Home School Commons

Tintoretto: Masterpieces in Colour

Aadel Bussinger — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:16:14 +0000

The general feeling about Jacopo Robusti is perhaps summed up by Giorgio Vasari in his “Lives.” “He is a great lover of the arts,” says our gossip; “he delights in playing on various musical instruments; he is a very agreeable person, but as far as painting is concerned he has the most capricious hand, and the boldest, most extravagant, and most obstinate brain that ever belonged to painter.

Getting tired of doing art studies on the same people? Try taking a peek at someone new with the Masterpieces in Colour books!

Tintoretto self portrait

This series was written for students to give an overview of a famous artist. Included are examples of the artists’ works in full color.

*Note: some of the art in the books does contain nudity.

Here are the artists:

Camping on the St. Lawrence

Aadel Bussinger — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:03:17 +0000

In this story I have endeavored to take my young readers to one of our noblest rivers, and not only to make them share in the stirring experiences which are to be had on its waters, but also to make them feel something of the power of the wonderful history of those who first looked upon its scenes of beauty.

This book isn’t exactly a historical narrative, but rather an adventure tale sprinkled with facts and people of history.

Great black and white drawings help give this book appeal, as does the many perils these boys face as they attempt to trek along the St. Lawrence river.

Download Camping on the St. Lawrence from gutenberg.org.

British Castles

Aadel Bussinger — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:14:08 +0000

A very beautifully illustrated treatise on the history of castle-building in England.

The writing in this book is a little heady – so it would probably only appeal to older students. But the information it contains about the structure of the castles and how they became elaborate and grand is worth the read.

Download British Castles from archive.org or gutenberg.org.

The English Lakes

Aadel Bussinger — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:07:31 +0000

A while back ago I posted a series of books called Beautiful England. They are descriptive little tomes with paintings of the structures and lands of England.

I was pleased to find that Project Gutenberg had added another title from the series – this one covering the famous lakes of the country.

Download The English Lakes from gutenberg.org.

Toy-Making At Home

Aadel Bussinger — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:05:20 +0000

Since we couldn’t take a lot of our toys with us on our move, my kids have been discovering how to make all kinds of toys out of household items.

One of their favorite pastimes is making things from our recycled materials. We have to recycle everything “clean” here – plastic bags, tubs, styrofoam, cans, bottles, clothes, etc. So our recycling bin has become a great toy generator!

This book has a lot of great ideas (100 to be exact) of little models, games, puzzles and more you can make from everyday items.

Download Toy-Making at Home from gutenberg.org.

Days of the Colonists

Aadel Bussinger — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:08:36 +0000

Living stories about John Smith, the founding of Plymouth, and all the way to the signing of the Declaration of Independence!

Published in 1922, this living history book has several color and black and white illustrations.

Twenty seven captivating stories about Colonial America.

Download Day of the Colonists from archive.org.

Another companion book is Colonial Children.

The Kewpie Primer

Aadel Bussinger — Sun, 05 May 2013 12:59:53 +0000

A reader fun for all ages! Originally dolls, Kewpies were found in all kinds of paraphernalia during the early 1900′s.

This book is full of fun illustrations you could use for coloring or clipart. The little stories and verses would make fun copywork or reading material for younger students.

Download The Kewpie Primer from archive.org.

The Children Of Odin

Aadel Bussinger — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:32:57 +0000

Here are the matchless tales of All-Father Odin, who crosses the Rainbow Bridge to walk among men in Midgard and sacrifices his right eye to drink from the Well of Wisdom; of Thor, whose mighty hammer defends Asgard; of Loki, whose mischievous cunning leads him to treachery against the gods; of giants, dragons, dwarfs and Valkyries; and of the terrible last battle that destroyed their world.

Another Norse mythology book, this one is light on illustrations but very heavy on good storytelling!

There are 4 parts to this ebook – each part containing around 7-10 stories.

Download The Children of Odin from gutenberg.org.

Looking for more Viking stories?

The Boy Travellers

Aadel Bussinger — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:36:27 +0000

A Civil War soldier turned journalist, turned world traveller, Thomas Knox was a man that knew adventure.

Are you familiar with The King and I? Well – Knox actually knew the king of Siam intimately and taught him many things about American education. He is mentioned in the book Anna and the King of Siam (which the musical was based on).

I’m so excited to share this book series with you! There are quite a few geography books on the site already (note especially the Beautiful England and Peeps at Many Lands series) – this series is especially unique.

The characters in ” The Boy Travellers ” are fictitious ; but the scenes that passed before their eyes, the people they met, and the incidents and accidents that befell them are real. The routes they travelled, the cities they visited, the excursions they made, the observations they recorded — in fact, nearly all that goes to make up this volume — were the actual experiences of the author at a very recent date.

Two boys – cousins and friends – depart with their fathers to distant lands. The basic idea of the book series is simple enough.

The wonderful thing about these books is the factual and descriptive detail that Knox injected from his travels into the stories.

Almost every book has a nice color plate at the beginning, and there is a black and white illustration on nearly every page!

Illustrations that depict maps, local dress and customs, architecture, people, and so much more.

I was able to find all 15 books in the set:

All of the links go to either archive.org or Google books. If you are wondering how you can read the Google books on your devices, you can use the Play Books app. The books from archive.org can be downloaded in Kindle form and read on a Kindle app (available for free at Amazon).

If you like this series and are looking for more – Heritage History has a great set called Twins of the World for individual download.

Snake & Reptile Nature Ebooks

Aadel Bussinger — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:19:44 +0000

Last week someone on the Homeschool Commons Facebook page asked if I had seen any free ebooks about snakes. While she was looking for material to read to her younger son, I found mostly adult books. But I still wanted to share them here in case there are any older snake and reptile lovers out there!

While there are no full ebooks for younger kids, there are chapters in nature readers that deal with snakes. I will list these first:

The chapter “Through Field and Meadow” in Nature Studies in Field and Wood
“Wiser Than Any Beast In The Field” in Sea Side and Way-side (this book series is also featured on this post)
“Snakes” (pg 87) of Nature Study Readers book 3

For older students and adults, you are sure to enjoy these titles that include snakes, crocodiles, and other reptiles:

If you have any other subjects or topics that are of particular interest to you and your children, please leave a comment here on the site or at the Facebook page and I will do some searching for you!