When I first began homeschooling, I used booklists from curriculum providers and didn’t really venture outside of those lists. Over the past couple of years, I have found freedom in exploring books for my kids to read! I realized that many of the book lists I used did include newer books and some of those more recently written books have since become my very favorites!
Book Lists
As I have created book lists for my own kids, I began sharing them. Each year I create a visual book list so my kids can choose from books I have pre-chosen for them. They don’t have to stick to these lists, but it gives them plenty of options that they know I think they will enjoy. We use the library a lot, so these visual lists help me plan as they choose books since we don’t own all of them! Last year I shared a video tutorial showing you how to make these for your kids!
Now that my kids are older, I do assign books to be read, and some books become read-alouds. Currently {summer 2020}, my daughter is entering 6th grade and my son is entering 9th grade {my oldest son is graduated}. My daughter loves to read but prefers fantasy so her assigned books tend to be more historical and realistic fiction. My son dislikes reading entirely so I try to be very careful with the books I assign so that they are books he will enjoy. I am close to finalizing their reading lists and will share those soon!
New Webpage!
For now, I want to share a brand new webpage filled with reading resources! I found that I felt disorganized when choosing my own books for my kids and honestly I often forgot which books {and why I chose them} as the school year progressed. I wanted a simple way to plan ahead but also have the freedom to add new books during the year. This led to a set of printables which became our reading notebooks!
You can download everything I am about to share on our new Read for a Reason webpage here!
The Notebook
The notebook keeps me focused and prepared. It is simple and to the point. You’ll be able to guess some of my daughter’s book assignments when you visit the webpage because I began with those books since I needed to get her notebook together first!
I used a 3-ring binder with a clear opening so I can slip the cover in the front. I also slipped the book genre reference page in the back so it’s always available.
Her reading record is in the front of the notebook, this is where she will keep a running list of books read this year.
I chose 6 books I want her to read this year, in addition to books she chooses on her own. I have read all of these and am fairly certain she will enjoy most of them. We will read a couple together and the others she will read independently. For each book, I created a simple information page and a bookmark.
The page is more of a reminder and a simple way to stay organized. I am very visual so having a page like this helps me a lot. It contains general info about the book as well as a grid to assign and mark off chapters. I also included either a quote from the book or a simple graphic and of course the book cover.
The bookmarks are a smaller version of this page and really helped my kids last year when we tested them near the end of the year.
After the page that is specific to each book, the general pages come! You’ll find a summary page, character list, vocabulary list, and favorite quotes list!
You can download all of these printables for free here! You’ll see book-specific printables for 9 different books so far, as well as a place for you to submit a book request {see red arrow below}!
I plan to add many more books and look forward to your suggestions! I truly hope this wepage helps you! See all of our Read for a Reason resources here!
