FIAR Co-op

Our book this month was The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

I suggested the idea of dipping candles as a project, since that's one thing Kit had to learn to do. The other moms were agreeable, so I drove all over the state in order to find picked up some wicking and a huge, honkin' bar o' paraffin.

My girls were very excited. None of us had ever tried dipping candles before and we were all looking forward to it. I was a little nervous that it wouldn't work well or it would be too tedious for the kids to enjoy.

Clarence provided me with dowels to help keep fingers out of hot wax.

The kids circled the table, dipping their wicks into the wax five times, then moving along to let the next one dip and allow their candle to cool until it was their turn again.

My fears were in vain. It went remarkably well. The kids all enjoyed it and I was amazed at their patience with the process. They laughed and talked, dipped and circled, and had a great time.

Not knowing how much wax we'd need, I bought a ten-pound block of paraffin. I think I have approximately 9.6984 pounds left over. Maybe I should find a book with some connection to letting the kids try wax sculpture?

We had a lot of other great activities for this book, too. One mom led a discussion about Puritans and Quakers and the kids shared the differences they'd researched. The other moms covered making assumptions, types of fallacies, and had the kids decide whether they agreed or disagreed with quotes taken from the book. As a bonus, it was a gorgeous day so the kids had a chance to run around and play outside, too.

We intended to delve more deeply into the Salem witch trials but ran out of time. Still, the kids learned a great deal and had a great time doing so. It was yet another successful day.