The Finest Horse in Town {FI♥AR}


The Finest Horse in Town is an unusual story in that it is actually three smaller stories that are all about guessing who took care of "the finest horse in town" ~ a horse named Prince.

"Long before my mother was born, her aunts owned a store in a small village in Maine. They had a smart gray horse who pulled a shiny black buggy when they went out riding. Prince was the finest horse in town. But no one remembers who took care of that beautiful animal while the aunts were working in their store: perhaps it was a sneaky trader who tried to steal him, perhaps it was a one-legged harmonica player who taught him to dance; perhaps it was two children who once saved Prince's life."

I had fun with the kids by having them guess which one they think likely happened by choosing their favorite one, and we did an activity for each story.

1st Story



I was inspired by the poppies in the book. They grow all over in a small mountain town near us and I enjoyed seeing them on our drives, so we did the Poppy Study from That Artist Woman.



2nd Story



We had a Patriotic Supper inspired by the Five in a Row cookbook and the 4th of July celebration in the story.

We had BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Lemonade, and Red, White & Blue cupcakes for dessert.










3rd Story


We spent the most time during this row doing fall nature studies. We collected some wonderful nature loot to study later and enjoyed the fall colors and the warm weather we were having! We went on several nature walks over the course of a week and it was really wonderful! Now that winter is here, I'm so grateful we spent so much time outside enjoying fall.

On all of our walks and adventures, our goal was to find COLOR!





















With all of the nature loot we collected, we made a nature study table and invited some animal friends to play. 








Bo enjoyed sorting all of the berries and seeds by color. Then we practiced counting. 







Exploring Creation with Botany ~ Lesson 6: Leaves



Elli's science narration:
Trees lose their leaves in the fall because they loosen up and the chlorophyll gets ready to hibernate so they have to lose them in the fall so the winter doesn't hurt the tree.

Leaves are important because they get all the sunlight and make food for the tree. It takes in what we breathe out and takes out what we breathe in - carbon dioxide and oxygen.

[What does photosynthesis require?] Sunlight, air, water, and chlorophyll.

[What happens to leaves in the fall?]

The leaves fall because the leaves get looser and looser and when the leaves blow, they just fall right off. [Why do they get looser?] The scab stops the leaves from getting water. The leaves turn color because they don't have chlorophyl. Chlorophyll is what makes the leaves green.

Horse Care

Caring for Horses (Horsing Around) & Complete Horse Care Manual were both great books for learning how to care for horses.

The first book was really easy to read and had some great horse care terminology like "mucking out" "turning out." It also recommended this video on horse care. The second book helped us understand more of the terminology and offered more specifics. We skimmed through this book reading what interested us, but also used it for our next row.









Earlier this school year, we went on a field trip to learn about horse care. (I had intended to row this book back then.) We got to see a horse get re-shoed and took home some souvenir nails.


Can you guess what we rowed next? 

10 comments

  1. I just joined the group. I'm looking forward to learning about EOs, I have wanted to know more but don't know anyone local to ask. :)

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  2. Tristan, this will be perfect for you! I don't have anyone local either. My team is awesome and offers so much online support!

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  3. I love the idea of the lap journal. Do you have a link somewhere of how you made this?

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  4. Here you go, Wendy! http://www.delightfullearning.net/2011/05/lap-journal-five-in-row.html

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  5. I don't know about the finest horse in town, but I do know you always have the funnest house in town. The poppy paintings, 4th of July dinner and cupcakes are over the top creative. You are always so good at making memories for your children ♥. Long after they graduate, this is what they will remember with great fondness.

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  6. Oh my goodness! What a wonderful week! I miss the colors of autumn. They came and went too soon. You live in such a beautiful place :) I love how you collected and sorted your nature treasures. Fun, fun!

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  7. MudPuddleSoup.blogspot.comDecember 8, 2014 at 5:51 PM

    Love the outdoor photos you captured. I've missed being outdoors. Horse care around here is a daily chore, but my girls do love watching the farrier when he comes to the house. Looks like a fun row and precious memories.

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  8. Thank you! It was fun and so good to get out so much. I love the changing seasons, but we were really blessed with a lovely fall season this year ~ it has been one of my favorites ever. We've had warm, lovely falls the last few years and cold, wet springs, so fall is fast becoming my favorite. Though, I'd still take a warm, early spring any year!

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  9. How how fun to have horses! I imagine it would become a chore, but a good real life experience! We really enjoyed our time in this row. And I'm starting to know why you love fall so much!

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