Using family history as a basis for a non-fiction or fictional manuscript might just be the thing to jumpstart the creative juices to flowing! I know that when I read through journals, diaries, and histories pertaining to my family or my husband’s family, I get all kinds of ideas for stories. I always think to myself, “Wow, that would make a great storyline!” But where do I start?

Many beginning writers need a bit of guidance in this potentially rich area, so it’s always nice to discover a resource that will help the faltering wannabe or student gain confidence and find a starting point. The following article/review is about one such resource. So read on. . .

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Family Tree: Writing Historical Fiction Based on Family History

Tools for Young Historians Series

By Jennifer Johnson Garrity

BrimWood Press

1941 Larsen Drive

Camino, CA 95709

(530) 644-7538

www.brimwoodpress.com

Historical research plus writing is an exciting and inspirational concept in our homeschool! And since we have a rich family heritage complete with lots of stories, photos, and documents that have been passed down through the generations, there is much ‘grist’ for the creative ‘mill’ around here. So I was thrilled to review  Family Tree: Writing Historical Fiction Based on Family History written by Jennifer Johnson Garrity and published by BrimWood Press as part of their ‘Tools for Young Historians’series.

In a nutshell, Family Tree is a 76 page, soft-cover consumable writing guide to help children (ages 10 and up) learn how to create stories, novellas, or even books based on their own unique family histories. Both student and instructor are gently led “through the process of gathering historical information, weaving fact and fiction together to create a plot, and then refining both content and style to fashion a unique and exciting work of fiction.” Also, the primary focus of this writing guide is for “developing content and providing techniques for maturing a student’s writing style.”

The guide is divided into different sections/assignments that cover the research, writing, and editing phases. These divisions include:

*Introduction

*General Research

Interview – Phase One

Family Tree Chart

Interview – Phase Two

Interview Questions

*Specific Research

Choose Your Branch

Blending Fact and Fiction

Make Your Best Guess

Anachronism

Historical Photographs

Historical Research Notes

*Writing Your Story

The Plot

Fact or Fiction?

Write a Story, Not a Report

Creating a Roadmap

Beginnings

*Editing Your Story

Adjectives

Adverbs

Passive Language

Sentence Starters

Completing the Project

Student Checklist

*Instructor’s Notes

With Answer Key and Instructor’s Checklist

*Andrea’s Homeschool Tips (Written by homeschool veteran, Andrea Newitt)

An Introduction

Schedule for Younger Students

Grading Guide

If you visit the BrimWood Press website, you can download samples from this guide and also check out the other available resources from the ‘Tools for Young Historians’ series.

Family Tree is designed to be a supplement to any writing curriculum, and the project (from beginning to end) will vary anywhere from four to ten weeks. But the result is sure to be a family heirloom. However, I think it would be great to repeat this fascinating project every two to three years as the students mature and their writing skills and interests change. Think of the collection of family stories that can be harvested from the children’s imaginations! In addition, this guide is self-directed for the high school student or natural writer, so the possibilities are endless! However, it is assumed that the student has a basic grasp of sentence and paragraph construction in order to use the guide independently. Also, permission is granted to the purchasing family to make copies of the assignments, charts, and pages for multiple children and multiple projects.

I really like how the author stresses writing a story, not a report, and how to add historical facts and tidbits without overwhelming the reading audience. She gives the following advice:

You want your reader, first of all, to enjoy the story. Secondly, you want him to learn a little about its historical setting as he reads. Just as you wouldn’t dump a mound of salt onto a plate of food, you don’t want to dump a mound of historical information into one paragraph and serve it to your reader. You sprinkle salt lightly over your food, and want to sprinkle factual information lightly throughout the story. (page 39)

In my opinion, Family Tree is an excellent resource, and I plan on using it with my own children in a few weeks to create our own special stories. (As an extra note, I can see myself using this outstanding and comprehensive guide with my *own* writing.) I will allow my high school aged twin daughters to follow the guide and work independently, but I will probably use the suggestions in Mrs. Newitt’s homeschool section with my younger students. The result…they will all get to create a story, regardless of age or skill! And new ‘literary heirlooms’ will be added to our rich family heritage collection to be enjoyed for years to come.

