2d Grade Literary Selections

Here are the future 2d grade literary selections:

Read Alouds Completed:
*Entire Chronicles of Narnia Series
*A Boy at War by Harry Mazer

Audiobooks Completed:
*City of Orphans by Avi
* A History of US by Joy Hakim, Books 1-2

Future Books to Read:
Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson
Chronicles of Narnia
Anne of Green Gables
Carry on Mr. Bowditch
D'Aulaires Greek Myths and Tales From Shakespeare
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Half Magic
Cheaper by the Dozen - get 1938 reprint
Treasure Island
Tom Sawyer
Huckleberry Finn
Raggedy Ann & Andy
The Secret Garden
Wind in the Willows
The Red Keep
Pippi Longstocking
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
Ginger Pye
Owls in the Family

Historical Figures

I thought when we left DC, we left behind the wonderful DC history.  But we've been lucky that Bryce has gotten to see two of his favorite people, even in Vegas!  First, we had Ben Franklin visit who talked about his life and involved the kids in his presentations.  I was amazed at how many things Ben Franklin accomplished in his life. 

Then Bryce's hero, George Washington, came to speak.  George was definitely impressed by how much Bryce knew about him.  However, George still had more to teach us that day.  For example, we never realized what a quiet and non-talkative man George had been.  The speaker also emphasized his virtues like being humble and being courteous and polite.  Great talks!

Violin Junior Festival

In March, Bryce participated in Suzuki's Junior Festival.  He had two pieces to play for a judge that scored his performance and gave him a rating.  We are proud of Bryce that his hard work received him the highest rating of Superior! The rating was defined by "complete, outstanding performance, attention to all details, rapid recovery from minor slips." 

 

Bryce had a special friend, John, attend his concert.  Quite a friend to sit through an hour recital at 8 AM on a Saturday! 

 

 

Getting on Live TV

At the Spring Preserves, there is a special exhibit of Leonardo di Vinci's inventions.  We've studied and read about di Vinci so this was a super fun exhibit for Bryce and some of the other homeschool kids.  One day that we were visiting, Channel 3 news was there to promote the exhibit.  After Bryce watched his friend, Emmaline, be interviewed by the newscaster, Bryce wanted in as well.  He soon positioned himself by the newscaster and hang out until he could make his live debut on TV!  (Unfortunately, I let Bryce wear whatever he wanted that day and he was out in public (on TV no less!), in sweats!)   Here is the amateur video I took of the interview.

 

 

 

Bryce's 7th Birthday

For Bryce's birthday, we spent the weekend in San Diego.  We went to the Zoo and his favorite, Legoland.  Plus we hung out on the fabulous beaches:) Here are some pics from the trip. 

San Diego Zoo! 

Mini Legoland USA - Vegas:)   

 

The family after a long Legoland day!

 

This birthday was all about Star Wars!  He got a book from his friend Nate and watched the movie for the first time.  Now it's Star Wars ALL the TIME at home and with friends. 

Pinewood Derby

Bryce got to participate in his first Pinewood Derby with the Cub Scouts!  This was quite an event for Andy and Bryce.  Even though the boys are supposed to be involved in the building of the cars, this is definitely a project where you need parental support.  In fact, I think the goal of the project is for father/son  (ideally) to work on a project together. Luckily, Andy had most of the equipment needed to cut the car and help put it together.  Bryce contributed by doing what he does best, consulting a book about how to make a Pinewood Derby car.  Here are some pics from their journey.  This was a multi-week event that was definitely a challenge to make time for on the weekends and evenings.  But well worth it! 

Working on the car in the garage.  Andy hadn't even changed out of his uniform.  

Decorating the car!

  Bryce volunteered to say the Pledge of Alliance at the start of the derby. 

 

The Tiger Cubs watching the race!  (BTW, Bryce did not win:) 

A proud daddy and Bryce!

CC Presentation - Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald

Bryce's second report at Classical Conversation was on the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  About a year ago, Bryce got all into the Titanic.  Since then he has been fascinated with shipwrecks.  My godmother, Laura, introduced Bryce to this story and played the song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Golden Lightfoot.  Another family friend, Joe Brooks, also recommended the song!!

I once again didn't catch the very start of the video where Bryce introduces himself.  I'm always busy making sure he is set up and ready to go!  As you can tell in the video, Bryce doesn't know the facts as well as he did from the American Revolution.  This is his first time using notecards and as you can tell, he struggles to look at his audience just like many other speakers.  But I'm still proud of him for choosing such a factual subject.  I think this next week, he is ready to bring in Legos! 

