www.cherylbastian.com - On Our Bookshelves

Here Chicky, Chicky!

(An exciting adventure for all ages, those who want to bring some country home.)

Our recent adventures began with a home school evaluation. Families come to us to discuss and review work samples from their year's accomplishments. In addition to paperwork, we often see models, dioramas, crafts and artwork. This particular family brought live items to document their school year. In a cardboard box were two, eight-hour-old chicks. These puffs of black fuzz quickly attached to one of our daughters. The mother who brought the chicks taught my daughter what imprinting meant and fast friends were made. The result was "Can we keep them?"

Daddy gave the affirmative, highly-hoped for answer and the chickens came to live with us, under that condition that they had to go back when they became adults because the neighbors may not be so appreciative of our latest home school "project".

The next day, initiated by an innate curiosity, we hunted books from our personal library, researched the internet and called local feed stores. We watched an internet video of a hen laying an egg. On day 2, we took a "field trip" to the feed store (that was a sensory experience!) for chicken mash. We saw baby animals including pigeon chicks, observed the many kinds of feed, watched the man weigh the mash on the big scale, enjoyed the smell of the live tackle and took a stroll through the garden plants. Day 3 we read and compared several versions of The Little Red Hen. Later in the day we discussed diagrams of the 21-day embryo growth inside the egg, amazed by the transformation. We discussed why the eggs in our refrigerator would not become chicks, greeting us the next time we opened the door. This sparked a conversation about how many eggs are in a dozen and a half-dozen. We figured out egg carton multiplication and enjoyed egg salad for lunch. One daughter suggested we make a chicken book, a novel idea! We made the book over several days and then headed to the library used book store to find an old magazine with chicken pictures to cut out.

What a wonder we have experienced! We watched the baby chick's wings grow and then add feathers. The chicks chased us across the tile floor. We watched, amazed as they took to flight for the very first time. We have learned that chicks need to have their bedding changed everyday or the house begins to smell like grandpa's farm. And alas, our chicks are now looking like miniature chickens. They will be heading back to their original family soon.

We wanted to pass on what we have learned as well as the books we read, in case, by some circumstance, chickens appear on your doorstep.

Chicken/Farm Books:

Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone

The Little Red Hen by Jerry Pickney

Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza by Philemon Sturges

Five Little Chicks by Nancy Tafuri

Field Guide to Chickens by Pam Percy

Chicks and Chickens by Gail Gibbons

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Penguins!

(adventures with the elementary book lovers in our home)

The summer may be hot, but we decided to cool off on a three day adventure with penguins!

After watching March of the Penguins, our curious little ones checked out several library books about penguins.

Penguin Chicks by Betty Tatham

A Penguin's World by Caroline Arnold

Penguins! by Gail Gibbons

Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme by Bruce Mc Millan

Splash! A Penguin Counting Book by Jonathan Chester

The books inspired us to make a lap book about penguins. Most of our resources came from Evan Moor's January Theme Pocket. Instead of making a pocket book, we glued file folders together, accordion style, (cutting a rounded top for the top of the penguin-shaped book) to make the framework of our lap book. We covered the front cover with black construction paper, rounding the top, and added a white oval for the penguin's tummy. Orange feet were added to the squared-off bottom. A triangle beak and round white eyes became the face. Inside the book we made pockets for the information we collected, glued a map to one page, made a graph of penguin heights, and sponge-painted a page with an arctic scene. One arctic scene can be seen in the photo above. We hope our cool arctic adventure inspires you to cool off during these warm months!

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Birds in Flight

(Reading adventures for the elementary fliers in your home.)

Spring may feel like it is months away, but where we live the weather is beautiful and the birds have begun to chatter and sing. With windows open in the morning, we are blessed by their sweet chittery song.

Sparked by this interest, we gathered a few bird books from the library. Our adventures poured spontaneously out of our reading together. For example, after reading Cradles in the Trees: The Story of Bird Nests by Patricia Brennan Demuth, the girls gathered found pillows, sheets and blankets and built three comfy bird nests throughout the house, visiting one another's nests and bringing food to hungry hatchlings. Later they wanted to go on a "nest hunt" outdoors, taking the bird field guide with to identify any birds seen while on the hunt. We even had a request to try to build a real nest out of grass, sticks, string and mud. Oh, and while that was drying, it was requested we paint on giant paper with the feather duster.

With the book list below, and the many other bird books waiting on the shelves of your library, you, too, can fly away on some exciting bird adventures. Happy birding!

Watching Water Birds by Jim Arnosky

Cradles in Trees: The Story of Bird Nests Patricia Brennan Demuth

Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert

Owls by Gail Gibbons

Ducks Don't Get Wet by Augusta Goldin

Where Do Birds Live? by Ron Hirschi

A Nest Full of Eggs by Priscilla Belz Jenkins

Counting is for the Birds by Frank Mazzola, Jr.

