Henry the Castaway {FI♥AR}

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Henry and his dog, Laird Angus McAngus, were fearless explorers. One morning they set out to find an ocean. They took along Henry's explorer's kit and a special new flag made from an old shirt.  
"It may be a long and dangerous trip," Henry told his mother as they left. "I hope it won't take all day," she said.  
"Who knows?" replied Henry. "It could take a year!"  
 And it might have. For like many explorers of oceans, Henry and Angus were cast up on an island with no way to escape. But good explorers are prepared for everything. And these two proved more than equal to the dangers they met, though there were some tough moments. ~ Henry the Castaway
Because we are not using Five in a Row as our main curriculum anymore, I feel more at ease to just make it about making memories... but there was still plenty of natural learning going on. . . 

Social Studies: Explorers

I read the definition of an explorer from the manual and we discussed whether or not each child thought they had the heart of an explorer. "Explorers are often considered courageous because they face many dangers being in unknown territory..." and that made Malachi wonder if he was that brave.  Explorers make use of maps, and often make new maps... he loves to make maps!  They carry flags to claim new territory they find... he liked that idea. He had to really think about it, but Eliana knew from the beginning that she has the heart of an explorer. 
"Remember, not everyone is an explorer. Some are pioneers, helping to develop new territories, but moving on when an area becomes too civilized. Some are settlers, coming to stay and build." 
Malachi decided that he had the heart of an explorer mixed with the heart of a pioneer. :) 

Then we discussed whether Henry had the heart of an explorer based on the above criteria. Yes! 

We spent the rest of our row plannning an expedition of our own. We wanted to explore uncharted territories and seas, too! 

First, we made biscuits for hard-tack. Except that we ate ours fresh, instead of waiting for them to become dry and stale. And ours were blueberry. :) 


Then, we made flags to carry (like Henry) so we can claim any new territories we find. 




And then we decided to explore uncharted (to us!) seas and discover a new (to us!) island. 



With maps and flags in hand, we took off on our expedition.





We discovered a canoe! (I knew it would be there.) :)


And we explored the uncharted (to us!) seas and claimed "Elli" island, since she brought her flags. 


And here is where I leave my good camera on shore and take my iPhone camera, tucked safely between me and my life vest.

Mali and Elli set little flags adrift with pieces of tree bark.


Elli climbed up to claim "Elli" Island, while Malachi and Bo explored.




Malachi wanted us to leave him on the island! So, while he explored, searched for friendly natives, and played "Henry the Castaway," we canoed slowly around and around the (small) island.





Practicing our survival skills. 


It was late in the day by the time it warmed up and with the dark clouds moving in, I told the kids we could really be castaways like Henry if we didn't start rowing for shore! It was too rainy and cold (and/or we were sick) the rest of the week, so I am thankful that we got to go exploring this day. 

Bible: Maps to True Treasure

The map in Elli's hand was actually our Bible lesson: Seek God's Treasure Maps. Instead of handwriting them, as I had originally planned when I planned this row, I ended up printing them to give one to each kid at our church gathering for the Feast of Tabernacles. (Luke and I were asked to help with family day, and since I was already planning a jungle expedition theme to go along with our row, I offered it as a suggestion!).  

I used passages from Proverbs 2 and 3 - see the details at The Homespun Heart.  I printed them on brown kraft paper using a pirate font, ripped the edges, and then used a lighter to slightly burn the edges. 







I put a map in each Supply Rations bag, along with some other fun things, and they used the bag to gather their loot from the Expedition Supplies Piñata.  



Young children got a fedora {expedition} hat and bandana. 


I set up a "Crocodile Alley Obstacle Course."  It looked like it would rain, so I didn't bring out any of the paper products I had prepared to decorate with, at first. Right before we started (after the field games and piñata), I brought out some paper vines, leaves, etc. to give our obstacle course its jungle theme. And it did rain... and hail!  When it started hailing, I took all the younger kids down to the game room to play a tree frog throw game. 

Crocodile Alley Obstacle Course


"Crocodile Territory"

"Swaying 'Rope' Bridge"

"Poisonous Vines" and "Bat Cave"


"Spiders Nests"

"Jungle Vine Dive" (inspired by my flaming hoop dive from our circus

"Piranha Pond" 

"Snake Pit" - this was a huge hit with the kids! 


Eliana taking a whack to rescue the lost expedition supplies. 
Their mission: gather the base camp supplies, and maneuver through the obstacle course, avoiding the hungry jungle creatures. 














Ready to go through again. 


Going through the course together. :) 
Tree Frog Throw

Sticky Tree Frog Throw


FIAR Treat: Dirt Cupcakes with Vegan Sour Gummy Worms



Truth is, I baked 138 cupcakes, 12 at a time, in a counter top oven in our dorm room, while the kids went bowling. Crazy! But, they were so good! I served them in the dining hall for a treat during Family Day, but we had a bunch left over. The orange worms were my favorite - together with the chocolate cupcake they tasted like a chocolate orange.

The inspiration for the Jungle Expedition theme came from the book itself...

"Now the jungle was on all sides. Wild beasts seemed to be everywhere!" 

(though Henry Explores the Jungle would be a fantastic tie in to this book!),

and the ideas are from a jungle expedition party in Family Fun Magazine that I did for a birthday party for my oldest when he was 8 (almost 10 years ago!). 

For Language Arts, we covered Allusion, Drama, & Expressions (lessons from the manual), and Eliana drew what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of the story (a lesson from her 1st Grade 6-Traits writing book). 




For Science, we covered Survival Skills and River Currents. These were lessons from the manual and included discussion and vocabulary. And since there was jungle all around us, we read about the rainforest (Core A book). 


We love Henry! I can't wait to add Henry the Explorer and Henry Explores the Mountains to my children's childhood book collection! 

Finally, a thought about making memories with your children around books. . .  

I don't have many memories of books from my childhood. In fact, I can remember only one book.  It's my hope that making memories around books will create good childhood memories and ultimately cultivate a good life for my children.  My purpose is to be intentional, make memories, inspire a love for learning, develop each child's imagination and foster each child's self identity and self esteem. Mostly, I just want my children to feel loved. ♥

I hope you have been inspired by my FI♥AR series! Soon, I hope to organize them into one post so they are easier to find. 

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