Mornings:
We start every morning off with our prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance. Below is a picture of the prayers that we say and a video of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Not the prettiest example but that’s what we’ve been using for the past few years.
Don’t have a flag? Grab one HEREand print it out to put up somewhere… you could even let the kids make a flag to proudly display. Amazon also has some little ones like this one HERE and HERE.
After this we have our calendar time also where we go over such things as the Days of the Week, the months, and some basic math.
This one came from Lakeshore Learning.
The younger kids will also be watching some of these videos while I work with the older ones:
We may also use some of the songs found HERE.
And we will be trying out some relaxing background music with Google.
We also like to use this song during our ‘Morning Time’ to help the kids learn the 50 States.
Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.
On weeks where there are several activities listed just choose a couple that interest you the most to work on.
Answer can be found HERE.
Answer Key Password: momsrock
Week 5: Chapters 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28
(Going to Church, The Glittering Cloud, Grasshopper Eggs, Rain, and The Letter)
Here is our lesson plan for the week:
Language Arts
Reading:
Read Chapters 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28
- You can read it or let the kids help to read it aloud.
- You can also access an audio version:
Discussion Questions:
Chapter Twenty-Four (Going to Church):
- Why was Ma so excited?
- Describe Ma’s new dress.
- What mistake did Ma make with the girls’ hair?
- Did the girls enjoy Sunday School?
- What was different about the church?
- What did Pa need? Did he get them? Why or why not?
Chapter Twenty-Five (The Glittering Cloud):
- What was the weather like? How did it affect the pine boards?
- What was different about the storm cloud?
- What did the grasshoppers do?
- How did Pa try to protect the crop? Was he successful?
- What are some other ways that the grasshoppers affect them?
- How did the grasshoppers affect other people?
Chapter Twenty-Six (Grasshopper Eggs):
- What did Laura see? What did Pa say was happening?
- Why did Pa say they were better off than others?
- Why did Pa go to town?
- Where was Pa going? Why?
Chapter Twenty-Seven (Rain):
- What was happening around the house?
- Why did Pa go to Mr. Nelson’s house?
- What story in the Bible did Ma read? How was it similar to what had happened?
- What promise had God made? What did Ma say about the promise?
- How did the rain change things?
Chapter Twenty-Eight (The Letter):
- What were the girls worried about?
- What finally came?
- What did Pa write in the letter?
Additional Reading:
Older Children:
Each child would complete a reading lesson from our McGuffey Primer Books or other reading materials that we chose for the day.
Younger Children:
Younger kids will also be doing one lesson a day from Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.
We are also working through All About Reading Level Pre-reading with William as he needed something a little different from what we had been doing.
Vocabulary/Spelling:**
Print: On the Banks of Plum Creek Vocabulary Week Five List
Older Kids:
- Day One: Write your words three times each.
- Day Two: Write your words in ABC order.
- Day Three: Look up definitions and use five of your words in a sentence.
- Day Four: Test (optional) or Worksheet:
Parents click HERE for the answer key.**see instructions at the top of the page.
Younger Kids:
Handwriting:
Older Kids:
-or-
Younger Kids:
Writing:
We will be using the Writing Activity Station Kit from Lakeshore Learning for some of our lessons.
Choose one prompt below:
- Write a descriptive paragraph about the locust plague in Egypt.
- Write about a day in the life of a grasshopper.
**Remember to use the thesaurus to come up with different words.
Watch this video about descriptive writing:
Other Activity:
Group:
- Continue reading Word Fun
- Watch Signing Times: Everday Signs
- Work on your Moby Max account
Older kids:
- Read: Noah Webster: Master of Words or Noah Webster’s Fighting Words
- Play Scrabble
- Free Choice Spelling Activity
- Bonus Points: Read to a younger sibling
Younger kids:
- Read: Bugs Are Insects
- Work with the Alphabet Theme Box from Lakeshore Learning.
- ABC Mouse
- Listening Center (Choose one book to read/listen to together)
Math
You may find it easier to buy a Math Workbook to work through as you go along with the study.
** For fun you may try ‘ciphering’ on a slate with a slate pencil.
Group:
- Do an activity from Building Thinking Skills® Level 1.
- Do an activity from Math Games.
Rotate through these activities:
Older Kids:
- Work on a lesson in your Ray’s Arithmetic Books or other math workbooks.
- Work on Khan Academy
- Special Tasks:
- If the girls could walk 4 miles per hour how long would it take them to walk 20 miles? 30 miles?
Younger Kids:
- Work on your Math-U-See Primer or another workbook.
- Practice with Numbers & Counting Theme Box
- Work on Khan Academy or ABCmouse.com
Geography and History
1. State Study
- This week we will study Kentucky.
- Complete your notebooking pages.
- Older kids can write a report about the state.
2. Landforms & Mapping
Maps:
- Discuss what you have learned.
- Map Symbols Worksheet
- Map Legends Worksheet
- What should you do if you don’t know what the symbols on a map mean?
- Do one activity from:
Landforms:
- Caves
- Cliffs
- Discuss what you have learned.
- Work on your lapbook.
