READY TO ROW:
Cover Art:
Parker created a simplified cover art page in his FIAR notebook.
Story Disk:
Parker colored our story disk and placed it on Montana.
BIBLE:
Memory Verse:
I created a Bible verse printable for Cowboy Charlie.
You can purchase your copy here at our TPT store.
Parker completed the copywork page and we added the verse in his FIAR notebook.
FIAR Bible Studies:
There were so many wonderful Bible lessons in the FIAR Christian Character and Bible Supplement Guide. For most of the lessons, we looked up the scripture references and read the guide.
Family:
We spent a few days exploring the Bible section on family. One day we read about David and Mephiboseth.
Ruth is such a beautiful story. We recently read the entire book of Ruth. This time, we reviewed the story by reading Arch Books’ Ruth and Naomi.
Contentment:
Of course I had to add a thematic devotion that included a cowboy!
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Missouri:
We read Missouri on our Epic app. Afterwards, Parker completed a state activity page.
Montana:
We read Montana on our Epic app and Parker completed an activity page about Montana.
We read about Missouri and Montana in The 50 States book.
As we read about Montana in Travels with Charlie Across the Midwest, we noticed an honorary mention of the CM Russel Museum.
The Wild West:
We read What Was the Wild West? as a read aloud. This book covered almost every social studies subject.
We bought a Playmobil Stagecoach to use while rowing Cowboy Charlie. Parker loved assembling it and playing with the figures while I read aloud.
Parker read Yippee-Yay! and Pecos Bill. I also read-aloud Man of the Family, which both boys throughly enjoyed.
Cattle Drives:
What was the Wild West? covered cattle drives, but we also read ‘Til the Cows Come Home and Cattle Kids to cover this topic.
Using Julia Rothman’s Farm Anatomy as a guide, Parker color-coded the Parts of a Beef Animal using the science worksheet from our Story Review.
Explorers, Pioneers & Settlers:
We read You Wouldn’t Want to be an American Pioneer. We also read excerpts and looked through pictures of pioneer life in Pioneer Sampler.
We read Apples to Oregon, which was a humorous, slightly exaggerated tale of a pioneer family bringing fruit trees across the Oregon Trail.
Parker loved playing the Oregon Trail game. He said it was really fun and made him LOVE the “Wild West”!
Native American Culture:
Parker marked all the Native American tribes that were in Montana and Missouri on our BFB U.S. Map. We used maps in our National Geographic Encyclopedia of Native American History and Culture for reference.
Methods of Communication:
The Pony Express:
A few years ago, Parker read Clyde Robert Bulla’s Riding the Pony Express, but What was the Wild West? provided the perfect review. Literally, that book touched on so many topics in the FIAR guide!
Morse Code:
We read Samuel Morse on our Epic app.
I gave Parker a printed Morse code chart and he spent some time writing secret messages in his FIAR notebook.
Historical Timeline:
Parker painted a couple more items, from this time period, to add to our BFB timeline.
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Story Review:
I created a Story Review for Cowboy Charlie.
You can purchase your copy here at our TPT Store.
Poetry:
Parker copied and memorized Buffalo Dusk in his FIAR notebook.
Creativity & Imagination:
Parker has always had the ability to imagine and play with figures and play sets. He reminds me of my older brother making blaster sounds with his Star Wars figures.
MATH:
This was an easy lesson to talk about. Instantly, Parker was thinking of ways Charlie would have made math more enjoyable. The chuckwagon and the cattle drive were inspiration enough to create fractions and multiplication problems on-demand.
SCIENCE:
Prairie Animals:
Since we recently read about prairie wildlife while rowing The Bravest of Us All, we simplified our reading with Grandfather Buffalo by Jim Arnosky.
While reading about prairie animals, Parker drew a prairie landscape and food web in his FIAR notebook.
Mountain Habitat:
Parker read How High Up the Mountain? on our epic app.
I printed our Rocky Mountain CRAFTivity to work through while studying the Rocky Mountains. Parker colored the animals and added them to the appropriate mountain zone.
He also read Wonders of America: The Rocky Mountains.
Mississippi & Missouri Rivers:
We read The Mississippi River and Parker traced the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. He also color-coded Montana and Missouri – the two states where Charles Russel lived.
We read Minn of the Mississippi as a read-aloud together.
I brought our our Montessori River Definition cards and Parker color-coded the Parts of the River worksheet.
Measuring Rivers:
I remember measuring rivers with Jordan while studying Henry the Castaway. I decided to seize the moment with Parker as we read through Minn of the Mississippi.
Conservation:
We recently covered conservation while rowing You’re on Your Way Teddy Roosevelt. I had Parker read The Camping Trip That Changed America to cover this unit.
FINE ARTS:
Painting:
We brought out watercolors and Parker used them to paint Montana and Missouri on his U.S. map.
3D Sculptures:
Parker used beeswax to create his own figure.
Chuckwagons & Cooking:
Parker learned about chuckwagons while reading about What Was the Wild West? and playing The Oregon Trail. He decided to bake sourdough.
His big sister, Haley, made “Stan”, a sourdough starter, while studying Bound for Oregon. Stan has been growing strong ever since.
Parker helped measure, pour and mix the ingredients to make sourdough sandwich bread.
Unfortunately, I used the wrong ratio of wheat and all purpose flour then over-proofed the dough. The bread was too sour, fell flat and baked very dense.
Later, we made a new recipe, with bread flour using our bread machine. Everyone enjoyed this loaf!
HELPFUL LINKS:
Pinterest Board:
You can find most of the activities, ideas, and printables from this post on our Cowboy Charlie Pinterest Board.
Youtube Playlist:
As with our other rows, we created a Cowboy Charlie playlist with read-alouds, music, art, science, and other clips.