Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

This week, we rowed Virginia Lee Burton's Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. The story centers around a devoted hoisting operator, Mike Mulligan, and his near-obsolete steam shovel, Mary Anne. Even though Mike Mulligan takes good care of Mary Anne, steam shovels are becoming a thing of the past, replaced by gas, diesel, and electric shovels. Despite Mary Anne's obsolescence, Mike Mulligan moves out of the city and takes a job in the country, in the small town of Popperville, digging the cellar of the new town hall. He claims that Mary Anne can dig the cellar in one day and, if he can't deliver, the selectman, Henry B. Swap, won't have to pay. The pressure is on for Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne to finish the cellar job, but they have a crowd of fans and a bright young boy to urge them on.

The story really communicates the importance of stewardship, diligence, and good old-fashioned hard work!

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel is featured in FIAR: Volume One.

Language Arts- Story Writing Characters

The first day we read the story, we talked about characters in stories and how writers can include all sorts of characters-- good, mean, happy, helpful, trouble-making characters.

We talked about the specific characters in the story: Mike Mulligan, Mary Anne, Henry B. Swap, and the little boy. I asked him to tell me about those characters and what they are like and dictated his descriptions in our lapbook.

 

 

Social Studies- Character- Diligence

 

The FIAR book suggested focusing on stewardship and flexibility, but we emphasized diligence because midweek we had a homeschool class on character training that specifically addressed diligence.

 

On the second day of reading, we talked about diligence and how the characters exude a good attitude about working. We talked about how Aidyn shows diligence and what sort of jobs he does that require diligence.

 

The next day, we attended the character training class on diligence. The teacher, full of vim and vigor, taught them a song about diligence, which they sang and performed. She also told them a story about a family of beavers who worked hard to build a secure dam. We went home with a binder of more stories of diligent people in history, arts and crafts ideas for diligence, and ideas on how to be more diligent.

We also track Aidyn's good attitude through an informal point system. After Tuesday, we switched to Diligence Points. He earns point for showing diligence and is awarded with a field trip or extra fun activity at the end of the week. On Sunday, he's going to Six Flags with his Grammy.

Art- Drawing Trees in Motion

For art, we combined two of FIAR's suggestions, drawing trees and motion. On our Outdoor Hour Challenge, we observed trees and sketched two of our favorites. While reading the story again, we admired the way Virginia Lee Burton created the look of motion in her drawings.

Mama: How do you think she made the steam shovel look like it was moving so fast?
Aidyn: She made those swooshes up.

We decided to make our own "swooshes" on our trees to show wind blowing through the leaves.

 

 

 

Social Studies/Science-- Construction and Steam Power

 

We found a delightful video on construction machines called I Dig Dirt. It's a simplistic video about earthmovers, but it also introduced different kinds of earthmovers and how they work.

 

Aidyn also watched The Magic School Bus Gets Energized.

 

 

 

 

Cooking-- "Neat and Square" creations

Mary Anne diligently digs the cellar "neat and square." To illustrate, I made some Neat and Square Chocolate Pancakes one morning as a special treat.

(sorry, no picture there. I simply made a base pancake recipe and swirled in chocolate frosting. When they were done cooking, I used a square cookie cutter to make them "neat and square")

I also made a Neat and Square Chicken Casserole.

And, for the finale, I made the ubiquitous Neat and Square Chocolate Cake with (a version of) Mary Anne in the center, digging like crazy.

I used Buncha Crunch for the rocks.

 

 

 

 

 

I made the cake late one night, and it was absolute torture for Aidyn to wait all night for it to cool in the fridge. But, as a special treat, we each ate a slice for breakfast as we read Mike Mulligan one last time (for now).

 

(I wish I had pictures of our chocolate breakfast, but my camera battery had died.)

 

After "breakfast," we talked more about squares. I pulled out his dry-erase board and asked him to describe a square.

 

I played around with him, drawing shapes to his specifications.

 

A: It's a shape with four sides.

 

I drew a rectangle.

 

A (laughing): No, no, no. Those sides are too long. The sides are the same!

 

I drew a rhombus.

 

A (laughing more): Oh, my gosh! No, that's a rolled-over square! These lines are straight up and down.

 

M: And what about the corners? Are they n---?

 

A: Neat and square!

 

After we got the laughs out, Aidyn drew a square, found and cut one out of a magazine, and, with help, wrote the definition of a square.

 

Many of our ideas and projects came from Five in a Row: Volume 1. I also consulted Homeschool Share and was inspired by Delightful Learning.





Outdoor Hour Challenge #4

The next challenge at The Handbook of Nature Study blog encouraged us to focus on a specific element of study. Our lesson with Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel asked us to look at trees and things in motion. We decided to combine our studies to focus on trees in motion.

First we observed the tree nearest to us, touched its bark, commented on its high-up branches. We saw another tree further on with striking differences to the first. We simply traveled from tree to tree, comparing each to the last.

Eventually we plopped down and began sketching. We talked about the "shape" of some trees, that many evergreens look "pointy," while other trees like more rounded.

