Homeschool W13-14: Two Weeks of Normal

What We Studied

Another two weeks down! We’re getting closer to our Christmas break here. Managing to get a lot of work in during this in-between month.

Literature and Poetry

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
Granted by John David Anderson

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G3 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 3 and random books that we have around the house. We are also starting the Reading Explorer series to focus on reading comprehension and word choice. We continued with our read aloud, getting very close to finishing. I’ve had to slow down our reading time a bit to accommodate our general pace.

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 2. Effectively this is Singapore’s 7th grade math text. We finished up our textbook for this semester and spent time catching up. We will be playing a bit of review and catchup until January. We don’t have formal logic book this year, but are focusing on lots of critical thinking and math puzzles.

Math in Focus Course 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We finished up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. We covered a chapter reviewing time. We still have a few short chapters left in this textbook for the semester. Hoping we can get the, finished before Christmas.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1. Unfortunately CC only has volume 1 published so far. This will take us to Christmas break. If they don’t release volume 2 by then, I’m going to have to do it myself.. The last four chapters of Volume 1 are all about aspects of modern society as opposed to regional history. We covered a chapter about Inventions, one about art.

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
A Journey Through Art
DK When on Earth
Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers
Ice! The Amazing History of the Ice Business by Laurence Pringle
The Eiffel Tower by Russell Roberts
Eiffel Tower by Kristine Spanier
Now That's Big: Eiffel Tower by Kate Riggs
Action! How Movies Began by Meghan McCarthy
The Fantastic Ferris Wheel: The Story of Inventor George Ferris by Betsy Harvey Kraft
The Secret Subway by Shana Corey
Lives of the Scientists by Kathleen Krull
Who was Marie Curie? by Megan Stine
No Horses in the House!: The Audacious Life of Artist Rosa Bonheur by Mireille Messier
Paul Cezanne: A Painter’s Journey by Robert Burleigh and the National Gallery of Art
What the Artist Saw: Claude Monet: He Saw the World in Brilliant Light by Amy Guglielmo
What the Artist Saw: Paul Cézanne: He Saw the World in Spectacular Shapes by Amy Guglielmo
Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar by Catherine Reef
Carmen and the House that Gaudí Built by Susan Hughes
Gaudí: Architect of Imagination by Susan B. Katz
The Art and Life of Hilma af Klint by Ylva Hillström

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We covered the run-up and beginnings of the American Revolution.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK American History
We were There Too
Words that Built a Nation
King George: What was His Problem? by Steve Sheinkin

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. We kept up with our physics prep for co-op. Arthur also covered two chapters about faults and earthquakes. Mostly it was review for him, but we watching some good videos in the process.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
DK Eyewitness Energy

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. We worked through a chapter about air pressure. Beyond our RSO, we read more chapters in our Story of Science covering Alexander, Euclid, and Archimedes.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction
The Way Things Work Now

Enrichment STEAM Co-op /Academic Co-op

Oof! These two weeks were a struggle in Academic Co-op. The littles classroom was chaotic and loud. The bigs classroom was full of snark and commentary. Here’s hoping we get back on track with attitudes and behavior.

Art and Music

We are doing something a little different this year. Instead of trying to do music and art every week, we will be trading off. I realized last year these subjects were always the first to be cut when we had time constraints. We spent one of our weeks covering Beethoven for music. The other week was spent covering frames for art.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak
DK Art and How it Works
13 Art Techniques Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings
Ludwig van Beethoven by Mike Venezia
Iconic Composers by Nicholas Csicsko and Emi Ferguson
Music is My Life by Myles Tanzer
Welcome to the Symphony by Carolyn Sloan

Field Trip/Activities

Arthur wasn’t feeling good the first week so we scrapped our big activity plans.

High

We are getting very close to finishing all the schoolwork I had planned for the fall semester. I love being on track!

Low

Sickness. Always with the sickness in November.

Next Week

Finishing our read aloud (Q) and starting a new read aloud (A)
Moving forward with our math chapters - Close to finishing our current textbooks
Learning about the Consumerism (A) and 1775-1776 (Q) for history
Covering volcanoes (A) and how planes fly (Q) for science
Taking a small break for Thanksgiving week

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W11-12: October is My Favorite Month!

