OUR FIVE IN A ROW PLANS

Region: Northeastern United States

•     Make Way For Ducklings, Robert McCloskey
• Geography/History - Boston, Massachusetts Landmarks
• Science - Ducks, Migration; MSB #17 - "Goes Upstream".
• Character- Attitude of Grattitude,  Being Helpful
• Bible - The Story of the Lepers, Titus 3:1
• Field Trip: Boston, MA
• Paul Revere's Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ill. by Ted Rand
• Geography/History - American Revolution
• Language Arts - Poetry
• Science - 
• Character- Bravery
• Bible- Story of Esther
• Field Trip - Boston, MA
• Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney
• Geography/History - Coastal Maine, Tropical Island, North Africa, Deserts
• Science- Seeds, Desert Habitats; MSB Lesson # 19 -"Goes to Seed" and #15 "All Dried Up"
• Language Arts - Library Skills
• Character - Using our talents to bless others
• Bible - Parable of the Sower, Galatians 6:7
• Field Trip: Children's Botanical Garden
• Night of the Moonjellies, Mark Shasha
• Geography/History - Coastal New England
• Science - Ocean Habitats, MSB Lesson #13 - "Takes a Dive"
• Language Arts- First Person Point of View
• Character - Helpfulness and Cheerfulness
• Bible- Story of Ruth, Proverbs 15:13
• Field Trip - Aquarium
• The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge, Hildegarde Swift
• Geography/History - New York City, Building the George Washington Bridge, Lighthouses
• Science - Structures, MSB Lesson 52 - "Under Construction"
• Language Arts - Personification
• Character- Pride and Humility
• Bible - David & Goliath, Proverbs 16:18
• Field Trip - Lighthouse Tour
• Gramma's Walk

Region: Appalachian States, United States

• Down, Down the Mountain, Ellis Credle
• Geography/History - Appalachian Daily Life  in the early 1900's
• Science - Planting/Harvest, MSB Lesson #18 - "Gets Planted"
• Language Arts: Theme
• Character- Generosity
• Bible - Proverbs 22:9
• Field Trip: Drive through Appalachian Mtns (Possibly)
• When I Was Young and In the Mountains, Cynthia Rylant
• Geography/History- Appalachian Life 
• Science - Cold Blooded Animals; MSB Lesson #10 - "Gets Cold Feet"
• Language Arts - Repetition
• Character - Contentment
• Bible- The Baptism of Jesus, Philippians 4:1
• The Rag Coat, Lauren Mills
• Geography/History - Appalachian Life
• Science - Coal Mining/Energy; MSB Lesson #48 - "Gets Energized"
• Character-Forgiving
• Bible- Story of Joseph, Ephesians 4:3

Season: Fall

• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, Majorie Priceman
• Geography/History - Italy, France, Sri Lanka, England, Jamaica, Vermont
• Science- Rain Forest Habitat; MSB Lesson #11 - "In the Rainforest"
• Language Arts - Humor
• Character- Hospitable
• Bible- The Shushamite Widow, Romans 12:13
• Field Trip: - Apple Orchard

Region: Midwestern United States

• Three Names, Patricia MacLachlan
• Geography/History - Prairie Life in the late 1800's
• Science - Tornadoes/Weather; MSB Lesson #32- "Kicks up a Storm"
• Language Arts - Simile
• Character- Teachable Spirit
• Bible - Proverbs 4
• Field Trip: Farm Museum and Schoolhouse
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Virginia Lee Burton
• Geography/History - Industrial Age
• Science - Water Cycle/Steam Power; MSB Lesson #33 - "Wet All Over"
• Language Arts - Personification
• Character- Stewardship
• Bible - John 6:12
• They Were Strong and Good, Alice and Robert Barton
• Geography/History- England, Scotland, New York, Minnesota; Family History/Tree
• Science - Bees; MSB Lesson #5 - "In a Beehive"
• Language Arts - Punctuation - Italics
• Character- Family
• Bible- 
• Lentil, Robert McCloskey
• Geography/History - Ohio in the 40's, Patriotic Celebrations
• Science- My 5 Senses (Sound and Taste), MSB Lesson #25 - "The Haunted House"
• Language Arts - Elements of a Story
• Character- Using Gifts for Others, Persistence
• Bible, Proverbs 18:16

Thanksgiving

• Cranberry Thanksgiving, Wende and Harry Devlin
• Geography/History - Massachusetts, Pilgrims
• Science- Starch, Cranberry Harvest
• Language Arts - Setting
• Character- Envy/Stealing vs Working
• Bible

