Not really sure what happened, but I took a total of seven pictures for the entire week. I was so exhausted this week… I just forgot to document. But we did do school!
What We Studied
We focused on Pumpkins and some U.S. History this week.
Literature and Poetry
We started reading Winnie the Pooh this week. A classic! Arthur liked this selection much more than last week’s book. We’ll be carrying this book into next week and moving on to The House at Pooh Corner. Plus, once we finish, we will watch the movie versions and compare.
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh by Sally M. Walker
Leaf by Leaf: Autumn Poems
Math
Our unit this week was all about time. Mostly a review for Arthur, but always good to review concepts. We also did a math review packet on Thursday and completed a few Khan Academy units this week. Next week is fractions which is relatively new to Arthur. We’ve been reading some books to introduce the topic and next week we will learn the basics.
Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Pizza Slice by Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler
Fractions in Disguise by Edward Einhorn
Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Hat by Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler
Social Studies
We switched around the schedule again this week (seems like a weekly occurrence at this point) and focused on A River of Voices Lessons #2-3 focusing on Spanish Exploration and Settlement. I also added in a lesson on Monday about the various Native American groups of the Southwest. And we watched another episode of the PBS documentary Native America. So good! For the art component, Arthur colored a traditional Navajo rug and made some pictures inspired by the paintings in A Rainbow at Night. I also added in a lesson about the Taino people of the Caribbean and what happened to them after Columbus arrived. I was taught that they were wiped out, but that’s not true. They had to move to other islands, but some of their numbers survived and have held on to the culture and traditions all these centuries.
First Nations of the North America: Southwest Indians
The Southwest Indians: Daily Life in the 1500s by Mary Englar
The Navajo by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit
A Rainbow at Night by Bruce Hucko
The Precious Gift by Ellen Jackson
Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott
A Kid’s Guide to Latino History
The Conquistadores by R. Conrad Stein
Early Explorations by Roger E. Hernandez
A Quetzalcoatl Tale of Corn by Marilyn Parke and Sharon Panik
Johonaa’ei: Bringer of Dawn by Veronica Tsinajinnie
Encounter by Brittany Luby
Southwest Sunrise by Nikki Grimes
Science
Our topics this week were Animal Migration, Animal Survival, and Animal Camouflage. We went outside one day to spot animals using the various techniques and to say goodbye to some of the birds flying south. We also watched a great NOVA episode, “Journey of the Butterflies,” about the migration of the monarch butterflies. We also read a chapter from The Tarantula in My Purse about geese. We’ll be sprinkling in these chapters over the next few months.
Animal Migration by Jeanie Mebane
On the Move by Scott Cohn
Going Home by Marianne Berkes
Why Do Geese Fly South in Winter? by Kathy Allen
How Do Birds Find Their Way? by Roma Gans
Animal Migrations by Vicky Franchino
The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George
Little Home Bird by Jo Empson
Is This Panama? by Jan Thornhill
Art
We did mini artist studies of Henri Rousseau and Andy Warhol this week. Arthur really loved the jungle paintings of Rousseau. He even made his own version. And he colored some fun Andy Warhol-esque pages.
The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel
Henri Rousseau Biography by Mike Venezia
Andy Warhol Biography by Mike Venezia
Andy Warhol Pop Art Painter by Susan Goldman Rubin
Uncle Andy’s by James Warhola
Uncle Andy’s Cats by James Warhola
Music
Our composer for this week was Giacomo Puccini. Arthur was not a fan of his compositions or opera in general. I’ll admit that I didn’t appreciate opera until adulthood so no big deal. We’ll be doing Sousa next week. Hopefully that’s more interesting to him.
Nature Play Day
None this week. We instead went over to a friend’s house and had an old-fashioned playdate. The kids really need to just hang out and blow off some steam.
Unit Theme
It was pumpkin week! We read a ton of pumpkin books and do some pumpkin activities. We didn’t get to our pumpkin investigation (cutting on up, etc), but we’ll slot that into our Halloween week along with carving our jack-o-lanterns.
The Pumpkin Painter by Jennifer Matthai Garner
From Seed to Pumpkin by Crystal Sikkens
The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis
Flat Stanley and the Missing Pumpkins by Lori Haskins Houran
The Pumpkin Man by Judith Moffat
Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell
The Very Best Pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton
Marley and the Runaway Pumpkin by Susan Hill
Fall Pumpkin Fun
Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills
Autumn Orange by Christianne C. Jones
Pumpkin Day by Candice Pansom
Pumpkin Harvest by Calvin Harris
From Pumpkin to Pie by Lisa Owings
The Story of Jack O’Lantern by Katherine Tegen
The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin by Margaret Wise Brown
Misc. - Random picture books read
The Amazing Planet Earth by Scott Emmons (Arthur read this one to me)
Armadilly Chili by Helen Ketterman
Mela and the Elephant by Dow Phumiruk
Thomas and Friends Easter Engines
The Magic School Bus Rides Again Rock Man Vs. Weather Man
Croc and Ally Friends Forever by Derek Anderson
Lofty and the Giraffe
Muck on Ice
The Ants Go Marching by Priscilla Burris
Chicken on a Broom by Adam Lehrhaupt (Arthur read this one to me)
How the Sphinx Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland
The Bean Team
Monkey: A Trickster Tale from India by Gerald McDermott
You Can Be Anything by Charles M. Schulz
Highs
I loved how much Arthur got into Henri Rousseau’s art. And the Native America documentary is always a win.
Lows
I was so tired this week. It was a struggle.
Next Week
We are going to continue our U.S. History lessons with ones focused on Jamestown and the Mayflower and the Pilgrims. For our unit theme, I chose Owls which will pair nicely with the science lessons on nocturnal animals and the moon. We’re planning on doing a moon tracking lesson starting with the New Moon on October 16th. Plus, Arthur’s 7th birthday is on Thursday… We’ll have to plan something special for that day. Maybe a zoo visit?
Next up on the TBR pile:
