Thanksgiving Week

We have been learning a lot about Thanksgiving leading up to the big turkey day. W watched the virtual field trip on the Plimoth Plantation web site, and we have been reading many books with a Thanksgiving theme. The boys made a couple of felt Pilgrim themed placemats with cute felt stickers we found at Michael's craft store. This Wednesday will be Pie Day and we will make pies to bring for Thanksgiving at my Aunt's house.

Last week at co-op the books covered tied in some of the books to a Thanksgiving/family reunion theme and W participated in a cranberry relay race with ladles and cornucopias. He had a fun time! The kids tried eating cranberries (raw) and most spit them out being too tart, but they liked the juice when a bit of natural sweetener was added.

Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving/Pilgrim themed books we are reading this week:


One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B.G. Hennessey
Thanksgiving on Thursday (Magic Treehouse #27) by Mary Pope Osborne
The Story of the Pilgrims by Katherine Ross
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Harry Devlin
Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy by Kate Waters

FIAR: Ferdinand - take two

We rowed Ferdinand again recently for our Five in a Row co-op. You can see an older post about The Story of Ferdinand here. 


This time around we focused on a science aspect. W asked if the little corks on the trees in the cute illustrations by Robert Lawson really grew like that. I said you know, I don't think so but I really don't know, so of course we went to youtube to discover how they really harvest cork for corked bottles and sustainable flooring. He really liked seeing how the bark of the cork tree is peeled off, and appreciated that it seemed like a lot of work for the people to cut it down. Also the fact that it can grow back and be harvested again was pretty cool to know. That was part of geography as well because cork grows well in Spain and Portugal. 


Another science project was focusing on the parts of a flower (Ferdinand's favorite) and coloring in an anatomy sheet. We have read this story so many times that it was nice to do some fresh activities.


Our co-op met yesterday and we made silly hats like the men that decided to bring Ferdinand to the bull fight in Madrid. We used newspaper, stickers, and craft supplies to decorate. This month we will be rowing A New Coat for Anna with the group. 

making the hats

                                         

some of the silly hats and silly expressions :)

FIAR: Andy and the Lion

Last week for Five in a Row, we read Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty. The text is in capital letters and kept very simple, while the illustrations are expressive and heartfelt. The book is not one of the longer FIAR selections, so I recommend rowing it on a week when you have a lot of other projects going and need a "light" fiar week. This story closely mirrors the Aesop fable of the Lion and the Mouse. The overall message is that creatures of all sizes matter and have a special purpose. 


Sunday was the blessing of the animals at church. It was a nice ceremony to acknowledge the animals of our community. There were several dogs, a cat and lots of photos of all sorts of animals. W brought a photo of our cat, he attended last year but we didn't want to stress him out again. 


W enjoyed the book and thinks that "the lion was good". We researched African Lions online, and found the National Geographic website to be very informative and have a lot of great photos. W was flabbergasted to learn that lions are full grown before his age, he couldn't imagine being a grown up lion. We also watched the famous youtube video of Christian the Lion who was reunited with the people that raised him after being introduced back into the wild years later. If for some chance you haven't seen it, it's pretty cool. It reminded me so much of Andy and his Lion being reunited, and it is extremely moving. W liked comparing and contrasting our own cat to his larger "big cat" relations. :) 

FIAR: The elusive Giraffe That Walked to Paris

A friend from co-op lent us the hard-to-find book The Giraffe that Walked to Paris by Nancy Milton and illustrated by Roger Roth. (Thank you Steph!) :) We are rowing it for Five in a Row this week. It is a pleasure to read, the story is a true one based on a gift given to the King of France from the Pasha of Egypt in the late 1820's. The illustrations are beautiful, in soft colors and extremely detailed. W and C both liked this story, it is quite long so I was pleased that C listened too.

I always wanted to go to Paris in the fall.

We found many materials online to accompany this book. Check out this paper printable of Paris from Made by Joel, an artist's website. It am a dork about paper dolls, so I was in heaven, but W even liked them. We printed the pdf on cardstock so it will last longer and W had fun coloring in all the people for the city. We will continue using this for our French lessons with HOP, Muzzy, and the First Thousand Words in French. We found a Giraffe coloring book page which resized nicely to go along with our city.

Thank you to the Pumpkin Patch blog for your free lapbook for The Giraffe that Walked to Paris. This covered vocabulary words, which months go in which seasons, a wind science experiment, learning about giraffes, geography, and history. Jacob is planning a Daddy lesson on measurement to go along with this theme too. 

Now I just wish la Girafe would come back in print!

FIAR: Little Nino's Pizzeria

Last week we rowed the Five in a Row Volume 3 selection Little Nino's Pizzeria by Karen Barbour. It is a sweet story about a little boy who helps his father in his pizzeria, but then his father decides to be a bigger business man. This made little Tony sad and eventually his father decided he wanted to go back to making pizza and working with his son. We discussed many social studies issues such as serving, helping the hungry, and running a family business. This was a story that C sat with us to read each day. The vivid illustrations really kept his interest. W & C count pizza among their favorite foods, so they were excited to participate in making it and they got to see the yeast in action when we made the pizza dough. For toppings they chose turkey pepperoni and cheese, and we added some fresh oregano and basil.

pardon the fork and bite mark. it was good.

W visited a web site about the artist Henri Matisse, whose style is similar to the art in Little Nino. We also played a few pizza games, and found a neat site on pizza fractions here. Little Nino's Pizzeria was featured on Reading Rainbow (see below), so of course we watched this on the day we made pizza. We recently got DSL so we have been enjoying our higher-speed internet. :)

FIAR: Make Way for Ducklings

For our Five in a Row co-op, we rowed Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey in September. Yesterday we had our monthly meeting with four local homeschooling families to read the book together. The kids got to share their artwork and activity pages they worked on. Our friends even brought a real duckling in, it was so cute! We heard it peeping, and they told us the duck parents were very upset that they were taking the duckling since they didn't know it would be right back that afternoon, they were so protective just like Mr. and Mrs. Mallard in the book.

duckling

W worked on some activity pages made by a friend's Mom on CurrClick, and learned about the duck life cycle. He read about the statue in Boston which he visited last March and will see again in a couple of weeks. 

W is working on lowercase letters; every now and then an upper case sneaks in, but there is great improvement already!

W (pre-glasses last spring!) and Mama Duck

He also read a Rivers booklet from CC. This geology/ science study has tied in with where we are in The Story of the World as well, he is learning why ancient cities were located on rivers since not only was it a good water source for drinking and crops but it also gave them much easier transportation on boats compared to crossing mountains or deserts. I love when the stars,.. err... curricula align, much easier for planning lessons! ;) Outside he used sand from his sandbox to make hills and obstacles for his mini river to go around. We checked out a Rivers and Ponds DK Eyewitness dvd from the library as a supplemental resource. They have a pretty large collection of these dvds there so I will try to remember that for next time, he really enjoyed watching it. 

W also read Homer Price by Robert McCloskey as a read aloud and finished it last week. It is a chapter book which reads more like short stories. He absolutely loved it and many of the stories made him laugh. I did get a chuckle out of the doughnut story, although personally I prefer Mr. McCloskey's books for younger readers. 

By the Shores of Silver Lake

W and I began reading By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder last week. I was somewhat reluctant to start it with him since he is in "first grade" and this book is the turning point in the series when Laura begins to grow up very quickly. He thought the Garth Williams cover looked exciting and he recently finished On the Banks of Plum Creek, so he wanted to read the next one. I have read it many times, but it really hit me (again) anyway and of course I was in tears by the end of chapter two. W just wanted me to keep reading as he was absorbed in the story. We are currently on chapter nine. So far W said his favorite part was when they arrived at the new camp and found Uncle Henry and their cousins Charley and Louisa there, since it was such a surprise to meet more of the characters from the Big Woods again.


