Books, Review, Homeschooling, Story Telling, Poetry, Library

Around these parts when we talk about W.I.P. (work in progress) we are not always speaking about what's on our needles or looms. Often we set aside our normal crafting and work on designing units for the wee ones. These units give us all a chance to really dig into a topic in depth and the children always enjoy them.

Right now I'm working on a 12 week unit on Native Americans, specifically, we will be learning about the Native Americas in 4 very different regions of North America; the Northeastern Woodlands, The Southwest, The Great Plains and The Northwest Coast. We will be learning about their way of life and comparing the lifestyles of these 4 different regions. 

Studies are cross curriculum and include science, where we will be learning about four different types of vertebrates, mammals, fish, birds and lizards, highlighting one animal from each region. There is plenty of reading, both aloud and independently, with basic language art skills including comprehension, vocabulary, dictionary skills and writing. Plus, the Native American culture is rich in lore and storytelling, and we will be reading many tales from each region.

And, of course, there will be many hands-on activities. Some of the crafting projects I'm working on right now are corn husk dolls, drums, wampum jewelry, totem poles and Kachina dolls. Plus, there will be plenty of recipes, music and art appreciation.

So... why am I telling you all of this? Because you can expect to see many of the crafts shared here... both before hand as I'm working on the craft, and then later when the wee ones are actually participating. Also, we will share our Native American Unit in much the same fashion as we did the Harvest Time, Winter Wonderland and Spring B's curriculum. Do note, however, this unit is meant for 1st - 4th grade and it will run 12 weeks. We will share more info about it when we are closer to completion :)    

Here is a collection of our FREE homeschool companion guides and resources.

Preschool-Kindergarten (4-6 years old)
Here are three 12 week units that flow with the seasons. Enjoy a gentle start to your child's education while you read, explore and craft together. Click here to learn how to use this program.

 

I know many of you have been waiting for this unit... I am happy to say it is now up. Enjoy!

Our winner of the Winter Wonderland Give Away is...

Submitted by Kristy on Sat, 01/15/2011 - 10:38.

What a nice thing to do!
I would share these books with my 3 nature loving, homeschool girls.

Congratulations, Kristy. Just send your snail mail address to weefolkart@yahoo.com and we will send it along to Sarah. Please contact us by January 24 or we will select a new winner.

Thanks to everyone that entered, and thank you so much, Sarah, for thinking about Wee Folk Art and sharing this generous give away with us all!

EDIT: The Giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announced soon. Check back soon for the winner. Good luck one and all :)

Here is an email we got a couple days ago from one of our readers:

Hello,
I have been following your home school curriculum and have bought the books for them from an online store that sells used books. Well I had bought several books (I can Let you know which ones) and they got lost in the mail. The store very kindly replaced them but a couple of days ago (and about 6 weeks late) a very batter box showed up with the original books still in fine shape. I contacted the company and they said there was no need to send them back and if I don't have any use for them I should donate them. If you would like to give them away on your blog I can send them to you (or directly to the winner). I understand if you are not interested I just thought I would ask.

Thank you for everything!
~Sarah

My response was basically OMG... how awesome! Yes, we'd love to help you donate your books to one of our readers! So, she sent the list...

How Do you know it's winter?
Hibernation
Animals in Winter
Gregory's Shadow
what Makes a shadow?
The mitten
under the snow
Grady the goose
What is Migration?
Valentine Bears
Grizzly bear family book
Snow Dogs! Racers of the north
Owl Moon
Where are the night animals?
St.Patrick's day in the Morning.

She wanted to make sure that everyone was aware that the books are used but they are still in great shape. She bought them from betterworldbooks.com

So there you have it. Sarah is donating 15 books to one lucky WFA reader. Even if you are not doing the Winter Wonderland Unit, how cool would it be to receive ALL these books, and all the better that the have been previously loved :)

For your chance to win, simply leave a comment here telling us who you would be sharing the books with.

A winner will be drawn at random on Monday, January 17 at 9:00 p.m. EST. Then Sarah will have the books off to you "toot sweet"! 

BTW... Sarah is sharing these books out of the goodness of her heart. She is also paying the shipping for the books to be sent to the winner. She never mentioned it, but I happen to know Sarah is the owner of the Etsy shop Nothing But Soap. I buy soap from her for myself and for gift giving. As a way of saying Thank You to her for her generosity, do yourself a favor and pay her shop a visit!

Thank you Sarah, and good luck to everyone!