Yellow Ball and Jenny’s Surprise Summer
Last week for Before Five in a Row I decided to do two beach stories, both of which were big hits with Ian. Yellow Ball was one of his favorites last year when we read through all the books, but Jenny’s Surprise Summer was new to both of us and definitely lived up to the reputation of the B4FIAR stories.
Altough there are lapbooks for both Yellow Ball and Jenny’s Surprise Summer on HomeschoolShare.com, I didn’t see anything I’d want to laminate and reuse with the other kids, so I ended up skipping them altogether. We did discuss most of the ideas in the book, and Ian was especially interested in then different kinds of shells in “Jenny.” When I row that one with the younger kids I’ll have to break out our shell collection (currently in storage as we’re kind of in limbo with our housing situation). I know Ian will like that, and I’m sure the others will too.
Thursday was a “field trip” day at the beach (the reason I chose these books this week). Ian and Elijah both come alive in a new way at the beach. I love the page in “Jenny” that reads, “Summer was the best time of all. It was a time for bare feet and seashells and swimming with the gulls.” Ian’s not much of a swimmer yet, but if you count splashing with glee at the water’s edge, that page describes him at the beach. He’s just in heaven, and Elijah’s right there with him.
