This week we read Lentil by Robert McCloskey each day in our Five in a Row study. In this story, a boy named Lentil wants to make music. However, he can't sing and he can't even "pucker his lips" to whistle. He discovers he has a special talent for playing the harmonica. Lentil uses this talent to save the day when a calamity threatens the homecoming celebration for the leading citizen of Alto, Ohio. Learning some fun facts about Ohio, the state Lentil was from. In the book, Lentil couldn't pucker his lips. We practiced with a bottle. The town planned a celebration for the arrival of a famous Colonel with hanging flags and decorating the streets. We learned about the Pledge of Allegiance, the Star Spangled Banner, and about patriotism. We made a lemon flag cake. Old Sneep was the only one who wasn't happy about Colonel's Carter's return. He was a former classmate and thought he needed taking down a peg or two. He was a grumpy old man that muttered and whittled. We whittled shapes out of soap. It made quite a mess, but it was worth it. Logan said he didn't know soap could be such fun. It's Tenneessee, in case you can't tell. Landon make a Superhero logo for Logan. Lentil couldn't sing or pucker his lips so he learned how to play the harmonica. I got some for the boys and they played them all week. He likes to chew on everything, why not a harmonica? He liked to play in the bathroom because "the sound was improved one hundred percent." We talked about acoustics and tried out playing in different rooms to see if there was a difference. Old Sneep tried to ruin the Colonel's homecoming by sucking on a lemon making the band pucker their lips so much they couldn't play their instruments. We did a taste test for a science experiment. I remember when I was in Kindergarten, Mrs. Girdley did this with our class. We each got to come up in front of the class and try something with our eyes closed. Rebecca Knox went a few people in front of me and got a peppermint candy. I was hoping I would get the same thing that I could enjoy for a while. So, there I was with my eyes closed expecting something sweet or a peppermint and Mrs. Girdley gave me a LEMON! As you can tell, it was quite traumatic because I still remember it this many years later. They drank tonic water for the bitter sample. It made me laugh. So did this. Lemons with math and music... We made some lemonade. Lentil saved the day by playing "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" on his harmonica. We learned that song and sang it all week.  We made a book with all our activities from the week: This was a cute movie we found on YouTube Lentil. Next week: The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese