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ELEMENTS OF FUN BOOK LIST YEAR ONE
WEEKS 1-12:
ELEMENTS OF FUN BOOK LIST YEAR ONE: WEEKS 1-12 is designed to be used with Elements of Fun Learning Homeschool Curriculum. This curriculum uses Disney Movies to teach and engage children by using what they love most!
MOVIES USED:
Week 1: Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Videos; Videos of the History of Walt Disney World and Disneyland
Week 2: Mickey’s Seeing the World/Around the World in 80 Days
Week 3: Walt Disney’s Fantasia – Part One
Week 4: Walt Disney’s Fantasia – Part Two
Week 5-6: Snow White/The Reluctant Dragon
Week 7-8: Rapunzel/Tangled
Week 9-10: Pinocchio
Week 11-12: Beauty and the Beast
BOOKS USED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FOR ALL LEVELS:
Bible – If you do not do the Bible portion, there is a character trait section you can select instead.
TIMELINE BOOK or Chart
Usborne Atlas or another atlas for older students. Online resources can be used. For Beginner use USBORNE Sticker Atlas
USBORNE 365 Science Experiments (Needed for all levels): Will be used for throughout multiple unit studies
Usborne Flags of the World to Color or Usborne Flag Sticker Book or Other Flags of the World Book (such as this one)
OPTIONAL BOOKS for Home Education with Elements of Fun Book List Year One: Weeks 1-12
Usborne Step-By-Step Drawing Book (Consumable – Used for Beginner and Intermediate): Will be used throughout multiple unit studies
The following books can be used the entire year. They are optional, but I think they are great resources to show children how other people live around the world. Try to get these books from the library! (I did that and ended up buying a few of them.)
Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel 1995 This book shows the material possessions of families from around the world. Great visual.
Where Children Sleep by James Mollison 2010 Children’s bedrooms around the world.
Toy Stories: Photos of Children from Around the World and their Favorite Things by Gabriele Galimberti. This excellent book shows the toys from kids around the world. It is great to highlight our overconsumption in the United States.
What the World Eats by Faith D’Aluisio 2008 Great Visual showing what people in other countries typically eat for a month. Graphically shows the consumption and overconsumption of countries around the world.
What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets by Peter Menzel 2010
BOOKS USED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR (By Level) for Elements of Fun Book List Year One: Weeks 1-12
BEGINNER:
The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine F. Vos OR A Child’s First Bible by Kenneth Taylor
INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED: BIBLE of Choice
BOOKS USED FOR WEEKS 1-12 by Week (and then Level) for Elements of Fun Book List Year One: Weeks 1-12
WEEK 1:
BEGINNER:
Character: Beautiful Oops (Preschool-Grade 2) This book shows children that they can turn mistakes into something beautiful.
National Geographic: Walt Disney by Barbara Kramer
INTERMEDIATE:
Who Was Walt Disney? by Whitney Stewart (grade 3-5)
ADVANCED:
How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life by Pat Williams
WEEK 2:
ALL LEVELS:
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (I use this for all levels, but it is a beginner book. Have older children read it to younger ones. If you don’t have younger children, you can omit this book).
BEGINNER:
Mickey’s Seeing the World DVD
The Big Dipper by Franklin Branley
Kindness Counts by Bryan Smith
Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney
Usborne Around the World in Eighty Days
INTERMEDIATE:
The Big Dipper by Franklin Branley
Classic Starts Around the World in Eighty Days (or another abridged version). I like the Classic Starts because there are discussion questions at the end. This book has 17 chapters, so it may take 2 weeks to complete depending on your child’s reading level.
ADVANCED:
Around the World in Eighty Days (Whole Story) This is my favorite version of the book.
Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide by Dinah L. Moche. This will be used for week 2, 3, 4, and 9 and 10.
WEEK 3:
BEGINNER:
Usborne’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
A Tree for All Seasons by Robin Bernard
The Story of the Orchestra by Robert Levine
INTERMEDIATE:
A Tree for All Seasons by Robin Bernard
The Story of the Orchestra by Robert Levine
ADVANCED: No book selections for this week.
WEEK 4:
BEGINNER:
National Geographic Volcano
Evolution/Creation: Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible
INTERMEDIATE:
Evolution/Creation: The Answer Book for Kids
Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be by Daniel Loxton
National Geographic Everything Volcanoes and Earthquakes
ADVANCED:
Creation/Evolution: Evolution Impossible by Dr. John Ashton
Evolution 2.0 by Perry Marshall
WEEK 5-6:
BEGINNER:
Brothers Grimm version of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs – available online (see curriculum for an online link). Picture version recommended for Beginner. Snow White options listed in Appendix.
Freight Train by David Crews
Germs Make Me Sick by Melvin Berger (Ages 4-8)
Look What came from Germany by Kevin Davis (Ages 7 and up)
Germany ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Germany by Sarah Heiman (Ages 5-11)
Mr. Happy by Roger Hargreaves
National Geographic Rocks and Minerals by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (Ages 4-8)
Meet the Orchestra by Ann Hayes (Ages 4-7)
Composers: Ludwig Van Beethoven by Mike Venezia (Ages 7-9)
INTERMEDIATE:
After Happily Ever After – Snow White and the Magic Mirror (Ages 8-12) Story about how Snow White is too nice and doesn’t take care of herself. Snow White must learn to say no sometimes. This is a great message to us all.
OR Fairest of All by Serena Valentino (Also used for Advanced)
Achoo! By Trudee Romanek (Ages 9-14)
Who was Anne Frank? by Ann Abramson (Ages 8-12)
This is Munich by M. Sasek (Ages 9 and up)
Joy Journal – The child will be keeping a journal. They can decorate it if they would like. This week they will be writing Joy statements. This is just a short statement each day. Example: Today I feel joyful because I am homeschooled.
My Little Book of Rocks, Minerals, and Gems by Claudia Martin (Ages 8-12)
ORCHESTRA: Those Amazing Musical Instruments by Genevieve Helsby (Ages 9-12)
BACH and BEETHOVEN: Lives of the Musicians by Kathleen Krull (Ages 10-12)
ADVANCED:
Fairest of All by Serena Valentino
It’s Catching: The Infectious World of Germs and Microbes by Jennifer Gardy (Ages 12 and up)
Diary of Anne Frank (Ages 12 and up) This Diary is based on a young girl hiding in Amsterdam during World War 2. Anne (born in 1929) and her family spent two years hiding. She received the diary on her 13th birthday weeks before going into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. The diary was discovered in the attic where her family spent their days together. Anne died in a concentration camp, and her father had the book published later.
Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh (Beethoven and Bach) OR Lives of the Musicians by Kathryn Krull
WEEK 7-8:
BEGINNER:
Languages of the World: Polish
Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas
INTERMEDIATE:
Discover Poland by Rosie Wilson
A True Book: Genetics by Christine Taylor Butler
After Happily Ever After: Rapunzel by Tony Bradman
ADVANCED:
Essential Guide to Being Polish
Laws of Genetics and Gregor Mendel
WEEK 9-10:
BEGINNER:
Character Study: Select 1 or more books from the Appendix
Reading: Disney’s Pinocchio
Health: Smoking Stinks by Kim Gosselin
The Story of the Orchestra: Vivaldi’s Four Season: I absolutely love this book! It is amazing!!!
Look What Came from Italy by Miles Harvey
The Cricket in Time Square by George Selden
Chirping Crickets by Melvin Berger
Soap Carving for Children of All Ages
INTERMEDIATE:
Puffin Classic Pinocchio (If you think your child may be troubled by the original version, select the book below) OR The Adventures of Pinocchio IN this version, Pinocchio still hangs, but the drawings are not as scary.
Who was Galileo by Patricia Brennen Dumuth
Janice VanCleave’s Astronomy
The Story of the Orchestra: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons I absolutely love this book! It is amazing!!!
Whittling: If you prefer to do soap carving see the book listed above under beginner. 20-Minute Whittling Projects
ADVANCED:
BIBLE: OPTIONAL: God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew. This is the true story of a man who smuggled Bible’s into other countries. He spent his life spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.
Classic Pinocchio
6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make by Sean Covey
Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide
WEEK 11-12:
ALL LEVELS:
Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled all of France by Mara Rockliff
125 Cool Inventions or another Invention book from the Appendix.
Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack.
BEGINNER:
Look What Came From France by Miles Harvey
Beauty and the Beast by Eleanor Vere Boyle
INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED:
The Beast Within by Serena Valentino or
Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
We read both of the above books.
INTERMEDIATE:
Hey Kids, Let’s Visit Paris France by Teresa Mills
ADVANCED:
Culture Smart: France by Barry Tomalin
Reviewing movies for parents from a Christian perspective since 2005. Know Before You Go!
Christian Homeschooling mom – 30 years and counting
Autism Mom & Disney enthusiast
