We started our row with a fun and sweet duckling pancake breakfast. The kids were so excited to see our next book, Make Way for Ducklings (Viking Kestrel Picture Books) presented at the breakfast table!

READY TO ROW:

Lapbook Covers:

The boys create a cover page for each book we row. I usually encourage them to create their artwork based on the illustrator of the book.

Jordan took his inspiration from the cover of the book.

Parker also took inspiration from the cover, but decided to go with a yellow duck instead of a mallard duck.

Jordan colored the story disk and added it to Boston, Massachusetts on our world map.

BIBLE:

Memory Verse:

I created a Make Way for Duckling Bible Verse Pack.

You can purchase your copy here. There’s a bonus FREEbie in the Preview!

Jordan traced his Bible verse the first day then we cut it apart and he glued it into his lapbook the next day.

He used the Bible verse puzzle to practice the verse until he could recite it from memory.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Boston, Massachusetts:

We read Massachusetts (Rookie Read-About Geography) from the Rookie Read-About Geography series.

I brought our Jordan’s State Farm book and he worked on the Massachusetts page.

We also read Celebrating Massachusetts: 50 States to Celebrate (Green Light Readers Level 3) which was very entertaining and informative.

Afterwards, Jordan worked on his Massachusetts insert (copied from our Target dollar bin book).

Stopping Traffic:

Who could forget the kindness of Michael, the policeman in the story who wen to great lengths to protect Mrs. Mallard and her brood of ducklings. I thought it would be fun to pair this up with our map work unit.

First we read Policeman Small by Lois Lenski. Jordan remembered her from Strawberry Girl 60th Anniversary Edition (Trophy Newbery), a wonderful Sonlight Level C read-aloud.

God’s Traffic Light:

Since Jordan already memorized the Make Way for Duckling’s verse. I decided to print out our verse tracer and lapbook insert from our God’s Traffic Light.

I created this printable for the kids when we rowed The Red Carpet during our BFIAR days (that “post from the past” will hopefully make it here one day).

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

The boys used their dot paints and crayons to color their traffic lights.

Afterwards, we cut them out, stapled them, and added them to their FIAR notebooks.

Traffic Light Multiplication:

I created a Red Light, Green Light Math by Dice Multiplication pack.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

I printed the blank page and added 7s, 8s, and 9s since we were working on strengthening those math facts.

The boys rolled their dice and multiplied that by the number written in.

Afterwards, they used their dot paints to color-code the even and odd answers.

Map Work:

Honestly, we just studied maps while rowing Henry the Castaway, but we weren’t able to cover everything. So, we brought out new map books and continued onward!

Jordan and I read several books about maps. He LOVES geography, so he soaked in the knowledge of various types of maps, legends, scales, and more!

Afterwards, I tasked the boys with creating a map from our house to the nearest creek with ducks.

They did an excellent job mapping out the houses and streets. Afterwards, I had them give me oral directions.

That afternoon, the boys worked on several map worksheets I found online.

Bub even observed and commented on the legend the next to a map in his Bible.

Finding Clues to the Past:

While reading, Jordan immediately noticed the cars were old fashioned. We reviewed other clues that tell us this story was written many years ago.

We read Let’s Go Home by Cynthia Rylant. I thought this book was about how a home changed over time, but I was mistaken. It was still a sweet book.

Afterwards, we opened up our Epic app and read Homes Then and Now and a few other books from the Then and Now series.

Being Appreciative:

We talked about how Mrs. Mallard quacked to show her appreciation to Michael.

Afterwards, we read Look and be Grateful on our Epic app. We talked about loving and appreciating everything.

Not Easily Offended:

Our boys are totally different. Jordan often speaks his mind without filtering and Parker can be overly sensitive. So a topic about being offensive and be easily offended struck a chord.

We read Bully on our Epic app. This story was about a mean frog who wouldn’t share and needed to learn a lesson. He was given a big dose of his own medicine. Afterwards, we talked about not being offensive, like the frog, and not taking everything so seriously.

Man and Nature:

We talked about the little boy who almost ran over the ducks. In contrast, we mentioned the kind intentions of Michael, the policeman.

Afterward, we read Secret Place by Eve Bunting. This was a beautiful story about people cherishing a very small fresh water sanctuary in the middle of a bustling city.

Family Relationships:

Since Mrs. Mallard was the one who raised the ducklings, we read several books about mothering and raising children.

Animal Parenting:

After reading about families, especially mothers, we read and talked about animal parenting unit.

We read All Night Near the Water by Jim Arnosky. This book gave insight into the parenting of mallard hens over their ducklings.