I always felt touched by Laura being "eyes" for her blind sister Mary, but reading the amazingly detailed descriptions of all of the Little House books, I realize how that may have actually helped Laura really see things in depth herself and later use that gift as a literary tool. It is pretty well known that her daughter Rose Wilder Lane had a hand in heavily editing the books, but I have read many of Rose's other works and although she definitely had a gift for storytelling, it just wasn't the same as her mother's descriptions. 

"Mary" and "Laura"

Last week our Little House book club met for the first time this fall, and we have some new members along with friends from last year and it was a really nice time. The kids and Moms made corn husk dolls and chatted about the books. We dried some corn husks on a low temperature in the oven (took about an hour) and soaked them again the morning of the book club so they would bend easily to work with. It is something we would do again, we used wooden doll heads to attach since they were a bit easier to draw on, but all the dolls came out pretty cute.

FIAR: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

Last week W chose to row How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. We had done this one last year and recently the geography co-op we're in read Marjorie Priceman's other book How to Make a Cherry Pie and see the USA, so he had a renewed interest in this theme. Not to mention there is pie in the title, and it is apple season here, so he knew he was guaranteed an opportunity to help make a pie! He helped measure ingredients, squeeze lemon juice on our apples as I cut them, stir, and put the pie bird in.

W's pie

We utilized our GeoPuzzles and maps for this one to locate all of the places mentioned in the book. I printed out a sequence- matching card game created by Karen Prior at FIARCircle.com. We laminated and cut out the cards so we can reuse it and keep it in W's FIAR notebook. It came out great and inspired me to use the laminator more often. I had to chuckle when reading Pioneer Woman's blog post about her new-found obsession with her laminator. It is a common sickness with homeschooling Moms around the world. ;)

See the pretty cards? We made a NH card with the blank one for "Home". He had fun putting all of the modes of transporation, food ingredients, and places in the right order. 

This week we are rowing W's "favorite Five in a Row book so far" according to him: Salamander Room by Anne Mazer. Wish us luck in finding a salamander or newt in the woods this week. He is on the hunt!

C update: Pre-Pre-K Homeschool

C is often the sidekick in our posts but here is an update just for him. He will turn 3 in a few short months! That is really hard for me to believe, he will always be my little miracle baby to me.  He woke up congested this morning and his little stuffy voice is so cute, but I seriously don't want to catch this bug! He is still not potty trained and is not quite ready for it, he is still in cloth diapers at home. C naps most afternoons for an hour or two. We have a vision appointment in a couple of weeks for him, as the doctor recommended it after seeing W, so it will be good to get him checked out. He loves eating apples and bananas. The photo is him eating an apple from the tree in our yard. He is not a fan of veggies so that is always hit or miss.

His vocabulary is growing every day and he communicates more clearly than a few months ago. He benefits from the many stories that his brother reads to him, and has been exposed to Five in a Row books on his own level. He reads many of the Before FIAR books although we do not have the workbook for that. His favorite books are board books for Goodnight Moon  by Margaret Wise Brown and Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli (which he calls "Baby Soup"). :) He loves painting, drawing, and doing puzzles, playing with his t-ball set outside, and swinging on the swing set. He already loves imaginative play with his brother with legos and toy cars.

C has a deep love of trains and anything with wheels, he has been fascinated when we took him on train rides and to the museum. He tags along on our field trips and co-ops. He plays with W’s math-u-see blocks or duplos while W does math, and already he can count to twenty when counting with manipulatives. He is working on his ABC’s too, but does not recognize the symbols for most of the letters/numbers so far.  

He loves animals, especially our cat and is learning to pet him the direction that his fur goes. Luckily our cat Luddy is very patient with him, and he seems to enjoy the attention despite his expression in the photo. ;)

C loves Mickey Mouse, Curious George, and Dinosaur Train. Occasionally he will watch a Thomas and Friends dvd. I find that waiting as long as possible for TV makes the day flow easier, such as when I am making dinner that is a good time for a couple of shows. I usually will let them each pick one; 90% of the time lately C wants Mickey. I like popping in a Disney movie or musical like The Sound of Music on a rainy day after we do lessons, but since he naps most afternoons he usually sees the first 30 minutes. 

