Monday, March 12, 2007

Katie books, Iditarod, and the Middle Ages

Last week we began Tapestry of Grace, year 2.  I moved C & J back into Tapestry of Grace instead of continuing in Five In A Row.  They've been asking to return to Tapestry of Grace, and I thought they'd enjoy the Middle Ages.

But it was a rather full week.  We were also studying the Iditarod, and tracking some mushers.  To encourage our learning, we read The bravest dog ever : the true story of BaltoMush! : across Alaska in the world's longest sled-dog raceDisappearing lake : nature's magic in Denali National Park.   We also watched Eight Below, just for fun, and a couple documentaries our library had on Alaska.  My children tried to convince me they needed to watch Snow Dogs again, in honor of the Iditarod.  I told them it wasn't educational enough to count.  We do have the movie, Iron Will, but I need to preview it again before deciding if they are ready to watch it.

Along with our introduction to the Middle Ages, and our Iditarod study, we enjoyed reading the Katie series of books by James Mayhew.  These are great art study books, and they're fun to read.  We enjoyed reading  Katie's Sunday afternoon, Katie and the sunflowers, Katie and the Mona Lisa, Katie meets the Impressionists, Katie and the dinosaurs, & Secret in the garden : a peek-through book.  

It was a fun, full week of learning.  We'll be studying Ireland, St. Patrick, and the first missionaries this week with Tapestry of Grace.  Perfect timing to head into St. Patrick's Day this weekend.  We'll still be following the Iditarod, and we'll add in some fun with Irish names, and probably enjoy a video about Ireland.  I'll play my Celtic music all week, and make the children watch Riverdance and Celtic Woman with me.  They won't mind, but Steve will be tired of it by this weekend.

Blessings,
April