Tag Archives: Usborne Books & More

Learn to Compare and Contrast using A Tale of Two Beasts

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We compare the perspective of the two characters in A TALE OF TWO BEASTS, beginning with a Venn diagram to brainstorm.We compare the perspective of the two characters in A TALE OF TWO BEASTS, beginning with a Venn diagram to brainstorm.

A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Roberton is an amusing tale about a girl who finds a strange beast in the woods and brings him home to take care of him. It is also the tale of a beast who is minding his own business when he is accosted by a terrible beast that kidnaps him and subjects him to all sorts of torture. It is the same story, but told from two different perspectives! What a perfect book for discussing a narrator’s perspective, and of course to learn to compare and contrast characters.

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Chocolate Painting with I’m a Hungry Dinosaur

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With cocoa powder and chocolate, we made our own cake illustrations like those in the fun picture book I'm a Hungry Dinosaur.Last spring, we read a fun book called I’m a Dirty Dinosaur, in which the illustrations were created with actual mud. Of course, we had to make our own mud paintings! The same author has another book, I’m a Hungry Dinosaur, in which the illustrations were created with cocoa powder, chocolate, and sprinkles, so of course we needed to give a try to painting with chocolate ourselves. Continue reading →

Understanding Robots: Finding the Fantasy in a Story

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Understanding what a robot can or cannot do is best when you have an actual robot to program! Our GoPiGo is so much fun.My son loves computer programming using Scratch, and he has always loved using Snap Circuits to create his own electrical circuits. As Christmas approached last year, I wondered what I could get him that would truly meet his current needs and interests, as well as being something he can grow with this year. Due to my husband’s own insistence that I focus on STEM concepts with my son, I was drawn to the concept of a robot.
I decided to go with the GoBox, which packs the GoPiGo robot car (including a Raspberry Pi) with a monthly kit of a new challenge or sensor to add to the robot. As we pondered what to do for last weeks’ science fair, we decided to get even more familiar with the robot. In addition to programming the robot car to go around the room and return to start, we made a presentation about what robots are and are not. Further, after reading some fun stories about robots, we researched and discussed what a robot really is and how the stories were accurate and then how the stories bent toward fantasy. Understanding robots is much more fun with a robot to program yourself! Continue reading →

Quill Painting to Learn about Then and Now

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My daughter and I have been having fun together since my seven-year-old son has been at day camp for two weeks. (More on this to come!)
One fun thing we discovered as we dropped him off at the beach for his Beach Day was a large feather. Strawberry was delighted when I showed her how we can “tickle” each other with the feather. She proceeded to tickle herself all the way home. I mentioned, in passing, that in the past people would use a feather or “quill” as a pen, by dipping the tip into ink and writing with it. She was so excited by the idea that she wanted to try it! Hence, we had a morning of quill painting.
Quill Painting
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