W and C don’t always get along and certainly have their moments like any siblings, but they are best friends and I think W really loves having the company of his little brother each day. 

more of what we're using this year

Literature & Unit Studies

Five in a Row is our main lit curriculum which touches on a lot of the other subjects as well. We are rowing some books from Volume 1 again as well as using Volumes 2 & 3, and "rowing" unofficial fiar-like books that also work well for the same method. We recently started a local co-op built around this. We will meet monthly and read one of the same books and the kids will share their projects, lapbooks or experiences from these weeks at our meetings. 

We read chapter books as a read aloud, and W reads independently as well. W has read Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, and some other unit studies we are planning for this year include By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Samuel Eaton’s Day by Kate Waters/ a Pilgrim unit for this fall, a Flat Stanley unit (postcard/writing projects), Astronomy science tie in with the book The Night Sky/ with a project on Constellations, Homer Price by Robert McCloskey, and this will get us up through fall/winter hopefully. We may work in another A.A. Milne book but I will give W choices.

Grammar, Spelling & Writing

 

For Grammar I like Ruth Heller’s World of Language series including Kites Sail High (Verbs), Many Luscious Lollipops (Adjectives) and Merry-Go-Round (Nouns). We have a variety of workbooks and still haven’t found the perfect fit for writing. W needs to get into the habit of writing more letters; he will write notes or the occasional thank-you card, but I think that would help his penmanship and spelling. In Pennsylvania we picked up a Pentime workbook which is what Amish schools use to teach writing, but it is almost a painful activity for him right now. He also has Hooked On Spelling workbooks which he breezes through but I am not sure how much he really gets out of them. We have an Usborne Spelling Puzzles book (Meet the Ogs) which he likes as it has an entertaining approach.

Spiritual Education

Our family lists three things we were thankful for each day at supper time; this is a nice way to reflect on the day and share our experiences with each other. W started church school again on Sunday so he was happy to see his church friends again and he learned about Moses “when he was grown up” this week. At least he is starting to remember bits and pieces to tell me what they’re working on. I will be the Sunday School teacher for the younger group in October, so I will have to look at the curriculum soon and start planning some activities. The Story of the World which we are using for history also covers some Biblical stories.

Art

Along with nature journaling, several times a week W and C paint in a variety of mediums (watercolors, acrylics, fingerpaints), use markers, colored pencils, crayons, and sometimes make things with modeling clay/playdough. W loved his visit to the MFA in the spring so I would like to expose him to more museums gradually, hopefully we’ll get to one this year.

Language

This year I want to make it more of a regular part of our week, so we have Muzzy French, and the book First Thousand Words in French along with some other supplement books. We also have a couple of Spanish resources. It may be better to focus on French but I do want to touch on some basic words in Spanish as well.

Exercise

W has boundless energy and loves to play outside and especially swinging on the swing set. He is working on his coordination but I think his new glasses have helped him and will continue to do so as his sight gets corrected. We have yoga dvds for the wintertime months which we will focus on when we can’t get outside as much, and I am exploring the options for a karate class as I think it would help W with focusing better and also be really fun for him.

Home Economics/ Life Skills

W enjoys cooking with me and helps with cracking eggs, stirring, and measuring things. Basically anything that doesn’t involve direct oven use or sharp knives. We have some kid cookbooks with simple recipes. He was actively involved in the gardening process and helped pick the carrots and lettuce that he planted seeds for. We haven’t implemented any chore based allowance system but that is something to think about now that he is learning about money. W did some simple sewing last year with our book club group, so if he expressed more interest the winter might be a good time to work on these kinds of crafts.

Next time we'll focus on C and pre-pre-k. :) I promise that post won't be this long!

Some Pig!

W finished up Charlotte's Web by E.B. White as a Unit study last week, so to celebrate this weekend we took a day drip to our local county fair. He was very excited to see the pigs, and we also saw sheep, goats, chickens, a turken (who knew?), a calf, a horse show, and rabbits. W and C were enchanted by the enormous pumpkins. 

Pigs feast at the fair

what a great pumpkin! Over 1100 lbs.

my little lamb!

We would like to get involved in a local 4-H chapter this year so hopefully next year W can participate and submit some of his home grown veggies and crafts. W did a couple of rides at the midway, and C went on the merry go round with me. 

For Charlotte's Web activities, W composed an acrostic poem about Wilbur using the printable from abcteach.com. This was a great excuse to learn about adjectives and make his grammar lesson fun as the book is so full of delightful adjectives. He colored in Wilbur with a white crayon with touches of pink since in the book he is described as white with pink ears and a pink snout. He also made a Pig Book. I had been afraid that the ending would be too sad for W to handle. He was moved by the story, but I was the one tearing up as we finished the last chapters. W took turns reading chapters independently and aloud with me for a family read. In many parts he laughed out loud and seeing the book fresh through his eyes brought me back to my days of reading it when I was a kid.


On Friday night we watched the 1973 cartoon movie which surprised me with the details and actual quotes from the book. Maybe sometime I will add the more recent Dakota Fanning version on our Netflix queue. We will also be looking for some other works by E.B. White at the library next trip. 

FIAR: They Were Strong and Good

This week is a shorter week due to our Labor Day holiday which was spent at the Pawtucket Red Sox game in RI. We also met for our first Geography themed homeschool Co-op this week so there went half of Wednesday. :) Therefore, I chose a book which didn't have as many accompanying activities for this “four” in a row week. 

They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson is a simplistic tale of the narrator’s parents and grandparents. These include a Scottish Sea Captain, a Dutch girl who lived in NJ, and a Southern preacher. His father fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War, so this book is a gentle way to introduce this time period. 

The lovely ink illustrations outshine the story, but there is plenty of food for thought. The book was written in 1940, so it does come across as dated. If the same kind of story were written in 2011, I would hope that the overall theme would be the ancestors written about were human. That would make it easier for any generation to relate to the people who came before us. We all may like to believe our ancestors were perfect beings, but they dealt with similar struggles in their everyday lives as we do today. It is important to keep that in mind instead of idolizing people. This can be said for historical figures, leaders and celebrities as well. /tangent

As Genealogy is a hobby of mine, we have done some lessons to look at census records and photos of W’s own ancestors on both sides of the family, and made a family tree. We talked about the countries that his own ancestors came from including Ireland, Italy, England, Scotland, and Germany. We have the Europe GeoPuzzle so that is useful for learning the shapes of the countries and locating them on a map. He also learned about one of his own Civil War ancestors who was from New Hampshire. W thought it was cool that he was a farmer and lived in the same state that we do.

Resources for They Were Strong and Good can be found at Homeschool Share and googling printables for the states and occupations mentioned. Check out Ancestry.com to build your own family tree online, or print out a basic chart for your child to fill out.

Next week begins our monthly Five in a Row Co-op with some other homeschooling families. We are excited to share ideas and choose a story for September and October that other kids will “row” along with us. This will be our initial meeting and information session for parents who want to look at the curriculum materials before jumping in.

FIAR: Miss Rumphius

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney was our first Five in a Row book this fall. W made a lap book which he will keep in a binder together with other FIAR related stuff, so once he has enough material he can make a table of contents to find it. Miss Rumphius traveled the world to places where the snow never melted (like the Alps), deserts where she rode a camel, and ultimately she found a home by the sea in Maine. We used maps and geography puzzles to locate the places she went. 


Ms. Cooney’s artwork is just beautiful in this book. She also illustrated Ox-Cart Man which we are familiar with (and it is set in NH). For many of the printable resources we used for the lapbook this week, check out Homeschool Share.


