tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post8616343841690393072..comments2024-01-19T05:29:16.776+00:00Comments on The Tiger Chronicle: Everything is a MysteryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-59074456704167917922014-11-08T09:29:17.166+00:002014-11-08T09:29:17.166+00:00Arrghh, I have experience of that too ;)Arrghh, I have experience of that too ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-48714303090734073442014-10-24T14:58:34.000+01:002014-10-24T14:58:34.000+01:00I usually start thinking about a possible theme a ...I usually start thinking about a possible theme a few months in advance. Once I have a theme in mind (that usually occurs after observing Tiger's interest for a while), I then start paying special attention to all materials and/or events that may be related to the theme, even those that are remotely so. It just happens that I've been doing this for a few years so pulling related materials together has become second nature to me. Then I just introduce them when the opportunity arises.<br /><br />There are instances when I've made substantial preparations, only for it to not come together, but you don't hear about those. :-) The Marco Polo theme we tried to do last year comes to mind. Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-32359744888674287202014-10-24T14:51:31.538+01:002014-10-24T14:51:31.538+01:00Thank you. :-)Thank you. :-)Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-67776843568795442082014-10-24T14:01:54.945+01:002014-10-24T14:01:54.945+01:00Can I ask how long it takes you to pull together y...Can I ask how long it takes you to pull together your studies? They always look so enjoyable for your student, but quite intensive prep wise (not that i am opposed to a little research - it is part of the fun of being a home ed parent ;) )Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-77203601490958409512014-10-24T13:59:12.431+01:002014-10-24T13:59:12.431+01:00I think you have such exciting themes! This is suc...I think you have such exciting themes! This is such a fantastic study.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-57838649800777919132014-10-23T16:02:42.704+01:002014-10-23T16:02:42.704+01:00Indeed, Robyn. :-) If we can find materials to s...Indeed, Robyn. :-) If we can find materials to support our children's interest, they usually learn most enthusiastically this way.Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-46534733185704892422014-10-23T00:31:40.344+01:002014-10-23T00:31:40.344+01:00I am a mystery nut! My daughter read all the Boxca...I am a mystery nut! My daughter read all the Boxcar Children. My youngest son enjoyed a few, then moved on. I sometimes struggle with keeping him engaged in reading, so I really have to keep on top of his interests and change things up when needed. I really believe in encouraging that which is getting them excited about learning at the moment.<br /><br />Robyn Dolan, author "The Working Parent's Guide To Homeschooling"Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13476577393876980954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-67930543702132531342014-10-21T10:56:38.280+01:002014-10-21T10:56:38.280+01:00Thank you, Claire. :-) I think the different par...Thank you, Claire. :-) I think the different parts of the curriculum come together nicely because the theme happens to be 'mystery', which, now that I look into it, there are many resources/materials available with that label. How much actual mystery there is inside each resource differs, but it appears that anything that requires a bit of inquiry and clue searching can be turned into a mystery-related opportunity. :-)Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-41829186749896533422014-10-21T10:28:57.576+01:002014-10-21T10:28:57.576+01:00This is a fantastic and very interesting post Hwee...This is a fantastic and very interesting post Hwee. My guys also love mysteries but I adore how you have pulled together an entire curriculum based on mystery solving. You are an incredibly ingenious home school mum!claireshomeeducationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06697524025087880484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-11666069387127001352014-10-20T18:24:32.604+01:002014-10-20T18:24:32.604+01:00The Boxcar children was what kicked off the whole ...The Boxcar children was what kicked off the whole adventure/mystery interest in Tiger. Your boys might also enjoy the Encyclopedia Brown series, which is written for the 8-11 age group, I think.Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-82052539570871577752014-10-20T18:23:15.558+01:002014-10-20T18:23:15.558+01:00You're very welcome. Life of Fred and Zaccaro...You're very welcome. Life of Fred and Zaccaro books are very good selections for maths, so it seems like you're well on your way in terms of getting fun supplements for your child. :-)Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-75750698720277851552014-10-20T17:05:18.135+01:002014-10-20T17:05:18.135+01:00Thanks for your quick reply! Enid Blyton books ar...Thanks for your quick reply! Enid Blyton books are a hit here too, but I haven't seen the ones by Anthony Horowitz, so we will check into those. I am always looking for fun supplements for math as it's not a favorite subject here (except for me!). Life of Fred and Zaccaro books are the best I've found so far. When I saw "math" and "mysteries" in the same title it got my attention! :) I will do some poking around on Amazon. Thanks so much and I'm glad I found your blog!Sunrisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07253991898918182434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-52011029879352500882014-10-20T16:14:43.690+01:002014-10-20T16:14:43.690+01:00I should try my mystery fan on Box Car children, I...I should try my mystery fan on Box Car children, I never read them as a kid, so I didn't think to include them in my book suggestions for him.Ticiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17970101432834731044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-17590193293530992102014-10-18T12:40:37.141+01:002014-10-18T12:40:37.141+01:00Thanks, Melissa. There are so many mystery-relate...Thanks, Melissa. There are so many mystery-related resources so it has been an easy unit to put together. :-)Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-74486389074393606362014-10-18T12:16:31.591+01:002014-10-18T12:16:31.591+01:00How fun. What a great adventureHow fun. What a great adventureMelissa N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02954776109356807170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-58959425426931882272014-10-18T09:49:12.721+01:002014-10-18T09:49:12.721+01:00You're welcome, Sue. :-) Living near a big c...You're welcome, Sue. :-) Living near a big city like London has worked very well for us in terms of finding ample educational opportunities, so I'm staying put until Tiger has completed his homeschooling, then my husband and I will probably move to the countryside and lead a quiet life afterwards. :-)<br /><br />I've benefited lots from other homeschooling families sharing their finds and experiences online so I'm just doing my bit to give back to the community from which I've learnt so much over the years.<br /><br />Tiger has dipped his toes into fantasy stories (via H.G. Wells) but I'm trying to stall his advancement into the fanatsy world and let him be immersed in mysteries for a bit longer. Having said that, we have Tolkien's work lined up for 2015, and those can be classified as fantasy stories, so Tiger doesn't have to wait for very long before he reads a whole bunch of those!Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-9130162210388820422014-10-18T09:37:56.238+01:002014-10-18T09:37:56.238+01:00Hwee,
You and Tiger have done yet another worksho...Hwee,<br /><br />You and Tiger have done yet another workshop! You seem to find all kinds of interesting things out there in the community to get involved with. I like the sound of a music workshop very much.<br /><br />My children have also enjoyed mystery stories. We have lots of mystery series on our bookshelves though at the moment they all seem to be engrossed in fantasy stories.<br /><br />Thank you for all the links. I will enjoy exploring them. You always find such interesting things to use and share.Sue Elvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04461161335483760142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-6518030100055883302014-10-18T07:38:25.343+01:002014-10-18T07:38:25.343+01:00Thank you, Leslie. I find it easier to find relev...Thank you, Leslie. I find it easier to find relevant materials to match my son's current interest when it's an obvious one, such as "mysteries"! :-)Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-6564675332133673162014-10-17T22:11:30.217+01:002014-10-17T22:11:30.217+01:00This is such a great book list! You really make s...This is such a great book list! You really make school fun :)Leslie Kleppehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07824677766756234360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-5711488935674904302014-10-17T20:10:23.174+01:002014-10-17T20:10:23.174+01:00Thank you for your kind words, Lucinda! It's ...Thank you for your kind words, Lucinda! It's not so much of 'genius' but more of putting in *some* effort in planning (I didn't say that it took no effort at all! :-) ), noticing potential learning opportunities, and a willingness to travel. Incidentally, noticing themes and connections is my personal preferred way of learning so that's probably why it seems to come naturally to me when applying it in my homeschool.<br /><br />I'd say that the muder mystery maths is about mid-level standard, not overly stretching but just about right to keep Tiger engaged and thinking about certain concepts in a different way from how they are usually laid out in maths textbooks/workbooks.Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-80686655681688949082014-10-17T19:56:46.438+01:002014-10-17T19:56:46.438+01:00I agree that many unit studies can seem forced and...I agree that many unit studies can seem forced and overdone, but you seem to have a genius for pulling together activities, resources and field trips on a theme, Hwee. I might check out the geography mysteries you mention. And the murder mystery maths looks fun too!Lucindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06165136384071830629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-71800548616586632322014-10-17T18:14:38.300+01:002014-10-17T18:14:38.300+01:00Tiger really enjoys books written by by Anthony Ho...Tiger really enjoys books written by by Anthony Horowitz, as well as the Enid Blyton books. As for the mini mystery maths book, each exercise presents a mixture of skills that the child has to use to solve the mystery: arithmetic, algebra, shapes, graphs and charts. I use it as a fun enrichment exercise for Tiger to review what he already knows, while practising maths.<br /><br />There are many alternative resources available on Amazon, if you type in "math mystery", so I won't suggest you to limit yourself to this particular one that we happen to be using. :-)<br />Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-34102526045176656692014-10-17T17:36:33.243+01:002014-10-17T17:36:33.243+01:00Thanks for visiting, Bonnie. Tiger would be grade ...Thanks for visiting, Bonnie. Tiger would be grade 4 in the US system. I hope your son will enjoy The Boxcar Children as much as we did! :-)Hweehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895959128588945675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-68769300414074881512014-10-17T17:27:31.092+01:002014-10-17T17:27:31.092+01:00My kids loooove mysteries! I have not seen severa...My kids loooove mysteries! I have not seen several of these books. Can you tell me which ones were big hits? I am particularly interested in the mini math mysteries. I am in the US and it doesn't appear to be readily available here, but I might still try to get it if it's awesome! ;) Thanks for sharing!<br />(P.S. I apologize if this is a duplicate post; my first one seems to have vaporized!)Sunrisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07253991898918182434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847571046883368877.post-68970121554956286742014-10-17T14:27:09.918+01:002014-10-17T14:27:09.918+01:00This is great - as a mom of boys I'm always lo...This is great - as a mom of boys I'm always looking for ideas that captures their interest. What grade is Tiger? My first grader is just starting The BoxCar Children and I am looking forward to other Mysterys.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997489313722481520noreply@blogger.com