Book Basket - Combining different ages into one book basket

[Julie in MN]

Combine 4th grade and 7th grade book baskets?

New here---planning to do ECC in Fall with 4th grader and 7th grader. I'm familiar with the general idea of book baskets, but am wondering if I need to have separate book baskets for my two kids, each with their own grade-appropriate choices, or am I supposed to combine both grade levels into one book basket?

I would expect the kids to be reading different literature for their "reading" block of time, but book basket is more like, "Wow, look how much else you can learn about this part of the world," type of thing. Kids can just look at photos, they might like recipes, they might like stories, it's all good.

Of course, as you get to know your kids' interests, you may tailor the book basket towards books you know they each will most be drawn towards. But I personally didn't require any sort of age level. Fairy tales can be enjoyed by adults, and there are kids who like to read encyclopedias

Does that help?
Julie

[stevienext]

Yes, Julie, thanks for your post. I haven't received my curriculum yet, so I was guessing that since the TM recommended list was organized by grade level (right?), that maybe I am supposed to keep the selections separate. I would rather just dump them all in one basket and let them have at it. Besides, my younger would probably be snooping in the older's basket, thinking he was missing something good (and likely, he might!)... : )

[Julie in MN]

Heehee on getting the kids interested in the books by competition!

The TM will have a few sections, like "picture books" and "chapter books," and may have comments like "for older kids," but it won't get as specific as grade level. It's more like it helps you identify what you know might appeal to your family.

Julie

ETA: In the back of the manuals, there is a "grade level" list of classics and such that might be good choices for "reading time" -- different than book basket.

[stevienext]

Ahh, gotcha...good---that simplifies things!

[Mommyto3boys]

I have one book basket for all 3 of my boys. I have a wide variety of books from easy stories to novels to children's nonfiction. During book basket, they pick out what they want to read. I have a separate reading time that I will assign books according to their ability to read on our topic or just good literature.

HTH,
Debbie in NC
Mom to 3 ds (13.9, 11, 8.5) and 1 dd (6)
Done MFW Adventures, ECC and K, CTG, RTR and K, EX1850, 1850Mod, and now back to ECC and K

[Julie in MN]

My question is about reading and book basket. I'd like to know how you organize this. I am coming from Sonlight, where I had all my books on hand, didn't have to think much about the next book because it was always there. Even if/when we didn't follow the schedule to a T we still used all the books - it was like a book basket! I have 4 school-aged children (and a preschooler!). I have three children in ECC, and then a 1st grader. I am feeling quite overwhelmed at the idea of building my book basket. The three doing ECC are 12, 10, and 8. The 12 and 10 year old are avid, and great readers. The 8yo struggles with reading, and does not like to do it. So I am going to need different books for him than for then 12 and 10 year old. My 1st grader is 6 and she'll need her own books also.

I am just looking at how YOU do it, if you have lots of children. I think it would be easy if I were just getting books for two children. But I just don't see an easy way around this yet. Not only do I have 5 children, but I am also active in our homeschool group (slowly trying to get away from leadership with this one as I know I need to be able to concentrate on my 12 yo and her work more), as well as an FRG leader (husband is active duty Army - FRG=Family Readiness Group), which is important to me (ditching the homeschool group FOR the FRG!). All that to say that I need to learn your quick tricks for having great books available. This is a very important thing to me. I do want the books available to the kids. I just need help figuring out how to organize it.

Sorry for sounding so overwhelmed - I probably sound more dramatic than the situation actually is. I'm not really freaking out. Just trying to get it all straight. =) TIA.

Hello!
I'll start.

There are some folks who pre-purchase a full book basket for their children. Some purchase from other companies, while others take the MFW manual in hand and load up an order from CBD or someplace like that. I don't think it comes out any more expensive than other curriculums with readers included. Here is a thread on that http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3277

The especially nice thing about creating your own book package is that it can be tailored to your children. As you said, your 6 & 8 yos need books just for them. Book basket even includes things like cookbooks and other nonfiction choices, for those kids who aren't novel-readers. Book basket is more about exploring and learning than about reading.

