Make Way for Ducklings Lapbook: Duck Related Literature

As we are working our way through Make Way for Ducklings, we are also reading lots of other books to compliment the different themes. Here are a few titles that I have found interesting, enjoyable, and helpful.

1. Hunwick’s Egg by Mem Fox – This is a sweet book about how Hunwick finds an “egg” and everyone waits for it to hatch.
2. Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duckby Lisa Westberg Peters – This simple book is about the change of seasons and Mallard Duck migration in rhyme.
3. Dilly Duckling by Claire Freedman – Dilly loses a feather, chases it, and learns about molting.
4. Cock-A-Doodle Quack Quackby Ivor Baddiel and Sophie Jubb – This is a fun book about a young rooster who doesn’t know how to wake everyone up in the morning. It reviews the farm animal sounds.
5. Dawdle Duckling by Toni Buzzeo – This is a cute story about a duckling who doesn’t stay close to Mother duck until… Explore the number 4 with this book. Also try Ready or Not, Dawdle Duckling by the same author.
6. “Behold the Duck” by Ogden Nash – This is a simple, rhyming poem about duck behavior.
7. Duck at the Door by Jackie Urbanovic – This book is about a mallard duck who chooses not to migrate with his flock during his first winter. He knocks on Irene’s door in the middle of the night and stays for the winter. (My kids love this book! We have read it many times.)

Happy reading!

From Birth to Resurrection

Easter is fast approaching, and my kids are still re-enacting the Christmas story (and singing Christmas carols for that matter). Apparently I did a good job of teaching them about Christ’s birth! Now it is time to move on and talk about Jesus’s life, his ministry, and his resurrection in our homeschool.

Last year we made Resurrection Story Cookies. I think we will do the same thing this year. Although my children did not understand all of the story (being so young still), I think that it is important to start traditions like these early since each year the experience will mean something different to them. Besides, my children will look back on these moments as the memories that mean the most to them.

Photo courtesy of Dan Phiffer

A Traditional Literature Theme: Tall Tales

Continue your Traditional Literature study in your homeschool with Tall Tales. These stories are short, fun, and engaging. If your children are resistant to reading, Tall Tales can be a great way to capture their interest.

~You can find copies of American Tall Tales here. There are also comprehension quizzes on this site.

~You can find a unit study on Tall Tales at German Town Academy.

~Tall Tales fit into a unit of study on the westward expansion. You can find general information about America in the 1800’s at this website. You will also find a host of educational resources at this website.

~Some Tall Tales are based on actual people. You can have your children research the lives of the Johnny Appleseed and Davey Crockett and compare the facts they find to the exaggerations in Tall Tales.

~You can make a lapbook on Johnny Appleseed. Homeschool Share has a free one.

~Have your children write their own Tall Tales. Remember to include exaggeration in the tales. Illustrations would complete the stories.

Photo courtesy of cliff1066

A Traditional Literature Theme: Fairy Tales

Are you studying traditional literature in your homeschool? You can engage your children in this study by diving into Fairy Tales and adding a twist to the learning experience.

• Your children might enjoy reading several versions of the same fairy tale. It is common to do a study on the Cinderella stories and compare the different versions of the tale. You can find a great lesson plan at EDSITEement. Write or act out the story from a different character’s point of view. You can even have your children write their own version of a fairy tale but from as if it is from a different culture. Research a particular culture thoroughly first and require that the story include information about that culture in the story.
• Add fractured fairy tales to your study. Read the “original” version of a tale and compare it to the fractured version. There are many great fractured fairy tales available now such as The Fourth Little Pig, Just Ella, Sleeping Ugly, and The Paper Bag Princess. Then have your children write their own fractured fairy tales. You can even incorporate persuasive essays in your study. Your children can write from the antagonist’s point of view explaining why s/he was wronged.
• Since many fairy tales were collected by the Brothers Grimm in an effort to preserve German folklore, you can do a research project on Germany.
• Study Hans Christian Anderson’s life and fairy tales. (Beware that his tales do not always have happy endings.) You can also learn about Holland since Andersen was Dutch.

