A’s ELA, Math, and Science
What We Studied
This post actually contains a Flex Week and a regular week. We’re definitely getting to the point in the year when our schooling rhythm changes once again. We took advantage of some outside exploration and fun with friends. We also didn’t stress about the curriculum, but made sure that we were plugging away.
Q’s Math and ELA
A’s WWII Unit
Literature and Poetry
Arthur continued and then finished our current read aloud. I absolutely loved it. He was a much harsher critic. For this one, I bought a new-to-me ELA curriculum unit and tried it out. The unit focused on paragraph writing and analysis of text. I’m really liking it. It’s not fancy or colorful, but has worthwhile activities. I think I’m going to pick up a few more lit studies for other books we are going to read. We continued the first Reading Explorer book which focuses on reading comprehension. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.
My America poem collection
Reading Explorer 1
Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston
Checking out the Dinos at Lauritzen Gardens
Quentin finished two read aloud this past two weeks. We covered a bunch of short stories with Frog and Toad. I even added on some language arts activities to expand. From there, we started and finished a short read aloud. Bonus points as it’s our next coop book club selection.
Sing a Song of Seasons
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr
Math
Arthur moved into looking at averages, line graphs, and plotting. We will definitely be finishing 5B by the end of this “school year.”
Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic
Quentin got back into Singapore with a unit on multiplication and division concepts. He then started on 2 and 3s.
Singapore Common Core 2A
Park Exploration - Levi Carter
Social Studies
Arthur wrapped his study of World War II. We also snuck in a documentary about The Manhattan Project. I’m super excited to get into the Cold War era this week.
DK American History
We were There Too! Young People in US History
Words that Build a Nation
Heart and Soul
Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
A Different Mirror for Young People
This is Our Land: A History of American Immigration
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
DK Eyewitness World War II
The US Navy in World War II by Peter Benoit
The US Army is World War II by Peter Benoit
Big Battles of World War II by Peter Benoit
The Great Depression and World War II by Susan E. Hamen
Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm
Park Exploration - Elmwood
Quentin covered the African kingdoms of Aksum and Kush. He then started his two-part unit on Ancient China. We’re still moving through our Ancient Times curriculum.
History Quest Early Times
DK When on Earth?
Human Wold
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK A Child Through Time
A History of Western Art
DK Science Year by Year
DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Ancient Worlds
A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen
Ancient China by Dale Anderson
Q’s ELA
A’s ELA and Math
Science
I taught our chemistry lesson about acids and bases. I even created my own homemade indicator paper for the experiments. And then we had a break week. Only three more Chemistry weeks to go for the year! We made sure to read more chapters in our Story of Science book.
RSO Chemistry
DK Super Simple Chemistry
Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim
DK The Elements
Quentin started the Plant Kingdom section of his curriculum. We talked about the basics of plant life and flowers.
RSO Life
An ABC of Flowers by Jutta Hilpuesch
Flowers by Gail Gibbons
Flowers by Grace Hansen
Flowers by Jennifer Colby
Fantastic Flowers by Susan Stockdale
Have You Ever Seen a Flower by Shawn Harris
The Flower by John Light
Bloom Boom by April Pulley Sayre
Flowers by Elaine Pascoe
What are Flowers by Kelley MacAulay
Tell Me Why Flowers Bloom by Nancy Robinson Masters
Flowers We Eat by Katherine Rawson
Park Exploration - Flannagan Lake
STEAM Coop
We had one coop meeting inside at one of the local libraries and one outside at a park (finally!). For Arthur covered the last two weeks of Spring Growth by creating a composter and sun prints. Quentin focused on botany with a seed planting and flowers.
Q’s ELA
A’s History Unit
Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary
We covered oil painting the Frederic Chopin this week.
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw
13 American Artists Children Should Know
A Child's Introduction to Art
Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky
Iconic Composers by Nicholas Csicsko & Emi Ferguson
13 Art Movements Children Should Know
13 Artists Children Should Know
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge
Q’s Math and ELA
A’s Math and ELA
Field Trip
We had a lovely field trip to Lauritzen Gardens (our local botanical garden and conservatory). I got to hang out with the littles class where we did a lot of plant observation as well as enjoyed the dinosaurs models made out of Lego. Arthur’s class got to learn about the evolution of plants from prehistoric times until now. This past Friday, we had a free explore day at Arbor Day Farm with lots of coop friends. When we go, you better believe that we spend all day there! It’s great. I even convinced the boys to do the trail around the back when their friends left.
Q’s Science Unit
High
We are trying to complete the Omaha Parks Challenge. They give us 10 parks to visit and take pictures. Completing a certain number gets you a goody bag and another number gets you entered into a drawing for pool passes. We have until May 12th to complete our visits. So far, we’ve hit three parks, but we have two more parks this week on our schedule. Some of these parks I didn’t even know existed! It’s a great way to explore.
Fun at Arbor Day Farm
Low
The wind and cold temps made coop (and then book club on Saturday) not a hugely pleasant experiences. In particular, we attempted a new-to-us park and had to leave after 15 minutes. The 30mph wind gusts on top of low 40s temps pushed us back into our cars and home. Oh well. We do live in the Midwest!
Next Week
Starting a new read aloud for Quentin
Beginning our yearly Shakespeare unit for Arthur
Moving through the early Cold War years
Continuing our math units
Expanding upon chemical reactions and acids and bases
Learning more Ancient China
Exploring more parts of the plant kingdom
Bringing back some art and music
Next up on the TBR pile:
