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.

Misc. Picture Books Read

• The Universe and You by Suzanne Slade

• Dear Librarian by Lydia M. Sigwarth

• Poo on the Savanna by Emilie Dufresne

• A Pizza with Everything on It by Kyle Scheele

• Dear Reader by Tiffany Rose

• Ten Thank-You Letters by Daniel Kirk

• Nobody Hugs a Cactus by Carter Goodrich

High

• Arbor Day Farm was incredibly per usual. I wish it was a bit closer to home.

Low

• Thursday’s coop meeting was more hectic and chaotic than usual. We were very sad to have to hold it in doors at the temps were hovering in the 30s.

Next Week

• Wrapping up City of the Plague God

• Starting the last three books in the Chronicles of Narnia

• Covering half of 3B Unit 13 about area and perimeter

• Exploring the Ottoman Empire

• Beginning a Beatrix Potter unit for literature

• Continuing our geology unit for science as well as spring and bees for coop

• Hoping to sneak in a study of Beethoven’s music

• Taking a backpack hike at Fontenelle Forest

Next up on the TBR pile: