Tall Tales Block

We began our 2nd grade school year with an alphabet & number review. The girls wrote all the letters in their main lesson books and this let me know what still needed more work.

Tall Tales was a fun way to begin this quirky 2nd grade curriculum. I wasn't sure how the stories would be received, but they really seemed to enjoy them!

Our first tale was not a popular one, but it is a "girl legend" called Dona Flor. Set in New Mexico, this giant woman helps the village with their "big mountain lion" by discovering he is only a baby roaring into a hollow log from atop a mountain.



 Next, we did John Henry and Paul Bunyon.

 We were also reviewing vowel sounds by bouncing a ball, bean bag tossing and just reading some basic readers. Brooke was needing a bit more practice and someone recommended "Reading--literature: the primer" by Harriet Treadwell. It has been amazing!

 Here was a fun blackboard drawing of Johnny Appleseed sleeping under the stars with his fire smoking. I really like using the chalk!

 A Painting day gave us a chance to paint covers to our main lesson books. This helps us know our own (yes, I include myself as I have one that I work in). I ended up buying thick drawing pads from the craft store with a odd picture on the cover, so these wet-on-wet's are lovely to hide that.

 The girls write the sentences and decorate around the page with form drawings.

 We spent time learning "camp fire" songs like "I've been working on the railroad", "Dinah won't you blow your horn" and the girls favorite, "Clementine".
I think at this point they have a good foundation of reading. Lily is reading almost any book she finds around the house and Brooke has grasped the basics enough to move forward.
Next up, Fables.