Tag: books

Shared Book Reading for Children with Down Syndrome

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As summer rapidly approaches and the school year winds down, it’s a great time to think about easy ways we can keep speech and language moving forward. One of the easiest and effective ways is Shared Book Reading. If you have a young child with Down Syndrome, you’re probably doing it already to a certain extent. After all, reading a book out loud to a child is one of the most natural ways parents cozy and connect with their young ones. But today I’m sharing with you some ways to make that magical story time more purposeful and productive for a variety of goals.

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Our Favorite Catholic Picture Books

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This year, for our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium, I wanted to create a little library of Catholic picture books. So I reached out to some authors and publishers and invited them to donate picture books to our Extra-Special Atrium (for children with Down Syndrome). I was touched by the generous responses as boxes of books promptly showed up at our door.

Reading a beautifully written and illustrated picture book with your children is one of the most memorable ways to pass on the faith. So with Christmas quickly approaching, I’d like to share with you our favorite Catholic picture books: books my kids and the children in our atrium have really enjoyed!

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Construction Vehicles Three-Part Cards

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About this time last year, my son was really into all the Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site books. We read them over and over again. So I decided to make him Construction Vehicles Three-Part cards.

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Just Released! The Tale of Finegan Patches

Published on by Mary Cooney4 Comments

I am so excited to share the news that my daughter Carolyn has just published her seventh novel. Set in the Dark Ages, The Tale of Finegan Patches is the story of an impoverished young serf and his epic battle against evil.

For centuries the sinister, blood-thirsty dragon Trepezard had lain asleep in his lair. But something mysterious has awaken him and his wrath. In one fiery breath, the dragon can burn entire villages. The peasants of Leatholin live in mortal fear of their lives. Yet the treacherous and corrupt lords and knights are too afraid to protect their people. Meanwhile, there are threats of the the wild and powerful invaders from the North. The situation is dire and hopeless.

Until one insignificant, simple-hearted farm boy sets out to fight the dragon.

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Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Literature

Published on by Mary Cooney2 Comments

Last week, my teenage daughter said to me, “I love talking about books.” I couldn’t agree more. And the popularity of book clubs is evidence that we’re not alone. What a pleasure it is to read a good book and then talk about it!

Thankfully, doing these two simple things is an effective way of developing critical thinking skills — provided you ask and discuss the right questions. So, as I promised in my last post, here is a list of questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy that you can ask your children/teens to help them think critically about the books they are reading.

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Our Favorite Homeschool Curricula This Year (2018 – 2019)

Published on by Mary Cooney2 Comments

It’s spring! Time to start planning for the coming school year. In years past, I used to spend hours browsing home school curricula. This year, with our second teen heading to highschool in the fall, there isn’t that much browsing to do. We’re pretty much sticking to the stuff that we know has worked for us in the past. For those of you who are deciding on curricula, here is a list of our favorite books from this year:

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WWII, the Battle of Britain, and Great Summer Reading

Published on by Mary Cooney1 Comment

Well, she’s done it yet again. My daughter Carolyn (aka Big-Sis) has written another novel. As the oldest of six kids and an avid reader, she knows what makes a book appealing. My boys devoured this one.

The Badge of Kenley’s Legend is a historical fiction that takes place in England during WWII. A plucky orphan boy  overhears a German spy’s ploy to destroy the Royal Air Force Kenley, the base where his beloved brothers are stationed. Stuck in the countryside as an evacuee, he sets out to warn his brothers in order to save them from impending doom.

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Free Classic Literature Guides!

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When my oldest daughter entered middle school, I wanted to discuss the books she was reading.   When I was a kid, I loved to read and even more, I loved to discuss the books I was reading.  It helped me to discover details that I missed and look at the story from a little different perspective.   So I began a quest to find curriculum that would serve as a basis for these discussions.  Kolbe Academy has an extensive literature program with reading comprehension questions as well as paper ideas.   Rainbow Resource has Christian Novel Studies that include questions, vocabulary, recipes (in some cases), and background information.  I own parts of each of these program, but for sheer money-saving purposes, I felt that I needed to write some of my own.

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Books to Give Your Kids this Christmas

Published on by Mary Cooney5 Comments

Around this time of year as I think about Christmas shopping, I know I have to tackle the toy closet in order to make room for more stuff. However,  one look at our toy storage, which is a dangerous undertaking, makes me want to revolt against plastic toys, toys that need batteries, toys with a million little pieces, and toys in general. The thought of having to buy even more toys makes me feel like this:

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