BIBLE:

Memory Verse:

I created a When I Was Young in the Mountains Bible Verse Pack for this row.  My daughter created the cover art used in the pack!

You can purchase it here at our TPT Store.  There’s a bonus FREEbie in the Preview!

The boys traced their memory verses and we cut them apart like a puzzle and added them to their FIAR lapbooks.

Jordan worked on the FIAR Bible verse puzzle throughout the row until he was able to recite it from memory.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Appalachian Mountains:

We’ve read about the Appalachian Mountains while rowing The Rag Coat and Down Down the Mountain, but there’s more to learn.

Parker read Appalachian%20Mountains (Rookie Read-About Geography)Appalachian Mountains as his daily reader while I read Appalachian%20Region (United States Regions)Appalachian Region on our Epic app.

I created a quick Appalachian Mountains insert for the boys to add to their lapbooks.

You can purchase our U.S. Lapbooks (North American Geography) The Appalachian Mountains insert here at our TPT Store.

The boys color-coded the Appalachian Mountains on one page.

They practiced writing all the Appalachian Mountain States on another.

Occupations:

We read The%20Berenstain Bears: Jobs Around Town (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)The Berenstain Bears Jobs Around Town and I got out our Jobs They Do cards (kidzclub.com) for the boys to sort through.

I placed the job names in our pocket chart and divided the picture cards evenly between the boys.

They matched the picture of each occupation with the name cards.

Then they matched the tools of the trade card with the both the name and picture cards.

History:

Jordan and I read a few pages of our Then%20and Now (Usborne Talkabout Books)Usborne Then and Now book focusing on shops, kitchens, and schools.

Family:

We read about Cynthia Rylant basing this book on the time she spent living with her grandparents in The Appalachian Mountains.

I read some really sweet books about grandparents with Parker.

I also read Cynthia Rylant’s The%20Relatives CameThe Relatives Came and Patricia Polacco’s When%20Lightning Comes in a JarWhen Lightning Comes in a Jar.  Both books were based on the author’s own family experiences which the kids just loved!

Crying:

Jordan immediately asked why the Grandma cried at the cousin’s baptism.  I said they were “happy tears”.  This is a subject that needs to be addressed, because the boy hates crying.  He doesn’t like feeling vulnerable and is bothered if ANYONE sees him cry.  Oh my little man-cub!

We read I%20Cry (Tell Me Why)Tell Me Why WHY” I Cry on our Epic app.  This was an excellent book about the science behind crying.  It mentioned all the various reasons why we cry.

We also read Feeling%20Sad (Feelings Matter) (Bumba Books Feelings Matter)Feeling Sad which was an excellent platform to start talking about our emotions.  I emphasized the need to talk about how we’re feeling, not bottling everything up, and that it’s okay to cry.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Contentment:

We tried to focus our attention on being content and thankful for what we have.  We brought out our Helpful%20Hal’s Treasury of Christian Virtues (Building Christian Character Series)Helpful Hal’s Building Christian Character book.

We read Casey%20the Greedy Young Cowboy: A Book About Being Thankful (Building Christian Character)Casey the Greedy Young Cowboy which was another wonderful lesson from Helpful Hal.

We also read Fish%20Had a Wish (I Like to Read)Fish Had a Wish on our Epic app.

We also watched The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings on our When I Was Young in the Mountains playlist.

We read Eloise Wilkin’s My%20Big Book of the OutdoorsMy Big Book of the Outdoors and talked about finding joy in the beauty of God’s creation.  It’s in the quiet that we can really take stock of the blessings in our lives.

MATH:

Weights & Measures:

This was the perfect book to row during this month, because Jordan was learning ALL ABOUT weights and measures in his 3rd Grade Singapore Math program.  Most of the activities we did we centered around his textbook.

Measuring Length:

We reviewed centimeters, inches, feet, yards, and meters.

Jordan used rulers to see how many inches and feet make up a yard.

I also found some great snake measuring worksheets (The Mailbox) for the boys to practice measuring in inches and centimeters.

I had Jordan measure many of the items in both inches and centimeters.

Measuring Weight:

We brought out our scale and weighed several items.

I created a quick weights and measures worksheet for Jordan to record his findings.

He weighed both light and heavy objects around the house.

We opened up the page in our book and reviewed some of the items the store owners would weigh like sugar and flour.

We brought out our lentil bin and practiced measuring and weighing the beans.

I brought out our Learning%20Resources Primary Bucket Balance, Ages 3 and UpLearning Resource Primary Balance Set to estimate and compare the weight of lentils against objects around the house.

SCIENCE:

Snakes:

We started our “Snake Day” with some fun snake games (education.com) at breakfast.

We read some science books about snakes, but none of my kids enjoyed this subject matter at all.

Parker and I read Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh which was really cute and somehow redeemed our snake theme.

I brought out some pipe cleaners and beads and the kids made several cute snakes which MADE the snake day worthwhile!

