Five In A Row: The Story of Ferdinand

This week we moved on to Five In A Row Volume 2!!  We probably won't do all of Volume 2, so I decided to do the books out of order and start with one of my personal favorites :)

The Story of Ferdinand is about a little bull who (unlike his friends) likes to sit quietly under an old cork tree and smell the flowers around him instead of running around trying to be a fierce bull that gets picked for the bullfights in Madrid.  This story is especially dear to my heart because I have long seen LittleBear as my little Ferdinand (he's more the type to sit quietly and smell the flowers than be rough and tumble).  I was reminded this week of this tweet from last year...*melt*  Anyway, I love my little Ferdinand and this book and had fun going over it with the kids this week.  LadyBear wasn't in the mood for sitting down much at the beginning of this week, so it ended up being mostly LittleBear, Orbit and I, but then something happened in the middle and she fell in love with the book so much that now I read it A LOT to her.

For Bible/Character Building, we talked about Contentment and what that means (and how we are ALL-Mommy included- still learning how to be content).  We also talked about ways that we can be content and I challenged myself and LittleBear to try to be content when we find ourselves wanting more.  We also took some time to think of things we are thankful for, which helped us realize how much we already have.  In addition, we read stories each day out of A Child's Book of Character Building Book 1, which both kids really enjoy.  We also talked about how God made everyone unique and we are made that way for a purpose.

LittleBear and LadyBear coloring their Spanish flags...

For Math, we finished the last lesson out of Math-U-See Primer and will be moving on to Alpha as soon as the student packet gets here (c'mon UPS!).  In the meantime, I've been filling in with pages from Life of Fred Apples.  For Language Arts, we started Explode the Code Book 3 (lesson 1) and for Handwriting, we started the Memoria Press Copy Book 1.

 LadyBear playing with the corks while LittleBear did math...

For Social Studies, we talked about Spain and where it is.  We talked about things Spain is known for and tried to learn a few words in Spanish.  We greeted Daddy every day with a hearty "Hola Padre!" and also had a blast trying to learn to dance Flamenco :)  LadyBear definitely wanted to join in on this part and even came out with her twirly skirt on!

 Dancing Bear Cubs!!!!

For Science, we talked about cows and their roles on this earth.  We also learned about cork trees and how corks are made.  We also enjoyed another riveting episode of "Sink or Float!" with a bag of corks I found at Hobby Lobby (love their 40% off coupons!).  We also talked about our sense of smell and the importance of flowers, which was great since we are about to start our spring garden!



For Art, I introduced Pablo Picasso and we talked about this progression of drawings of a bull that I found that he did.  We also watched a short video of him painting the outline of a bull on glass.

 LadyBear working on a paper doll page while LittleBear did his handwriting...

For fun, we plan on trying to make Churros tomorrow...we'll see how that goes :)

It was a great week!!!  If you haven't read this book, it's a favorite!!!

Resources and printable sheets I used for The Story of Ferdinand can be found at:

Five In A Row Teacher's Manual

My Five In A Row Pinterest Board
The Fascinating Process of Making Corks on Youtube
Spanish Dancer with Castinets on Youtube
Pablo Picasso At Work on Youtube
Ferdinand The Bull (Disney 1936) on Youtube

Go Along books we used for The Story of Ferdinand (* indicate the ones we especially liked):
*Look What Came From Spain by Kevin Davis
*Spain (A True Book) by Martin Hintz
*Cows by Jen Green
*Roberto and the Bull by Syd Hoff
*First Spanish Picture Dictionary by DK Publishing
*Exploring Flowers by Kristin Sterling
*The Reason For A Flower by Ruth Heller
*World of Plants Flowers by John Farndon
*Butterflies in the Garden by Carol Lerner
First Thousand Words in Spanish by Heather Amery & Stephen Cartwright
Exploring the Sicent of Nature Flowers by Jane Burton & Kim Taylor

LadyBear adding our story disk for us...