Photo courtesy of g.naharro

A Traditional Literature Theme: Myths and Legends

Here are more ideas for using traditional literature in your homeschool this month. Try reading Myths and Legends.

Myths

Myths are creation tales that include supernatural activity. For a more detailed definition go to About.com.

• Spark Notes is packed with information about mythology. It can be a great resource for you as you start to learn about mythology.
• Have your children read Myths from various cultures such as Native American and Greek myths. Examine the themes that appear in those myth,s and create a grid to of those themes as a graphic organizer. You can also have your children illustrate the myths in order to help them visualize the stories better.
• Discuss the religious nature of the myths that you read. Since most myths have something to do with creation, take this opportunity to discuss creation according to the Bible. You can even make a creation lapbook with your children. I found a free creation lapbook from Lapbook Lessons.

Legends

Legends are stories partially based on fact, but have exaggerated details.

• Children of all ages, particularly boys, love legends! Who can resist the adventures of Robin Hood and King Arthur? These are great, action packed stories to read aloud.
• Write a script for a favorite legend and act it out, or simply have your children choose a favorite scene to turn into a skit.
• Since it is March, you can research the legend of St. Patrick at History.com. You can also find information about St. Patrick at RiverDeep.net
• Write a modern day Legend after examining others. Have your children include illustrations of the legendary hero and his/her adventures.

Photo courtesy of Jorge-11

A Traditional Literature Theme: Nursery Rhymes & Fables

March is a month filled with inspiration for themes for learning in your homeschool. This month many people will be taking advantage of St. Patrick’s Day. Perhaps you don’t want to read all about Irish history and culture, but you can twist that theme and read traditional literature instead – myths, folktales, fairy tales, fables, and legends.

My Favorite Author is using this theme this month, too. Stop by that blog for interviews with authors and reviews of books related to this theme. “What can you do with a traditional literature theme?” you ask. It is one of my favorite literature studies because it is truly a rich topic. Today I am sharing a few ways to engage your children in this study with Nursery Rhymes and Fables:

Photo by aturkus

Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes are very short, funny, poetic stories. They are often historically and politically significant.

• Your little ones can participate in this study by reading Nursery Rhymes. These funny rhymes build phonemic awareness and are easily
  memorized. Have your little ones choose a few to commit to memory.
• Make and Break words from the rhymes. Use words such as Jill/hill, down/crown. Use the onsets and rimes to build new words (spill, fill, mill, bill).
• You can have your children illustrate several Nursery Rhymes and bind them into a book. Those illustrations are a great way to teach visualization, and they help you see if your child comprehends the text.
• Teens can research the political and historical significance to each of the rhymes. Then they can write their own Nursery Rhymes that have political and historical messages cleverly hidden in them.

Fables

Fables are short stories that have a moral or a lesson at the end.

• Since fables are so short, you can use them to practice oral reading. Have your children read them aloud with the goal of making the reading “sound like talking”.
• You can focus on memorization skills with Fables. Choose shorter ones that your older children can memorize and have the younger children memorize the moral.
• The lesson can spark an interesting discussion about morals. Ask your children what they think is the right choice in each situation.
• Fables can help you gauge your children’s comprehension because they are short and have a moral. Did your child predict the outcome based on the clues in the text? Did your child make connections to other stories or situations?

Look for more posts about using folklore in your homeschool.

Homeschool Discipline

After about a month of terrible behavior from the children, I decided that I had to do something. I was frustrated and angry all of the time. In fact, I was in tears not that long ago because I felt helpless. I simply had no idea what to do about the behavior problems.I prayed about it and thought about it for a while.

I remembered that C4 is a kinesthetic learner. She also needs visual reminders. After talking with a friend about her discipline plan, which was similar to the one I used to use in my classroom, I knew what I had to do. I got to work on my own plan. That was about two weeks ago.

I am happy to report that this week I have been enjoying the fruit of my labor. The kids have been wonderful with each other and so happy since I implemented my new discipline plan. After some initial testing, the kids’ behavior has turned around. I am enjoying my children now rather than feeling stressed and scattered. Since I am not cleaning up messes or disciplining someone as much anymore, we have reclaimed those precious times of snuggling on the couch to read books. I am not reprimanding them as much. Instead I am praising the good choices that kids make, and they are praising each other!

