March 2019- Themes: Lent and Wind (Weather)
This month's themes are:
Monthly family read aloud suggestions are any classic that has something to do with wind!
(I am posting links to Amazon, but you can get these books from the library or at a used book store,etc.)
For independent teens:
(If your teen is a reluctant reader, remember they can listen to audio books or some times you can just watch the movie adaptation - though I wouldn't make this a regular way to imbibe literature, but at least it exposes a teen to a classic work.) I will put an asterisk next to the books I know have been put on screen.
Picture or easy reader type books for either reading aloud or for kids to peruse on their own:
A fun writing prompt for the little ones:
Read the Aesop's Fable The North Wind and The Sun or watch this short animated youtube video.
Then fold/staple together some old printer paper or construction paper into a little book and have the kids retell the fable and illustrate. If they are too young to write out the story themselves, let them draw the pictures and dictate to you what to write. This is just a suggestion. Don't force it on them, but it might be an activity that appeals to them. Another thing they can do is act out the story. They can have fun figuring how to dress up as the North Wind or the Sun. It's fun to put on dad's coat when playing the innocent man walking along getting abuse by the elements!
Content Subject Read Alouds:
You can read anything that interests your kids. Some suggestions that sort of fit with the wind theme:
Kon-Tiki or there is a version out there for younger children called
Kon-Tiki and I. (OOP so look for it in used books)
Eric Sloane's Almanac and Weather Forecaster. (Eric Sloane books are great! Dover publishes lots of his books inexpensively).
But you can also just read books from the library about weather or meteorology, biographies or whatever grabs your kids' interests currently.
You can decide to read overarching books like a survey of history
A Little History of the World (this sort of book would continue beyond anything theme related)
The Story of Science by Joy Hakim (secular)
Rabbit trail researching ideas:
Copy work suggestions:
Rhetoric:
Poetry:
Who Has Seen the Wind by Christina Rossetti. (you might encourage memorization of this one) There are lots more poems about wind here. Read them all if you want to or pick one or two to focus on in informal discussions around the table over meals.
Latin:
Decline the noun for wind in Latin. Copy over the chart at this link. Nominative = subject of verb, genitive = possessive, dative=indirect object, accusative=direct object, ablative=object of certain prepositions or noun used adverbially, vocative=direct address as in O Wind!. Work in a little Latin and grammar during copy work time!
Culture:
Blowing in the Wind by Bob Dylan youtube video. You might want to set this up first by letting the ad play and then pausing video, then watch it together. This is to avoid annoying or questionable ads.
This song might provoke questions about the mystery of evil and what we can do in the face of it!
Biblical quotes:
**************
Art and Music Suggestions:
I am not a big celebrator of Mardi Gras. I didn't grow up in a family that emphasized it. It was something that people in New Orleans and Brazil did, but we Irish Catholics weren't so into it! And personally I just tend to avoid anything that promotes partying and drinking to excess. BUT, I did like to listen to this Classical Kids cd on Vivaldi. It is set in Venice during Carnevale (literally means goodbye meat!). It's a great audio cd to add to your collection if you can.
Kinetic art. There are artists who make wind art. Some nice examples in that video. Here's a very brief tutorial on how kids can make a wind spinner from a paper plate.
Did you know Chopin wrote an etude about the wind? Listen to it here.
**************
Math tie ins:
What does mph mean? What's a mile? What's an hour?
How do they measure speed in Europe? Find the formula for converting miles to kilometers and make a little poster to put on the fridge so everyone can see it. You can do this or perhaps one of your kids would like to make the poster.
How far did St. Patrick travel from his home to Ireland?
What kind of measuring did you need to do for your carpentry project? (or any other project)
Every day for a week look up the wind speed for that day and record it. Then create a graph showing how it changed over the week. Have an x and a y axis, put the days of the week along one axis and the maximum wind strength on the other. Use a ruler and make it look really nice, so you can show it off! Post it on your fridge!
*******************
Some Possible Hands on Projects for this Month:
1) Salt dough Lenten crown - Ash Wednesday is 3/6/19
2) Printable Lenten Calendar from Catholic Icing
3) Learn some simple Irish jig steps, then put on some Irish music and dance with your kids! (3/17)
4) Carpentry projects for St. Joseph's Day (3/19)
5) Super simple grogger (rattle) for Purim (good for little kids)
6) Make Hamantaschen for Purim (get the kids to help with measuring ingredients)
7) Super simple windsock you can make from trash/items around the house
8) How to make a kite (for teens or younger kids working with adult)
9) Paper Airplanes! I just picked this video because there's no talking, just a guy showing you precisely how he folds his plane. It's quite complicated so this is probably best for an older kid. If you search youtube, you'll find tons of tutorials on paper airplanes.
10) Very easy to make pinwheel.
