'Dem Bones: Fun with "Bonaparte Falls Apart"

I love picture books. My favorite magazines are Scholastic Book Fliers. I can't wait to see what new treasures are in our local library each month. And of course, as a homeschooler, I am always thinking about what we can do with that new book after we read it.

This month I found a new gem...Boneapart Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler. It was the perfect timing for my family. We have been studying human anatomy in science and had just come to the skeletal system. Halloween is just around the corner, one of our favorite holidays. And here is this book in the Scholastic September flier. I had to have it.

The illustrations are adorable. The text has so much rhyming fun. The kids all loved it. There had to be something more to do...

With Halloween approaching, I knew our local Dollar Tree would be the perfect place to find some cheap plastic skeletons. I carefully popped the bones apart and let my kids get busy. I gave them all kinds of supplies, just like Bonaparte's friends, and asked them how they would help Bonaparte stay together. The results were so creative.

I found a set of four tiny skeletons that fit into the palm of my hand. My son and his friend decided that tape was the best way to put this "Bonaparte" back together. They did have to use quite a bit of tape to make it all fit. And they didn't want to be told how to do this. And that is why there is a leg coming out of the top of the body near the head. They started with duct tape but they thought this would keep Bonaparte from being able to see, so clear tape was the way to go.

I also found a much larger skeleton at the store that was a lot of fun for this activity. The larger pieces made it easier to work with. The kids thought they would be able to "pop" it back together as the parts clearly had a ball and socket type of assembly. But it would not go back together no matter how hard they tried. So they resorted to other means or sticking "Bonaparte" together.....air dry clay.

I have also created a set of worksheets to go along with this unit so we could spend several days reading, rereading and getting to know Bonaparte and his friends better. You can find this unit in my Teacher's Pay Teacher's store, Under One Roof.