Storytime with Mrs. Holder ~ The Rag Coat ~ Written by Lauren Mills

Another free slideshow by Smilebox

Social Studies Topics:


School of the Past ~ Both the text and the illustrations of this story provide insight into the makings of a one-room schoolhouse. Take time to discuss Minna's school experience i.e. her excitement about attending school, as well as the reasons why she had never attended school even though she was eight years old.  Ask your child how Minna traveled to school and how that differs for many students nowadays.

The text gives some descriptive clues about a one-room schoolhouse such as "one room filled with fourteen children" and "I was put in the front row with the youngest ones". The illustrations provide even more detail including a wood stove with a bucket beside it, wooden desks wide enough to fit two students, chalkboard slates, a wooden building, a single teacher, and one reader on each desk.

Work with your child to make a list about some of the information learned about a one-room schoolhouse, or  use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast a one-room schoolhouse learning environment with a present-day brick and mortar school, or with your own homeschooling learning environment.

A couple of videos to broaden your child's learning:
A One-Room Schoolhouse Video ~ A little amateur, but still well done.

One Room Schoolhouse Song ~ An original by a Canadian artist.

*** Other themes that are presented through this story include coal mining, funerals, taunting, forgiveness, quilting, and contentment.  Reading and simply discussing these themes can help stretch your child's thinking in wonderful ways.

Be a Blessing!
During this story the quilting moms gather scraps of material from their own rag shelves to piece together a  gift coat for Minna.  The making of the coat was only possible through the helping and intentional giving of several women coming together with a common purpose.  Each gave a little to achieve a grand result. Perhaps you and your child could set up a Donation Station in your home where unused, gently used, or even brand new items could be collected.  Once the Donation Station is filled, take a trip to your favourite charity drop-off center and be a blessing.  Keep your ears and eyes open for other opportunities to share what you have with others in a practical way.

Storytime with Mrs. Holder ~ Pettranella ~ Betty Waterton

We carry Pettranella in our picnic bag to the park outside our home.  After setting up lunch on napkins and reciting words from His Word, I pull out the picture book and begin reading to listening ears.

It is interesting how learning can be the layering of knowledge, not necessarily intentionally, but just because there has been wonderful experiences set in place before. 

As I begin sharing the story of Pettranella and her family immigrating to Canada,  the girls are reminded of how Great Grandma's family had once crossed the wild Atlantic to emigrate from Norway. As Pettranella and her family set out towards their homestead, the girls are able to visualize all about that pioneering adventure from many stories before.  And when Pettranella and her family sleep under the stars and witness the northern lights, the girls make sense of the scene because Exploring Creation with Astronomy had just taught them that the auroras are simply solar flares bursting from the sun.  We read about red winged blackbirds that sing around Pettranella's homestead, and remember the red winged blackbirds singing around our own heads just last month at the park.  And when Pettranella decides to leave some of her flowers "to grow beside the trail, that other settlers might see them and not feel lonely" we think about Miss Rumphius and her scattering of lupine seeds to make the world more beautiful.

May this sweet story be a learning blessing to you and your family too.

This free slideshow design customized with Smilebox

Related Social Studies Topics and Activities:


Family ~ Discuss with your child your own family tree. If desired, draw out your family tree or use a printable like these. To learn a bit  more about the country of your heritage, get a book from the library, colour its flag, taste a specific food item, or find something that symbolizes its culture.     Take your child's learning further by encouraging him to present his findings to your family or to a group of friends.

Mapping ~ Take a peek at the world map with your child.  Find the countries of Europe, where it is likely that Pettranella emigrated from, and follow a route across the Atlantic.  What "wide river" and "lonely land" would Pettranella and her family be travelling up and across.  Can you find a wide river and the land leading west on your map?  Can you find a "settlement" where two rivers meet where Pettranella's father may have gathered his supplies?  Can you find Manitoba on a map of Canada?  Do you live to the east or to the west of Manitoba?

Early Settlers Fieldtrip ~ Have you and your child visited your community's museum?  Even tiny communities have some sort of historical memorial to recognize the beginnings of the community.  Why not take a fieldtrip and visit your nearest historical museum.  Take time to notice and discuss how "things" have changed from then to now.

Related Links:
Petranella Mini Unit Study
Canada Picture Book Notebooking Page

Be a Blessing!
Pettranella's grandmother blessed her at the beginning of the story by giving Pettranella a special and meaningful gift to remember her by.   At the end of the story Pettranella becomes the one who provides the blessing by choosing to leave some of her flowers to grow beside the road for others to enjoy.  Perhaps there is someone in your child's life who could use a little lift in their spirit through a thoughtful and meaningful gift.  Perhaps a lovely little gift card would look adorable attached with an encouraging word inside?

Storytime with Mrs. Holder ~ Katy and the Big Snow ~ Virginia Lee Burton

Below is an orchestrated retelling of Katy and the Big Snow that works well to share with you this classic story. {The voice is somewhat "boomy", but persevere through the listening.}



Social Studies Topics to Consider:
Geoppolis is the town for the setting of this story.  Geoppolis is a fictional place, but interestingly "geo" means  earth and "polis" means a city-state, implying that Geoppolis represents a typical city anywhere on earth.

Mapping and Community: This story draws the reader to further explore map skills through it's detailed illustrations.  Encourage your child to build a city named "Geoppolis" by using all the blocks that you can find in your home.  Create paper signs to label buildings, making sure to include many of the buildings referred to in Katy and the Big Snow  {i.e. school, factory, stores, post office, fire department, hospital, police station, post office, telephone company, electric company, water company, airport, etc.}.  As well, consider printing some road signs here or here and add them to your map.  Figure out which way is north and add a compass rose to your map. For the more adventurous, add some shaving cream for snow and have some snowplowing fun!

Be a Blessing!
In this story, Katy is a hard worker who perseveres through the task set before her with great endurance.  Discuss with your child what being a hard worker looks like.  Provide your child with examples of when he/she has demonstrated perseverance by working hard.  Discuss ways in which the people in your family could bless someone by working hard.  Perhaps grabbing some shovels after the next snowfall and helping to clear a neighbour's driveway could be a blessing to someone living on your street.

Storytime with Mrs. Holder ~ A New Coat for Anna ~ Harriet Ziefert

Personalize a slideshow

Social Studies Topics to Consider:

Trading Versus Selling and Buying ~ Due to the struggles associated with WWII, Anna and her mother have very little money.  In order to get Anna a new coat, Anna's mother decides to trade some of her "nice" things {Grandfather's gold watch, a lamp, a garnet necklace, and a pretty teapot} for the services and materials needed to make a coat.  Discuss the concept of trading with your child, pointing out that the worth of the materials and services being traded need to carry a certain value for each person within the trade. Consider setting up a trading scenario with your child using materials or services that are meaningful to him/her.

Natural Resources ~ Parts of Anna's new coat come from resources found in the natural world.  The wool that makes the yarn comes from sheep, and the dye for the yarn comes from freshly picked lingonberries.

Here is a video describing the traditional way of processing wool:


If your child is interested in the concept of how cloth is made from various natural resources, consider sharing a couple of these videos:
Cotton Picking Time Down South
Eagle Cotton Gin at Work
Making Linen from Flax

Community Workers ~ If you have an ongoing "Community Helpers/Workers" list to add to, make sure to add to it "sheep farmer", "spinner", "weaver" and "tailor".  Although the spinner and weaver are no longer very prominent community workers, still include them, and mark them with a special symbol to indicate that they are from "Days Gone By" or "Days Long Ago".  Your child may also enjoy acting out this story as you read it, or illustrating the various community helpers described.

Be a Blessing!
Just as Anna and her mother demonstrated beautiful hospitality to those who had helped them make Anna's coat during the past year, consider planning a special tea and Christmas cake celebration to help your child practice the skill of hospitality. Bless someone who has been a blessing to your family during this past year.

Storytime with Mrs. Holder ~ The Little House ~ Virginia Lee Burton

This free slideshow design made with Smilebox

"Change Over Time" is the main theme of this story and can be explored at a variety of levels.

For the younger student, discuss how the environment around the "little house" changes throughout the story. You may want to draw two scenes with your child - one that represents the country and one that represents the city.  While drawing together, discuss the changes that take place.  As a follow-up, discuss changes that have taken place in your child's own life.  An interesting project would be to create a linear timeline or a booklet of each year of your child's life.  Include the child's age, a photo, abilities, and interests for each year represented.

A couple of years ago, I designed a unit study to go along with The Little House. For the older student, you may like to complete some of the activities presented in this unit study. The activities mainly address learning outcomes for grades 2 and 3.

Related Links:

An interesting interpretation of The Little House using the illustrations and music.

A complete unit study at Homeschool Share.

Another complete unit study to coincide with The Little House

Be a Blessing

During this story, the "little house" changes from being immaculately cared for, to being neglected, to being cared for again. There is also a sense of appreciation for the beauty of creation. Consider blessing those in your community by "making it more beautiful" in some way. Picking up litter is an easy way to help make your community more beautiful, but for the more adventurous, consider requesting permission to paint an old park bench or fire hydrant, or possibly spread wildflower seeds in a weedy ditch. 

