What We Studied

We ended up having a few outings this week, but also

Literature and Poetry

This week’s theme was trickster tales of Africa. It went along nicely with our history unit covering Mali. We also did a mini lesson on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to honor his legacy.

• Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, Freedom Fighter, Peacemaker by Pamela Hill Nettleton

• Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford

• Poetry: The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky

• Trickster Tales of Africa

• A Ring of Tricksters by Virginia Hamilton

• Stegothesaurus by Bridget He’s

Math

We continued with our Logic Liftoff book and the various logic puzzles that I’ve found. Arthur finished Unit 6 from 3B and is ready to move on.

Social Studies

We covered the middle times chapter on the Mali Empire. We learned about Mansa Muse the famous city of Timbuktu.

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• When on Earth

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• The Magic Guard by Baba Wague Diakite

• The Fire Children: A West African Creation Tale by Eric Maddern

• The Hatseller and the Monkeys by Baba Wague Diakite

Arthur Independent Time

To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history.

Science and STEAM Coop

For science, we are covering emotions and socio-emotional traits. Quentin has really taken to discussing the various books.

• DK My Mixed Emotions: Anger

• Millie Fierce by Jane Manning

• Be Positive! by Cheri J. Meiners

• The Way I Act by Steve Metzger

• Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller

• Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes Calm My Jitters Down by Lindsey Rowe Parker

• Don't Be Afraid to Drop by Julia Cook

• I Can Handle It! by Laurie Wright

In coop, we had our second week about Famous Nebraskans and Iowans open house. The boys had fun and we met some new friends.

Art/Music

Nothing this week

Quentin

I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included. We covered some simple phonics lessons featuring the digraph Th. We did more alphabet review. We also covered the months of the year, opposites, and shapes.

ELA

• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

• My Papi has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero

Math

• Lollipop Logic Book 1

• Fish, Swish! Splash, Dash! by Sure MacDonald

Other

• A Little Book About Opposites

Field Trip

We met our coop friends at the SAC Museum to learn about air travel. The boys had extra fun the play areas. And I had got to chat with some of my friends.

Documentary Selection

I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. We watched more PBS Eons videos. Eventually we will finish watching all of the published videos.

Misc. Picture Books Read -

• 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental

• Unicorn is Maybe Not So Great After All by Bob Shea

• Unplugged by Steve Antony

• That's My Carrot! by Il Sung Na

• I Feel Teal by Lauren Rille

• When Sadness is at Your Door by Eva Eland

• Girl Versus Squirrel by Hayley Barrett

High

• We went on a winter hike at Schramm State Recreational Area. The temps were hovering around 35 degrees and the skies were clear. We were careful to walk on the edges of the path avoiding the ice. We also stopped at the fish hatchery ponds and the geologic formation. It was a good couple of hours outside enjoying nature.

Low

• Night time reading didn’t really happen this week due to bad attitudes (and books falling on my head). Here’s hoping next week goes better.

Next Week

• Starting a new read aloud

• Learning about Indian Empires

• Covering Unit 7: Capacity

• Exploring weather and climate change for coop

• Continuing emotions for science

• Hoping to cover Renoir for art

Next up on the TBR pile: