Valentine's Day Book Basket

Are you ready for snuggling up with your kids on Valentine's Day? Here are some great books to fill your Valentine's Book Basket. Head to the library quickly - or they will all be gone!

The Story of St. Valentine ~ by Voice of the Martyrs

Saint Valentine ~ by Robert Sabuda

The Night Before Valentine's Day ~ Natasha Wing

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch ~ Eileen Spinelli

The Valentine Bears ~ by Eve Bunting

Cranberry Valentine ~ Wende Devlin

FIAR Out of Print Titles

If you use the Five in a Row Curriculum you know that there are some books that are no longer being published and can be difficult to come by. For those of you that are interested in obtaining these books at garage sales, thrift stores, and library book sales here is a consolidated list of some of the most prized FIAR titles. If you are looking for complete FIAR book lists please check out the lists compiled at HomeSchoolShare. They also have other lists grouped by geography, science, unit studies, lapbooks, and more.

Want to print this list? No problem. Just click here for a PDF version.

Note: Some formerly out-of-print books are now being republished as indicated.

Before FIAR

Yellow Ball ~ Bang, Molly

My Blue Boat ~Chris L. Demarest

The Quiet Way Home ~Bonnie Becker

The Red Carpet  ~Rex Parkin

Jenny's Surprise Summer  ~Eugenie





FIAR Vol 1

Cranberry Thanksgiving  ~Devlin, Wende & Harry

Another Celebrated Dancing Bear  ~Scheffrin-Falk, Gladys  ~ (Now available at Purple House Press)




FIAR Vol 2

Giraffe That Walked to Paris   ~Milton, Nancy

Babar, To Duet or Not To Duet ~De Brunhoff

Down, Down the Mountain ~Credle, Ellis

All Those Secrets of the World ~Yolen, Jane

Gramma's Walk ~Hines, Anna Grossnickle



FIAR Vol 3

Andy and the Circus ~Credle, Ellis

The Wild Horses of Sweet Briar  ~Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie

Henry the Castaway ~Taylor, Mark

Warm as Wool ~Sanders, Scott Russell   ~(Now available at Wooster Book Company )




FIAR Vol 4

Arabella ~Orr, Wendy

Cowboy Charlie ~Winter, Jeanette

Hanna's Cold Winter ~Marx, Trish

Higgins Bend Song and Dance   ~Martin, Jacqueline Briggs

The Hatmaker's Sign   ~Fleming, Candace

Chaos Reined In!

Well, last night I might of lost my cool just a bit. I walked into what was supposed to be the family room, but rather resembled a disaster area. The kids love to take the pillows off of all the couches and chairs and toss them around the room. Actually, they say that they are building forts, or towers, but to me it just looks like a giant mess.

So, I usually don't put up much of a fuss over a few pillows, but when numerous toys have emerged from who-knows-where to cover the floor, the books have been scattered about, and the pictures on the wall are askew - I kind of just lose it!

The punishment? Chore Day! The kids have had to follow me around all day assisting in doing each chore I have to accomplish in the day. Laundry, folding,  ironing, emptying the dishwasher, making meals, sweeping, tidying up. This really turned out to be much better than I thought.  Typically, I get whining when I ask them to clean their rooms or tidy their toys, but they really enjoyed being able to help out so much, and I didn't have to worry about making sure they were occupied while I was busy. Granted, everything wasn't done perfectly, but it did all get done - and quickly too!

We finished up early and took a nature walk. So the punishment actually turned into a blessing for everyone.

January Book Basket

As you can see our January Book Basket is chock full of books. The majority of the books were borrowed from the library, but some are pulled from our own shelves. I love getting new books, but I try to keep the number down since we move so often.

Here is a condensed list for when you head to the library. I did group them by call number so that you aren't running all over the place like I am trying to keep track of which books you already have!

• Red Fox Running ~ Y PICTURE BUNTING, E.


• Albert the Bear ~ Y PICTURE BUTTERWORTH, N.


• It Feels Like Snow ~ Y PICTURE COTE, N.


• Elmer in the Snow ~ Y PICTURE MCKEE, D.


• The Jacket I Wear in the Snow ~ Y PICTURE NEITZEL, S.


• The Snow Princess ~ Y PICTURE SANDERSON, R.


• Now It Is Winter ~ Y PICTURE SPINELLI, E


• Winter on the Farm (My First Little House) ~ Y PICTURE WINTER


• Tracks in the Snow ~ Y PICTURE YEE, W.


• Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep ~ Y PICTURE YOLEN, J.


• Manatee Winter (Smithsonian Oceanic)~ Y PICTURE ZOEHFELD, K.

• The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter SolsticeY 394.261 PFEFFER


• Japanese Celebrations: Cherry Blossoms, Lanterns and Stars! ~Y394.26952 REYNOLDS


• Explore Winter: 25 Great Ways to Learn About Winter (Explore Your World series) ~ Y508.2 ANDERSON


• Snow (Ganeri, Anita, Weather Around You.) ~ Y551.5784 GANERI


• Penguin Chick (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science) ~ Y 598.47 TATHAM

Plans for Inauguration Day

Honestly, I didn't intend to do much for Inauguration Day. I planned maybe, and that's a big maybe, watching it on TV with the kids. But then FIAR came out with an Inauguration Day Fold and Learn. Perfect!

It has a short biography of Barack Obama, the inaugural schedule from January 18th through Inauguration Day, some fun facts about the history of inauguration, and Barack Obama's favorite dessert!

We are going to have a fun time re-reading If I Ran For President, which I purchased during the election. At the same time I also bought the other book by Catherine Stier,  If I Were President. These two books are really perfect at explaining the topic of the Presidency for a child. With eye-catching illustrations and wording that not only accurately explains a difficult topic, but makes it fun and exciting, these books are perfect for early elementary ages.

If you are looking for more ideas, Shauna over at Treasure Seekers has put together a wonderful list of resources to make your Inauguration Day educational and fun!

Back to School

After the holidays its always difficult to get back into your regular routine.  We took pretty much the whole month of December off. It not that we weren't doing anything. We certainly managed to keep busy! Lots of holiday books and snuggles, family baking time, and focusing on the meaning of the season filled the hours each day.

On Monday we started back to our school routine. Hailey had actually started begging to start school several days before. There is nothing like an excited student to get you moving! The first day was a little rough, but that was certainly to be expected. No tears were shed and thus, my goal was achieved.

Tuesday was so absolutely gorgeous. Who knew that we would be experiencing a 80+ degree sunny day in early January! So, we took the lessons out- of-doors for the day.





The dog enjoyed the fresh air too.



Alas, it was not to last. This morning we awoke to some extremely windy and stormy weather. The cold will be returning tonight.