11) A cool simple demonstration that illustrates the principle of convection. You can replicate the experiment at home. Kids love this one!
12) Make your own windchimes - you can use up old odds and ends of things, keys, can lids, old cds, etc.
************************
Suggestions for Field Trips:
For Lent - your parish's regular stations of the cross for Lent. Or if that is too hard to attend with many little children, see if your parish or any near you have a special one for children. Also, if the weather cooperates, finding a church that has an outdoor stations and praying there is a wonderful idea. And no one cares as much if your baby is being noisy since it's outdoors!
In re the theme on wind:
A weather station
A sailing marina
A nautical museum
A mill of some kind
A park or some kind of nature setting where there is evidence of erosion
An airport
A flight museum
A kite flying contest
A concert featuring wind instruments
A tour of a synagogue
An Irish dance show/parade
A visit to a carpenter's shop or somehow talking to a professional carpenter
A visit to an art museum - go on a scavenger hunt for art that depicts wind!
Remember this list is just for inspirational purposes! If you wind up maybe just making pinwheels, reading a couple of picture books and attempting a stations of the cross (that one time you weren't entirely buried under exhaustion and multiple runny noses!) call it all good! If your kids don't respond to the theme of wind or weather but take off in an entirely different direction, that's great too! It's not about your plans! It's about their love for learning!
- The season of Lent, which begins this year on March 6th (I also include St. Patrick's Day, St. Joseph's day and the Jewish feast of Purim)
- The phenomenon of wind. What causes it? How does it make weather? How has humanity interacted with it and used it. This theme is inspired by the old saying: March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. You might ask your kids what that means? (It's a simile!)
Monthly family read aloud suggestions are any classic that has something to do with wind!
(I am posting links to Amazon, but you can get these books from the library or at a used book store,etc.)
- At The Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
- The Wind in the Willows by Graham Greene
- The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
For independent teens:
(If your teen is a reluctant reader, remember they can listen to audio books or some times you can just watch the movie adaptation - though I wouldn't make this a regular way to imbibe literature, but at least it exposes a teen to a classic work.) I will put an asterisk next to the books I know have been put on screen.
- *Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - kind of dated American classic - some adult situations though nothing explicit. Good fodder for discussing the history of slavery/bigotry, etc.
- *Inherit the Wind play About the Scopes Monkey Trial - good fodder for discussion no matter where you stand on creationism vs. evolution. the movie though is rather heavy handed.
- Sailing Alone Around The World by Joshua Slocum - doubles for geography credits!
- *Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (several screen versions but the book is better than them all because it is very Christian, which doesn't come out in the adaptions which focus on the romance)
- *Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. Beware the Ides of March!!! (Btw, what are the Ides of March?) Bonus points if you somehow get to see this as a play!
- *The Book of Esther in the Old Testament - Purim is a minor feast that celebrates Esther's story. (Veggie Tales made a good version!)
Picture or easy reader type books for either reading aloud or for kids to peruse on their own:
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
- Hurricanes by Gail Gibbons
- The Magic Schoolbus Inside a Hurricane
- Tornado by Betsy Byars (easy reader)
- The Boat Who Wouldn't Float by Farley Mowat (maybe middle school level?)
- The story of Esther from a Children's Bible
- A Children's Stations of the Cross (this is my favorite)
A fun writing prompt for the little ones:
Read the Aesop's Fable The North Wind and The Sun or watch this short animated youtube video.
Then fold/staple together some old printer paper or construction paper into a little book and have the kids retell the fable and illustrate. If they are too young to write out the story themselves, let them draw the pictures and dictate to you what to write. This is just a suggestion. Don't force it on them, but it might be an activity that appeals to them. Another thing they can do is act out the story. They can have fun figuring how to dress up as the North Wind or the Sun. It's fun to put on dad's coat when playing the innocent man walking along getting abuse by the elements!
Content Subject Read Alouds:
You can read anything that interests your kids. Some suggestions that sort of fit with the wind theme:
Kon-Tiki or there is a version out there for younger children called
Kon-Tiki and I. (OOP so look for it in used books)
Eric Sloane's Almanac and Weather Forecaster. (Eric Sloane books are great! Dover publishes lots of his books inexpensively).
But you can also just read books from the library about weather or meteorology, biographies or whatever grabs your kids' interests currently.
You can decide to read overarching books like a survey of history
A Little History of the World (this sort of book would continue beyond anything theme related)
The Story of Science by Joy Hakim (secular)
Rabbit trail researching ideas:
- Wind farms and alternative energy
- The history of windmills (might spin off into any kind of mill)
- Wind erosion - might spin off into all sorts of erosion
- The physics of flight: lift, drag, thrust, etc
- Is there wind on other planets?
- Wind instruments
- What's a weather vane?
