Saturday, January 7, 2012

Stopping By the Woods...

...on a Snowy Evening. I decided a good way to get back in the groove of school would be to do a short row designed for review weeks. So, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening was a good fit. We've had a bit of snow this week so we got to enjoy some time outside and we even spotted some tracks in the snow.

This illustrated Robert Frost poem is in volume 1 of FIAR.

J6 matched some tracks with their animal using a tracking book E13 made for his brothers last year.

E13 (then 12) made this book using an animal tracks website. He formatted the pictures with their explanations into a square shape and we printed and laminated them. They are bound by a ring. This four inch square shape is perfect for taking into the field.

It's missing a few animals like rabbits, but using this trail guide you can keep track of beetles in the dirt!

Here are some copywork samples. These are from the poem itself. J6 wants to know when I'm going to ditch copywork and let him type on the computer for all his writing. He's funny.

While enjoying this FIAR title, we've also gotten out some old favorites and some new library books.
  • Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick
  • First Snow in the Woods by Carl R Sams II & Jean Stoick
  • In the Snow: Who's Been Here? Lindsay Barrett George
  • Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft & Richard G. VanGelder
  • Under the Snow? by Melissa Stewart
  • North Country Night by San Souci
We've been discussing what the animals are doing in the winter season and a little bit about poems. R11 loves Shel Silverstein so we are not unfamiliar with the genre. We did talk about rhyming which is always a fun topic for young kids.

On to a new book next week!

6 comments:

Donna(mom24boyz) said...

I have never rowed this one..but we do have it and you have inspired me to do it! I love your animal track card idea. Especially laminating them!

Amy Jo said...

Looks like a fun row. This was a favorite in our house.

DeliveringGrace said...

We rowed this just before Christmas and had a great time. We haven't had any snow yet this season-will be good to reread when real snow arrives.

Your dh said...

I can never really enjoy this poem anymore after being told in high school it was about suicide...

Carol Covin said...

To dh's comment. I did not know this was about suicide. Similarly, I only learned as an adult that "Danny Boy" was about a father saying goodby to his son as the son went off to war. But, I love this illustrated Robert Frost poem. Makes me think that illustrating other favorite poems with photos cut from magazines, or sending them off into the woods with a camera to take pictures for their own illustrations would be a great winter activity for grandchildren.

Heather said...

Carol that is a great idea to illustrate other poems. I bet my kids would have a great deal of fun doing that for Shel Silverstein silly poems!