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Middle Grades, Historical Fiction (and more!) - September 2020 Reading Recap

So many books in September!

These books went along with preparations for SQUILT LIVE! music appreciation lessons, an increasing interest in stories of immigrants, and historical fiction. Of course, I always throw in a little “fluff”, too.

Audiobooks are becoming a bigger part of my reading as well (I really look forward to folding laundry so I can spend time with my book!).

If you’ve yet to check out the monthly book lists I keep, please take a look. I have a feeling if you’ve landed on my blog you and I might have similar reading tastes.

Why do I read so much? Why is it so important to me to carve out time each day to read?

I read to broaden my horizons and become a better homeschooling parent. I read for relaxation. I read for socialization (book people are awesome people!).

September 2020 Reading Recap at Homegrown Learners #homeschool #reading

Get out your notepad, or open up Goodreads - and let’s talk about the books from September.

Honestly, I get giddy sharing what I’ve read with you!

Books for Middle/High School Grades

Each time I pick up a middle grades book I wonder why I don’t read more of them. (Don’t worry, I have a couple on my list for October!)

The Mozart Question

This audiobook was accompanied by beautiful music from the London Philharmonic Orchestra - such a treat! This story is a fictional account of musicians in a concentration camp during WWII. There is much to be learned about history, the violin, and several prominent works of music.

Civil War Drummer Boy

We used this short elementary & middle grades chapter book for our study of American music in SQUILT LIVE! John Lincoln Clem was an actual Civil War drummer boy. This book should be integral to a study of the Civil War!

We Are Not From Here

After reading American Dirt, I wanted to read more about the immigrant experience. I would only recommend this book for older high school students. There is a lot of graphic violence and language in the book - but I found it to be a very realistic portrayal of the plight of immigrants. I think I actually preferred this book over American Dirt.

Historical Fiction

I love this genre - but I’ve been trying to spread my reading wings a bit. This month only contains two historical fiction books.

Secrets of a Charmed Life

Susan Meissner is one of my favorite authors. This book did not disappoint. It takes place in London during the blitz of WWII. I was a bit tired of WWII books, but this book was completely wonderful!

A Land Remembered

As a native Floridian, I found this book extremely interesting. Spanning the years from the Civil War to the present, this is the story of one family and how they made their way (and fortune) in the Florida landscape.

Non Fiction

My Dearest Dietrich

I recommend this book if you’re interested in the life - and particularly the love life - of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. From what I understand, most of what takes place in this book is very close to the truth. Quite interesting!

The Girl Who Smiled Beads

This was a hard (a good kind of hard) read. Clemantine Wamariya writes poignantly about living through the Rwandan genocide. We meet her as a young girl and follow her as a refugee through many countries in Africa to her eventually settling in the United States in her teens. This event in history is no longer just a name to me - this book gave it a name and face that will always stay with me.

The Reading Life

“Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realise the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realise it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others. Reality, even seen through the eyes of many, is not enough. I will see what others have invented.” ~ CS Lewis

I listened to this book - and will listen to it many more times I am sure. Because CS Lewis is the author you know there were so many “aha!” moments… it only took me 90 minutes to listen to this book - well worth the time!

Counterpoint

This book fell completely flat for me. While I did learn a lot about J.S. Bach (in particular his Goldberg Variations), I found it was hard to read a book written by someone with a fundamentally different worldview than my own. The author is a self-proclaimed atheist, so as he is trying to make sense of his mother’s death, it stands to reason that I would deal with the same thing in a very different way. I found myself getting a bit annoyed with him by the end of the book, but I did finish it and I’m glad I stuck it out until the end.

Books Just For Fun

P.S. I Love You

What a feel-good book this was! Once I finished it I also watched the movie on Amazon Prime. This is the perfect way to just check out from real life for a bit!

Room-maid

This book was part of Amazon Prime Reading - Prime members can choose from several free books to read on Kindle each month. I thoroughly enjoyed Room-maid. It was all fluff, little thinking involved - a fun romance. Perfect!

Anxious People

Wow! Fredrik Backman always delivers a story that is humorous but incredibly poignant at the same time. If you enjoyed A Man Called Ove, then I think you will like this book. The audio (via Libro.fm) was exceptional!

What You Wish For

Katherine Center is another one of my go-to feel-good authors. I flew through this book in just two days. It is a sweet romance, but with some serious issues we all face at the core.