- Read 4-5 pages from Geography from A to Z: A Picture Glossary
- Do one activity from each of the following:
3. Bonus
Extra:
- Play Oregon Trail Game
- Social Studies Quiz Game Show
- Play GeoBingo USA Educational Geography Board Game
We will also be using this People Long Ago Resource Box from Lakeshore Learning to go with our lessons.
There are also some other resources available here:
- All About Landforms Lesson Plan
- Map Skills Book
- Map and Key Lesson and Materials
- Maps and Globes Lesson Plans
Science
1. Pick one or two topics to learn about:
- Grasshoppers
- Food Chains
- Discuss what you learned.
- Read Bugs A to Z
- Choose an activity:
- Choose a topic to study and write a report about. Your report will be due next week.
- Find a coloring page HERE or HERE about your favorite topic.
- Use the Ultimate Bugopedia: The Most Complete Bug Reference Ever to research.
2. Learn about the weather and seasons.
- Water Table
- Dust Devils
- Heat Waves
- Discuss what you learned.
- Seasons & Weather Theme Box activity
- Weathers & Seasons – Interactive Science Activities
3. Read:
- Natural World: A Visual Compendium of Wonders from Nature chapter 33 & 36
- Discuss what you learned.
Extra Activities:
Life Skills
We will be discussing some of the character qualities that are displayed in the book but if you would like to do a separate character study lesson you can download one HERE.
1. Memory Verse
We will be memorizing Psalm 51 during this unit study. Print it HERE.
- Work on memorizing a verse during the week for a special prize.
- Verse 9: Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
- Verse 10: Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
- Verse 11: Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
- Older kids can copy the memory verse down in their notebook.
2. Character
- How did the Ingalls’ family keep the Sabbath?
- Discuss what you learned
- What number was the locust plague?
- How did this compare to what happened in the story?
- Do you remember what Pa needed to buy in town?
- Did he buy what he needed?
- What did he sacrifice his need for?
- Was he being a good steward of his money?
– Read Psalm 46:
- Why do you think Laura suggested reading this when you are faced with trouble?
– Read 1 Timothy 5:7-8
And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
- How did Pa provide for his family?
- What difficult choice did he have to make?
3. Manners
– Read pages 57 through 67 of Emily Post’s Table Manners for Kids and discuss the manners used in each situation below:
- What are everyday meals?
- What are some once a year meals?
- What are some once in a lifetime meals?
- How do you know where to sit?
- What should you do if you don’t like something?
- What are the magic words?
- What are some table talk tips?
- What is small talk?
- What are some good things to talk about at the table?
- What are some things to avoid talking about at the table?
- Practice these manners when you eat.
4. Fun Activities
- Plan a field trip.
- Check out this antique photo of some of the grasshoppers that plagued the prairie in the 1870s. Read the article with it.
- Learn about water conservation:
- Make a recipe from The Little House on the Prairie Cookbook.
- Research ways to preserve foods with Preserving Everything.
- Click HERE to learn about fun and unusual holidays.
5. Bonus Skills — Choose one or two to work on
Practice these until you finish this unit study and then we will move on to new skills.
Emergency Preparedness
- Discuss what you learned.
- Work on a lesson HERE.
- Or read a few pages a week from Show Me How to Survive.
- Start reading Tsunamis and Other Natural Disasters
Kids Cook Real Food
- Work on your next lesson.
- Help to prepare a meal using your new skills.
- Easy lunches kids can make
Skill Trek
- Work on at least one task a week.
- Practice your new skill this week.
Back to the Basics
Learn and practice some traditional skills from the book.
- Read pages 190-194
- Discuss what you learned.
Herb Study
- Using one of the following for your study:
- Discuss what you learned.
- Be sure to jot down some notes.
- Play Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game, a cooperative board game
Dog Training
We are using Lucky Dog Lessons: Train Your Dog in 7 Days as a guide for training our puppy.
- Discuss what you have learned
- Practice the techniques with your puppy this week.
- Discuss what you have learned
- Practice the techniques with your puppy this week.
Note:
We will also be using:
- Shake & Break Training Tool by Petmate
- 4 Pack Dog Training Clickers 2 in 1 Whistle and Clicker Pet Training Tools Set
- Lure Stick Training Tool by Petmate
- PoyPet No Pull Dog Harness
PE, Health & Safety
1. Nutrition
- Discuss what you have learned.
- What was missing from the meal on page 210? Why?
- What are some problems that could happen from this?
- 5 Habits for Lifelong Healthy Eating
- Printable – Word Search Puzzle – Food Groups
- Do an activity from Nutrition Worksheets: Food Groups & Healthy Choices
- Do an activity from the Nutrition Instant Learning Center
2. Games/Outdoor Play
- Play Sunday p. 145 of The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book by Guy Bailey
- Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
Music, Arts & Crafts
Crafts:
- Grasshopper Craft
- More Grasshopper Crafts
- Or choose a craft from Pioneer Crafts For Kids
Art:
- Try techniques from Zentangle for Kids
- Choose a coloring page from one of these:
Music:
- My Sabbath Home p.144 Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook
You can check out my Pinterest page Little House on the Prairie Crafts for even more crafts and activities.
**BE SURE TO SAVE A FEW SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO! TAKE PICTURES OF BIG PROJECTS!
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–Thank you!
