PREPARING FOR HOMESCHOOL CO-OP

As I prepare for co-ops this fall….I have the privilege of teaching the younger crew….it should be fun….I love storybooks and I enjoying using Five in A Row years ago with my first BATCH of kiddos….

BURN OUT WITH FIVE IN A ROW??? VERY HARD!!!

I burned out that time years ago when I used 5 in a Row WITH MY OLDEST 3 KIDS…which is almost impossible with Five in A Row since it is stress free….I OVERDID IT…I think I checked out 20 books each week to RESEARCH my topics thoroughly…it seems silly and funny now….BUT NOT THEN…The kids didn’t notice but OH BOY that was a doosey school year.

We had to put Five In A Row away for an extended Holiday Break!! My friend still laughs at me…she remembers asking me…

”HOW IN THE WORLD did you burnout using FIVE IN A ROW…..its almost impossible!”

FIVE IN A ROW - THE STORY ABOUT PING:

RESOURCES FROM 3 EXCELLENT BLOGGERS

A portion of this  BLOG POST is from HOPE IS THE WORD. She has awesome pics that inspired me to repost her info….thanks!! Please see the pics at her blog which is linked above.

 THE STORY ABOUT PING

The Story About Ping probably doesn’t need much of an introduction, but I wanted to share a few of the books we read and an activity we did in relation to this story.  For those who are unfamiliar with this classic tale, it’s Marjorie Flack’s story of a little duck named Ping who lives with his large family on “a boat with two wise eyes on the Yangtze River” in China.  The ducks all leave their home during the day to hunt for food, but once the sun begins to set, the Master of the boat calls them back.  It is unfortunate, though, to be the last duck to return; this duck always receives a spank on the back.  One day, Ping is running late, and rather than be the one to get the spank, he decides to not return at all that night.  What follows is a short little series of adventures which end up with Ping almost becoming a duck dinner.  He learns his lesson, though, and decides that home’s best, spank or no spank.  Marjorie Flack (who also wrote and illustrated the Angus stories) first published this book in 1933, so it’s a real classic.  Kurt Wiese‘s illustrations are colorful and depict the action in the story very convincingly for the preschool set.  (As a side note, Kurt Wiese spent some time in China and later in Australia as a prisoner of war of the Japanese.  This is where he discovered and honed his talent for illustrations.  Interesting, huh?)  The Story About Ping is really too good to miss, which is why it’s included in the first volume of Five in a Row.

We didn’t “row” this book fully, and I decided to dispense with the lapbooking this time.  As much as I want to, I just can’t always make myself love lapbooking.  It’s a love-hate relationship, I guess.

One other blog that was very helpful is THE HOMESCHOOL MOM. On her blog she has an extensive list of online resources for THE STORY ABOUT PING….To see the complete list…click on her link above…

Online Units and Resources for The Story About Ping

Example of a Five in a Row unit (uses The Story of Ping)
Using The Story of Ping, Jane Lambert illustrates how to use a Five in a Row unit. (Y)

Life on the Rivers of Asia
National Geographic unit using The Story of Ping (y)

Photos of the Yangtze River
A collection of varied photos of life on the Yangtze River (Y, M, O, T)

Ping games and resources
Hurry Ping game, sequence cards, float/sink chart, China resource and more. (y)

Lapbook of Ping Example

Kids Konnect.com - China - A safe Internet gateway for kids of all ages! (Y, M, O, T)

Let's Learn about China! - Welcome! Kids, have fun exploring the culture of China through our puzzles, coloring pages, games and crafts. This area keeps growing every month, so check back often!

Finally there was one other that has a picture tour of their week with the Five In a Row (FAIR) book The Story About Ping. It has even more pictures detailing Michelle’s lessons with her homeschool family. Visit Michelle at her blog DELIGHTFUL LEARNING

Day 1: Geography: Physical

• Where does Ping live?
• Find China on a map, noting that it is located in Asia.
• The Yangtze River is the longest river in China (4,000 miles long).
• Malachi colored the flag of China and pasted the map of China.

Day 2: Art

Michelle has a host of pictures showing the step by step for this craft on her site…please see the link above for the link. Here is the finished product:

Day 4: Science

There we many pictures of several science projects on this blog Delightful Learning…This float or sink project seemed simplest for co-op. We will see how motivated we are=)

There is much more but I am sure we will have to keep it simple. Thanks to all theses ladies for sharing with the teaching community.

****PLUS More great info is available at

HomeSchool Share

A cool count the ducks link we could use from this site:

http://files.homeschoolshare.com/docs54478/ping_family_instructions.pdf