My wife and I never homeschooled our children, but back in the day when they were growing up, things were quite different. Today, with four of our seven grandchildren being taught at home by their mom, we are really interested in following their progress, projects and activities. One subject which I got involved in with recently was, creating a series of reading lessons for our youngest grandson Wyatt, and it all started with an Ibis.

These feathered friends have always fascinated me, because despite their awkward gait, once they take wing, they seem magically transformed into one of the most graceful birds of all. So, one day I wrote a children’s poem about them, and one thing leading to another, I ended up writing an entire series of silly bird verses. Fast forwarding to this year and back to Wyatt, we have all been concerned about his struggle in learning to read. So, one day I decided to use my Ibis poem to make a fun reading and nature lesson for him. Our daughter-in-law, took one look at the lessons and said, “I’ wish you could write a whole book of these!”

Long story short, “All Creatures Mostly Small – Lessons for Wyatt” was born. I was inspired by Theodor Seuss Geisel who showed us in his Dr. Seuss books, that learning to read is much more than just avoiding dangling participles or split infinitives. It is about having fun! This collection of twenty-four lighthearted verses on birds and ants, and toes and noses offers a poetic fun approach to reading, both for children and for the childlike at heart. Each of these home-school reading lessons includes a short poem, a Bible verse, facts on nature and some questions. Along with the daily assignments are sprinkled suggestions for family activities and projects, such as a trip to the zoo, building a bird house and going to the park. My prayer is that you will enjoy discovering somewhere between the funny rhymes and the challenging projects, that better reading just happens along the way!

P.S. The eBook version will be available for free this coming Monday – Wednesday (May 22-24)