READY TO ROW:

Kick-off Breakfast:

Our breakfast was nod to the “Bagel Hut” and the perfect way to start our Bird Count row. The cup of hot cocoa just sweetened the deal!

Story Disk:

Bub did a wonderful job coloring our story disk. He placed on our map.

Cover Art:

The boys created their cover art for this row. Jordan drew an owl while Parker drew the Bagel Bin city scene.

BIBLE:

I created a Bible verse printable pack for this row.

You can purchase your copy here. There’s a FREEbie tracer in the preview!

The boys wrote/traced their Bible verse and glued them in their FIAR notebooks.

Parker used the Bible verse puzzle to help him memorize the verse.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

John James Audubon:

Parker and I read The Boy Who Drew Birds.

I printed some articles on birds and John James Audubon (Twinkl).

San Capistrano Swallows:

Parker and I read Song of the Swallows, a darling story about the swallows of San Capistrano.

Parker and I traced their migration pattern, from Southern California to on our world map.

Parker colored the migration patterns on his “San Capistrano Swallows” worksheet.

Citizen Scientist:

We read about the bird counting and the history of the Christmas Bird Count in our Citizen Scientist book.

My husband bought us two wonderful bird books to take on our walks. My son found a helpful “Picture Bird” app that helped us identify some birds we spotted and heard near our home

My son and I captured quite a few pictures of some beautiful birds.

Hot Cocoa:

Ava and the other citizen scientists enjoyed a hot cup of cocoa at the end of their bird count day. I thought it would be fun to learn more about this favorite drink.

We read The Sweet Story of Hot Chocolate together.

Well, we couldn’t just read about hot chocolate. I whipped up a batch for the kids.

We found this adorable book while exploring hot chocolate. It was a great book about animals in winter.

State Report:

I love when our Sonlight and FIAR curriculum align. Jordan’s next creative writing assignment was a state report.

I brought out our US state books for Jordan and I to research.

Jordan and I thumbed through the books collecting facts to add to his report.

He also completed the All About My state worksheet in the Story Review.

Bub completed his state report along with his artistic element and a travel brochure.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Story Review:

I created a Bird Count Story Review for this row.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

I tested Parker’s story retention skills with the Story Review worksheets. Some of the questions were a bit tough!

Reading:

Our bookshelf was lined with a January selection of winter themed books.

Christmas Selections:

Just returning from Christmas break, we still savored a few Christmas themed books left on our reading shelf.

Just Birds:

We read several wonderful books about birds.

Grammar Ace:

We studied this book for a few weeks, so we made several bird-themed notebook layouts for our Grammar Ace program.

Phrases:

I created a common bird sayings theme for our “phrases” notebook layout.

I set out the page elements for Parker to put together.

First, Parker added the sticker title at the top of the page.

Then he matched the “in a nutshell” term to the matching definitions.

We added a few “bird phrases” to complete our bird-brained page layout.

Clauses:

I decided to create a “Birds of a Feather” page layout for our “clauses” notebook layout.

First, we added a title using our alphabet stickers.

Next, Parker matched the “In a Nutshell” terms with the correct definition.

Afterwards, we added clauses and marked them as “IND” (Independent) or “DEP” (dependent). The last one is really a phrase since it’s missing a predicate; however, we added words to make it a complete thought.

Types of Sentences:

I created a bird’s nest themed page layout for our lesson on “Types of Sentences”.

First, we added the sticker title in the notebook.

Next, Parker matched the “In a Nutshell” terms (nests) with their matching

Lastly, we added our coordinating conjunction leaves.

Paragraphs:

I decided to use a winter themed layout for this week’s Grammar Ace lesson on paragraphs.

I set out his Grammar Ace notebook, with all the elements needed for this week’s page layout.

First, Parker added our “Snow Many Paragraphs” title with stickers letters.

Next, he built our snowman buddy with the cut-out shapes.

Last, Parker added the “in a nutshell” snowflake terms with their matching definitions.

It looked snow cute! We made sure to leave room for future snowflakes terms that we plan to add in the coming weeks.

Creative Writing:

I love when our FIAR and Sonlight curriculum align, but I’m not afraid to highjack a creative writing assignment to incorporate our FIAR element.

Since we were studying WWI in our Sonlight History, Parker read Pigeon Hero. We also read an article about the carrier pigeons used to relay messages during the war.

Parker chose to write about Wilson, the WWI pigeon hero. Afterwards, he drew and colored a pigeon using an online art tutorial.

MATH:

Calendar:

I printed copies of our January calendar worksheets.

You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.

The boys numbered their calendar and added holidays, birthdays, and special events.

Count & Talley:

I printed a copy of our Count & Talley worksheet for Parker to complete while we read through the story.

First, he tracked and tallied the bird count. Then we used our data to figure averages (e.g. “what was the average number of birds of prey?” or “what was the average number of birds at the marsh?”, etc.)

Following Directions:

We talked about using clock numbers for directions. This concept isn’t knew for the boys, because they use it in their tactical video games.

I printed copies of the “Following Directions” worksheet in our Story Review. The boys read and followed the instructions as they completed their worksheet.

SCIENCE:

Backyard Birds:

I bought the Dover Common Bird stickers and turned them into a matching activity for the boys.

After taking their best guess, I marked which ones they guessed correctly.

Bird Anatomy:

We read quite a bit about birds. Jordan and I skimmed through the bird pages in our Nature Anatomy book.

I printed one of the Bird Anatomy worksheets from our Story Review and Jordan color-coded the parts of the bird.

Bird Nests:

Parker and I sat under a tree and read In the Nest by Anna Milbourne.

We looked around and mentioned all the things birds use to build their nest, lichen, grass, twigs, and leaves. Then I handed him some strings that the birds could use for building nests. He strung them on the bushes in our greenbelt.

We also read You Nest Here With Me, a sweet story about a momma and her baby

Winter:

Since our story takes place in the winter, we read a few winter-themed books.

ARTS, CRAFTS, & FUN:

Feeding the Birds:

I remember reading The Message of the Birds and stringing cranberries when Parker was in Kindergarten. I’ve wanted to do it again, but I never got around to it until this row.

I set out a tray of Cheerios, blueberries (couldn’t find fresh cranberries in January), and string.

Parker and I made several strands for the birds.

We took them on our morning walk and hung them on a “fairy tree” in our greenbelt.

We also read The Crow and the Jug in our Usborne Illustrated Stories from Aesop.

Birds Eye View:

We’ve covered “bird’s eye view” before while rowing The Glorious Flight. This time around, I handed them a copy of the “Mapping Your Area” worksheet from our Story Review.

I instructed the boys to draw our neighborhood using a bird’s eye view”. This is a common view while using maps in their video games.

HELPFUL LINKS:

Pinterest Board:

You can find most of the activities, ideas, and printables from this post on our Bird Count Pinterest Board.

Youtube Playlist:

As with our other rows, we created a Bird Count Playlist with read-alouds, music, science, and other clips.