The Power of Narrative

I read.  A lot.  

 

(Maggie at 5 months)

It started during my childhood.  We would pile onto my parents' bed and my mother would read novels aloud to us.  When I was old enough, I began reading to my siblings -- bedtime stories to my younger sister when I was in elementary school,classic children's literature to my youngest brothers when I was in middle school.  (And all the books that were banned from the library when I was in high school...but just to myself.  Reading banned books should be a solitary endeavor.)

Because I love books, it was natural for me to begin reading aloud to my own children as soon as I found out I was pregnant with the first. 

Six years later, we still read together every night. Each of my girls reads a picture book with mommy while the other puts on jammies, brushes teeth, etc.  When everyone is situated in their beds, they listen to me read a chapter from the Little House series.  

And when all the kisses and hugs are done and little eyes are closed for the night, I sneak to my own room and read until I fall asleep, too.

"A Story"

by Lena

The Production

From an early age, Maggie showed a flair for the dramatic.  So, when she decided to put on a puppet show,it became A Production.

The Players: stuffed animals dressed in costume; one bride, one groom, and a window seat filled with guests

The Scene: a wedding reception featuring flashcards, marbles, and pick-up sticks as refreshments

The Plot: Cheer Bear and Birthday Bear exchange rings then serve the refreshments

The Audience: Mommy and Lena

CLAY!!!

We love Crayola Air Dry Clay.  It is a staple supply in our history studies. When I pull out our Kingfisher Book of the Ancient World, Maggie pulls out the clay. 

Tiny clay replicas of pinch pots and coil pots made by neolithic civilizations.

Tiny clay replicas of cuneiform tablets from ancient Sumer.

Ancient Egypt

We began our study of history at 10,000 B.C. Since then, we have learned about the paleo-Indians in North America who hunted woolly mammoths, hunter-gatherers in Mesopotamia who established the first villages of record, and the beginnings of ancient city-states.

Now begins our study of ancient Egypt.  Because we have so many artifacts, writings, and monuments from this civilization, it was difficult to choose which projects to do to supplement our learning.  So, we started small...

 

The evolution of monument building -- tiny clay replicas of a mastaba, steppe pyramid, and pyramid.

 

A translation of Maggie's hieroglyphs on "papyrus" (really, just homemade paper) -- 

"I am happy because Mommy hugged me" and "Happy Maggie loves Sad Maggie Crown"