Barn Dance

Though not an actual FIAR book, this week we read Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault to go with our field trip to Amy's Farm.

We've done lots watercolor before, but didn't have much luck with these pre-printed ones. Until now. L has the patience to paint one color at a time, and clean the brush in-between.

We colored a mural of a Farm. I found this on-line somewhere. I sketched it on our 36" wide roll for us to color together.

We did pastel drawings. I love my nu-pastels. This set I've had since college. These were an exercise in following directions. My mom brought over a binder titled 'Brain Games for Learning Gains.' These drawings were in there, the kids draw them from my words without seeing an example of what they are drawing. For the pig: Draw a large circle. Then, draw a circle inside for the head. Then a smaller circle for the snout. Add eyes, triangle ears, hooves (pull down straight, slide right, slant up, slant down, slide right, push up straight...the same language that is in our manuscript curriculum), and a curly-que tail. L chose green.

T chose orange. And he had a little help. He's been drawing circles clockwise. That won't work as we begin manuscript practise. I need to help his hand understand counter-clockwise. We have a few months since he doesn't start Kinder until the fall, but I want him to form good habits.

Then the barn. This was a horizontal rectangle, topped with a pentagon. Then I asked them to draw a square in the top shape and put an X in it. I had them draw the bottom door and windows too. Then, L did his own thing.

T wanted to surround his barn in mud. I had him practise counter-clockwise circles for the tree and sun. He really wanted to see what happened when you smudge the pastels.

R enjoyed this one too. She took a nap after she colored hers and that let me have time with just the boys.

All in all, this was a great week. I really need to remember to pull out the art supplies more often.

Andy And The Lion

This week, since we would be "traveling to Kenya," I chose a FIAR book about Lions. (We'll continue to study a different African animal during the 5 weeks we study nations of Africa. And as a surprise we'll finish off our study with a visit to the Wild Animal Park or the San Diego Zoo.)

We read Andy And The Lion by James Daugherty.

L's summary: Andy went to the library. He got a book about lions. He took it home and read it. He read all evening. He read all through breakfast. The Andy walked to school. He saw something move. Andy and his dog looked closer. It was a LION. Andy though he should be going. The lion thought that too. They ran and ran. Then Andy needed to catch his breath. So did the lion. They both stopped running. The lion showed Andy he had a thorn in his paw. Andy said, "Just hold on a minute." Andy always carried a pair of pliers in the back pocket of his overalls. Andy pulled on the thorn with all his might. It popped out. The lion said, "Thank-you." Andy went to school.

Andy loved going to the circus. The lion jumped over the steel cage. ROAR! went the lion. The people were terrified. Andy was in the lions pathway. Then they recognized each other. It was Andy's own lion. The lion didn't hurt Andy. Then the people came back to capture the lion. Andy said, "Wait, don't hurt this lion. He's a friend of mine."

The next day there was a parade with the lion. Andy got a medal for bravery. The End.

We also read Dandelion By Don Freeman

L's summary: Dandelion went outside to look in the mail. There was an invitation for a party at Madame Giraffe's house. It said, "Please come to my party." Dandelion said, "Good. I'm having a haircut today and I can get some fancy hairstyle for the party." The person at the barber shop told him to get a cane to go with his new hair-do. Dandelion went to get a cane and the cane person told him to go to a store and buy a checkered shirt so he would look fancy. Dandelion found the shirt and bought it. Then he went to the party. Dandelion knocked on the door. The giraffe answered and said, "You came to the wrong address." because she didn't know who he was. She slammed the door in Dandelion's face. He walked away. Then there was a big storm. The rain washed away his cane, his shirt, and his hat. It flatened his hair. Dandelion went back to Giraffe's house and rang the doorbell. All his friends were waiting for him. Madame Giraffe asked if Dandelion was stuck in the rain. Dandelion said, "Y-E-S!" Madame Giraffe told Dandelion about the silly lion at her door. Dandelion said, "It was me." They all laughed so hard, and Dandelion almost spilled his cup of tea. Madame Giraffe said, "I will never shut the door on anybody again." Dandelion said, "From now on, I'll be just me."

And we used the November 2006 issue of Your Big Backyard to further study lions.

Mrs. Katz and Tush

Our FIAR book this week is Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricial Polacco. This will be a great week for L to learn about his heritage. Dad's side of the family is Russian and Jewish.

Mrs. Katz is lonely after she loses her husband. But Larnel and Tush become her "family". There are lots of yiddish words that make this a fun story. We read this book 5 times, and we checked out other books on Passover to understand the holiday. We also read about the original 'passover' in a Children's Bible.

We made Horosote, one of the traditional items on a Seder plate.

We used 3 apples diced 1/2c. chopped nuts and dried fruit 1/4 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. sugar 2 t. honey 3 T. apple juice

I didn't make it to the store for Matoz, so we used graham crackers for our yummy snack.

Swiss Cocoa & Dasies

I wanted to continue with our FIAR time enhancing our NOW time. There wasn't a FIAR book with Switzerland in the topic, so I was delighted to find Cocoa Beans and Daisies: How Swiss Cocoa is Made, by Pascale Allamand. L loved this. He said it was just like How It's Made. I loved the layout of the book. The left pages chronicled the cocoa beans in Africa and their travels to Switzerland. The right pages showed Swiss cows and the process path of the milk. Swiss Milk Chocolate has a special flavor because of the dasies the cows love to eat.

We tasted unsweetened cocoa powder. The kids were suprised that chocolate isn't sweet. It's the sugar added to it that makes it candy. We made a chocolate "fondue" for desert.

We dipped graham sticks, marshmallows, and banana slices.

We drank hot cocoa and made sculpture out of marshmallows.

See the bear's tiny cup of cocoa. And with a real cup of cocoa right there, how could the bear not want to jump in. A chocolatey hot tub. The giraffe wanted to drink too.

He's a bit too top-heavy and fell in.

We talked about the different climate in Africa and Switzerland. The cocoa beans grow in the rainforest. The cows thrive munching on cool grasses.

The Shoemaker and The Elves

We studied Germany in our NOW time, so I planned to read some of Grimm's Fairy Tales for our FIAR. Now, there is not a Grimm's story in the FIAR curriculum. But, the concept is not difficult to follow. We bought a copy of The Shoemaker and The Elves. Retold from the Brothers Grimm and illustrated by Jim LaMarche. The inside flap says...

In midnight visits clothed in mystery, a pair of elves restore a poor shoemaker to prosperity. Here is the classic tale of elfin magic that generations of children have loved, made new by an artist of international acclaim. Jim LaMarche's stunning paintings, reminiscent of his earlier work in The Rainbabies, tell a tale not only of midnight enchantment, but of generosity and virtue rewarded.

We loved reading this every day. In part, because the kids were delighted with the imagery. We made cute little shoes for one of R's dolls. I can't remember where I found the pattern, but I saved it. (I just need to learn how to attach the pdf here.) This helped the kids to visualize how the shoemaker cut flat leather, and that was shaped into a 3-D shoe.

The kids wanted to try out the sewing machine, so we made up some beanbags.

We talked about helping those in need. And discussed how the elves no longer helped when the mand and his wife had plenty. The husband and wife weren't angry that they had lost their free labor. But, "They lifed a long and happy life."

We did Domino math. And we discussed doubles, as the patrons had paid double the value of the shoes. The man starts with enough leather for one pair of shoes. When he's paid double, he has enough money to buy the leather for 2 pair of shoes. Then four more pairs.

Paddington Bear

This week, we studied Paddington Bear FIAR style. I wanted a book to go with Great Brittan, and we had read all the Mr. Gumpy books (a FIAR suggestion) before we started homeschooling. This turned out to be a fun week. Paddington was one of my favorites as a child, so I enjoyed sharing this with the kids. Actually, these books were all mine. My mom brought them over from her house so we could enjoy them. I found this cute craft to make with a toilet paper roll. And we sampled marmalade sandwiches with tea. My childhood stuffed animal joined us during our read-aloud time. I love L's writing here. This was a fun week. I'm glad we had an "easy" week since we were already in the throws of preparing for Christmas. Lots of cookies were made. =0)

Madeline

Instead of reading one Madeline story for our FIAR book, we checked out Mad About Madeline; The Complete Tales by Ludwig Bemelmans. It was so fun to read each story several times. It's hard to see here, but L added a dark sky and raindrops to this scene. I've found it's much easier to read to my 3 if they color as I read.

We practiced counting by 2's. We divided things in 1/2 (2 straight lines). L cut veggies for our dinner...in half. Then we put one in the left pile...one in the right pile until we had 2 straight lines. Then we counted 2, 4, 6, 8....

I got a great travel map of Paris from AAA.

We laid on the floor and I quizzed the kids on map skills. L has N,E,S,W down. And he quickly explained how you could tell what was a river...where there was a bridge...and where there were green spaces. This map also has great axons of landmarks.

We ate at Crepes de Paris. It was fun to enjoy the bistro atmosphere. It's great to reminisce too. M and I lived in the loft apartments when we were first married.

We also watched Ratatouille. And I printed some pages from their online activity book. It was fun to color the city of Paris...and the kids loved the rats. We used glitter glue to add sparkle to the City of Lights (you can't see the sparkle when I scanned the page).

Cranberry Thanksgiving

Our FIAR book for the week of Thanksgiving was Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin.

This was a different week for us as we tried to finally return to normal school days at our house. That just wasn't to be. Instead, we were reading CT at the Dr.'s office waiting for a cast on Tuesday.

The science element of FIAR suggest making Cranberry Bread to understand the chemical reaction.

Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread

2 c. sifted a.p. flour

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 c. butter

1 egg, beaten

1 t. grated orange peel

3/4 c. orange juice

1 1/2 c. light raisins

1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

Sift flour, sugar, b.powder, salt, and b.soda into a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add egg, o.peel, and o.j. all at once; stir just until mixture is evenly moist. Fold in raisins and cranberries. Spoon into a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 min., or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack. If you choose, you may substitute cranberries for the raisins to have an all cranberry bread.

Recipe tested by the Food Department of Parents' Magazine

M and I were in Massachutes during October (cranberry harvest) for our honeymoon. We visited a Cranberry Bog when we were there, so I had these photos to show the kids.

I found this rocket kit that used baking soda and vinegar. (I bought the rocket at Marshall's on clearance for $4 though.)

M took the boys to the empty school yard across the street on Friday for the launch.

The boys learned about the gas that is produced when you mix baking soda (alkaline) and vinegar (acid). This same gas creates bubbles in the bread batter. Those bubbles are caught as the bread bakes...giving loft to the loaf.

Papa Piccolo

We read Papa Piccolo as our FIAR book this week. It was written by Carol Talley, and illustrated by Itoko Maeno. Inside the cover of this book, there are great descriptions of the Italian images. The maps, the images, and the Italian words and phrases really capture the reader. And considering how important kitties are to my kids, this book was really enjoyable to explore.

Inside the front flap of the book:

The lion is the emblem of Venice, but the common cat rules its narrow streets and alleyways. A prince among these feline rulers is Piccolo, and what a fine life he leads! Especially after dark -when the streets are full of possibilities!

Then, one night, piccolo makes a discovery that threatens his carefree life and his independence and starts him on a new and special kind of adventure.

In these pages, you will also meet Caesar -Piccolo's older and somewhat cynical friend, and Sophia -the shoe shop cat, to whom Piccolo turns for advice when his life takes its unexpected turn. And you will meet two irresistible kittens -one spotted and one striped- who need a home and who help Piccolo discover his own tender heart.

Illustrator Itoko Maeno, who first visited Venice in 1977, returned to that city -which many call the most beautiful in the world- to capture its watery magic for this story. Her enchanting renderings of the canals, markets, crooked byways, boats, and bridges of Venice and her wise and witty portraits of its two and four-legged citizens will delight children and adults alike.

At a time when we are recognizing the need for boys as well as girls to develop nurturing skills, Piccolo appears as a welcome model for all children.

As a mama to 2 boys, I had to include that description. This role of Papa Piccolo in this book was a great example to my children. We played with our kitties lots this week. And we had spaghetti for dinner. Our favorite pizza comes from a family owned restaurant where I grew up. Now, the kids understand what gondolas are. If you're in La Mirada, make it a point to stop by Gondola's Pizza.

