What We Studied
We had a schedule with a few field trips, but those changed due to the weather. After last weekend’s storm, the temperatures dropped dramatically and didn’t recover. It was cold and the wind made it even colder.
Our Book Outlet finally came! Lots of things for next year (except for the Beatrix Potter books).
Literature and Poetry
Finally finished Aru Shah this week and concluded our American Tall Tales unit. I really enjoyed both and I think Arthur did also.
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
Poetry Outside Your Window by Nicola Davies
When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano
American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
The 12 Most Amazing American Myths and Legends by Anita Yasuda
Casey Jones by Stephen Krensky
Mike Fink by Steven Kellogg
Pecos Bill Tames a Colossal Cyclone by Eric Braun
Pecos Bill by Stephen Krensky
Pecos Bill, Monster Wrangler by Benjamin Harper
Pecos Bill Colossal Cowboy by Sean Tulien
John Henry Vs. the Mighty Steam Drill by Carl Meister
John Henry: An American Legend by Ezra Jack Keats
Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson
John Henry by Stephen Krensky
John Henry, Steel-Drivin' Elf by Benjamin Harper
Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg
The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan by Martin Powell
The Bunyans by Audrey Wood
Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart by Marybeth Lorbiecki
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Whale by Penelope Gruber
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: The Great Pancake Adventure by Matt Luckhurst
Paul Bunyan vs. Hals Halson: The Great Lumberjack Challenge! by Teresa Bateman
Both boys had successful dentist appointments
Math
We sped through Unit 10 about time. Really it was a big review while ago doing some more adding and subtracting time.
Logic Countdown
Social Studies
We ended up not actually doing our history unit this week. No big deal, we’ll just push it a week. This is why I add in “break” weeks to our schedule. Gives us a lot of flexibility.
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
We didn’t have coop this week due to our scheduled break week. We’ll be back next week with our First Responders theme.
For science, we started our big Earth Science unit focusing on geography, geology, and volcanoes and earthquakes.
When Planet Earth was New by James Gladstone
Earth by Quinn M. Arnold
Home on the Earth by Laura Purdie Salas
Dirtmeister's Nitty Gritty Planet Earth by Steve Tomecek
Stickmen's Guide to Mountains and Valleys in Layers by Catherine Chambers
The Magic School Buss Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole
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. Quentin started his next unit on the farm. Basically that means a ton of farm themed books, some themed ELA and math pages, and a few mini crafts and projects.
ELA
Winter Story by Jill Barklem
On a Farm by Alexa Andrews (Q reads)
Life on a Farm
Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig
Biscuit's Snow Day Race by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Q reads)
Farm by Rebecca Pettiford
My Farm Friends by Wendell Minor
Going to a Farm by Rebecca Rissman
Dinosaur Farm by Penny Dale
Busy Bug Builds a Fort by David A. Carter (Q reads)
Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals by Nicola Davies
Old MicMickey Had a Farm
I Like the Farm by Shelley Rotner
The Farmer by Ximo Abadia
Amara's Farm by JaNay Brown-Wood
Math
Lollipop Logic Book 1
Smart Start Beginning Coding Grade 1
Other
High Five January 2018
Field Trip
The weather was not cooperating with us this week. We again got below zero a few of the days. We did venture out to the zoo on Wednesday. It was chilly, but we got to visit the elephant babies (and they were right up front!) and warm up in the jungle and the desert dome. We also had a park day on the one slightly warmer day. The boys had fun, but more importantly, I had a lovely conversation with two coop moms. (The boys also had their dentist appointments this week.)
Documentary Selection
I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies.
Misc. Picture Books Read
Letters from Bear by Gauthier David
Snickerdoodle Takes the Cake by Ethan Long
A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers
The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey
A New Green Day by Antoinette Portis
How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
In the Half Room by Carson Ellis
If I Were the Sunshine by Julie Fogliano
The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by Britney Winn Lee
High
Getting out to the zoo on Wednesday was delightful. We got to spend 15 minutes observing the new elephant babies. They are incredibly adorable.
Low
Super cold temps cancelled our planned hike on Friday. I was looking forward to getting out into nature more. Thankfully, we have rescheduled for Wednesday.
Baby Sonny!
Next Week
Starting 3B Unit 11 (Data Analysis) for math
Beginning City of the Plague God for our read aloud
Analyzing a few picture books for literature
Covering the Renaissance for history
Getting acquainted with the paintings of Rosa Bonheur
Continuing with our farm unit for Quentin
Exploring rocks and minerals for science
Next up on the TBR pile:
