Unit Study: The Hobbit

 We spent six weeks reading through the Hobbit together, which, not surprisingly, made my heart very happy! This was a fun time to focus on lots of Charlotte Mason style language arts activities, including narration. I was a little nervous at first, because the Hobbit is definitely our most complex and ambitious literary adventures so far, and I was wondering if the girls would be able to follow along. Sweet Pea struggled a bit, but having her narrate back to me what happened every chapter or so was really helpful, and both girls became very invested in the story.

We made peg dolls to go along with the story. Above is Pumpkin's rendition of Gandalf and Bilbo. We also listened to excerpts of the audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis, the actor who played Gollum in the films. This was a really fun way to experience the story in a different way. I did my best with the voices of the different characters, but there's nothing like listening to a story read by a professional!

In the midst of the unit study, we moved to a new home. We put together a grab-and-go school bag, so we could continue schooling even while listing our home and managing showings. While I would have liked to do more extra, fun activities related to the Hobbit, we just didn't have time, but I'm pleased to say we were able to keep up with our regular schooling activities. In fact, keeping the routine made the transition a little easier. Additionally, as Bilbo and the dwarves continually wrestled with the idea of what "home" is throughout the story, it helped us to process our own feelings about leaving home and making a new home. 

Plenty of real-life learning happened during this time too! The girls learned how to paint a room, screw on outlet covers (don't worry, Dad did the actual electrical work), and more!