Why I Love Mo Willems

Although Hannah loves to read longer chapter books, she still takes delight in shorter picture books, too. Last year, in kindergarten, she fell in love with the Knuffle Bunny and Pigeon books by Mo Willems. I had never heard of the books, so when we first went to the library, we checked out Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny, Too. The books are definitely simple enough for young readers, but the illustrations and humor can win over adults and older kids as well. Hannah certainly loves them!

Anyway, I no longer remember what I was trying to find online, but I stumbled across Mo Willems' web site and blog, which included his fan mail address and some of his favorite letters and drawings from young fans. When I told Hannah she could write him a letter, she was thrilled and began working on it at once. I wish I had saved a copy of the letter and drawing she did for him, but she placed it in the sealed envelope, and we mailed it before I thought about it. I do remember that her letter explained that her kindergarten teacher had read her some of his books, and that she writes her own books as well. She told him, "I want to be an author and illustrator just like you," and then she signed her name, adding at the end, "PS... I am 6 years old."

Not very long later (maybe a month?), we received a brown envelope in the mail, addressed to Hannah, with a tiny drawing of Knuffle Bunny next to the address. Inside, she had the following letter:

Well, I don't know who was more excited by the letter - me or Hannah! I do know that Hannah could not stop grinning as she read it over and over again. I love that the letter was completely personalized in response to what she wrote, and not just a form letter. He obviously took a little time with it, drawing a picture for her alongside his name. My favorite part, however, is that he encouraged her to keep writing and drawing, not to be just like him, but to be herself! It immediately inspired her to begin creating another book, and of course, she wants to send a copy to her favorite author - Mo Willems!

Loving the Library

As part of our homeschool routine this year, we visit the library every other Monday morning. That gives us time to read the books we choose, while also allowing us to rotate the books regularly to match our lessons and interests. Usually we pick out a few books to fit with a school theme, while the kids choose other books simply because they look fun or interesting.

Last week, while browsing the non-fiction section, I noticed a nice picture book about John James Audubon. Written as a poem/letter from Audubon to his father, explaining his passion for studying birds and nature, the story interspersed various writings from his journals and his actual paintings of birds alongside the lovely illustrations in the book. As an aspiring author and illustrator, Hannah grew more and more delighted as she learned Audubon's story. As soon as I finished reading her the book, she leaped up from the couch and announced, "I'm doing that! I'm going to draw pictures of birds and bugs and sea creatures when I grow up!"

She asked if she could draw some pictures instead of doing her Sing, Spell, Read and Write that afternoon, and I agreed. First, she brought her pumpkin to the school table and studied it carefully, drawing exactly what she saw, just as Audubon did. Then, she took a second piece of paper and wrote a brief paragraph:

"This is a pumpkin that I drew all by my self! I copied a real pumpkin. We also might make pumpkin pie or bars. I really like my pumpkin."

When she had completed that page, she asked permission to get two apples out of the refrigerator, and she drew those as well. She had one large, green apple with a stem, and one small red apple with no stem, and she again focused on drawing each one as she saw it. She finished by writing another paragraph:

"These are two different kids of apples. They are two different colors. One is red and one is green. They look so yummy that I think I am going to have to eat them for a snack."

I love seeing books inspire my children to learn, and I love having the flexibility to change my schedule as needed to accommodate their excitement for what they are learning. Sometimes their creativity extends my lesson plans beyond what I even expected to teach, and, thanks to a wonderful public library, we have a fresh supply of books to broaden our knowledge and kick off new ideas for studying and exploring the world.

The Wheel on the School

Last week, Hannah and I finished the first chapter book we worked on together - The Wheel on the School by Miendert DeJong. What a lovely book! We both fell in love with it from the very first page. Lina, the main character, is so sweet and thoughtful and full of dreams. She reminds me very much of my Hannah!

At first, the book focuses only on the school children and their teacher, as they are the only "important" characters in the story. But gradually, more and more characters become "important" until the list includes the whole town and even some people in adjacent towns: the oldest man and woman, the young tots, the fathers, the women, the poor tin man, and even the once-outcast legless man with a cherry tree in his back yard. By the end of the book, everyone has come together to make Lina's "impossibly impossible" dream a reality.