I brought out our Mother and Child Animal cards (1+1+1=1) from our Katy No-Pocket BFIAR row. The boys matched the mothers and babies.

Afterwards, Jordan read several stories about animal babies on our Epic app.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Story Review:

I created a Make Way for Ducklings Story Review Pack.

You can purchase it here at our TPT Store.

Vocabulary Words:

I printed the vocabulary words cut & paste worksheet.

Jordan read each definition and chose to write in the matching vocabulary words.

Grammar Ace:

During our time rowing Make Way for Ducklings (Viking Kestrel Picture Books), we worked on the following Grammar Ace lessons.

Quotations:

We learned about quotations. Jordan matched the “in a nutshell” ducks terms to their definitions. Then we wrote all the reasons for using quotations on lily pads and Jordan added them to the pond cut-out.

Compounds:

I set up a “Rubber Ducky Bath” for our compound insert. adding “Bathtub” as our example “Compound” word.

Jordan matched the “in a nutshell” duck terms to their definitions.

Contractions:

We will stop traffic with this insert! I created “in a nutshell” traffic light terms for Jordan to match with the signal definitions.

I also created contraction cars and a duckling that “isn’t” safe with the traffic!

Jordan matched all the contraction cars and traffic light terms.

This was a really fun grammar lapbook page!

Peanut Butter Rhymes:

With everyone tossing peanuts to the ducks, I thought it would be fun to explore peanutty-goodness. Did you know peanuts are really legumes!

We started out our peanut butter adventure reading Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme.

This book brought back great memories of our BFIAR days rowing Jesse Bear.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Rhyme Pack:

I created a Peanut Butter & Jelly Rhyme pack.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

Jordan matched the peanut butter and jelly rhyming cards.

Afterwards, the boys used their dot paints to complete the matching pairs worksheet.

Making Peanut Butter:

Jordan and I read The Life and Times of the Peanut. We learned about the peanut plant.

Afterwards, Jordan color-coded the parts of the peanut plant using a George Washington Carver government printable I found online.

Of course we had to taste-test the peanuts we ordered from the store. Did you know they’re not nuts at all? They’re actually part of the legume family!

Making Peanut Butter:

Jordan was ready to make some home-made peanut butter.

Jordan scooped, measured, and blended our roasted peanuts.

We scraped the sides, seasoned it with salt, and pureed it to a creamy texture. Can you smell it? Wow….it was fresh and delicious!

We made soft rolls ahead of time and spread our peanut butter on top. Yummy!

Afterwards, Jordan put the peanut butter sequencing worksheet in order.

Peanut Butter Math:

I also snuck in a little extra math with a calculating nutritional information off the peanut butter food label.

Growing Peanuts:

We also read about how farmers grow peanuts and where they’re grown.

Afterwards, Jordan worked on the Growing Peanuts worksheet too!

I ordered peanut seeds from Amazon and they arrived just in time! We used an old egg carton container and filled it with potting soil.

He planted the seeds in each section.

After he planted the seeds, Jordan watered them. We made sure to leave most of the water on the bottom of the container. He learned this from his TOPs growing radishes Sonlight science lessons.

After a couple of weeks, our peanuts sprouted nicely and were growing into healthy plants.

MATH:

I knew I wanted to incorporate Eric Carle’s 10 Little Rubber Ducks Board Book (World of Eric Carle) into this row. I thought it would pair perfectly with our math unit!

Skip Counting:

First, we read Eric Carle’s 10 Little Rubber Ducks. I brought out our ducky erasers and labeled three foam pond cut-outs “7”, “8”, and “9”.

We took turns skip counting by sevens, eights, and nines. Then the boys played a competitive game of War with our seven, eight, and nine multiplication flash cards.

Converting Days to Weeks:

I created a Make Way for Ducklings Math Pack for this row.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

Jordan completed the counting by sevens days of the week worksheets.

Afterwards, I had him complete the Converting Days to Weeks challenge worksheets.

Last, he completed the multiplication word problems.

SCIENCE:

Pond Ecosystems:

I made some sugar cookies. I read In the Pond while the boys ate their cookies.

Jordan and I read several pond books on our Epic app.

Pond Lapbooks:

I printed several of our pond lapbook inserts.

You can purchase them here at our TPT Store.

After reading about pond ecosystems, Jordan worked on his pond food chain inserts.

Pond Sensory Bin:

I set out our sensory bin with greenery, small pond features, and pond creatures along with Over and Under the Pond: .

The boys added various elements to our pond sensory bin.

Bub is such a detailed-oriented kid, he continued to add and adjust our bin while I read aloud.

Conservation:

We read The Empty Lot which was a wonderful book about appreciating nature and realizing not all empty spaces need to be used for people. It’s good to preserve space for God’s precious creatures.

