Busy Day!

I got an extra "free day" off from work today so I could really work twice as hard at home with the kids today. so far I have done dishes, 2 loads of laundry, wiped the table, fed the kids twice, cleaned under the dinning room table,and cut out a couple dozen quilt squares. The littles have done school played. Pitty-pat played with the magnetix making patterns,and paper dolls-don't tell her that was math/geometry and living skills, Tippy-toe read his new leggo magazine with help and played baby doll-don't tell him that's reading/english and life skills,little-man sat at the table with his montessori baskets. All before noon-now if only we could get some "real" school work done. The littles don't think it's school unless it is a workbook. I just have to laugh.It is bright and sunny so I think we will go for a nature walk but don't tell them it's science! They just know it's fun!

FIAR Book lists-- all volumes for my check sheet

I will keep this list updated as I add these books to our homeschool library.

FIVE IN A ROW BOOK LIST


Volume 1:
*The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese (can be found online in color and printed free)
Lentil by Robert McCloskey
*Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (found a hardcover copy for $2.95 found a 4 book-volume for $1.00)
A Pair of Red Clogs by Masako Matsuno
The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
Who Owns the Sun? by Stacy Chbosky
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
The Glorious Flight by Alice and Martin Provensen
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
*Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin (found at used book store hardcover $2.95)--oop
Another Celebrated Dancing Bear by Gladys Scheffrin-Falk--oop
Papa Piccolo by Carol Talley
Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews
The Clown of God by Tomie DePaola
Storm in the Night by Mary Stoltz
*Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton(kids already had a copy)
Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha
*Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost (with illustrations by Susan Jeffers)(borrowed from our public library read in  2009 to the kids)



Volume 2:
The Giraffe That Walked to Paris by Nancy Milton--oop
Three Names by Patricia MacLachlan
Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf
*Owl Moon by Jane Yolen (found paperback $0.95)
A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert
Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco
Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
They Were Strong and Good by Alice and Robert Lawson
Babar, To Duet or Not to Duet based on characters by DeBrunhoff--oop
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Down, Down the Mountain by Ellis Credle--oop
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
*The Tale of Peter Rabbit written and ill. by Beatrix Potter(found at dollar daze $1.00)
Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car by John Burningham
All Those Secrets of the World by Jane Yolen--oop
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The Little Red LIghthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter
*Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson(already had a torn copy)
*When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant (found paperback $0.95)
Gramma's Walk by Anna Grossnickle Hines--oop


Volume 3:
The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco
Andy and the Circus by Ellis Credle--oop
The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock--oop
Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ill. by Ted Rand
Henry the Castaway by Mark Taylor--oop
The Finest Horse in Town by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Truman's Aunt Farm by Jama Kim Rattigan
The Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl
Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty
Daniel's Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla
Warm as Wool by Scott Russell Sanders--oop
*The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer(garage sale $0.25)
Climbing Kansas Mountains by George Shannon
Amber on the Mountain by Tony Johnston
Little Nino's Pizzeria by Karen Barbour



Volume 4:
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
The Raft by Jim LaMarche
Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell
*Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin(used book store$2.95 second copy garage sale $0.25)
The Gullywasher by Joyce Rossi
Arabella by Wendy Orr--oop
Higgins Bend Song and Dance by Jacqueline Briggs Martin---oop
Cowboy Charlie by Jeanette Winter--oop
Grass Sandals by Dawnine Spivak
Albert by Donna Jo Napoli
The Hickory Chair by Lisa Rose Fraustino
Hanna's Cold Winter by Trish Marx--oop
The Hatmaker's Sign Retold by Candace Fleming--oop
The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold
Angelo by David Macaulay

*means we own it
oop means out of print

michigan map

Today I am cutting out a map of michigan and will be glueing it on posterboard then adding pictures for each place we go see this summer. Of course a few places we've already been will be added now.

Yesterday we picked flowers and pressed them in a phonebook for a later project. I think we will put them betweeen glass to make coasters for homemade christmas presents later this year. My friend Gayla at work makes beautiful coasters and I plan to copy her idea. I bought two for patterns friday. If I start now we may have them done in time for christmas. Good thing nobody reads this anyway.

My raised bed garden will never be ready in time. I still need a load of black dirt. I have been composting and puttting all my old leaves in the bottom but still need to go get soil. so far noneof our growing projects have worked out the pineapple got roots then died and the avacado never sprouted. I hope this works--for a few tomato plants, carrots,beans and peas. Everuyyone should know where food comes from and how much work it is to grow food.

Spring nature study

We took the kids out for a walk and to collect frog eggs. Be brought home a small sample of what we think is frog eggs, several nice rocks, and a baby garter snake. Now tippy-toe wants to "discover 'bout 'nakes" They also got to ride on Aaron's quad. Pitty-pat was too much of a princess girl to really like it. Little-man saw geese and pointed "ook!" he also said "bye-bye" and waved as they rode quad and the rest waited their turns. i've noticed words suddenly have their correct meanings for littleman now. He would say words before but they didn't really have the right meaning.

Water unit study

This week we watched the movie "Inkheart" and discussed the importance of reading. Our spelling words are: two, water, rain, drop, bow, the, end, blue, ball, sea, & see. We checked out the movie "eyewitness ponds and Rivers" from the library. It was awful I don't recommend it at all. We did worksheets on rain. Our color this week is of course BLUE.