Last Friday, Josh surprised Ben by taking him away for the weekend to a Virginia Tech football game with all of the guys on that side of the family. Since I didn't have to plan any school work for Ben that day, I decided to spend the whole day with Hannah working on a project to wrap up our reading of the book. I planned to do three lapbooks - one on the book, one on the Netherlands, and one on storks. In advance, I found a few printables from homeschoolshare.com, and I designed a few booklets myself. Using some non-fiction books from the library about the Netherlands and storks, Hannah and I planned out the rest of the ideas. She did most of the writing, though I wrote the titles on each item and the tiny labels on the timeline. I also filled in the main character list, when her hand became tired. Of course, she helped me by listing characters and describing the main events. Once we finished assembling the lapbooks, Hannah decorated the cover of each one. I am absolutely amazed at how they turned out!

The cover for the book lapbook:

The inside of the book lapbook:

The cover of the Netherlands lapbook:

The inside of the Netherlands lapbook:

The cover of the stork lapbook:

The inside of the stork lapbook:

In addition, during play time yesterday, I noticed that Hannah had used her Legos to build a replica of the village of Shora. The little girl even has on a pair of wooden shoes!

Amazingly, Hannah has nearly finished reading the entire book for a second time on her own! The reading level is fairly challenging, but she loves the story so much that she does not mind. This is one reason why we opted to homeschool this year. Last year, school exhausted her so much that she never wanted to read on her own anymore. She seemed to have lost her love of reading. Obviously, that love returned once we provided a more restful and academically stimulating school environment. I am very excited by how this project turned out, and I am already considering our next one when we finish our new chapter book. I love how much fun learning can be - for my kids and for me!

Speaking of Graduations...

As I wrote about Hannah's graduation, I realized that I never mentioned Ben's preschool graduation, which happened last month. I cannot believe that all three of my kids are now old enough for some sort of school - preschool, kindergarten, and first grade! Of course, they have all been learning and "doing school" with me for a long time. Their ages just make it more official.

The preschool graduation was held at a local church. I have always loved that this preschool teaches faith as much as it teaches academics. The kids memorize sight words and learn letter sounds, but they also memorize Bible verses each month as well.

Before the ceremony, all of the kids prayed together on stage with their teacher.

Each child had a turn to display something he or she had learned that year. Some kids said Bible verses, and other kids said the sight words. Because Ben reads so well, he read a Thomas book aloud for everyone, accurately pronouncing words like "miserable."

I am very proud of how he has matured as a reader this year, reading Magic Tree House books as voraciously as Hannah once did.

In spite of his academic skills, however, he remains all boy - full of mischief and wiggles. About halfway through the program, he discovered that he could pull his graduation cap down over his face, and he amused himself with that new skill for quite a while.

As part of the program, each of the kids received a different award, along with their graduation certificates.

Ben, of course, became obsessed with removing the CD from the book he won, and spent the remaining half of the program concentrating on that task.

This year, the graduation had an extra touch of sadness, since the teacher will not continue teaching next year. Hannah and Ben each attended the school for two years, so we have grown to love her and the school very much. As I mentioned before, Ben was all boy and definitely kept his teacher on her toes, but she had a soft place in her heart for him. At the end of the program, Ben read a poem for his teacher, as a way of saying goodbye and thanking her for her love for the students.

Ben loved his teacher very much and will miss her a lot next year. She always loved him and worked well with him, in spite of his occasional ornery attitude and his more-than-occasional wiggles.


My two big kids, preschool graduate and kindergarten graduate...

I am so proud of them, and I look forward to seeing them grow into bright, confident, and godly adults someday. But, they can stay small for a while longer, if that is ok...

Developing Faith

I love watching my kids learn and grow academically. I celebrate when they discover something new or begin to comprehend a new concept. However, nothing pleases me more than seeing them develop a deeper personal faith in God.

Hannah has always been a challenging child, perhaps because she and I are so similar. Both of us struggle with bending our wills to submit to authority and both of us have a too-low tolerance for frustration. I pray for her that God will soften her heart and capture her will for Himself, while using her feisty spirit for His glory.

Despite her difficulties, however, she definitely shows evidence of Christ working in her life. For example, throughout this school year she has had to deal with teasing and bullying from a particular child at school. Though she has occasionally responded unkindly in return, for the most part, she has attempted to befriend him and include him. When I asked her why she kept trying to be friends with someone who treated her meanly, she replied that Jesus told her to love her enemies. She also prays for him and tells him that Jesus loves him. The "mama bear" in me wants to tell her to fight back and defend herself, but instead, I express how proud I am that she is choosing to follow Jesus.