-Originally a product review at The Old Schoolhouse website  in 2007.

Originally posted at the National Writing For Children Center

Lapbooks are very popular in many homeschooling/educational circles, and for good reason. Children who create something tangible after reading a particular book or learning about a certain topic are far more apt to retain that knowledge. It is motivating to be able to hold in their hands or ‘on their laps’ their very own special reminder of their learning experience. Besides that—creating a lapbook is fun, and the educational and enjoyment possibilities are endless! However, for today, I will concentrate solely on lapbooks that are related to children’s literature and timeless picture books!

What Exactly Are Lapbooks?
Lapbooks can be as complex or unique as the fingerprints of those who make them! But the general definition of a simple lapbook is a single manila folder refolded and creased in such a way as to form a small, portable ‘learning center’ that can be opened and filled with mini activities, games, reports, charts, pictures, flip books, etc. inside that are created by the students themselves as they learn about the topic(s). In other words, a lapbook is a type of graphic organizer.

Families who enjoy scrapbooking will find lapbooking to be a perfect way to enhance learning—but anyone can create a lapbook that is interesting, fun, and effective. In addition, a lapbook can the organizer to pull together relevant topics from many subject areas—all based on one particular book.

Below is a lapbook we created based on the book The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. Many of the printables were found at www.homeschoolshare.com

Resources/Books About Lapbooking

Hear are a few websites and books that have great tutorials or information on how to create lapbooks:

Homeschool Mom- Lapbooks (Many links to other sites filled with lapbooking information.)

Templates by Homeschool Share

Lapbooks by Homeschool Share

*Homeschool Share (HSS) is an on-line cooperative effort of several homeschooling moms to provide free but quality literature-based unit studies and resources. The content on this site is unbelievable!

Lapbooks to Enhance the Learning Experience by Lynda Altman at Bright Hub
Ms. Altman includes information on how lapbooks can be used in the classroom and at the high school level.

Fundamentals of Lapbooking by Carrie Kerr at Bright Hub
This is another article showing how lapbooks can be used in the classroom.

Lapbooking for Everyone at Easy Fun School—This site includes lots of lapbooking links.

Lapbooking at Squidoo

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks and Unit Studies (Literature Lapbooks)

Dinah Zike at Dinah-Might-Adventures

Big Book of Books and Activities – An Illustrated Guide for Teachers, Parents, and Anyone Who Works with Kids! By Dinah Zike

The Ultimate Lap Book Handbook by Tammy Duby and Cyndy Regeling

A Few Book Suggestions for Literature Lapbooks:
This is a very incomplete list of books that lend themselves well to lapbooking.
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Katy and the Big Snow
Madeline
Little House on the Prairie series
If You Give a Mouse A Cookie
A Cricket In Times Square
The Courage of Sarah Noble
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Goodnight Moon
Mirette on the High Wire
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
The Napping House
Little Toot
The Duchess Bakes a Cake

Authors and Lapbooks
In a previous article about Creating Learning Guides and Instructional Activities for Trade Books, I mentioned how authors should consider offering additional resources or learning guides for parents and teachers that can go along with their books and provide more learning opportunities for students. I now propose that authors/publishers should also consider offering printables, graphs, mini-booklets, activities, etc. along with their books that can be used for the purpose of creating lapbooks.

For example, check out Harper Collin’s book activity guide page for Good Night Moon. One industrious mom used this page to create a lapbook based on Margaret Wise Brown’s timeless classic. She also pulled together additional  materials from here and here to make a very neat learning resource.

(Image from www.myschooltime.com)

So whether you are a parent, teacher, or author, literature lapbooks just might figure into your future creative plans!

Animal Identification – What’s in a Name?

Baby Names
A calf is a baby cow, right? Yes, but it is also what we call a baby whale, antelope, elephant, and giraffe! In addition, while a baby bear is called a cub, the same infant identity belongs to a fox and a lion. Moreover, while almost everyone knows that a baby kangaroo is a joey, many people have no idea that a baby swan is a cygnet or that a baby turkey is a poult. How many animal baby names can you identify?

