Night of the Moonjellies

We just love this Five in a Row book. It's about a 7 year old boy who helps out at his family's hot dog stand one summer. His grandmother takes him on a surprise boat trip at night to see a sea full of bioluminescent jellyfish! (Cool new vocabulary word, huh?) We rowed it when Z-Man was 5 and when he saw it again last week, he was so excited. Now that does a homeschool parent's heart good.

We did some art projects this time around that really turned out nicely. The first was a night scene on black paper with - get this! - glow-in-the-dark moonjellies! How cool is that?! I found glow-in-the-dark paint in with all the craft paints. Now, you can't tell from the

picture, but it really worked! You have to put it on kind of thick. We did it with Q-tips.

Since the book's illustrations are done in oil pastels, we tried our hand at that too. That black paper came in handy this week. Notice the reflection of the moon on the water. I should mention that Z-Man is into WWII naval battles at the moment - hence, the battleships as opposed to fishing boats.

We looked at lots of jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium site and discussed bioluminescence.

We discussed being responsible, working hard and doing your work with a cheerful attitude. Z-Man recognized that this book is written in the first person too, being the author's account of his own boyhood.

And, best of all, we made our own little food stand, complete with menu, prices, guest checks and paper hats! There is much to be learned from running your own business, even if it's just for one night in your kitchen. Mark didn't mind having to buy his dinner and even came back to the counter for seconds!

Later, Little Man wanted to get in on the action and sold a bottle of water to Daddy, giving back $26 in change for a dollar bill. He's a generous child. Now don't all beat our door down asking for water!