Additionally, though the poor child ends up spending quite a bit of time in her room (especially after school when her tiredness leads her to attack her siblings and speak disrespectfully to me), she very often uses that time to read her Bible and pray. Then, she comes downstairs and apologizes for her wrong behavior, with a renewed humble spirit. Those glimpses into her faith encourage me that she will eventually triumph over her temper and develop into a sweet, God-fearing young lady.

Likewise, Ben has acquired a passion for learning about God and reading His Word. For his 5th birthday, we purchased a Scholastic Read and Learn Bible, so he could read and study Bible stories on his own. He loves it! He has been reading it nearly every day and then excitedly telling me about what he has read. We read the regular NIV Bible together every night as a family, but I knew, as a developing reader, that he would not yet be able to study that by himself. I thought this Bible would serve as the perfect step between the "baby" Bibles he used to read and a regular "grown-up" Bible, and I love seeing him studying it and earnestly applying it to his life.

Unlike the other two, Becca is just beginning to learn the concept of faith. She knows God loves her and she has heard the Bible stories again and again, but her little heart is still very focused on herself and her own desires. Still, she occasionally amazes me by expressing faith in her own, sweet, three-year-old way.

As the end of this school year approaches, I had been wrestling with what to use as a Bible curriculum when we begin homeschooling full-time. After previewing a friend's books, I strongly considered purchasing the Grapevine Studies "Stick Figuring Through the Bible" series. But then, last weekend, my father gave me a book he had discovered when ordering some other books from Westminster Seminary's bookstore - Might Acts of God: A Family Bible Story Book by Starr Meade. Wow! I have never seen a Bible story book like it. The author recounts the familiar (and some not-so-familiar) Bible stories in a way that focuses not on the main characters or events, but on what those stories tell us about God's character and plan for the world. Each story has a couple of discussion ideas as well. I have decided to use this book as our curriculum for next year, and I cannot wait to see how the kids continue to grow in their understanding and love of God.

When I look at my own failings and imperfections, I often struggle with whether I am succeeding in passing my faith on to my children. Do they see Christ in me or do they just see someone who frequently fails to live what she believes? Seeing my kids' faith encourages me that God uses me, in all of my weakness, to show my family who He is and how His grace and strength can overcome our failures. Just as Hannah can overcome her strong will to show love to her "enemy," I, too, can teach my children faith, even as my own imperfect faith continues to develop.

Loving Literature

One morning, after I had been out the night before, I was surprised to discover Hannah reading Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. I loved the book when I read it in fifth grade, but the story deals with death and sadness and growing up, and I did not know if my six year old could understand the themes of the book. Additionally, the book has 249 pages with no pictures, and I doubted that she would have the patience the finish it. About a month later, Hannah has proven me wrong!

As she read the story, she often discussed the story and the themes with us, celebrating the victories and mourning the losses. She became so attached to Old Dan and Little Ann that I began to worry about how she would handle their deaths at the end of the book. But, though she definitely expressed sadness when she finished, she also says that the book is her new favorite book.

Today, I suggested that she write a book report about the story, perhaps to read to her class at school. She happily agreed. This is what she wrote, with some corrected punctuation and spelling (though she only spelled two or three words wrong and used periods fairly well this time).

"I read Where the Red Fern Grows! At the beginning, a boy wanted two coon hounds. Then he prayed to God so he could get two coon hound pups. He got two coon hound pups. On the first day of hunting, his dogs treed a coon. He chopped a tree down and got a coon.

Then, he caught another coon! And another coon. Then, one night there was a blizzard. Little Anne got stuck on the ice! How could he help her? He got a cane and helped little Ann! They went home. The next day he went hunting with with some kids for two dollars. He did not want to kill the ghost coon. One kid died. Then he went home.

One day, he entered a contest. Little Ann won a silver cup. Then he caught the most coons and won the gold cup. They camped. They went home and he gave a gold cup to his sister, a silver cup to his other sister, and a dollar to his third sister. The next day, he went hunting again.

Then, a mountain lion attacked them. Then, Old Dan died, and Little Ann was so sad she died. They were in graves. There was a red fern in the middle. The red fern was very special. It helped him not be sad."

Hannah added a cover page and a couple of pictures at the end, and she plans to bring the whole thing in to school to share with her class on Monday. Her love of books continues to amaze and delight me. I wonder what she will decide to read next...

