What We Studied

Literature and Poetry

We started reading The One and Only Bob. I really like Bob as a character, but I think The One and Only Ivan was better told. We’re halfway through the book and things have gotten very intense.

• The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

• Rainbow Soup by Brian P. Cleary (poems)

• Clark the Shark: Tooth Trouble by Bruce Hale (Arthur Read)

Math

Another week of review and games. Arthur progressed in his Khan Academy lessons. We review some concepts. Arthur and Quentin both did some math with gummy bears and then with Skittles. They definitely enjoyed eating our manipulatives afterward.

Social Studies

We covered two more lessons about the American Revolution: Loyalists and Assistance from France and Spain. Getting close to the end of the war!

• Mary Geddy’s Day: A Colonia Girl in Williamsburg by Kate Waters

• Fight for Freedom by Benson Bobrick

• Revolutionary Friends: General George Washing and the Marquis de Lafayette by Selene Castrovilla

Science

See unit theme

Art

Nothing formal, but Arthur had some fun drawing sea creatures. I grabbed a few “how to draw” books from the library and he’s been doing that during free time.

Music

We progressed with our study of American folk music. We covered the early years 1920s-1950s including the country side. We started with The Carter Family and the Weavers; not huge fans. Arthur did not like Johnny Cash or Jack Elliott but did like Bill Monroe. Guess he falls on the bluegrass side which is fine by me. For movie night, we watched O Brother Where Art Thou? J and I love the Coen Brothers and this is one my favorites. We talked about the fact that the movie is a version of the Odyssey and enjoyed the music. I didn’t think he liked it, but afterward Arthur told me he was going to watch it again.

Unit Theme

Our ocean study focused on exploration, fish, and sharks this week! We learned about Marie Tharp, Sylvia Earle, and Jacques Cousteau. Then we moved on to all the different species of shark! Arthur’s been loving the YouTube channel Brave Wilderness for great animal encounter videos. We found some that apply to the ocean!

• Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Karen Coombs

• Oceanography: The Study of Oceans by Susan H. Gray

• The Undersea World by Tamra B. Orr

• Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman

• Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Early by Claire A. Nivola

• Marie's Ocean: Marie Tharp Maps the Mountains Under the Sea by Josie James

• Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea by Robert Burleigh

• Ocean Speaks by Jess Keating

• DK: Fishy Tales (Arthur read)

• Goby Fish and Snapping Shrimp by Kari Schuetz

• What's It Like to be a Fish? by Wendy Pfeffer

• DK Oceans

• Nat Geo Ocean Animals

• Manfish by Jennifer Berne

• The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho

• Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs by Kate Messner

• Nat Geo Kids: Sharks (Arthur read)

• Sharks by Valerie Bodden

• Sharks Have Six Senses by John F. Waters

• Slickety Quick: Poems About Sharks by Skila Brown

• Smart About Sharks by Owen Davey

• DK Eyewitness: Shark

• Great White Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Hammerhead Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Blacktip Reef Sharks by Grace Hansen

• Nurse Sharks by Grace Hansen

• Basking Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Whale Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Mako Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Zebra Sharks by Nico Barnes

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Norman The Slug with the Silly Shell by Sue Hendra

• There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell! by Lucille Colandro

• Iced Out by CK Smouha

• Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni

• Shark Dog by Ged Adamson

• The Ocean Story by John Seven

• Shark Dog and the School Trip Rescue by Ged Adamson

• I'm a Shark by Bob Shea

• How to Spy on a Shark by Lori Haskins Houran

• The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Ken Geist

• Perfect Square by Michael Hall

• Blue on Blue by Dianne White

• Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson

• Misunderstood Shark by Ame Dyckman

Highs

• We had a lovely park playdate with three other coop families on Tuesday. The weather was perfect!

• On Thursday, we went to the zoo. Haven’t been there in a few weeks and it was nice to go when the weather was nice. We had to check in with Marshall the rhino. He’s getting so big! He’s about 18 months old now.

Lows

• Apparently everyone went ot the zoo on Thursday along with at least 8 buses full of school kids. it was crowded and people were not masking. I really dislike going when it’s so crowded. Hopefully next time we go it will be less people. The kids were super whiny the entire time (tired, warm weather, lots of people, probably contributed) and make me regret trying to go and do something fun. It was a long day…

Next Week

We should finish our read aloud next week. Guess I need to line out our next couple. We are going to continue covering the oceans (rays, dolphins, and whales), folk music (getting to the 1960s!), and the American Revolution (ending the war). I think we need to pull out some board games for math to supplement our review. Plus we have two park playdates scheduled.

Next up on the TBR pile: