This unit was designed to be used as a summer guide in our homeschool companion series. If you followed our other units you will notice a few differences. First there is no phonics/alphabet study included. If you child has completed the Pre-Explode the Code books A-C and you would like to continue… feel free to start on Explode the Code Book 1. I suggest getting the teachers guide book and a set of the ETC flash cards. Second, the crafts and recipes have been replaced with outdoor activity suggestions. We like to get outside and get messy in the summer. Third, it is only a ten week guide rather than covering a full 12 week term to accommodate vacations and lazy days. We love to encourage learning all year round… but do suggest that it be a bit more laid back during the summer.
| Week | Literature | Lesson | Activities | Enrichment |
| 1 | Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema | Oh Say Can You Say What’s the Weather Today? by Tish Rabe | Closed Cones NNS pg 7 Make a Weather Chart to use daily for the next 4 weeks. |
Poem: Rain Clouds Music/Art Study: Track 1 |
| 2 | Little Cloud by Eric Carle | The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola | Cloud Creation and Cloud Predictions NNS pg 8-9 Go cloud watching. |
Poem: Rain Clouds Music/Art Study: Track 2 |
| 3 | Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky | Down Comes the Rain by Frankly Branley | Water Cycle NNS pg 30 Play in the rain. |
Poem: Rain Clouds Music/Art Study: Track 3 |
| 4 | Thundercake by Patricia Polacco | Flash, Crash, Fumble and Roll by Franklyn Branley | Tornado Mix NNS pg 29 or Windy Weathering NNS pg 33 Put together a storm safety kit and plan. |
Poem: Rain Clouds Music/Art Study: Track 4 |
| 5 | A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman | All the Colors of the Rainbow by Allan Fowler | Rainbow Milk/Soap experiment, Make your own rainbow with a hose. |
Poem: Rain Clouds Music/Art Study: Track 5 |
| 6 | Pond Circle by Betsy Fanco | What’s in the Pond? by Anee Hunter | OSS pg 3-7, Establish Your Square Make a Pond Journal to record your weekly observations. |
Poem: A Dragonfly Music/Art Study: Track 6 |
| 7 | The Little Wood Duck by Brian Wildsmith | Ducks Don’t Get Wet by Augusta Goldin | OSS pg 8-11, Wood Duck House, Wet Feather Experiment | Poem: A Dragonfly Music/Art Study: Track 7 |
| 8 | Eliza and the Dragonfly by Susie Rinehart | Take a Walk with Butterflies and Dragonflies by Jane Kirkland | OSS pg 12-17, Periscope Homemade Bubbles |
Poem: A Dragonfly Music/Art Study: Track 8 |
| 9 | It’s Mine by Leo Lionni | Frogs by Gail Gibbons | OSS pg 18-23, Leaf it Up Story Telling using A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog by Mercer Meyer |
Poem: A Dragonfly Music/Art Study: Track 9 |
| 10 | Box Turtle at Long Pond by William George | Look Out for Turtles by Melvin Berger | OSS pg 24-27, Come and Get It Turtles on a Log snack |
Poem: A Dragonfly Music/Art Study: Track 10 |
Click here to go to the Activity Guide Page where you will find directions for the activities not included in a book and the poetry for memorization. If you need more information on how to use the schedule click here.
Additional Books & Supplies:
Books you need to complete the unit:
One Small Square Pond (OSS), Nature in a Nutshell (NNS), and Can You Hear It (Music/Art Study), An Outdoor or Student Thermometer
Chapter Books:
Is your child ready to listen to longer chapter books? Here are a few suggestions for summer reading. By no means do you need to read them all. Pick a couple of your favorites and read a few pages at a time as your little ones get used to listening to stories without all the pictures. These books should all be readily available at the library but on the other hand, they are also great books to own and re-read. Ramona the Pest and Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary, Stuart Little by E.B. White, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, and Pippi Longstockings by Astrid Lindgren.
A Family Favorite:
I also highly recommend the Boobela and Worm series. They are hard to find in the US but the kids and I adore these books. Snatch some up if you can.
I’m starting a new preschool, I came across your site in search for something I can do for the first week of summer school, I fell in love with the activities and how they match my plan to do project based curriculum.