B-E-C-C-A

Becca's new favorite skill to practice is spelling. Once she learned all of her consonant and short vowel sounds and figured out how to put them together to sound out words, she quickly discovered that she could turn the skill around and spell words as well.

Last week, I spent an afternoon cleaning out my room, even under my bed, and found a plastic bag full of magnetic letters. I must have hidden them there when we were trying to sell the house and I was attempting to make our kitchen look a little less like an extension of a very disorganized preschool. Anyway, I knew Becca would love the letters, so I brought them downstairs and set them up on the refrigerator. As I suspected, Becca squealed with excitement and began naming and organizing the letters.

Today, as I washed dishes, I noticed her playing with the magnets, and she happily announced, "I wrote your word - M-O-M!" I began asking her if she could write other short-vowel words, occasionally peeking at her to see her progress.
When she finished, I had to take a picture of her work. I can't believe my barely three year old accomplished this without any help from me:
What am I going to do with her next year for preschool, when she can do all of this already?

My New Favorite Author

Hannah came down from her room the other day, excited to show me her newest creation. She had written and illustrated a book about "Puppy," her favorite stuffed animal. Here is her book. I included the text of each page after it, with some corrected spelling and punctuation, to make it a little easier to read.

"The book about Puppy my stuffed animal."

"Once upon a time there was a puppy that lived in Ohio. Hannah her owner said she was cute. She had toys."

"One day puppy wandered off and got lost. Hannah was sad."

"One day Hannah went out to find Puppy."

"Then she heard a barking - arf arf. Then she ran into something. It was Puppy. We got popcorn and hot chocolate."

"I love Puppy. She is cute."

"The end. Hannah"

On Thursday, she brought the book into her kindergarten class, and her teacher allowed her to sit in the "author chair" and read her book to the class. Hannah was so excited! Now, she tells everyone that she wants to be an author and illustrator when she grows up. Should I tell her that is what I want to be someday, too?

Learning "On the Go"

Between sick kids and Josh's MBA class, I have not spent much time doing "formal" school with the kids this month. However, we have spent a great deal of time learning.

I have discovered that Ben enjoys when I read the Magic Tree House books to him, since some of the words are still a little difficult for him to decipher on his own. Plus, he likes asking me constant questions while I read so he can understand the information better. After reading the first book in the series, I skipped ahead to Thanksgiving on Thursday, in order to coordinate with the season. Ben and Becca liked the story, but I think some of it may have been a little over their heads. Additionally, Ben practiced reading The Story of Thanksgiving by Nancy Skarmeas. This is an excellent, simple book that explains clearly why we celebrate Thanksgiving. I only had to help him with a few words, like "Pilgrims" and "Plymouth," the first time through, and he read it perfectly to his preschool class a few days later. I was very proud of him. He is blossoming as a reader, and though he does not read as avidly as Hannah, he definitely enjoys it.

For fun, we have watched our Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD multiple times this month as well. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving mostly just makes the kids laugh, but The Mayflower Voyagers is wonderfully educational and has helped the kids understand what the Pilgrims faced in order to settle in the new world. The first time we watched it, they marveled loudly over the length of the journey and expressed sadness about how many of the original settlers died. Now, they impress me with the random facts about the Pilgrims that I often do not even remember from the film.

Through the busyness of this season, I have also discovered the educational value of waiting in the car for Hannah's school dismissal. Just while sitting in the car in the afternoons, Ben has learned how to count by tens and Becca has learned about rhyming words and that "ck" sounds like "k" and not "sk." I often spell a simple c-v-c word, and Becca tells me what it is, or I ask her how to spell a word and she spells it for me. She has become quite good at reading short vowel words and even surprised me today by telling me that "oo" sounds like "ew." I don't even know where she learned that one!

So, in this hectic time of year, I am squeezing education into the extra spaces of my day, by reading and talking and answering an abundance of questions. Looking back, though, I am encouraged to see that my kids are indeed learning, even if that learning does not always resemble "school."

Preschool Graduation and Field Trip

Hannah and Ben had their last day of preschool on Monday. Instead of regular classes, they had a field trip to Malabar Farm. The kids loved all of the animals - cows, ponies, goats, sheep, rabbits, turkeys, and chickens. In the main barn, kids could pet the animals.