For readers, you can include book basket books, the list of classics in the back of the manual, or other things your students are interested in. There are some extra ideas on the Book Basket forum, such as this thread for your older ones: http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=7543

We have full bookshelves at our house so I didn't need too many more, but I usually found a few more must-haves to order every year &) especially when I knew I wasn't going to be able to get to the library regularly. In book basket I might fill in gaps with a few general theme books (a book on all 50 states or all the presidents, a book of Bible stories at his level), and I would reassess at a few intervals during the year.

His reading time would be separate. Some years, my ds did not want any history readers, so I would choose a few really good book basket books but for his readers I'd choose other things -- "funny books" or "classics" or books his book club would be reading. I like having the freedom to tailor his readers to him.

Hopefully you will hear soon from those moms of many.

[TriciaMR]

If your library has an online catalog, then look at the book basket list (in the back of the TM) and see if if you can get the books, and the place a hold on the books. Here, when the books are available, they place them on a shelf and send me an e-mail. I go in and pick them up. They keep them on the shelf 5 days - so I can run by when I have errands and pick them up. If there aren't many books on the topic, then I do a catalog search on the category of books, so "Temperate Forests" or whatever and get a few of those.

-Trish

[mothermayi]

If your library has an online catalog, then look at the book basket list (in the back of the TM) and see if if you can get the books, and the place a hold on the books.

This is what I do also. I preorder books using the book basket list, and let the library do all of the work. I go in and pick them up. I order books about 2 weeks in advance, sometimes 3. Our library holds them for 8 days so if I don't need them as soon as they are ready, I let them sit on the shelf a little longer and pick them up when I drop off a stack from the current week. We have a PreK, K, and two in RTR. I purchased different colored plastic bins from Walmart. They were under $4 each. I put my girls (the little kids) books in a pink basket and the boys' books in a blue one. The girls are close in age and then the boys are close in their age so it's just a coincidence that the baskets are like so but the same concept may work for you.

Also, I purchased a book package from Heart of Dakota's RTR. Our library doesn't have many quality books with a Christian perspective so it was a nice addition to our home library.

[gratitude]

I do build my own book basket, but I know that isn't what you are wanting to hear. I have used SL, HOD, and Beautiful Feet books to do so. The asterisk books that Marie has listed in her book basket led me to doing this since there is a lot of cross over between all of the book lists from different companies. She also has a number of books though listed that are not ones I have seen anywhere else. The library every 3 weeks I believe is where most MFW moms find their book basket books from the appendix. I have been considering seeing if I can pre-order some of Marie's list from the library for ECC on-line.

PS. I think it is hard to learn to teach a new program. I would encourage you to take it slow for a few weeks while you find a new rhythm. Marie puts a lot of the information in the front of the TM so be sure to read it. The notes too often tell 'how' to implement things. Be sure to read those too. If you skim the TM you will only get about 1/2 the program. The grid is the schedule, but lacks the details and a lot of the information behind her ideas.

[stevienext]

I am by no means an MFW expert, since this is my first year with MFW, too. I also am coming from Sonlight and have a 12yo daughter going into 7th grade---we have much in common! I echo what others have said about using the book lists in the teacher's manual and getting what I can from the library. In addition, if the books are classics, I decided to add them to our home library permanently, so I bought them. I found the majority of the titles I wanted to purchase at Good Will and Half-Price Books. Be sure to get the unabridged versions, however. I ended up with an abridged version on one occasion and had to go back and look for the unabridged.

I wish you well as you begin MFW with your family. I'm looking forward to it, too! Blessings, Stevie

[gentlestrengths]

Thanks for the replies - I DO appreciate it. I really wish I had a community of MFW users right here in town with me so I could just talk and talk and figure stuff out. You all are certainly the next best!! Maybe even better!

I have been reading the TM's...I was going to start Monday, but I think I am going to give myself another week, and start Tuesday after Labor Day, and then only do three days that week, just to get the kids used to things...we shall see how it goes.