Sources for Books

Many people wonder where I obtain my books - here is a list of my favorite sources for physical, digital, and audio books.

  • Amazon (I order lots of physical books here, but also take advantage of the Amazon Prime Reading freebies each month.)

  • The Library (I use the physical library and also the Overdrive and Libby apps)

  • NetGalley - this book review site has been great. You can request and obtain books for review. I generally try to do about one book per month through Netgalley.

  • Libro.fm - I am part of the Libro.fm influencers program, which entitles me to several free audios each month. I also have a membership because I can get audiobooks I want much cheaper this way! I love their selection and the app is super simple and reliable!

I’d love to know what you’ve been reading!

Leave me a recommendation in the comments below.

5 Simple Ways to Enhance Learning With Creativity

One of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is the creativity we are able to include in our children’s learning.

For some parents this is exciting. For others, however, it is daunting.

Some of us are hard-wired for creativity (that would be me - sometimes almost to my detriment!). Others of us are much more straightforward thinkers who need some encouragement in the creativity department (this describes my husband).

No matter your own personal level of creativity, it is a fact that creativity infuses our lives (and our children’s lives) with depth and richness.

When we left the public schools to homeschool it was such a treat that I could exercise limitless creativity in my children’s education.

Today I’d like to share some very simple ways that you can get creative, too.

Creative #Homeschooling - 5 Simple Ways to Enhance Learning Through Creativity

5 Simple Ways to Get Creative in Your Homeschool

For the sake of this post, let’s take a history subject (it seems that history has always been the spine of our homeschool) - let’s pretend we are studying The Civil War.

Now, I’d like to show you 5 ways to get creative studying this particular area, and you can apply these principles to any historical subject.

(Don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to these 5 areas - there are many more, and you will find yourself getting more creative with practice! Include nature study, geography, field trips - the sky is the limit!)

5 Ways to Get Creative in Your #Homeschool

Living Books

Look for a few quality living books about The Civil War to get your children engaged. (After a while you will become a pro at this - I’m always on the lookout for living books at books sales, thrift stores, the library, etc… It’s great to build up a library so your children can feast on the books!)

Keep a basket or shelf full of the books you will be using for your study so your children can grab them when the mood strikes.

To help you locate Living Books:

(For the Civil War, I love Follow the Drinking Gourd (picture book) and Gettysburg (chapter book). There are SO MANY to choose from - but hopefully this gives you the general idea.)

Music

As a music teacher, I am always looking for ways to incorporate music appreciation and history! Music speaks LOUDLY to many children - it might be just the hook you need to get one of your children excited about a subject.

  • Research music/composers from The Civil War - who was writing music in the mid-late 1800s, both in America and abroad? What if you search “Civil War and music”? You will be amazed at what comes up!

  • I just finished a book - Civil War Drummer Boy - a true story about a 9-year-old Union drummer.

  • Use a chronological music resource to help - my curriculum, SQUILT Music, is organized by era to go along with history studies! Members of SQUILT LIVE! also have access to all of our lessons that are archived by era to make designing your own music appreciation curriculum EASY! We are currently learning about The Spirit of America in our lessons - using a song from The Civil War!

  • Can you use a service like Spotify to find a playlist of music from The Civil War? Use this as the backdrop of your days!

Art/Hands-On

Art is another simple way to get creative in your homeschool. And don’t worry - YOU don’t have to be artistic to accomplish this with your children.

Going back to the Civil War, I would start thinking about ways you can help your children learn about The Civil War with art.

Ideas:

Are you starting to get a feel for how to get creative with learning?

Games

Games are probably the most FUN way to get creative with homeschooling - and your kids will think you’re simply amazing.

  • What about games children played during the Civil War? Do some research and learn a few with your own children.

  • Here’s a free printable Civil War game for kids.

  • How about a family game night where kids share their learning with dad or grandma & grandpa and play games?


Are you feeling more creative yet?


Food

This one is super popular in my house!

What type of cooking activity or meal can you plan that coincides with the Civil War?


Once you start incorporating creativity into your homeschool, I think you’ll find it comes more naturally. You will also find that children are the most creative of all - let them design their own learning and see what fun it will be!


Go forth and homeschool creatively!


Way to #Homeschool Creatively