Just outside, they could feed chickens and turkeys. Hannah's favorite animal was a male turkey, who was gobbling and showing off his feathers. A while ago, she wrote a journal about wild turkeys based on a book she had read about them, and she loved that their heads turn red, white, and blue when they are excited. Seeing this turkey made her day:

After this, we walked down to the pond. A frog sat in the cool water:

And we saw raccoon tracks in the soft mud:

We finished the morning by spending some time in the visitors center, which had fun activities for the kids, and a walk through the aviary, where this crow hopped around and entertained the kids:

Later that evening, both classes met at a church for the end-of-the-year program and graduation. Ben was excessively excited. He danced all over the stage, yelled out random embarrassing comments, and made up his own rhythm to the songs they sang. He was wild and rather entertaining. I had to hide my head behind the pew so I could laugh without encouraging his off-the-wall behavior!

Other than that, though, they both did very well. Ben recited his sight words:

Hannah read the book Swimmy, by Leo Lionni, to the audience with good pronunciation and lots of expression. And, she proudly received her diploma.

I cannot believe she will be going into Kindergarten next year...

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...

The Difference Between Boys and Girls...

Hannah and Ben both enjoy reading. Hannah will sit and read for hours at a time sometimes. Even when she was first learning, she would usually read through a whole book, though she would sometimes get tired. Ben reads this way:

(Sitting on the couch)

Ben: Ssss - aaaa - mmmm. Sam! (Bounces emphatically off the back of the couch.)

Me: What comes next? (Pointing to the word.)

Ben: Sam! Bam! Mam! (Bouncing head off couch with each word.)

Me: No, Ben, look at the word.

Ben: H - haaaaa-ssss - Has! Sam has! (Bouncing his head off my cheek!)

Me: Ouch, Ben! Are you sure you want to do this right now?

Ben: Yes! (Bouncing his head off the couch.)

(Repeat for each word.)

Did I mention that Ben cannot sit still? At all? Even to do something he wants to do?

So that is how we read together... cuddling and bouncing off the couch!

Ben is Reading??!!

Yesterday, Ben shocked me by attempting to sound out a word. I decided to see just how much he knew...

We began by reviewing letter sounds, focusing on the short vowels in particular. He struggles with the difference between a short "i" and a short "e," and he also mixes up the sounds of "w," "y," and a short "u." As most kids his age do, he also sometimes confuses the letters "b," "d," and "p." Other than that, he knows his letter sounds very well.

So, I used Hannah's old Sing, Spell, Read and Write (SSRW) curriculum to demonstrate how letter sounds go together. It has a song called the "Ferris Wheel Song" that uses short vowel sounds and adds the consonants one and a time. First, it reviews "a, e, i, o, u" and then does "ba, be, bi, bo, bu" and continues for the rest of the letters. Once they master that, they tackle letter blends like "bla, ble, bli, blo, blu" and so on.

Ben and I sang the song for a while, and then I helped him sound out some basic three and four letter words. He did a great job!

Today, I pulled out the very first reader in the SSRW series - "Dad, Sam, and Pat." He actually read the entire story with very little help! I think I am going to see if his preschool teacher will let him do the sight words that the older class learns, since he is definitely ready for them. I cannot believe that my three year old is beginning to read!

Reading, Reading, Reading!

Hannah just loves to read. She reads through a book passionately and then searches for more. Many of her books are like good friends. She comes back to them again and again, reading them until she could recite the story from memory.

I should have suspected that she would be like this. After all, she had memorized the entire "Hungry Caterpillar," word for word, before she reached her second birthday. Moreover, I was an avid reader, too. In early elementary school, I discovered the Nancy Drew series and read them one by one until I had finished my mom's entire collection.

I remember reading "The Wind in the Willows" over the course of about an hour when I was a kid, and my mom did not believe me when I told her I had finished the book. She began flipping through the pages and asking me questions about the story. I answered every one!

Recently, the same situation occurred with me and Hannah. I purchased her the first book in the Magic Treehouse series, and she read it, cover to cover, in an hour and a half. I started quizzing her about the plot and the different chapters, and she could answer all of my questions! She has since read and enjoyed two more books in the series. Actually, she reads whatever she can get her hands on for several hours every day.