I just happened to get a thank you card in the mail with this image. I wish I was crazy enough to take my kids to Long Beach to see the canals and gondolas there.

We used watercolors. These are 30x40 Strathmore Paper with Nicholson's Peerless Transparent Water Colors.

Very Last First Time

Our FIAR book this week was Very Last First Time, written by Jan Andrews, and illustrated by Ian Wallace. It was nice to tie in reading about the Inuit village on Ungava Bay in Northern Canada during the week that we learned about Canada in our NOW group. The boys totally get the "no roads" in this Northern community. This summer, they enjoyed watching Ice Road Truckers with their dad (edited for language by dad). We looked on the map, and Yellow Knife (where IRT starts) is about the same latitude as Ungava Bay. That gave the kids a good mental image of the harsh weather of the Inuit village. When I planned the school year, we were going to visit Dana Point tide pools this week. But with the craziness of life this November, I'll need to postpone that until spring. This week, we just read more books by the fire. We read Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse. This is a silly story with an artic setting. The little girl asks, "What if I put salmon in your parka, ermine in your mittens, and lemmings in your mukluks?" The mom answers, "Then I would be angry...but I would still love you." There's a lot of great images to go with the new vocabulary. But, the most helpful part of this book was explaining how getting in trouble for doing something wrong doesn't mean the kids are loved any less. We also read Papa, Do You Love Me? by the same author. I need to remember to check out this book again when we study Kenya in February.

Warm As Wool

This has been a tough week to homeschool. Last Saturday, my dad passed away. My kids lost their Papa. We move through each day a little bit in shock. I'm so thankful for the friends that have offered help. A., one of my old core group girls has been coming over to help most Fridays. With her school schedule, she was able to come both Monday and Tuesday for a few hours. On Monday, she read to the kids and did math with L. On Tuesday, the kids built another log cabin, as the Ward family was another early America family. We talked about how drafty the cabin would be by looking at the cracks between our Lincoln logs. In Sunday School, the kids learned about David - the shepherd boy. I couldn't have planned that if I tried. Here's L's sheep craft.

And T's "woolly sheep" face.

The first time we read WAW the kids saw the similarities and differences between the Ward family and ours. The same: They had 2 boys and a girl like us. The family worshiped God. Different: The Ward children's teeth chattered because they were so cold. My kids have never known that feeling. I'm sure the fact that they've never experienced snow has a great deal to do with that, but it goes to show our affluence (we have no unmet needs) and their desperation (using rags to keep their feet warm).

The second time that we read through WAW, the boys used stuffed animals to represent each of the sheep. Subtracting when one died, and adding when there was a lamb born.

Since the "woolly" part of WAW spoke to the knitter in me, I focused on that this week.

The kids twisted the fibers to form a string. Then we plied with some plain wool I had in my stash. We talked about the time it would take to spin enough fiber to begin to weave.

And then we practiced weaving with bits of fabric and yarn on a piece of an old gate. I love this ART! The kids really got the hard work of frontier life.

Daniel's Duck

We read Daniel's Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla with pictures by Joan Sandin. ***We read this book the week my Dad was in the hospital. I know we read the book, but I don't remember much else. It's something that I think that is important, because the story is set in Tennessee. My Dad was born there. We'll repeat this book during our tour of America. You'll find that here in the fall.

Geology Rocks (1)

In Amber On The Mountain, Anna comes to live on the Mountain where Amber lives because her father is constructing a new road. We've used this as a springboard into a study of rocks. I ordered a Geology Rocks kit from JCS, and then M took over from there.

Today’s lesson: How to use a nutcracker to break open a geode.

Actually, the tool used is obviously not a nutcracker, but a soil pipe cutter—a tool used in construction to quickly cut clay or cast iron pipe. I became aware of its alternate use through an exhaustive search of geodes on EBAY. Once I got the method down, the boys helped pull down the lever and crack open several geodes. Most oven the geodes were solid (no open crystal cavity), but there were a few beautiful exceptions. My favorite was a nice peppered quartz specimen. We were all very excited about this find, but be careful when handling as the crystals are very sharp.