Projects, such as a straw flute, shoestring necklace, and paper pottery, support key concepts concerning the Aztec culture.

A comprehensive guide to designing homeschool curriculum, from one of the country’s foremost homeschooling experts—now revised and updated! Homeschooling can be a tremendous gift to your children—a personalized educational experience tailored to each kid’s interests, abilities, and learning styles. But what to teach, and when, and how? Especially for first-time homeschoolers, the prospect of tackling an annual curriculum can be daunting. In Home Learning Year by Year, Rebecca Rupp presents comprehensive plans from preschool through high school, covering integral subjects for each grade, with lists of topics commonly presented at each level, recommended resource and reading lists, and suggestions for creative alternative options and approaches. Included, along with all the educational basics, are techniques and resources for teaching everything from philosophy to engineering, as well as suggestions for dealing with such sensitive topics as sex education. Now revised throughout with all-new updates featuring the most effective and up-to-date methods and reading guides to homeschool your child at all ages, Home Learning Year by Year continues to be the definitive book for the homeschooling parent.

The conclusion to the critically acclaimed Obsidian and Blood trilogy: The year is Three Rabbit, and the storm is coming. The Mexica Empire now has a new Emperor, but his coronation war has just ended in a failure: the armies have retreated with a paltry forty prisoners of war, not near enough sacrifices to satisfy the gods. Acatl, High Priest for the Dead, has no desire to involve himself yet again in the intrigues of the powerful. However, when one of the prisoners dies of a magical illness, he has little choice but to investigate. For it is only one death, but it will not be the last. As the bodies pile up and the imperial court tears itself apart, dragging Teomitl, Acatl's beloved student, into the eye of the storm, the High Priest for the Dead is going to have to choose whom he can afford to trust; and where, in the end, his loyalties ultimately lie... REVIEWS: ‘Like the previous books, the third in the Obsidian and Blood series abounds with suspects and red herrings. It’s a twisty and colourful tale filled with strange gods who demand sacrifices and pain for the least favour. I liked the way Acatl is beginning to question the way things are, and the first stirrings of doubt are awakening in him. He’s always had misgivings about his own suitability as High Priest, but in this novel his eyes are opened to some of the deeper wrongs done in the name of the empire, and in the name of people’s unswerving loyalty to the gods.’ —WarpCore SF ‘I found this to be the best book of a very good series. The same positives from the first two books are still present, a very easy-to-read writing style (easy to read but not simple or dumbed down), a quick pace, and some incredible world building, incredible accessibility despite the lesser know pantheon and names. Even though the second book dealt with a possible end to the world, MASTER OF THE HOUSE OF DARTS took a similar fate and did it better. Perhaps this was because in many ways it felt more like a fantasy book than a mystery book, which lends itself better to the “save the world” type story. The magic felt more organic here, it was never used as a crutch, or perhaps it was just better explained. There was a bit less travelling this time around, which also led to a tighter story. The ending involved several confrontations that were tense and believable, including some between people who are supposed to be allies... a great end to the series.’ —Fantasy Review Barn ‘Whether you take it as historical noir or as a highly accurate fantasy, it’s hard not to enjoy the Obsidian and Blood books—it’s a perfect fit for those looking for something different from their usual fare, but still exciting in ways they’re used to.’ —Guys Lit Wire ‘Acatl, is very much at the heart of the story, more so perhaps than the plot. He slowly grows into his position as the High Priest of the Dead throughout the trilogy, while the author moves along a parallel path, her narrative growing into its teller and inhabiting his mind with increasing comfort and self-assurance. Acatl is both the hero and the author’s avatar as she explores her ideas of what a hero can and should be. Perceptive readers will find Acatl to be a very different kind of hero than we are accustomed to reading about, but the action and the mystery proceed so smoothly that some may never notice the gleeful contrariness that lurks below the surface... Acatl is not, and this is apparent from much earlier in the trilogy, a typical action hero. He is not even a typical mystery solver, at least not in the Western idiom... The entirety of the Obsidian & Blood trilogy gets high marks... for creativity, execution, and gentle subversion. Not just recommended, but, to paraphrase Demi Moore in A Few Good Men, strenuously recommended.’ —Two Dudes in an Attic

Traces the history of the Aztecs in North America, describing the traditions and culture of the Native American group, examining their interactions with other groups of Native Americans, European settlers, and explorers, and discussing their lives in the early twenty-first century.

Here's help in selecting current, nonfiction books that will get boys excited about reading. Enticing boys to read is still a hot topic. With chapters like "Disasters and Mysteries," "Gross and Disgusting," "Machines and the Military," and "Prehistoric Creatures," Gotcha Again for Guys!: More Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited about Reading is a treasure trove of recent nonfiction books that will interest boys in grades 3-8. This sixth entry in Baxter and Kochel's Gotcha series covers books published between 2007 and 2009, with a few oldies-but-goodies also included. The book is organized into 12 thematic chapters, each of which offers booktalks for a select number of titles, followed by a list of other high-interest, well-reviewed titles that correspond with the chapter's topic. Features new to this volume include numerous booklists to be copied and saved, as well as profiles of new and innovative nonfiction authors writing for this age group. In addition, the book features interviews with seven male authors of nonfiction books for boys.

Describes 100 jobs that an ancient Aztec, Maya, or other Mesoamerican might have had.

"Empire of the Aztecs" opens with a summary of the rise and fall of the empire, placing it within the context of its time period and geographical location. The second half of this book explores the daily lives of the Aztec people, focusing on their social customs, religious practices, family and community structure, and cultural accomplishments.

Long before European boats reached the shores of the Americas, sophisticated civilizations had already developed throughout the continents. The empire of the Maya, located in modern Mexico and Central America, influenced civilization there for centuries. The ancient Maya had fully developed the idea of the calendar, detailed a writing system, pioneered new ideas in agriculture, and built towering palaces and temples that still stand today. Empire of the Ancient Maya gives a brief summary of the history of the empire, placing it within the context of its time period and geographical location, and then explores the evolution of Maya civilization from its origin through the classic period to the Spanish conquest. Delving into daily life, the book includes Maya achievements in mathematics, astronomy, technology, political organization, commerce, architecture, and the arts.