January 29 - February 2
I LOVE the idea of tying different school subjects together. I believe when kids make connections between things that might otherwise be taught separately, they stimulate more parts of their brains and learn more effectively. It's like if the connections we make are roots and the bigger and more interlocked they are the stronger our foundation will be.
For example, when we're getting ready to read I like to get the kids thinking about how the book might apply to things in their own life so when we're reading it together they'll be able to relate to the character and draw on experiences they've had. As we move through the book I ask them about what they think will happen next, why they think certain things happened the way they did, and how they think the character feels. Then I like to do an activity that ties it all together, that might be an art project, science experiment, or video.
For example, when we're getting ready to read I like to get the kids thinking about how the book might apply to things in their own life so when we're reading it together they'll be able to relate to the character and draw on experiences they've had. As we move through the book I ask them about what they think will happen next, why they think certain things happened the way they did, and how they think the character feels. Then I like to do an activity that ties it all together, that might be an art project, science experiment, or video.
We have read dozens of books this month, but here are a few from this week that stood out.
The Messy Book
We read The Messy Book on Monday. It's about Cat and Dog. Cat has made a big mess and doesn't want to clean it up because cleaning is boring. Dog keeps saying that they need to just clean up and that he's willing to help, but cat doesn't want to. He tries shoving it in a pile, jumping on it, pushing it in the ocean, hiding it under the bed, eating it, exploding it, and vacuuming it. Each thing makes the mess worse and worse. Finally they clean it up and have a party.
It was a cute book that hit home for my kids who hate to clean. I always tell them if they pick up as they go, the mess will be more manageable. Dax is the expert on not cleaning. He'll have to go pee, or claim someone else needs help, or say that he doesn't want to clean because he's still playing. Hopefully reading this will make them keep their stuff at least a little bit neater because this mama goin' cray.
After we were done reading, I had the kids make their own "mess." I laid out magazine pages for them to cut up into little pieces and glue on colored paper. They also had markers to make their mess... even messier. Dax got creative by scrunching up the paper before gluing, Zander covered his page a bit more traditionally. They loved it!
The kids' final products! A beautiful mess.
Niko Draws a Feeling
We read Niko Draws a Feeling on Tuesday. The story is about Niko who draws things that inspire him, but his friends, family, and teacher don't understand his pictures. This makes him feel sad so he draws his sadness. A new girl moves in next door and she wants to see his pictures. He's hesitant to show her because she might not like the pictures, but she does like them and they become friends.
After this book, each kid got a sheet of paper and crayons. I told them to either draw a feeling of their own or something that inspires them. They were excited to be doing art again!
LEAVE ME ALONE!
On Wednesday the boys picked out this gem. I told them the book was actually written about me portrayed as an overwhelmed grumpy old lady. Zander says, "You mean when you freak out on us?" Yup, that's me, bud. We decided Zander was one of the annoying kids, Dax was an green moon man, and Daddy was a "Billy" goat.
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Anyone who has toddlers, know that this is a true story. The old lady packs up her stuff and goes on a journey to find a quiet place to knit. She runs into bears in the forest who want to eat her, so she climbs up a mountain, but the goats want to eat all of her red yarn. She climbs onto the moon, but the green moon-men won't leave her alone either. She climbs through a wormhole and it's perfect. Finally she goes home with all of her sweaters.
The kids and I loved the book and after we were done reading I had them draw their favorite things from the book. Dax drew lots of colored yarn. Zander drew the old lady sitting in the wormhole. He got to draw on black paper with a white crayon for the first time and he thought that was cool.
My favorite thing was that after 4 days of listening to music during school work, they've actually started asking to listen to it while we work.
The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend
So an imaginary friend is born and he waits and waits to be imagined, but it doesn't happen, so he goes on a journey to the real world to find a friend, but he can't find one.
He climbs up in a tree feeling sad, when a girl finds him. Neither of them have ever made a friend but they realize they're perfect together. It's one of those stories that really warms your heart at the end. Just about everyone has felt alone at one point in their life. I know I have had my fair share of difficulties making and keeping friends and I found myself really relating to this text even now as an adult.
Zander did art alone today as Dax and Willow didn't make it to this point. I asked Zander to brainstorm what his imaginary friend would look like. He said he would be black and blue with hair, dark eyes, and ears. So I am imagining a striped hairy monster when he says, "It's Dax." Confused I look over at Dax who is wearing a blue and black striped shirt, has dark eyes, and indeed does have ears. Alright, fair enough. So here's Dax outside with the sun and a pile of...yarn...?