Books: historical and whimsical

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An Indian Winter, by Russell Freedman is the story of a German prince and his artist friend who lived with Native Americans during the winter of 1833. These are first hand accounts of customs, rituals and daily life as well as sketches and paintings from real life of these tribes.This story takes place much later in history than where we are currently studying, however, we learned so much about the Native Americans.

We enjoyed Hello Lighthouse, by Sophie Blackwell. Her illustrations in Finding Winnie, by Lindsay Mattick are great; perfect for Ms. Mattick's sentimental and heartwarming story. She has outdone herself with Hello Lighthouse. Not only are the illustrations superb, but the story is engaging and sweet! This book would work really well with the Five in a Row units of: The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, or The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar. Hello Lighthouse is a beautiful book.
Hello Lighthouse

Finally, I'd like to share some ideas about challenging your artistically inclined child during winter when there are so many hours spent indoors.
1. Paper snowflakes are always fun; and this year we made them out of brightly colored origami paper. Some we glued to complimentary origami paper backgrounds.
2. Water color gift wrap. We missed the homemade gift wrap in the busyness of Christmas, but we have had a few winter birthdays to make up for it. Personally painted gift wrap is super fun.
3. Challenge your child to create a picture using only one shape. It is amazing the art that this challenge can produce.
Have fun! Until I can post again...

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