Thursday, May 20, 2010

Favorite Read-Alouds

These are some of our favorite chapter books that we have listened to over the years...

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Mandy by Julie Andrews
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews
The Cricket in Time Square by George Seldon
Mystery in the Night Woods by J. Peterson
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Wind In the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Little House in the Big Woods by L.Ingalls Wilder
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Little Britches by Ralph Moody
The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Carlson
Bunnicula by Deborah & James Howe
A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
A Walk in Wolf Woods by Mary Stewart
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
The 21 Balloons by William Pene du Bois
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Secret World of Og by Pierre Berton
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney
King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
The Water Horse by Dick King Smith
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
Grayson by Lynne Cox
Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Along Came Galileo by Jeanne Bendick
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Great Brain by Scott Fitzgerald
The Little Princess by Frances Hodgon Burnett
Big Susan by Elizabeth Orton Jones
The Animal Family by Randall Jarrell
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgon Burnett
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Riding the Flume by Patricia Curtis Pfitsch
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Gaia Girls Enter the Earth by Lee Wells
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konglisburg

Do you have a favorite read-aloud that is not on our list? If so, please share it with us!

Here is a fun thing too...
Check out Meet Me at the Corner for virtual field trips. You can see The Metropolitan Museum of Art on their latest episode!



Wednesday, May 12, 2010

River Flows in You #2 (polished version:)

Here is one of my favorite piano pieces that I've been working on. I might have posted it before, but now it's even better! I've been working on it with my piano teacher (-link to her website) for my recital a couple weeks ago. Enjoy!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Earth Day at the ENC




Last month we spent Earth Day at the ENC (Environmental Nature Center). The ENC is an entirely green building with a science/nature museum. Beyond the building is a butterfly garden and trails through different plant communities. It is a great place to learn with classes and programs for kids and adults.
On Earth Day we learned: about different plants and why their leaves are shaped in different ways, some plants have a waxy surface so that water droplets stick to their leaves, black sage is beautiful in the Spring with white-lavender buds, moths have hairy looking antennas which help them to smell, lady bugs are in the same family as beetles. We also got to see different microscopic plants and animals under microscopes.
The ENC is a fun place to learn about nature. You should check it out sometime!