Groups
Animal groups are also fascinating to learn about, and I was very surprised to find myself stumped when it came to naming many of the units. For example, I had no clue that a group of rabbits is a warren, several donkeys make up a pace, a cluster of cats is a clowder, foxes make up skulk, or that a bunch of giraffes create a tower. Hippos make a bloat, elk assemble in gangs, and ferrets make up a business—while alligators create a congregation!

Males and Females
We can all identify a lion and lioness as the male and female cats of the majestic pride, but how many of us know that a male swan is a cob and the female is a pen? Or how about this one? Did you know that a male kangaroo is a boomer and his mate is a doe? Along with other kangaroos, they create a mob. However, the same identities belong to a male and female rat, and they live in colonies.

Learn More: Websites, Resources, and Books

Learning the various labels for baby animals, their mothers and fathers, and the names of the groups they live in might make an interesting research project for your students. Below are a few links, books, and resources to get you going!

San Diego Zoo: Animal Bytes

Enchanted Learning: Males, Females, Babies, and Groups

Scholastic Lesson Plans for Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? By Eric Carle

Examiner.com—Lapbook Plans for Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne

What Are Baby Koalas Called?: A Book about Baby Animals (First Facts) by Kathy Feeney

A Crash of Rhinos, A Party of Jays: The Wacky Ways We Name Animal Groups by Diane Swanson

Paddling of Ducks, A: Animals in Groups from A to Z by Marjorie Blain Parker
Originally published at The National Writing For Children Center

Labor Day: A Look At How It Came To Be

by Amy M. O’Quinn

When most of us think of Labor Day, we automatically associate it with a long holiday weekend and time off from the job. It is a day to relax, spend time with family, say goodbye to summer and hello to autumn, squeeze in one more picnic or vacation, or attend a hometown celebration or parade with friends.

Labor Day is always observed on the first Monday in September, yet how much do we really know about this special day set aside to recognize those who toil daily to keep our country moving and growing socially, civically, and economically? Let’s take a closer look at this “workingman’s” holiday!

How Did Labor Day Begin?

The very first Labor Day was celebrated in 1882 in New York City in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. There is some discrepancy about who first proposed the holiday, but some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.” (From the U.S. Department of Labor website).

Others believe that it was actually Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic. (From the U.S. Department of Labor website).

Regardless of who actually proposed Labor Day, it became an official national holiday in 1894, not long after the Pullman Strike, and is dedicated to honoring the working class of American citizens. However, until Labor Day became a federal holiday, laborers who chose to participate in parades had to forfeit a day’s wages. (From history.com) Nevertheless, since that time, all fifty states have made it an official state holiday as well!

Find Out More

Labor Day is a great time to teach about community workers and different kinds of jobs as well. To find out more about this important (yet often underemphasized) holiday, check out these links:

http://www.theholidayzone.com/labor/books.html (Lists books about Labor Day)

http://www.educationworld.com/a_sites/sites045.shtml (A large collection of Labor Day links)

This post originally published at the National Writing For Children Website here.

Journaling Nature

by Amy M. O’Quinn

Keeping A Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth

Charlotte Mason’s Ideas

I have written before about Charlotte Mason, a nineteenth-century educator, and her views on the importance of giving children a well-rounded education. Therefore, in addition to presenting the regular core academic subjects, she also advocated exposing children to living books, poetry, classical music, fine art, Shakespeare, nature study, etc. In a (very simplified) nutshell, Miss Mason’s vision was to foster a ‘love of learning’ in all children and give them a liberal (broad) education, regardless of their economic background or social class. Today, I’d like to explore her suggestion that students spend as much time out of doors discovering the nature around them, and that they record their findings in a nature diary or journal—basing their entries on what they see, hear, touch and smell, rather than what they read about in textbooks.

Why Nature Study?

Many teachers and parents think that nature study is a great idea, but they also feel it is just too impractical and difficult to work it into the learning schedule. I agree that while it takes time to prepare the children for an outing, decide on a place to go, and actually keep up with everyone as they explore, the result is worth the effort. And in fact, nature study forms the basis of more extensive nature and science studies later on; the students have a knowledge base to build upon. Plus, most children have a great curiosity about the world around them—they just need to have this innate interest encouraged.

