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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

sunflower story and an art lesson

So, our official school days are coming to a close. I had wanted to do some BIG LAST DAY OF SCHOOL but it seems we are just petering out.
 
Of course, this is all just techincally, because, as you know, with little kids the learning never stops (even if its just learning how to stand on the stool to get at mom's hidden stash of chocolate, HA)

I plan on doing a lot this summer and found myself feeling re-energized to come up with a new daily schedule and new topics to work on, just in a less formal way. I'm thinking reading every morning (Swiss Family Robinson or Burgess's Animal Book of Stories, etc) outside play, and of course lots of time in the garden, then seasonal crafts and art and helping mom bake and so on. I also plan on making a math board game to practice our math concepts over the summer and we will do daily reading together with little man to keep his reading fresh (and because he is suddenly super gung ho about it, and writing too, which is adorable. He bought a little red journal with his own money at the store the other day and carries it around to write in. I LOVE it.) Sneaky school. HA.
 
And then things like the below. We read a little board book about Van Gogh, and then I drew one of the pictures on the chalkboard and then the kids did their own version while we read the below story about sunflowers. Adorable, right? If I do something once a week like this over the summer and I will feel totally good about myself. And its all about me, right?? (HA.)
 
Okay, so I had planned on going out and planting a sunflower house in our garden afterwards (sunflowers in a round circle with a little gap for a doorway...think of how fun and pretty it will be in August!!) and I was going to be all braggy about it and post pictures here BUT we didnt do it for another several days AND I did it myself because the kids couldnt care less about planting seeds now that the novelty has worn off (not entirely true, baby dear was very enthusiastic, as she ripped up seedlings and newly planted seeds from around the garden and smushed them down in the dirt saying "NITE NITE SEEDS. GO TO BED. COZY COZY. NITE NITE!" Awww, how sweet though, you say, right? Yea, except I'm like, NO! STOP!!! MY SEEDS!!! So, yes, not so picturesque. HA HA. ) AND in any case I am pretty sure the birds have eaten up most of the sunflower and pumpkin and squash seeds I've planted because it has now been over a week and I see no signs of sprouting....
 
In any case, below is an inspiration picture if you want to try (NOT my garden, not yet anyhow, HA HA) If it does come up you can be sure that I will share here. SMILE.

So. Those are my summer school thoughts. I may get more organized around August...or JULY...when we get bored and restless. But for now, easy summer days are in order.

Here is the story we read. ENJOY. (Hoping you have actual summer sun in your neck of the woods)



WHY THE SUNFLOWERS HANG THEIR HEADS

 ONCE upon a time when Old Mother Nature was busy planting her seed babies,—long, long ago, when the world was very new,—a beautiful red-bird brought her two, small, brown seeds and told her to plant them well.
"If they are brave seeds and grow their best," said the red-bird, "they shall have blossoms like the sun, and be almost as beautiful." Then the red-bird flew quickly away.
Now Old Mother Nature loved the sun because he never failed to send the sunbeams when she needed them to help her care for the seeds,—he even drew water-drops from the rivers and made clouds of them that the rain-drops might help her, too.
So she felt very glad that these two new seeds might some day bear blossoms that would look like the sun, and she covered them over very gently, near the tall fence, and left them to grow.
Every day she visited them and whispered softly:
"Wake little seeds, wake and grow, higher and higher to the top of the fence. Wake, wake, and look first for the sun, for your blossoms will be large and bright like him; wake, wake, I say!"
By and by the sleeping seeds heard, and stirred in their brown beds.
"Come," said the little sister seed, "some one is calling; don't you hear?"
Now the little brother seed was very fat and very lazy,—he wanted to sleep all the time. So when he heard dear Old Mother Nature calling to him he rubbed his eyes drowsily and said:
"I don't want to get up! I am not going to try to grow. It is too much trouble to reach to the top of the fence, and I don't believe any plant can grow so high.
"And I don't believe we will have blossoms to look like the sun, either; no I don't!"
"Why-y!" said the little sister seed, "I  believe what dear Old Mother Nature says, and I am going to try my very best to grow—try, try, try, try,—try to climb even higher than the fence.
"You try, too, little brother; there is always somebody to help, you know." "We'll help," sang the sunbeam fairies. "We'll help," sang the rain-drop fairies.
"We'll help," sang the dew-drop fairies.
So, you see, all were ready to do their part if only the little brother seed would just try.
But he would not, and turning over in his soft, brown bed he lay still night and day, night and day, sleeping, sleeping, always sleeping.
Now the little sister seed began at once to grow. She stretched her tiny foot roots down, and her tiny hands up, and pushed and pushed until she pushed right through the brown earth covering into the light of the bright outside world, with the blue, blue sky and white clouds sailing overhead,—and the grasses and flowers below.
Then she remembered what dear Old Mother Nature had told her about the sun. And just then he came from behind a gray cloud in all his glorious splendour and shone down on the little sister seed, making her feel warm and glad.
"Oh, you wonderful sun!" she said, "to think that a little brown seed may some day have a blossom to look like you! Oh, joy, joy, joy!"
All day she kept her face turned towards his golden light, and longed for her blossom which was to be like him.
Then she thought again of the little brother seed asleep in the earth, and felt so sorry that he, too, was not with her in the beautiful outside world.
As she climbed higher and higher, she kept calling to him:
"Wake, little brother; oh, come up and grow! Such wonderful things I see up here in the light! Come out of the dark and climb with me."
But the fat little brother seed would not, though she begged him so. He only stretched himself lazily and turned over for another nap—forgetting about his beautiful blossom and all.
Higher and higher and higher, against the tall, dark fence, climbed the dear little sister plant, reaching out her broad leaves for the sunbeams to flit across, and the rain-drops to bathe.
And one morning she found herself so tall, why,—she peeped right over the fence!
"We told you so," said the sunbeam fairies.
"We told you so," sang the rain-drop fairies.
"We told you so," carolled the birds.
But though the little sister plant had now reached to the top of the fence she did not stop trying, but grew still taller and taller as she kept watching the sun and thinking of the beautiful blossom which had been promised her,—yellow and bright like the sun.
By and by a green bud came, growing larger and rounder each day, and again the happy little sister plant whispered to the fat little brother under the ground, begging him to come. But he would not try.
Another bud came to the little sister, and another, until there were a cluster of buds tucked away in their green hoods, waiting for the sun to open them.
Then, one happy, happy morning when the flowers in the old garden woke, there stood the glorious sunflower plant, bearing high her cluster of wide open blossoms—each one beautiful and yellow like the sun.
But, though they always smile at the sun, the beautiful yellow blossoms keep their heads bowed towards the earth-watching for the little brother, calling for him to try.
And so to-day you see them still, ever bending, ever watching for the little brother who would not come.
 
 
photo from here
 




i love how little miss has like an abstract picasso version. also the face. HA.




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