I set out the elements I needed for our pollution experiment (Twinkl).

First, Jordan added our “goldfish” (sponges) to clean water tubs.

Jordan added each item and wrote how the fish looked and felt after each ingredient added.

After he finished the experiment, he cleaned off the fish with a nice soapy water bath.

Duck Life Cycle:

We had an EGGcellent breakfast and the kids completed the Mallard Duck Lifecycle set (Twinkl).

Jordan and I read Ducks by Gail Gibbons.

Duck Life Cycle Art:

I printed and cut out the same duck lifecycle art project we did for The Story about Ping.

We used oil pastel crayons and watercolors for this project.

The kids colored and painted all the cut-outs and we set them aside to dry.

Development of Duck Eggs:

We started our morning with “chickie eggs” and toast.

We read about baby ducks and how they grow.

I set out several egg-themed trays on Learning Lane.

Oviparous or Viviparous?

We started our egg unit by reading An Egg Is Quiet: .

I created an “Oviparous or Viviparous” Tray.

Jordan cracked open each egg to find an animal. He had to determine if the animal hatched from an egg (oviparous) or if it was delivered by the mother via live birth (viviparous).

Later in the evening, Parker gave it a “crack” too!

EGGcellent Inertia:

I added a fun inertia experiment. It has NOTHING to do with duck eggs, but I’ve wanted to do it ever since preschool and our Humpty Dumpty unit!

I set out this tray on Learning Lane too.

Jordan read the instructions on the card I created.

He set it up perfectly! Now for the “WHACK”!

Honestly, this was SO cool! Everyone LOVED it! They were asking to do it again the next day!

Parker loved it so much, he kept repeating it over and over that night!

Egg Anatomy:

I set out a special egg tray with a transfer the pom-pom eggs, build the egg felt activity, and our parts of the egg definition cards.

Of course Jordan worked on the egg transfer activity first. He LOVES this activity! I try to set it out whenever we study eggs.

EGGcellent Anatomy:

I created a Label the Parts of the Egg worksheet for this row.

You can download your FREE copy here.

Jordan color-coded the diagram as I read each egg definition card (Montessori Print Shop).

Chocolate Duck Nests:

I set out all the ingredients for our chocolate duck nests (Twinkl).

Jordan added the ingredients into our glass bowl and melted it over a simmering pot of hot water.

It was a bit lumpy, but we added a little oil and milk and it was perfect!

We added a mixture of flaked cereal and crushed potato chips (for the salty twist)!

We scooped our mixture into a cupcake mold and pressed it down in the center, like a nest. Jordan added our Cadbury eggs in the center!

We placed it in the freezer to harden. The kids ate them after dinner. They were a hit!

Ducks, Ducks, & More Ducks:

I added several duck trays to Learning Lane.

Build a Duck:

I set out our Melissa and Doug magnetic shapes and challenged the kids to build a duck out of the magnetic shapes.

I was SO impressed by Bub. He come up with his own duck shape and it looked great!

All About Ducks:

I created an All About Ducks printable for this row.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

The boys worked on various pages of their duck packs.

Duck Diner:

I set out a “Feed the Ducks” tray on our Learning Lane.

The boys also had a set of “Duck Diner” worksheets in their duck pack.

Parts of the Duck:

I also set out a Mallard Duck Tray on our Learning Lane. There’s a set of Parts of the Duck nomenclature cards, duck family cards, a little soap nest, and our Safari toob mallard duck figure.

We also read many fun pond and duck themed books while rowing this book.

Ducks Don’t Get Wet:

We read Ducks Don’t Get Wetand I set out our science experiment outside.

I set out a tray with two paper bag duck cut-outs, a container of water, a dropper, a container of oil, and a paintbrush.

I told the boys to add water to the first duck. Initially, it balls up on top, but then it starts to seep into the paper.

Next, I had them paint their ducks with oil.

I instructed the boys to add water droplets to the oiled paper duck. The water droplets ball up on top and NEVER sink into the paper. We’ve done this experiment many times before, but the boys still had fun doing it again!

ARTS, CRAFT, & MORE:

Medium:

I added a clip to our Make Way for Duckling playlist.

Jordan watch it and learned rxactly how Robert McClosky made his illustrations.

Shading:

I printed a shading practice worksheet (Twinkl) for Jordan to

Jordan practiced shading with all the various techniques.

Sketching:

Bub took some time sketching the boy’s tie blowing in the wind and the moving water scene.

HELPFUL LINKS:

Make Way for Ducklings Playlist:

As with our other rows, we created a Make Way for Ducklings 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 Make Way for Ducklings Pinterest Board.