Every year, we select an ocean themed book to row as our last FIAR unit of the school year. This year we chose Hello Lighthouse.
READY TO ROW:
We kicked off our row with an overnight french toast casserole that closely resembled the rocky island foundation of the lighthouse in our book.
Story Disk:
Jordan colored our story disk and placed it in North America.
Cover Art:
The boys created cover art in their FIAR notebooks.
BIBLE:
Memory Verse:
I created a Hello Lighthouse Bible verse pack.
You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.
Character:
This week we were discussing the character of Daniel as we read about him in our daily Bible reading assignments.
We watched many different Character Quest videos on Minno Kids.
We also talked about the character of the lighthouse keeper. Faithfulness was a key characteristic. Afterwards, Jordan completed the Character Traits worksheet from our Story Review pack.
Days of Creation:
I updated our Days of Creation Pack with fun science worksheets.
You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.
Each day we read a portion from Where Did the World Come From?
Haley helped design creation disks to put on our Days of Creation Tree. One of these days, I may have her add those to our Creation pack.
Each disk was so unique and looked beautiful on our tree.
Day 1 – Light:
On the first day, God created light. We read “Foggy Daze”, a lesson about God’s light clearing away the fog of this world’s thinking.
We read the first day of creation and Jordan completed our Day 1 – Exploring Light creation worksheet.
Day 2 – Water & Sky:
We celebrated World Ocean Day during this row, so we had plenty of exposure to the sea.
In addition to reading about the second day of creation, we read The Ocean Story on our Epic app.
Little Learning Lane was decked out with ocean activities.
I set out a “painting the earth tray”, a fun land and water dropper activity (Pinay Homeschooler). Both boys enjoyed this activity. Obviously, they have mastered fine motor skills, but it’s nice to have fun, relaxing activities to weave inbetween our more rigorous studies.
Parker also read Going to the Water Park and completed our Day 2 – Exploring Water creation worksheet.
Day 3 – Land & Plants:
Though God created all plant life on the third day of creation, Jordan and I focused on just the plants in the ocean.
We skimmed through Ocean Anatomy, looking at the ocean flora.
I sketched some ocean plants and Jordan painted them with his watercolor set.
We read about the third day of creation and Jordan completed our Day 3 – Exploring Land & Plants creation worksheet.
Day 4 – Sun, Moon, & Stars:
The news of Eric Carle’s passing really affected Parker, because Mr. Carle was his favorite author. In fact, Brown Bear was the first book he studied in preschool.
It seemed fitting to read one of his books about the sun. We cuddled together and read Where is the Sun?
We read about the fourth day of creation and Parker completed our Day 4 – Exploring the Sun, Moon, & Stars creation worksheet.
Day 5 – Birds & Sea Creatures:
We recently studies puffins while exploring the intertidal zone, so we chose a book about sea gulls to cover “birds of the air”.
We read The Gull That Lost the Sea at breakfast.
Bub added a “Shoreline Birds” insert, from our Clam-I-Am! printable, in his FIAR Notebook.
We continued to read about various sea creatures each day as we explored the ocean zones. Today, we chose to celebrate the fourth day of creation by reading The Fish with the Deep Sea Smile and The Pout Pout Fish.
Bub also added a whale insert, from our Wish for a Fish printable, in his FIAR Notebook.
Parker completed our Day 5 – Birds & Sea Creatures creation worksheet.
Day 6 – Land Animals:
We didn’t really study a particular animal for the sixth day of creation, but Parker was learning about the human body in his Sonlight science.
Parker and I read Inside the Human Body and brought out our Bodymagnet for Parker to use.
Jordan also read Sneakers, the Seaside Cat. Cats are one of our favorite animals!
We also read God the Creator Thought of it First.
We read about the sixth day of creation and Jordan completed our Day 6 – Exploring Land Animals and Humans creation worksheet.
