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: