Mary Jane Her Book by Clara Ingram Judson
A Unit Study by Heather Randall
Chapter 1: The Broken Doll
In our story, Mary Jane has a doll named Marie Georgianna.
Please begin this unit study by reading chapter 1.
To review our reading, ask the following questions.
1. How does Marie Georgianna break?
Discuss safety rules of crossing the street. Always look both ways. Take this as an opportunity to address your family’s rules when it comes to safety. Do you allow your children to cross the street alone, with a friend, or with an adult? Where are the proper places to cross a street? What could the consequences be of breaking these rules?
2. What did Marie Georgianna look like?
To test your child’s memory you can print out the coloring page for this chapter and instruct your child to color it to look like Marie Georgianna is described on pages 1-2. (She had brown hair and a pink dress).
3. How does Mary Jane feel when she sees her doll is broken?
How would she feel if something special of hers was ruined? Did Mary Jane’s parents understand her feelings? How did they help? Discuss with your child your interest in their feelings. Stress that you care when they are sad. Talk about other emotions a person might have and how a grown up might help sort those feeling out. Give examples or play act scenarios. Even allow the child to play the parent to see how they would respond.
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4. Who takes her to the store to find a new doll?
Daddy’s have a special place in the lives of girls. Growing up without a Daddy I know how valuable one can be. Use this as an opportunity to ask your daughter what sort of things she would like to do with her father. Maybe set up a Daddy/ daughter date. Also, discuss how Mary Jane’s Daddy wanted to give her the new parasol because her attitude was not greedy. Parents like to bless their children when there is a right attitude and a lack of whining.
5. What does she name her new doll?
Does your child think it is a good name? Is it funny? There are many examples of people naming new things after things they have lost. Think of examples together. It is a way to remember the old thing and accept the newness at the same time.
6. What is the rule about her new doll’s parasol?
Sometimes parents figure things out by trial and error. What are some rules your family has formed because of necessity?
Extra Activities to include:
1. Make an adorable sock doll together. You can find this free, easy pattern at: http://wwvisions.com/newsletter/july99/sockdoll.html
2. Practice matching. Mary Jane’s dolls were twins. They looked alike. This might be a good time to practice matching skills. Below you will find some printable worksheets to complete.
http://www.tlsbooks.com/makethemthesame2.pdf
http://www.tlsbooks.com/makethemthesame.pdf http://www.tlsbooks.com/whichoneisdifferent.pdf http://www.education.com/worksheet/article/shoe-pairs/ http://www.primarygames.com/puzzles/match_games.htm at this site you will find games online for your child to practice matching.
Also, don’t forget, Memory is an excellent game tool for matching and so is the old game Guess Who?
Novelized 