Storytime with Mrs. Holder ~ Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel ~ Pictures and Story by Virginia Lee Burton

{Dear Parents: In the illustration on the last page of this story, the character Mike Mulligan is smoking a pipe. There is mention of smoking a pipe in the text, but I skipped that line in my reading. This is just a little "heads-up" for those parents who may not want to share this story with their child due to this feature.}

Make a slideshow

Social Studies Topics:

Technology Related Activities:

List Making and Sorting ~ Make a list of the types of technology described and/or shown throughout the pages of this story. {Your list may include: steam shovel, ship, sailboat, train, pick-up truck, bus, automobile, delivery truck, airplane, dump truck, bulldozer, cart, lawnmower, etc.} Cut your list apart and sort the types of technology into groups using headings such as: Technology Used in the Past, Technology Used by Me Today, Technology that Needs Fuel, Technology that Has Wheels, Technology that is Used for Transportation.

If your child is interested in the idea of the use of steam to power machinery, you may consider viewing this website:
How Steam Engines Work


Community Helpers Related Activities:

List Making ~ List making is a great way to record information. If your child is in kindergarten or grade one, then I encourage you to use a file folder (or something else that is permanent), entitle it "Community Helpers", and begin to record community helpers that your come across in literature, through discussion or in real life experiences. This list is an ongoing project that can be added to throughout the year. For this story, your list may include community helpers such as: constable, selectmen {similar to city council}, postman, telegraph boy, doctor, farmer, fireman, teacher, etc.

Other related links:
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel ~ Publisher's Website ~ Read more about Virginia Lee Burton, as well as find some printable activities to coincide with Mike Mulligan.

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel - video - part 1
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel - video - part 2
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel - video - part 3


Be a Blessing
Discuss with your child how the encouragement of the crowd helped Mike and MaryAnne work faster and better.  Encourage your child to be an encouragement to others by cheering them on.  Try to think of specific examples when your child could cheer someone else on {i.e. when a younger sibling is drawing a picture or building something with blocks}.

Consider blessing some constructions workers in your neighbourhood.  How about taking them some coffee on a cool day? Maybe some muffins too?

Storytime with Mrs. Holder ~ A Chair for My Mother ~ Vera B. Williams

{Dear Families:  I would like your feed back on the quality of sound for the story reading.  Is it understandable, or is it too distorted for your child to enjoy the story?  If you have an extra moment, please send me a little email to let me know.  Thanks so much!}  

Make your own free photo slideshow

Activities:

Fire Safety: The reference to the house fire within the story provides an excellent launching point to discuss fire safety with your child. Here are a few helpful links:

Fire Safety Archived Post
Burn Awareness ~ Some printable activities and videos to teach both burn awareness and fire safety.

Unit Study: A few years ago, I put together a unit study to correspond with A Chair for My Mother. The activities within the unit study address a variety of social studies learning outcomes. If desired, browse through and pick and choose activities that are of interest to you and your child. Here's the link: A Chair for My Mother Unit Study

Be a Blessing:

The family in this story consists of a little girl, her single mother and her grandmother.  When they face a hardship (a house fire), it seems that the entire community surrounds them with love. Can you and your child think of someone in your community that could use a little love surrounding? A mother with a new baby, a newly moved-in family, a lonely neighbour, an unloved one on the street? Can you think of a way to bless them?

The greatest gift of all is to become the blessing. ~ Ann Voskamp

Storytime with Mrs. Holder ~ When I Was Young in the Mountains - by Cynthia Rylant

This free picture slideshow made with Smilebox

Social Studies Topic: Family

The concept of family is strongly presented throughout this story.   However there is never any mention of a mother or a father, as it seems that the grandparents are the primary caregivers for the children.  Discuss the roles and responsibilities of each family member as presented throughout the story. 

Some activity ideas:

Venn Diagram:

Use a Venn diagram to compare the student’s family with the family in the story.  A Venn diagram consists of two circles interlinking.  Similarities between the two families are  recorded in the middle section where the circles interlink.  Differences are recorded in the outside areas. 

To access a printable Venn Diagram, click here: Venn Diagram

Flap Book:

Create a flap book by folding a piece of paper “hotdog” style (lengthwise).  Then cut up to the folded line on one side of the paper 3 times to create 4 flaps.  Label the top of each flap with the name or title of a family member from the story (i.e. grandfather, grandmother, granddaughter, brother/grandson).  Use the space under the flap to write information about and/or draw a picture of the family member.  This activity can be done for the student's own family as well.   

List Making:

Ask your child what the theme in the story is .  Although there are some themes like “Living in the olden days” or “Life in the mountains”, the underlying theme is “contentment”.  This is evidenced by the last line of the story, “And that was always enough.”  Enjoy studying the illustrations and notice the content expressions on the characters faces.   Make a list of things that make the family in the story content.  Then make a list of things that make your family content.  Circle the items that are similar in both lists.  

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” ~ 1 Timothy 6:6

Be a Blessing:

Encourage your child to bless his/her grandparents by writing them a letter telling them "thank you" for spending some special time with them.  At the end of the letter, your child may want to ask for the grandparent to write back with a story about the "olden days".