As we were reading through the Narnia series I decided to take a break and read "Anne of Green Gables." I try to always read a book through by myself, before reading it to my kids. I just find that some books are great, but not so wonderful to hear being read out loud. I took a chance and we started this tale of Anne Shirley's life by LM Montgomery, and I am so very glad I did. My kids who are ten and six years old, have laughed all the way through it. Yes the vocabulary is a bit difficult, but the truth and beauty of the main character have won them over. They cannot wait to hear it each morning and they are quite sad that it ended today.
Anne Shirley is such a sweet soul and I see a piece of each of my children in her. Her imagination makes us smile and sometimes giggle out loud, as we are reminded of my oldest daughter. Her ability to talk her friends and family to death screams of my oldest son. Her pure good spirit is my wee girl, and her sincere and honest nature is our young boy.
Also, we have had the rare view of life in Canada on Prince Edward Island, in the late 1800s. How interesting to hear of fun had walking in the woods, going on picnics, imagining playhouses in the woods, and tea time, of course. One day last week I told the kids they were free from school work and that they could pass the hour playing as Anne Shirley would. Their initial joy at having been granted another hour of play quickly dissolved. I had given them freedom and snatched the xbox, ipad, and television out of the reach all in the same moment. But they did go outside and enjoy themselves, and we now call this Anne Shirley Playtime.
Here are some of the free resources:
Anne of Green Gables can be read online for free here.
Coloring pages, games and trivia can be enjoyed here.
This study guide has wonderful activities. You will need to create a CurrClick account but there is no charge for this download. We had great fun writing poetry, creating a new ending for the novel, and illustrating some of the key parts of the story. After you have an id at this site do a search for "Anne of Green Gables - A Study Guide."
Have you enjoyed this novel with your children? What kind of activities have you used with "Anne of Green Gables?"