The Bird Alphabet Book by J. Pallotta

About Birds: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill

Unbeatable Beaks by Stephen R. Swinburne

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Swimmy

(a one hour, elementary adventure with the beloved Swimmy by Leo Lionni)

The preschool and elementary age fish in our school enjoyed a read through Swimmy and a mixed-media collage, which we found highlighted in 25 Terrific Art Projects Based on Favorite Picture Books by Karen Backus, Linda Evans and Mary Thompson. We strayed from the collage instructions in the book, adding twisted tissue paper, sponge- painted seahorses and torn paper rocks. The results were amazing! My favorite moment of the adventure was the six year old's reaction to the fishes failure to cooperate. She sighed, "How sad!" Check out Swimmy by Leo Lionni for a powerful example of the importance of working together.

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The Wonderful Art of Eric Carle

(An elementary level, week-long, in-depth study of several titles by the beloved Eric Carle.)

Eric Carle is a talented author/illustrator who excites and inspires young readers with bold illustrations and teachable content. Our youngest four children (preschool to fourth grade) enjoyed a week-long study of Eric Carle. In addition to the experiences mentioned below, we completed many of the activities in Check These Out. By the end of the week, each child proudly displayed her book of Eric Carle art which was bound with a strip of fabric.

On the first day we re-read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, discussed the life cycle of a butterfly and created our own tissue paper collage caterpillar. We watched a biographical video entitled Eric Carle, Picture Writer, set in his studio.

On the second day we read The Very Busy Spider and discussed the benefits of hard work. Our preschooler made the sounds of the animals and our elementary children discussed the differences between spiders and insects. We all marveled at the raised web on each page of The Very Busy Spider. When it came time to make our own spider page, the fourth grader remembered we had silver glitter glue in the art cabinet, which in her opinion, would make the perfect web. The younger children agreed and soon four very busy spiders were created.

On the third day we read The Grouchy Ladybug. We discussed good and bad attitudes, friendship, manners and the power of the spoken word. Our first grader had a quick review of telling time to the hour, with the help of the clock on each page of Eric Carle's book. Older children found the life cycle of the ladybug fascinating. Finally, we made our own ladybugs with wings which opened (thanks to a brass fastener) to reveal the words "thank you". Google eyes brought life to the ladybug.

On the fourth day we read Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me. We talked about the phases of the moon and were determined to watch the moon for a whole month to observe the phases. For the young ones, we discussed the difference between fiction and non-fiction. We concluded that the book was fiction because a ladder would never reach the moon. We then compared the illustrations of the books we had read and created our own fold-out ladder page for our art book. Later that evening we read Mister Seahorse, discussed the sea life featured in the book and the important role parents play in the lives of their children. We used scraps of tissue paper from the previous days to create a tissue paper seahorse.

On the fifth day we wrote the corresponding book title on each art masterpiece and bound our book by weaving a scrap of fabric through three paper-punched holes.

Our week did not end there! After analyzing and comparing the art of Eric Carle to the work of other artists, we headed back to the library where our youngest ones selected more Eric Carle titles. Our three year old warmly stated, "Eric Carle is my favorite illustrator." Several weeks later, while on yet another visit to the library, I received another surprise. I mentioned I needed Mister Seahorse. The library volunteer asked, "Who is the author?" Our six year old answered, "Eric Carle." Just what I had hoped! In addition to the academics learned, our four budding artists were able to identify, compare, and critique illustrations.

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NEW!!! Heading to PA!

(Middle-upper elementary living history)

Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin by Marguerite Henry, one of our recent favorite read-alouds, took us back to eighteenth-century Pennsylvania. We grew up alongside Benjamin West, who eventually became the Father of American Painting. We faced his challenges as a Quaker boy passionate about painting, a forbidden venue in his time and community. Benjamin, determined to use his artistic talent, enlisted the help of Grimalkin, his coal-black companion. While reading we felt joy, frustration, empathy and compassion. Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin is a must read if you want to travel back in history.

Our reading lead us to ask questions and dig deeper. What a rich history! Perhaps the book will spark you to do the same. Here are some topics and resources to consider.

Quakers

William Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania by Steven Kroll

William Penn: American Pioneer by Betty Ellen Haughey

William Penn by Hildegarde Dolson (Landmark #98)

Little Wolf Slayer (Philadelphia's First Quakers) by Donald Cook

Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catherine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763 by Mary Pope Osborne

Pennsylvania

K is for Keystone: A Pennsylvania Alphabet by Patrica Pierce

One for All: A Pennsylvania Number Book by Trinka Hanks Noble

We Were There at the Battle of Gettysburg by Alida Malkus

Gettysburg (Landmark #23)

Daniel Boone: The Opening of the Wilderness by John Brown(Landmark #21)