Five in a Row ornaments!

Our local Five in a Row group has been making these ornaments for some years now and this year was one of our biggest swaps yet!  At this rate, we may have them all by next year (well, those who started the first year with the swaps).  I think we'll just keep going though so everyone can have a full set.  :D

I love these ornaments and it makes me happy to pull them out each year for several reasons.  One, it brings back memories of fun books I have read with my children and the activities we have done to go along with them  Two, it reminds me of friends who have made them.  Three, it causes me to be thankful for so many things - a precious friend who wrote this curriculum, the blessings of friendships I have made on this journey and the treasured memories I have in using FIAR.

I have shared the pictures of the ornaments with their books.  If you have questions on any of these, please ask!

To get ready for the swap, we arranged the ornaments along with the book that they represented on long tables.  We have books from Before FIAR, FIAR and Beyond FIAR.

 A colorless, soundless representation of Helen Keller.

She did each family's last name on their ornament.

 Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

 Make Way for Ducklings

 I am an Artist

 We're Going on a Bear Hunt

 The Snowy Day

 Climbing Kansas Mountains

 It was fun seeing them all lined up like this.

 Down, Down the Mountain.  Are these little crocheted turnips not adorable?

 The ABC Bunny

 The Bravest of Us All

 Sarah Plain and Tall.

 Amber on the Mountain.  (My daughter made this one.  Aren't they cute?!)

A closer peek.

 When I Was Young in the Mountains

 Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel

I have to show you this a bit closer so you can see the detail.  Can you see the little steam shovel down in the hole she has dug?

And Chester inside his matchbox?  A Cricket in Times Square

 Papa Piccolo.

Love them all!  Delightful, fun and a perfect way to remember these fun books!  Thank you sweet friends!

Love
Leslie

FIAR Expo

This was a fun outing with our homeschool group.  This started a number of years ago as a way to show off the art that the children did while using FIAR.  It has evolved to include music, drama and other talents as well.  

Sweet sharing of scripture by siblings.

We had piano, guitar and other instruments which were played.

The children enjoyed watching and hearing their friends.

Is this not the sweetest?  Mom and Dad joining in with their daughter while she sings an original composition!  Beautiful!

Isaiah did a stop action movie using his Legos.

A duet

Guitar playing and singing.

We also had tables around the room with lots of art!

Each was listed with the child's name so we knew who the artist was for each piece.

We had displays from children of all ages from 3 to 17.  I love the variety.

Can you see the detail in these tiny pieces of art?!

We have great variety in art too from pottery to drawings, legos to painting and more.

This is Daniel's Lego piece reflecting the story of Papa Piccolo.  I wish you could see the details he included like the cardboard box that the cats slept in and more.

This is Eliana's snowman to go along with The Snowy Day.  We did this in co-op though she actually really did hers at home.

These are some of the notebooks that my boys keep with the FIAR studies in it.

So much there and my pictures don't capture it all!

This is our group of participants.

This was just a fun picture at the end of the morning of a cup/clapping game that the older girls were playing.

This is a fun and low key way to share art/talent within a group.  I encourage you to try it if you  haven't before.

Blessings
Leslie

FIAR: All Those Secrets of the World

I don't always (or often) do a great job at taking photos of our weeks with FIAR books.  I'm not really sure why.  This time of year, I really just don't take a lot of photos period.  I think I get wiped out with Christmas and this month is just a slower month.  And it seems to ebb and flow like that every year.  Still not sure why not more pictures.  Anyway, I did have a few from this week that I thought I would share.

We rowed the book All Those Secrets of the World.  Loved this story.  It takes place during WWII when the main character's Daddy goes off to fight in the war.  Its a story of perspective.

One of the lessons has to do with the perspective of things when they are close versus far away.  The "secret" is that things seem smaller when they are far away.  We tried this outside.

In the story, a little boy moves away from the main character until he is no bigger than her fingernail.

We both tested this out.

 Also tried an optical illusion.  I think I need more practice with this one.

 We also talked about the area of the story - Chesapeake and remembering being there this summer.  Of course we made the meal substituting gluten free ingredients to make it safe for our family.

 Clam chowder and crab cakes.  Yummy.  I do love these meals as it gives us an opportunity to try things that we might not otherwise.  I think it encourages children to try new things when they have had a hand in making them too.

Blessings

Leslie

Field Trip to the Symphony

What a neat field trip.  I'm not a huge classical music fan.  Not because I don't like it, but I just haven't spent a lot of time with it.  Much of it though is very beautiful.  We went to a special showing geared for school aged children.  This was a perfect tie- in with two of the books that we have been studying - Babar (with Daniel) and The Saturdays (with Joshua and Isaiah).  Love it when it works out like that!

It was a cold and wet day  - perfect for being inside!  We met up with many of our friends (not all in the picture) to enjoy the performance.

We were seated in the upper section.  It was fun to hear the musicians warming up.

 The conductor did a fabulous job!!!  He introduced the various sections and each instrument greeted us with a song or sound.  These introductions were interspersed amongst other musical selections.  A great way to do it, we all thought.

 He did a super job explaining the songs and telling us about what was happening in the music.  I really enjoyed myself.  Made me think that I need to do a better job of incorporating more classical music into our days!

 One little fidgety girl did not like sitting still and listening.  Thankfully she was able to be still and quiet as long as she was able to play on my phone.

We enjoyed lunch out with some friends afterwards.  A delightful day.

One of the other things that we enjoyed during our study of Babar was making the meal.  We've never made the meal before since it includes peanuts.  Since Christopher wasn't home, we decided to try it.  Daniel is really loving all of the cooking with FIAR!  I think I may have another chef on my hands!  I'm hoping so anyway!  Here is one of the items - dessert.

Peanut butter chocolate bars.  Yummy!

We are off to a good start this semester with our schooling.  This is a slower month and a colder month so its a good time to get things done at home.  We are having fun and making memories - my favorite part of homeschooling.

I hope you are learning and enjoying it too!

Blessings
Leslie