Joyfully Weary

Tomorrow is Dr. Seuss's birthday, so this week we've been reading a few of his books and doing a couple related activities. The Boy on Fairfield Street   is probably my new favorite Dr. Seuss biography for kids. I love children's biographies that actually talk about famous people's childhoods. The paintings in this book are also very nostalgic - they make you feel like you are going back in time.  These messed up hats were something I made awhile ago when my kiddos were still in the preschool stage. Back then they just had fun matching them. Now they've moved on to playing memory. Based on the ages of your children you might want to use only 1/2 the cards for a game; they are so much alike it can be difficult. Click here for the free printable ; you'll need to print it twice to make a memory game. I don't think you can study Dr. Seuss without making Oobleck. Mini Man loves Bartholomew and the Oobleck . When I told him we were going to be...

All of our snow has melted away, but we are still holding out hope for more. Living in Illinois means that most likely the next month or so will be full of dull gray days. Bright white snow just makes the gray more bearable. We are going to continue doing some snow themed activities in our schoolroom in the hopes that nature takes the hint and gifts us with a real snowstorm. Today, we read a couple mitten themed books: The Mitten by Jan Brett and The Little Kittens by Paul Galdone . Both authors are known for retelling classic stories with exquisite illustrations. Jan Brett uses watercolors to create realistic illustrations. Her books also commonly have border art that offers a new vantage point to the story or foreshadows a coming character.  Some other winter themed books by Jan Brett are: The Three Snow Bears and The Hat . Paul Galdone's illustration are usually ink sketches with a watercolor wash. His illustrations are more impish and whimsical, but still are very r...

Primary Literature Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland   by Tomie dePaola. This book is a great introduction to kids on not only Saint Patrick but on biographies in general. It is full of factual information yet still offers and engaging story. dePaola's classic bright illustrations also help to draw in young listeners. My children were especially intrigued by five legends it includes about Saint Patrick. 

Primary Literature Stone Soup by Marcia Brown , this is a delightful retelling of a classic folktale. It's a Caldecott medal honor book - the illustrations are delightful and charming. It tells the tale of three traveling soldiers who stop at a village looking for a bit food and a place sleep. The villagers, however, are stingy and lie to the soldiers, saying that they are short on food. The soldiers use trickery to get the villagers to contribute to their delicious and magical 'stone soup'. I chose this book for November because I thought it be a great way to implant the message that I want my children to take away from Thanksgiving; for them to be grateful and generous with the blessings they have been given. I also had plans this to delve deeper into Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas and The Pilgims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern  but life got bit crazy and so we had to settle for just reading them.  Vocabulary Words to ...

Primary Literture Heckedy Peg by Audrey and Don Wood . This was our last October book, I wanted something a bit scary to go with Halloween. An evil witch, Heckedy Peg, tricks seven sweet children (all named after the days of week) in to letting her enter their house while their mother is away. Once inside she turns them all into food. Luckily, their mother is able to rescuing them with a few tricks of her own and some cleverness. The book's painted illustrations are stunning. They contain just the right amount of darkness which adds to the suspense-fulness of the book.  Complementary Literature The kids memorized 'A Week of Birthdays' from The Real Mother Goose . We chose to use  Sunday instead of 'the Sabbath day'.  Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace; Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go; Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works ha...

Primary Literature Stellaluna   by Janell Cannon,   a sweet tale of a little bat who gets knocked out of her mother's arms and lands into a birds' nest. The bird family adopts her and Stellaluna tries her hardest to fit in. Eventually the birds and Stellaluna realize that they are quite different but friends none the less. The illustrations do an amazing so of find balance between realism and whimsicalness. Vocabulary words to review. clutched - hold on tightly swooped - lower quickly  shrieking- loud high cry trembling- quick shaking movement, usually done when cold or scared clambered- to climb with difficultly anxious- worried/afaird Complementary Literature Nightsong   by Ari Berk, a young bat wanders out of his cave alone for the first time. He soon discovers that his good sense/echolocation will serve as his guide. The prose and illustration of this book are exquisite   Bats by Gail Gibbons, this nonfiction book gives si...

This past week we to welcomed Autumn by reading a few or our favorite fall themed books * and by making our own autumn trees.  Our Supplies: paper towel tube, scissors, brown marker, glue, green, red, orange, and brown tissue squares Step 1 : Cut strips 1/2 to 2/3 down your paper towel tube. These will become your branches. You can also cut the tops of the strips in to smaller sections to create more (smaller) branches Step 2 : Separate and twist your "branches" to form a tree shape Step 3 : Use the brown marker to draw bark on your tree trunk and branches. Step 4 : Apply small glue dots to a branch. if the glue comes out in lines that's ok too :)  Step 5 : Crumble tissue paper and place it over glue Step 6 :   Repeat steps 4 & 5 until you are satisfied with the amount of foliage on your tree. That's it, you now have darling miniature trees packed full of autumn leaves! * Here are the a...

One of the first things I do when planning a thematic unit is start searching for quality related books. Jeremy and I are both lovers of the written word and we are very glad our children have all seemed to have inherited this trait.  A good portion of our school days are spent curled up on the couch reading and discussing books. Below is a list of some our favorite books from our weather unit .  1 -   Bartholmew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss   is a tale of a discontent king who makes the terrible mistake of demanding a new type of weather. Oobleck falls from the sky and threatens to destroy the kingdom. In the end the King learns the power of the simple words "I'm sorry". Written in classic Dr. Seuss style this book is a joy to read.  2 - Brave Irene by William Streg  t ells the story of a brave young girl who battles the snow and wind to deliver a dress for her sick dress-maker mother. Big Buddy particularly enjoyed this tale for the main char...