What? Why would we want to spend time comparing Dogs to Horses? Well, because we do what ever Barb tells us to. Over at the Autumn Study using the Handbook of Nature we are comparing items in nature – this week is Horses.

We have spent a good deal of time around horses and the weather is typical winter in the North West – so we went to the books for our observations today. I pulled the Handbook of Nature Study, a couple of Dictionaries and our Draw Write Now book.

I printed out the page from our EBook with the Horse and Dog on them.

At the whiteboard – we talked about the Venn Diagram again – After reading the descriptions out of the dictionary (threw in a little dictionary work for a 2nd and 4th grader) and looking at the print out – we came up with some fun comparisons.

We had a little preschooler prove that one comparison is that Dogs go Inside – and Like Blankets. 🙂

One of my favorite books on my homeschool shelf is the Draw Write Now.  We have used this for all ages – beginning in pre-school. We like the drawings – spelled out step by step – using shapes and letters. Since we were combining a bit of unit study with the nature study today – it was nice to have the sentences with the drawing. The boys chose which animal they wanted to do copy work with. Jon – in the 4th grade – wrote out the paragraph in the dictionary on Dogs.  Caleb, our visiting 2nd grader wrote out all of the sentences from Draw Write Now.

 
As these were two very familiar nature items, we didn’t come up with any new facts.  We did have a great time using our comparison skills. This week it went quickly, both boys and our visitors quickly got the hang of it. Having the Draw Write Now books made it handy to see comparisons in the neck and legs, the stance of how the legs sit, the tail and the ear placement. I like what I am learning as a teacher to ask more questions than I give answers. The answers that they do not “see” may come around next time. I am learning alot from the Lego League coaching, of teaching the skill, but have them find the solutions. Feels like a great turn!

Speaking of Great Turns of Events . . . . .

I am officially on the Timberdoodle Review team!! I’m not sure that I will get a lot of products, but we do have 7 years worth of purchases in the classroom. They have been our main staple. When people ask what curriculum we use – I have said – Timberdoodle as a reply many a time, and now, they offer packages of their products as well. So – like in my geography posts – you’ll see links to their products straight to Timberdoodle. And – as for today – I’ll mention that the Draw Write Now books come in a series of eight books – and we have used them for 7 years – at a price of $11.75 per book – that’s a great deal.  Timberdoodle has a new program called doodle Dollars. I can earn points for reviewing the Timberdoodle products I already love. So far, we haven’t had an “area your child didn’t like” for any of their products – so know we have LOVED them. 🙂 I’ll try to remember to photograph us using the products, like today – and mention them for doodle dollars. 🙂 I’ll post a link to Timberdoodle on the bottom of my website for you to click on to purchase anything you like here. I have talked to THREE 3 THREE moms who had not heard of Timberdoodle. Really????? I would spend hours pouring over each catalog, reading every single entry to hear what they thought about the products and see if it was a match for my boys. They never steered me wrong. I still pour over the catalogs, but now I am more familiar with the products. I can’t express how surreal it feels to now have a voice for reviewing the products. Its a weird moment. I’m sitting over a cup of coffee with the friend that turned me on to Timberdoodle Products talking about how they have benefited our homes.  Can I say Weird Moment Again? Weird Moment. :)   We’re also talking about growing up with their kids – do you remember their names? Joy, Hope, Grace, Abel, and Pearl.  Thanks Deb for a great beginning. 🙂

And – Hop on over to the Handbook of Nature Study to see the other Horse Studies.