Realistically, nature study doesn’t have to be difficult or too orchestrated. It can be as simple as watching birds build a nest, identifying leaves that have fallen to the ground, or watching as a butterfly emerges from a cocoon. As Catherine Levison, a ‘Charlotte Mason method’ proponent and writer states, “…Charlotte Mason strongly insists on children being outside daily and that makes nature observation become unavoidable. Even without deliberate effort children will learn about the natural world if they are provided ample time to experience it first hand.”

Observe and Explore

Once the children find something that ‘strikes their fancy,’ let them use their senses to become familiar with the specimen, object, or topic. A good field journal might also provide more information if the parent/teacher needs identification assistance, but in my opinion, very young children are simply content with discovery, observation, and very basic knowledge. However, if a group/family prefers a more structured form of nature study, there are many books that provide a scope and sequence or outline of suitable topics for all ages. One of the most popular books on the subject is The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, a huge tome of information and nature lessons, which was first released in 1911.

Other choices include:

The Kid’s Nature Book: 365 Indoor/Outdoor Activities and Experiences by Susan Milord

Nature For the Very Young: A Handbook of Indoor and Outdoor Activities by Marcia Bowden

Small Wonders: Nature Education for Young Children by Linda Garrett

Journaling Nature

After the exploration phase, a great way to preserve knowledge (and the memory) is to record the findings in a nature notebook or journal. Once again, this can be as simple as using notebook paper in a three-ring binder or a composition book, or as ornate as creating a handmade journal and using high quality watercolors and page protectors. The possibilities are endless, and the process is just as vast. It truly depends on the child, the age level, artistic capabilities, or how much time the parent/educator wants to allow for the project.

The child might make a simple drawing or sketch of what he has seen, then perhaps color it with crayons, markers, colored pencils or paint to make it more realistic. He can label the drawing/parts with both the common and scientific (Latin names), genus and species. The location, date and weather or temperature might be included as reference. Other ideas are leaf rubbings, or gluing down flowers, twigs, bark, feathers, or photos taken on the outing. Descriptions, measurements, and impressions are all good to record as well, if applicable. It is also a wonderful idea to revisit and rethink the topic or specimen at different seasons in order to make comparisons. There is no one right way to create a natural journal, and each child’s journal will be as unique and special as he is!

Resources

Here are some sites/blogs that explain in great detail or give ideas on how to create a nature journal:

http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/p/nature-journals.html

http://clarewalkerleslie.com

http://www.squidoo.com/cmnaturestudy

http://www.art-made-easy.com/nature-journal.html

http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/environmental/matsumoto.htm

http://www.nwf.org/Kids/Ranger-Rick/Activities/Outdoors/Observing-Wildlife/Create-Your-Own-Nature-Journal.aspx

http://www.helium.com/items/924142-making-a-nature-journal

http://www.highlightskids.com/magazine/August08/h10808natureJournal.asp

Ready-Made Nature Journals or Books About Nature Journals

Ready-made journals or scrapbooks are also available to those who want the convenience. In addition, there are many choices and samples of individual nature journals that are sure to inspire and give you lots of ideas. Below are a few suggestions:

My Nature Journal by Adrienne Olmstead

Nature Log Kids: A Kid’s Journal to Record Their Nature Experiences by DeAnna Brandt

A Backyard Nature Drawing Guide by Douglas S. Farnham

The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie

Drawn to Nature Through the Journals of Clare Walker Leslie

Exploring nature and creating journals to record what they find is an excellent way for children to process the world around them. Charlotte Mason wrote in her book, Home Education (Vol. 1), “Consider, too, what an unequalled mental training the child-naturalist is getting for any study or calling under the sun — the powers of attention, of discrimination, of patient pursuit, growing with his growth, what will they not fit him for?” (p. 61).

Yes, nature study and creating nature journals or notebooks does take time and require a bit of effort on the part of the parent/educator. But young children who are given this gift will benefit greatly in so many ways. Appreciating the beauty of nature and learning about the world around them should ideally be an important, and enjoyable,  part of every child’s education!