What We Studied

Overall, we did a big focus on ELA and Math for this week and left some of the other subjects be put on pause. I really love the flexibility of home schooling to go with our flow instead of forcing subjects or time.

Literature and Poetry

We finish our read aloud. By the end of the book, Arthur claims that he didn't really like it, but believe me, he kept asking for “one more chapter” every day. I think he did like the book.

• The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky

• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

• The Legend of Rock, Paper, and Scissors by Drew Daywalt

Math

Arthur started Unit 9 all about fractions. The first lesson was a basic review (“Mom, I already know this!”), but lesson two started exploring equivalent fractions. A bit harder! The second half of the unit will talk about adding and subtracting fractions and getting into simplifying and finding common denominators.

• Logic Liftoff

Social Studies

We covered the Age of Exploration for history this week. Our HistoryQuest chapter focused on four different explorers: Zheng He, Ibn Battuta, Christopher Columbus, and Ferdinand Magellan. Sad to say that even with my background I knew little to nothing about Zheng He and Ibn Battuta. This week rectified that gap and then some some. I loved learning about the Chinese Treasure Fleet in particular.

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• When on Earth

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• Explorers

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 coop, we learned about some famous African Americans. Ms. Anna put together some great stations to explore and participate in activities. Arthur loved pretending to be FloJo and sprint through the yard.

Art/Music

None 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. Q focused on basic phonics and math skills. We are going to dive into more focused phonics lessons and started Singapore Math soon, so I wanted him to get a good foundation this week. As a bonus, his pencil skills are improving!

ELA

• Old Hat, New Hat by Stan & Jan Berenstain

• Duck and Cat’s Rainy Day by Carin Bramsen

• 30 Minutes a Day Preschool

• High Five Magazines

Math

• Lollipop Logic Book 1

• Arithmechicks Add Up by Ann Marie Stephens

Other

• Kumon Tracing Book

Field Trip

On Tuesday, we spent over 4 hours outside in nature at Fontenelle Forest with some friends. The weather was going to be decent and it seemed like we needed some outdoor time. A few coop families joined us for most of the time. We even decided to buy a membership for the year. My goal is to go to Fontenelle at least once a month. If we go three times, the pass is more than paid for. Twelve times would be an awesome value!

After Fontenelle, we had to drive over to Council Bluffs to get the coop basket and stopped at the Golden Spike Monument while there. This monument erected in 1939, commemorates the Eastern Terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad put into place in Abraham Lincoln back in the 1960s. It’s the strangest random monument between the railroad tracks and a road and trailer park. But we added it to our collection of random roadside markers.

On Friday, we joined some other coop families for a visit to the Great Plains Black History Museum for our Black History theme. The museum is small, but a treasure trove of interesting artifacts and information. Overall the kids were bored, as it was geared toward an adult audience, but I’m hoping that at least the exposure of different places will sink in a bit.

Documentary Selection

I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. we had planned on a documentary morning, but we pivoted to puzzle hour this week. Still, a good time.

Misc. Picture Books Read

• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

• How Big is the World by Britta Teckentrup

• Snow by Cynthia Rylant

• Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light

High

• An almost whole day in nature was great! We only covered the boardwalk, Raptor Rescue, and play area, but it was just lovely to be outside for a time. With that 4 hours, we added a 60% of our January outside hours to our big goal of 1000 Hours Outside. February is looking to be a much better month. (We’re planning a zoo day for this coming week to get in some more hours!)

Low

• Due to COVID, I had to host coop on Thursday. Not a huge deal, but I just came off teaching the first four weeks of the semester. I was beyond tired on Thursday afternoon.

Next Week

• Taking a “break” week - not really a break, just a break from our usual routine for some special projects and subjects

• Beginning Aru Shah and the End of Time for read aloud

• Deciding coop plans for the week (am I hosting? not certain yet)

• Getting acquainted with Renoir for art (didn’t get to it this past week)

• Hoping to spend more hours outside

• Having a fun Valentine’s Day Party with coop friends!

Next up on the TBR pile: