What We Studied
Literature and Poetry
Our read aloud was Stuart Little. I had never actually read the book before. It’s more of a series of vignettes instead of one cohesive story. We also read the Summer themed poems from Outside Your Window.
Stuart Little by E.B. White
Outside Your Window by Nicola Davies
Math
We flew through two more units in Singapore Math 1A. We’ll be close to finishing the book next week. Still lots of review and solidifying concepts of basic number theory.
Social Studies
This week we covered Paleolithic and Neolothic eras including the Agricultural Revolution. We did a little map work to help understand the areas we read about. We walked some great videos on YouTube showing the time periods. We learned about various ice age animals including the domestication of wolves. Arthur’s favorite is the Saber Tooth Cat. We also watched the NOVA episode about the mystery of Otzi the Iceman. Finally we learned about the first cities (Catalhoyuk and Jericho) as well as some notable Stone Age sites (Stonehenge and Skara Brae).
The Secret Cave by Emily Arnold McCully
Painters of the Caves by Patricia Lauber
You Wouldn’t Want to be a Mammoth Hunter
Kali’s Song by Jeannette Winter
Caveboy Crush by Beth Ferry
Peter Kent’s City Across Time
The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein
There was an Old Man Who Painted by Teri Sloat
The Secrets of Stonehenge by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
The Genius of The Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages by Izzi Howell
Hands-on History Stone Age by Charlotte Hurdman
The First Dog by Jan Brett
How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson
Mammoths on the Move by Lisa Wheeler
Science
This week’s science was a catch-all of mini lessons on animal habitats, water conservation, Alexander von Humboldt (talking about being a naturalist), the water cycle, and landforms. For extra fun, we did a mini study of the Missouri River. We traveled the few miles down the to the riverwalk. We met the troll that lives under the bridge, played in the splash pad, explored the garden, and walked across the bridge to Iowa.
Art
During our study of prehistoric times, the boys made their own cave paintings. Q loved coloring his bull purple while Arthur made an entire scene.
Otherwise we did some fun side art projects dealing with color.
Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
Music
We listened to Classics for Kids episodes about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Arthur really like some of his pieces.
Mozart Biography
Play, Mozart, Play by Peter Sis
Nature Play Day
We took a field trip with our friends to the Tree Adventure in Nebraska City. We had a ton of fun exploring the natural areas as well as the nature classroom. The tree houses were still tons of fun, but I preferred the trail. We even got to see two deer in the woods! In total, we spent over 5 hours exploring and playing with our friends. A great day!
Unit Theme
No unit theme this week
Misc. - Random picture books read
When Planet Earth was New by James Gladstone
On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen
What’s Your Favorite Bug?
The Mission of Addition by Brian P. Cleary
Highs
I’m loving the flexibility to venture out to various places during school hours. Our field trips were so much fun (even if I was tired afterward). I’m hoping to do a field trip once every two weeks.
We upped our picture book game this week and I love reading all the books!
The boys were excited to see another frog hiding in the sign posts at the Tree Adventure.
Lows
I’m not used to going out so much in a few days. I was exhausted!
Next Week
We are studying the beginning of civilization and Mesopotamia for our world history. We’re also starting A River of Voices with a lesson on Native American groups of the Northeast. Our weekly theme is the books of Doreen Cronin.
Next up on the TBR pile:
