Monday, May 19, 2008

I had about two pounds of strawberries in the refrigerator that needed to be used up today. So was the launching pad for today's main unit: strawberries (and other berries, by virtue of endless questions and tangents). We're doing vowel review now, so we did our "A" work, had lunch, and headed out for our weekly library trip, with strawberries in mind.

At the library, Isabel is learning how to use the computer search system. She scrambled up into the chair immediately when we arrived, wanting to search for "strawberries." "S", she got on her own - I helped with the other letters, but Isabel hen-pecked them out on her own, typing "strawberries" into the search system and leading us to the gardening section. (Aidan was quite happy with himself this whole time, smiling and waving to passers by from the sling.) We found a lovely (though, it turns out, not too interesting) berry book with a large section of photographs in the middle. Then we hit the childrens' section and some various adult sections, filling our bag as we went (we have the clown car of shopping bags). I made sure to grab some books on mammals, which we'll continue discussing this week. As usual, Isabel left with some interesting selections, courtesy of her slap-happy, random this-and-that approach to choosing books - I will say, though, that she grabs books I'd never think to and some of them are really wonderful.

When we got home, after Aidan had a snack and was napping soundly, we set up in the kitchen with our newly-borrowed berry book, a big pile of strawberries, and a cutting board and knife. First we discussed our senses - do we taste strawberries? smell them (see pic at right)? hear them (see pic above)? etc. - and examined the strawberries carefully. With the help of our berry book, we identified all the different parts of the strawberry and talked about how strawberries grow and how strawberries are different from other berries (seeds on the outside!). Washing the strawberries led to a lengthy discussion about pesticides, the importance of insects to the planet and conventional versus organic farming (which Isabel calls "morganic" for some reason that eludes me). We cut the strawberries and examined their insides... and then tasted some (strictly for educational purposes, naturally).

Once I cut up enough strawberries, we set them aside, gathered ingredients and set about making strawberry-almond muffins. Isabel enjoys baking very much and is getting quite good at some of the fine motor tasks in the kitchen: cracking eggs, sifting flour, mixing, filling muffin cups. We measured the ingredients and discussed what the fractions mean, using a quartered strawberry for reference. Counted the spaces in the muffin pan and figured out how many paper cups we'd need (twelve), then put the whole thing into the oven.

While the muffins baked, we read through one of the books Isabel selected at the library, then sat at the table and drew strawberry pictures. Isabel picked one and we labeled the different parts of the strawberry - I'll save this in our binder. Then the oven dinged and the muffins were done! They turned out really good - Isabel and I split one. While we were eating, Isabel declared, "Sharing is the best thing ever!" I told her I couldn't agree more, even though I sort of wished I had that muffin to myself!