Storybook Woods

Saint Lucia

With Christmas around the corner I thought I would share my Saint Lucia unit I wrote. It was a couple of years ago, a few links are dead. But most is good and it will give you some ideas. As with my french unit, it is very hands on and something of interest even if you do not homeschool. Even for adults there are some great ideas, recipes, stories. We had a lot of fun doing this unit. I think it may be out favorite. Enjoy !!!!

French Unit

                                          

French Unit

Chloe came to me one day asking for a unit on France. "I want to do fun French things"  and that is what we did. This is not a serious unit on France but more just a fun over-view of French things, life and history. We had a lot of fun with this one. As with all unit's there is so much we could have done. But I tailored to to our families interests. We mostly read good books and did lots of hand's on things.

I based my unit around a book called "Charlotte In Giverny" by Joan MacPhil Knight. It has an almost handmade look to it. So we had fun copying pages from it (below). I found it a easy way to learn the French language.

PS. we are girly girls here, so this is a pretty girly unit !!!! But I encourage you to use this as a stepping point for you family (or even if you do not have children, it would be fun) and tailor it to your needs and interests.

Clarice Fox-Hughes

Activities

                          

               Grenouille Plus is a wonderful blog full of vintage French  ephemera. Here are jumping jacks. There are others on her site.

                                          

Another fun activity for the girls to do, while I read is this fun face. (that really has nothing to do with France, except it is French and fun!! Which is good enough for me)

                                          

French Beaded Flowers

Here is a great site with lots of links to show how to make French beaded flowers. 

                                       

           Here is another site with a simple beaded flower to make.

  We had fun making these flowers. We wired some onto safety pins and   made pins. Some we wired on to bobbie pins and other strung on string. They turned out cute but found out it is stressful working with little tiny beads. I now admire anyone who does !!

                                       

Eiffel Tower

A coloring page. I LOVE coloring pages

                                       You can create a Lego one !!

                                           

Or a paper one. I have one Aubern'e made me in my French bathroom. Thank you sweetie !!!

                                         And another paper one !!

                                                 French Crafts

Here is a fun site with lots to do.

I particularly love this "My house in provence"

French Post Card

Create a French Post card 

French Tea

We read parts of "French Tea" by Carole Manchester

While we had tea we pretended we were at some wonderful tea salon in the book !!

We ate

Gateau Moelleux au Chocolat (aka French Chocolate Cake) From Wilma

On one of my visits to my daughter's home in Kentucky, she  took me to an International Women's meeting at the Baptist Church.  There we attended a cooking demonstration by a French woman, who was very pregnant and wearing an exceedingly short and close fitting dress.  It surprised the Americans in the group for it was nothing like the maternity clothes to which we were accustomed.  The chocolate cake which was demonstrated was described as a traditional birthday cake and it too, surprised the Americans in the group.  The French woman demonstrating the chocolate cake said that her family thought American birthday cakes had little substance and flavor.  The cake she demonstrated, which my family now calls the "French Chocolate Cake", certainly has substance and flavor and it has become a cake that I, as well as my friends, bake for special occasions. 

French Chocolate Cake

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
11 tablespoons (5 ounces) butter
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup diced walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter and chocolate together.
Let butter and chocolate cool a few minutes and then add eggs, sugar and vanilla
In a bowl, put the flour and stir in little by little the chocolate mixture and the diced walnuts. Pour into a greased tube pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cool off 5 minutes and remove from pan.

THE FROSTING
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream

Melt butter and chocolate together. Take off the burner and add the sour cream. Pour on icing and top with walnuts

French Fan

Durning our tea we made the French ladies into fans, by cutting them out and gluing Popsicle sticks to the back. I am sorry I do not remember were I found this picture and can not give credit to the person. Enjoy.

Perfume

First we decoupage bottles we had. Then we made perfume. Which the girls found out is was not as easy blending fragrance as they thought. First batch was thrown out. Rose seemed to be the favorite.

Chloe's, on left, Auben'es middle and mine right (with the glitter of course) Here is a site to show you how to make perfume.

And another 

Here is perfume time-line.

Here you can purchese Empress Eugenie paper doll

List of books and Videos

We looked at and read a lot of books. I just used what I had and my mother had. There are so many books on this subject,  I could have gotten many more books. But since my mother and I have a large selection in the subject, I just used what we had.
I do want to say that a  lot of these books are old and out of print. If you see * that means we love the book.

* Both the book and video  Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork & Lena Anderson

A Visit To Giverny by Gerald Van Der Kemp

Guide Naif de Paris (parise thought the eyes of the modern primitives) by Mathilde Hager

The Privet Realm Of Marie Antoinette by Marie-France Boyer

Provence (paintings) by Peter Mayle

*The World's Children Series "Jean and Fanchon by Virginia Olcott

(We love these books of different children in different countries. Got the ones form the 30's. The newer ones have been changed)

*Lily and Miss. Liberty by Carla Stevens

Here you can make a liberty star box

Stories From France by Edward W. Dolch

Sara Midda's South Of France, A Sketchbook by Sara Midda

(A wonderful small book full of water colors, that we tried to copy)

* Paintbrush In Paris by Jill Butler

French Children by Mabel O'Donnell

* "The Orpheline series" by Natalie Savage Carlson

We LOVE these Orpheline books. Any book By Ms. Carlson would be good. Most of her books are set in France!!!

The Jeanne-Marie Books by Francoise

(they are picture books meant for young children but they are very sweet)

That Extraordinary Pig Of Paris by Roni Schotter

Lets Travel In France

* This is Paris by M. Sasek

(if you can get your hands on any books by Mr. Sasek, do it !!!!  )

Nursery Friends From France-My Travelship  by Olive Beaupre'

(for poems and I used the beautiful map on the front)

Charlotte In Giverny by Joan MacPhil Knight

Charlotte In Paris by Joan MacPhil Knight