What We Studied

We combined a “break week” and a regular week for this post. Our break week have turned into a way to catch up on unfinished units, add some special activities, and take a few hours off.

Literature and Poetry

We continued our read aloud and did a few literature studies. A fairly normal week when it came to language.

City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda
I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus by Jack Prelutsky
Butterfly House by Eve Bunting
Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester L. Laminack
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The Happy Lion by Louise Patio
Mossy by Jan Brett
John Philip Duck by Patricia Polacco
Ginger and Petunia by Patricia Polacco

Math

Arthur covered Unit 12: Geometry and even did a special project. He created a Multiplication Grid art project.

Logic Countdown
Math Art + Drawing Games

Social Studies

We covered two chapters in History Quest: Middle Times learning about Kievan Russia and Mughal India. We did a mini focus on St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Taj Mahal. (Side note: I think I want to add an architecture unit into next year’s curriculum.) And I threw in a mini unit about the stories of Baba Yaga.

DK Timelines of Everyone
When on Earth
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
Follow Me Around: Russia by Wiley Blevins
Let’s Explore Russia by Walt K. Moon
Living in Russia by Jesse Burton
Russia ABCs by Ann Berge
Matreshka by Becky Hickox Ayres
The Flying Witch by Jane Yolen
The Black Geese by Alison Lurie
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave by Marianna Mayer
Grandma Chickenlegs by Geraldine McCaughrean
Baba Yaga and the Wise Doll by Hiawyn Oram
Baba Yaga by An Leysen
Whole Wide World: Kristine Spanier
Taj Mahal by Cynthia Kennedy Hanzel
Where is the Taj Mahal? by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
Taj Mahal by Elizabeth Mann

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

Beyond coop, we did a mini unit on the Spring Equinox.

Goodbye Winter Hello Spring by Kenard Pak
Sorting Through Spring by Lizann Flatt
My Nature Sticker Activity Book: In the Forest by Olivia Cosneau

And we continued our geology unit focusing on rocks and minerals and plate tectonics and earthquakes. Arthur loved growing his own lava rock crystals.

Radical Rocks by Rena Korb
These Rocks Count! by Alison Formento
Geology: The Study of Rocks by Susan H. Gray
Nat Geo Rocks and Minerals by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Fantastic Forces and Incredible Machines
Astonishing Atoms and Matter Mayhem
Dirtmeister's Nitty Gritty Planet Earth by Steve Tomecek
I'm Trying to Love Rocks by Bethany Barton
Rocks by Sally M. Walker
All About Rocks by Alessandra Potenza
DK Rocks and Minerals
DK Rocks and Minerals (other edition)
My Little Book of Rocks, Minerals, and Gems by Claudia Martin
My Book of Rocks and Minerals
The Island that Moved: How Shifting Forces Shape Our Earth by Meredith Hooper
DK Volcano and Earthquake
Fault Lines and Tectonic Plates by Kathleen M. Reilly
Everything Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Kathy Furgang Ch. 3
Geo Detectives: Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Anita Ganeri
Earthquakes on Shaky Ground by Lesley McFadzean
Zhang Heng and the Incredible Earthquake Detector by Randel McGee

Art/Music

We discovered Rosa Bonheur and her animal paintings. The kids loved looking at a big collection of her work and learning a little of her life. Afterward, they did some free drawing inspired by Bonheur’s work.

Rosa's Animals: The Story of Rosa Bonheur and Her Painting Menagerie by Maryann MacDonald

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 finished his big general unit on the farm.

ELA

Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals by Nicola Davies
Biscuit by Alyssia Satin Capucilli (Q reads)
Biscuit Plays Ball by Alyssia Satin Capucilli (Q reads)
Biscuit and the Baby by Alyssia Satin Capucilli (Q reads)
Biscuit’s Day at the Farm by Alyssia Satin Capucilli (Q reads)
Biscuit Goes Camping by Alyssia Satin Capucilli (Q reads)
Spring Story by Jill Barkley
High Five November 2018
High Five December 2018
High Five February 2020
Flubby will NOT Play with That by JE Morris
Food from Farms by Nancy Dickmann
Let’s Visit a Dairy Farm by Alyse Sweeney
What’s It Like to Live Here? Farm by Katie Marsico
Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm by
Farm by Elisha Cooper
On the Farm by Victoria Taylor
Let's Go to the Farm! by Caryl Hart
Seasons on the Farm by Nancy Dickmann
Mighty Truck on the Farm by Chris Barton
Big Read Barn by Margeret Wise Brown
Farm Machines by Kathryn Clay
Finish Farm Packet
I Spy on the Farm

Math

Lollipop Logic Book 1

Other

I Spy Learn and Go
I Spy on the Farm
Smart Start Beginning Coding Grade 1

Field Trip

We had a fun day exploring Arbor Day Farm last Friday. We started with a guided lesson about bees and blossoms and then played on our own. Thankfully I remembered to pack a picnic lunch. We ended up spending 6 hours there making it a 8 hour day away from the house. Still, it was a great 6 hours!

Documentary Selection

I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. We watched a NOVA episode about gemstones. I learned a lot about how they are made and what distinguishesd one from another. Not a documentary, but a podcast - We started listening to PBS Eons: Mysteries of Deep Time. The first two episodes cover the only human remains in the La Brea Tar Pits and the Piltdown Man Hoax. Fascinating listens as we traveled this week.