Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Unit Study

For the first week of homeschool, we started with a gentle unit study of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault (same duo who wrote one of our favorites, The Ghost Eye Tree) and illustrated by Lois Ehlert who has illustrated and written many beautiful children's stories.

 

 

We rowed the book for five days. At the start of each day, I would read it and we would focus on a specific aspect of the book.

 

 

Day 1: Rhyme and Palm Tree Art

 

 

On Day One, we found the rhymes in the story and made up new ones. Then Aidyn painted a "forearm and palm" tree.

 

 

 





Day Two: Math

On the second day, we counted the letters in our names to see who had the most letters and who had the least letters.

Day Three: Patterns and Kitchen Fun

On the third day, we made an ABC pattern on the board and created ABC Kabobs. Prior to the lesson, I chopped up apples, bananas, and cantaloupes. Aidyn strung the fruit pieces in ABC order and devoured them happily.

Stringing away.

Speaking of food, we also snacked on these beauties:

Pudding cup base, smashed graham cracker sand, Pirouette mint wafer trunk, and Fruit Roll-Up leaves.

Cashew butter graham cracker sandwiches and Granny Smith apple leaves.


Day Four: Music and Collage Art

On the fourth day, we listened to a musical version of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

We also watched some videos about Lois Ehlert's art. It garnered many "oooo"s and "awww"s from Aidyn.

We then set out on a nature walk to gather supplies for our own collages. When we got back, we made these:

 

Aidyn's Yellow Man.

 

 

Mama's Ocean Scene.

 



Day Five: The Science of Coconut-Smashing

To the beat of Hawaiian music, we whacked open a coconut.

After the nail failed to do much, we switched to the chisel.

 

 Pouring out a little bit of coconut water.
In order to completely crack open the hard shell, we had to wrap the coconut in a towel and demolish it with a hammer. Aidyn proudly assumed that task.

 

This has to be the winning shot.

Afterward, we scraped our teeth on coconut meat and shredded some up for later.

We had a blast with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and while Aidyn was a little sad during our "last" reading of it, I'm sure we'll come back and read it again.

Many of these ideas came from Homeschool Share.