52 Books in 52 Weeks – Week 8 – Justin Morgan had a Horse

This week’s book for the 52 Books in 52 Weeks is Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry.  Ms. Henry has written a number of books about horses including the Album of Horses of which both Sophia and Olivia have a copy.  It’s an excellent resource that has information and illustrations about different breeds of horses. 

When we did a unit study on horses a couple of years ago, I read Justin Morgan had a Horse to the girls.  This book is part of Sonlight’s curriculum for Sophia, so I’m going to read it again to them.  Being that the girls are older, they may hear some things they didn’t hear the first time around.

The back cover summarizes this 170-page book:  Joel Goss knows that Little Bub is a special colt, even though he’s a runt. And when schoolteacher Justin Morgan asks Joel to break the colt in, Joel is thrilled!

Soon word about Little Bub has spread throughout the entire Northeast — this spirited colt can pull heavier loads than a pair of oxen. And run faster than thoroughbreds!

This is the story of the little runt who became the father of the world-famous breed of American horses — the Morgan.

The girls received some past issues of Horse and Rider from one of the parents in their 4-H club whose family has and shows horses.  They have been cutting out pictures of their favorite horses and putting them aside for use in a project.  I’m not sure what they have in mind…so it will be interesting to see what they create.

This week, we’ll also be looking at the 4-H horse project booklets for Sophia and determining which activities she’d like to do between now and the County Fair (in July).  I’m also going to look at the curriculum for Cloverbuds (a 4-H program for children who are in second grade and younger) and see if there are any horse-related project that Olivia can do.

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{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual (inspired by soulemama). A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!

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Being Involved in 4-H

Olivia with her Entries and Ribbons
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

This was Olivia’s first year in Cloverbuds (for K-2nd grade students who aren’t old enough yet to go into “regular” 4-H). Cloverbuds were able to enter four projects that they did into the county fair.

Olivia entered a pillow she made in her Little House in the Big Woods class, a set of painted matroyshka dolls with horses on each doll, a paint-by-numbers picture of a dog in a doghouse, and a sewn/stuffed Santa decoration.

As the older children had to do, Cloverbuds are interviewed by a judge about their knowledge about the project they did, the goals they had for the project, what they learned, what they would do differently, etc.

Olivia’s projects are behind her – to the left and right. She’s holding the ribbons awarded to Cloverbuds.

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