Wizard of Oz

We have been reading Wizard of Oz as part of our literature and the kids love it. If you have never read the book, it is vastly different from the movie. Not only are there things that have been left out - such as in the book they cross a river and the scarecrow is almost left - but there are things changed and things added - Dorothy doesn't run away in the book and there is no Elmira Gulch.

In some ways, it is almost like a completely different story.

Daisy had a vague memory of seeing the movie but Junior didn't remember seeing it at all but luckily it came on TV on Sunday. I have to admit, watching Junior watch it is almost as entertaining as the movie itself.

He will sit mostly still for tv or a movie but is in constant motion when listening to me read. In fact, I would think that he is not listening at all except his narrations are very in-depth. Today I asked him to tell his dad how the poppy field escape is different.

Here is a summation: They tried to run across the flowers but they couldn't and the tin woodman and the scare crow carried Dorothy and the dog but couldn't carry the lion because he is so big and so they were going to leave the lion and they saw a wildcat chasing a queen mouse and the tine woodman took his ax and cut off the woldcat's head and the queen mouse thanked him and and more mice thanked him and asked if they could do anything to help the tin woodman and the tin woodman told them to help with his friend the lion and they didn't want to but the tin woodman said the lion was a coward and so the woodman built a cart and the mice pulled the cart and they had to work very hard to get the lion on the cart and then the mice pulled and the woodman and the scarecrow pushed and they were able to get the lion out of the poisonous flowers and the lion woke up and they told him that the little mice had saved him. and yes I am pretty sure there was not a comma or period in his entire narration.

Through the entire narration he was spinning and bouncing and moving much like he was during the reading. Hubby asked him if he could tell the story without moving so much and he said "let Daisy tell you."

Considering I was expecting something more like "the mice helped them" I was very impressed. Hubby was impressed as well at how long the narration went on, even if he understood very little of it because of all the movement.

He learns best while he moves and trying to keep him still ensures that he will learn nothing. It is so difficult for me to understand why or how but if he has to be still, then all of his attention is on trying to stay still and he has none left for anything else. My rule for him is that he can squirm and wiggle or play with blocks but he must do it quietly.

Well, and that I don't want to be kicked in the head during a headstand on the bed.

We are also reading Treasure Island, Redwall, The Phantom Toll Booth and The Borrowers.

While we were at the library, Junior found The Phantom Toll Booth and told another homeschool mom that it is a good book (although I don't think he is getting as much out of it as Daisy.) I love it when they get excited about what we are reading.