Are you looking for lapbooking materials and activities to use with the book Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car? If so, you’ll find what you need here!

I’m using this book as part of the Five in a Row (FIAR) Volume 2 (2nd Edition) curriculum. I’ve also created a simple lapbook you can use to accompany this story in your FIAR adventures.

Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car Summary

Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car tells the story of Mr. Gumpy, a man who decides to take a ride in his motor car one fine, sunny day. However, he has quite a collection of guests that want to come along. All are enjoying the ride until it begins to rain.

Who is willing to help Mr. Gumpy when the rain turns the road to mud and the car becomes stuck? This story is one of teamwork, companionship, and simple enjoyments of life.

If you’re unfamiliar with the FIAR curriculum, I share a basic overview, and why I like this curriculum in the post A New Lapbook for Anna.

Rowing Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car for FIAR

When we row our FIAR books, we typically spend one day on art, the next on science, another for language arts, etc.

For Mr. Gumpy, we spent one day investigating the various art techniques used in the book. We explored other picture books from our home library looking for ways other illustrators try to show movement and motion in their pictures.

We also used pieces included in the Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car lapbook to try out the art techniques used by John Burningham.

We spent another day on science, exploring the water cycle and different types of clouds. We kept track during the week of the various types of clouds from day-to-day.

The FIAR Volume 2 manual truly provides you with more than enough activities for each unit study. It’s tempting to try and include them all! If you choose to do that, however, it will be difficult to finish a book in one week’s time.

Feel free to pursue your own activities, even if they stray from the manual. Get creative and see what comes to mind as you read the story and plan your FIAR week. Have fun with it!

Remember, there is no right or wrong way to do this. You know your child best and what areas to investigate further to provide them with a well-rounded education.

Additional Activities for Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car

While we mainly followed the activities from the FIAR manual for this book, below are two additional activities that work well with this unit study.

• A vintage motor car coloring page from Crafting a Green World.
• Drawing a farm landscape with Art for Kids Hub

Supplemental Books for Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car

While I don’t believe you have to use any supplemental books with your FIAR unit studies, they can extend and enrich your study a great deal.

Here is a list of the supplemental titles we used with this book:

• Let’s Investigate with Nate: The Water Cycle by Nate Ball
• Clouds by Anne Rockwell (this book is part of the Read and Find Out Science series which I really love)
• Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz (also used with FIAR Volume One).
• Would You Rather… and Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham (We used this book to explore other books by the same author.)
• All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle (This story also tells the tale of a special car ride, with additional passengers acquired along the way!)

Other Lapbooks for Five in a Row Volume Two

There are several other lapbooks I’ve created to complement your FIAR studies! The list continues to grow as we make our way through the FIAR manual. Be sure to check them out:

• A New Coat for Anna
• Mirette On the High Wire
• Down Down the Mountain
• Mrs. Katz and Tush
• The Story of Ferdinand

Free Lapbook for Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car

I am happy to share with you the 13-page lapbook I made for my daughter. It’s currently available in my ever-growing Resource Library exclusively for subscribers.

When you sign up, you will have immediate access to this lapbook and all the others I’m making to go along with our FIAR studies. You’ll also get access to other incredibly useful resources for your homeschool and personal self-care as a homeschool mom!

True Confession

I’m slightly embarassed to say that for years, I’ve thought the actual title of this book was Mr. GRUMPY’s Motor Car. Am I alone here? I could never figure out why he was called Mr. Grumpy, as he never seemed grumpy in the books!

It wasn’t until we were rowing this book that I realized it’s Mr. Gumpy. I told my children, who’ve been misinformed for years, and they were surprised too. Turns out, my daughter said she prefers calling him Mr. Grumpy. Ha Ha!

Conclusion

I hope this Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car lapbook will benefit you as you use the FIAR curriculum. This is a lovely children’s picture book that is worth making time for! I hope you enjoy reading the story together and putting together a fun lapbook as a keepsake of all you learned.

What is your favorite FIAR book that you’ve rowed so far? Leave a comment and let me know!