I read The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty to the children for over two months. We did a lot of driving to Science Olympiad practices, co-op, and music lessons, which reduced our reading time to a minimum. But we persevered. They liked it a lot.
The Cat of Bubastes
Set in Ancient Egypt about the time when Moses was an adult prince there, this book will teach your children a lot about that culture. The clothing, architecture, worship, societal hierarchy, fishing, hunting, agriculture etc from Ancient Egypt feature on every page.
Historical fiction serves a very important purpose in the life of our students. It keeps their attention so they want to read more books, while also teaching them historical facts that stick, because they are attached to a story.
Notgrass World History (high school curriculum) recommends The Cat of Bubastes as the first book for the English portion of the class. I think there are 12 books in the list. We will go through this curriculum two years from now, but we might as well start early.
My son practiced his cubing skills while listening. My daughter drew constantly. Their hands are busy, their mind is focused on listening to me. Read-aloud time really bonds us. I can read for about 30 minutes without any problems. If I push myself, I can go for an entire hour, but my voice gets hoarse. They say the goal should be at least 20 minutes a day.
