Faith-Based Reading and Language Arts: Hummingbirds and Vocabulary Words

My youngest daughter wants to be an ornithologist. She has developed a deep appreciation for birds of all types, especially our backyard birds that we feed and observe on a daily basis.

It all began when we had a family of bald eagles in our rural, coastal backyard. They nested at the top of a maple tree that was twice the height of our house. It was amazing to watch them catch fish and crabs in the harbor, leaving bits of dried out crab claws in our yard. Their nest was huge. They were huge. We saw adults and juveniles and we learned all about bald eagles from firsthand observation. It was an awesome experience.

That was two years ago now and we’ve since moved to a city setting in a different state, which was a major disappointment in more ways than one. So as we were missing our backyard bald eagles, we decided to make the best of a bad situation and feed the birds that came to our one tiny little tree in the city. As it turns out, we have cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, tufted titmice, house sparrows, and even woodpeckers. We have been surprised by the variety of our feathered friends!

One thing we don’t have is hummingbirds. I know they live around here somewhere, but they haven’t visited our yard in spite of the feeders. We had them at our last house and we miss them here.

So what does that all have to do with reading and language arts?

It’s with that backstory that I discovered Pathways2.0 Reading and Language Arts from Kendall Hunt RPD.

It’s not just any reading and language arts, but a unit study type approach with living books (hello, that’s our favorite way to learn!). Grade 6 just happens to have a Living Things unit featuring the book A Mother Hummingbird’s Story. And my youngest daughter just happens to be ready for the Grade 6 material. Now technically, my middle daughter is in the 6th grade and my youngest is the 4th grade, but this is definitely doable for both of them together, so that’s exactly what we did.

Faith-Based Reading and Language Arts

As I mentioned, we received the Grade 6 Living Things Unit, which included the First Flight Daily Lesson Guide and the hardcover book A Mother Hummingbird’s Story by Noriko and Don Carroll. It’s the true story of a couple’s experience with watching a hummingbird build a nest, lay eggs, and raise her babies.

The photos in the book are beautiful and my daughters were completely fascinated from the minute the book arrived. My youngest stood next to me as I opened the box and she immediately wanted to take the book and read it herself. She has since read it many, many times over.

This is the book description:

When Noriko and Don Carroll moved from New York City to suburban Las Vegas, they found a tiny nest on a clothesline on their back porch. As the Carrolls settled into their new home, so did a female hummingbird they named Honey. For weeks, the Carrolls watched in fascination as they witnessed an event few humans are privy to: the birth and growth of two hummingbirds. First Flight is the beautifully photographed story of Honey and her two chicks, Ray and Zen. First Flight is a magical mix of hummingbird field guide, personal story, and new life taking flight. Readers will be captivated by the inherent drama as it unfolds in miniature, and they’ll cheer as babies Ray and Zen make their own first flights out into a bright new world.

As you can imagine, it totally captivated my little ornithologist in training!

This photo features my youngest’s Audubon hummingbird, which she has named Chatter. It makes an authentic hummingbird sound (recorded from an actual hummingbird!) when you squeeze it. It’s just one of the birds in her collection.

Pathways2.0 Reading and Language Arts for Grades 1-8

Pathways2.0 uses engaging books that children naturally want to read to build reading and language arts skills. I appreciate this authentic approach to learning. It’s something we have used successfully in our homeschool for years.

You can check out the digital brochure, but the basic overview is this:

Pathways 2.0 is a comprehensive, easy-to-use elementary reading program with integrated language arts for grades 1-8. This approach allows students to follow a variety of avenues to become readers, writers, and learners. Organized around broad themes and a scope and sequence of skills, Pathways 2.0 uses award-winning trade books that children want to read to deliver the skills that they need.

I also appreciate that faith is interwoven in the program as an integral part of the learning. Not only do children develop the basic skills they need in reading and language arts, they are encouraged in spiritual growth as well.

From Kendall Hunt RPD:

Pathways 2.0 has been built on the premise of the Christian values. These beliefs are integrated into the curriculum through discussion of the theme Scripture, Essential Question, and Big Idea. The literature used in each unit respects these values. Through these avenues, your child will see real-world applications of spiritual values and nurture a relationship with God.

Pathways2.0 Grade 6 Living Things Unit

The Daily Lesson Guide is divided up to help you plan each lesson. It’s very open and go for the homeschool mom, which is convenient. Assignments and assessments are clearly laid out to simplify things for you.

Skills covered include:

Vocabulary/Word Study
Reading Comprehension
Writing
Handwriting
Spelling
Speaking and Listening

We generally adapt schedules and lessons to fit our needs, as many homeschool families do. We might be speedier in some areas while taking our time or reviewing in others. This is easy to accomplish with Pathways2.0.

There is an appendix in the Daily Lesson Guide with the printables for the unit. It includes vocabulary word cards, spelling word cards, pretests, spelling words lists, tests, fill in the blank worksheets, and other activity sheets. You can remove them from the guide or make copies of them for your child. There is another appendix with an answer key for your reference.

Pathways2.0 Summary

When I find a resource that includes an interest-led learning topic and strong skill building activities and faith-based learning and it’s in a unit study type format that simplifies things for me and ties it all together, I’m very happy about it!

I highly recommend the Living Things unit as well as the living books approach used in Pathways2.0 Faith-Based Reading and Language Arts program.

Pathways2.0 covers grades 1-8 with many different books and units to choose from. I can nearly guarantee you’ll find something of interest that will help your child grow their reading and language arts skills. Head over to the website today and look around.

You might also like to read my other Kendall Hunt RPD reviews. We’ve been pleased with all of the resources we’ve used.

Language Arts and Living Books: Pathways 2.0 from Kendall Hunt

Pathways: Faith-Based Reading and Language Arts

Faith Based Learning with Kindergarten Stepping Stones

By Design: Faith-Based Elementary Science

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Sara

Author/Speaker/Consultant at Heart and Soul Homeschooling

Sara is a homeschool mom to 3 creative girls. She holds a degree in Social Work specializing in early childhood development, which led to her interest in individualized educational options like homeschooling. She believes that learning should be a lifelong adventure, not just a checklist to get through. She is a writer, avid reader, introvert (INFJ), and dreamer of dreams.