I think of October as the kick off to the holiday season. For the next three months we’ll revisiting our favorite books for Autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Winter and Christmas. Each year we find a few more to add to our favorites list. 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 what we have in our October Morning Basket.
/> History and Read Aloud Books
History and Read Alouds
The Witch of Blackbird Pond – We started this towards the end of September and it will continue for most of October. This has a Brave Writer Boomerang which is normally recommended for an older age. However, I think we may give it a try and alter it to fit where Storyteller is now. This is our first look at the Puritans in our history lessons. After just a chapter or two, the kids are hooked on this book.
Because of Winn-Dixie – Normally, our two read aloud chapter books come from the 2 levels of Bookshark curriculum that we’re doing this year. However, I’m having a hard time rereading the books from level K because Comedian remembers them so well from when we read them for Storyteller’s 1st grade year…3 years ago. Here’s a Penny is scheduled but I’m changing it out for Because of Winn-Dixie. There are just so many fantastic children’s books and I’m looking forward to adding in these extra titles throughout the year.
You Wouldn’t Want to Sail with Christopher Columbus! – We just finished learning about Columbus in Storyteller’s 4th grade history lessons. My girls love this series of books! They grabbed this at the library on a recent trip. I tie in many books from this series into the subjects we cover in our homeschool.
Who Was Leif Erikson and Who Was Sitting Bull – Sitting Bull ties in with Storyteller’s history this year and Leif Erikson is for Comedian’s history. This is another series of books that we really enjoy. I grab a few of these from the library when I find something that works with what we’re already studying.
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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 second month that we’ll be using this book in our Morning Basket. We’ll be reading about a few different scientists each month until we finish the book. I don’t follow a schedule with these types of books. I just read a section or two every week.
Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists – This is a collection of short biographies that we are using this year as part of our nature study. We started this book last month and will probably finish it up this month. Avoiding a strict schedule for our Morning Basket gives us the flexibility to change things up and not feel guilty about “getting behind”.
Sir Cumference and the Viking’s Map – We love using the Sir Cumference series of books to add some extra fun to our math lessons. This one doesn’t tie in directly to what we’re doing with math. However, Comedian found it at the library and was excited about the Viking reference which was a recent topic in her 1st grade history lessons.
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Art and Music
The Usborne Classical Music Reference Book – We have two Usborne music books that we’ll be using throughout the year with both kids. This book goes through the history of classical music. Once we finish this book, we’ll move on to Usborne’s Famous Composers Reference Book. Check out Amazon Music playlists for classical music to play during quiet activities such as LEGOs, coloring, or Play-Doh.
The Usborne Book of Famous Artists – This is one of two Usborne art books that we’ll be using throughout the year. It highlights 35 artists and some of their most well known paintings. Once we finish this book, we’ll move on to Usborne’s Book of Famous Paintings which goes into more detail about 35 paintings. I pair up cards from Usborne’s Famous Paintings card deck to match with the artists and paintings we talk about in the two books.
/> Poetry and Nursery Rhyme Books
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 types 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.
The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose – I always include some Mother Goose or Aesop’s Fables. This is meant for Comedian but Storyteller still loves to listen in on these too.
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.
Julie Andrews’ Treasury for All Seasons – This is one of our favorite poetry collection books to have for poetry tea time. Now, that we’re heading into a busy holiday season, it’s going to stay in our Morning Basket. Sometimes we don’t get to our poetry tea time as often as we’d like so this is a good way to not miss out on these seasonal poems. And yes, it’s THAT Julie Andrews – as in Mary Poppins!
/> Halloween Books
Seasonal Books
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything – My youngest was introduced to this book back when she was in 3 year old preschool. Three years later…it is still one of her favorite books. She pretty much has the whole thing memorized. Halloween just wouldn’t be complete for her without it!
The Three Bears’ Halloween – This is an adorable book based on the Three Little Bears story but with a twist and a Halloween theme.
Too Many Pumpkins – This is one of our favorites from last year and the girls wanted to make sure that we include it with this year’s stack of books. You know a book is a keeper if they can remember it a year later and ask for it!
The Pomegranate Witch – This is one of the new (to us) books I found at the library. When I brought it home, the girls snatched it up and ran off with it. I had forgotten about it until I was on a hunt for library books around the house. I found it buried under my 4th graders comforter. She read it a couple times already but still wants it in our Morning Basket so we can all share it together.
Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend – This is actually from Bookshark’s History with Reading K. We’re not quite at the point in the schedule for this book but I’m jumping ahead so we can read it this month.
13 Days of Halloween – This is twist on the 12 Days of Christmas song. My girls have read (sung) it many times over the last few days but they still insist that it must go into our Morning Basket.
Holiday Histories: Halloween – This year my girls want to dive deeper into the history of each holiday…or at least deep for a 1st and 4th grader. I found this series of books at our library. It takes a look at the origins of many common Halloween traditions. This book goes into more detail than some of the younger books we’ve read. I think it will be a good match for both of my girls.
The Halloween Book of Facts and Fun – This is another library find that explores the history of common Halloween traditions. It’s not as in depth as the Holiday Histories book but this has more of a fun feel to it.
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Games and Fun
More Best of Mad Libs – This is a must have in our Morning Baskets!
Quiddler – I bought this for the girls almost a year ago but we’ve never gotten around to playing it yet. Actually, it was lost in my husband’s office and we completely forgot about it! Comedian is doing really well with spelling right now so this will be a game that we can all play together.
This basket is packed tight with some fun books and topics that we’ll be exploring this month as part of our Morning Basket routine. What’s in your basket this month?
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Hi Terri! Thank you for this great collection of books to read this Month, I was very happy to read this post, and I am going to look for some of these books for sure! 🙂 Great job!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by 🙂