The Moon:

I created an I See the Moon science pack while rowing Owl Moon.

You can purchase it here at our TPT Store.  There’s a bonus FREEbie in the Preview!

We were read The Moon (Our Galaxy)The Moon , A%20Full Moon Is RisingA Full Moon is Rising, and Our Moon: Brightest Object in the Night Sky (Out of This World)Our Moon Brightest Object in the Night Sky on our Epic app.

The boys completed the remaining worksheets from the pack.

Mountain Zones:

I created a Mountain Zones CRAFTivity similar to our Ocean Zones CRAFTivity.

You can purchase it here at our TPT Store.

We read How%20High up the Mountain?: Mountain Animal Habitats (Animals Measure Up)How High Up The Mountain? on our Epic app.  This was THE PERFECT book to lead into a discuss on mountain zones and the various wildlife and vegetation that exists in each zone.

We created our layered mountain out of construction paper and used labels to mark each zone.

The idea for a mountain zone craft hit me while we were reading through the book, so we used hand-drawn labels, but there are printable labels in the Mountain Zone CRAFTivity.

I also printed a copy of our Wild Places Mountain Booklet (from our Sonlight Core A Science studies) to add to their lapbook.

The boys added some of the printable animals to each zone.

As we studied about The Appalachian Mountains, we added more animals to the zones.

Jordan relabeled his zones with the printable labels, because they also provided the elevation range.

This was a fresh and fun activity to do while revisiting the Appalachian Mountains for this row.

Food Groups:

We read Good Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food and NutritionGood Enough to Eat as we started our science lesson on food groups.

Afterwards, I had the boys sort through our Food Group cards (Montessori Print Shop).

The boys took turns sorting through their stack of cards.

After they were done, we reviewed the cards that placed in the wrong pockets.

I prepared a snack of fruits and vegetables with hummus for the kids to enjoy after learning about healthy foods.

We also explored okra and included it into our taco soup.  It was a delicious addition and we didn’t have seconds….

I created a Help Grandma Prepare the Meal worksheet for the boys to color, cut, and glue together.  You can download it for FREE here at our TPT Store.

The boys colored the place setting and cut-out foods.

They cut and pasted the foods they thought grandma served for dinner.  Afterwards, we reviewed their choices with what the book says.  This was a great way to finish our food group lesson and build their story retention.

ARTS, CRAFTS, & MORE:

Woodland Habitat Art Project:

We started this art project while rowing Owl Moon.

We brought out our charcoal pencils for the kids to add details to their winter birch trees.

Each of their art projects were slightly different, but they looked so beautiful.  We hung them up in the classroom and decided to use them as a background for wildlife sketches.

Virginia Cake:

We read Cynthia%20Rylant (Children’s Authors) by Jill C Wheeler (2008-07-01)Cynthia Rylant by Jill C. Wheeler.  It was fun learning more about the author of our book.  We learned that she lived with her grandparents in West Virginia.

We decided to make a woodland cake with a Rice Krispy treat base and a white chocolate pond tinted greenish-blue.

We added some chocolate trees and dusted everything with coconut flakes.

The kids had so much fun making this topographical map that they called it their Virginia cake.

 

Art Lesson:

Drawing Liquid:

While munching on a snack, I poured water from our tea kettle into a mug and asked them to pay attention to how the water appeared as it was being poured.

They both noticed the curved line of water coming from the kettle and going into the mug.  We referenced the page in the book where the milk was poured into the cup.

We got out our sketch books and they drew it for themselves.  It’s funny how simple lessons like this really stick in their minds.  They kept reminding me of this lesson when they’d see liquid pouring out.  I LOVE those moments!

Partial Sky:

I opened up the page with the partial sky and talked about how a little bit of color gave the illusion of the sky being blue without painting the entire picture.  We also talked about how you can “paint” the clouds or sun by not painting them at all.

They both used their water color sets to paint a partial sky leaving parts unpainted for the sun and clouds.

I just LOVED their partial sky backgrounds so much we used them for a Valentine’s activity.

I cut out little Paddington bears with yellow raincoats and hats.  The boys added details to both the hat and coat.

I cut out little construction paper hearts and wrote their weekly spelling words on them.

I wrote rhyming words on the paper and the boys glued the hearts to the matching rhymes.  They looked absolutely adorable!

Making Cornbread:

We’ve made cornbread from scratch before, but sometimes we reach for a quick fix.  We found a natural Krusteaz mix that works for us.

Both boys wanted to help make the cornbread, so they worked together to add the ingredients.

They took turns whisking it too!  We baked it and gobbled it for dessert (sorry, no pics….sometimes we’re just in the moment)!  Yum!

HELPFUL LINKS:

When I Was Young in the Mountains Playlist:

As with our other rows, we created a When I Was Young in the Mountains playlist with read-alouds, music, science, and other clips.

 

Pinterest Board:

You can find most of the activities, ideas, and printables from this post on our When I Was Young in the Mountains Pinterest board.