Is the year flying by for anyone else? It feels like it was just New Years and now we are already approaching March. Where has winter gone?
In Georgia, it really feels like we haven't had a winter at all except for a couple of really cold weekends. Mostly the thermometer has been up and down, up and down again. My in-laws, however, live in South Dakota where there has been much more snow than we can even imagine. My kids enjoy looking at the weather app to see the difference in weather between where we are and different places our family lives across the U.S.
So in addition to topics related to our Classical Conversations memory work and other March events, I've included a few books on wacky weather in my list of children's literature for March.
There are some interesting topics in this list of children's literature for March.
Did you know there is a National Anthem Day?!
We occasionally sing the national anthem at our homeschool co-op to expose the children to it and allow them to grow in familiarity with our national anthem. March 3rd, National Anthem Day, is as good a day as any to play the national anthem for your children and read some good books about the history of this song and it's author. The Star Spangled Banner would work well for a quick read aloud, The Story of the Star Spangled Banner is a board book for your younger children, and Rush Revere and the Star Spangled Banner would be great for independent reading for older children.
Read Across America Day, in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, is March 2nd.
Our family loves Dr. Seuss books. There are so many to choose from! I selected a few for this month's list, but this is just a start at what all is available. I included What Pet Should I Get? because you may not be familiar with this one. It was discovered after Dr. Seuss' death and published in 2015. My son enjoyed reading the Who Was Dr. Seuss? biography. And The Boy on Fairfield Street is nice picture book biography about Dr. Seuss that we read during morning time.
Several of the books I've included for St. Patrick's Day are about the history behind this holiday.
My six year old frequently asks me, "when is the next holiday?" She questions why some holidays are for presents, there's no school on some holidays but there is on others, and some go by with little fanfare at our house. And honestly, I don't know the history of some holiday traditions like I wish I did. We learned about St. Valentine last month, and this month we will use books like Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland and St. Patrick's Day: Parades, Shamrocks, and Leprechans to learn more about the history of St. Patrick's Day.
And we have 3.14, Pi Day.
There were some Pi book recommendations included in the Children's Literature for February that you may want to refer back to as they related to our CC memory work. There are a couple more books about Pi listed below for older students.
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. - Dr. Seuss
This list of Children's Literature for March includes picture books and chapter books on the following topics:
That align with our Classical Conversations memory work:
Vietnam and the Vietnam War
The Cold War and Ronald Reagan
English grammar conjunctions
Light
Pi, Circumference, & math inspiration
Great composers & scientists
Star Spangled Banner & Francis Scott Key, National Anthem Day, March 3rd
Dr. Seuss & Read Across America Day, March 2nd
St. Patrick's Day, March 17th
Pi Day, March 14th
There's a variety of books here for all ages. While this list is geared towards Classical Conversations Foundations and Essentials aged children, there are a number of books for older children as well as many that would work for read alouds for your whole family.
Notice that The Butter Battle Book is a Dr. Seuss book about the Cold War. And Dr. Seuss Goes to War is a book of WWII political cartoons by Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) that you could read and discuss with your older children. How interesting that we have Classical Conversations and Dr. Seuss Day coinciding this month!
Math-terpieces: The Art of Problem Solving is a unique book that uses famous artwork to help children work on their mathematical problem solving skills. We have this one on our bookshelves and pull it out from time to time when we are studying famous artists.
(When you click on the pictures, you'll be taken to the Amazon listing and can see the targeted age range of each book.)
Children's Literature for March
Wild Weather (Extreme Nature)Magic School Bus Presents: Wild Weather: A Nonfiction Companion to the Original Magic School Bus Series
Wacky Weather: A Flip-The-Flap Book. Dr. Seuss (Dr Seuss - A Lift-the-Flap Book)
Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today?: All About Weather (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library)
Secrets of Winter Secrets (A Shine-A-Light Book )
The Lotus Seed
Two Lands, One Heart: An American Boy's Journey to His Mother's Vietnam
Grandfather's Dream
The Wall (Reading Rainbow Books)
DK Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War
The Vietnam War: An Interactive Modern History Adventure (You Choose: Modern History)
Simple History: The Vietnam War
Simple History: The Cold War
Who Was Ronald Reagan?
The Story of Ronald Reagan
The Remarkable Ronald Reagan: Cowboy and Commander in Chief
The Butter Battle Book: (New York Times Notable Book of the Year) (Classic Seuss)
But and For, Yet and Nor: What Is a Conjunction? (Words Are Categorical)
Just Me & 6,000 Rats: A Tale of Conjunctions (Language Adventures Book)
The Magic School Bus: Gets A Bright Idea, The: A Book About Light
The Usborne Internet - Linked Library of Science Light, Sound & Electricity
Science With Light and Mirrors (Science Activities)
On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein
Lives of the Scientists: Experiments, Explosions (and What the Neighbors Thought)
The Most Magnificent Thing
The Joy of Pi
Piece of Pi: Wit-Sharpening, Brain-bruising, Number-Crunching Activities with Pi (Grades 6-8)
Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream (Marilyn Burns Brainy Day Books)
Math Curse
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (A Math Adventure)
Math-terpieces: The Art of Problem-Solving
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
Why Beethoven Threw the Stew (And Lots More Stories about the Lives of Great Composers)
Beethoven (Famous Children)
Ludwig Van Beethoven (Revised Edition) (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)
Brahms (Famous Children (Paperback))
Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought)
Story of the Orchestra : Listen While You Learn About the Instruments, the Music and the Composers Who Wrote the Music!
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Book & CD)
The Star-Spangled Banner (Reading Rainbow Books)
Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner
The Story of
Francis Scott Key's Star-Spangled Banner (Step into Reading)
The Sneetches and Other Stories
Horton Hears a Who!
Oh, Say Can You Say?
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!
What Pet Should I Get? (Classic Seuss)
Dr Seuss's Sleep Book
Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel
Who Was Dr. Seuss?
The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (I Can Read It All by Myself)
Green Eggs and Ham
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
The Story of St. Patrick: More Than Shamrocks and Leprechauns
St. Patrick's Day in the Morning
St. Patrick's Day: Parades, Shamrocks, and Leprechauns (Finding Out about Holidays)
Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato
St. Patrick's Day Alphabet
Resources for Introducing the Orchestra
I've listed a few books above to help you introduce your children to the orchestra. But don't forget about the many wonderful resources and ideas Mary has already put together for incorporating the orchestra into your studies.
And her newest resource in the SQUILT family, Meet the Instruments: Explore the Orchestra is a beautiful way to introduce your children to the orchestra. Just what you need for your Foundations students!
I hope you find this list of Children's Literature for March helpful for your homeschool. Go ahead and choose some to check out from the library or add them to your personal home library. Enjoy!