Stuck at home in the wake of COVID-19? These booklists will make you smile and keep your family busy in this uncertain time. Reading is so important for children. If you love to read, you can learn anything.
Reading is not only educational, but it can be downright therapeutic. Books can provide a welcome escape during times of stress.
Today, I am sharing some incredible booklists for people of all ages so that you can enjoy a moment of respite in a time of uncertainty.
Stuck at Home? These Booklists Will Make You Smile!
My Kindred Collective online homeschool conference winter session was titled The Powerful Simplicity of Reading Aloud
As a school psychologist and homeschool mama, I know reading aloud is the most important thing you can do in your homeschool every single day.
It almost seems too easy, doesn’t it? The act of picking up a book and sharing a story with your children doesn’t feel like much, but it packs quite the educational punch.
When you read aloud to your children, you are being a reading role model. You are modeling reading fluency, proper pronunciation, and pacing. You are showering them with rich vocabulary, sophisticated language patterns, and you’re growing their fund of factual knowledge. Better yet, you’re connecting with them over the warmth of a shared story and, by doing so, you’re creating pleasurable reading memories.
No one comes into this world knowing how to read. Reading is a skill, and like all skills, one needs to practice it to get better.
Here’s a slide from the talk I gave on reading at the winter 2020 Kindred Collective Conference. Be still my book-lovin’ heart, you guys! During times of uncertainty, reading can provide a much-needed escape!
We can read aloud to our children and let them bask in the sheer joy of the experience. We can protect the joy of reading for our children so that they learn to associate reading with pleasure.
While we do the “heavy lifting” for our children, we are showing them why reading is worth it! The more pleasure they experience in their early reading lives, the more they are going to want to unlock that code.
I believe homeschoolers are in a unique position when it comes to growing readers because they can preserve the sheer joy of reading in a way that can be challenging in other settings.
We can avoid the book logs, book reports, and oral presentations of our public school past. Instead, we can think outside of that public school box and allow our children to show us what they have learned through books in other ways.
And by protecting the joy of reading, we are raising lifelong learners. Because, let’s face it, if you love to read, you can teach yourself anything!
If you love to read, or if you want to increase your time spent reading right now, check out our book resource page featuring websites, articles, podcasts, and much, much more!
Stuck at Home? These Kindred Booklists Will Make You Smile!
If you’re at a loss as to what to read aloud to your children, you’re going to want to check out the booklists we created at the Kindred Conference! I asked all attendees two questions:
- What is the book that made you (or your child, if you have a child who loves to read) a reader?
- What is the best book you’ve read- for yourself!- in the last five years?
The Kindred community did not disappoint; I had to create four booklists based on all of their incredible recommendations!
You can create an entire unit study with a couple of delicious books and creative educational resources!
Last winter, we homeschooled science and nature using two fantastically delicious reference books and CuriosityStream. You can read all about it here. Don’t be afraid to follow your child’s lead and pursue delight-driven learning at this time. It will lighten moods and make memories. And, because your child is interested, she will retain more information!
Read more about how to create Lazy Unit Studies here:
These booklists will help when you’re stuck at home… and so will THESE resources:
- How to Create a Super Simple Homeschool Routine
- 10 Super Easy At-Home Learning Ideas for Parents
- Gameschool Challenges to Keep Kids Busy and Learning!
- Gameschool Basics: How to Get Started with Gameschooling
The winter 2020 Kindred Collective online homeschool conference was a blast!
We created Kindred Collective in 2018 and have held three conferences to date. The first conference was in March of 2019, the second was in June of 2019, and we had our third conference in February of 2020.
We know how important it is to have a homeschool community and we believe that it is possible to find authentic connections online…we know this because we lived it! Kindred Collective was created by four homeschool mamas, bloggers, podcasters, and kindred spirits. (The Kindred team connected online and built a friendship long before we ever met in person!)
We believe that authentic connection should be meaningful, supportive, and honest so it is our goal to create a community that embodies the same ones we value in our friendships.
The Kindred Collective is the community we always wished we’d had and the one we are excited to be a part of going forward. We don’t mind if we homeschool in different ways. We know the tie that binds us is home education and that we can learn from everyone.
The Kindred Collective Homeschool Conference | Winter 2020
I love the Kindred Collective conferences. They are like a hug for the homeschool soul. The winter 2020 conference was no exception! The focus of this month’s conference was on winter survival. Winter tends to be the toughest season to homeschool and sometimes you feel like throwing in the towel!
