A Homeschool Literature Fair - Fueling Creativity
Monday, March 11, 2013 at 5:00AM
Each year we participate in a homeschool literature fair.
In years past, Anna has done projects about the books Calico Bush and The Wheel on the School. We learn so much from these intensive unit studies and projects.
It is the single most important thing we participate in all year.
A Warning:
We suspend our regular curriculum for the entire week before the fair to work on these projects. The book is read a couple of months ahead of time, and sometimes the hands on project is started that early, too.
A local homeschooling friend of mine told me she just didn't have time for the fun "fluff" of the literature fair because they were too busy with formal schoolwork.
That just made me sad.
Reading a marvelous book, knowing it like the back of your hand, and making it your OWN through a project is a gift that will always be with my children. Choosing a project and seeing it through to fruition is such an accomlishment.
It is this type of accomplishment that fuels innovators.
I contend they learn so much more from this interest led activity than from any "mother imposed" curriculum.
This year she chose the book, The Quilt Walk.
The book takes place in the mid 1800s and chronicles a young girl's journey from Quincy, Illinois to Golden, Colorado. The book recounts her journey along a portion of the Oregon Trail and weaves quilting into the story.
After our trip to visit The Oregon Trail last October, Anna knew this book would be perfect! Her aunt had also gotten her started on a small quilt, so she knew she would have a great project for the fair.
As she worked her way through this project I knew had hit upon the IDEAL way to learn.
I learned so much - I just had to write about it all.
Choose an Interesting Subject
We started with an interest - pioneer life and The Oregon Trail.
Of course, our trip spurred this interest.
We read ad nauseum about The Oregon Trail. I wrote about the resources several months ago. A kind librarian/former teacher loaned us ALL of her Pioneer Days resources.
Find Resources to Supplement Learning
One of the biggest resources we used was family and friends who knew about quilting. Two of Anna's aunts started her on the quilt, and a dear friend of mine helped her finish. I know NOTHING about quilting (but I do now!).
I was so very proud of my Anna. This quilt took a long time.
She did a simple quilt with 40 squares - machine sewing and then hand stitching the binding.
Other resources we found:
- Hearts and Trees Prairie Kit
- Lapbook Pieces and Minibooks about quilt patterns and quilting vocabulary
- Every book about quilting we could check out from the library!
- We bought The Girl's Own Book - a book mentioned in The Quilt Walk. If you want a really interesting book for your girls, this is it!
Notice this quilted potholder from the Hearts and Trees Prairie Kit. This was hand sewn by Anna all on her own. She also took some of the pictures from the kit and colored them with watercolor pencils. These pictures lined her display board.
Planning the Display/Presentation
Anna wanted to back her board with the same fabric that was used for the binding of her quilt. It was lovely.
She included her minibooks, lapbook pieces, watercolor pictures, a map of the journey in the book, and the quilted potholder (along with the instructions for it).
The best thing (I thought) about her presentation was her Keynote Presentation which she made herself. (Keynote is the Mac equivalent of Powerpoint).
She used pictures from our trip out west and documented our journey. She chose music of Aaron Copland to be playing in the background.
It was just perfect.
The Written and Interview Component
The project included a book report which Anna wrote and typed all on her own.
A research report was also required, along with a bibliography.
She was evaluated by two judges who scored her project with a rubric.
Learning to present and talk about something that interests you is such a valuable skill.
Anna was duly rewarded for her hard work: a second place in her age group. What an accomplishment.
I know the organizers of our literature fair are working on putting together a formal document outlining the ins and outs of conducting a literature fair. Believe me: it is A LOT of work.
I'll keep you posted when that document comes out.
For now, you could have a literature evening in your home. Have a book party: Read a book, complete a project and invite family and friends over for dinner and let your child present their work to them.
How about hosting an evening of literature for your local homeschool group?
Oh, the possibilities!
Past Literature Fair Books My Children Have Selected:
Do you participate in any types of homeschool fairs like this?
I'd love to hear about it.
Reader Comments (5)
Your literature fair posts have inspired me, Mary! A friend and I are working to arrange a literature fair in our community. It will be a smaller, simpler event but I'm excited for it.
Congrats to Anna for second place.
Our homeschool group has in past years done a history fair. My 2 oldest were active every year. The projects would consist of a written report, storyboard dosplay, an activity based on the time period and if possible a snack based on the theme. This is quite a drawn out task as you mentioned and isually required months of steady work by the kids ( and me of course) some examples ofmtheir work were themes of salvery, the trail of tears, the orphan trains, and the history of the guitar.
When my daughter presented the orphan trains, many of the parents did not eben know of such a time period. We watched a pbs documentary, them scoured the library and the internet for additional info. We bought fabric for her board and she attached pictures, and reprints of actual documents from the time period. As her additonal display we purchased a very old,replica suitcase from the goodwill along with a vintage dress (based again on the timeperiod) to lay inside the suitcase for display to show what a child would have been able to take on their journey (1 outfit).
My son did the history of the guitar, which he plays, he had his extensive report, storyboard, and a laptop with a full history slideshow which he did himself and used his own guitar playing as background music. He also brought his guitars as a display ofmacustic and electric styles.
I could go on and on about each topic but I don't want to bore. I fully agree that this is a huge undertaking and a wonderful learning opportunity for kids to start, work on, and finish a large project. These historymfairs are some of the great homeschooling memories we have. The projects are hatd...there will be crying...lol...but well worth the effort.
I love seeing your kids literature fair projects...it is such a neat concept to have a "fair" all about books (science and geography/history fairs are so much more common!). Our co-op does "expert day" which is open to projects of all kinds. I tried to suggest ideas to my daughter this year that would lend itself to more of a literature project...but she decided to go for something more history related instead. :-) She is really into dolls at the moment and is researching the history of dolls. It is such a broad topic though that right now I am trying to help her narrow it down to something that can be presented in one poster display and a three minute talk. Not an easy task! :-)
Sounds like a lot of fun! I bet they will never forget what they learn during these studies.
Oh, Mary, I ABSOLUTELY LOOOOOOOOVE this idea! Thanks for sharing. I will passing this on to our co-op moms. We are always looking for ideas for our spring program. Last year each family hosted a geography themed table/display. But this would be another nice option.