Day 7 – Rest:
Each time we study creation, I always ask my kids why God rested. Was He tired? Did He need to rest? No, our God is all-powerful. His strength is infinite, but He rested as an example for us to follow. It’s important to work hard, but we also need to “lie down by the still waters” and rest.
In closing, we finished our creation book and read Good Night, Little Sea Otter on our Epic app. This was a sweet story about a pup saying good night to all her friends.
We also read Sleep Why We Rest And Recharge to Refuel on our Epic app. This was a wonderful non-fiction book about sleep, resting, and refueling our bodies. God knew we needed rest!
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Newfoundland:
Since the story takes place in Newfoundland, we read a out this part of North America.
We read P is for Puffin on our Epic app.
Lighthouses:
We also read B is for Beacon and How Did They Build That? Lighthouse on our Epic app.
Then we looked at the places where lighthouses are located (i.e. coastline, lakes, etc.).
We read excerpts from lighthouses in How Does a Lighthouse Work?
Label the Lighthouse:
Jordan color-coded the Parts of the Lighthouse worksheet from our Story Review pack.
We read about lighthouses using a “day mark” to help mariners spot them during the daytime. Then kids designed their own day mark using the worksheet from our Story Review.
Beacons:
Lighthouses have a unique character, a light pattern, that identifies them to Mariners at nighttime.
The kids designed their own beacon character using the Lighthouse Character worksheet from our Story Review.
We also read some fun lighthouse themed books.
Coast Guard:
We celebrated Memorial Day while rowing this book.
We took a moment to read Veterans Heroes in Our Neighborhood.
Over the holiday, we enjoyed several patriotic treats!
Bub and I also read United States Coast Guard on our Epic app.
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Read Aloud:
We read The Wheel on the School while rowing this book. It complimented this row beautifully.
We enjoyed following the story of the Dutch children of Shora as they search for a wheel to bring Storks back to their little village.
I made a special Dutch coffee bread and hot cocoa like Janus shared with the children in the story.
Jordan read The Little Lighthouse Keeper as his last read-aloud.1
Story Review:
I created a Hello Lighthouse Story Review printable.
You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.
Jordan worked on various pages from our Story Review pack.
Ocean Books:
We kept rotating the books on our bookshelf. From the beach to the lighthouse to the deepest parts of the sea, we read so many!
We’ll continue to read the books remaining during the summer.
MATH:
Gridwork:
I added several Map Coordinate worksheets in our Story Review.
Jordan marked the location of famous lighthouses on our World Map Coordinates worksheet.
Calendar:
I created a May, June, & July Calendar pack.
You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.
Since we forgot to do our May calendar work, we did both May and June together during this row.
SCIENCE:
Light:
Jordan and I read The Energy We See A Look at Light on our Epic app.
Jordan also conducted some light experiments using our Days of Creation science worksheets.
Jordan brought out his Light Maze kit. He created a complete path that light traveled on as it reflected off of the various components he used. This activity was RIGHT up his alley! Floor to ceiling learning with this kid!
Staying Heathy:
The lighthouse keeper got really sick, so we took the opportunity to discuss ways to stay heathy.
On the story.Jordan already read Curious George Discovers Germs while rowing The Wild Horses of Sweet Briar, so I brought out pages from our Story Review.
Bub completed the pages I gave him, which also helped refresh his memory.
Jordan and I read Stay Healthy with Sesame Street and Eat a Balanced Diet on our Epic app.
We brought out our Melissa and Doug Make-a-Meal packs to create a healthy meal.
Ocean Zones:
I printed copies of our Ocean Zone CRAFTivity.
You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.
The kids labeled their ocean zone chart and were ready to start making sketches of sea creatures in each zone.
Intertidal Zone:
Every year, we learn about the ocean zones. This year, we started our journey on shore.
We read On the Seashore by Anna Milbourne.
We read many great books about the beach.
Sand Dollar Cookies:
Haley made sand dollar cookies for us to enjoy while studying the seashore.
Sand:
Bub and I explored sand as we read Jump into Science Sand.
We reactivated the sand slime we made while rowing Gramma’s Walk.
