NEW! Chapter Book Explorers

Who are Chapter Book Explorers?
They are families travelling together across a landscape of learning opportunities. They love to test all the tasty morsels offered, keeping their hearts and minds open for knowledge and keeping their hands at the ready to make, bake, craft and experiment.
They are child adventurers who may still sometimes need a guide to help negotiate the twisty-turny road towards independent learning. The path is sometimes mapped for them by older, more experienced travellers and sometimes, the path is of their own choosing as they hone their skills and sharpen their taste-buds.
They are independent readers who can navigate a pdf by themselves to determine their own learning adventure. They take on fellow travellers only when necessary and confidently carve their way forward, printing only what they need, exploring new ideas and learning what they want.
Chapter Book Explorers are all these things. They are ready for longer, more in depth, more complex studies that Picture Book Explorers. They are home educators, home schoolers, tutors and families who enjoy learning together and they are young learners who are ready to learn by themselves.

Chapter Book Explorers ~ Tom's Midnight Garden is written for learning adventurers between the ages of  8 and 12 years. The unit study can lead you on a journey that takes anywhere from 2 to 6 months to complete, depending on the number and type of activities chosen. Unlike Picture Book Explorers, it is written to the child rather than the adult so children can work with the material independently, if they wish.

This literature based unit study is cross curricular, with the geography and history projects focussing on England and the UK. There are hands-on science experiments for all seasons and a range of interactive notebooking pages included. With over 200 varied activities this pack has something for everyone :)

Find out more and view a sample chapter here.

You will also need a copy of the novel Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce.

Happy New Year 2016

Coming Soon - Chapter Book Explorers!

I'm very excited to announce that there will be a new cross-curricular literature-based unit study in the New Year. The last few activities have just been delivered to the tester families and I'm waiting for their feedback with bated breath.

This will be a larger, longer unit study for children aged 8 - 12. Older children will be able to complete the unit independently; younger children will need parental support with some of the activities.

Notebooking pages are included so that children will have a single unit Logbook as a momento of their explorations. There are over 50 hands-on activities, over 50 discussion/essay suggestions and over 50 extension ideas.

Win a copy of the new Michael Morpurgo book

Do you love Michael Morpurgo books?
We do. I think they are real book to home educators and homeschoolers everywhere. They're always moving and always pave the way into deep discussions and further learning.
I reckon that it's very likely that each one of his books would make a good springboard for a literature-based unit study of its own.
Most of them look at events in British and European history, fictionalising true stories in a way that engages modern children.
Last year, we explored The Best Christmas Present in the World and we will be revisiting the unit study, even if only for the recipes :)
If you want to win a copy of his new book An Eagle in the Snow, pop on over to Never The Same 2 Days Running for their free to enter competition.

Good Luck and Happy Exploring!

Deal of the Day

Today's Deal of the Day on Currclick is 50% off this downloadable resource....

Picture Book Explorers ~ The Best Christmas Present in the World.

Written in Britain and available for only £2.32 until approximately 4pm GMT Saturday 7th November 2015.

This complete cross-curricular unit study accompanies the Micheal Morpurgo book about the Christmas Day Truce of 1914.
As well as being a stand-alone literature-based unit, it would fit well into a larger homeschool study about Christmas, World War I, Belgium, Dorset or winter.

Don't miss out. Grab a bargain and share the news with other home educators and families everywhere :)

Happy Exploring!

Happy Yorkshire Day!!

Happy Yorkshire Day 

50% off 

Picture Book Explorers~Oscar Cat-about-town 

today only!!

The 1st of August is Yorkshire Day. The day to celebrate the largest county in England.
Although administrative borders were re-jigged in 1974, the old historic county borders were never changed. This has caused some confusion about the current names of counties and where their borders lie. Some people may think this is of no significance, after all where you live is still where you live whatever name it is given. However, it is still an issue that causes strong feelings. I know that my neighbours over the current administrative border, an area most people would consider to now be outside of Yorkshire, will be celebrating Yorkshire Day with gusto.

And it is not just those few villages who believe they are still in Yorkshire, The Association of British Counties completely agrees with them.

Yorkshire was originally divided into three Ridings, West, North and East, whose borders all met at York, the County Town. The word 'Ridings' comes from the old Viking word 'thridding' meaning 'third'. Likewise, the city name 'York' is derived from an old Viking word, 'Jorvik'. You can find out more about the traditional county of Yorkshire at County-Wise, where they also have a map showing the administrative boundaries compared to the historic boundaries. It doesn't look like much of a difference, but it could've been all important in the days when you had to be born in Yorkshire to be able to play cricket for them ;)

Being a Yorkshire lass born and bred, I can tell you that it's a fabulous place to live with a varied landscape. In just a few hours you can travel across bleak moors, over steep hills into the flat area around York and onto the coast with its cliffs, rock pools and sandy beaches. You will pass through quaint villages of stone-built cottages surrounded by fields bounded by drystone walls, as well as the massive urban areas developed during the industrial revolution.

It's a place well worth visiting. If it's too far for you to travel in real life, the Picture Book Explorers~Oscar, cat-about-town unit is a perfect way to introduce the region to your children, using a beautifully illustrated picture book written by the famous vet, James Herriot. It's packed full of activities to keep your young ones learning and loving it :)

Happy Exploring!

Summer Exploring

Are you looking for Picture Book Explorers with a connection to summer?

How about Picture Book Explorers ~ Floss with a storyline that ends at a summer show and sheepdog trial?

Or Picture Book Explorers ~ Dogger with the main events happening at a summer fair?

Or Picture Book Explorers ~ I Took the Moon For a Walk, a beautifully illustrated fantasy taking place on a summer's evening?

Or Picture Book Explorers ~ The North Wind and the Sun, a beautifully illustrated re-telling of Fontaine's fable?

Or if you want to tie your studies in with a historical event, how about Picture Book Explorers ~ The Little Ships which covers the Dunkirk evacuations of World War II in May- June 1940?

Happy Exploring!