READY TO ROW:
Kick-off Breakfast:
This is a very loose representation of a prickly pear cactus. Not the prettiest pancakes, but everyone enjoyed them.
Story Disk:
Parker colored his story disk and placed it on Arizona.
Cover Art:
Parker created a very colorful cover art using markers and watercolors.
BIBLE:
Memory Verse:
Parker used the copywork page to write his Bible verse. Afterwards, he glued it in his FIAR notebook.
Fruits of the Spirit:
We started our Fruits of the Spirit Bible unit while rowing Home in the Woods. We finished it during this row.
JOY:
First, Parker painted the Joy banner with his watercolors.
Next, I created a word art page in his FIAR notebook for his Joy verse.
We read “The Light of the World” from The Jesus Storybook Bible.
One day, we read Psalm 100 and Let’s Make a Joyful Noise.
The next day, we read Psalm 116 and I Will Rejoice.
We made an Orange Julius to end this unit!
PEACE:
We started our lesson by reading a poem about Peace and Joy from A Boy After God’s Own Heart.
Parker painted the Peace banner with watercolors then taped it on our Fruits of the Spirit tree.
Then we read The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings. Counting our blessings is a great way to focus less on ourselves and more on Christ.
Next, I created a word art page in his FIAR notebook for his Peace verse.
The following day, we read “The Captain of the Storm” in our Jesus Storybook Bible.
The next day, we read Jesus Walks on the Water. Afterwards, we discussed that Peter was able to walk on water as long as he focused on Jesus. The minute he took his eyes off Jesus, he started to sink. The same is true for us. If we keep our eyes on Christ, He gives us his peace.
We ended our peace lessons with fresh sweet watermelon slices.
PATIENCE:
We read the patience poem from A Boy After God’s Own Heart.
Parker painted the Patience banner with watercolors then taped it on our Fruits of the Spirit tree.
Then we read The Berenstain Bears Patience, Please.
Next, I created a word art page in his FIAR notebook for his Patience verse.
The following day, we read “Son of Laughter” in our Jesus Storybook Bible.
We had fresh pineapple at breakfast.
KINDNESS:
We started our lesson by reading the poem on Kindness from A Boy After God’s Own Heart.
Parker painted the Kindness banner with watercolors then taped it on our Fruits of the Spirit tree.
Then we read Berenstain Bears Kindness Counts.
Next, I created a word art page in his FIAR notebook for his Kindness verse.
The following day, we read “The Man Who Didn’t Have Any Friends (None)” in our Jesus Storybook Bible.
We also read Try a Little Kindness while reading about kindness in the manual.
After eating an entire bag of grapes, without snapping a picture, I bought more and made grape kabobs.
GOODNESS:
We started our lesson by reading our poem on Goodness from A Boy After God’s Own Heart.
Parker painted the Goodness banner with watercolors then taped it on our Fruits of the Spirit tree.
Then we read Berenstain Bears Gifts of the Spirit Goodness.
Next, I created a word art page in his FIAR notebook for his Goodness verse.
The following day, we read “The Beginning: A Perfect Home” in our Jesus Storybook Bible.
We had delicious berry smoothies to end this unit!
FAITHFULNESS:
We started our lesson by reading our poem on Faithfulness from A Boy After God’s Own Heart.
Parker painted the Faithfulness banner with watercolors then taped it on our Fruits of the Spirit tree.
Then we read Berenstain Bears Faithfulness Friends.
Next, I created a word art page in his FIAR notebook for his faithfulness verse.
The following day, we read “A New Beginning” in our Jesus Storybook Bible.
We made rainbow fruit pizzas on sugar cookie dough!
GENTLENESS:
We started our lesson by reading the poem on Gentleness from A Boy After God’s Own Heart.
Parker painted the Gentleness banner with watercolors then taped it on our Fruits of the Spirit tree.
We reviewed the fruits of the spirit by reading The Fruit of the Spirit.
