What We Studied
Literature and Poetry
We had fun reading and attempting the cases in Encyclopedia Brown’s first story collection. Arthur enjoyed the stories but was less interested in actually solving the cases. We started a new poem collection filled with fun short poems. We’ll be continuing this collection next week.
Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol
Hey You! Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitos, and Other Fun Things
Math
As we finished 1A last week, we took this week to play some math games and do some Khan Academy lessons. The favorite part was playing with tannegrams on Monday.
Social Studies
The first part of the week we focused on the Native American tribes of the Northeast before European contact. We read some classic tales, watched some videos, and learned about various tribes and their cultures. On Wednesday, we watched the first episode of the PBS documentary Native America. Although it focused on the cultures of the Southwest and Mesoamerica, we still learned a lot. I can’t wait to watch the rest of the series over the next couple of weeks.
First Nations of North America: Northeast Indians
Children of Native America Today
Skywoman by Joanne Shenandoah
Rabbit’s Snow Dance by James and Joseph Bruchac
The Iroquois by Danielle Smith-Llera
The Iroquois by Emily J. Dolbear
The Iroquois by KaaVonia Hinton
Hiawatha Messenger of Peace by Dennis Brindell Fradin
D is for Drum by Debbie and Michael Shoulders
Song of the Hermit Thrush by Gloria Dominic
Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child
The second half of the week we started our continent study. First up: Africa! We learned about the African geography, some traditional stories, and the animals. My favorite part was learning about a few of the natural wonders of the continent.
Here is the African Savanna by Madeleine Dunphy
A is for Africa by Ifeoma Onyefulu
Africa by Mary Lindeen
African Culture
Wangari’s Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter
The Spider Weaver by Margaret Musgrove
Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott
Zomo the Rabbit by Gerald McDermott
The Amazing African Animal Alphabet by Kristina Jones
The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks by Verna Aardema
Anansi Does the Impossible by Verna Aardema
Science
We had a bit of a light science week. We started with a study of ecosystems and habitats. Thankfully Magic School Bus had two great episodes about ecosystems and habitats to reinforce our learning. Later in the week we started Blossom and Root’s Book Seed about Mary Anning. I do so love learning about women scientists.
Mary Annin and the Sea Dragon by Jeannine Atkins
Art
No formal art lessons this week. All of our projects were tied to our unit theme or social studies.
Music
Our composer for the week was Johann Sebastian Bach. Arthur still prefers Beethoven, but I love Bach. Beyond our usual composer podcasts and listening journal, we did a special music lesson on Wednesday. We listened to Camille Saint-Saen’s The Carnival of the Animals and drew the animals we heard in each movement.
The Carnival of the Animals Jack Prelutsky
Nature Play Day
As it was apple week, most of our nature play activities focused on apples. We did an apple taste, investigated an apple, stamped with apples, made a coffee filter apple, and ____. It was raining on Wednesday so we skipped our outdoor hike.
Apple Harvest by Jenna Lee Gleisner
Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
Unit Theme - Apples
I thought the second week of September would be the perfect week to learn about apples. The fresh vs. frozen apples experiment was a lot of fun even if we didn’t actually eat the frozen one. It was disgusting… Beyond the experiment, we read a ton of apple themed books and did a deeper dive into the life of Johnny Appleseed.
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
The Apple Doll by Elisa Kleven
From Apple Trees to Cider Please by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky
Bad Apple by Edward Hemingway
Our Apple Tree by Gorel Kristina Naslund
The Apple Orchard Riddle by Margaret McNamara
The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson
Johnny Appleseed Plants Trees Across the Land by Eric Braun
12 Amazing American Myths and Legends
Johnny Appleseed by Jane Yolen
A is for Autumn by Robert Maass
Misc. - Random picture books read
The Piano by Marika Maijala and Juha Virta
Good Morning City by Pat Kiernan
Welcome Home Bear by Il Sung Na
The Ocean in Your Bathtub by Seth Fishman
Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty
The Hike by Alison Farrell
Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg
Silent Kay and the Dragon by Larry Dane Brimner
The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt
Math Fables Too by Greg Tang
Highs
We listened to great podcasts this week including the end of the Gilgamesh series, WOW in the World, and multiple Dr. Floyd episodes.
Quentin loves doing his school work! Guess I need to print more.
Lows
Arthur had a few attitude moments throughout the week. We are working on good attitudes and asking for help when frustrated instead of breaking down.
Next Week
Depending on the situation, we may be taking a few days off this coming week. Things are very much up in the air right now. I do have W6 and W7 already planned out if I need it. We are going to focus on Egypt, Deserts, Fall and Leaves, and the Southwest Native American tribes.
Next up on the TBR pile:
