One of our favorite books this week was one called Ponies and Horses that we had right here at the house. It was actually one of Daddy's when he was growing up. It's a non-fiction book written from the perspective of the horse, and it covered a lot of material such as what horses eat, where they live, what their babies are called, different ways they can be used for recreation and for work, the difference between a donkey and a horse, what type of gear you need when you ride a horse, etc. (And after typing all that, I think the people at My First Animal Library should give me a kick-back every time they sell a copy of that book, if it's even still in print!)
When I was younger, I loved horses; and since Hannah and I are so much alike, I went ahead and checked out three horse movies from the library, just knowing it would absolutely make her day! I got My Friend Flicka, Black Beauty, and The Black Stallion. I had no idea what My Friend Flicka was about and I vaguely remember a beach scene from The Black Stallion making me feel a little tense when I was young, so I decided to start with Black Beauty and ease her into it. Pish...shows you know well I know my own child! Anyone standing outside our window (or within a 15-mile radius, for that matter) probably thought this poor child was being beaten within an inch of her life with all the screaming going on! She hated it! I guess this really shouldn't be too surprising since she seems to hate all movies other than kid shows like The Wiggles or The Backyardigans, but it just seemed to me like this should be different. After all, it was a school assignment, for Pete's sake, and she should be required to watch it!
Well, it didn't take long for me to see that no one was going to get anything out of this movie with all of Hannah's screaming, so she was sent to her room for an hour and a half until it was over. In hindsight, I don't really know if I agree with what I did or not. On the one hand, I have a kid who loves books and doesn't enjoy movies. Umm...doesn't really sound like a problem! On the other hand, I have a kid who has an incredibly stubborn will and loves to over-react to try to get her own way. One of those toughies that I still don't have the answer to. I did, however, put on My Friend Flicka the next day, and she absolutely adored it! Score: 1 for Mom, 287 for Hannah...or so it seems!
There really weren't many activities to take pictures of in school this week, but I did catch Hannah playing cowboy at a friends house earlier today, and I think that should qualify! That's what we educators call "transferring what they've learned into everyday life." Yeah...that's it!
We did spend some time this week talking about various ways horses have been used throughout history, but since our special words were "I obey right away," our main focus this week was on horse training.
We talked about the way a well-trained horse immediately obeys the commands of its master, and how we should also obey the commands of our Master. We also spent some time singing "Trust and Obey," which is Millie's favorite hymn. She calls it her "BSF song!"
This unit was definitely short and sweet, but I have a feeling we're not really through with it yet. I think those special words will be a part of our life for a long time to come!
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