The Rag Coat

We chose to use the book The Rag Coat for last weeks Five in a Row studies. The girls really enjoyed it. It was great in that it taught them the importance of compassion, kindness, and showed the wrong that comes with being judgmental towards others. They especially loved learning about the coal mines and what life was like for the miners. Their daddy used to work in the coal mines in Colorado and shared many stories and experiences he had while there. We watched videos about mining and it was nice having daddy there to explain and answer the questions that they didn't quite understand.

The girls printed off geometric patterns and colored them for a mock quilt. Three of the girls began their very own real life quilt this week. They were inspired mostly by the add on books we read ~ The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy and Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson.

We ground corn for the corn bread and learned about the use of the early grist mills. We all decided that a modern day grinder is the way to go!

The Rag Coat story was set in the Appalachian Mountains. We read about the early 1900's culture and decided we needed to top off the week with a real southern meal. Buttermilk cornbread recipe.