Monday, September 14, 2015

A Scavenger Hunt, A Field Trip,and Some Good Books!

This past week was another one of those really busy but fabulous weeks. Emily and I started the week with our normal home school lessons, but on Tuesday, we attended Cookbook Club. The theme was salads; but I don't have many salad recipes, so I made Creamy Broccoli Noodle Soup, and Emily made Cheesecake Cups. On Friday, we took another break from normal lessons and took a field trip to the Gorman Nature Center where we had a picnic and a scavenger hunt that we printed off from the Discover The Forest Book of Stuff to Do. Our most recent science lesson of the week had been about soil, so it was also great fun to see first hand decaying organic matter in the form of a rotten log turning into humus. We felt it. We smelled it. It did indeed feel and smell like a pile of dirt.


 




Saturday found us at the Farm Market as usual where it was a bit slow and a bit nippy. So in between sales, we watched as they prepared to tear down a historical building on the corner that had recently shifted and posed a threat. And I rounded the week off by testing my new vacuum. It is my first ever bag-less pet pro vacuum, and it worked so well that after vacuuming only one room and the back of the couch, I had to empty the canister. I am so excited to finally be able to keep up with the daily shedding of three cats!

So, in honor a very good week full of great lessons and filed trips, I read three book that are super for the pre-k youngsters. The first two are shape books by Kay Robertson, who if I am correct is the same Kay Roberson of the Duck Dynasty. They are: Circles and Rectangles and Squares and Triangles. Each book describes the two shapes contained on the pages and then goes on to describe things that can be made from different combinations of those shapes. These books seem to me to be perfect for teaching youngsters about shapes in a fun and engaging way.



The third book I read was called, I'll Never Share You, Blackboard Bear. It is a fun story about a boy with a bear drawn on a blackboard. His bear comes to life and two other children see the bear and want one of their own. The young boy does not want to share his bear, but the bear convinces  him that sharing can be awesome! This book contains a great non-preachy lesson for the very young. It seems to be out of print, but perhaps you can find a copy at your library like I did.


Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

12 comments:

  1. Neat books! Sounds like a great week too! This week you've added three books to my "to be read" list...thankfully they are short. :)
    ~Xyra
    KLBH66

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  2. Love your hands-on approach to teaching. Cooking with the kids can be so fun and nature has many lessons to offer. <3

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  3. Thanks C.L. It's always more fun when you get to do hands-on stuff :0)

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  4. These books look perfect for my twin toddler grandboys! Thanks for writing about them. Dorothea Jensen

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  5. What is "Cookbook Club" and how can I do it too!? Love that idea! I had no idea that Kay Robertson was an author. But then, I don't watch the "Duck Dynasty"! I just know of the show. Thanks for sharing in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. :-)

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    1. CookBook Club is a Club held at my local Library. We meet the second Tuesday of every month. We have a monthly theme and everyone brings a dish and the recipe to share. Talk with your library and see if they are interested in starting one. There is also a Knotty Knitters Club, but I can't knit, lol. I didn't realize she was an author either until I looked it up. I really had to search to verify this.

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  6. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this wonderful selection of books for little ones. Love the owls on the cover of Circles and Rectangles.

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    1. Me too Miss Stacie. I was drawn to the cover and this book for that very reason.

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    1. Absolutely. Thanks for stopping by and leaving some comment love :0)

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