Five In A Row: Miss Rumphius

This week, we read a book that I really enjoy and the kids seemed to as well, called Miss Rumphius. Because Daddy had Good Friday and the Monday following Easter off (hooray!), we decided to take two weeks to cover Miss Rumphius because there were going to be two shorter weeks and I didn't want to short-change either this book or the one we are reading next.  It worked out well!

We loved this book!  And I personally enjoyed applying it to where we currently live in Central Texas.  Not having grown up here, I know very little of Texas history and this gave me a chance to learn alongside the kids :)  Plus, who doesn't love wildflowers!?  

So here's what the week looked like...For Bible/Character building, we talked about being creative and what that means.  We read the Value of Creativity and talked about different ways we can be creative throughout our days.

LadyBear and her four-pawed assistant workin' on their creativity...

For Math, we did start Math-U-See Alpha and did a mixture of sheets each day from lessons 6 and 7, which went well.  For Language Arts, each day we did Explode the Code Book 3 lesson 4 and for Handwriting, we continued each day with the Memoria Press Copybook 1 and we did some Miss Rumphius copy work that I found through Pinterest. 

Copywork!

For Social Studies we talked about Texas and the fact that the state flower is the Bluebonnet, which is a Lupine.  We read a lot about bluebonnets specifically and also Texas history. 

These are such a beautiful state flower to have!

We also talked about what we can do to make the world more beautiful, like Miss Rumphius.  We also read a great book about LadyBird Johnson and her contribution to making our country more beautiful.  I REALLY wanted to work in a field trip to the LadyBird Johnson National Wildflower Center, which is about two hours away from us (and super close to our cousins!), but time and budget didn't really allow for that.  We'll definitely visit another time!

I chose to smile and use kind words more.  LittleBear was inspired and chose to draw pictures for people, help, give kisses and hugs.  

For Science, we talked about seeds and how they grow and move around.  We compared seeds from different plants side-by-side and even looked at the different kinds of Lupines from our Seed Catalog. 

Comparing Seeds...

Gettin' silly with the seed catalog...

We also talked about the parts of a plant, the parts of a flower, and how pollination happens, as well as discussions about wildflowers, particularly the ones native to Central Texas.  

 Some seeds stick to things to move around!

Last week we planted seeds in our garden and this week they started to sprout, so we went out each day and watched our little plants grow, which was really fun.  

Peas and Carrots!!

Thankfully, it's also the season where Texas families go out and take Bluebonnet pictures, so we also got to touch, smell and see how beautiful Lupines really make the world!  LittleBear has already decided that we are planting as many bluebonnets as we can in our backyard this coming Fall for next Spring.  I love that idea!

LittleBear and LadyBear exploring... 

For Art, we did a dot art project and made our own bluebonnets.  LittleBear worked really hard on his and was super proud of it.  LadyBear enjoyed it too.  

LittleBear working on his lupine art picture...

It was a great couple of weeks and we learned a ton!  The kids also get super excited whenever we are driving around and they see the wildflowers, which is definitely fun.  

Resources and printable sheets I used for Miss Rumphius can be found at:

Five In A Row Teacher's Manual

My Five In A Row Pinterest Board

Go Along books we used for Miss Rumphius (* indicate the ones we especially liked):
Central Texas Wildflowers leaflet by Steven Schwartzman
*Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers by Kathi Appelt
*A Child's History of Texas by Sarah Jackson
*It's Bluebonnet Time by Lucas Miller
*I Spy in the Texas Sky by Deborah Ousley Kadair
*Bluebonnet of the Hill Country by Mary Brooke Casad
Bluebonnet at the Texas State Capitol by Mary Brooke Casad
*Bluebonnets for Lucinda by Frances Clarke Sayers
*L is for Lone Star (A Texas Alphabet) by Carol Crane
*Texas (Eyewitness Books) by Simon Adams & David Murdoch
*Check It Out by Gail Gibbons
*The Value of Creativity by Ann Donegan Johnson
*Texas Wildflower Portraits by Lou Ellen O'Kennon
Texas (State Shapes) by Erik Brown
The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaola
ABC's of Texas Wildflowers by Glenna Gardiner Grimmer
Texas Gardening Wildflowers by McMillen's Publishing

The book doesn't specifically say where it takes place, but it's generally agreed upon to be Maine.  However, our story disks for New England are so plentiful that Maine can no longer be seen, so we put the disk over the part of the country where we live :)