Our garden is winding down, but W decided to plant lupine seeds next year so we will add it to a list for a garden plan for the spring. He also learned about different ways that seeds travel. He got to see that up close as well during a visit to the Ashumet Holly Preserve on Cape Cod this past weekend, as he had a few traveling seeds stuck to his sock.


Miss Rumphius plants many Lupine seeds to make the world more beautiful much to the delight of future generations of children. This book asks a thoughtful question to children and adults alike, what will you do in your life to make the world more beautiful?

excerpt from W's lapbook

This would definitely make the world more beautiful!  It took him all week to think of this, but it is sweet for sure. Future mission trips, perchance?

Oh Say Can You See?

W was recently diagnosed with Astigmatism in both eyes, and mild lazy eye, and therefore was prescribed glasses. We suspected for a while that he needed glasses, but looking back I wish I took him to the eye doctor a lot earlier. At his annual checkup, he flunked the vision chart and they said to make an appointment with an Optometrist.

The Optometrist was great with him but said that W really needed to see a specialist to get a prescription for glasses. So after a referral and weeks of waiting, he finally got to the Ophthalmologist and did well for the first part of the exam.  However, once it came time for them to dilate his eyes with drops he freaked out and we had to reschedule for the following week since the doctor, nurses and myself were unable to convince him to cooperate. The first drops stung his eyes so I think he was afraid they would all feel like that and he went into fighter flight mode. So we got drops to bring home with us for the next appointment, and last week after much grumbling on W’s part, we succeeded enough to dilate the eyes. I was so happy it worked! And he was an angel at that appointment getting compliments from the doctor and nurses at how great he was behaving, as Jacob and I exchanged knowing glances of how hard it had been for us with him that morning! ;) They promised no drops at his next checkup so he is a happy camper now. He may need a temporary patch at some point but for now he’s getting used to his prescription.

the thinker

This week he got to go pick up his glasses. He has been great with them so far, knock on wood. He has had two playdates this week and he kept them on great despite climbing up on playscapes and swinging, and we got the protection plan for the glasses so if any accident does occur that will cover it. We went through Lenscrafters and they also had a sale of 50% off total purchase of lenses and frames for kids under 12, score!

The librarian recommended a book to W which he was not very receptive of initially but I caught him reading it anyway. It's called Why Do I Have to Wear Glasses? by Sandra L. Stuart. It was just what he needed to read, and of course since actually getting the glasses he notices a big difference and is happy he can see better.


Next up we need to get a referral for C, as the doctors highly recommended getting him checked out as well. Even though he is only 2 they can do a vision test with lights. Looking back I wish I did this earlier for W, but he has hid his vision problems well, he can swing a bat and hit a ball he throws in the air, and loves to read, but did always want to sit too close to the TV. So to other parents, just go to a local vision center as part of their health care routine to get kids checked out well before school (or homeschool) age. :) /end of my vision PSA

Reading Together: Little House

W is currently reading Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I am so happy he likes it! Even if he scoffs it when he is older I will treasure these memories with him. This is the book for spring for our homeschool book club which meets next week. He is now able to read full chapter books on his own, but we are doing this book as a family read aloud so we often read together and take turns reading a page at a time out loud. It is so neat to re-read this book in a new way for me and see it through different eyes. Occasionally we watch episodes of the show (keeping in mind that a lot of the things in the show differ greatly from the books and real life.) But we enjoy it anyway for what it is. ;) 

In case I haven't mentioned it enough on this blog, I love Laura Ingalls Wilder, her books, history & home sites. I recently bought the book The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure, which is a hilarious romp through modern day Little House culture. It isn't meant for kids, although teens into the world of LH may appreciate it, and Moms definitely will. Wendy also has a blog and book tour so check out her site! The World of Little House by Carolyn Strom Collins is a book that young readers would enjoy, and it is available used on Amazon. If you and your child wants to learn about the real-life history of Laura Ingalls, I highly recommend visiting Nansie Cleaveland's brilliant Pioneer Girl website and blog. Also the Beyond Little House website is a wonderful resource. It makes me want to visit all the LH sites again, hoping to when C gets a bit older! 