I am going to look through the book suggestions tonight and decide if I want to just order books for a few months at a time, or if I want to Library-it. Having 5 kids, and a house, and a husband, and cooking and laundry and homeschool group, etc, etc....UGH. I just don't know if I want to do the ordering at the library -looking to see what they have...settling when they don't have what I want....being annoyed that one important thing isn't available...waiting for it to come if I decide we need it....etc. HA. I think I just decided, didn't I? ;o)

I am by no means an MFW expert, since this is my first year with MFW, too. I also am coming from Sonlight and have a 12yo daughter going into 7th grade---we have much in common! I echo what others have said about using the book lists in the teacher's manual and getting what I can from the library. In addition, if the books are classics, I decided to add them to our home library permanently, so I bought them. I found the majority of the titles I wanted to purchase at Good Will and Half-Price Books. Be sure to get the unabridged versions, however. I ended up with an abridged version on one occasion and had to go back and look for the unabridged.

I wish you well as you begin MFW with your family. I'm looking forward to it, too! Blessings, Stevie

Thanks for your input!

I talked with my husband, and he convinced me it wouldn't be that difficult to work ahead, and get books from the library, and try to stay on a schedule with it - and yes, order classics that we'll want to keep and resuse again. So here I go......................!

[4monkeyz]

Hi! I am seconding (or third-ing) the library. With our library's inter-library system, I am able to create book lists for certain weeks or topics online, which makes it easier when I need to order a few weeks ahead. I don't know if that is an option for you? I have a K list and then ECC continents booklists. Kind of crazy. I love the idea of having separate crates or baskets for the books! Right now I kind of stick everything in a basket and let them dig around. I love the variety of books too - cookbooks, non-fiction, fiction... But I love books!

[momtogc]

Ditto for us on the library thing. I order books ahead, pick them up through the drive through, dump off the returns at the same time. Sometimes I purchase used books that I think will enhance our studies and our lives for years to come. My fave online shopping for used books is Amazon.com and betterworldbooks.com, which has free shipping all the time!

Does your dd have access to your computer, an iPod, iPhone or Kindle? If so, don't forget about e-books and audio books. Our library now offers audio books so I don't even have to leave the house. Maybe yours does, too?

Another thing I've done is to find info (country, people groups, or topic of interest) online, print it out, and stick it in the book basket.

And even though I don't have multiple children, I always like to suggest that an older sibling read to a younger one. Could your older ones read aloud to your 8yo while you work with the ten year old, or vice versa? Have the 8yo sit beside the child who is reading aloud and look on as the reading takes place. Maybe this would help the 8yo learn to enjoy reading more, and/or learn to read better?

Book Basket books don't all have to be read from cover to cover. The children can just sit together and enjoy photos, or tidbits of info. And the books don't *have* to be on the 8yo child's reading level. Even if they are higher level, learning still takes place. Just an idea.

Best wishes!

[luv2tch]

Also chiming in on the library books for Book Basket. I also request the titles online a few weeks in advance, then go pick them up when they send the email saying they are ready. A couple of times, I got "caught" without the right book when I needed it, especially for the read-aloud biographies. I found I could order most of the titles on the spot as e-books on my Kindle Fire more inexpensively than buying the paper copy. This worked great for the read-alouds and allowed me to keep a digital copy of the book, without cluttering up our already-loaded bookshelves! We really enjoyed all the books in ECC--happy reading and learning!

[gentlestrengths]

Thanks again for everyone's ideas!

I have to admit - we are in our third week and haven't added book basket books yet. I do have a reading time for each of the kids (I am picking books for those) - but my dad died and we ended up traveling. I had an appointment with a librarian the following day! So, needless to say, I missed that appointment, school starting was postponed. We are now in our third week and I haven't been to the library yet. things are just a tad crazy still - but at least we are getting the hang of getting everything else done. I think I will be able to get to the library to speak with the librarian this week, and implement the book baskets soon! =(

Evidently, my card is a wonky one. So when I was trying to order books online, it wasn't working. I thought I didn't know what I was doing, but called the library and they explained that some cards are wonky - I need to go in for a new one. We are active duty army and live in a small town. I have access to our on post library, but it is very small. We have access to the local libraries as well, but they are still pretty small. I think I can get what I need through inter-library loan, but the librarian mentioned "as long as I don't request to often" when I talked to her on the phone! What?? I have never heard of a librarian complaining about how often I request inter-library book! Hmm. So we will see!

Thanks again for everyone's help!