homeschool kindergarten

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FIAR Vol. 1- The Rag Coat

I skimmed through this book the week before we were to read it. I wish I had read it thoroughly, although I don’t think that would have mattered. By the time I reached the end, I had to ask my kiddos to give me a minute to compose myself to finish reading. What a tender, tender story! I just learned that there is a named “movement” in the world called “death positivity.” I didn’t know it was a named thing, but I definitely find value in talking about the reality of death with my kiddos. I don’t sugarcoat it, but I try to explain things at an appropriate comprehension for them. Neither of them appear to be scarred by discussing the topic. All that to say that I might need to use a recorded read-aloud for the rest of the week; I can’t keep crying during storytime!

Social Studies

These Foxfire books are so neat! A collection of a periodical of the same name, there is so much in these books with information, culture, old photos – if my kiddos were a little older I think they would have spent hours poring over these pages.

We used this books as an opportunity to learn about topographical maps and marveled at how the mountains look like wrinkles on the map.

Art

This was a great little book to go along with our “facial expressions” lesson. Simple step-by-step guide to drawing facial features and a handful of emotions. I used a dry erase board and the kids marveled at how emotions could be changed just by different mouth and eyebrow placement.

We took a trip to Honeygram’s (my mother) for some quilting learning. The kids were able to pick out 4 pieces of fabric that meant something to them and then we encouraged them to think of a memory that tied back to the particular piece. That was a little challenging for a 3 and 5 year old, but we came up with some good stories to go with our mini-quilts.

Math

I initially selected “The All-Together Quilt” for Language Arts day, but as I read it, we found that it fit much better in the math section.

A group at a community center all pitch in to select fabric, cut them to size, choose pattern, and sew together a beautiful quilt to donate to the local library.

Science

We read these books and then the kiddos watched a series of YouTube videos on coal mining in old Appalachia, how the cotton gin worked, and how cotton is grown, harvested, and processed today.

Additional Books:

We got Dolly Parton’s book through her Imagination Library and it must have been a common thing to piece a quilted coat together in Appalachia. This story was easier for my 3 year old to swallow, as the father survives in her story.

“Good People Everywhere” talks about how all sorts of people in a community do all sorts of good things – some we see and some we don’t until we need their help. This was a good bedtime read aloud.

I looked for books in my master list that talked about community and gifts, and these two popped up. I love a good nature picture book and since we don’t live anywhere near a desert, “Saguaro’s Gifts” was a very good read. “Catch That Chicken!” is about a little girl who is so fast at catching chickens, but she learns a better way than being fast through the advice of her family and community members. My 5 year old especially liked this book because it is a Vox book and he can listen to it without me having to read it for him.

I borrowed these books because they were about community and clothing, however, I chose not to read them to my kiddos this time. “Ogilvy” was a little confusing as the bunny kept changing what he called his outfit based on what he would be allowed to do that day with the group. It wouldn’t have made much sense to my kids. “The Most Beautiful Village in the World” was a truly sweet book of a child and his father going to market in Afghanistan. I could have read it to the kids and skipped the last page, but I don’t like to leave things out of stories. The author wrote this story to talk about a village wiped out from war. We have talked about war before, but I decided that The Rag Coat had enough heavy, sad topics in it that we could avoid the subject of war until another time. What I find most fascinating about it is that the author/illustrator is Japanese and this was translated into English.

I found another short rhyme from my Mother Goose book to fit the topic this week:

Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye,
And a long tail which she let fly;
And every time she went through a gap,
A bit of her tail she left in a trap.

“A Needle and Thread” from Mother Goose

Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.

Complete Book List:

FIAR Vol. 1 – A Pair of Red Clogs
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FIAR Vol. 1 – A Pair of Red Clogs

Our library didn’t have this book in their registry, but they ordered it for me to have on hand. What a place! I thought the text might be a little long and involved for my littles, but they have been very interested in the story. It doesn’t hurt that I have a strong connection to Japan, having lived there for a year back in 2008 to teach English with a church. I have also made it a point to take the kids to the only true Japanese restaurant that is local and familiarize them with the food, culture, and language.

Can I share something funny? You get spam calls a lot, right? I get them all the time and I got tired of answering them just to have them start rattling them off whatever pitch they have. So, about a year ago, I started answering my phone in Japanese if I didn’t recognize the number. It’s been a very fun and beautiful thing. They have no idea what to make of it. And, bonus, my kiddos often holler out, “konnichiwa!” whenever my phone rings. It has only backfired a couple times when it’s a doctor’s office or some other official call. Usually they laugh with me when I explain what is going on.

Social Studies

I love seeing pictures of Japan in these books and reading familiar words – testing out my katakana (one of the syllabaries) again. [My 5 yr old pointed to a “conbini” (convenient store) sign and asked what it said. I sounded out the katakana and realized it was “ta-ba-ko” (cigarettes).] I remember very little wildlife when I was living there beyond birds and insects, except when I was out in the country or visiting Hiroshima. But the kids were delighted with the pictures of snow monkeys in the hot springs.

Art

The crafts in this book are so fun and neat! We are looking forward to trying some others throughout, but I think we will do the Japanese-style tie-dye this time around. Simple supply lists and cultural tie-ins without appropriation for the win!

Math

This book was a little over our level as we have barely handled our numbers and counting and small grouping problems. This book asked us to practice subtracting and adding double-digit numbers. I would have done it a little differently, had I taken the time to read the book ahead (mom win!).

Science

We have read “Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather!” once before, but it’s always a good time to revisit a book. For better or for worse, the 3 year old’s takeaway was to go through the house saying, “Boy, were we wrong!” to just about everything happening. I loved learning about meteorology when I was younger and I’m still fascinated with weather. I met a local weather man celebrity when I was a kid through Girl Scouts and it made a big impression on me.

Additional Books:

“Red Sky at Night” was a very easy read, but the illustrations are beautiful and picking through the sayings made us have to take our time. This book is filled with phrases used to “predict” the weather. At the back of the book, the author lists all the phrases and shares a brief explanation and whether it’s accurate or not. I read a few phrases I had forgotten hearing from my grandparents!

These books were super sweet stories, and all over the interests. Niki Nakayama is a biography of a professional Japanese-American chef. Natsumi’s Song of Summer is about cousins sharing a love of insects. And Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin is about a little girl wanting to carry the legacy of her ojichan (grandpa), a concert violinist. Another favorite book centering Japanese culture was “Ojichan’s Gift” also by Chieri Uegaki but we didn’t reread it this time around.

Here is a fun poem I found for this week. Even more special, my mom shared that she had memorized this poem when she was in 1st grade:

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

“Who Has Seen the Wind?” Christina Rossetti

Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.

Complete Book List: