Our New President

Because of the inauguration today, we have spent some time over the past two days discussing our new President. Yesterday, Hannah did this worksheet from Time For Kids.


For the last question, Hannah had a difficult time thinking of what she wanted the President to change, so I asked her if she could think of anything bad. She mentioned somebody we know who uses drugs, and I suggested that the President could help fight against drugs. She liked that idea and wrote it on the lines. Then, she drew a picture to illustrate her idea. When I asked her about it, she told me that the person we know is on the left, holding a drug, and the other person is the President, who is fighting him! I think she took the words "fighting drugs" a little too literally!

Today, I took her in my arms and told her that I think she is old enough now to understand some of the reasons for celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday yesterday and for recognizing the significance of Obama's presidency. Beginning with the founding of our country, I explained slavery and the Civil War, discrimination and the Civil Rights movement. We talked about Martin Luther King, Jr. and about what he preached and how he died. I told her that some people think that white people are better than black people just because of their skin color, and that it is wrong, because God made all of us and loves all of us the same.

"But, Mama," she interrupted, "Pastor Carter has brown skin."

"He does," I said, "Do you think we are any better than he is because we are white and he is not?"

Indignant, she replied, "No! Pastor Carter is my friend!"

I then told her that, although I did not vote for Obama and I do not agree with all of his politics, today is a special day because he is our first black President; that the same people who were once oppressed and forced into slavery can have hope because even the presidency, the highest office in the land, is open to them; and that in the same country where black people could not even use the same drinking fountains or attend the same schools as white people, an African American man is now the leader of the entire country. Grinning widely, she laughed and bounced up and down on her bed. "I am so excited that Barack Obama is our President!" she yelled. Then she said more quietly, "I know something else the President could do besides fight against drugs. He could help white people not hate black people anymore."

"Yes, that would be wonderful," I agreed, hugging her proudly.

Outer Space

Have I mentioned how much Hannah loves the Magic Tree House book series? We purchased books 1-28 for Christmas, and she is about halfway finished with them. She has enjoyed all of them so far, but she fell in love with Midnight on the Moon.

For a couple weeks, I constantly heard thumps and bangs coming from her room. When I opened the door, she would be wearing her "moon suit" - a zip-up jacket vest, a Disney princess hat, Strawberry Shortcake slippers, and fancy white gloves.

"What are you doing?" I would ask as she leaped from her bed. "Going to the moon!" she would yell.

One day, she said to Josh, "I need to go potty."

"Then go," he told her.

"I can't," she explained, "I have to go to the moon first." Oh, of course...

In light of this obsession, I was thrilled to find a number of worksheets about Space and our Solar System on the Time For Kids website. I decided to print out one worksheet just for Hannah, but also a couple for both Hannah and Ben to try. I knew Ben would need help reading the questions and writing some of the answers, but he amazed me at how well he did.

Hannah's pages:


Ben's pages:


Hannah's page about Pluto:

Animal Teeth and Tales

Now that the holidays are over, we are beginning to get into a new routine for school. Ben is much more interested in "doing preschool" recently, so I have been doing almost as much with him as I have with Hannah. We have had a fun couple of days.

Yesterday, we read One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey. In the book, Sal wakes up one morning with a lose tooth. At first, she worries, but she grows excited when her mother tells her that it means she is growing up. She wonders about different animals' teeth, and she plans out the wish she will make when the tooth finally comes out. The book paints a lovely picture of a family living on the coast of Maine, while also exploring an important milestone in a little girl's life.

At Hannah's last trip to the dentist, the dentist told her that she would likely begin losing her teeth within the next year, and she is very excited about the idea, so she enjoyed this story quite a bit. Several months ago, I saved a portion of a My Big Backyard magazine about animal teeth, so I used those pages to talk about different kinds of teeth and what uses they have. The kids enjoyed figuring out which types of teeth different animals have. Additionally, we located Maine on a map and talked about animals that don't have any teeth at all.

Today, we reread the book Little Beaver and the Echo by Amy MacDonald. This is a beautifully illustrated and adorable tale about a lonely little beaver who hears his echo and goes looking for a friend. Though he never finds the voice he is seeking, he finds three new friends along the way.

We used this book, combined with another My Big Backyard to learn about beavers, which fit very well with the teeth lesson from yesterday. I jokingly told Ben that next year, instead of bringing a saw with us, he can chew down our Christmas tree instead. I chmped my teeth dramatically in the direction of our tree (and yes, we still have not taken down our tree...). The kids laughed and laughed, but I think they will always remember what a beaver uses his teeth for!

We also discussed echoes and how they work. We took turns yelling and pretending to hear our echoes, which the kids loved! Ben tells me now that an echo is when you say, "Hello!" or "Who's there?" and your voice bounces off of something hard and comes back to you, and you hear, "Hello! Who's there?" I think they've got it!

We're also moving bit by bit through Sing, Spell, Read and Write and a few other workbooks. Ben can read short-vowel words fairly easily now, and he really enjoys practicing his new skill. Hannah is moving a little more slowly through her book, now that it consists of more writing and less coloring and other fun activities. We do a smaller amount each day, and I supplement with more engaging reading comprehension and phonics worksheets from a second grade workbook I purchased.

So, we are back to work and getting into a routine. Though have a lot I want to accomplish before the end of the year, my biggest desire is that the kids will love learning! I think we are finding a good balance...