    

Little Men Namesake

   When we started the blog, I didn't go into much detail into the name choice. Our blog was named "Little Men" not just since we call our boys that sometimes, but also as a shout out to one of the lesser known books by the esteemed author Louisa May Alcott. She is famous for Little Women, but the sequels to the classic novel are usually not remembered. Good Wives is often seen as part two of the book and has been thus included in most publications. Little Men and Jo's Boys and How They Turned Out followed many of the lives of  the original characters from Little Women, and of course added new characters for the school for boys that Jo March Bhaer started up with her husband.

The books are available free online or cheaply on Kindle, and are a wonderful peek into a world long past. Children's literature was not LMA's favorite thing to write, but it gave her success and became what she was known for. If you are ever in Massachusetts, a visit to Orchard House and a jaunt over to Walden Pond to follow in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau makes for a lovely literary day trip. When W gets a little older I will take him back, since the only other time he was at Orchard House he was in utero. :) The books will make for good family read alouds in the future.

I have a soft spot for Victorian literature, much of it is still relevant today in many ways and many of the gems of the past are just waiting to be enjoyed. The picture is courtesy of the Celebration of Women Writers web site which is a wonderful resource. There are lots of books available online that otherwise are difficult to find copies of, and extensive links to background information; a treasure trove for bookworms, history-philes, and homeschoolers.

  

Homeschooling Book fair in Framingham

We are looking forward to attending the AHEM Book fair and celebration of homeschooling in Framingham tomorrow evening, Friday May 14th. They will have events all throughout the day. Here is a link to a flyer with a voucher to support AHEM, Advocates for Home Education in Massachusetts, Inc., if you happen to be in the area tomorrow. Their web site is a great resource for homeschoolers in MA.


W is excited that Spot the dog will be there, and I am sure C will love him as well. I am hoping to stay late enough to hear Pat Farenga speak (if C cooperates), but plan on picking up a copy of his book either way. 

May Book List: Ferdinand and company

Here are some books W has been enjoying lately.

• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, Illustrated by Robert Lawson
• Angus Lost by Marjorie Flack
• Fat Cat Sat on a Mat by Jenny Tyler (Usborne Phonics) 

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf is a sweet one. It follows the life of a bull in Spain who just wants to enjoy the flowers and not run and fight like the other bulls. One day a bee changes his plans and he is chosen to fight the matador, but after they finally realize his peaceful nature he is returned home to enjoy the flowers once more. It has a great message for kids and one many grownups should heed as well.

And Marjorie Flack, where have you been all my life?? I love her simple but heartwarming books which were written in the 1930's. Angus Lost is a gem. It follows a dog, Angus, who gets lost and the story appeals to kids today even though there are occasional references to the milk man (a good way of throwing in an improvised history lesson). 

W is loving the Usborne Phonics readers lately. Fat Cat on a Mat, Big Pig on a Dig, Toad Makes a Road, you get the idea. He has gotten several of them out of the library, and they are definitely at his pace right now, he can handle them on his own but also likes to take turns reading pages sometimes. I appreciate that it doesn't use little pictures next to each word like many early readers seem to do. 

Getting back to Ferdinand, there is a very cute Disney cartoon from 1938 that featured him, and it stayed remarkably close to the book. I am a huge Disney fan, especially when it comes to these classic shorts.

March Madness

This post has absolutely nothing to do with basketball, but everything to do with the excitement W has each day as the calendar creeps closer to his fifth birthday. I am afraid his actual birthday will seriously underwhelm him, although we are planning on having a small party. For months, when there is anything that he does not feel "brave" enough to do, such as use the shower instead of the bath, or eat particular vegetables, he has exclaimed "when I'm FIVE, I'll do it". We shall see! :)

We have been greatly enjoying the book That's What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. It is a library book that I am seriously considering purchasing for myself because it is so amusing. It follows the adventures of three little Leprechauns who on their way to do their important business also make sure to find a little mischief. Sounds like an almost five year old I know.