A field trip to go with The Big Green Pocketbook!

Did I mention in the last post that I love this book?  Some of it may be due to the sweet memories I have of doing this book with all of my children.  It was such a favorite of Rebecca's that her 3rd birthday party was a Big Green Pocketbook birthday party!  And part of the delight of this story is actually going on a bus ride just like the girl in the book.  We met some of our co-op friends (and siblings) to go on a local bus ride.  Doesn't she look excited for this adventure?  And check out that cute pocketbook!  :D

We had a beautiful day!  It was cooler than normal (end of May) which was just perfect for walking around without even breaking a sweat.  We met our friends at the bus stop at a nearby mall.  Here it comes!

 Several siblings joined in the fun - Rebecca and Daniel and Joshua came too.  Isaiah stayed home with Christopher.

 We took a ride to Chapel Hill and everyone brought their green pocketbooks/tote bags.  :)

 We were dropped off in the middle of UNC campus and spent some time exploring as we walked through the campus to downtown.

 Lots to see.

 We just had fun being together too.  I wasn't sure how much of this Eliana would be able to do, but she did a fabulous job of walking the entire day!

 Checking out the tall monument.

 When we got to town, we explored a variety of shops just like the little girl in the story.  This is the post office.  A nice lady there let Eliana mail her letters.  (I should have thought ahead to bring some and was grateful for her kindness.)

 We went into a bank and several other shops on main street.

We walked up one side of the street and then down the other.  Just on one block.  

The kids enjoyed interacting with this mural.  

The man "beside" Daniel is actually someone that we met many years ago.  It was fun to see him there.  

Eliana was delighted to see her Daddy waiting for her as we crossed the street.  

 We went into Sutton's for lunch.  Its a tradition here - kind of like the lunch counter in the story.

 It was busy, but we were there early and able to get great seats.

 This was a fun place to eat lunch.

 And especially since we were with family and friends.

 It was a squeeze, but we did all fit in the booth.  :)

 After lunch, we started walking back towards the bus stop.  On the way, we visited the church where Roger and I got married.  There is a beautiful rose garden outside.

 And here is a picture of the inside.  Roger was friends with the minister here when we met.  :)

 Back through campus.

 Just thought this picture was adorable!  :D  Love seeing her holding on to that pocketbook.

 I love watching kids explore and have fun!  They can truly make the most of anything when they are outside, can't they?

 Another sweet one with her big brother.

 This is the group at the end of our adventure.  So thankful for these friends.

 We made one last stop before going home to get some ice cream.  Christopher and Isaiah met us there.

It was a sweet ending to our trip.

If you are reading this book (and I do recommend it highly), this trip is an awesome way to really make great memories with your child.  It was a simple outing, but so much fun.

Blessings

Leslie

PS  That wraps up May and I'm on to June next!  Getting close to being caught up!  

B4 FIAR co-op: The Big Green Pocketbook

I love this book!  Its one of my favorites and I have such sweet memories of this with ALL of my children.  :)  Its the story of a little girl going on a bus ride to town with her mom.  While there, she collects all sorts of things to put in her pocketbook to remember her day.  This was our last co-op of the year and we chose to meet at a park again as it was best suited to the activities that we planned.

We started with reading the story.  

 Our devotion was on the fruit of the Spirit.

 And next was a surprise.  I was so excited about this.  I made "pocketbooks" for the kids!  I made green tote bags for the boys and round pocketbooks for the girls.  Here is a better shot of the girl's pocketbooks.  I found these made of sturdy chipboard at a consignment sale and painted them green.  The tote bags were sewn.

We started at at the "bus stop".  We decided to act out the story with all of the stops along the way.

 First they got in line to get their ticket.

After riding, our first stop was the bank.  Here the kids played with a fun sensory bin looking for money.

They were all excited to find money!

 Of course they had to get 2 lollipops just like in the story.  One for now and one for later.

 Next stop was the Insurance agency.  In the story, the little girl types her name on a typewriter in upper and lower case letters.

 We played games with some letters.  Each child found the letter that started his/her name to put in their pocketbooks.

 Next stop was the jewelry store.  Several activities here.  We first played a game with colors and shapes.  Each child was given 2 cards with a shape in a color.

 The child would state what they had and what they were looking for.  Example, I have an orange diamond.  Who has a black square?  This was a lot of fun.

Next they made a keychain (the girl in the story is given one) from beads and stretchy lanyards.

If you finished, there was time to play a color matching game.  Isn't this a great way to do it?

 For a treat they were given gummy rings.  Yum.

 Next stop is the dry cleaners.  In the book, the little girl is given a small calendar.  Our kids get one of those too and play a game with numbers.  We had chalk  numbers (several of each from 1-10) drawn on the ground and then the kids were asked questions varying from favorite number to age to addition problems.  It is a simple, active game.

 We next visited the five-and-ten store.  In the book, the girl and her mom buy fabric, sewing needles and a sack of gumdrops shaped like orange slices.  While at this stop, the kids were each given the first initial and then had their choice of colors in which to sew their letter.  I was amazed at how well Eliana stayed with this activity.  And yes, there were orange slices.

 Eliana loves seeing all of the goodies that she has collected in her pocketbook!

 Our last stop is the drugstore.  In the book, they have ice cream at the soda counter.  We thought this was a fabulous end to the morning!

 The kids were pretty excited about having ice cream too!

What a delightful time we had together.  More fun memories - and we are not quite finished with this book.  A field trip is coming up in the next post.  Bet you can guess what that is!

More soon.

Blessings
Leslie