- Why did the Greeks name the winds? (this could lead to really learning about different types of wind and the directions they come from)
- Why is Chicago known as the Windy City? Why is there a tornado alley? Why are some places regularly in the path of hurricanes or monsoons? How does the physical geography of your area affect your weather?
Copy work suggestions:
Rhetoric:
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.Notice in the above quote how Dickens is using parallel structure in the two clauses that are joined by a colon. They each start with 'when' and then show a contrast, the second clause reiterating the first's point.
Poetry:
Who Has Seen the Wind by Christina Rossetti. (you might encourage memorization of this one) There are lots more poems about wind here. Read them all if you want to or pick one or two to focus on in informal discussions around the table over meals.
Latin:
Decline the noun for wind in Latin. Copy over the chart at this link. Nominative = subject of verb, genitive = possessive, dative=indirect object, accusative=direct object, ablative=object of certain prepositions or noun used adverbially, vocative=direct address as in O Wind!. Work in a little Latin and grammar during copy work time!
Culture:
Blowing in the Wind by Bob Dylan youtube video. You might want to set this up first by letting the ad play and then pausing video, then watch it together. This is to avoid annoying or questionable ads.
This song might provoke questions about the mystery of evil and what we can do in the face of it!
Biblical quotes:
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. Exodus 14:21The above quote is a good foreshadowing for next month when we'll celebrate Passover.
And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Acts 2:2
**************
Art and Music Suggestions:
I am not a big celebrator of Mardi Gras. I didn't grow up in a family that emphasized it. It was something that people in New Orleans and Brazil did, but we Irish Catholics weren't so into it! And personally I just tend to avoid anything that promotes partying and drinking to excess. BUT, I did like to listen to this Classical Kids cd on Vivaldi. It is set in Venice during Carnevale (literally means goodbye meat!). It's a great audio cd to add to your collection if you can.
Kinetic art. There are artists who make wind art. Some nice examples in that video. Here's a very brief tutorial on how kids can make a wind spinner from a paper plate.
Did you know Chopin wrote an etude about the wind? Listen to it here.
**************
Math tie ins:
What does mph mean? What's a mile? What's an hour?
How do they measure speed in Europe? Find the formula for converting miles to kilometers and make a little poster to put on the fridge so everyone can see it. You can do this or perhaps one of your kids would like to make the poster.
How far did St. Patrick travel from his home to Ireland?
What kind of measuring did you need to do for your carpentry project? (or any other project)
Every day for a week look up the wind speed for that day and record it. Then create a graph showing how it changed over the week. Have an x and a y axis, put the days of the week along one axis and the maximum wind strength on the other. Use a ruler and make it look really nice, so you can show it off! Post it on your fridge!
*******************
Some Possible Hands on Projects for this Month:
1) Salt dough Lenten crown - Ash Wednesday is 3/6/19
2) Printable Lenten Calendar from Catholic Icing
3) Learn some simple Irish jig steps, then put on some Irish music and dance with your kids! (3/17)
4) Carpentry projects for St. Joseph's Day (3/19)
5) Super simple grogger (rattle) for Purim (good for little kids)
6) Make Hamantaschen for Purim (get the kids to help with measuring ingredients)
7) Super simple windsock you can make from trash/items around the house
8) How to make a kite (for teens or younger kids working with adult)
9) Paper Airplanes! I just picked this video because there's no talking, just a guy showing you precisely how he folds his plane. It's quite complicated so this is probably best for an older kid. If you search youtube, you'll find tons of tutorials on paper airplanes.
10) Very easy to make pinwheel.
11) A cool simple demonstration that illustrates the principle of convection. You can replicate the experiment at home. Kids love this one!
12) Make your own windchimes - you can use up old odds and ends of things, keys, can lids, old cds, etc.
************************
Suggestions for Field Trips:
For Lent - your parish's regular stations of the cross for Lent. Or if that is too hard to attend with many little children, see if your parish or any near you have a special one for children. Also, if the weather cooperates, finding a church that has an outdoor stations and praying there is a wonderful idea. And no one cares as much if your baby is being noisy since it's outdoors!
In re the theme on wind:
A weather station
A sailing marina
A nautical museum
A mill of some kind
A park or some kind of nature setting where there is evidence of erosion
An airport
A flight museum
A kite flying contest
A concert featuring wind instruments
A tour of a synagogue
An Irish dance show/parade
A visit to a carpenter's shop or somehow talking to a professional carpenter
A visit to an art museum - go on a scavenger hunt for art that depicts wind!
Remember this list is just for inspirational purposes! If you wind up maybe just making pinwheels, reading a couple of picture books and attempting a stations of the cross (that one time you weren't entirely buried under exhaustion and multiple runny noses!) call it all good! If your kids don't respond to the theme of wind or weather but take off in an entirely different direction, that's great too! It's not about your plans! It's about their love for learning!
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