Mirette on the High Wire

Title: Mirette On the High Wire

Author/Illustrator: Emily Arnold McCully

Copyright: 1992

Caldecott Medal

Summary: A young Protegee of the famous Bellini ends up encouraging her teacher.

This Book was not originally the next book I was planning on reading to the kids but on our last field trip to the library Lily found  Mirette on the High Wire and wanted to read it. Well.... We did and she loved it! I decided to do some activities along with the book! Check out all the fun we had.



Social Studies:(France)
We placed our Story disk on France because that's where the story took place. We colored a map, flag and a picture of the Eiffel Tower. We also read some books about France.




Art:(Circus poster)
The kids designed their own circus posters using crayons and markers.


Science:(Metal-copper,cleaning money)
In the picture on the first page of the book their are copper pans. They are made from copper because they conduct heat so well. We examined copper pans in our own house, did an experiment using money and learned about the different properties of copper by reading books.

Examining copper pans-



This Science Experiment was fun for my kids and kept them busy cleaning coins. We used salt, white vinegar and coins. They first used paper towels to dip into the vinegar and salt to rub and clean the coins. They got the coins very shinny. Then they dumped all of the remaining coins in a bowl with the vinegar and salt. This process was exciting to them. I explained how over time copper oxidizes.(Oxidation is caused by exposure to oxygen!) We also talked about the Statue of Liberty and how it is made from copper and over time it turned green.


Books Read-



Science:(Balance,Gravity)
We made a simple scale out of pudding cups and a hanger. The kids hung it on a door in the kitchen. Then they used the coins from the previous experiment to weigh items found around the house. They started by balancing and making the scale equal then they determined which items where heavy or light. We also read books about balance and Gravity.

Scale Experiment-


Books read-


Mathematics:(Money,Counting)
We reviewed money skills. We counted the coins to see how many we used in our science experiments and how much money they where worth.

Language arts:(Compound words)
Their are many compound words in this book. We learned that a compound word is made up of two different words put together. Lily and Aj drew pictures of words on flash cards then we played a game where we matched the words up to make compound words.


Field Trip 1-(playground)
We went to the playground to try balancing just like Mirette did.



Field Trip 2-(Gymnastic studio)
We were lucky enough to go to a gymnastic studio this month to practice balancing on a balance beam and try other gym equipment.



Extra fun: (Art,coloring,tightrope walkers)
We colored a picture of a girl on tight rope! We also watched two u-tube videos on tightrope walking.

Martin Luther King Jr Day 2014

On Martin Luther King Day we started by having a yummy egg breakfast. This was a great opportunity to show the kids that people, just like eggs may be different colors on the outside but are the same on the inside!


We also colored pictures, made piece signs, read a book and watched a movie.

Having Fun at Cotuit Art Museum!

We spent the day at Cotuit Art Museum. A Docent showed us the latest exhibit called " Seeing The Light". After we explored the museum with the Docent we had free time to explore on our own. Then we took a class and made art work of our own with the "Light Theme". We used construction paper, tracing paper and many other supplies. We got to look at our work on a light box when we finished.

Learning about weather!

We went to a weather class at the Library. Lily and Aj read a book, listened to a lecture and did some arts and crafts!

Mrs. Katz and Tush

Title: Mrs. Katz And Tush

Author/illustrator: Patricia Polacco

Copyright: 1992
Summary: A young boy learns compassion and finds a life time of friendship.

We read this book at the perfect time of year. It coincided with Hannukah and the month of December. Lily and Aj learned all about Hannukah, yeast and Yiddish. Check out all the fun and activities we did while we read this book!

Social Studies: (History,Geography)
Mrs Katz is originally from Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. We Placed our story disk on Poland. Lily and Aj then colored a map, flag and learned some facts about Poland.( example: climate, population) We also read a few books on Poland and a book about immigration.





Social Studies: (Jewish Tradition)
We learned about Hannukah. Lily and Aj played the dreidle game, ate matzo ball soup, potato pancakes and Gelt. They also read lots of books, watched a movie, colored a picture of a Menorah and colored in a Jewish coloring book.


Language Arts: (Yiddish,Vocabulary)
Their were many Yiddish words in the book Mrs. Katz and Tush. We chose a few words to learn the definitions of. Lily and Aj drew pictures of the words meanings.


Mathematics: (multiply, division)
Lily did a cat math worksheet on division and multiplication. Both Lily and Aj counted baked goods in the book as we were reading it!



Science: (Chemistry in cooking, yeast)
Yeast is a tiny one-celled plant that grows in things containing sugar.We talked about the way it causes dough to rise by creating gas bubbles in the bread. We did an experiment using yeast, made bread and read a book about bread.

Fermentation experiment using yeast- We looked at yeast under a magnifying glass. Then we used warm water, sugar and yeast to see how gas forms.


Baking Bread- We mixed all the ingredients, kneaded and baked the dough.


Book we read-


Art: (Drawing, detail)
Lily and Aj added faces and tails to a cat on a worksheet. Lily also used a drawing book and tried drawing a cat all by herself!



Extra Fun-(Reading, Art, Computer)
Lily and Aj colored a Picture of Mrs. Katz and Tush. They also watched a Reading Rainbow Episode on Utube about this book.