To learn more about MOPS, just check out the link below:
, But, back to apples and apple orchards. The Schmidt family loves all things Fall....the sound of football games on the TV, harvest time, cooler weather, the smell of pumpkin bars and apple pies baking in the oven, the changing colors, and, of course, trips to apple orchards and pumpkin patches. It was a part of Arizona living that drove me a wee bit crazy. After having grown up in the Midwest, there just seemed to be something incredibly odd about Fall days in the 100s, pumpkin patches that consisted of pre-picked pumpkins lying in piles of sand, and apple orchard visits that resulted in dust-covered toes and sweaty clothes. The whole desert Fall was a foreign experience to me, so I have found much relief in being back in the Midwest for my favorite time of the year! When I heard about a planned outing to a local apple orchard, I was SO excited.....not only for myself, but, also, for our girls!
Let the apple lesson planning commence! One of the components of the FIAR (Five in a Row) curriculum that I have really enjoyed is that it does not have to be done sequentially. Having perused through the curriculum, I knew that there was a story all about apples that would make a PERFECT connection to an apple-themed week. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, by Marjorie Priceman, was reserved immediately at the library for Family Schmidt, and apple-related activities were in the works.
To activate schema for this themed week, we listened to a story about Johnny Appleseed on YouTube:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/143622675589635225/
We also read Johnny Appleseed...A Tall Tale Retold and Illustrated by Steven Kellogg:
Then, we got to read the story for our week! If you are not familiar with the book How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, here's the story on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03XWpdfKRE
Of course, on Monday, after reading the story the first time, we had to track this amazing world adventure on a map. Here, Elle "helps" Brynn record the route.
We incorporated the apple theme into Math, too, by organizing apples from largest to smallest and making apple skip counters. In the following pictures, the girls are working on their fine motor skills by cutting out the apples and arranging them in the correct order. Clare needed help with the scissors, and since scissors were involved, we saved this activity for Elle's snack time.
Working so diligently and trying to figure out those scissors with those tiny hands.
GLUE STICKS?!?! We get to use GLUE STICKS?!?! (The things that make three-year-olds beam!)
Here is Brynn's final product. Notice Elle in the background isn't too happy about missing out on this scissor opportunity.
Clare worked so hard, too, and was so proud of what she was able to do!
On another day, we incorporated the apple theme into Math again. This time, we waited until Elle was napping and constructed our apple skip counters. The activity was modified for Clare, as she is still learning to recognize the numbers one through ten. So, she only had to create one counting strip. Since Brynn is learning to write numbers AND skip count, she practiced tracing the numbers and completed a variety of skip counting strips to run through her apple skip counter.
One passage in the story for the week read, "You won't have to go far to find an apple orchard. Pick eight rosy apples from the top of the tree. Give one to the chicken, one to the cow, and eat one yourself. That leaves five for the pie. Then hurry home."
In her journal, Brynn illustrated this Math problem:
The highlight of the week was our visit to Wilson's Apple Orchard, picking apples, and baking an apple pie with the apples that we picked. Here are some pictures of our fun Fall outing:
It was a rainy, cool day...a fabulous day to pull out the rain boots and rain coats! Clare was quick to remind me that her shirt should NOT say, "It's a cupcake day," but, rather, "It's an apple day!"
Ready for the tractor ride!
The girls were enthralled with the tractor ride...especially when we got to go right through the creek water.
All smiles out in nature!
Not even the rain could deter us from picking apples.
Trying a fabulously fresh apple turnover! YUM!
Elle refused to be the face of the deer in the picture. I can't blame her! It's Fall, and there are deer hunters out and about.
Brynn did some acrostic poetry and reflective writing about our apple orchard experience. It was a guided writing experience where she told me what to record on paper. Then, she got to add her own creative illustrations.
Making apple pie! (These pictures will be utilized next week when we write our very own "How to Make an Apple Pie in Iowa" story).
We had a little apple pie crust disaster. Sometimes when baking, things just don't turn out...
In which case, you call Daddy Extraordinaire on his cell phone and ask him if he would be willing to pick up some pre-made pie crusts.
Notice the outfit changes on both of the girls. The power just happened to go out at our home when a BIG midwestern storm blew through unexpectedly, and this, of course, happened right as we were putting our pie in the oven. We were without power for the rest of the evening, so the apple pie didn't get baked until the following day. No power was a very disappointing thing for some little people in the house. Well, let's be honest....the two older people were bummed about the lack of apple pie for dessert, too, but somehow traveling around the world to find an oven (as the book for the week may have suggested) just seemed a little bit far-fetched. We were lucky enough to travel through the house in the dark and find some candles, a lighter, and a camping lantern. The girls thought dinner by candlelight was fun. I told Scott it was kind of romantic. At which point, I am just sure that Scott thought to himself that he was surrounded by far too many girls!
After the girls were tucked into bed that night, I definitely came to the realization (once again) that I was born in the correct era....a pioneer woman I am not. Electricity is a good thing, and we were happy that the oven worked again the next day so that we could bake our apple pie!
Some proud apple pie bakers!
Add some ice cream and voila....we had a fabulous Schmidt Family Fall dessert!
And, finally, to conclude our apple learning, Brynn got to use an application called "Disney Story" to write her very own book on the I-Pad. This experience had her engaged immediately, and I was astounded at how quickly she grasped how to type her ideas and integrate pictures into the program. Sharing her work with Daddy that night before dinner was SUCH a highlight for her, and that night, we even had power! Here is a link to the application:
And, here are snapshots off of the I-Pad of Brynn's book entitled "A-Peeling Brynn:"
Clare got to do some guided writing with this, too. Her book read:
"I'm an 'A-Peeling' kiddo! My favorite color is BLUE! My favorite thing to do is PLAY WITH MY TOYS! My favorite food is MASHED POTATOES! I am really good at PLAYING WITH MY DOCTOR KIT! When I grow up, I WANT TO BE A DOCTOR!"
It was another great week of learning at Household Schmidt, and for this we rejoice:
"Oh, the Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need:
The sun, the rain, and the APPLE SEED;
The Lord is good to me.
For every seed I sow,
An APPLE TREE will grow,
And there will be APPLES there,
Enough for the whole wide world to share,
The Lord is good to me!"
No comments:
Post a Comment