I am thrilled at her love for books! I know the feeling of infatuation when reading a good story, a quickening of the pulse when I open the book to read and a sadness when I must put the book away for a time. I know the heartache of finishing a well-loved story and wishing that it didn't have to end, that I could enter the story and continue to interact with the "friends" I had grown to love. In fact, part of me secretly enjoys the opportunity to reread my favorite childhood stories with her. I almost feel as if I am returning home after a long absence and finding that, indeed, nothing has changed! Can I confess that I am looking forward to having an excuse to read Nancy Drew again?

I am glad to pass that passion on to my daughter, who is like me in so many ways. I hope that I can continue to cultivate her appreciation for the written word, and that she will carry it with her into adulthood. Maybe someday, if she has a family, she will one day reopen these books and remember the familiar delight of being a carefree, imaginative, five-year-old child.

Creative Writing

Hannah has begun to appreciate the fun of creative writing. I am amazed at the improvement in her journal entries since the beginning of this year. Her first journal about roller coasters had no punctuation, poor spelling, and few spaces between words. I can really see how her grasp of the written language has blossomed over the past few months.

In this first entry, she wrote about our trip to Apple Hill Orchard:


She wrote, "One day we went to apple hill. there where no apples. we ran in the grass. and we aete cider pops." Translation: "One day, we went to Apple Hill. There were no apples. We ran in the grass, and we ate cider pops." Not bad at all! In case the picture is difficult to decipher, she drew a sunny day, a tan cider pop, a tree with a large trunk and an apple crossed off, and apples all over the ground under the tree!

Her next creative writing assignment came from School Zone's Big Second Grade Workbook. We talked about superheroes like Spider Man and Super Man and then brainstormed together about what kind of superhero she would like to create. I helped her with spelling for this activity, but this is what we invented (click on the picture to see it larger):


For her next project, I think I will work with her to write down one of the many fantastic stories she makes up while playing, and I will print it on cardstock so she can write and illustrate her own book.

Duck for President!

Because of the upcoming election, I was looking for something fun to use to explain elections to Hannah. We love the books Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and Giggle, Giggle, Quack, so I felt delighted when I discovered Doreen Cronin's newest book - Duck for President.

Duck becomes frustrated with all of the work he has to do on the farm and decides to hold an election to determine if he should be the new farmer instead. He wins, of course, and quickly discovers that "running a farm is very hard work." He then becomes governor and president, each time thinking that a higher office must be easier but learning that they all require a lot of hard work. In the end, Duck realizes that he would rather just be a duck. The story is delightful and provides a perfect starting point for a discussion about elections, campaigns, and the characteristics of a good leader.

Because we enjoyed our last lapbook so much, I decided that we would make another one for this unit. Duck for President has a wonderful website (www.duckforpresident.com) that includes downloadable buttons and campaign posters, a campaign commercial for Duck, and classroom activities and discussion questions for students. I also found a great deal of information in the printable teachers' guide on the website for Time for Kids. In fact, this coming week, we plan on using the information on their special election section as we discuss the election in even more detail.

Hannah and I ended having a lot of fun putting this lapbook together. I'll use the pictures to tell the story...


First, we discussed the character qualities of a good leader. Then, we used our knowledge of Duck from the other books to describe Duck's character. We made a flap book with those characteristics written under the appropriate flap:


Next, Hannah and I identified the chores and responsibilities that Duck had on the farm. We compared those jobs with the work required of him as farmer, governor, and president. I made a little tab book, and Hannah helped me write the different responsibilities for each job on the coordinating page:


Hannah looked at a variety of campaign buttons for Obama, McCain, and Duck, and then she created her own campaign button as if she were running for president. She came up with the slogan all by herself:


We talked about who the current leaders are in each job:



I identified nine vocabulary words that Hannah would need to understand as we discussed the unit. Using a dictionary and online resources, we came up with fairly simple definitions for each word. I wrote the words on small cards, and Hannah wrote the definitions. A small pocket in the lapbook stores the cards until we need to review them:


Finally, we moved on to our discussion of the current election. We put everything pertaining to Obama on the left side of this section and everything pertaining to McCain on the right side. We glued the sample campaign buttons down the sides, and I cut out the pieces to make the Democratic and Republican symbols, and Hannah glued them together and placed them on the bottom of the page:

Using the information provided and a word bank, Hannah completed the following venn diagram from the Time for Kids teachers' guide:


And, when we had finished, Hannah enjoyed doing some of the other activities from the two websites:



Hannah greatly enjoyed this activity, and I felt thrilled at my first attempt at designing my own lapbook for her. What a fun way to study the election!