booklists

Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Booklist: Medieval History to The Gulf War

26 May

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

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

1. This booklist 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. Instead, this will be a reference list for me to utilize in weekly book selections and in chapter book read alouds or read alones.
3. The pictured links in the twenty-four week lists are arranged by picture books first followed by chapter book selections.
4. Additional chapter books, audio books, missionary studies, and fine arts books, including a poetry section, are listed after the twenty-four week suggestions.
5. I will not be providing a download of this list, but encourage you to write these suggestions in under the Memoria section of your Foundations Guides.

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:

What Really Happened In Medieval Times is a wonderful resource filled with 8 biographical short stories on figures such as: Joan of Arc, Saint Patrick, Martin Luther, and more.

Week 2:

Geography: English Channel

Week 3:

Geography Selections: France

I Juan de Pareja is a chapter book set in Spain and based on a true story. This is one you will want to read to the entire family ages 8/9 and up! A personal favorite of mine.

Week 4:

Week 5:

The Book of Boy holds some religious beliefs that you may want to clarify or discuss. Perhaps it is a good one to read like a book club with your older students such as 5th and 6th grade. Check out this review over at Redeemed Reader.

Timeline:

Week 6:

Week 7:

Week 8:

Week 9:

Geography Selections:

Week 10:

Geography Selections:

Week 11:

I was unable to find many resources on the French Revolution, with the exception of the two chapter books listed above (one of which was suggested by a reader), so I have opted to provide more books featuring France instead. Please leave your suggestions in the comments section. I welcome them!

Week 12:

Week 13:

Week 14:

Week 15:

Week 16:

Week 17:

Week 18:

Week 19:

A Single Shard is one of my all-time favorite books. Perfect for a meaningful read aloud!

Week 20:

Inside Out and Back Again is a book written in prose. The protagonist is based on the author’s real life experience moving to Alabama as a refugee after Vietnam. This book will provide many good discussion points about the treatment of people who are different from us in nationality, traditions, and religion. Check out Redeemed Reader’s post for discussion questions!

I suggest these two incredible books by Gary Schdmidt for read alouds. The Wednesday Wars for upper elementary and middle school, and the second for middle school due to sensitive content. These are two of my very favorite books! The Wednesday Wars ties in Shakespeare as well which is a bonus!

Week 21:

My Brigadista Year is a coming of age story set in Cuba just before the Bay of Pigs. Probably a good fit for 5th or 6th graders knowing that propaganda is woven in the story as a reality of the time and setting. However, I loved this story because it tells how Cuba became a literate nation in such a short amount of time. You can read more about this book over at Common Sense Media.

Week 22:

Week 23:

Week 24:

Audio Resources:

Additional chapter books to read aloud or to read alone:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is the first of a four book series by Andrew Peterson. Read more about the series here. The entire set is found in this book:

Missionary Biographies set during or just after WWII:

Supplemental Geography:

Books about our Great Artists:

Music for Composers Study:

Poetry:

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Five Ways I Make Time to Read

21 Feb

People, especially fellow moms, often ask me how I find time to read. In fact, I’ve been asked a few times this week.

That’s an interesting question. When do I read exactly? I have to stop and think about the question because, frankly, I feel my day isn’t complete if I don’t read for at least twenty minutes or more. It may seem silly that I don’t have a set routine I adhere to, or maybe crazier still that I am unaware of such a routine.

So, after some head scratching, here are five ways that I make time to read each day amidst meeting needs of home and family and homeeducating our children.

Read in 10-20 minute spurts. I grab moments to read any chance I get. I know reading fills my emotional and mental tank, so I give myself permission to read here and there throughout the day: while the kids are playing or working on independent tasks, frequently for a few minutes just after dinner, and certainly after the kids go to bed for the evening. Another wonderful way to do this is by listening to audiobooks. Two audio books I have listened to this year are Wonder and Pictures of Hollis Woods. I read these while exercising, folding laundry, and anytime I was driving solo.
Read with a purpose. Once I started compiling the Orphan Adoption Book List, I was reading with a purpose. The list really focused my selections. Now I am working on a few more booklists and once again it helps me read with intention and drive. Additionally, once I discover an author that I enjoy, I read as many of his or her books as I can find. This year’s author is Wendell Berry. I fell in love with Jayber Crow of the Port William Membership and followed the book with Hannah Coulter, also set in Port William, Kentucky.
Put down the cell phone. Perhaps the greatest distraction from daily reading for me is social media. Particularly Instagram and, less so, Facebook. I typically waste the first precious moments of reading time catching up on my IG feed. I find that putting the phone away affords me much more time for reading. I don’t mind my kids finding me with my nose in a book near as much as my face in a cell phone. Believe me, they see me doing both regularly.
Give everyone a daily break. Ah naptime, you are my favorite! While two of our four children are too old for naptime, we continue to adhere to a quiet break each day. Typically for an hour or so all children will be in their rooms for either nap or an activity of their choice. Most of the time the kids use their quiet hour for listening to audiobooks or reading to themselves. While the kids are in their rooms I read for at least 20 minutes. It is my experience that housework will wait.
Take a book and leave a book. I grab whatever book I am reading and throw it in my purse as we head out the door. This way if there is a snippet of time I am prepared to read instead of scroll (see number 3 above). Also, I leave a few books in my car, in so doing I am not caught without a book to read. That is how I came to read Miracles on Maple Hill (*highly recommended). I had left my current read at home before leaving for my daughter’s dance class. Luckily, I had this gem of a book in the car to read while waiting on her to finish.

With these five methods of increasing my reading time I have already read 11 books this year! I am listing what I have read so far. Maybe you will find one or two books to add to your night stand or keep in your car. (Click here if reading in a browser.)

It’s your turn, how do you make time for reading?