Book recommendations

We've shared many reviews of books we've found and loved.

Science

Beast Academy Science is here!

A first look at the first Beast Academy Science book, 3A.

Reading

Animal Farm

George Orwell's dystopian classic, with a ten-year-old. Terrible idea, or great idea?

Book recommendations

The Knowledge Gap

A book review of The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler, about the lack of focus on building a foundation of general knowledge in modern education, despite cognitive science pointing to its importance.

Book recommendations

Shakespeare for young kids

I've been introducing Wanda to Shakespeare over the last few years, and we recently leveled up to the real deal: Shakespeare's actual words.

Book recommendations

An Annotated Alice detour

Alice would approve as we set aside our lesson to chase after a rabbit... or in this case, a walrus and a carpenter.

Curriculum

Exploring the World through Story

First impressions of Exploring the World through Story, a literature-based curriculum.

Book recommendations

Book Day Supreme

A very special Book Day: a field trip to Alibi Bookshop in Vallejo!

Book recommendations

Books we've loved in 2021

We're sharing some highlights from the reading we've done over the past year.

Writing

Writing paragraphs, The Writing Revolution style

In some ways, writing is a strength area for Wanda. In other ways, it's the area where she needs the most support.

History

If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving

A new, outstanding, Native-authored book about what really happened at Plymouth in 1621 is a welcome shift in teaching about Thanksgiving.

Art

Art and history for kids: Vincent's Starry Night & 30,000 Years of Art

When we have an open squishy slot [https://homeschool.humuhumu.com/our-daily-routine/] in an afternoon, and I want a little something to fill it, one of the things I'll reach for is the book Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories: a Children's History of

Language arts

My language arts spackle: Nitty-Gritty Grammar

I like to reach for this handy grammar reference, whether it's to fill a gap in our day, or one in my daughter's understanding.

Book recommendations

Ancestor Approved

Wanda and I have been reading Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, an anthology of short stories written by Native and First Nations authors, and I highly recommend it. Graphic showing the characters in the stories, and where they're coming from. Each of the fictional stories is about

Book recommendations

The Curie Society

The Curie Society [https://eepuniverse.com/title/the-curie-society/] is a new graphic novel from MIT Press [https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/curie-society], the first in a planned series. It is about three brilliant young women who are recruited into a (fictional) covert organization, created by Marie Curie herself back in

Book recommendations

The science of learning

The book "Why Don't Students Like School?" by Daniel T. Willingham has been a huge help in understanding the science behind how our brains learn.

Language arts

Learning spelling through analysis

Instead of using an off-the-shelf spelling curriculum, we're doing our own spelling analysis, focused on words we care most about.

Language arts

The Writing Revolution

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really have Wanda do writing assignments. She writes—ooh de lally, she writes!—but on her own time, driven by her own creative ideas. Lots of stories, scripts, songs, and comics. (Oh how I wish she would let me share them with

Book recommendations

Book Day!

BOOK DAY BOOK DAY BOOK DAY!!! These just arrived from Alibi Bookshop [https://alibibookshop.com/] (order from them online here: https://bookshop.org/shop/alibibookshop), except for a couple I picked up from the library this morning. BOOK DAY! 💬Join the discussion [https://www.facebook.com/humuhumu/posts/10160170462412699] of

Math

Math for Smarty Pants

Book recommendation, this one comes from my dear friend Shona Spitfire! It’s Math for Smarty Pants, by Marilyn Burns. Shona is a longtime school teacher, she used it for many years with her fourth graders. It has the philosophy that everyone is a smarty pants, they just may not

Math

Mindset Mathematics, and What's the Point of Math?

I’ve recently purchased two math books that I’m really happy with, so I’m sharing them with you: Mindset Mathematics and What's the Point of Math? I haven’t changed Wanda’s math curriculum—that’s still Beast Academy, and I still love it. These are

Sex ed

Go with the Flow

Book recommendation: Go with the Flow, by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann. It’s a graphic novel about four friends who are trying to shift the culture at their high school to break down the stigma around menstruation, and get hygiene supplies in the bathrooms. It’s a great story,

Book recommendations

Philosophy for Kids

Homeschooling book recommendation: Philosophy for Kids, by David A. White. I bought our copy from Alibi Bookshop [https://alibibookshop.com/], via their online shop: https://bookshop.org/shop/alibibookshop (search for “philosophy for kids”) It’s a book of 40 discussion questions that serve as an introduction to philosophical thinking

Sex ed

Sex education

I’ve always been pretty here’s-the-facts about human bodies and reproduction, enough that one day when Wanda was six, we were driving somewhere, and she said “you know, thinking about how bodies with a penis also have sperm... and bodies with vulvas have eggs... and eggs and sperm are

History

Sacagawea

A quick post for Indigenous Peoples' Day: Recently, in the space of one week, Wanda and I encountered two instances (one in a kids' book, the other in a kids' movie) of Sacagawea being used as a joke about her name being hard to pronounce. We both

Science

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding

Here's my biggest-bang-for-the-buck curriculum: Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. The name may not be catchy, but it's accurate—it does what it says on the tin. In homeschooling circles it's commonly shortened to BFSU. I love this book, because it truly does step you