Remember the Alamo!

March is hardest month of the year, in my opinion.  I am sure glad my anniversary is in March to break up the monotony, but for my children that is little consolation.  We are all SO tired of cold, snow, and winter.  It was not this way when we lived in a warmer climate, but Idaho seems to have winter for 9 months of the year and in March it is....just....dragging.....on.....and......on.....and.....on......

So I created a March Madness calendar this year to help break up the boredom and to add some change to the routine.  We have done a lot of fun, different things, but the point is that we do something out of the routine each day.  March 6 is "Remember the Alamo" day.  In 1836 a small group of Texans were killed defending the mission turned fort from an assault by Santa Anna and the Mexican army.  It is a sad but inspiring story, and it made a different sort of school morning for us last week. 

First I read the book Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story by John Jakes.  It has been one of my favorite books since I first read it many years ago.  It is a lengthy picture book that includes the facts the characters that make up the story of the Alamo and Texas independence.  Then we read
A Possum's Remember the Alamo and the Legend of Davy Crockett by Jamey M. Long.  The great thing about this book is that it comes with a link and a coupon code at the back of the book that will allow you to listen to the story being read.  While the children listened to this book and then watched the Disney movie Davy Crockett, I read a book in the bathtub.  A great day for all concerned.  We did the rest of our school work in the afternoon.  We all enjoyed the change of routine. 
             

We had a similar fun day earlier when we discussed the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC and ate cherries.  It was fun to learn why the nation's capital is full of cherry trees.

If you want some ideas for upcoming events to learn about, I'll list a few here.  Let me know if you want more.

March 14 - Albert Einstein's Birthday (We will spend our day doing science projects.)
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 20 - First day of spring (We are going to have a Spring Into Spring party.  Most of the world will be warm although I have my doubts about Idaho.)
March 21 - Johann Sebastian Bach's birthday
March 24 - Beginning of Passover (We are going to watch "The Ten Commandments")
March 30 - Vincent Van Gogh's birthday (Art projects today)

April 1 - April Fool's Day
April 2 - Hans Christian Andersen's birthday
April 10 - Arbor Day
April 13 - Thomas Jefferson's birthday
April 14 - Webster's Dictionary Published (1828)
April 15 - Titanic sank
April 18 - Paul Revere's ride
April 22 - Earth Day
April 23 - William Shakespeare's birthday
April 30 - (1789) George Washington becomes our first president

We will not celebrate every one of these days.  For us, it depends on what else is happening that particular day or what day of the week it falls on.  But this is a place to start.  When we can't see anything fun for a while, we make up our own day.  We are going to have "Strawberry Day" this spring and learn about strawberries and EAT A LOT of them. 

Have fun and good luck making it through the blahs and onto SUMMER ---- YEAH!!!

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March Picture Books

First let me say, I'm not trying to be a liar.  It is March and I am only now posting about these books.  In my defense, one of our laptops broke this month and I have had the twins taking driver's education online besides the other usual computer use so the chances of me getting turn at the computer have been slim to none.  And I can't really blog from my phone, though I do check my mail and facebook from it.  They finished yesterday so hopefully the computer will be less in demand.

I am going to recommend books about St. Patrick's Day.  Having some Irish ancestry paired with the fact that by March 17th everyone is in need of some holiday cheer, means that this holiday has always been a fun break in our not-quite-spring routine.  After all, it is all just fun:  dressing in green, making crafts and food around Ireland and shamrocks, eating green food, and any excuse for a party anyway!

My favorite book about St. Patrick himself is Saint Patrick by Ann Tompert.  This children's book was based on a letter written by Saint Patrick in his old age and therefore is less myth than some books, although we don't really know a lot about the man his own words are used throughout the story.  Unfortunately I see that it is out of print and quite expensive.  A good substitute might be Patrick Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie DaPaola.  
 
                                                 
A fun collection that I found this year and am enjoying is called A Pot O' Gold: A Treasury of Irish Stories, Poetry, Folklore, and (of course) Blarney by Kathleen Krull.  If you don't have a lot of books about this holiday, this would be a fun one with a bit of everything.
                                                                 
And then, three picture books that I like, though there are several others that are fun, too. I love to read in my "Irish" accent to the children. I wouldn't let anyone else hear me, but it is fun for us.  Have a very happy St. Patrick's Day!



Fiona's Luck
by Teresa Bateman

A Fine St. Patrick's Day
by Susan Wojciechowski



O'Sullivan Stew
Hudson Talbot



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