My side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain is a wonderful story about a young boy named Sam Gribley.  Sam lives in New York with his large family in a small apartment in the city.  One day, he decides that he has had enough of the city and he tells his dad that he is going to the mountains to make it on his own.  His dad gives him a chuckle and says that every boy should try it at least once, then relates the story of his own adventure running away to sea and how he was back on dry land before the ships bell could ring.  Sam surprises his dad though and catches a ride up to the Catskill mountains to an old homestead that belonged to a previous generation of the Gribley clan.  Pretty soon, Sam has made a home for himself and his adventures just keep getting better. 

The book by Jean Craighead George was a fantastic read for our family.  My kids adore survival shows such as, Survivorman and Man vs. Wild.  Sam Gribley's year in the mountains fell right into that vein.  They loved the adventure.  They were intrigued by Sam's independence. They were awed by his skillfulness. The lure of the Catskills was strong. 

The book was also a fantastic springboard for a wonderful word study.  We were able to look up tons of birds, plants, animals, trees and geographical terms that might not have come up otherwise.  The kids were excited to learn the difference between a Nuthatch and a Junco or an Aspen and a Hemlock.  It was so easy too.  We read a chapter, made a list of the words we didn't know and then googled each word and added them to a slide show.  In this way, the kids were able to understand the text much more fully and were even able to take some of that knowledge into the world with them. For instance, we were playing in the park and my eight year old ran down the hillside and under a bridge so that he could play in the "ravine" just like Sam.  Here are some of the slides we made.

We did several more but Blogger is being a pain and won't let me format them the way that I want to. So these will have to give you an idea. If you would like the rest for your own study, email me and I will send them to you.  All in all, it was a fantastic reading experience.  A lot of time spent cuddling together and a lot of new concepts introduced. 

Do it yourself Clowning

So for this months' book club we have been working on Clowning.  "Clowning?" you say, "it is January, why clowning?"  Well, it is January, that's why.  Every year when January rolls around I am pretty tired of grey trees and grey skies.  In December it is okay but once the  Christmas season is over, I am pretty well done with old man winter.  So when contemplating this months' book club I decided to go with something cheery, bright, colorful; hence, clowns. 

Week one we read Roarr Calder's Circus.  I love this book, it is an absolute riot.  Maira Kalman takes Alexandar Calder's wire and twine sculptures and tells a circus tale that had my kids rolling.  What  a fantastic book.  The art was wonderful and engaging and while I didn't have time this go around I thought it would be a wonderful spring board for an art project of 3d sculpturing using found material.  Also you can add in this video, Alexandar Calder uses his figurines to perform a circus! So fun. 

After we read Calder's we got to work on some Tempra Clowns (idea came from deepspacesparkle.blogspot.com).  They were so much fun.  I gave them each a 12x18 sheet of white construction paper and set out muffin tins with the basic six plus black and some brushes.  The kids used pencil to sketch out their clowns with me reminding them to draw large and giving them a lesson in facial proportions.  Then they filled in their clowns with the tempra and once it was dry to the touch went back and did the outlines with a fine brush and some black paint.  The clowns came out so unique and very clowny looking.  The paintings will be used to decorate a wall in the library later in the month.  Here are a few of my young artists' paintings

Okay, so that was week one of DIY Clowning.  I'll share everything else we've done in upcoming posts.  So check back here for a four sessions of hands on clowning activities.

Talk to you soon, LT

No more picture books!?! NO WAY!

Does anyone else think that this is incredibly sad? http://nyti.ms/d2n1tu
The New York Times is reporting a decline in the production and sales of picture books for children. They cite parents' desire for their young guys to read chapter books as the impetus for the change. As a home school parent I have been excited as my little ones have hit each new reading hurdle and I admit to a feeling of excitement when I see our little shelf filling up with Charlotte's Web and Encyclopedia Brown. Yet, I grow sad at the thought that my guys might think they are "too big" for picture books, worse yet at the thought that I might imply that message to them. So, here are a few of my favorite picture book titles. Those that I feel are worthy either by art, message, lesson, or just plain enjoyment that even I as an adult enjoy. Check these out if you like but please share some of your favorites also. I'd love to find some new treasures.

We the Kids/ David Catrow - Text of the preamble, illustrations that remind us why the preamble is important

The one the only Magnificent Me/ Dan Haseltine- Story of a little guy that wants to add all kinds of modifications to himself; beautiful illustrations, wonderful message.

Jabberwocky/ Lewis Carroll and Christopher Myers- Classic poetry paired with modern art and meaning

My Many Colored Days/Dr. Seuss - poem written by Seuss, illustrated and produced after the good Dr.'s death. Lovely book containing fantastic emotional imagery.

Mammoth on the Move/ Lisa Wheeler - nice pics, scientific content about migration and prehistoric mammals, but really I just love the prose. You can kind of sing it and it is bouncy and fun.

New York's Bravest/ Mary Pope Osbourne- beautiful illustrations but I love the tall tale style of this book honoring all New York firefighters (and really all of our countries heroes).

So, there are a couple of mine. What are some of yours?

LT