We also read God Made the Sea, the Sand, and Me.
Seashore Food Chains:
Jordan and I read excerpts from Seashore Food Chains on our Epic app.
Afterwards, Bub created and labeled a food chain using our sand slime and toob figures.
Food Chain Art:
Since Parker was learning about food chains in his Sonlight science, I thought it would be fun to make an art project around ocean food chains.
First, we read Who Eats What? Ocean Food Chains on our Epic app.
Afterwards, I sketched some of the creatures and Parker painted them with his watercolors.
I helped Parker cut out his food chain elements and he attached them to a paper blue chain we made together.
It turned out really cool! I love the different shades of green and blue.
Puffins:
Though the story mentions gulls, we chose to study a different sea bird, the puffin.
We read The Puffins are Back and had Barbara’s Puffin cereal with robin eggs!
The kids sketched and colored puffins and added them to the intertidal zone of their ocean zone CRAFTivity.
Seaside Sketches:
The kids sketched creatures from the seashore, tide pools, and coastal areas.
Afterwards, they added their sketches to the intertidal zone on their ocean zone charts.
Surface Waters:
Next, we dove into the surface waters to discover an amazing variety of sea-life.
Jordan and I read about the oceans around the world.
I set out a world continent and ocean labeling activity on Learning Lane.
This was a fun way to practice the location of continents and oceans around the world.
Icebergs:
On our journey, we took a moment to explore iceburgs.
Jordan and I read Icebergs on our Epic app.
I set out our Iceberg poster (Green Urban), identification cards (Green Urban), paper, and watercolors. Haley and Jordan sketched and painted them after lunchtime.
The Coral Reef:
We read several beautiful books about coral reefs and the surface waters.
Coral Reef-Krispies:
Making coral Reef-Krispies has become tradition with our ocean-themed rows.
I brought out all our ingredients.
Haley and I mixed pink, purple, and green bowls of Rice Krispies.
We molded the Rice Krispies into coral reefs.
I dyed our marzipan all different colors for the kids to mold into sea creatures.
Parker isn’t a big fan of Marzipan, so Jordan and Haley molded little sea creatures. They turned out really cute!
The kids spent time sketching creatures from the surface waters.
Sunlight Zone:
Parker and I read You Are Ready! The World is Waiting as we prepared to launch into the sunlight zone.
Kelp Forest:
The kelp forest was our first stop in the sunlight zone. I set out a fun snack to enjoy on our virtual trip to the kelp forest.
The kids munched on their seaweed snack while I read A Sea Otter to the Rescue.
We also read The Specific Ocean, one of my favorite picture books about the pacific ocean.
Beach Slime:
Using a Borax solution, we reactivated our ocean slime that we created last year.
The kids played with the slime while I read aloud.
Ocean Sketches:
We read many beautiful books about the sunlight zone.
The kids continued to sketch ocean creatures while reading about the beautiful sunlight zone.
They added them to their ocean zone charts.
Twilight Zone:
We started our decent into the deeper waters with The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark.
We ended our ocean zone unit reading about the deeper ocean zones. We always seem to zoom through our ocean zone unit. It seems like there’s never enough time to cover everything.
Trenchies:
Instead of homemade brownies, we went the Hostess route. I set out everything we needed to build our giant tube worms in the trench.
Everyone had fun building their trenchie snack cake and gobbling it up!
ARTS, CRAFTS, & MORE FUN:
MarGras:
Keeping with tradition, we ended our row reading Night of the Moonjellies.
We even ordered lobster rolls, a cheeseburger, fries, onion rings, and more from Gotts Roadside. It’s the closest we have to Margras.
Sushi Dinner:
Daddy bought everyone a special sushi dinner to celebrate the end of another school year.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Pinterest Board:
You can find most of the activities, ideas, and printables from this post on our Hello Lighthouse Pinterest board.
Youtube Playlist:
As with our other rows, we created a Hello Lighthouse Playlist with read-alouds, music, science, and other clips.