For those of us who were educated through the public school system, our creativity may be slightly stunted when considering book report options other than the standard "report form."  Using a standard reporting form can limit your child's opportunity to demonstrate more advanced comprehension and interpretation.

There are many other creative and fun options that I've found online, below is a sampling . Edit these lists to suit your children, methods, and preferences.  I keep a list of options that I am willing to accept in my teacher binder for quick reference.

Resources:
HomeschoolingFamilies.com 46 Alternatives to writing a book report.

My Favorites:
6. If a journey was involved, draw a map with explanatory notes of significant places.
10. Keep a reading journal and record your thoughts at the end of each period of reading.
12. Draw a comic-book page complete with bubble-style conversations showing an incident in your book.
14. Make a travel brochure inviting tourists to visit the setting of the book. What types of activities would there be for them to attend?
17. Prepare a list of 15 to 20 questions for use in determining if other people have read the book carefully.
19. Write a diary as the main character would write it to explain the events of the story.
20. Make a dictionary containing 20 or more difficult words from the book.
32. Create a board game based on events and characters in the book you read. Your game should include the following: a game board, a rule sheet and clear directions, events and characters from the story. 33. Make models of three objects which were important in the book you read. On a card attached to each model, tell why that object was important in the book.
37. Complete a series of five drawings that show five of the major events in the plot of the book you read. Write captions for each drawing so that the illustrations can be understood by someone who did not read the book.
39. Plan a party for the characters in the book you read. In order to do this, complete each of the following tasks: (a) Design an invitation to the party which would appeal to all of the characters. (b) Tell what food you would serve and why. (c) Tell what games or entertainment you will provide and why your choices are appropriate. (d) Tell how three of the characters will act at the party. (e) What kind of a party is this? (birthday, housewarming, un-birthday, anniversary, etc.)
40. List five of the main characters from the book you read. Give three examples of what each character learned or did not learn in the book.

Other Lists:
Sharing and Collaboration 
Generic Literature Questions

For Gifted Readers/Learners
Dr. Bertie Kingore
Hoagies Gifted Article


www.ThielAcademy.blogspot.com

Free Books!  You can download 14 Bobbsey Twins books from Project Gutenberg.  Free electronic books are essential for us as we travel and Project Gutenberg is an amazing resource.

Once on their website enter "Bobbsey" into the Title Search field on the left.

Also click below for a list of all the books in the series.  Then you will be able to read them in order if you like.

Resources:
Discussion questions for several books by Kerry

All 72 Original Bobbsey Twins Books and their Revisions

We love using the Mc Guffey Readers.  I've had several people ask me, "How do you use them?" There are many ways to use these books there are even workbooks to use with them (Although, I find them very expensive!). 

First let me say, if you have advanced readers the Mc Guffey's are a great option for you.  It is extremely difficult to keep advanced readers challenged AND find age appropriate material for them to read.  You will find both in the Mc Guffey's Readers, especially if you are of a Christian persuasion. 

Each lesson starts with a list of vocabulary words, we review the new words (**see update) and then she reads the story aloud to me. I ask her to pause one-count for commas, two-count for periods until she masters it naturally.

Because we already use Spell to Write and Read for our "reading" and spelling, we use the Mc Guffey Readers mostly as oral exercises, teaching our children to read accurately, slowly and to enunciate their words for others to hear and understand.  We do not do the "slate exercises" or writing exercises, we just read these sections as we would any other lesson.  This also gives them practice reading in cursive.  Our entire lesson may only take 10 minutes or less.  (**see update)


Read more to learn about the estimated grade levels of each reader.

A friend of mind was using this book after she finished the "Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons" curriculum. It had been a year since my daughter finished the 100 easy lessons book and I thought it was time to start teaching her some higher level reading skills.

Sonlight "I Can Read It!"
By John Holzmann
Aprox. Grades 1-5

In the first lessons, you will overlap what you have learned in 100 easy lessons, but its worth the review and it will be fairly easy. Something worth mentioning, it is a little rough at first with the vocabulary. For example, they use the word "nag" instead of "horse," so your child should have the ability to understand your definitions of words and be able to retain that information while they read.

The stories are interrupted with word lists and I've heard that many skip over them and just continue. I've tried to make them more fun, I'll read one if she reads the other, etc. You could make it more interesting if you like. But these lists of jumbled up words encourages your child to really read and not anticipate the next word because it "makes sense" in the story. Usually my daughter is so excited to continue the story that she zips through the list rather quickly.

At first I really didn't like this book very much, but now that we stuck with it, I really think it is a great resource.

