Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Corduroy

Last week we read the book Corduroy! We had so much fun doing activities that went with the story!

Our first day plan was changed by some snow - so we ended up making a teddy bear out of snow and playing with buttons while enjoying Teddy Graham cookies!

Another day we headed to the Build-A-Bear store at the mall. We'd never done this before and I wasn't too excited about adding more stuffed animals to our toy family, so came up with a creative solution of enjoying the experience and sharing it with someone else. Plus, I found a coupon on the box of Teddy Grahams which made it a better deal!

Emily named her bear Pinky and Rachel named hers Ellie! They were very pleased with the results! Rachel's favorite part was giving her bear a bath!

While at the mall - we enjoyed riding the escalator - just as Corduroy did!

The next day, we took the bears to their new home! We delivered them to the local Ronald McDonald house. Emily wanted to give hers right to a little girl - but the two youngest girls staying at the house that day were over at the hospital when we were there. I hope the bears were a fun surprise and sweet blessing during their time of difficulty.

Emily pointed to the page with all the lamps and beds and said she wanted to see a store like that - so we visited a furniture store. The sales people caught wind of why we were there and we found teddy bears hidden under covers and on beds. They played along like it was Corduroy himself. And, just as we were leaving - a salesman approached us saying that if we liked that book, we'd probably enjoy Goodnight Bear and Goodnight Bunny - books written by Margaret Wise Brown but not found until after she died (I think). Anyway, his wife was the illustrator of the books! Obviously, we had a very positive experience here and the little ladies enjoyed their visit!

We felt corduroy and talked about saving money with these neat banks we got for Christmas! It was such a fun week!

29 comments:

Wendi said...

Corduroy is my favorite children's story!

I have a questions about all of the books you are reading. Are you purchasing them to build a home library or just borrowing them from your public library?

That bank is so neat. Currently we are just putting all of Megan's gifts of money and spare change into her savings accounts. When she gets a little older I love the idea of this bank. Glad you shared it!

Anonymous said...

Monica,
You are such a great mom! Do you want to adopt me :)

Amy said...

That is so sweet! I love your ideas for bringing the books to life. I am so glad that the salespeople played along too- love it!

Katy said...

What a fantastic time Monica!!! What wonderful memories for your girls...and what a blessing and wonderful thought to give those bears to little girls going through a difficult time!!! What a beautiful act of kindness!!!!

Anonymous said...

This was so adorable. I LOVE all your homeschooling posts, Monica. We are doing BFIAR also and my daughter is having such a good time, I can't wait to start the regular FIAR. Your ideas are always so creative. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful!! I love the way you are teaching your little ladies. Inspiring, even to a veteran homeschool mom. tammyp

Jenny said...

What a fun experience for your girls! I love that they donated their bears to the Ronald McDonald House. That is such a great lesson in giving to others. It sounds like they were truly able to experience the story of Corduroy.

You have great ideas! :)

Anonymous said...

Couroroy was my fave book when I was little. It sounds like your girls had the best time. It may be a favorite of theirs as well. How sweet of the folks at the store to play along and make it fun for the girls.

Unknown said...

What a great post and great idea. You are very inspiring. Thanks so much for the post.

angie said...

What a fantastic idea to pass on the Build a Bears. I must say that our BAB animals are too plentiful. (My daughter also named one of her bears Ellie.)
How wonderful to find a friendly, play-along sales staff at the furniture store.

Unknown said...

Love these ideas! Are some of them from BFIAR? I am getting FIAR soon! Great job, Monica! :)

Jessica said...

That sounds like fun. And what a great idea for the bears.

RT said...

Oh wow. I teared up at the mention of your girls donating the bears to the kids at the Ronald McDonald house. Well done!

The Nilsen's Journey said...

I have really enjoyed reading your blog since I've been at home on mat-leave. We are considering homeschooling & I wondered where you pull together all these creative ideas. (I understand that your personality has been gifted as such, but I am also wondering if you have a homeschooling association you are a part of or??) When did you start these themed book learning days? (at what age of your children). Thanks for your time!

Anonymous said...

What a terrific idea to build a bear and then donate it! Thanks for the great idea!

Debra said...

I loved Corduroy as a child. I was really excited to share it with my daughter.

The first 2 times my daughter went to BAB it was to stuff bears for others - once after Hurricane Katrina and once after the Tsunamis in Indonesia. It's a good sharing lesson for the kids.

Looks like you had a fun week!

Alisha said...

I loved Corduroy when I was a child. I miss that book.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see these photos of what you were up to while I was at work! I am so proud of Emily and Rachel for cheerfully giving their cute bears away! What a legacy of giving you are instilling in them. :) Love, Mom
PS: It sure is QUIET at our house...

Anonymous said...

I love Corduroy! It's so fun to share the books I loved as a kid with my own children.

The way you take a book and then make a little "unit study" out of it is really great and very creative. Your girls will have great memories to go along with their books.

Deanna said...

My first favorite book! Oh how I loved Corduroy and Lisa. I have to tell you that today, my husband and I went to a rumble sale..(flea market) and we found a man with many vintage items. While I was perusing the vintage sewing pattens, my husband came over to me and said, "I have to have him". He was holding a maroon corduroy bear with a button in his ear. I never knew that my husband had ever read Corduroy. He came home with us. When we went to our favorite restaurant for lunch, we named all of our favorite childhood books. Have you read Bread and Jam for Frances yet? That book is my second favorite of all time.

What wonderful memories you brought back to me. Thanks for sharing your day.

BTW, I know that the "littles" at the Ronald McDonald House will love their bears. You are awesome!


Deanna :)

Elise said...

Wow, I love that!!! And how sweet to take the bears to RMH. I am sure the children there loved the bears!!
Elise

petrii said...

What a wonderful idea for the Build-a-Bears!!

Have a Blessed evening,
Dawn

Anonymous said...

We love these books at our house. What a fun trip to make bears. We have done this also. My girls just love their bears.

Leanne said...

I love this "giving back" idea and think I will "borrow" it asap!!

jenny said...

This one brought tears to my eyes. What a great idea to give the bears away. Bless you.

Me said...

How nice. What a wonderful way to show your children how to give. You're a great mamma!

noahandlylasmommi said...

I love that book! How fun! What a great idea to deliver the stuffed animals to the Ronald McDonald House. I think I will try to do something like this. You are a wonderful mommy :0)

Jenny said...

Love the Corduoy books. I am sure your kids enjoyed playing out the story at the mall. And what a nice idea of giving...Ronald McDonald house. A close friend of mine has spent a lot of time there (gives her a place to stay) while her infant daughter is in the hospital so I know how great of a charity it is.

Phebe said...

What a great idea! I love how you turned it into an opportunity to give!

That is the Build-A-Bear that we like to go to too!! If you ever live near one, be sure to sign up for their "stuff for stuff" card. They send you $10 off coupons in the mail!

Phebe