Literature - 1st Grade Selections

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the great literature that we are reading (and listening to in the car).  Even before we started homeschooling, we always read together.  But now I take our literature selection more seriously and search for great books. 

I also have Bryce narrate every time we do our read-aloud books.  Narration is simply telling back in your own words what you just read or heard.  It’s an easy tool to have Bryce recall the material and practice assimilating all the material he just heard.  (Often, it's not long since we are doing it at bedtime but even at 8 PM I make him narrate:)

I've decided to start keeping a list of the books we've read so I can remember our favorite ones!  It's also quite fun to read a book and then watch the movie.  Below is the list of books that I'll update as we read more. 

As you can tell from the list, we often find an author we like and stick with that author for a while; especially for audiobooks.  The read-aloud books that we do together I want to be varied in author and subject but I'm much more lenient about the audiobooks -- those are just to keep us entertained since we are in the car quite a bit. 

* Favorite books are starred.

Read Alouds: 

*Boxcar Children by Gertrude C. Warner

Surprise Island by Gertrude C. Warner 

Yellow House Mystery by Gertrude C. Warner

Mystery Ranch by Gertrude C. Warner
*Tale of Despeaurax by Kate DiCamillo

26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola

Egyptian Diary:  The Journal of Nakht by Richard Platt

*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
*Poppy by Avi
*Black Stallion by Walter Farley
Capyboppy by Bill Peet
*Indian in the Cupboard
*Winnie the Pooh
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink
*The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

  

Audiobooks:
*Sophia's War by Avi
The Good Dog by Avi Ragweed by Avi
The Mayor of Central Park by Avi
Seer of Shadows by Avi
* Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke

Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness by Cornelia Funke

Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost by Cornelia Funke

Egyptian Treasures:  Mummies and Myths by Jim Weiss

Tales from the Old Testament by Jim Weiss

Tales from Cultures Far and Near by Jim Weiss
*Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
*Mr. Popper's Penguins
The 39 Clues - Maze of Bones
The 39 Clues - One False Note
*Wizard of Oz
*The Castle in the Attic
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
 

The Crush!

Bryce has his first crush!!  Her name is Emmaline and we see her a few times a week so they have definitely became friends.  They often hug when we say goodbye and a few times there has been a kiss!  It's all so innocent . . . . and adorable!!!  When I asked him about it, he said, "Mom, you know I'm growing up!"

 

 

First Presentation at Classical Conversation

Today, we started Classical Conversations which meets once a week for 12 weeks in the fall and 12 weeks in the spring.  During each class, the kids do a presentation on anything they want.  At Bryce's age, most kids do "show and tell" and the goal is for it to be about 3 minutes long.  For Bryce, he chose the battles of the American Revolution.  I missed the first few seconds where he introduced himself but here is the rest of his 5-minute presentation.

Boy Scout Hockey Game

Thanks to family, friends and store-front sales, Bryce sold $1,500 of popcorn.  To recognize the kids in the "1,500 group'" the Boy Scouts arranged for the Scouts to attend a Las Vegas Wrangler hockey game. 

The evening started with a pizza dinner were the cubs were recognized.  Bryce's pack was the 9th highest in overall popcorn sales and had the highest amount of popcorn donated to the military!! 

To recognize the military donations, Bryce's pack got to go on the ice during warm up and the National Anthem.  It was the most adorable thing ever to see the tough hockey player hold Bryce's hand on the ice rink so he didn't fall! 

 

Then, the all of the Scouts got to go on the ice between second and third period. 

 

After the game, we played on the ice rink and Bryce got autographs from the players!   

 

Indeed, it was an amazing night watching his first hockey game!  Even more special because Dad was able to be there too:) 

Letter to Santa

You know how hectic Christmas Eve is right?  We've been to church, have to get dinner and us parents, just want Bryce in bed so we can get all the presents under the tree.  Of course, I almost forgot that Bryce had to leave food and a letter to Santa!  Here he is hard at work at 8 PM.

 

Santa Train

Some of you may know that Andy LOVES trains.  You heard that right. . . . the almost 40 year old man, Andy LOVES trains.  They will always hold a special place in his heart because his grandfather built model steam engines.  So, when we heard there was a Santa Train south of Las Vegas from a friend late Friday night, we decided we had to go the next day! 

