READY TO ROW:

Kick-off Breakfast:

Since we decided to row Angelo for Christmas, we kicked off our row with Panettone, a special Italian Christmas treat. Truth be told, Pandoro is our favorite Italian Christmas treat, but this year we didn’t order it in time.

Cover Art:

Parker chose to create a black and white sketch of Angelo twirling linguini. He did a fantastic job!

Story Disk:

First, Parker colored the story disk. Then he located Europe and placed the disk on Italy.

BIBLE:

Advent:

This year, I decided to use BFB’s Christmas & Advent curriculum featuring All Creation Waits by Gayle Boss.

Advent Christmas Tree:

I created a woodland themed fir tree to use as our Advent Christmas tree this year. I added berries and mushrooms for color. It seemed like the perfect canvas for this Advent theme.

I purchased “Unearthing Wonder” (The Peaceful Press) as a companion to our daily reading. We cut out the ornaments and Parker painted each one before placing it on our Advent Christmas tree.

By the end of the season, our Christmas tree was festively full of all the wonderful creatures we studied about.

Epiphany:

After Christmas break, we resumed our Advent lesson with Epipheny. We read The Big Christmas Bake together.

We also read The Story of the Three Wise Kings by Tomie dePaola.

Bible Memory Verse:

Advent Verse:

I created a Bible verse printable for this row.

You can purchase your copy HERE at our TPT store.

Parker used the copywork page to record his Bible verse. Afterwards, we glued it in his FIAR notebook. We left the verse poster up all season long.

Traditional Verse:

I also created a traditional Bible verse printable to accompany this row.

You can purchase your copy HERE at our TPT Store.

After memorizing the Advent verse, Parker used the copywork page to record the traditional Bible verse. Afterwards, we glued it in his FIAR notebook.

FIAR Character Studies:

We rowed this book before, during and after the Christmas season. After Advent and Epiphany, we dove into the FIAR Bible Supplement. We read a different study each day.

Good Samaritan

First, Parker read The Story of the Good Samaritan from the book of Luke. Then he read the FIAR Bible Supplement on his own. It’s always wonderful to hear another voice reiterate the importance of the lessons in scripture.

Parable of the Two Sons

The Story of the Two Sons in the gospel of Matthew is one of my favorites. The first son had a pretty rotten attitude, but in the end he showed up and helped his father. I love how God points out the attitude – it just isn’t right – and adds that he was the one who came through in the end. It’s not how we start, it’s how we finish that matters. Oh to have the attitude of the second son and follow through like the first son. This was another wonderful character lesson from our favorite curriculum.

Parents Caring for Their Children

As suggested in the manual, we read Jesus is Born in the second chapter of Luke. It seemed only fitting to end this row where we began – with the birth of Christ. It’s so important to raise our kids with a healthy foundation – they must be fed, clothed, loved and raised with biblical principles exemplified in our lives first.

Integrity

Integrity comes up often in our home. We talk about being the same authentic person everywhere. We shouldn’t have a “church” personality that differs from our personality at home. Salvation is just the beginning of our journey. Each day we have a choice to listen and obey Christ. Will we honor Him with our choices? Will we make the right choices when no one is watching? This is the point where we see just how much integrity we have.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Geography – Italy:

We began our geography lesson exploring the country of Italy.

Parker read about Italy in our Book of Nations.

Using various books along with the internet, Parker filled out the “All About Italy” worksheet from our Story Review.

While in Rome, we thought we might as well explore Venice. Parker read This is Venice by Miroslav Sendak. Parker was currently reading The Thief Lord, his B&C literature unit, the story takes place in Venice, Italy. Both his FIAR and BB&C books were set in Italy. Another wonderful curriculum collision!

I bought a loaf of Italian bread and made us a variety of sandwiches. It was a little taste of Italy, right from home.

We also brought out Papa Piccolo, which had a wonderful reference page about Venice. We rowed Papa Piccolo at Christmastime, several years ago when the kids were much younger. We have so many wonderful FIAR memories to draw back upon.

We had a special Italian dinner where everyone picked their favorite pasta and served it with a delicious Caesar salad. In addition, we celebrated Parker’s 13th birthday with pizza and pasta! (Sorry, no picture)

The City of Rome:

Since this story takes place in Rome, we read This is Rome. We love the “This is…” series by Miroslav Sendak. They really are a wonderful addition to any row.