Christmas Break

Season: Winter

• Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Robert Frost, ill. by Susan Jeffries
• Geography/History- New England
• Science- Animal Tracks/ Woodland Habitat/Camouflage; MSB - #4 - "Butterfly and the Bog Beast" (Camouflage)
• Language Arts - Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme
• Character- Appreciation of Beauty/Creation
• Bible - Psalm 8
• Field Trip: Sleigh Ride
• Owl Moon, Jane Yolen
• Geography/History - Northern United States
• Science - Light (reflecting), Woodland Habitat, Owls; MSB Lesson #30 - "Gets a Bright Idea"
• Language Arts - Metaphor and Simile
• Character- Self-control
• Bible- Story of Samuel
• Katy and the Big Snow, Virginia Lee Burton
• Geography/History - Northern city during 40's
• Science - Urban Habitat; MSB Lesson #8 - "In the City"
• Language Arts - Personification
• Character - Responsibility
• Bible- The Good Shepherd
• Field Trip: Dept. of Transportation 
• Very Last First Time, Jan Andrews
• Geography/History - Ungava Bay, Canada; Inuit Culture
• Science - Arctic Habitat; Tidepools; MSB Lesson #12 - "In the Arctic" & #34 - "Goes to Mussel Beach"
• Language Arts- Action Words
• Character- Overcoming Fear
• Bible- Isaiah 41:10

Region- Northern Europe

• Another Celebrated Dancing Bear, Gladys Scheffrin-Falk
• Geography/History - Czarist Russia
• Science: Bears, Boiling and Freezing Points
• Language Arts - Characterization
• Character- Friendship
• Bible - David and Jonathan, Proverbs 17:17
• A New Coat for Anna, Harriet Ziefert
• Geography/History - Northern Europe, WWII
• Science: Colors/Dyes, MSB Lesson #29 - "Makes a Rainbow"
• Language Arts - Informative Story
• Character- Sacrificial Giving
• Bible- Five Loaves and Two Fishes
• The Giraffe That Walked to Paris, Nancy Milton
• Geography/History- France/Egypt in the mid 1800's - gift of giraffe to France
• Science- Wind Power
• Language Arts - Setting
• Character- Peace & Diplomacy
• Bible- Matthew 5:9
• Field Trip: Feed the Giraffes at the Zoo
• Mirrette on a High Wire, Emily Arnold McCully
• Geography/History - Turn of the Century France,  Circus Performers
• Science- Human Anatomy - Skeleton and Muscles; MSB Lesson #28 - "Flexes its Muscles"
• Language Arts - Compound Words
• Character- Determination
• Bible - The Story of Nehemiah
• Madeline, Ludwig Bemelmans
• Geography History- French Landmarks
• Science - Germs/Immunity, MSB Lesson #23 - "Inside Ralphie"
• Language Arts - Poetry/Rhyme
• Character- Orderly
• Bible- I Corinthians 14:40
• The Glorious Flight, Alice and Martin Provensen
• Geography/History - English Channel, Early Flight
• Science- Aviation; MSB Lesson #50 - "Takes Flight"
• Language Arts - Descriptive Writing
• Character- Persistence
• Bible-
• Field Trip: Henry Ford Museum (which has a replica of the Bleriot Plane)

Easter Week

• Mrs. Katz and Tush, Paticia Pollacco
• Geogaphy/History - New York City / Poland; Passover and Exodus
• Science - Leavening; MSB Lesson #45 - " Ready Set Dough"
• Language Arts - Yiddish Vocabulary
• Character - Compassion
• Bible - Luke 10:27

Region: Great Britain

• The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter
• Geography/History - England
• Science- Food Chains and Decomposition; MSB Lessons 20, "Meet the Rot Squad" and #21 - "Gets Eaten"
• Language Arts - Onomatopoeia
• Character- Obedience
• Bible- Ephesians 6:1
• Mr. Grumpy's Motor Car, John Burningham
• Geography/History - England
• Science- Friction, MSB Lesson #42 - "Plays Ball"
• Language Arts - Onomatopoeia
• Character- Cooperation
• Bible - Story of Nehemiah
• Field Trip: Picnic
• Wee Gillis, Munro Leaf
• Geography/History - Scotland
• Science - 
• Language Arts - Descriptive Writing and Balance
• Character - Humility - "Teachable Attitude:
• Bible - Proverbs 9:9
• Field Trip: Scottish Festival

Region - Southern Europe

• The Story of Ferdinand, Munro Leaf
• Geography/History - Spain, Bullfighting
• Science- Cork Trees/Floating MSB Lesson #35 Ups and Downs
• Language Arts - Interjection
• Character - Individuality
• Bible - Jeremiah 29:11
• Papa Piccolo, Carol Talley
• Geography/History - Venice, Italy
• Science - Types of Boats
• Language Arts - Fable - Fox and Sour Grapes
• Character - Fatherhood
• Bible - Matthew 6:9
• Clown of God, Tommie dePaola
• Geography/History - Italy, Renaissance
• Science - Gravity - MSB Lesson #43 Gains Weight
• Language Arts - Contrast
• Character - Pleasing God
• Bible - Psalm 103:2

