The Lighted Rose Homeschool

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

• Welcome to Winter: Exploring January as a month of the year
• Language Arts Play: Playing with Antonyms, Opposites, & Synonyms
• The Frozen North: Arctic adventures featuring penguins, ice, snowmen, and snow
• Animal Science: Mammals & their unique winter survival traits
• History & Culture: Learning about the Inuit Peoples & Viking History
• Wild Weather: Digging into Earth’s extreme winter weather
• Physical Science: Exploring the states of matter & the mystery of steam
• Rest & Reset: Winding down with cozy winter meditations

🔗 Ready to listen? [Find January’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.

• Mr. Popper’s Penguins, by Richard Atwater

📖 Illustrated Picture Books

A mix of illustrated stories for all ages covering our January themes: Winter, Vikings, & Inuit People.

• Winter, by Gerda Muller (winter)
• Snow, by Uri Shulevitz (winter)
• My First Little House Books: Winter Days in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder (winter)
• The Hat, by Jan Brett (winter)
• Guided Science Readers: The Penguin Chick, See the Snow (B), Polar Bears are Wild (B), The Icy Cold Arctic (C), It is Winter! (B), Penguins Can Go! (A), Who is Hiding in the Snow (B), Time to Hibernate (E), Polar Bears are Wild! () (winter)
• Let it Snow, by Maryann Cocca-Leffler (winter, snow)
• I am Snow, by Jean Marzollo (winter, snow)
• The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats (winter, snow)
• The Jacket I Wear in the Snow, by Shirley Neitzel (winter, snow)
• Sadie and the Snowman, by Allen Morgan (snowmen, winter, season changes, states of matter)
• The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, by Jeffrey Burton (snowmen)
• Frosty the Snowman, Random House (snowmen)
• There was a Cold Lady who Swallowed Some Snow, by Lucille Colandro (snowmen)
• The Biggest Snowman Ever, by Steven Kroll (snowmen)
• Little Bear’s Special Friend, by Claire Freedman (winter, changing seasons, snowmen)
• The Mitten, by Jan Brett (winter, animals)
• Over and Under the Snow, by Kate Messner (winter, animals)
• Hedgie Loves to Read, by Jan Brett (winter, animals)
• TACKY the Penguin, by Helen Lester (the arctic, animals)
• Arctic Animals, by Jill McDonald (arctic, animals)
• Less than Zero, by Stuart J. Murphy (arctic animals)
• Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, by Bill Martin Jr. (animals)
• Tracking & The Art of Seeing, by Paul Rezendes (animals)
• Where Once There was a Wood, by Denise Fleming (animals)
• Slipper and Flipper in the Quest for the Golden Sun, by Susan Reagan (arctic)
• The Alaska Mother Goose, by Shelley Gill (alaska, the arctic)
• Whale Snow, by Debby Dahl Edwardson (the arctic, Inuit Peoples)
• The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane, by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen (extreme weather)
• Weather Words and What they Mean, by Gail Gibbons (weather)
• Bubbles, Bubbles, Sesame Beginnings (water)
• Solids, Liquids, and Gases, by Ginger Garrett (states of matter)
• Big and Little A Book of Opposites, by Carolina Buzio (opposites)
• Moose and Mouse, by Mary Packard (opposites)
• Black on White, by Tana Hoban (opposites)
• Old Hat New Hat, by Stan and Jan Berenstain (opposites)
• Great Day for UP, by Dr. Seuss (opposites)

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

• Arctic Life & Science: Happy Feet and Pebbles the Penguin
• Ice & Snow Adventures: Frozen
• Extreme Weather Days: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Singing in the Rain
• Mammals & Winter Survival: The Fox and the Hound
• Viking Culture & Lore: How to Train Your Dragon
• The Ultimate Science Tie-Ins: The Magic School Bus (In the Arctic / Ups and Downs)

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

• Local Adventures: Sledding, snow tubing, ice skating, or checking out frozen ponds nearby
• Community Events: Catching a Disney on Ice show or visiting a local Renaissance Faire to explore Viking culture and historic braids
• Animal Outings: Visiting the aviary or looking for the penguins at your local zoo

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 2 Unit 1: Properties of Matter
• Grade 5 Unit 1: Investigating Matter

🌍 Core Knowledge History & Geography

• Grade 3 Unit 3: The Vikings*
• Grade 3 Unit 4: The Earliest Americans (Beringia & Alaska)
• Grade 3 Unit 6: Exploration of North America (Canada & Inuit)
• Grade 6 Unit 5: Natural Hazards

✏️ Core Knowledge Language Arts Units

• Grade 3 Unit 6: The Viking Age*
• Grade 3 CKLA Unit 6: Third Grade Skills — Gods, Giants, and Dwarves

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