1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Indians...

This week we took a took a break from our Five In a Row manual, but we still did a Unit Study-- my mind just works that way.  I need things to have some sort of flow!  We did a Native American unit based on the book, "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by  Tomie dePaola.  I thought this was a great book about never giving up and suggesting that everyone has his/her own gifts and we are to use those for the greater 'body;' the illustrations were beautiful, too-- especially, the illustrations of the sunset.  I found some great websites for additional activities, but my main source of ideas came from Homeschool Share. 

Social Studies:

• Made Wyoming's state flag and found its location on our map.
• Looked at many books about Native Americans-- compared how they lived, dressed, etc. to present day.
• Took a field trip to a Native American Museum

Checking out a real wigwam!

Wooden goggles Natives wore when it snowed!

Language Arts:

• Used our Syllable Drum to count out syllables-- Tyler really caught on quick!  Even after finishing his syllable worksheet from Homeschool Creations Thanksgiving Pack, he kept banging away on the drum segmenting different words : )

• Number copywork to go along with 10 Little Indians rhyme.  For a math tie-in, I had Tyler match the number word to the number of Indian boys.  We used the rhyme to count backwards too, which Tyler knows how to do-- but, when we added words, he had trouble keeping track!

• Picture stories (pictograph); I drew a story, using just symbols, and had Tyler tell me what he thought I was saying-- which, his response was, "I don't know" with a chuckle...  My drawings weren't that bad!  Lol! 

It was interesting that when I told him what I was trying to say, he suggested different symbols!  Homeschool Share also provided us with a printable of actual pictographs, so we drew some of those symbols on a paper bag that I had gotten wet, crumpled up, and let dry--- to kind of resemble leather.

• Tyler and I made a list of "description" words and animals, and we narrowed it down to one of each to make his Indian name, which is "Red Cat."  : )  His two favorite things!

Reading!

Math:

• Worked on patterns; Tyler made patterns on a headband with our dot paints and foam stickers.  He thought of some very sophisticated patterns all on his own-- so proud!

• Feather Estimation activity-- I put a handful of feathers in a plastic bag and had Tyler estimate how many there were.  He guessed pretty darn close!

• How Many Feathers addition worksheet.  I had Tyler roll two dice, add the numbers together, and then draw that many feathers on a headband.

Art:

• Made a tepee
• Sunset painting with watercolor

Science:

• To be honest, we didn't do much.  I just read a couple of books on Prairie's! 

For fun, we checked out the Native American Museum and Tyler got to see a real wigwam, animal fur, artifacts, canoe, etc...  It was a small museum, but full of stuff. 

And, the only other fictional read aloud I had for this week was "Knots on a Counting Rope" by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault; I started the book at nap-time and just never finished because the kiddos were crabby, but I am glad I didn't finish because I found a website called, Storyline Online-- it's an online streaming video program that has members of the Screen Actors Guild foundation reading the stories, and "Knots on a Counting Rope" was one of them!  After watching the story online, there is no way I will be reading that book!  Bonnie Bartlett and William Daniels truly brought the story to life-- amazing!  Definitely check it out!

One week is never enough time to do everything (again, that is just how my mind works!  I'll have to re-train my brain!)... we'll defintiely revisit Native American studies later!

Links:

Homeschool Share Resources

Additional inspiration from:
Little Giraffes
Miss Drake's Room
Miss Renee's Kindergarten Pad
Made for First Grade
Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten (math ideas)
Syllable Drum
Thanksgiving Printable Pack @ Homeschool Creations

Linked up @: Crafty Moms Share