Aidyn sketched a mammoth evergreen tree and a little tree with pink flowers blossoming on it.

When we returned home, Aidyn added splashes of color.

 

 

Adding some brown bark.

 

As we read Mike Mulligan, we noted the illustrator's style in creating motion in her drawings. Aidyn noticed the blurs of color to show that something was moving. We revisited our tree picture, and I showed him how to take a piece of chalk, create lines from the moving part and blend in the direction it moved.

He tried it with his evergreen, and his tree looked like it was experiencing a blustery day!

We are both so enjoying our outdoor hour challenges. We both come in refreshed and ready to start the day. Aidyn's attitude, as well, is much calmer and peaceful if we've had a morning nature walk.


What we were able to accomplish this day:

• Aidyn wrapped up Unit 1 of his math book and took the unit test.
• We played a few rounds of the sight word/tower building game, only this time he had to also put the word into a sentence. I lost three times.
• Aidyn wrote his sentences for the day with very little assistance from me.
• We read about the gods of ancient Egypt, specifically Osiris, Isis, and Set. Afterward, he colored a picture of Osiris and shared the story with his grandma and dad.
• Aidyn played outside with his friends, with his new cement mixer toy (from the Dollar Tree) inspired by Mike Mulligan.
• I made a "Neat and Square" Mike Mulligan Chocolate Cake.

Check back for more Outdoor Hour Challenges and the FIAR row of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel!



Outdoor Hour Challenge #3

Yesterday's Outdoor Hour Challenge was to find something in nature to draw. Aidyn snoozed way past normal, and I made 'Neat and Square' chocolate pancakes a la Mike Mulligan so I was sure a nature walk just was not going to happen.

Although I had informed him that it would be a quick walk, taking our time proved inspiring.

We walked around, trying to decide what to sketch. We eventually watched a colony of red ants soldiering around. These guys were HUGE and walked like beasts. Because the goal was to eventually draw them, we observed them quite a bit longer than we ordinarily would.

There were some poor little ants that looked like they showed up to the wrong  family reunion, but we just watched how they all seemed to get along.

After I had finally asked, "So are these red ants what you'd like to draw?" he said, "No, I want to bring something in the house with us."

Nearby, he found a small log, just resting on the ground. Turning it over, he quickly found that the damp part of it was home to a family of pill bugs. Even though Aidyn was startled, he was so excited and watched them scurry, saying, "I wanna draw these!"

On our way home, he asked me what pill bugs eat, where they like to live, if we can have one as a pet, etc. As usual, I had little knowledge of the pill bug but told him we would definitely find out.

As Aidyn drew in his nature journal, I found a pill bug site for kids and shared with Aidyn that:

• pill bugs are the only crustaceans that live entirely on land
• pill bugs eat rotting vegetation
• pill bugs enjoy moist environments

(::GASP:: "We found them under a wet log!)

• pill bugs have 7 pairs of legs
• pill bugs have armor
• pill bugs have antennae
• pill bugs do not spread disease or contaminate food

What has surpised and delighted me about these outdoor hour challenges is that we never know what we'll find or what questions these walks inspire. I also realize how little I know about nature and the holes in my own education. Every day I say at least once, "I don't exactly know, but we can find out!" Nature walks also help with calming and grounding us for the whole day. We both have better attitudes and more patience.

Keep checking back for more Outdoor Hour Challenges, and maybe start your own at The Handbook of Nature Study blog.

To read about our other Outdoor Hour Challenges, visit Our Outdoor Hour Challenges.

Outdoor Hour Challenge #2

You might remember that last week we went on our first Outdoor Hour Challenge from The Handbook of Nature Study blog.

For this morning's challenge, we decided to find 5 living things, be they flora, fauna, and/or human.


It's funny how amongst all the grass, trees, and nicely landscaped bushes that, when asked, "Do you see anything living?" Aidyn's first response was, "No, there's nothing here."

Eventually we found a pearly white cat that met Aidyn's qualifications for a living being. Afterward he happily picked a sunflower and asked a bajillion questions about sunflowers, and I confidently supplied the answer to about four of them.

Then we walked amongst rows and rows of growing corn stalks.

"See anything alive?"

"Nope."

At some point, he accepted that so much around him was alive, and we spouted off all the living things near us.

We even spotted a small tunnel opening with scores of ants slowly marching around it.

"Why do you think they're moving so slowly?" I asked him.

"Maybe 'cuz it's cold."

I was intrigued by their colors, half black and half brown-red. When we got home, I looked up these crazy ants while Aidyn drew the five living things he found in his nature journal. We also read about sunflowers and tried to answer the last 996 zillion questions.

 

 

Same as last week, going out on a morning nature walk granted me a calm and collected little student today. His attitude was stellar, and we got a lot accomplished, including:

 

• "Digging" into our new book, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, talking about characters in the story (and how stories need characters) and writing his thoughts in our lapbook.
• Cuddling on the couch and watching two old Disney shorts featuring steam shovels as characters.
• Playing the sight word/tower building game again. Losing twice.
• Letting Aidyn work independently on his phonics sheet. He did so well!
• Jumping into a new chapter book/graphic novel.

