Blueberries for Sal, B4FIAR, Maine

(2/27 – 3/2)  We rowed Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey and studied the state of Maine and it’s state animal, the moose week before last.  This is a Before Five in a Row selection so I focused on activities with my two little boys and had Joe read go-along books about Maine and moose.  (He also completed activities and worksheets from Road Trip USA and Highlights Which Way USA’s Maine.)

I’d never read this particular book by McCloskey to any of my kids.  I loved it.  So did each of the boys.  The boys enjoyed the story of Little Sal, Mother, Little Bear and his mother.  The illustrations in the book are all black and white, but stunning.  It is a beautiful book both in the story line and the illustrations.  A true classic.

We talked about how there are two stories in this book—the one of Little Sal and her mother and the one of Little Bear and his mother.  I know Jack didn’t totally grasp this point, but Joe did.  We talked about how you could tell whether this was a modern day story or an older one just from looking at the illustrations throughout the book.  Again, this wasn’t an easy one for Jack, but more for Joe, who quickly pointed out ‘long ago’ from the clothes they wore, the appliances in the kitchen and the car they drove.

Jack worked on pages from Homeschool Creations’ Preschool Pack throughout the week.  He and Jesse painted with ‘blueberries’ (blue pom poms), which of course, turned into fingerpainting.

We made homemade blueberry muffins. 

And, we made blueberry freezer jam.  This was my first time ever making any sort of jam.  It was so easy and it is so good!  I can’t wait to pick strawberries this summer and make strawberry jam.

Jack went ‘blueberry picking’.  Joe and I put pony beads on branches around the yard and he picked them.  I made him a tin pail like little Sal had using an empty flour can, drilled a couple holes in the top and used pipecleaners to make a handle.  I made sure to point out the ‘kerplink’ sound the ‘berries’ made as they hit the bottom of the pail.  Jack LOVED his pail and LOVED his blueberry hunt.  He and Joe did this a couple afternoons during the week.  It was lots of fun and a wonderful idea!

I made the boys blueberry play doh.

This was such a fun row.  We enjoyed everything we did with it and enjoyed reading the book each day.  Next up we went to South Africa to try and outwit a Honey Badger and this week we are having a blast with the color purple.  Homeschool has been awesome the last few weeks—I’ve fallen in love with it all over again times ten.  Every reason we began this journey has come to the front of my mind and been reconfirmed for me.

Ideas, inspiration and printables for Blueberries for Sal can be found at:

• Before Five in a Row manual
• Homeschool Creations Blueberries for Sal Preschool Pack
• Homeschool Creations Blueberries for Sal row - ‘picking’ blueberries and blueberry play doh
• 50 States Notebook – Primary Graffiti
• Road Trip USA – from Confessions of a Homeschooler
• Highlights Which Way USA, Maine
• ‘blueberry’ painting – Delightful Learning’s row of Blueberries for Sal