The Brain is Spinning with Ideas!

Yesterday we got quite a bit of snow, but it was wet snow, so we didn't actually get much accumulation.  It was very pretty though; big, wet, fat flakes that came down in buckets for a while.  It looked like one of Donna's winter graphics.  (like the one above)

It snowed a bit more this morning; there was just enough on the ground for Eler Beth and the dogs to enjoy running through.  By this evening the sun had melted most of it away.  We are supposed to get a warm up now.  High tomorrow is supposed to be in the 40s, and by the end of the week we should see the 50s again.  But with the warmer weather we're supposed to get some showers on Tuesday.

Tomorrow is President's Day, so no school and no mail.  Since Andrew will be home I won't have any lessons with Eler Beth.  We don't have any plans, so we'll probably just veg out all day.  I have lesson plans made up for the rest of the week, though. 

Since we're from Kentucky and still live just across the river from Louisville, and since The Kentucky Derby is such a big event for our area, I am going to do a reading unit on Thoroughbreds/Horse Racing in Kentucky/The Kentucky Derby.  I got the idea when I re-read a book that was a favorite of mine when I was a child called Old Bones The Wonder Horse, by Mildred Mastin pace, about KY Derby Winner Exterminator (born and bred in Kentucky).  I've been buying old favorites for Eler Beth to read, and I got this one last week along with another favorite, King Of The Wind, by Marguerite Henry, which is the story of The Godolphin Arabian, the beginning of the Thoroughbred line.

I used to read these books every year or so.  When I was reading "Bones" recently (Had to!  It was beckoning to me, "Come on! You know you want to.  You haven't read me since you were a kid!") I thought that it might be fun to have Eler Beth read both books and we could incorporate some other history of the Thoroughbred breed along with the history of The Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs and how horse racing has been important to Kentucky.  We will go to the The Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs when we finish; a place Eler Beth has wanted to go for a long time.  She'll probably want to go the Derby itself, but maybe I can talk her into going to one of the less crowded races.  I've never had a desire to be at the Downs on Derby Day.  There was also a movie made of "King" that I have not seen.  I found a copy on Amazon, so if I can get it we'll watch it after we've read the book.  ("King" is a Newberry Award winner) 

We could also take a day trip to Lexington or near Lexington and visit a horse farm or two.   Anyway I thought it was a pretty good idea for a reading unit, where I could throw in some local history and even some biology where the horses are concerned.  I was talking to my sister Maxine yesterday, who is a veteran teacher, and she loved the idea.  While we were talking she went online and found a study guide complete with questions and activities built around King Of The Wind.  I hadn't even thought of looking for it online; I probably would have looked at KSS or something for a study guide.  Anyway, I think I'll time the unit to conclude around Derby festivities (The Derby is run the first Saturday in May).  We don't plan to go to the Derby, but the Derby festivities actually kick off with Thunder Over Louisville, two weeks before The Derby, and we usually go to that.  Then there are other activities, like The Pegasus Parade, The Balloon Race, The Steamboat Race, and other things.  I'm looking forward to it.  We don't gamble, so that I'm afraid will not be part of this educational experience! lol

Tags: King of the Wind, Marguerite Henry, The Godolphin Arabian, Old Bones The Wonder Horse, Mildred Mastin Pace, Exterminator, Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Derby Museum, Thunder Over Louisville