20 Jan Five in a Row: The Rag Coat

Book Review

The Rag Coat is a sweet story of a little girl growing up in the Appalachian mountains in a poor coal mining community.  Her father passed way from working in the mines, and they were not able to afford a coat for her so she wasn’t able to go to school.  The women of the community came together with a generous solution, which provided the warmth the little girl needed as well as some precious memories.  I may or may not have gulped and wiped away a couple of tears each time I read this book.

While reading the book, I immediately thought of the country singer, Dolly Parton and her very similar version of this story.  We found it on YouTube:

Dolly Parton sang about Joseph’s coat of many colors, which of course was one of the first things you would think about upon reading the book.  One of the days when I was taking a nap before going to work, I had my husband do the reading to the kids.  I then had him read the children the story of Joseph and talk about it.  It must have made an impression because when I asked them about it at dinner time, Clark was able to retell the entire story.

Geography

The Rag Coat takes place in the Appalachian mountains.  We located this mountain range on the map.  Typically Clark and Luci identify and remember the geographic location of the book being rowed, but honestly they did not this time.  Maybe because I didn’t choose a specific state with an identifying flag.  I think I will in the future.

We talked a lot about Appalachian Culture, looking at the pictures in the book.  The images showed a log cabin containing different objects that we do not have.  We listened to dulcimer music and even made some Hootenanny Pancakes!

Hootenanny Pancakes

Clark and Luci helped to make the Hootenanny Pancakes, of course.  Clark read the recipe and Luci helped by dumping everything into the bowl.  Then we took turns stirring it.  We decided not to use an electric beater because Minna’s family in the book certainly did not have one.

The pancakes are really very simple to make and it cooks up quickly.  We found it fascinating how quickly it grew in the oven, almost overflowing the pan!  We put the pan in the oven and 25 minutes later, it was HUGE!

It shrunk very quickly as soon as I opened the oven door.  We ate it for dinner with maple syrup.  It’s not an incredibly nutritious meal, but it was such a fun meal, and kind of delicious!

Art

Art is always a favorite in this homeschool!  In fact, it’s what we do when we’re not doing our school work!  There were several suggestions of what to do for this subject in the Five in a Row Workbook, but Clark and Luci really just wanted to draw and color a rag coat.

So that is exactly what we did!  I am a huge, and perhaps biased, admirer of my children’s art work.  They love anything creative, especially drawing.  I just think they are brilliant and so talented.

Our Rag Coats

These are the end results:  Clark drew Minna wearing her rag coat, surrounded by her school friends.  He got tired of all the color changes, so Minna’s arms ended up one color.

Luci, as usual, let her rambunctious personality shine through, but created a beautiful picture of Minna with a multi-colored skirt and blue hair.  She’s adding more and more detail into her pictures, I notice.  This time, she drew fingers on the characters.

Mathematics

Clark and Luci love puzzles, so for Christmas we got them some Tangrams.  Perfect timing for our study of The Rag Coat!   I casually introduced the Tangrams one afternoon after reading the book and pointing out the picture of the quilt.  The kids immediately began creating shapes.  We even had a contest to see who could create the nicest animal.  Clark made a spider and Luci made a butterfly.

The next day for a greater challenge, I printed out a few worksheets with different shapes we could create with Tangrams.  Clark loved it and very quickly created several shapes of people running and dancing.  Luci ended up a little frustrated, so I had her make a little house which was more age-appropriate.  Poor Baby!  She does not like to be left out of anything!

Making Our Own Rag Coats out of Scraps

Clark and Luci were both pretty impressed with Minna’s rag coat and thought it would be a great idea to make one, too.  We downloaded the free lapbook for The Rag Coat (HERE) and used the front cover along with some scrapbook paper to make our rag coats.

I really hope the folks responsible for these resources know how grateful we are for them!  There are so many resources online that help us during our homeschool days.  Sometimes it’s inspiration and other times it’s exactly what I was looking for.  Either way, it’s always a blessing and a huge help in my homeschool planning!

Clark and Luci worked hard to create a beautiful rag coat just like Minna’s in the book.  Luci, of course, had to cut the scrapbook paper a little more – any excuse to use scissors!

As part of Mathematics for this row, I also came across this Coal Mining Game.  I blogged about it a little more in depth HERE, along with a more in depth look at Coal and Mining.

Science

The Rag Coat talks about how Minna’s father was sick with what we presumed to be Black Lung Disease.  This opened a discussion about lungs and the respiratory system.  I blogged about this subject separately here in another part of our “My Body” series.  Clark and Luci are fascinated by these discussions.  They ask a ton of very relevant questions, which I just love!

So that’s another Five in a Row study done! We are really taking our time with these books. I don’t see a reason to rush things, so we are taking things at our own pace. This way, we have the freedom to enjoy the books without stress.

P.S.  Don’t miss All About Coal Mining and Cookies!