Thursday, September 8, 2011
We've been reading slowly through Charles Micucci's The Life and Times of the Apple, this week. It's a nonfiction, picture book, that is good for younger, and older children to enjoy together. Covering topics from the biology, and life cycle of an apple, to geography, history (with an old earth perspective, mind you), folklore, and uses of the apple, there is something new to learn on every page.
Each topic is presented in a two page format. The first page contains a short paragraph, or two, which younger children should enjoy along with the lively illustrations. The second pages go into greater detail, such as labeling the parts of an apple blossom, mapping and graphing apple growth around the world, charting cross-fertilization of apples, or illustrating the step by step process of grafting.
There's a fantastic amount of knowledge contained in the short 32 pages. Did you know, for instance, there are almost 10,000 kinds of apples known, and grown around the world? That's certainly more than we normally see represented at our local grocery store.
While we discussed the varieties of apples illustrated in The Life and Time of the Apple, and in a few of the other books we've been reading this week, I traced out a few apple shapes, for the girls to color in, and cut out.
Once they had them ready, I traced out letters on the the apples, in glue...
...for them to cover in apple seeds...
...for some impromptu spelling practice.
For more story themed arts and craft extensions for children, be sure to check out the stART (story + ART) link-up, over at A Mommy's Adventures, which has been on summer hiatus, but will be stARTing back up this fall (excuse the pun - I just couldn't resist).
And, although the project above is not a geography or history project, Micucci's book contains enough maps, time-lines, and historical tidbits, to link it into the Geography and History link-up at All Things Beautiful.
It's great to be a homeschooler.