The Salamander Room
This week we read the story by Anne Mazer, The Salamander Room. What a neat story about a little nature enthusiast and his big imagination. The illustrations by Steve Johnson add so much to the story and even though we read this book for a whole week (as we always do) we didn't tire of the text or pictures. Each day provided us with something new to discover.
For math- we counted animals and insects and added and subtracted them.
For Social Studies/Geography we discussed relationships between people (Mother and Son) and between people and animals. We also marked the forested areas around the world on our map. Anastasia got to choose where to put our salamander story token and she put him in the trees of PA.
For Art we talked about drawing realistically, dew drops, shadows, trees and animals. We also noted the use of space. The illustrations in this story begin as a snapshot and by the last few pages have overtaken and outgrown the pages.
We learned about amphibians, insects, and forests this week and classified animals based on whether they are vertebrates or invertebrates. We also spent a day out in nature at a nearby "wilderness" spot. Observing and sketching nature: hawks, butterflies, wildflowers and trees. We got to identify some of our vocabulary words on a nature scavenger hunt. We found boulders, stumps and trees and bird boxes for birds to roost in.
Our word for the week: Amphibian. We learned the sound for "ph". We also discussed the parallel construction that Anne Mazer uses in her conversation between Brian and his Mother. And we made a list of all the things Brian thought would make a good home for a Salamander.
The children thought that it was crazy that Brain's room became a forest and said that "people can't sleep outside!" That started the conversation about how people can sleep outside for short periods of time on camping trips. We talked about how to head out into nature safely and how to take care of nature when camping. Respecting and preserving the nature is important and we continued this conversation during our day outdoors when after lunch we carefully packed up all of our trash and left behind the things we collected from our scavenger hunt. Tristan chose survival books from the Library this week. I am not sure if this is a coincidence or if he is preparing for a grand explore? Maybe a few nights on the Appalachian trail with Daddy and Poppy are in our future??
Anyway, any book that gets us out enjoying nature is a winner.
We were able to enjoy some fun family time at the Oley Fair Friday evening. Anastasia singlehandedly used all of the ride tokens that we purchased. The kids tasted cotton candy for the first time and we saw some adorable, adorable cows!!!! Also one day old ducklings!!! Gwendolyn loved the ducklings. It's funny how little things are attracted to each other. So cute.
The kids were impressed by the 1000 lb pumpkin and the huge tractors. Fun times!
For math- we counted animals and insects and added and subtracted them.
For Social Studies/Geography we discussed relationships between people (Mother and Son) and between people and animals. We also marked the forested areas around the world on our map. Anastasia got to choose where to put our salamander story token and she put him in the trees of PA.
For Art we talked about drawing realistically, dew drops, shadows, trees and animals. We also noted the use of space. The illustrations in this story begin as a snapshot and by the last few pages have overtaken and outgrown the pages.
We learned about amphibians, insects, and forests this week and classified animals based on whether they are vertebrates or invertebrates. We also spent a day out in nature at a nearby "wilderness" spot. Observing and sketching nature: hawks, butterflies, wildflowers and trees. We got to identify some of our vocabulary words on a nature scavenger hunt. We found boulders, stumps and trees and bird boxes for birds to roost in.
Our word for the week: Amphibian. We learned the sound for "ph". We also discussed the parallel construction that Anne Mazer uses in her conversation between Brian and his Mother. And we made a list of all the things Brian thought would make a good home for a Salamander.
The children thought that it was crazy that Brain's room became a forest and said that "people can't sleep outside!" That started the conversation about how people can sleep outside for short periods of time on camping trips. We talked about how to head out into nature safely and how to take care of nature when camping. Respecting and preserving the nature is important and we continued this conversation during our day outdoors when after lunch we carefully packed up all of our trash and left behind the things we collected from our scavenger hunt. Tristan chose survival books from the Library this week. I am not sure if this is a coincidence or if he is preparing for a grand explore? Maybe a few nights on the Appalachian trail with Daddy and Poppy are in our future??
Anyway, any book that gets us out enjoying nature is a winner.
We were able to enjoy some fun family time at the Oley Fair Friday evening. Anastasia singlehandedly used all of the ride tokens that we purchased. The kids tasted cotton candy for the first time and we saw some adorable, adorable cows!!!! Also one day old ducklings!!! Gwendolyn loved the ducklings. It's funny how little things are attracted to each other. So cute.
The kids were impressed by the 1000 lb pumpkin and the huge tractors. Fun times!
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