Our Literary Exercises for Octopuses

We did three of the books suggested for literary exercises for the octopus lesson.  I think it's funny how none of the books were about octopuses.  Seth noticed that as well.  I think he was looking forward to more octopus books (we did find quite a few octopus storybooks at the library that we have enjoyed reading!)

But here were the books we did.  Once again we spread them out over several days.

On one day we read the two books about hermit Crabs - A House for Hermit Crabs by Leo Lionni and Is This A House For Hermit Crab by Megan McDonald.

Both books were the same theme - in one the hermit crab outgrew his shell and was finding another shell.  In the other that hermit crab also outgrew his shell but he explored other items to see if they were good homes because he could not find a bigger shell.

The boys wanted to watercolor this day (they LOVE using their watercolor paints) so I told them to paint a picture of a hermit crab.

Seth decided to paint many different color shells (he said the hermit crabs were sleeping inside of them so you could not see them...he can be so clever sometimes - HA!)  You can see the finished picture in the first picture above with the two books!

On another day we read Swimmy by Leo Lionni.  One of the activities it suggested was to have your child retell the story to you by looking at the illustrations!  I LOVE this activity - especially when it is a book that Seth has really enjoyed!  It's so neat to hear the story from his point of view!  And Seth really really liked this book and had a lot of fun retelling the story (mentioning some details that were not "written" in the book :-) )

Another activity it suggested was cutting out a bunch of little bitty red fish and and one little bitty black fish (swimmy) and have your child glue them to a blue piece of paper to look like one of the illustrations in the book.  Here was their pictures (I have the book open to the page of the illustration they wanted you to copy)

(Seth's was the big fish...I helped Aaron with his (-: )

We had a lot of fun with octopus/ocean animal lessons!!!

And I want to say that I am very thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling!  We missed a few days of school due to the kids being sick.  We were originally going to take all of this week off but decided not to so we could play catch up but I made a point to make it fun for the kids since this is a holiday week!  AND WE ARE CAUGHT UP!!  (whoo sigh of relief from this momma)...even though I don't know why I was so worried...like I said - there is flexibility in homeschooling!  We don't have to follow a "schedule" but my mind and the way it is wired keeps diverting to thinking that we have to follow a schedule!

ANYWAYS - I love homeschooling!  I am learning so much this year as well...learning how to relax and realize these kids are young and we need to make sure we have fun!  I am learning the beauty of taking our time and learning that I CAN'T compare my kids to other kids...I just have to be confident that I am teaching them to the best of my ability.  I am seeking God's will even in our homeschooling and if always lean on Him for wisdom and understanding then we cannot fail!!

Have a wonderful thanksgiving friends!