times table intro wrap-up

It was a very abbreviated week this week, due to J's illness (he's doing much better now, although he's on antibiotics for the first time in his life). So we only had time to work with one story -- a perfect time for my custom-made story, "A Strange Thanksgiving". I told the story yesterday, and the boys LOVED it. Then today we recalled the story, then did a free drawing.

Above is J's drawing, near the end of the story, where Busy Boy is holding perfectly still for the first time in his life, while the rest of the Strange Family scurries around the Dolphin tank trying to figure out why the Dolphin is sick. (Since this story was custom-written for my kids, I was able to incorporate memories from a recent visit to the Aquarium, and was able to set it as Thanksgiving approached -- I just love the flexibility of homeschooling!!)


Zoo Boy's drawing is above, of the suitcase that each of the Strange Family packed -- Father packed his items one by one; Grandmother packed two bags, one with her clothes, the other with scarves that she's knitting for her grandchildren for the winter holidays; Little Brother packed his backpack by shoving in three garments at a time; Big Sister crammed far too many things in her suitcase; Mother collected her belongings from all over the room and neatly packed them; and Busy Boy was so busy watching everyone else get ready to leave, he forgot to pack anything at all! (That got big laughs from my kids!)

The story went on to talk about the family they were going to visit, then they arrived, had their reunion, and ate their dinner. Then the phone rang, and it was the Aquarium where cousin Twyla worked as a dolphin trainer -- her favorite dolphin was sick! The family rushed to the aquarium to help, each in his own way, until Busy Boy discovered the truth -- that the dolphin had a ball stuck in his throat! My drawing below shows the victory celebration, with Twyla and her dolphin putting on the best Thanksgiving Day dolphin show ever held anywhere!

(If anyone would like a copy of the actual story, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll be happy to send it to you.)

While we were recalling the story this morning, I revealed some drawings I had prepared of the rest of the Strange Family: Auntie, Uncle, and the four cousins, Nina, Tina, Ellen and Twyla. (Their traits are described in the story itself, I only put the name of the number they represent on the drawing, not in the story.) I had already listed the counting-by numbers on the opposite side of the page. Here's what they looked like:

After we were done with our drawing, I hung all the extra drawings with the others in the hallway. Here they will sit while I let the entire topic "rest" for a few months. (We'll be moving on to another math topic after some more cultural and Language Arts work.)