Our “Five in a Row” book this week was “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” a story about the Underground Railroad. I was somewhat hesitant to discuss slavery with a 5-year-old. But discuss it we did. I tried to emphasize the kindness and humanity of those who helped rather than talking all that much about what the slaves were escaping.

We ended up not doing many of the FIAR-suggested activities this week. Here’s what we did do:

Monday

We talked about cardinal directions based on a lesson plan from Brighthub.com. Their plan involved making playdough animals to move around a map of a farm. I used this map and added some labels and a compass rose to it, then printed it. I didn’t want to deal with the playdough mess first thing in the morning, though, so we used a PlayMobil pig instead. I gave Poppy directions like, “Move the pig south, then east, then northwest,” and she moved the pig then told me the destination. It was a pretty simple activity, but she enjoyed it.

Additional work: handwriting, Spanish, a chapter of “Dr. Dolittle” and listening to “By the Shores of Silver Lake” on CD.

Tuesday

We talked about compound words, and Poppy did a few worksheets on the topic. She also did handwriting, Spanish and health, and we read a chapter of “Dr. Dolittle.”

Wednesday

Wednesday was the first day of ballet class. Poppy had fun, even though there was only one other girl there. Apparently there are supposed to be a few more, but no one else showed up. She’s very enthusiastic. And very stompy, which I understand isn’t necessarily something that’s valued in the ballet world. If the other girls continue not to show up, though, she has as close to a private ballet lesson as she’s going to get, so I’m sure she’ll improve quickly!

Additional work: handwriting, Spanish, a math worksheet and a chapter of “Dr. Dolittle.”

Thursday

We went out for another walk to add to the nature journal. It turned into more of a PE class, though, when Pete and Poppy decided to race. Over and over and over again. Not much time was spent contemplating their surroundings. They did find a tiny white spider, which I took a picture of so Poppy could draw it when we got home.

This week’s health lessons were about families and home. We printed and read a Jack Prelutsky poem, and Poppy illustrated it with pictures of herself “at age 10,” her brother “when he is 17 years old” and Marsha T. Cat with a kitten.

Home You’re Where It’s Warm Inside
by Jack Prelutsky

Home! You are a special place;
You’re where I wake and wash my face,
Brush my teeth and comb my hair,
Change my socks and underwear,
Clean my ears and blow my nose,
Try on all my parent’s clothes.

Home! You’re where it’s warm inside,
Where my tears are gently dried,
Where I’m comforted and fed
Where I’m forced to go to bed,
Where there’s always love to spare;
Home! I’m glad that you are there.

Additional work: handwriting, Spanish and a chapter of “Dr. Dolittle.”

Friday

We talked about the illustrator’s use of bright colors in “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and compared it to some Gauguin paintings, then we did a riff on the “Surprising Colors” art project from “Discovering Great Artists.” I printed a color wheel for her to reference while choosing her colors, and we used Photoshop and a downloaded coloring page rather than paint.

Additional work: handwriting, Spanish and a chapter of “Dr. Dolittle.”

My plan for this week also called for us to go out after dark on Thursday night and look at the night sky to try to find the “drinking gourd.” Certain small people needed to go to bed before it was dark enough, though, so the plan was postponed until yesterday night. When it was too rainy and cloudy to do it. Maybe another week!

In more positive news, Poppy and I went out to run some errands while Rockford worked from home for a little while yesterday morning. As we were sitting at a stoplight, she spotted a highway sign and said, “That says ‘north’ and ‘south.’ ” We talked about what direction we were facing, based on the highway direction sign, and I was pretty happy that Monday’s lesson must’ve sunk in! Maybe this will mean I can ask her how to get around rather than having to call her father every time.