We read My Mouth is a Volcano! to get a better mental picture of what gentleness is not. It’s natural to get angry, but we don’t want our anger to get out of control. “Letting it rip” or “rage quitting” are two examples of not controlling our anger.
We also read When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry…. Some of us are more passionate than others. We need to depend on God so we don’t let our emotions get out of control.
We then read Your Magnificent Chooser, a beautifully written picture book to explain free will and subtly illustrate how our choices affect us while introducing how good and gentle God works in our lives.
God doesn’t want us to respond “naturally”, letting our emotions roll without restraint. He offers to help us through His spirit, so we can respond SUPER naturally. We also talked about being peace makers and not “poking the bear”, as sometimes little brothers can do.
I created a word art page in his FIAR notebook for his gentleness verse.
The following day, we read “The Good Shepherd” in our Jesus Storybook Bible.
Papa brought us fresh peaches from the Farmer’s market. I made baked peaches with whipped cream.
SELF CONTROL:
SOCIAL STUDIES:
The Southwest:
We started our journey through the southwest by reading Here is the Southwest Desert and Bedtime in the Southwest.
I brought out our California Montessori puzzle. Parker located all the southwest states.
We also read about the SouthWest in National Parks of the U.S.A. book.
Afterwards, Parker completed a Sorting by Flora and Fauna of the Southwest worksheet. You can see the full Flora and Fauna lessons below under Science.
Arizona:
As we started to travel through the Southwestern states, we began by reading about Arizona.
We read Rookie Read-About Geography Arizona
Parker completed a page about Arizona in his State Farm activity book.
While studying Arizona, we also read about the Grand Canyon in our National Parks of the U.S.A. book.
Afterwards, he painted Arizona on our Beautiful Feet Books U.S. map.
New Mexico:
We read Rookie Read-About Geography New Mexico.
Afterwards, Parker painted New Mexico on our Beautiful Feet Books U.S. map.
I love when Parker makes a real-life connection to what he’s learning in school. Though Minecraft is hardly real life, he still noticed the “mesa biome” after we just learned about desert landforms. ❤️
Oklahoma:
We read Rookie Read-About Geography Oklahoma.
Parker completed a page about Oklahoma in his State Farm activity book.
Afterwards, Parker painted Oklahoma on our Beautiful Feet Books U.S. map.
Texas:
We read Rookie Read-About Geography Texas.
While studying Texas, we also read about Big Bend in our National Parks of the U.S.A. book.
Afterwards, Parker painted Oklahoma on our Beautiful Feet Books U.S. map.
Southern California:
We read Our California on our Epic app.
While studying Southern California, we also read about Death Valley in our National Parks of the U.S.A. book.
Nevada:
We read Rookie Read-About Geography Nevada.
Afterwards, Parker painted Nevada on our Beautiful Feet Books U.S. map.
Utah:
We read Rookie Read-About Geography Utah.
While studying Utah, we also read about Bryce Canyon in our National Parks of the U.S.A. book.
Colorado:
We read Rookie Read-About Geography Colorado.
We read Rookie Read-About Geography The Colorado River.
While studying Colorado, we also read about Mesa Verde in our National Parks of the U.S.A. book.
Mexico:
We read about Mexico in our Book of Nations.
We also read Living in Mexico, which gave Parker information for his report on Mexico (Gullywasher Story Review).
Parker completed his All About Mexico worksheet from our Story Review.
Parker color-coded the states that were originally owned by Mexico.
Geographical Features:
Landforms – Gully & Mesa:
First we read about landforms in Geography From A to Z A Picture Glossary.
First, Parker sketched a gully using the book for reference.
Second, Parker sketched a mesa in his FIAR notebook.
I love sketching in our FIAR notebook as we learn new things.
History – Cattle Drives:
We recently learned about cattle reading ‘Til the Cows Come Home, Cattle Kids, and What Was the Wild West? while rowing Cowboy Charlie.
Mission San Jose:
Parker read about Mission San Jose in the California Missions Discovering Mission San Jose. We hope to visit the mission sometime this summer.
Afterwards, we finished our day reading Juanita, a beautiful story.
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Story Review:
I created a Story Review for The Gullywasher.
You can purchase it here at our TPT Store.
Literature – Tall Tales:
After reviewing tall tales, Parker read some whimsical tall tales and hispanic origin stories.
Learning Spanish – Creating a Glossary:
We read several Hispanic books like Too Many Tamales, Chicks and Salsa, as well as bilingual picture books like Round is a Tortilla, Green is a Chile Pepper, and What Can You Do With a Paleta? while rowing The Gullywasher.
As suggested in the FIAR manual, Parker started a glossary of Spanish words. As we came across a new word, he would write it in his FIAR notebook.
Literature in the Cowboy Genre:
Parker recently read Pecos Bill, Yippee-Yay! A Book About Cowboys and Cowgirls and The Camping Trip That Changed America while towing Cowboy Charlie.
For this row, we read Cowboy Dreams, Calico the Wonder Horse, and Boss of the Plains the Hat That Won the West.
MATH:
Calendar:
Parker added icons, birthdays and other events on his calendar.
SCIENCE:
Flora of the Southwest:
Parker read Outdoor Explorers Southwest on Epic.
Parker sketched various plants he came across while reading about the southwest region of the United States.
He picked a new succulent from our local nursery.
Bell Peppers:
Parker read See Bell Peppers Grow.
Afterwards, he completed the Lifecycle of a Bell Pepper worksheet.
When we went to our local nursery, he picked out his favorite bell pepper plant.
Corn:
First, we read The Secret Life of Corn together.
Parker used the Corn Plant nomenclature cards to color-code the parts of the corn plant from our Story Review.
We planted several different corn seeds in our vegetable garden.
Fauna of the Southwest:
We read Jim Arnosky’s Under the Wild Western Sky together.
Parker sketched various animals he came across while reading about the southwest region of the United States.
Desert Wildlife:
Hummingbirds:
We read About Hummingbirds A Guide for Children.
We also read about hummingbirds in Jim Arnosky’s Watching Desert Wildlife.
Parker color-coded the parts of the hummingbird and added it in his FIAR notebook.
Lizards:
In addition to reading about lizards in Watching Desert Wildlife, Parker read All About Lizards by Jim Arnosky.
Afterwards, Parks completed an Animal Classification worksheet from our Story Review.
Snakes:
In addition to reading about snakes in Watching Desert Wildlife, Parker read All About Rattlesnakes by Jim Arnosky.
Afterwards, Parks completed an Animal Classification worksheet from our Story Review.
Desert Deer:
After reading about desert deer in Watching Desert Wildlife, Parker completed an Animal Classification worksheet from our Story Review.
Squirrel:
After reading about desert squirrels in Watching Desert Wildlife, Parker completed an Animal Classification worksheet from our Story Review.
Owls:
Parker read All About Owls by Jim Arnosky.
We also read about elf owls in Jim Arnosky’s Watching Desert Wildlife. Afterwards, Parks completed an Animal Classification worksheet from our Story Review.
Dessert:
Parker read Why Oh Why are Deserts Dry?, a great book about desert biomes.
Sand:
Parker read Jump Into Science Sand, a wonderful book that explains what sand is, how it’s formed and where it comes from.
Weather:
As we started our weather unit, Parker read What Will the Weather Be?
Rain:
Next, Parker explored rain by reading Down Comes the Rain and The Rainy Day.
Thunderstorms:
As we explored intense weather, Parker read Thunder and Lightning and excerpts from Eye Wonder Weather.
Reflection:
Parker read Light Waves by David Adler. We love his math, science and biographies.
FINE ARTS:
Drawing the Sombrero:
Parks followed the art tutorial in the FIAR manual.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Pinterest Board:
You can find most of the activities, ideas, and printables from this post on our The Gullywasher Pinterest Board.
Youtube Playlist:
As with our other rows, we created The Gullywasher with read-alouds, music, science, and other clips.