Thursday, June 25, 2015

Summer Reading Fun...

As part of Sonlight's 25th Anniversary Blog Party, I thought I'd share some of our favorite summer reading and learning activities.  We typically have a family read aloud going throughout the year.  Summer is a great time to continue this tradition by reading living history, science, and literature books that you didn't quite get to during the school year.  This is also a time I throw in a few classic literature pieces. 

I draw these additional book ideas from Sonlight Reader and Read Aloud lists as well as from Ambleside Online's Free Reading Lists.  When looking at the Sonlight and Ambleside lists, don't box yourself into a certain year or grade.  I choose books above and below our kids grade level.  We usually do our family read aloud in the evening or at bedtime. 


Sonlight Blog Party

Our Family Summer Read Aloud Recommendations

Gentle Ben by Walt Morey
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
The Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy
A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
Cabin on Trouble Creek by Jean Van Leeuwen
Kildee House by Rutherford G. Montgomery
Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates
Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Little Britches by Ralph Moody

Our 2015 Family Summer Read Aloud List

Abraham Lincoln by James Daugherty
All Set Sail by Armstrong Sperry
The True Adventure of Daniel Hall by Diane Stanley
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. 

Other learning activities our family enjoys during summer are nature study, softball/baseball, gardening, and  campfires.


6 comments:

  1. You have listed many of our favorite books. Little Britches, To Kill a Mockingbird, Kildee House. We just finished reading Red Scarf Girl aloud. For the summer we are choosing our own books to read. I found my way here via the SL Blog Party!

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    1. Thanks for reading Heidi! I remember pre-reading Red Scarf Girl years ago for our older girls. I not only enjoyed it, but I also learned a great deal!

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  2. Swallows and Amazons, Understood Betsy and Mountain Born are some of my favorite SL books! Check out The Year of Miss Agnes, The Story of Eli Whitney and Mrs Piggle-Wiggle for more great stories! The first is a tear jerker (for me but I'm sappy), the second is not only informative but inspiring (persevere when the going gets tough) and the third is just plain fun!

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    1. Thanks Sheila, we have also read the books you suggested. The Story of Eli Whitney is fabulous!!

      Blessings,
      Melissa

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  3. Thank you for sharing book titles you recommend. I am always looking for great books we may have missed out on.

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