I thought homeschooling was outside the realm of possibilities of things I would ever do in my life. Then, a few years ago, my son was diagnosed with dyslexia and I had to tutor him with a multi-sensory structured language program until he was old enough to attend a dyslexia school. This tested our patience and our relationship. I loved the program we used but it was hard for my son! And who wants to have to do more school work after spending a whole day at school.?! The past year and a half at his new school, where he is being taught the way he learns, has been bliss. He is happy, confident, and learning to read and spell in the way that his brain learns.
Things have been going along swimmingly……enter CORONAVIRUS. Both of my kids’ schools are closed and I am now homeschooling them. I’m so thrilled that he is so much less resistant this time around – he even said that I should be a teacher. This cracked me up! I am not cut out for teaching. AT. ALL. In fact, when we go back to school my son’s teacher is getting a bouquet of flowers, a spa day, and a puppy. She is amazing! She made the 20 minutes of daily reading that he has to do even more fun by including an activity. Today we made a fort and read in it.
If you need a nice long, hefty book to get you through homeschool and social isolation we can’t recommend The Candymakers by Wendy Mass enough.
This book brought me back to my childhood afternoons spend in my mom’s candy shop. While not quite as Willy Wonka-esq as The Life is Sweet Candy Company, I spend many an afternoon sneaking candy from the case at my mom’s store.
In The Candymakers four kids are chosen to compete in a competition, at a local candy factory, to create the best new candy. Logan – son of the owners of the Life is Sweet Candy Company – gets his chance to prove that he is as good a candy maker as his father and grandfather – even though he hasn’t inherited their natural candy making ability. Miles enters the competition in honor of a girl he saw drown the year before. This event causes him to retreat to a life a reading – especially about the afterlife. Daisy is part of a family of spies who enters the contest to steal the Life is Sweet Candy Company’s secret ingredient. Finally, Philip who is rich and spoiled, enters the contest to seek revenge on Logan who caused Philip to drop his toy truck in the chocolate when he toured the factory as a little kid. The incident caused Logan to become scarred on his face and neck and Philip to be banned from the factory for life.
This story is told from each character’s perspective and is filled with mystery, intrigue, juicy revelations, and delicious descriptions of the candy.
We absolutely LOVED this book! My kids and I loved all the characters and their secrets and revelations. We love how they banned together, became friends, and overcame some of their demons. We were also thrilled to find that there is a sequel called The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase. This is just a great series to get you through your social distancing. Drop a comment below and tell us how you are doing being stuck at home!
No Comments