I will not provide a download of this list, but encourage you to write these suggestions in the Memoria section of your Foundations Guides.
  5. This list is primarily a history based reading list in addition to books relating to fine arts and geography. I am not as familiar with science read alouds.

It is my hope that this list proves to be a wonderful resource for your family enabling you to make memories around the shared experience of reading great books. Enjoy!

*All links below are affiliate links.

Week 1:

Week 2: 

Week 3: 

Week 4:

Week 5:

This book would be a wonderful selection for the entire year for a masters level student.

Week 6: 

Week 7:

Week 8:

Week 9:

California:

Week 10:

Week 11:

Week 12:

Additional Read Alone’s or Family Read Alouds:

History Spines: 

Great little booklet full of wonderful reading lists set during each time period in American History through WWII.


If you only want to read from one book a little each day during Cycle 3, I recommend purchasing this book. The illustrations and text will engage a wide range of ages. Great for a Morning Time read aloud.

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Picture Book Biographies of 30 Influential Americans

12 May

Picture books pack a punch for the whole family. Yes, even your teenagers! The beautiful illustrations and text with rich vocabulary targets a wide age range which is especially good for larger families. With picture books, you gain a great overview of a topic in a very short amount of time. Plus, if something or someone particularly peaks your interest, now you have a springboard from which to find more books on that topic. 

Since summer is quickly approaching, I have compiled a list of 30 picture book biographies of influential Americans, most likely many of whom you have never heard of before. Head to your local library or the Amazon links below and choose which people of American History you most want your family to learn about this summer. From artists to architects, authors to library advocates,  computer programmers to female firefighters, and inventors to scientists almost all fields of interest are covered!   

Below you will find the biographies listed in chronological order and divided into women and men. Enjoy your summer read aloud time!

Evolutionary time frames mentioned.

For more picture book biographies please see this post on the Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire books and this post on Kadir Nelson’s books. 

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Using Books to Cultivate a Heart for Orphans and Adoption

4 Nov

My passion for adoption started growing long before my adult years. It came as a result of the planting of the Holy Spirit, and it also came in the form of story. Books cultivate life experiences in a safe environment and develop compassion and sympathy, passion and purpose, in children prior to their ability to act on those feelings.

As we enter into the cooler, cozier days of November, it is a perfect time to introduce, or perhaps continue the narration of, stories to our children which cultivate a heart for orphans and adoption. There is a lengthy list at Good Reads and here are a few of my favorites to get you started. I tend to recommend these as read aloud books to be shared with the whole family in order to encourage dialogue. Not all of these books are serious, but they all prompt us to think about orphans and begin cultivating a heart for orphan care and adoption in our homes. As with all books we share with our children, please be sure and preview the content to make sure it is age appropriate and sensitive to the specific environment of your child’s history and emotional maturity.

Don’t have children of your own? That’s okay too! As C.S. Lewis stated, A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.

Read Alouds for K4-3rd grade or older:


Read Aloud Books for 3rd and Up:

 

 

Older students (young adult):

 

One more that is on my to-be-read pile and was recently highlighted in this week’s episode of the Read Aloud Revival Podcast is:

Which books have you used to bring awareness of orphan care and adoption into your life and home? What books would you add to this list? I have always gravitated to books about orphans and in the coming weeks will unfold as much as I am presently allowed about our current adoption journey. Stay tuned!

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