READY TO ROW:

Balloon pancakes seemed like a great way to kick-off our holiday row!

Jordan colored our story disk and added it to New York!

We’ve read Balloons over Broadway: many times, but this was the first time it was our featured FIAR book. Everyone was excited about our Thanksgiving row!

The boys created their title pages in their FIAR Notebooks. We were ready to row Balloons over Broadway:

BIBLE:

Memory Verse:

I created a Bible verse pack for Balloons over Broadway.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

Jordan traced, cut, and pasted the verse in his FIAR Notebook.

Attitude of Gratitude:

Each November we turn our hearts toward the Lord with praise. We thank Him for all that He’s done. He has blessed us, even in the midst of this pandemic. “Until God opens the next door” we can “praise him in the hallway.” Purposeful praise encourages us to count our blessings and keep a “heavenly perspective”.

Thanksgiving Tree:

Our Apple Tasting Tree went through a marvelous transformation. I cut leaves for the kids to start writing things they are thankful for.

Scare Away Ingratitude:

Scarecrow also received some love as he stood ready to “Scare Away Ingratitude” (Kids of Integrity Thanksgiving unit).

Stone Soup:

I thought Stone Soup (Aladdin Picture Books) would be a great story for both our topic of kindness and the thanksgiving season.

After readingStone Soup (Aladdin Picture Books), I printed copies of the Stone Soup Story Review.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

The boys worked on their Stone Soup Story Review.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

New York:

We brought out our The 50 States: Explore the U.S.A. with 50 fact-filled maps! to read about New York.

We read the “New York” pages and learned more fun facts about this exciting state.

We also listened to A Duck in New York City read-aloud on Epic.

Afterwards, Jordan completed a New York insert in his FIAR notebook.

Street Food:

Jordan measured out the ingredients for our soft-pretzel dough.

We put it in the bread machine on the “dough” cycle and headed for the couch to read.

While the bread machine worked its magic, we read “Thanksgiving Day Parade”, an excerpt, from A Very New York Christmas.

We shaped our pretzels, dunked them in a baking bath, and baked them in the oven. I served them with our turkey minestrone soup!

Immigration:

We talked about immigration and read Turning Points in U.S. History Immigration Through Ellis Island on our Epic app.

Thanksgiving Around the World:

We continued to explore the customs and traditions of immigrants by completing a Thanksgiving Around the World pack (Little Red).

The boys colored their Thanksgiving Around the World worksheets.

We read The Thanksgiving Door about an elderly couple who happened upon an immigrant family celebrating their first Thanksgiving in their restaurant.

The United States:

We started our Thanksgiving Around the World journey right here in the United States.

We read Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Thanksgiving: With Turkey, Family, and Counting Blessings .

The boys colored, cut, and pasted the U.S. pictures.

Canada:

We read Celebrations in My World Thanksgiving on our Epic app and I handed the boys their Canadian Thanksgiving worksheets.

The boys colored, cut, and pasted the worksheets for Canada.

Israel:

Jewish people celebrate Sukkah, the first year’s harvest celebration.

We read Tamar’s Sukkah on our Epic app.

The boys colored, cut, and pasted their Jewish Thanksgiving worksheets.

China:

People in China celebrate their mid-autumn harvest with a moon festival.

We read Mooncakes on our Epic app.

Afterwards, the boys completed their Chinese Thanksgiving worksheets.

South Korea:

We read a Thanksgiving excerpt from Cultural Celebrations South Korea on our Epic app.

The boys colored, cut, & pasted their South Korean worksheets.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Vocabulary Words:

I created a Balloons over Broadway Vocabulary worksheet.

You can download your copy for FREE here at our TPT Store.

This unit had quite a lot of vocabulary words, but Jordan worked through the list.

Thanksgiving Rhymes:

I decided to read Bear Says Thanks (The Bear Books) since Parker was learning about rhymes in his 3rd Grade Language Arts program.