Now we are back to learning and making happy memories. This is why I homeschool!

Puppets Encourage Homeschool Literacy

Puppets can be a useful tool in your homeschool literacy program. Here are a few ways to use them with children eight years old and younger.

~Your beginning reader can read books to a puppet. Young children buy into the fantasy of the puppet interacting with them. Sometimes the presence of the puppet helps a child who is struggling with reading to relax and enjoy the experience. The puppet makes it fun to read.

~Your children can retell books by writing a script and using puppets. It is a fun way to encourage your children to reread a book and understand it well enough to capture the essence of the story. It also encourages your children to write a good script. Younger children will love to watch the puppet shows, too.

~You can make a read aloud more engaging with a puppet. My kids love listening to the puppet read stories, ask questions, and explain parts of the stories. They talk to the puppet. They also like touching it and even mimicking the way that I use the puppet. This tool can be especially helpful in engaging children who find it difficult to sit still long enough to listen to a whole book.

~Your children can teach the puppet. This is a fun way to have your child summarize a new skill or concept that you’ve been practicing. For example, the puppet can learn to sound out words or find rhyming pairs. The puppet can even find sight words in a story such as “the”, “what”, and “said”.

~You can research another culture with puppets. Shadow puppets are part of Indonesian culture. Your children can create a shadow puppet show as a culminating activity after researching Indonesian culture.

Have fun with puppets!

Photo courtesy of nickstone333

A Cat in the Hat Day

Have a Cat in the Hat day in your homeschool. Make stovepipe hats to learn about patterns and play a Seuss inspired indoor P.E. game. You can also practice handwriting, phonics, and spelling. These projects are appropriate for preschoolers and kindergartners.

Stovepipe Hat

Supplies (makes 1 sample and 2 hats)
3 pieces red construction paper     3 pieces white construction paper     2 pieces large drawing paper
glue sticks     scissors     permanent marker

How To
Cut about one inch off of the long edge of three pieces of red construction paper and three pieces of white construction paper. Trace one of the remaining rectangles onto a large piece of drawing paper. Then trace the cut off piece of paper onto the base of the large rectangle to form the brim of the hat. Make one tracing for each child.

Give each child the tracing of the hat. Have each child glue the one inch white strip to the brim of the hat. Have the children fold the red paper in half hamburger style twice and cut the paper along the folds. Do the same for the white paper. Now create a pattern with the colors on the tracing by gluing red, white, red, white. (Each child will have 2 extra pieces of red and 2 extra pieces of white paper. Reserve these for another project.)

Have your children help spell the words “Cat in the Hat” and write them as a title at the top of the page.

Word Work

Supplies
remaining strips of red and white construction paper     permanent marker    pencils

How To
Use the remaining strips of paper to write the words “cat”, “in”, “the”, & “hat”. As you write the words (except “the”, which you write out and explain that it is a sight word), have your child say the sounds in the words and tell you the corresponding letters. Then have the kids trace over the letters. Your children can play “Concentration” and “Go Fish” and also practice spelling the words with these flash cards.

Indoor Seuss Inspired Frisbee

Supplies
2 dessert size paper plates (per child)     red marker     read crayons

How To
Draw a stovepipe hat on the back of each of the plates. Draw lines for your child to color in with red crayon. Once the Frisbees are decorated, toss them around. We played Frisbee down our hallway and even played relay races. Be creative!

Russian: A Homeschool Foreign Language

Russian is another great option for your homeschool foreign language. Since it is widely spoken in the larger metropolitan areas of the US such as Boston, Chicago, Miami, and San Francisco according to Wikipedia, you might find it helpful to have a background in Russian. It would also be useful to learn this language if you plan on traveling to or working in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus since it is primarily spoken there.

I like this particular lesson because it gives plenty of practice with a practical phrases. You are also able to see the translation of the words as you learn them, which can be helpful for visual learners when learning a language. The style of this particular video lends itself to kids who need minimal visual information and structured lessons. It is a no frills approach to language learning.

I hope this video gives you a glimpse at the Russian language and helps you decide if it is right for you.