We’re one month into the fall/winter holiday season. Two more to go! We’ve been reading our favorite fall and Halloween books in October and discovering a few new favorites. Now it’s time to enjoy some Thanksgiving books and perhaps some apple cider! I normally don’t do themed Morning Baskets but I do add in a few seasonal favorites here and there. I keep a pile of other seasonal books off to the side for us to explore outside of Morning Basket time. Here’s a look at November’s Morning Basket.
November Morning Basket History Read Aloud Books
History and Read Alouds
The Secret of the Sealed Room – My oldest is doing American History this year with Bookshark’s level 3. This is the read aloud that we’ll be sharing from that program. It’s a historical fiction mystery involving Benjamin Franklin. She’s all about mysteries right now so I think she’ll really enjoy it.
Johnny Tremain – This is another historical fiction read aloud from Bookshark’s level 3. Storyteller has really been looking forward to learning more about the American Revolution so she’s going to be excited to see that we’re starting to dive into it. We’ll be using Brave Writer’s Arrow for this book which teaches language arts through copywork and dictation. I love being able to cover language arts with our other read aloud books.
Winnie the Pooh – Comedian is doing Bookshark’s level K and this is the read aloud we’ll be enjoying from that program. I think Winnie the Pooh stories are easier for younger kids to understand when listening to the audio book so I was excited to see our library has it available. I remember it being tough to read aloud back when I read it to Storyteller.
You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on the Mayflower! – Since we’re doing American History this year with Storyteller, I’m adding in all the You Wouldn’t Want books I can find that fit into the time period. My kids love this series and they always head to that shelf each library trip.
Stepping into Louisa May Alcott’s World – I picked this short biography to go with her “An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving” that we’ll be reading as part of our seasonal books.
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November Morning Basket: Math, Science and Nature Study
Math, Science and Nature Study
Inside the Lives of Scientists- Experiments, Explosions (and What the Neighbors Thought) – This year, I’m adding in a few books that are collections of short biographies of scientists. Young kids don’t need to dig really deep into any one person unless there’s someone that really sparks their interest. This book covers 18 scientists. This is the third month that we’ll be using this book in our Morning Basket and we should finish it soon. We’ve been reading about a few different scientists each month. I don’t follow a schedule with these types of books. I just read a section or two every week.
Among the Forest People – I absolutely love this book! It is a collection of beautiful short stories about forest animals. It teaches about the habits and characteristics of the animals. There’s also a lesson, or moral, to each story. If you like this book, be sure to check out Among the Pond People and Among the Meadow People. We’ll be using all three this year in our nature studies.
You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Math! – Math is not a favorite subject for Storyteller. She does fine with it but she doesn’t like it. I’m adding in more fun through books and games outside of our regular math lessons. I was excited to see one of their favorite book series has a math book.
November Morning Basket: Music and Art
Art and Music
I, Vivaldi – This is a beautiful picture book about the composer Antonio Vivaldi. Aside from listening to classical music this year, we are also reading about several composers. This month’s composer is Vivaldi and we’ll be listening to The Four Seasons on Prime Amazon Music.
When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot – Many years ago I did a report about Vaslav Nijinsky for a high school arts focused history class. The story behind the Rite of Spring has stuck with me ever since. This is a simple picture book which introduces that story. The back pages have more information about the artists and the Rite of Spring ballet. We’ll also listen to the music and watch one of the many videos of the ballet on YouTube.
ARTistic Pursuits – This is part of our planned curricula for this year but we haven’t touched it yet. I’m putting it in the Morning Basket so that we can see it everyday and be reminded to take some time for art. The girls just like to play with the art supplies but I’d like us to do at least some structured art lessons too. If we get into a solid habit with this then we’ll add back in The Usborne Book of Famous Artists and The Usborne Book of Famous Paintings.
November Morning Basket Poetry
Poetry and Nursery Rhymes
A Child’s Introduction to Poetry – Poetry geared toward Storyteller’s age (4th grade). This comes with Bookshark’s level 3 and will be used throughout the year. We’ve really been enjoying this book and especially the CD! It starts with the different styles of poetry and then moves on to highlighting different poets. It includes not only a poem or three from famous poets but also a short biography for each poet.
Aesop Fables – We are taking a break this month from Mother Goose and changing it up with some Aesop’s Fables. I always include one or the other in our Morning Basket.
The Llama Who Had No Pajama – Poetry geared toward Comedian’s age (1st grade). This comes with Bookshark’s level K and will be also used throughout the year. This book is a well known and well loved children’s poetry book. Comedian remembers it well from when we read it three years ago but she is still enjoying it a second time.
Keep a Pocket in You Poem: Classic Poems and Playful Parodies – The title describes this book perfectly. These poems are short which makes them perfect to use for memorization work and the parodies are just delightful.
Poetry for Kids – Robert Frost – This a series of books with each book focused on a different poet. As the name indicates, these are poems picked especially for kids. They’re a little longer than the ones in Keep a Pocket in Your Poem so I think these will be good for my 4th grader for memorization.
November Morning Basket: Thanksgiving Books
Seasonal Books
‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving – This is just what it sounds like. It’s a spin off of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. I love when we can find new books that remind us of other favorites.
P is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet – My kids are too old for the usual alphabet type books but this has a lot more to it. It is still a picture book but it goes into details about the history of Thanksgiving.
Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving – This has been a favorite of ours for the last couple of years. The girls wanted to put it in the Morning Basket so that we’ll be sure to read it again this year.
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving – This is a beautiful book from National Geographic Society with reenactment pictures from Plymouth Plantation which is a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving – This is the story of Thanksgiving told from Squanto’s perspective.
An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving -Last year we read a picture book version of this story so this year we’re going to read the full version. I’ve also included a short biography of Louisa May Alcott.
Plus, More Thanksgiving Books!
I don’t think I could fit just one more book it this basket! It’s packed with history, science, math, nature, art, music and, of course, some Thanksgiving books. What are you reading this month?
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