Welcome to my blog. This blog pretty much reflects me, and I am one eclectic person. I have restaurant reviews, shop reviews, posts about human trafficking, poems (written by me or just appreciated by me), reflections from sermons, events, old mission trip newsletters – and much more. There’s a whole category of posts on the wedding planning and I am now homeschooling our two kiddos, so there’s a smattering of info about that as well.
If you are lost, don’t feel bad. I’m still glad you’re here.
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This book is a sweet lesson in judging others and community. We timed this right before Thanksgiving so we were well in the mindset of gratitude and inclusion and extending kindness to others. The kids loved the character of Mr. Whiskers – isn’t that just the way with kids? They often gravitate to those who adults might write-off and can see a bit of goodness in them when others just see bristle.
I found a great video on YouTube, showing how cranberries are grown and harvested these days. We talk a lot about how different foods we eat grow – things that grow in the dirt, on top the grown (leaves and stems), from shrubs or bushes, and from trees. But cranberries defy all these! The plants need to be waterlogged and that definitely makes it easier to harvest because these plants naturally grow by boggy waterways where the berries can fall off the plant and float downstream to find new places to take root and grow. The way seeds spread is so fascinating!
Social Studies
This book was handy to learn more about the state of Massachusetts. When we get into the United States part of our historical studies, I plan to go through each state in order of admission. Years ago, I invested in a series of activity books Highlights published of each US state and I’ve managed to keep them pristine up to this point. I’m just as surprised as you are.
There are many options for picture books on Thanksgiving and some day I will create a list of books I recommend for children. This one seemed to match up well with the main picture book. I include some others in the full list below.
Math
Baking is an excellent way to learn about volume and measurements. My kiddos were still too young to be much help, but as an introductory lesson, this book was enough.
Science
We see their shells and have collected our share when at the beach, but the creatures that build and live inside them are fascinating! I also found some YouTube videos of clamdiggers. One by Saltyhead right at 19 minutes. And another by The Fisherman Magazine, just over 7 minutes long. It’s neat to see the specialized tools made for certain tasks and jobs.
Other Books
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A classic, a favorite, my 3 year old in particular loved this book. We also have a couple of the old shows on DVD and watched those throughout the week. It was fun to continue a visit in France and have further reminders of landmarks in Paris, in particular. The Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower are the first landmarks my kids have learned and can say where they are located, which does my heart proud!
Social Studies
Up, Up and Away is a fantastic book of cut-out silhouette art and very pleasing to the eye as you travel throughout the city of Paris. I highly recommend this one as there are such amazing details throughout for the kids to discover.
Art
When I think of art, of course I think of Italy and THEN, I think of France! And there is no shortage of picture books demonstrating that reputation. At this age, we’re not memorizing artists and techniques, but it is great fun to watch my kids incorporate some of the styles into their own artwork or to recognize it out in the wild.
Additional Books
Hidden Hope is a book about the German occupation in France during WWII. You should use your own judgment, of course, as to the readiness of your child to a difficult topic. My kids were very interested in the idea of toys being used as a secret keeper.
Happy to find another book about flying to incorporate as well as this amazing little story of a postman who collected rocks on his route and built himself a palace. Our imaginations were lit up!
For this week’s poem, I chose a simple French song that I grew up learning, “Frère Jacques.”
Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Din, din, don. Din, din, don.
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Brother John. Brother John. Morning bells are ringing! Morning bells are ringing! Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.
Disclaimer:This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.
I’m going to be very honest and let you know that I totally dropped the ball on the FIAR posts at this point. It’s been 3 years since we did this study and so I am going to have to revise the format of the lesson reviews as I have forgotten many details and I didn’t keep digital notes.
This book was a lot of fun to read and we really enjoyed learning the technical and geographical notes in the books. My son is pretty engineer-minded and he loves learning about different vehicles and the mechanics of it all.
Social Studies
I found a video of a man and his kid flying across the English Channel which was a lot of fun. We also went through these books on France to see landmarks, culture, and food.
Math
Teaching Roman Numerals at this young age was a bit tricky, but these lessons are more just setting out a buffet and introducing concepts. Neither kid was a reader at this point, but my then 5 year old loves numbers! To know there could be a “secret code” to mean numbers was a fun project.
Science
Science and technology was definitely the highlight with this book. We looked through lots of books on flight and airplanes. We also went to the nearby Museum of the US Air Force to see some of these planes in person – including a model of the Bleriot flyer! That was a special treat.
Additional Books:
Ok, do not sleep on The Adventures of John Jeffries. These kind of niche non-fiction picture books are golden resources! These two men attempt to cross the English Channel in a balloon and go through the science of getting lift and then coming down at the right time – even peeing off the side and disrobing to a point to lose excess weight.
We also looked at the story of Icarus who flew too close to the sun. Our primary curriculum (now) is Story of the World and so we revisited this particular story just this last year.
I did not choose a poem this week. My husband took a week of vacation, so we had plans to do some things throughout the week and I wanted to give us more time with him.
Disclaimer:This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.
Xapa to the World 