Another tip: Don't pay any attention to the "lessons" just go on until your child is feels done or tired. The lessons are rather long and it would be in your child's best interest not to "force" them through the long lessons and snuff out the joy of reading. Some days my daughter will finish an entire lesson (average of 5-6 pages of solid words) And others she'll read a word list and just one part of the story. Learning to read really can "hurt." A child's brain works very hard.

A friend of mine passed this Reading website along to me. It is heavy on the interactive side, all online. I'm not a huge fan of "screen time" as research shows it can interfere with brain development. (That is a whole other topic you can read a little about, click here.) But never the less, it is a good resource and has free printed materials along with the interactive ones. The company is called Starfall and you can visit their website HERE.

If you are having trouble getting your child to write?? Here is a resource that might help you!

I'm excited about this product, it looks like a lot of fun. Even if your children aren't writing yet, they might enjoy telling the stories!



From the Publisher:

Stoke the fires of your child's imagination and awaken the creative writer within! Featuring a teacher's guide and 19th-century black-and-white illustrations, this rich resource boasts over 65 "story-starters": narratives designed to suspend students in the middle of a predicament so that they can pick up a pen and determine what happens next! Ages 8 to 18

Here is a great resource for those of you who want to know what your children should be learning and when. It is a great resource if you would like to put your own curriculum together.

"Home Learning Year by Year" by Rebecca Rupp.
From the Publisher:

The integral subjects to be covered within each grade
Standards for knowledge that should be acquired by your child at each level
Recommended books to use as texts for every subject
Guidelines for the importance of each topic: which knowledge is essential and which is best for more expansive study based on your child's personal interests
Suggestions for how to sensitively approach less academic subjects, such as sex education and physical fitness

"Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons"
I used this program to teach Madison how to read and now we are using it with Lydia. I've been told that people either Love or Hate this program. We love it!

This program is phonetically based and teaches comprehension right from the beginning. It starts out with a combination of letters so the children start actually reading words early on, this is so motivational for my girls! Lydia read 6 words today all by herself and she felt so proud! Lydia is only on lesson 12, 88 more lessons to go! In lesson 13 she will read her first sentence!
Here is an excerpt from a review on Amazon.com...

Ignore the slow start, this book really works!, October 25, 2002 by Jaames LeMay

This book starts painfully slowly, but my advice is "hold on." At first, I couldn't stand the agonizingly plodding pace. And it wasn't just impatient me. My three year old didn't see the point of saying the list of words as slowly. But we gave it a chance anyway, after all the good Amazon reviews and marketing hype on the book itself. By a quarter of the way through, we began to look forward to reading time. One small addition I made to the scripted course was to invite in stuffed animal guest teachers (see suggestion 1 below). It worked like a charm.

I love the way the parent's part is scripted. The script turns anyone who can read into a patient, supportive master teacher! I love the way all sorts of short activities make up each lesson - very balanced. Best of all is the way this book's lessons touch all the bases. They connect letter sounds with words with stories with writing and finally, with reading comprehension, the point of the whole exercise. I really appreciate the short stories and the picture from the story with discussion questions. Now that I've talked to some teachers, this balanced, comprehensive approach is a perfect way to start a child reading. It doesn't lack any aspect that they will use later, or emphasize one to the exclusion of the others.
I didn't expect the writing, but I am very happy that it's in there. I bought the book for my three year old, but I am putting my 5 year old through it too, because it is so complete and methodical.
When I first saw the phonetic alphabet, I thought it was a little strange. But my child has no trouble recognizing the joined "sh" symbol as an "s" and an "h." And the "sh" is a single sound in his mind, as are "s" and "h." The notation caused us no problem at all, and I only mention it because another reviewer found it problematic. We did not. Likewise, I wasn't disturbed by short e not being mentioned sooner. Who cares? The order presented was gradual, and as logical as any other.(Although it led to a lot of stories about ants.)
...

So after a slow and frustrating start, which in retrospect was absolutely necessary, we both look forward to our daily reading time. We brought in the beanie babies to inject the missing element of fun. I know Matthew will have a solid foundation in all the parts of written communication, and Matthew likes the fact that his favorite stuffed animals are teaching him to read.

This is a blank bingo set, 2 playing cards and 24 answer cards to fill to your liking. We play blackout bingo with our 3 & 4 year old. Filling in each box randomly with the alphabet, uppercase on one set then another set with Lower Case, we also do numbers 1-24. It is a fun way to learn letter & number recognition.

We use a set of alphabet flashcards with our bingo playing cards. You can manipulate it any way you like, by saying the sounds and having the kids find the corresponding letter, etc. Have fun!

http://www.photosavvy.com/images/bingocards.pdf