History – Restoration:

Parker read about restoration in the FIAR Teacher’s Manual. He also read If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy. Now that he’s in junior high, he is reading the manual along with any go-along books I assign to each unit. This allows him to transition to being an independent learner as well as leveling up rows that may be geared for younger students.

We added a few restorative clips to our Angelo Playlist and watched “How It’s Made: Stucco”.

We even made plaster ornaments to commemorate this unit. Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures of us mixing the plain plaster, tinted powder and blue food coloring. While wet, we placed gems into some of them so they would sparkle on the Christmas tree.

Once dry, Parker used paint pens to draw Sylvia and Haley helped by drawing Angelo on the other side.

I painted the ornaments with a craft sealant and set them aside to dry.

Both sides looked beautiful and will be our Angelo FIAR Christmas ornament.

Character Relationships:

Working with Passion:

We have taught our kids to work hard, go the distance, and do things to the best of their ability. It’s easy to slide by or do things half-heartedly, but you never have that inner satisfaction.

The Clown of God is a wonderful example of “doing our work heartily as unto the Lord.“ (Col 3:23-24). I remember covering this topic while rowing The Clown of God. We bring glory to God when we do things to the best of our ability.

The Elderly:

I’ll never know why the elderly are set aside and often times forgotten in our country. With age comes wisdom and life experience. My husband never tires of the stories my father tells from his time in the Coast Guard. Likewise, we could listen to the stories his mom would tell as they escaped a civil war in the Middle East.

Tomie dePaola inflused his books with love and respect for his grandparents. We used so many of his books to complement this row.

First we read Watch Out For the Chicken Feet in Your Soup, a lovely story about growing up with an Italian grandmother. Afterwards, we read Tom, a book about his special friendship with his Irish grandfather. Much of Tomie’s writing is centered around his family.

We couldn’t study Italy and the elderly without reading about La Befana – a legendary Italian Christmas character. Parker wrapped up this unit by readingTomie’s version, The Legend of Old Befana.

Foreign Language – Italian:

We added several Italian tutorial clips on our Angelo playlist.

First, Parker practiced matching the days of the week with the appropriate Italian words. Afterwards, he completed the Days of the Week worksheet from our Story Review.

Christmas in Italy:

Since we rowed this book in December, we added a fun Christmas in Italy unit.

Parker read about Italian Christmas traditions in Mary D. Lankford’s Christmas Around the World.

He also read Jack Manning’s Christmas in Italy. We’ve read this Christmas in… series since the kids were in preschool.

We’ve studied Christmas Around the World – including Christmas in Italy since the kids were in preschool. This has always enriched our holiday studies through the years. There’s so many wonderful memories we have made during this time of year.

Parker also read about Christmas in Italy in How Kids Celebrate Christmas Around the World. Though much of the information may be redundant, sometimes the illustrations as well as the author’s narrative helps to create a fuller picture of celebrations in other countries.

He also completed some Christmas in Italy worksheets that I purchased from Little Red.

While in Italy, we had to read about Strega Nona. As you can tell, this row turned into a VERY Tomie DePaola Christmas. This time around, we read Strega Nona’s Gift from The Magical World of Strega Nona.

We also added a fun Christmas in Italy coloring worksheet in our Story Review.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Story Review:

We created an Angelo Story Review.

You can purchase your copy HERE at our TPT Store.

Personification:

We referred back to Papa Piccolo for this particular unit. The characters of the stories were cats with human characteristics. It’s always fun to bring out a beloved FIAR book in a current row.

We added a festive Deck the Halls with Personification worksheet in our Story Review.

Vocabulary:

Parker completed the vocabulary worksheet from our Story Review.

Inspiration:

As mentioned previously, we used quite a few of Tomie DePaola’s books in this row. Much of Tomie’s work pulls from his upbringing, his beloved family and his own personal life. Christmas Remembered is a collection of many of his cherished Christmas memories that inspired him as both an artist and writer. We read many of his Christmas stories while rowing this book.

MATH:

Roman Numerals:

We have studied Roman numerals many times before. For this unit, Parker read another great David Adler book, Fun with Roman Numerals.

You can download our FREE Around the Clock – Roman Numerals worksheet HERE at our TPT Store.

Centuries and Hundreds:

Parker added Centum to our Latin word list in his FIAR notebook.

Geometric Shapes:

Parker was already dealing with algebraic expressions and advanced geometrical formulas. This unit was a welcome change of pace. It’s always fun to lighten up mathematical concepts with fun activities.

First, Parker read Triangles by David Adler.

Afterwards, he used magnetic tangrams to create Christmas objects with various shapes. As my kids are learning more advanced math concepts in their math curriculum, I find that math manipulative activities combined a math picture book are the best way to compliment a FIAR math unit.

For more advanced students, you can practice 3D shapes using our Shapes BINGO game. Grab your FREE copy HERE at our TPT Store.

Introducing the Concept of Ratio:

This unit came at the perfect time. I was just creating another batch of my baking mix. I LOVE white flour, but I know that whole grain flours provide better nutrition. Sadly, most are too dense and produce less-than-ideal baked goods. So, I found the perfect balance for me!

I use a special blend of whole wheat pastry flour, oat flour and all purpose flour. Parker helped me mix two cups of all purpose flour, one cup of whole wheat flour, and 1 cup of oat flour. This renders a baking blend ratio of 2:1:1.

SCIENCE:

Anatomy – Broken Bones:

Parker read about how our bones are made, broken and healed in the National Geographic Kids Ultimate Body-Pedia book.

All talk of bones being broken reminded him of some game on Roblox called, “Broken Bones”. He gave me a summary of how it worked – hmmm, both odd and educational? I’m not so sure. Anyway, he made a real-life connection between what he read and something he saw.

He also read about the various bones in the human body in The Usborne Complete Book of the Human Body.

Lastly, I set out our Human Skeleton kit under the Christmas tree. Parker had fun putting all the bones back together. Above all, you can see the handiwork of God, what intelligent design behind each and every bone placement.

Jordan loved activities like this one. Each time I see our skeleton guy, I think of this video.

I love his sense of humor. On days when you could feel your patience being tested, he could lighten the moment and making me laugh so hard I would cry…literally!

Physics and the Human Body

Temperature – Heating and Cooling:

We read all about the importance of hydration and how our body naturally cools off in the National Geographic Kids Ultimate Body-Pedia book.

We also learned how our skin changes by warming up and cooling down in The Usborne Complete Book of the Human Body..

Birds:

We had such a wonderful time rowing Bird Count a few winters back. I was so happy Angelo had bird science units to study.

Christmas Birds:

We started our bird unit with a couple of whimsical Christmas themed books.

First, Parker read Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. He absolutely loves this book.

Then he read Message of the Birds, a classic Christmas tale about peace and love.

Pigeons:

Parker LOVES birds! Pigeons are his absolute favorite! We read as many pigeon books as I could get my hands on.

First, Parker read City Safari Pigeon.

Afterwards, he completed a Pigeon Bird Classification Report, using the template from our Story Review.

Next, he explored his favorite bird further by reading Let’s Look at Pigeons.

He also color-coded the parts of the Pigeon using the science worksheet from our Story Review.

He wrapped up his Pigeon unit by reading The Real Poop on Pigeons!

Seasonal Science:

Since we were rowing during the holiday season, we decided to add a few more Christmas themed units before winter break.

The Sweet Smells of Christmas:

What’s one of the best things about Christmas? The sweet scents – fir trees, oranges, peppermint, baked treats, and other special holiday treats. Our home is full of delicious smells during the Christmas season. We bake pies, cookies and breads in our oven. We frost cakes and decorate cookies then share them with friends and family.

The Olfactory Sense:

This is a fancy term with what affects our ability to smell. This is where we made the “sweet smells of Christmas” a science unit. We followed our nose, but it didn’t end there.

First, we read Follow Your Nose by Paul Showers. We quickly learned that the nose isn’t the only thing that allows us to smell things.

We also a couple of scent experiments suggested in the book.

The Sweet Smell of Christmas brings back memories of the holidays during Parker’s preschool years.

Just for fun, we wrapped up this unit by completing the scent experiment using our Sweet Smell of Christmas science worksheet.

Popcorn:

Since popcorn is often used to decorate Christmas trees, we thought it might be fun to explore popcorn as an extra Christmas unit.

First, we read Tomie DePaola’s The Popcorn Book. This row was definitely a Tomie DePaola Christmas row!

Next, Parker color-coded The Parts of the Corn Kernel worksheet from our Story Review.

Afterwards, he colored, cut and pasted the Life Cycle of a Corn Plant worksheet, also from our Story Review.

Next, I printed our Five Senses Popcorn worksheet and brought out a caramel flavored microwave popcorn.

Using all five senses, Parker recorded everything he saw, heard, smelled, touched and tasted during this experiment. He recorded everything on the worksheet from our Story Review.

Christmas Trees:

For historical reference, Parker read Tomie’s Christmas Tree Book. This was a great book for giving us an introduction as to how the evergreen tree became a symbol of Christmas.

Parker read Christmas Farm, one of our favorite seasonal books that explores math and science.

We added a couple of Holiday Row – Christmas Tree Science worksheets in our Story Review. This is always a fun way to add a little more science in a festive way around the holiday season.

Oranges:

Oranges were once a treasured Christmas treat. I’ve wanted to do a holiday science unit on oranges for quite some time.

First, Parker read Oranges by Louise Spilsbury. He learned about the history of the orange – where it originated – different varieties and where they grow today. He also learned about the science behind growing, harvesting, and processing oranges.

Afterwards, he completed the Parts of the Orange worksheet from our Story Review.

Lastly, to end this unit, we read An Orange for Frankie, a sweet Christmas story by Patricia Polacco. She is a great storyteller. We love her books.

Sleep

While searching for various books online, I found The Night Before Christmas by Tomie dePaola. I thought this might be a great addition to our row. How could we make it into a science unit? We would explore the science behind the “long winter’s nap”.

I dove a bit deeper into the science of sleep and had Parker read Sleep is For Everyone.

The book even showed a picture of a pigeon sleeping! “Sylvia, is that you?”…

Winter:

We paused our row at Christmas break, but we picked it back up again in the new year. In January, we dove deeper into the winter season.

First, we read Winter Sleep which was a wonderful book to follow All Creation Waits. As peaceful as the storyline reads, the end of the book is fantastic. It provides enough information for a complete winter animal science unit.

In keeping our Tomie dePaola theme, Parker also read Joe and the Snow.

FINE ARTS:

The Need for Art:

Again drawing from dePaola’s own art experience, Parker read Tomie’s Art Lesson. You get a glimpse of his passion for art, his personality and his courage to speak up.

Inspiration:

Our Advent book, All Creation Waits, draws upon nature as its inspiration for slowing down during the holiday season. It’s reverent tone, peaceful illustrations and simple text encourage us to pause and ponder about the real meaning of the season, rather than just busy ourselves with the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

Of course we previously mentioned that Tomie dePaola pulled most of his inspiration from his own life experiences, especially those with his family. We first fell in love with Tomie’s writing years ago when we read-aloud 26 Fairmont Avenue. The boys were in lower elementary grades and reading this book was the highlight of our day. The series was so good that Parker’s older brother, Jordan asked to read the rest of the series on his own. He was our reluctant reader, so we were happy to see him reading outside of his school assignments.

Aerial View:

I remember covering aerial view, or a “bird’s eye view”, while rowing The Glorious Flight.

We rowed in the fall, so we called this ART art unit, “Pumpkin Perspective”.

It’s amazing how many concepts point back to a memory from one of our rows. I absolutely LOVE the FIAR curriculum.

Theater:

Jordan read The Best Worst Pageant Ever last year, so I thought it might be fun to read this aloud with Parker while rowing this book.

This was a wonderful way to learn about all the ins and outs of performing in a pageant or putting on a play in the theater. The greater lesson to was to never give up on anyone, give everyone a chance and treat everyone with kindness.

The new movie was playing in the theater near us. My husband bought us dinner and took us to see it. Life only gets busier as the kids get older, but we try to carve out family time whenever possible.

HELPFUL LINKS:

Pinterest Board:

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

Youtube Playlist:

As with our other rows, we created Angelo playlist with read-alouds, music, science, and other clips.