The Santa Train was at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City.  Here are some pictures to a wonderful family day on a beautiful December day. 

Bryce sending his letter to Santa!

We got to go on a short ride on the 1875 restored Eureka steam engine. 

The history of this train and restoration is amazing!

 

Bryce and Andy riding the miniature trains like his grandfather built. 

Can you see the smile on his face?

Pararescue Visit

Our friend, Paul Tower, is in a helicopter squadron here at Nellis who's mission is to rescue other military members in need.  Their motto is "That others may live."  It's quite an amazing and unique mission!

We were invited to their Christmas party where Bryce got to talk to a Perarescue operator!  The nice young man had all of his equipment that he uses and Bryce was fascinated.  He asked lots of questions and got to touch some of the equipment! 

Here Bryce is with the Perarescue Operator. 

Bryce is just a little excited to try on the helmet with night vision goggles.  Paul Tower's family --Kristin, Abby and Benjamin in the background. 

Bryce decorated a cookie for the operator to say thank you and gave it to him:)

 

The beautiful helicopter against a desert sunset!

 

 

The Nutcracker

We started the tradition of going to the Nutcracker in 2011 with Auntie Laura and try to continue the tradition every year that we can.  We got to go with our "Vegas family" this year. . .Kristin, Abby and her friend, Gabby.  Bryce's favorite scene is still the sword fight!

Las Vegas Wetlands

I know what you are thinking . . .a wetland in the desert of Las Vegas?  I was quite shocked too!  The wetlands exist on the city outskirts because it's a wash where all of the water in the city is directed. . .all the way from Mount Charleston to Lake Mead. The 210-acre nature preserve has wildlife, ponds and plants that is a habitat for over 300 species and animals.  In addition to the outdoor trails, a new visitor center opened recently that has many hands-on exhibits for children. 

Here are a few pictures from our December visit.  These are our friends, Doris, Edwin and Emmaline. 

 

Red Rock Hike

Our friend, Sandra, suggested that we limit our classes in December so we would have time to visit places around Las Vegas.  It sounded like a great idea to me, especially since she was willing to be our tour guide! 

So, one beautiful Vegas day, we went to Red Rock Canyon.  Red Rock is only about 45 minutes from us and has stunning views.  I felt a little guilty hiking and enjoying the warm sun while my family in Ohio were in a deep freeze:)  Vegas in the winter is pretty nice!

Bryce and his friends!

 

 

The picture is a little dark but you get the idea!

 

Nursing Home Concert

Bryce and children from his co-op put on a holiday concert for a few nursing homes in the local area.  Most of the songs were popular Christmas carols but some of the kids did a ballet and tap dance piece.  Bryce got to play the drums for Little Drummer Boy.  It was a nice way to kick off the holidays!

Las Vegas Philharmonic

Thanks to the Air Force, Andy got free tickets for the Las Vegas Philharmonic!  We had wonderful seats at the new Smith Center in Las Vegas.  The concert was a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  The concert started with a presentation of the colors by Nellis AFB's honor guard and a soprano singer performed the national anthem.  My favorite part was when Senator Richard Bryan narrated quotes from JFK interspersed with the orchestra.

Bryce was very excited to see his first orchestra!!  We were all surprised when Bryce spotted both his individual and group violin teachers on stage!  Ms. Melanie and Ms. Lee were 2d violinist in the orchestra.  Bryce had to have been the youngest member in attendance.  For a concert that started about his bedtime, he did amazingly well sitting and listening.  It wasn't until the very end, that he started to get very tired.  Overall, it was a great evening that I'll remember forever! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clark County Children's Choir

Bryce participated in his first concert with the Clark County Children's Choir!  This choir is AMAZING!  It's a non-profit organization where the children only practice one hour a week but produce some amazing music.  The older children are very impressive. 

Clark County Children's Choir

The concert theme was Americana - A Celebration of America in Music and Song.  Here are a few videos of Bryce.  The videos aren't the best quality but hopefully you can see a little bit of the show.  The first graders are the youngest children participating in the concert. 

Here are young children singing Rocky Mountain.

This video shows about half of the choir singing I Bought Me a Cat.  Bryce is hard to see since he is blocked by the piano and music teacher but I thought you might still enjoy it. 

Here is the whole choir singing God Bless America.