Our book-of-the-week this week was Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. This was my favourite literature study to date. I lightened up on the number of extension activities that we did and we struck the perfect balance … and had so much fun in the process.
I’ve included the clip of the episode of the show that corresponds to the book. Watching the YouTube clip was a special treat for my girls.
Bible
We talked about sickness and read stories about how Jesus prayed for and healed the sick. We know three people who are recovering from surgery so we took some time each day to ask Jesus to heal them.
Geography
We coloured the flag of France looked for France on our map, in the atlas and on the globe.
We found a gorgeous paper version of Paris (from Made by Joel). We printed it on cardstock, coloured it and cut it out. We matched up some of the landmarks to the landmarks in the book and went online and searched for photos of them so we could see what they look like in real life.
We used books from the library to learn more about France and watched a YouTube documentary that focused on Paris. My five-year old says that it’s full of beauty and she is going to live there someday. Perfect. Then I’ll have lots of reasons to finally visit the beautiful City of Light. =)
Language Arts
We talked about rhyming words and read some Dr. Seuss to reinforce the concept.
(We also followed our regular handwriting and phonics curriculum – Handwriting Without Tears and Explode the Code.)
Math
In addition to our regular math curriculum (Horizons Math), we printed off and cut out images of the twelve little girls, We put them in two lines and counted how many were in each line. Then we used them to practice addition and subtraction.
Art
The girls made watercolour and ink paintings of the Eiffel Tower. We also made Paris charm bracelets using supplies I had on hand from back when my sister and I owned a jewelry design business. The girls loved this activity!
We learned about different French artists and their work. Georges Seurat invented the painting technique called pointillism so we decided to give it a go. Using cotton swabs, the girls dabbed dots of paint onto paper to create a unique work of art.
Science
We talked about the human body and the appendix. We put together our human anatomy model and pulled out my husband’s Gray’s Anatomy book and looked at pictures of the stomach and appendix.
French Food
I cheated a bit this week. Rather than make an elaborate French meal, we had baguettes and cheese for lunch one day. Another day, while on a hike, we stopped at an old train station and snacked on macarons.
That face says it all. =)
We’ll finish off the week with dessert crepes after dinner tonight. Mmmm. Can’t wait!
The Grace-Filled Life 