Region - Asia

• The Story about Ping, Majorie Flack
• Geography/History - China
• Science - Buoyancy; MSB Lesson# 35 - "Ups and Downs"
• Language Arts - Fiction vs Non-Fiction
• Character - Discernment
• Bible - I Kings 3:9
• Field Trip: Duck Pond
• A Pair of Red Clogs, Masako Matsuno
• Geography/History - Japan
• Science - Volcanoes; MSB Lesson # 16 - "Blows Its Top"
• Language Arts - Flashback
• Character - Truthfullness
• Bible - Ephesians 4:2
• Grandfather's Journey, Allen Say
• Geography/History - Japan and California; WWII
• Science- Land Types
• Language Arts - Simile
• Character - Friendliness
• Bible- Matthew 7:12

Region-Southern United States

• All Those Secrets of the World, Jane Yolen
• Geography/History - Chesapeake Bay; WWII
• Science- Oil and Water; Molecules  MSB Lesson #46 -"Meet Molly Cule"
• Language Arts - Contrasting phrases
• Character - Overcoming Temptation
• Bible - 
• Who Owns the Sun, Stacy Chbosky
• Geography/History - Mississippi; Slavery
• Science - Nutrition; MSB Lesson # 24 "For Lunch"
• Language Arts - Questions
• Character - Self Worth
• Bible - Psalm 139:13-16
• Follow the Drinking Gourd, Jeanette Winter
• Geography/History - South; Underground Railroad
• Science - Constellations; MSB Lesson #38 - "Sees Stars"
• Language Arts - Analogy
• Character - Bravery
• Bible - Paul's Escape from Damascus, 

Our 2013-2014 Plans

Eric: (K)

Language Arts; (Phonics/Handwriting/Reading) Logic of English: Foundations B-D

Math: Rightstart Mathematics B

Piano: My First Piano Adventure


Luke: (Pre-K)

Language Arts: All about Reading - Pre-1


Together:

History/Geography/Literature:  Five in a Row Volumes 1 & 2 with added books

Science: Elemental Science - Intro to Science

Art: Artistic Pursuits - The Way They See It

Music: Classical Kids

Bible: Golden Children's Bible and Leading Little Ones to God plus Five in a Row Bible Supplement

We're Going on a Bear Hunt - Week 2

Before Five in a Row:

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

This week we continued our bear/forest theme by "rowing" the book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Roxenbury.  The boys thoroughly enjoyed reading this book every day.

Things we talked about from the book: Family and the importance of following those you love and trust (This tied in nicely with Blueberries for Sal), things you find in a forest, and caves.

Our Activities:

As usual painting was the big hit:

Eric painted this scene (sun (beautiful day), grass, river, & mud)) while retelling me the story.  He just started doing this recently with his Sunday School stories and others.  It is really adorable...even if it ends up being a gigantic brown blob at the end of the story.  

Luke wanted to "fingerpaint" the squilch, squelch of the mud.

Forest Printables from 2 Teaching Mommies:

Animals and their Footprints puzzles

Number Sequence Puzzles:

I discovered that while Luke does not care for printables....he loves gluing and pasting.  Therefore I'm going to be using this a lot working on numbers.  He can count but number identification eludes him (which I find odd since he can identify both Upper and Lowercase letters and their sounds (there's 52 of those but only 9 numbers!)  For Eric he's really working on those cutting skills w/out frustration!

Eric sorted the plants and animals found in the forest. (though he insisted an acorn was neither a plant or an animal...and refused to put it on.)

We made Bear Masks:

 ....and then rolled the dice and fed our bears that number of Blueberries!

The Best Part .......We went on our own BEAR HUNT!

Boys on a Bear Hunt Mission into the deep dark forest:

Going through the mud: Squilch, Squelch and through the river (or slightly trickling stream): splash, splosh:

 Investigating the sights and sounds:

The big tree won (snapped his walking stick right in half)

When Eric went to check this flower out closer, a Bumblebee flew right out into his face.  He didn't check out any more flowers after that.  He found moss more to his liking.







Taking a cookie break and checking out where we are on the map.  (This was Eric's first intro to a map and he was completely fascinated on finding out where we were on my map and the trail maps posted along the way.)

Shhh!  Tiptoe Tiptoe, is there a bear inside the cave?

Nope!  No bear today!

This was our first Nature Walk outside of the neighborhood and park.  The boys loved checking things out, using their "explorer" glasses, climbing on logs, and of course splashing in the mud.  I hope that we will be able to do this a few times a month.

