The Lighted Rose Homeschool

Our carefully curated August playlist introduces topics in a gentle, intentional sequence. Pop it on in the background during morning time, car rides, or sensory play:

• Welcome to August: Exploring August as a month of the year and enjoying the final weeks of summer
• Invention & Technology: Discovering the history of engineering, human ingenuity, and cool technology
• Medieval Times & Lore: Stepping into history with songs about knights, castles, and historical legends
• Fairy Tales & Imagination: Celebrating nursery rhymes, storytime classics, and magical melodies
• Whimsical Worlds: Whistling along to favorite Disney tunes and playful childhood classics
• Animals & Entertainment: High-energy songs featuring visits to the zoo, the circus, and old-fashioned carnivals
• Rest & Reset: Winding down with mindful fairy tale, fairy castle, rainbow land, dragon’s lair, balloons, unicorns, wishing well, and magic carpet meditations

🔗 Ready to listen? [Find August’s Amazon Music Playlist here.]

These books have been such a joy for us. I’ve included links if you’d like to add them to your home collection, which is a lovely way to keep them ready for when these themes come back around each year. Of course, I also encourage you to check your local library—it’s a wonderful place to let your children browse, explore, and find their own quiet treasures.

📖 Family Read-Alouds (Chapter Books)

Perfect for gathering around to share a longer, immersive story.

• Biographies:
• King Arthur and the Round Table
• Robin Hood
• Pinoccio
• Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
• Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales
• A Little Princess
• James and the Giant Peach
• A Bear Called Paddington
• William Shakespeare’s works

📖 Illustrated Picture Books

A mix of illustrated stories for all ages covering our August themes: The Arts & Invention and Fairy Tales & Imagination.

• Showdown at the Arcade, by Mercer Mayer’s (arcade games)
• The Bremen-Town Musicians, by Ruth Belov Gross (music)
• Curious George, by H.A. Rey (monkey)
• At the Zoo, Sesame Beginnings (the zoo)
• Terrific Tigers, Look at the Zoo Babies, Forest Animals, Animal Stars, Meet Some Mammals, What Puppies Love, Who Stays in Caves?
• Disney Babies at the Big Circus (circus)
• Fletcher and the Summer Show, by Julia Rawlinson & Tiphanie Beeke (talent show)
• Puss in Boots Fairy Tale Classics (fairy tale)
• I See Patterns, by Linda Benton (patterns)
• The Fortune-Tellers, by Lloyd Alexander (magic)
• Oh My Baby, Little One, by Kathi Appelt
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff, by Paul Galdone (fairy tale)
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Steig (magic)
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes (dress up)
• The Glorious Mother Goose, by Cooper Edens (nursery rhymes)
• The Big Book of Princess Stories, by Miles Kelly (fairy tales)
• C is for Clown, by Stan and Jan Berenstain (circus)
• Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum (art)
• Ready for the Rodeo, by Jack Rummel (rodeo)
• Chicken Little, by Steven Kellogg (fable)
• “Stand Back” Said the Elephant, “I’m Going to Sneeze!”, by Patricia Thomas (jungle animals, imagination)
• Flutterby (imagination)
• What Do Smurfs Do All Day?, by Peyer (imagination)
• Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?, by Carmela Lavigna Coyle (fairy tales, imagination)
• A Buzz is Part of a Bee, by Carolyn Lunn
• Jack and the Beanstalk, by Mara Alperin (fairy tales)
• Game Time!, by Stuart J. Murphy (games)
• Safari Park, by Stuart J. Murphy (safari animals)
• Lemonade for Sale, by Stuart J. Murphy (lemonade)
• Too Many Kangaroo Things To Do, by Stuart J. Murphy (kangaroos)
• Jump, Kangaroo, Jump, by Stuart J. Murphy (kangaroos)
• Divide and Ride, by Stuart J. Murphy (amusement parks)
• If I Ran the Zoo, by Dr. Seuss (zoo)
• I Like the Music, by Leah Komaiko (music)
• The Usborne Book of Simple Things to Make and Do (inventions)
• Favorite Tales of Monsters and Trolls (fairy tales)
• The Golden Book of Jokes & Riddles (jokes & riddles)
• The Book With No Pictures, by B.J. Novak (imagination)
• The Three Wishes, by M. Jean Craig (folk tale)
• Pixie Hollow Pop-Up (fairies)
• Walt Disney’s Cinderella a Little Golden Book (fairy tales)
• Oh Say Can You Say?, by Dr. Seuss (imagination)
• There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!, by Dr. Seuss (imagination)
• Horton Hatches the Egg, by Dr. Seuss (imagination)
• Interrupting Chicken, by David Ezra Stein (fairy tales)
• Rhymes About Children, Mother Goose, a Treasury Collection Pop-Up Book (nursery rhymes)
• The Real Mother Goose, by Blanche Fisher Wright (nursery rhymes)
• The Magician’s Counting Book, by Rand McNally (magic)
• How to Scare a Lion, by Dorothy Stephenson (lions)
• Pinocchio, by Walt Disney (fairy tales, imagination)
• Mother Goose, by Tasha Tudor (nursery rhymes)
• Corduroy, by Don Freeman (imagination)
• Fairy Tale Classics Rumpelstiltskin, by Paul Galdone (fairy tales)
• Best Friends Wear Pink Tutus, by Sheri Brownrig (dance)
• Aesop’s Fables/Goldilocks/The 3 Little Pigs/Mother Goose, by Little Bendon Books (nursery rhymes, fables, folktale)
• The Little Red hen, by Paul Galdone (fable)
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin Jr & Eric Carle (imagination)
• Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum (imagination)
• Elevator Magic, by Stuart J. Murphy (imagination)
• The King’s Wish, by Benjamin Elkin (fairy tales)
• Black and White Rabbit’s ABC, by Alan Baker
• Emma, by Wendy Kesselman (art)
• Tell Me Another! by Mathew Price (storytelling)
• Aunt Isabel Tells a Good one, by Kate Duce (storytelling)
• This Little Piggy, by Genine Delahaye (nursery rhymes)
• Fox in Socks, by Dr. Seuss (imagination)
• Oh the Thinks you can Think!, by Dr. Seuss (imagination)
• How a Book is Made, by Aliki (invention)
• Would you Rather be a Bullfrog?, by Theo. LeSieg (imagination)
• Press here, by Herve Tullet (imagination)

