Today we began studying a new story, The Harvest Birds, by Blanca Lopez de Mariscal.  The story is about a boy named Juan Zanate, who likes to sit under his favorite tree and dream of becoming a farmer like his father and grandfather. But when his father dies, there is only enough land for his two older brothers. In this enchanting and inspiring story, Juan learns to determine his own destiny. The Harvest Birds offers lessons on the traditions of rural Mexico, the importance of respecting nature, and the possibility of making dreams happen.  The vocabulary words for this story are: 

harvest ~ the crop that is gathered during one growing season

separate ~ divide objects into smaller groups or categories

ashamed ~ feels embarassed or guilty about something he or she did or did not do

borders ~ the dividing lines between two pieces of land

advice ~ telling a person what you think they should do

borrow ~ have another person’s permission to take something from them, use it, and then return it

patch ~ a small area of land where cetain plants or a crop grows

serious ~ care a lot about what is said or done

Skills addressed during this story: