Box Car Children- Chapter 5: The Explorers Find Treasure

Chapter 5

Chapter Summary-
Jessie wakes up and finds the new "refrigerator" by the waterfall works well. The children drink milk for their breakfast and Henry sets off for town to find odd jobs. When Henry leaves, the children set out to find "treasure" at a nearby dump. Dishes, cups, spoons and wheels (Benny especially wants wheels) are what they find, and together they bring their loot back to camp. After carefully scrubbing the rust off things with sand, they eagerly await Henry's return. What a wonderful surprise for Henry! Henry finally returns with many interesting-looking bundles. He builds a fire to sterilize the new dishes and the children prepare to eat.

What we will cover in this chapter:
Science: Recycling 
Science: Louis Pasteur
Math: Addition
Art: Dried Flowers, Pictures of Trees
Language Arts: Review Questions

Science: Louis Pasteur
Jessie kept the milk behind the waterfall to keep it cold in the story. I took the opportunity to introduce the famous scientist Louis Pasteur and his discovers. Pasteur made many contributions in chemistry, medicine and industry. Lily and Aj watched a movie on you-tube about him. They also read a book and completed worksheets.

Mathematics:

Both children completed an addition worksheet based on Louis Pasture.

Science: Recycling
We discussed what it means to recycle. I explained that recycling turns old things into new things. We also talked about how it saves natural resources like trees and reduces waste in landfills (dumps). I set up a recycling game for the kids where they sorted pictures of items into bins.

Art:
We went on a nature walk and collected flowers and leafs for pressing. We assembled the flower press layering the petals between tissue paper and cardboard. We are checking the flowers every 3 days or so to see if they are dried. Lily and Aj also used stamps, crayons and construction paper to make their own landscape scenes.

using stamps-

Language Arts:
Lily and Aj completed a worksheet about chapter 5.

Thanks for reading. Stay Tuned for chapter 6!

Chapter 4- Henry Has Two Surprises

Chapter 4- Henry Has Two Surprises

Chapter 4 Summary
Jessie, Violet and Benny Investigates the mysterious sound in the woods and discover a dog! The dog has a thorn in his paw so Jessie carefully cleans the wound, removes the thorn and bandages his foot. After that, Violet and Benny pick Blueberries for supper while Jessie holds their new friend. When Henry returns from town with milk, bread and cheese, the other children surprise him twice: fresh blueberries and a new watch dog, Watch. After supper, the children decide to make beds out of pine needles inside the boxcar. After they wash by the brook and have a drink of water, they all crawl inside to get a good night's sleep.

What we will cover in this Chapter-
History and Geography:Maine
Science: Blueberries, Baking
Language Arts: Chapter Review, Syllables 

History and Geography-
Where do the Boxcar children live? The book never tells us exactly but we get many clues. In previous chapters we learn that its somewhere wild blueberries can be found and pine needles can be found. With deductive reasoning we can determine that the children could possibly live in Maine.

Lily and Aj read a book and colored a map about Maine. They also found Maine on the United States map and a world globe.

Science- Berry Picking, Baking, Field trip
Since Blueberries are not in season right now we decided to go raspberry picking instead. We also read the book Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. ( I think we ate more then we brought  home!) We did buy blueberries at the store to make bread. Lily and Aj Measured and mixed all the ingredients together.
                                                                     Field Trip-

Book Read-

Baking-

Language Arts- The children answered review questions about the chapter and completed a worksheet about syllables.

Thanks for reading. Stay Tuned for chapter 5!

Chapter 3- A New Home in the Woods

Chapter 3- A New Home in the Woods

Chapter Summary-
The children are awakened in the woods to thunder and blowing wind. Jessie, after a little walk, comes upon an old abandoned boxcar. The tracks are rusted and the weeds surrounding the boxcar suggest it is not in service. All four children climb into the boxcar and shut the door. After the storm is over, they discover the boxcar is situated by a lovely brook and the children decide to set up "house" in the old train car. Henry announces he is going into town to buy some milk for Benny. Just as Henry leaves, Jessie tells Violet and Benny she has noticed some blueberries growing nearby. The three get ready to go Blueberry Picking, but suddenly they hear a mysterious cracking sound in the woods.

History and Geography: The Golden Spike in railroads
Language Arts: Review Questions
Mathematics: Calculations based on the Transcontinental Railroad



History and Geography-
Jessie finds an unusual home in this chapter- an old train boxcar! Trains are very interesting form of transportation. Perhaps the single most significant event in history occurred on May 10, 1869. That date sealed the joining of the first Transcontinental railroad.

I took this opportunity to teach the children about the transcontinental railroad. Lily and Aj watched 2 movies on you-tube and completed a worksheet. They also examined a map of the United States and read books about trains.

The children also enjoyed putting together their antique "G scale" electric train as a family.

Language Arts-  Lily and Aj answered review question about the book.

Mathematics- Lily and Aj completed a math worksheet about the Transcontinental Railroad.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned to chapter 4!