I printed copies of our Bear Says Thanks rhyming worksheet. You can download your FREE copy here.

The boys recorded the matching rhyming words as we read through the story.

MATH:

Calendar:

I printed our November worksheet from our My School Calendar Worksheet pack.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

The boys completed their November calendar pages.

Applied Math – Gears:

Jordan and I read Simple Machines on our Epic app.

First, Jordan answered the first question on the FIAR Gears worksheet and jotted down his prediction, what he thought would happen.

Next, we brought out our Magnetic Gears and he set them out to match the worksheet.

He tested his theory and discovered they turned as he expected. He enjoyed this activity.

We ended our lesson on gears with a fun STEM Mechanical gear kit.

SCIENCE:

Balloons:

We read Balloon Trees on our Epic app. this book was an awesome find. It took you through the entire process from tapping the rubber tree to making the latex balloons.

Jordan also watched a “How it’s Made” episode on balloons.

I bought a helium and mylar balloon and jordan measured their height and sketched them until the first balloon fell.

I made a quickie worksheet for Jordan to record his stats. Afterwards, we discussed how the helium escapes out of the balloon into the air, because the atoms are so small.

Helium:

Jordan and I read Elements at Work on our Epic app.

We watched several element clips on our Balloons over Broadway playlist.

I sketched a quick Helium page in our FIAR Notebook. Jordan used his periodic placemat as a reference to seek, find, and write the answers.

This is always a fun approach to familiarizing students with the periodic table of elements. You can grab your FREE copy of this printable here.

Cranberries:

We added a little cranberry science to this row.

We started our morning with cranberry breakfast cake and Give Thanks to the Lord.

Growing Cranberries:

I printed copies of our Growing Cranberries worksheet.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

The kids read and completed their growing cranberries worksheet.

The kids built their cranberry bog snack using their worksheet as a guide.

I read Time for Cranberries while the kids ate their bog snack.

Lifecycle of a Cranberry:

I printed copies of our Cranberry Lifecycle worksheets.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

The kids completed their cranberry lifecycle worksheets.

Dissecting Cranberries:

I printed copies of our Label the Cranberry worksheet.

You can download your FREE copy here at our TPT Store.

The kids dissected their cranberries to see each part of the cranberry.

I read our Parts of the Cranberry definition cards while the kids completed their worksheets.

Flooding the Bog:

We headed to the sink to flood the bog. The kids poured out their cranberries and watched them float.

They helped wash, rinse, and harvest the berries. What a fun way to end our unit on cranberries and begin our holiday cooking.

Cranberry Sauce:

It’s not Thanksgiving until we’ve read Cranberry Thanksgiving. Today, we were making cranberry sauce, an essential on our holiday table.

I set out the ingredients we needed to make the sauce.

Jordan helped measure the ingredients.

I boiled the sugar water, added the cranberries, and let them simmer.

We followed the recipe in Time for Cranberries and the sauced was perfect!

ARTS, CRAFTS, & MORE:

Thanksgiving Reading:

I updated our thematic book shelf with many of our favorite Thanksgiving books.

We read many Thanksgiving picture books leading up to our Thanksgiving holiday.

Hand Puppets:

I printed out Melissa Sweet’s puppet parade worksheets to kick off our art unit.

The kids colored their own hand puppets.

Then the kids designed their own puppet.

Mood Board:

I brought out small poster boards, magazines, and art supplies.

The kids used their balloon sketch as a inspiration for the color palette, fabric swatches, and notes.

Balloon Parade:

We colored, cut, and pasted to create all kinds of colorful balloon creations.

We rigged our balloons on a paper roll and made them fly across the room. It was such a fun ending to a whimsical row! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

HELPFUL LINKS:

Pinterest Board:

You can find most of the activities, ideas, and printables from this post on our Balloons Over Broadway Pinterest board.

Youtube Playlist:

As with our other rows, we created Balloon Over Broadway Playlist with read-alouds, music, science, and other clips.