Additional Learning Resources for April's Rain and Jellybeans Learning Pack with Read, Paint, Cook Activity Calendar, Lesson Plans, and Art Appreciation and more with The Build Your Masterpiece Class. We have each lesson’s resources organized below for you to find additional book list, read aloud links, activity and recipe ideas and so much more! If at any time I update this pack, I will notify you below, and link updated ReadPaintCook Activity Calendars below as well.
Before we begin, here is a list of all the units and adventures that pair up with this month's learning pack:
Venice Adventures - Leonardo's Spotlight - His Birthday is April 15th. Find it labeled in the Activity Calendar to help remind you!
Adventures in Italy 1-6 - We will be learning about a NEW Italian Artist, Raphael this month, because it his birthday is April 6th! If you want to learn more about ITALY our Adventures are a great place to start with more coloring pages, maps, recipes, and history lessons for kids.
Easter Pack - This month you may be celebrating EASTER, and we have a HUGE pack all about it, in our shop.
Earth Day - You may like to celebrate our beautiful EARTH and we have a learning pack all about it, in our shop.
William Shakespeare - His birthday is April 23rd, and we have a beautiful lesson with coloring pages in our Adventures in England Unit Study that you may love to pair up this month!
Gardening, Bugs, and Butterflies - We have a TON of packs all about these types of topics, perfect for April to August. You may like to check them out and add them in as needed.
Because we have so many thematic units already in the shop, our monthly Learning Packs will help to fill out what we may not have units for already, and give you some help when it comes to planning your homeschool lessons. Stay tuned as I continue to create more monthly packs as I can manage.
You may like to check out the following Monthly Packs we have releases so far:
October's Autumn & Halloween Learning Pack
November's Gratitude & Thanksgiving Learning Pack
December's Winter & Snow Learning Pack
January's Friendship & Art Learning Pack
February's Love & Nature Learning Pack
March's Pancakes & Rainbows Learning Pack
Coming soon, May and June!
Rain Lesson
“April showers bring may flowers."
Let's learn about the rain this week with books, art and cooking!
Links to the Books About Rain:
Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn M. Branley READ ALOUD
Come on, Rain by Karen Hesse READ ALOUD
Rain by Sam Usher READ ALOUD
Worm Weather by Jean Taft READ ALOUD
The Rain Came Down by David Shannon READ ALOUD
It's Raining! by Gail Gibbons READ ALOUD
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett READ ALOUD
Erte: Art Deco Master of Graphic Art Illustration by Rosalind Ormiston READ ALOUD
Read Alouds:
Art Project: Rain-inspired Art Project with Watercolors plus Artist Spotlight on Erte.
Science Experiment: Make a Rain Cloud 2 Ways (the second version is with shaving gel!) Enjoy the educational video below:
Poetry Trace and Color: Rain By Oliver Herford, 1863 - 1935
Recipe: Sky Jello with Whipped Cream Clouds, recipe included!
Unicorns & Raphael
Happy Birthday Raphael! April 6th is Raphael’s Birthday. He was born in 1483 in Italy. Let’s learn about him today and the beautiful art he painted, specifically the “Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn”. I have also included one other popular art piece by him for you to learn more about too, and a yummy recipe kids will love!
Books About Raphael & Unicorns:
Raphael by Mike Venezia
Sublime Beauty: Raphael’s Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn by Esther Bell The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The Magical Unicorn Society Official Handbook by Selwyn E. Phipps
How to Catch a Unicorn By Adam Wallace
Art Appreciation: A Selection of Popular Paintings by Raphael
Art Project: Draw a picture of yourself with a unicorn. Add color with your favourite markers or paints! Be inspired by Raphael and paint what would be your ideal. It doesn't have to be perfect, just something you think is ideal or idealistic.
Poetry: The Unicorn by Oliver Herford, 1863 - 1935. After reading the poem this week, write a poem about a unicorn too!
Recipe: Unicorn Poop, recipe included
Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson!
This week is Thomas Jefferson's Bday! April 13th. He was born in 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia, British America. Let’s learn about him today!
"I cannot live without books: but fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object." - Thomas Jefferson
Books About him:
Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock
Who was Thomas Jefferson by Dennis Bridell Fradin
Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything by Maira Kalman Thomas Jefferson by Giblin
Meet Thomas Jefferson by Marvin Barrett
Additional Books to read about Monticello:
"A Rich Spot of Earth": Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello by Peter J Hatch
"Those Who Labor for My Happiness": Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello by Lucia Stanton
Thomas Jefferson at Monticello: Architecture, Landscape, Collections, Books, Food, Wine Edited by Leslie Greene Bowman and Charlotte Moss
Art Project: Monticello Paintings
Tracing: Thomas Jefferson Quotes About Life
Recipe: Cook Thomas Jefferson’s Favourite Foods; Ice Cream, Tomatoes, French Fries and Macaroni & Cheese. Much of his inspiration for food came from his travels to France. Read the blog post "4 Foods Jefferson Helped popularize in America” and choose to make one of the 4 with your kids!
If you would like to learn more about France, check out our Adventures in France, a 5 Week Unit Study Bundle!
Stay tuned for our Adventures in Virginia, in the works now.
National Jellybean Day!
April 22nd is National Jelly Bean day, so lets have some fun with them this week!
Books About Jellybeans:
My Magnificent Jelly Bean Tree by Maura Finn
Jellybean Mouse by Philip Roy
How Many Jelly Beans? by Andrea Menotti
Art Project: Jelly Bean Art
Math Activities: Count and color the Jellybean worksheets, and use jellybeans to count today.
Optional: Use a 100’s Chart and count 100 Jellybeans! We have a chart you can use in our Masterpiece Numbers Pack.
Science Experiments: Jellybeans & Sugar Crystals In 3 Different Liquids Trace and Color: How many Jellybeans can you count? and How many jellybeans are in the jar?
Recipe: Jellybean Topped Sugar Cookies (Great for Easter, which is also this week!) Recipe Included.
Pair up the pack with our Now Released Easter Bunny & Egg Art Learning Pack!
Birds & John James Audubon
It's John James Audubon's birthday on April 26th! He was born in 1785, and he loved to draw and observe birds! Let's celebrate his day, by learning about him, and birds too!
Books About Birds & John James Audubon:
The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davis
Audubon, On the Wings of The World by Fabien Grolleau
The Big Book of Birds by Yuval Zoomer
Artist Spotlight: John James Audubon
Creative Writing Project: My New Bird Species Art Project: Hand Print Birds
Additional Bird Art Project Ideas:
Yarn Wrapped Birds | i heart crafty things
Fabric Scrappy Birds | free kids crafts
Macrame Feathers | Mini Atolyem (YT)
Paper Bird Finger Puppets | Red Ted Art (YT) Read their blog post.
Activity: Make a Recycled Bird Feeder
Poetry Trace and Color: The Bird At Dawn by Harold Edward Monro, 1879-1932 Recipe: Wild Birds Trail Mix, Recipe Included