Kindred Collective Homeschool Conference Winter 2020 Topics:
THE POWERFUL SIMPLICITY OF READING ALOUD | CAIT
WHEN YOU WANT TO QUIT | ALICIA
BUT DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE FUN? | MARY
INVESTING IN SELF-CARE |KARA
If you’re stuck at home and need more than booklists, I talked about one of my favorite things: books. And I created a new ebook with bonus materials!
I believe homeschoolers are in a unique position when it comes to growing readers because they can preserve the sheer joy of reading in a way that can be challenging in other settings. We can avoid the book logs, book reports, and oral presentations of our public school past. Instead, we can think outside of that public school box and allow our children to show us what they have learned through books in other ways.
And by protecting the joy of reading, we are raising lifelong learners. Because, let’s face it, if you love to read, you can teach yourself anything!
I talk about all of this and more in the ebook, plus I’m sharing oodles of actionable printables to help you craft a read-aloud routine that works for your unique family.
I’ll show you how to make a read-aloud routine that works for you, how to make the most of your library card, how to get kids to read outside their genre-comfort zone, and much, much more.
You can now purchase my new ebook, The Powerful Simplicity of Reading Aloud, and get the bonus materials here:
- The Powerful Simplicity of Reading Aloud {ebook + bonus materials} by Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley, MA/CAGS
Stuck at home over the coming weeks? Why not squeeze in some professional development with a Kindred replay?
If you missed this winter’s conference, don’t fret. We have replays available here:
The replays are on sale now for a limited time. Be sure to act quickly if you’re interested in checking them out!
You can also check out a full list of past conference replays here:
New this conference…
The Kindred Team wrote an ebook!
You can grab a copy of the new ebook here:
- Managing Multiples: Homeschooling Well When There are Lots of Kids, And Only One Mom by Kara Anderson, Cait Curley, Alicia Hutchinson, and Mary Wilson
Additional Resources by Academic Subject:
- GEOGRAPHY:
- HISTORY:
- LANGUAGE ARTS:
- MATH:
- NATURE:
- SCIENCE:
- THE ARTS:
Bottom Line: You’ve Got This!
I’ve shared heaps of resources here, but I want you to know that if you do nothing educational this week, you’ll be fine. Spend time with your kids. Have a movie marathon. Eat ice cream sundaes. Bake cookies. Eat popcorn for dinner. I know it’s stressful right now, but I have a feeling our kids are going to look back on this moment with a smile.
For those stuck at home with little worriers, here’s something to add to those booklists
If you have anxious kids, please know you are not alone. Kids are sponges and they pick up on the energy around them. As a school psychologist and mom to a kiddo who has battled anxiety, I have some favorite resources. You can find them here.
This book, in particular, is fantastic. I love Dawn Huebner’s books and this one is no exception. It’s filled with helpful resources and will serve as a springboard for important conversations.
This week, we listened to this episode of the Brains On! podcast. It helped my children to understand COVID-19 and the steps they can take to protect themselves and others in our community. (You know your kids best so pre-listen to see if it will work for you. Just sharing because it helped us.)
We also had a handwashing 101 exercise. It’s something I remember from when I worked at a daycare. I put some lotion on each kiddo’s hands, had them rub it in, and then I sprinkled glitter all over the front and back of their hands and had them rub that in. Then, they tried to wash it off. It was the best handwashing we’ve had in years, you guys!
Often the worst part of anxiety is feeling as if you lack control. It can help immensely to take action in your small patch of the globe. This week, we are making a meal for a local shelter, donating to the food pantry, and buying a gift card for our favorite restaurant (we won’t be eating there this week amid concerns, but we know small businesses are going to be hurting). If you have other ideas, please share them in the comments. We need to be the helpers in times like this!
RELATED POSTS:
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- Social Media Overwhelm and Sensitive Souls
- Mothering a Worrier | The Homeschool Sisters
Related Articles for those stuck at home during COVID-19 and looking for more than booklists:
- How to Create a Super Simple Homeschool Routine
- 10 Super Easy At-Home Learning Ideas for Parents
- 75+ Ideas for When You’re Stuck Indoors | Learn In Color
- How to Homeschool Little Ones (Without the Overwhelm)
- Gameschool Challenges to Change Your Homeschool!
- Social Distancing: A Bonus Episode! | The Homeschool Sisters Podcast
