Geography – New England / Massachusetts: Our story does not tell exactly where it takes place. Reading the inside jacket of the book, which tells about the story, says it’s in New England. Take this time to review the states that make up New England: Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.  If you've rowed Night of the Moonjellies (FIAR Vol. 1) or Cranberry Thanksgiving (FIAR Vol. 1),  you may wish to remind the student that those stories also took place in New England. 

The story does tell us that Alvah and Arvilla would go into the town of Franklin once a month and that Arvilla would go to Boston sometimes. Boston is the capital of Massachusetts and that state also has a town named Franklin. Using these clues, we could probably safely assume that the story takes place in Massachusetts.  If you have rowed Make Way for Ducklings (FIAR Vol. 2) and/or The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar (Vol. 3), you may wish to remind him that those stories also took place in Massachusetts.   

Create a story disk and place on Massachusetts.  If using a wall map, you may also wish to attach a string to the disk and have the string go from Massachusetts to Oklahoma to Arizona and finally to the Pacific Ocean (possibly California?)

Geography – Oklahoma:    Locate the state of Oklahoma on a map or globe.   The United States is divided into several regions...we've already learned about the New England States.  Oklahoma is in the South Central States.  (If you'd like to go into what states make up this region:   Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.  Sometimes Mississippi and New Mexico are also included.)   Much of Oklahoma is plains (or grasslands). 

Geography – Arizona:   Locate the state of Arizona on a map or globe.  Arizona is part of the Southwestern States.  Most of Arizona is desert.  

Geography – Pacific Ocean/California:   Help your student locate the Pacific Ocean on a globe or map.  Ask him, if Alvah and Arvillah were in Arizona and then went to the ocean, which state did they probably go through to get to the Pacific Ocean?  California.   California is considered the West Coast region (which also includes Oregon and Washington).    The Pacific Ocean is Earth's largest body of water.  It covers about one-third of the Earth's surface.  

Where is California?

California Flower/Bird Coloring Page

In the Hands of a Child California Lapbook

Cardinal Directions:  You may want to use this book as an opportunity to review the cardinal directions -- North, South, East, and West.

Trees & Shadows: If your student has studied Owl Moon (FIAR Vol. 2) prior to this lesson, review the art lesson from the FIAR manual. Then (or for those who haven’t studied Owl Moon), using several pages from the Alvah and Arvilla, go over with the student where the location of the light source must be to create the shadow shown. The second page of text is a good example to start with, as it shows the light source (in this case, the moon). Two good examples of where the light source is not shown are the title page and the dedication page. Notice the shadows of the chickens. Now have your student try drawing a tree and a source of light (sun/moon). Then ask him where the shadow should be and have him draw it.

Medium – Watercolors and Gouache: Gouache (pronounced gwash) is a quick-drying, water-based paint (similar to poster/tempera paints) and is often used with other mediums such as watercolors, pastels, etc. If you have a child who really likes to paint, consider buying some gouache and a primed canvas or panel (or heavy watercolor paper) and let the child experiment. Dilute gouache with a bit of water to achieve a watercolor effect or use as it comes in from the tube for a thicker, more vibrant color. (If the gouache dries on your palette, slightly re-wet it and use.)

Counting / Graphing: Using the Supplied Graph, have your student count the animals and graph the number. Have them count each block to determine the total number of animals (except the chickens) that were taken on the journey. 

Skip Counting by 2's:  "They brought...two chairs, two forks, two spoons, two knives, two plates, two cups..."  
You may want to set pairs of items out.  Count them individually, then point to the items and demonstrate skip counting by 2's to accomplish as much counting in half the time!   You may want to practice your skip counting every day this week.  (You could also use this lesson to introduce your younger student to "a pair")

Preserving Food:
"Arvilla was canning peaches when she got the idea.  She filled the jars, put on the lids, and took them to the cellar."

Arvilla was canning the peaches so that she could preserve them (eat them all winter long).  If you put food in a jar without canning them properly, enzymes, mold, yeast, or bacteria may grow.   

Fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood contain microorganisms naturally. Yet, they are harmless unless food is left to sit for extended periods of time, causing food spoilage. This is nature's way of telling us when food is no longer fit to eat.  What are some ways we avoid spoilage?  (Freezer, Refrigerator, Canning)

Canning will interrupt the natural spoilage cycle, so food can be preserved safely. Molds, yeast, and enzymes are destroyed at temperatures below 212ºF, the temperature at which water boils. Therefore, placing jars of food (such as peaches) in boiling water processing is sufficient to destroy those agents.  Bacteria, however, are not as easily destroyed.   Bacteria are simple organisms that consist of one cell and are among the smallest of all living creatures.  Most bacteria can only be seen through a microscope.  Of the thousands of types of bacteria, some are good, some are harmless, but others cause disease. 

For a safe food product, low-acid foods (like vegetables) need to be processed at 240ºF. This temperature can only be achieved with a pressure canner.

Experiment:  How Mold Grows
Here is a Prepared Mold Chart to use with your student.  Directions:  Get two pieces of bread.  Put each one in its own Ziploc bag.  Place one bag in the sunlight and one in a dark place (closet, room with no windows, etc.).  Examine the bread every few days.  Record your observations by drawing on the chart. 

If you are really brave, you may want to do a simple experiment with your student to show what happens to food if it isn't stored properly.  You may want to take a piece of cheese, a piece of bread, and a piece of fruit and put each in a separate plastic bag.  Let your student observe each bag until it is evident that the food has spoiled.    Prepared Chart - Record your observations by drawing what you see on the chart.

Your older student may want to research mold, yeast, bacteria, and enzymes for a more in-depth study.

Greenhouses
"...a house built all of glass, where coconut trees and hyacinths grew inside in winter."

A greenhouse is a building that allows plants-- flowers, shrubs, and veggies-- to grow year round.  Its roofs and walls are made of glass or plastic allowing the plants plenty of sunlight.   People are able to raise plants out of their normal growing season.   Some gardeners have small greenhouses they use to get an early start on growing.  For instance, you may not be able to plant outdoors until April (after the last frost), but you can start your seeds indoors in February and get a jump start on the season by transplanting the plants outside in April. A greenhouse is a solar collector-- it traps the sun's heat and the heat passes back through the roof and walls very slowly.  The roof is usually slanted to receive the greatest possible amount of sunlight. When the weather gets cold, a furnace can also provide additional heat for a greenhouse.

Responsibility: Alvah and Arvilla could not leave the farm because then there would be no one to take care of the animals. They were being responsible, they knew the needs of the animals and wouldn’t just leave them. Alvah and Arvilla were also being responsible when they loaded things into the voiture for the animals as well as themselves.

Memory Verse:  Psalm 139:17-18b   How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number  than the sand.   If you can, get a tablespoon of sand and try to count the grains of sand with your student.  How high can  you count before it gets to be too tedious?  Can your student imagine how much sand is in all the world? (the beaches, deserts, sandboxes) The Psalmist uses a metaphor to compare God's thoughts to grains of sand-- His thoughts are so numerous!  Our God is so big!

Visit an Arboretum or greenhouse (and picture it on wheels!)

Send post cards

Play in the sand!

Make peach preserves (or can some other fruit or vegetable)