One of my daughter's favorite lessons was a book she made to go along with one we were reading for school, My Father's Dragon.  My main goal for the lesson was for her to practice her handwriting, something she doesn't really like to do.  When I ran across the idea for this book on the  Sonlight Forums , I knew I had found a way to get her writing willingly. 

The story is about a little boy who goes on an adventure to rescue a dragon.  He plans very carefully for the trip and packs what he thinks will need into his backpack.  So I gathered the items he packed for us to use.  We packed our own "backpack" (ziplock bag) with the same items.  Sometimes we used the actual items (like rubber bands, gum, lollipops, ribbon) and other times we used magazine pictures (clothing, food, toiletries).

Once we had our "backpack" ready to go were were ready to begin.  As we read each chapter, Mackenzie had to listen very carefully to see which items from the backpack that the boy used.  Then she would pull them out of our "backpack." 

For our book she would write the title of the chapter and a short sentence about what we'd read.  Then she would make an illustration, incorporating the items used from the backpack into the picture.

 (The dog only helped her a little. LOL)

She was beyond thrilled with this and, to this day, the book she made holds an honored place on our bookshelf.  It was a lot of fun for her and she tried to write really neatly.  I was really pleased with her effort.

And here she is reading her beloved book.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

This post is my entry to win a camera in the "Share Your Favorite Lesson Plan" Contest sponsored by Sprittibee and Academic Superstore.