Maine Moose and Tall Tales

We finally finished learning about the great state of Maine, and will soon be moving on to our next state for our fifty states project.

We could not leave Maine without seeing a moose or two.

R giggled uncontrollably while I painted her hands to make this moose! She was so careful about placing her hands on paper to make antlers. I then did my best to draw the head and let her color it brown. Coloring never lasts more than a minute for her so this moose is a little pale.

There was no way that C was going to let me paint his hands, so he made this moose craft.

There were a few books added to our Maine list at the last minute.

C and R thoroughly enjoyed The Wicked Big Toddlah by Kevin Hawkes. This book is about an enormous newborn that is delivered by a stork to a very surprised family in Maine. It is narrated by the baby's sister and pokes fun at New England accents (obvious from the title). The illustrations really make the book. C and R especially love the illustration of the baby having his diaper changed - this required fire hoses, hazmat suits, and talcum powder sprinkled from a helicopter! Kevin Hawkes also illustrated Library Lion, another great book that I definitely recommend.

After reading The Wicked Big Toddlah, I remembered that Paul Bunyan was from Maine (actually, there is a bit of a battle between Maine and Minnesota about where the tall tale figure is really from, but all of the versions of the story that I have read claim Maine as Bunyan's birthplace!) and how could we not read about Paul Bunyan and learn a little about tall tales. C and R laughed all the way through Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg. (Speaking of Steven Kellogg, we adore The Pied Piper's Magic by him; I definitely recommend it!) An added bonus in this version of Paul Bunyan is that he travels across the country creating lakes, mountain ranges, and even the Grand Canyon. We sat down with a map of the United States and pointed out all of the places mentioned in the book.

I also found a great site that has folk tales, myths, legends, and ghost stories from all fifty states. American Folklore is a great site to visit. Click here for the alphabetical list of the states and their tales.

Next stop...New Hampshire!

Celebrate Maine!

The governor of Maine recently declared the month of August to be Maine Lobster Month. If you are interested in celebrating the great state of Maine, click here to see the adorable egg carton lobsters we made and learn how to make one of your own!

One Berry, Two Berry, Pick me a Blueberry

The state of Maine supplies 99% of the blueberries consumed in the United States so we could not study Maine without a little blueberry fun.



We began by reading Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. C and R love this book and there are so many topics for discussion. Here are a few things we discussed*:
- How was Little Sal's mother getting ready for winter?
- How was Little Bear's mother getting ready for winter?
- What sound did the berries make when they were dropped into Little Sal's pail?
- Why didn't they make the same sound in mother's pail?
- Why did Little Sal and Little Bear get lost?
- What made Little Sal's mother turn around? Little Bear's mother?
- I wonder what Little Bear and his mother did when they got home. What did Little Sal and her mother do?

We also read Jamberry by Bruce Degen and discussed the different types of berries in the book. C and R compared and contrasted blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries.

Blueberry picking is available locally and because we have had a very rainy summer, the blueberry picking is better than usual. Before we went blueberry picking, we talked about how blueberries grow and the fact that blueberries is one crop that is native to the United States. This experience was wonderful because C and R took turns pretending to be Little Sal and Little Bear. I was amazed at how many details they remembered from the book. The owner of the property where we picked the blueberries assured C and R that there are no bears on the property!

R was very happy when she heard that it was acceptable to eat the berries as she picked them!

What did we do with the blueberries?
- counted them
- compared the size and color of our blueberries
- measured them
- froze some to save for the winter (just like Little Sal and her mother)
- and made a Half Raw Half Cooked Blueberry Pie

Ingredients: 4 cups blueberries
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt
one baked 9 inch pie shell

Wash/drain blueberries. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add water and mix. Heat while stirring and add 2 cups of the blueberries. Cook over medium-high heat until thick and transparent (this only takes a few minutes). The mixture gets very glossy and the blueberries will pop. Cool slightly. Pour a small amount into the bottom of the baked pie shell. Add remaining 2 cups of blueberries to the cooked mixture in the pan. Pour mixture into pie shell and garnish with a few fresh berries on top. Cool completely and serve with whipped cream or ice cream! Yum!

*Discussion topics came from Peak With Books by Marjorie R.Nelsen and Jan Nelsen-Parish

A couple of Maine Lobsters

We are currently learning about the state of Maine. L is for Lobster by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds has been a great resource for us. We learned that Maine is the largest lobster-producing state in the nation so of course we just had to make lobsters. How cute are these little guys?

C named his lobster Lucky.
R named hers Mudda.
If you would like to make your own egg carton lobster, click here for complete directions.

Maine

This map is from the Enchanted Learning website, and the website has been fantastic for our learning. If you are not familiar with the website, check it out.

We are really excited about studying Maine for our fifty states project. There are so many wonderful books about the state of Maine, and we will be reading these:

L is for Lobster: A Maine Alphabet by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds

Good Night Maine by Adam Gamble

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey