We Were Tired of Living in a House

I wanted to introduce you to one of our favorite vintage children’s books, We Were Tired of Living in a House by Liesel Moak Skorpen.  This book is about a group of children who decide to leave their home in search of a new place to live.  They try out a tree, a cave, a pond, the seashore, and then, after a series of mishaps, eventually decide to move back home.  This is one book that I don’t mind reading over and over, which is a good thing because my little girl loves to hear it.

I love the lyrical text, the detailed illustrations, and the vocabulary.  I suspect she loves the repetition and the idea of living in all the places that the children move to.

You might want to check your local library for this book, since the book is out of print.  You might be able to find used copies on Amazon or eBay, but the availability varies.  There is a more recent edition of this book available, but I recommend the older edition because of the lovely, detailed illustrations.

I think you and your child will enjoy reading We Were Tired of Living in a House together.  If you want to expand some of the concepts in the book further here are some ideas.

Science

• Point out the pulley that the children are using in the tree house.  Then make a simple pulley over the back of a couch or table with a basket and rope.  Use the basket to pull up small toys.  (Your child will love this!)
• Read books that have to do with pulleys.  Try How do You Lift a Lion? and Pull, Lift, and Lower: a Book about Pulleys to get you started.

Classification

• Discuss what sort of animals live in different environments
• Complete the following Animal Habitat worksheet if your child enjoys cutting and pasting.  (Click on the worksheet for a printable PDF.)

Art

• There are a lot of fun leaf art activities you could do.   Discuss the colors crimson and gold while working on these activities.
• If leaves are available, you could do this autumn leaf painting.
• Here is an art activity with finger paint if you don’t have access to leaves.  Or you could try this Autumn Hand Print Art.

Vocabulary

• Point out some of the words in the book your child might not know and discuss their meaning.

What are some of your favorite vintage children’s books?