A New Coat for Anna {FI♥AR}

December 19th ~ 23rd 

"Winter had come and Anna needed a new coat. The fuzzy blue coat she had worn for so many winters was no longer fuzzy and it was very small. In the aftermath of World War II in Europe, Anna's mother decides she will trade the few valuables she has left for a coat." ~ from the back of A New Coat for Anna.

We learned a little about World War II, bartering, wool production, natural dyes, and more. We don't celebrate Christmas, so I reworded some of the text in the book as I read it. (We don't believe that our Savior was born on December 25th and recognize His birth during the Biblical holiday (holy day) of God in which we believe He was born ~ the Feast of Tabernacles.)  

Social Studies: Post WWII, Pride in Our Work, Barter/Trade, Patience; Geography: Enemy/Allied Countries

Malachi worked on the lap book from Homeschool Share.


First we identified which countries were allies and which were enemies during WWII. Then we found the allied and enemy countries on our large world map and then Malachi colored them on the small map from the lap book. Then he did a mini book on army travel. 


We also watched America: The Story of US: WWII. I have to laugh because I own this series on DVD and didn't know it until the other day when I found it sitting on my shelf unopened! We've watched them all on Netflix, but I think they are a good visual of American history so I'm happy I found it. 

Malachi loves army and history, so he enjoyed learning about WWII.  

Language Arts: Memory and Comprehension

We recalled what Anna's mother traded for what using the questions from the lesson in the manual and the mini books from the lapbook (see photo below).

Science: Lingonberries and Natural Dyes

We learned from the manual p. 48.  that a lingonberry is a "small, dark, red, berry related to the cranberry." We learned where it can be found and the climate it grows in (cooler, mild climates). We were so excited to actually try some lingonberry preserves! (see photo below). They are tart like a cranberry and I've read that they are often called a wild cranberry.

So, we used cranberries to make a natural dye (since Anna and her mother dye the yarn to make her coat with lingonberries).


The manual mentions that a mordant is added to help set the color. We used vinegar and juice in one dish and plain juice in the other and they both came out the same - a light pink color and not the red I was hoping for! 



Art: Weaving, Knitting, Yarn Block Prints - Patterns

We talked about what weaving is and I reminded that kids of the place mats that we weaved last month.  I may make them a homemade loom someday.  Eliana really wants to knit, so I focused my time on staring a pattern for her with some thick and quick yarn (which is really good for beginners because it is easy to use and you can see progress quickly). Here is what I started and I still need to sit and work with her.


I was inspired by these Yarn Block Prints to make our own prints to combine the math lesson with art. The math lesson was on patterns - dress maker patterns (of which they have seen me use), but we also learned that the actual word pattern means "either an artistic or decorative design." We used the yarn block to make repeating designs. 



Math: Measuring, Patterns (as mentioned above)

We measured ourselves on our measuring board ("Look How I Have Grown" mini book) and measured our "dress size" using a retractable measuring tape.  Eliana has been measuring in her Earlybird math - hand spans, foot spans, paces, and measuring with 1cm cubes. We also got the Inchimals out to measure with.

Lap Journal:

{click to enlarge}

Recipe: Bundt Cake

We made a bundt cake like the one in the book. :)



Thanks, Tamara! 
I looked up the various ways to serve pound cake and thought that lingonberries would be good on top. :) 


I liked the lingonberries, but I don't care for pound cake - too sweet. :-/

Sensory Play:

I was inspired by a toddler friendly sewing basket to made a sewing basket for Eliana for sensory play. I actually made it for Warm as Wool, but we didn't get to it and it ties in nicely with both books. 

Sewing Basket

Sewing basket contains:
  • jar of buttons (cap is hot glued on)
  • fabric marker
  • fabric squares for patches
  • embroidery hoop, mesh, and yarn needle for "embroidering"
  • yarn
  • extra packet of needles (I hot glued the package closed)
  • spools of thread
  • big buttons for sewing
  • thimble 
  • retractable measuring tape


FI♥AR Quilt:

I've been keeping my eye out for material for each row. I liked this one for A New Coat for Anna because it has a dressmaking pattern, a measuring tape and other sewing notions and has an old fashioned feel to it.


A New Coat for Anna is a Five in a Row Selection from Volume 2. 

Delightful Links:

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