Grab some blankets and cozy snacks! These fun watches pair perfectly with your lessons this month:

• Fairy Tales, Myths & Legends: Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Snow White, Aladdin, The Sword in the Stone, Quest for Camelot, Pete’s Dragon, Puff the Magic Dragon, Trolls, The Smurfs, and Into the Woods
• Inventions, Technology & Robots: Inspector Gadget, Flubber, Smart House, Robots, and The Brave Little Toaster
• Musical Classics & Whimsical Stories: The Sound of Music, The Music Man, Dumbo, The Rescuers, A Simple Wish, and Winnie the Pooh
• The Ultimate Theme Tie-Ins: The Magic School Bus (Gets Programmed)

Bring your learning to life out in the real world with these seasonal excursions:

• The Arts, Theatre & Fine Crafts: Visiting local art museums, looking at glass blowing at a glass museum, visiting local stained-glass art centers or cathedrals, attending a ballet or theatre production, checking out community art centers, or joining local sewing clubs & 4-h sewing project presentations
• Invention, Science & Technology: Exploring a classic arcade to study computer history or tracking down mechanical marvels at a regional tech museum
• End-of-Summer Festivals & Fun: Spending a day at a classic country fair, visiting the zoo, heading to a traditional circus, or enjoying a local amusement park
• Late Summer Movie Traditions: Catching a double feature at a local drive-in movie theater, walking to an indoor cinema on a rainy day, or setting up a cozy outdoor movie projector at home in the backyard

If you want to add rigorous, free textbooks to our hands-on resources, we highly recommend matching this month’s activities with these specific units:

🧪 Core Knowledge Science

• Grade K Unit 6: Computers All Around Us
• Grade 1 Unit 4: Simple Machines
• Grade 1 Unit 6: Helpful Computers
• Grade 2 Unit 6: Using Computers
• Grade 3 Unit 6: Codes and Computers
• Grade 4 Unit 7: Problem-Solving and Computers
• Grade 5 Unit 7: Designing Computer Programs

🌍 Core Knowledge History & Geography

• Grade 4 Unit 3: Medieval Europe
• Grade 4 Unit 4: Medieval Islamic Empires
• Grade 4 Unit 5: Early and Medieval African Kingdoms
• Grade 5 Unit 4: The Renaissance
• Grade 6 Unit 5: The Industrial Revolution: Changes and Challenges
• Grade 6 Unit 8: Industrialization and Urbanization in America
• Grade 6 Unit 9: Reform in Industrial America

✏️ Core Knowledge Language Arts Units

• Grade K Domain 1: Nursery Rhymes and Fables
• Grade K Domain 3: Stories
• Grade K Domain 7: Kings and Queens
• Grade 1 Domain 1: Fables and Stories
• Grade 1 Domain 3: Different Lands, Similar Stories
• Grade 1 Domain 9: Fairy Tales
• Grade 2 Domain 1: Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
• Grade 3 Unit 1: Classic Tales: The Wind in the Willows
• Grade 3 CKLA Unit 1: Third Grade Skills—Classic Tales aug
• Grade 4 Unit 2: Empires in the Middle Ages, Parts 1 and 2
• Grade 4 Unit 3: Poetry
• Grade 4 Unit 4: Eureka! Student Inventor
• Grade 4 Unit 6: Contemporary Fiction
• Grade 5 Unit 3: Poetry
• Grade 5 Unit 4: Adventures of Don Quixote
• Grade 5 Unit 5: The Renaissance
• Grade 5 Unit 7: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Grade 6 Unit 2: Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor
• Grade 7 Unit 2: The Tempest
• Grade 7 Unit 6: The Genius of the Harlem Renaissance
• 8Unit 1: Us, in Progress: Short Stories About Young Latinos
• 8Unit 4: The Genius of the Harlem Renaissance, Volume 2

💡 Teacher’s Note: For the absolute best learning flow, we recommend reviewing any Science or History & Geography units marked with asterisks before you jump into the paired Language Arts unit!