Field Trip Friday: Sonora/The Candy Vault

Today we trekked to Sonora in California's Gold Country to sample the shining, glittering examples of LUSCIOUS CANDY. (We'll cover the Gold Rush later.)

Here's Aidyn and his grandma practically dying because I made them take a picture before busting through the doors to candy heaven.

But as it turned out, Aidyn walked past all the candy and headed straight for a little toy section at the back of the store and found a huge whoopie cushion.

Eventually my there-ain't-no-way-I'm-buying-a-12-dollar-whoopie-cushion face led him to choose a more reasonably priced (and insanely adorable) stuffed lemur.

Here he is strolling with his new lemur in a neat educational supply store we found down the way from The Candy Vault.

A goofy hat he just had to try on.

We left the Gold Country making out like bandits.

Aidyn

A "rain-icorn" lollipop (he watches too much Adventure Time)
A stuffed lemur
A laser light lollipop
A Rocket Pop
An Auto Bingo game (which we all played on the way home)
Little educational tchotchkes

Me

A bag of candy consisting of chocolate gummi bears, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, root beer gummi bottles, and sour gummi strips, and chocolate seashells

For my husband

A box of zombie bubble gum
Full rights to my candy bag

Outdoor Hour Challenge #1

Yesterday we had our first emotional roller coaster. I felt it, too. I was tiring of the textbooks and itching for something more fun.

This morning we decided to go on a nature walk to enjoy the quiet of the morning, reconnect with nature, and let the world be our classroom.

I am much inspired by the Handbook of Nature Study Blog and followed their guidelines for an outdoor hour challenge. After reading the first twenty pages of The Handbook of Nature Study (available for free here), I printed a blank nature journal that the Handbook of Nature Study blog offers FOR FREE.

I asked Aidyn to create a challenge, and he chose a "no talking" nature walk. We laid some ground rules (our poor attempt at sign language was acceptable, do this ::waves hands erratically:: if you hear something we should record, nearly poke yourself in the eye if you see something you want to record, and if someone we pass talks to us we may talk to them.)

And we were off.

It took Aidyn exactly five seconds to find something both alive and slimy.

He decided to bring his new friend along.

We jotted down a bunch of stuff we saw and heard, communicating it all in our terrible sign language.

We also found some weird brown seed pod something-or-other that had fallen from a mystery tree. We took it back home for dissection and to try and figure out if we could identify the tree.

The answer is no. We were not able to. But we did learn some thing about leaf types! And we learned and recorded the latin name for snails and that they can live for 20 years!

Using a corkscrew to crack it open.

We returned to the mystery tree to bring back a branch and leaf sample, but we had zero luck.

The tree who remains unidentified.

But we did find an adorable and cuddly cat.

Enjoying nature in the morning created a completely different child than the one I taught yesterday. His attitude was positive, he was engaged in every task, and he seemed more relaxed. Activities that went well include:

• third reading of The Day of Ahmed's Secret while paying extra attention to the art throughout the book.
• watercoloring (Aidyn a kaleidoscope and me a sunset behind Mt. Diablo-- or pyramids, as Aidyn called them)
• sight word/tower building game (We cycle through sight words on flashcards. If he reads it correctly, I stack a block; if he doesn't, he stacks a block. First person whose tower of blocks falls loses. I lost four times.)
• math lesson on number lines and worksheet
• reading of Story of the World on Two Kingdoms become One. He was so disappointed that the Red Crown king lost and that King Narmer became king of Egypt. Aidyn, it was 5,000 years ago. It's cool.
• map coloring of Egypt and bonus points for coloring the Nile River "up" northward, in the direction it flows.
• coloring a small picture of King Narmer for our timeline.
• plowing through the last three chapters of The Magic Treehouse: Mummies in the Morning.
• coloring "stained glass" pictures (Aidyn- King Tut, Me- Cleopatra)

Working with the Workbox System

Scheduling and planning subjects to cover, books to read, crafts to craft, and experiments to conduct can be overwhelming. One way that we have wrestled the beast of planning and scheduling the day is through workboxes.

I first read about Sue Patrick's Workbox Method through Heart of Wisdom. I'm a super visual person, and my little guy is, too. Turns out there's a bunch of different ways to workbox. Some folks repurpose cereal boxes or coordinate Dollar Store containers, but those people also have the gift of creativity, which I run low on sometimes.

I bought the ordinary, shm-ordinary plastic file boxes.

 

 

I thought the numbers and tags from Heart of Wisdom were simple and adorable so I printed and laminated them.

 

As you can see, I labeled each box with a number. Every day I load the card strip for the next day.

 

 

 

Flexibility is key. The world does not fall apart if we take lunch before completing box #2. The card strip serves merely as a guide, to help us see what we need to get done each day. Our goal is to take off all the cards at the end of the school day.

 

 





 

Our workbox system keeps us focused, lest we drift off into some exciting chapter book for too long.