Another Celebrated Dancing Bear

For our second book in FIAR we chose to do Another Celebrated Dancing Bear by Gladys Scheffrrin-Falk.  A story about the friendship between two Brown Russian Bears named Boras and Max. 

Other books we added to the study. The Blessing Cup by Patricia Polacco was one of my favorites.

On Tuesday we read the book, then worked on geography. She learned where Russia is on the map and colored their flag. We talked about some things they are known for such as, tigers, bears, ballet, cotton, etc.  Then we spoke of occupations and she had to list a few. Hadley's list contained Doctor, Pilot, Jeweler, Ophthalmologist, Chef and Zookeeper. In relation to the theme of the story we spoke of hospitality and how to greet someone. We spoke of jealousy and what the tenth commandment says. She learned about Matrioshka Dolls (we watched a video of how they are made) and we made a version out of paper.

On Wednesday we went over vocabulary words such as, Czar, elegant, glum, samovar, magnificent, jealous, audience, marvelous, embraced, pyramid and comical. We then acted out some words from the book such as, applaud, bowed, beamed, drew near, giggled, chattering, mopped his brow(pictured below), kicking(dance step) and leaping. She practiced her writing skills and drew a picture of Russian architecture. When then made bear claw cookies. Later in the afternoon we made a paper circus, watched some of Tchaikovsky Nutcracker and Sergei Prokofiev's Peter And The Wolf.

We squeezed our FIAR into three days because Grandma Chichi was arriving Thursday. Once she arrived we read our book, discussed the illustrators etchings. Hadley tried an etching herself. We made a Faberge egg and had tea with Russian bread and strawberry jam. We finished up by discussing the samovar and watched an episode of The Magic School Bus, Wet All Over.

Hadley continues to implement what she has learned in her free play throughout the week. For example, last night we had a dinner guest.  Hadley was dressed as a Russian woman!

Our next adventure we will either be in Paris or the Coal Mines.

Five In A Row... Homeschool Adventure

Part of Hadley's homeschool curriculum will be Five In A Row, http://fiveinarow.com/, a way of learning through great books and creative play. Since I'm new to this home schooling thing I wanted to start the FIAR early so I can iron out any kinks before we officially start. Our first book we chose to use, "A Storm In The Night".  This lyrical tale is about a stormy night and the relationship between a boy and his grandfather.

I also added supplemental reading to our studies

Our first day of reading the book we discussed the relationship between the main characters, 

the plot , setting, and themes. One of the themes was fear. Hadley and I discussed her fears and incorporated Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear for I am with you.

On Tuesday day we touched on three vocabulary words used in the book; mandarine, bough and errand. We also learned about onomatopoeia through you tube and a match game.

For Wednesday we discussed the artwork, the  medium the artist used , how they created light and darkness and reflections.  Hadley painted a painting in the same medium and style as the artist. I made a snack for the day related to the book, blue jello for the sky and whipped cream for clouds. 

Thursday we touched a bit on math by creating a quilt with geometric shapes and counting them.

We made a list of sources of light and tied in Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation.

We then read a story about rainbows and made a rain maker.

Friday we finished up with science.  Hadley created four examples of clouds out of cotton. We focus on Stratus, Cumulus, Cirrus and Nimbus clouds. We learned about evaporation , condensation and  precipitation through you tube and did an experiment using a jar, hot water and ice.

I took this opportunity to read the story of Jesus and the storm in her Bible.

Final craft of the day, "when I look at the clouds in the sky I see"...

Hadley painted a butterfly and practiced her printing.

I placed all of her work in a lap book so that she can review it at anytime.

After completing our first FIAR, Ive chosen to just use it as a supplement for art, geography and science. Separately I have math, reading, and writing curriculum that provides what we want for her. Its important for Hadley to spend as much time outside learning and exploring and with that being said I hope to implement a nature journal into her studies.

Hadley and I enjoyed our first go at FIAR. She is all about creative play and this meets her needs. Our next book will be "Another Celebrated Dancing Bear" where we will be going to Russia.