City or Country

Because we live in the suburbs, it is interesting to talk about how other people live and go to school. I enjoy sharing information from the book TOWN AND COUNTRY by Alice and Martin Provensen with the children. We spend a lot of time comparing and contrasting lifestyles.
The children especially enjoy talking about the how different recess can be. Why in a "City School" sometimes streets must be blocked off for recess. There is not enough room among all of the tall buildings for a playground. We talk about different games that are played and how you have to be very careful not to bat a ball through one of the school windows.
When we discuss recess at a country school, we talk all of the open space there is for the children to play. If you bat a ball across the fence there why it may go into a pasture.




Another one of our favorite books to read is THE LITTLE HOUSE by Virginia Lee Burton. After reading and discussing the book the children illustrate a picture of what the little house saw. We then write about there picture on the page. I love to read what they say and draw from the book. It is interesting to me what "sticks with a child".












Some focus on The Little House in the country. They illustrate the hills, mountains, ponds, flowers, and trees.
Usually someone will have a beautiful apple tree near The Little House. And often there will be ducks swimming in the pond.















Some of the children will focus on The Little House in the city. They will illustrate the tall buildings surrounding The Little House as the cars, trucks and buses are rushing by.









Most of the children will illustrate a daytime picture. But every once in a while a child will illustrate The Little House and what it sees at nighttime.


















There are some children who focus on all of the seasons The Little House will see. They enjoy talking about the difference in the landscape as the seasons change.















I enjoy using THE LITTLE HOUSE to talk about a story's setting. The book is just the perfect example for children to understand how important the setting is to telling the story.

It is at this time that we talk of developing good scenes for our stories. And believe it or not, they get it!!!