Eric also worked on:
We're Going on a Bear Hunt Preschool Pac from Homeschool Creations and
We're Going on a Bear Hunt Lapbook from Homeschool Share

All About Reading:

Eric continues to enjoy the All About Reading Pre-1.  This week we covered letters D and E. (We do it slightly different by doing an Uppercase one day, the lowercase the next and then the sound...instead of doing all uppercase letters, then all lowercase letters, etc).  We do follow the language exercises in order.  This week our language exercises continued with rhyming words and we've started work on understanding sentences. (they are made up of individual words grouped together and they can be long or short).  He really struggled with this orally. The next lesson uses some concrete objects to identify words - hopefully it will be much clearer to him.  Having "Ziggy" the Zebra do the lessons takes some of the frustration out of it for him.

Choosing the pictures that start with a /d/

Making a "D"

We review the phoneme cards daily both encoding and decoding. (I say the sound(s) and he finds the letter that makes the sound or I show him the letter and he says the sound(s).)  Since he knows he initial sounds well,  we've been learning all the sounds for each letter. A-short a, long a, and /ah/.  We're gradually working on handwriting, doing "air writing", tracing on paint bags, and I introduced a salt box this week.

We extended our rhyming exercises by finding the rhymes in our book of poems for this month: A Whiff of Pine, A Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems. (I'm really enjoying this book!)

My First Piano Adventure:

This week we started piano lessons with My First Piano Adventure Book A.  I know I've only used it for a week, but after perusing the books, I have to say that I really, really love them. Eric was a bit apprehensive starting "formal" lessons (that didn't involve just banging around on the piano).  However, after the first day, the first thing he asks when he wakes up is "Are we doing piano lessons today?"

 Things we learned/practiced this week:  Proper posture, developing rhythm, loud and soft sounds (though he already had the loud down), short and long sounds, proper hand formation, and developing strength in individual fingers.  I know that sounds really boring, but it is done in a fun and interactive way.

Bible

We reviewed both boys lessons from their Sunday School classes.  Eric's was on David the Shepherd, which feet in with our "following" theme and we talked about how Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  The boys also learned about Jesus calling the disciples in Jr. Church (another perfect fit about following - and they made footprints!) We reviewed their classes memory verses and worked on "D- Delight thyself also in the Lord. -Psalms 37:4.

At the Children's Museum

The children's museum was having a free day...so we couldn't pass that up.

 Playing doctor on the life size "Operation" Board

Dressing up as 2 Mr. Incredibles!

Exploring the gigantic water table.

The "Fantastic Amazing Machine" as Eric called it

Put your ball of yarn in

Watch it sail through the the tubes

Catch it as it comes flying out!  

The Music Room

And.......

We found the Bear!

(Which Luke stalked for the rest of the day)

 To see what others are doing please visit:
Preschool (& Kindergarten) Corner and Homeschool Creations 
Mama to 3 Blessings
1+1+1=1

Our 2012 -2013 Homeschool Plans

Eric will be 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 years old

Luke will be 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 years old

Eric:

Language Arts:                   All About Reading Pre-Level 1 followed by AAR Level 1

                                          Handwriting Without Tears Pre-K   

Math:                                 Rightstart Mathematics Level A (planning on doing 1 to 2 lessons a week)                                       

Piano:                                 My First Piano Adventures

Both:

Literature/Activities:            Before Five in A Row

Readiness Skills:                 BFIAR printables from Homeschool Creations, other printables from Confessions of a Homeschooler, 2 Teaching Mommies, 1+1+1=1, etc

Science:                              Exploring Science from Elemental Science using the Science Play! book.

Our Schedule:

This is not a set in stone schedule: just more of a flow of things routine.

8:30 - 9:00     Breakfast and Bible Time

9:00 -  9:15    BFIAR and supplemental reading

9:15 - 9:30    BFIAR printables and/or activities

9:30 - 10:15  Tot Trays/games and snack

10:15 - 10:30  Eric - AAR w/ Mom;  Luke - Tot Trays

10:30 - 10:45  Eric - HWOT w/Mom; Luke - Tot Trays

10:45 -11:00   Eric- Tot Trays, Luke - LOTW activities w/ Mom

11:00 -1:00     Outside Play, and/or Nature Walk, Baking, or BFIAR actvity

1:00 - 1:45      Lunch, Read Aloud and Chores

1:30 - 3:00      Boys Quiet Time/Naps

3:00 - 3:15     Eric- Math with Mom, Luke - Free play with puzzles, math manipulatives

3:15 - 3:45     Alternating BFIAR art project and exploring science

3:45 - 4:00     Eric - Piano w/ Mom, Luke - Signing Time