What We Studied

This is actually two regular weeks and a Flex week all in one. But as expected, the end of October was crazy busy and we had to adjust. Now that we’ve reached November, everything slows down and we can get more schoolwork in our regular weeks.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G6 for his language arts this year. While I love H&S, there’s never enough literature in there. Thankfully we have a stack of books just waiting to be picked up and read. Beyond H&S, we are focusing on expanding vocabulary and reading comprehension this year. We finished our current book club selection which is perfect for fall spooky season. In between we read some classic Grimm’s fairy tales. And we started the next book club selection.

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
The Bellwoods Game by Celia Krampien
Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Granted by John David Anderson

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G3 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 3 and random books that we have around the house. We are also starting the Reading Explorer series to focus on reading comprehension and word choice. We took a break from our read alouds to catch up on some other language arts work. But we are back to our read aloud with a great fantasy read that Arthur read for book club two years ago.

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 2. Effectively this is Singapore’s 7th grade math text. We covered a chapter about algebraic expressions. And then we paused so Arthur could catch up on math work before we finish out our current textbook. We don’t have formal logic book this year, but are focusing on lots of critical thinking and math puzzles.

Math in Focus Course 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We finished up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. We worked through a chapter about fractions. We spent more time on this chapter than I had planned, but we do lean towards mastery over here, so it was a good use of our time.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1. Unfortunately CC only has volume 1 published so far. This will take us to Christmas break. If they don’t release volume 2 by then, I’m going to have to do it myself. We covered multiple sections for history these few weeks. We’ve mostly caught up to where I wanted us to be. We learned about Colonization in Southeast Asia, Colonization in Africa, and Displacement and Migration.

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
A Journey Through Art
Suez Canal by Valerie Bodden
Who Were Stanley and Livingstone? by Jim Gigliotti
Leopold II: Butcher of the Congo by Tod Olson
Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman
I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough
At Ellis Island by Louise Peacock
Ellis Island and Immigration for Kids: A History with 21 Activities by Jean Daigneau
Ellis Island: An Interactive History Adventure by Michael Burgan
Ellis Island: Immigration and the American Dream by Felipe Galindo Feggo and Tait Howard (History Comics)

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We covered the formation of the colonies.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK American History
We were There Too
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
Words that Built a Nation

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. We managed to do all our prep for Academic Co-op’s Physics class. We focused on those videos and lessons and pushed our other science over for awhile.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
DK Eyewitness Energy

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. We worked through all the simple machines chapters. We’re ready to switch to Air Pressure next week. We also read multiple chapters from our Story of Science volume.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction
The Way Things Work Now

Enrichment STEAM Co-op /Academic Co-op

We had our third, fourth, and fifth weeks of Academic Co-op. Week three was chaotic. I was not on board with the kids and their non-listening. Week four was better. Week five was quiet with multiple families out for sickness. On a bright spot, I got my regional history class caught up to where I want them. Quentin’s class has transitioned to learning about ocean biomes for November.

Art and Music

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak
DK Art and How it Works
13 Art Techniques Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings

Field Trip/Activities

We visited the SAC Museum for a co-op field trip. The planetarium show about Exoplanets was fascinating. The “lesson” if you can even call that was a joke. No actual information. The kids make paper rockets and launched them. No discussion about aerodynamics or anything. I don’t know why I thought this year would be different. I’m always so disappointed by their field trip offerings.

We also had a park playdate randomly on a beautiful warm day and our monthly zoo day. The zoo day included a ton of friends and the kids had a great time exploring the buildings that we skip during the summer.

High

Beyond multiple Vala’s visits, we had the Co-op Halloween Party. This year, we did a Trunk or Treat style and it worked out perfectly. I decorated the van (and myself) all in spiders. The kids enjoyed their time.

Low

Vala’s is closed for the year. Until next fall...

Next Week

Continuing our read alouds
Moving forward with our math chapters - Close to finishing our current textbooks
Learning about the French and Indian War and Prelude to Revolution (Q) and Modernization (A) for history
Covering Earthquakes (A) and Air Pressure (Q) for science
Listening to Beethoven for music
Going to Academic Co-op for Week 6

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W10: A Wild Week

What We Studied

Another week full of fall fun. We didn’t get a ton of school work done, but did make some progress on certain things. But we had a ton of fun with friends and catching up on life. So I will say that we had a good week.

Literature and Poetry

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
The Bellwoods Game by Celia Krampien

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G3 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 3 and random books that we have around the house. We are also starting the Reading Explorer series to focus on reading comprehension and word choice. We took a break from our read alouds to catch up on some other language arts and math work.

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 2. Effectively this is Singapore’s 7th grade math text. We covered a chapter about algebraic expressions. We don’t have formal logic book this year, but are focusing on lots of critical thinking and math puzzles.

Math in Focus Course 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We finished up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. We began a chapter about fractions.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B

Social Studies

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
A Journey Through Art

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We skipped history this year in favor of science.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK American History

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. We managed to do all our prep for Academic Co-op’s Physics class. The videos and practice problems took an entire science block but it was a good lesson. We even had time to fit in our next Earth Science lesson in between.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
DK Eyewitness Energy

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. We covered our next chapter about planes and wedges. We will stay with simple machines for the next month or so.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction
The Way Things Work Now
Energy by Matt Mullins
Energy by Nancy Dickmann
Physics by Jane Gardner
Life, Mix, Fling! Machines Can Do Anything by Lola M. Schaefer

Enrichment STEAM Co-op /Academic Co-op

We had our second week of Academic Co-op. Things went much better this week than the previous week. Hopefully we are getting our groove. Arthur had a good week learning about physics and prehistoric Nebraska and playing chess and mancala. Quentin learned about bats and played some games.

Art and Music

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak

Field Trip/Activities

We had another visit to Vala’s for our weekly fun.

High

On Friday, a friend hosted a curriculum planning event. It’s a chance for us adults to body double and/or socialize while planning our homeschool journey. It’s also a chance for the kids to hang out without any agenda or activity planned. It was a short event, but a lovely event.

Low

I ended the week very tired. Still struggling with our balance of activities and school.

Next Week

Continuing our read aloud (A) and starting a new read aloud (Q)
Moving forward with our math chapters
Learning about the New England and Atlantic English colonies (Q) and Colonization in Southeast Asia (A) for history
Covering Newton’s Laws (A) and more simple machines (Q) for science
Going to Academic Co-op for Week 3
Visiting Vala’s, celebrating the Co-op Halloween Party, and exploring the SAC Museum for a field trip

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W8-9: Two Light Weeks

What We Studied

Fall is such a busy time for us. Between homeschool, the switch from enrichment to academic co-op, and fall activities such as Vala’s, we have lots of packed weeks. Instead of two full school weeks, we had two light school weeks with lots of activities and such. And our second week was plagued with sickness from me. I caught that stupid cough that everyone I know has had this fall.

Literature and Poetry

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
The Story Collector by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories by Washington Irving

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

Math

Math in Focus Course 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We finished up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. We started and finished our next chapter about money and followed up with some practice and review.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B

Social Studies

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
A Journey Through Art

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We dove into the European colonization of North America.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
DK American History

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. Instead of focusing on Earth Science, we shifted to preparation for Physics in Academic Co-op.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
DK Eyewitness Energy

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. We took a break from Physics to continue reading our Story of Science chapters. These chapters focused on discoveries of the Greeks. We also watch the two part documentary A to Z about the beginning of alphabets and writings.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction
The Way Things Work Now

Enrichment STEAM Co-op /Academic Co-op

We officially finished the 2025 of Enrichment Co-op with a light week exploring math and art. This past week we jumped right into the Academic Co-op. We had a few hiccups (mostly technology), but that’s to be expected. Beyond that, we really did have a great week. Here’s to having eight more great weeks of learning.

Art and Music

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak
Mozart Finds a Melody by Stephen Costanza
Mozart: The Wonder Child by Diane Stanely
Great Lives in Graphics: Mozart
Welcome to the Opera by Carolyn Sloan

Field Trip/Activities

We went to Vala’s for our weekly visit, but had to skip this past week because I was sick.

High

We managed to get a ton of school done in between activities and sickness.

Low

On Tuesday two weeks ago, we got a flat tire coming home from school pictures. We ended up waiting four hours for roadside assistance wiping out our entire afternoon’s plans. Taking care of getting a new tire bled into Wednesday morning disrupted our day’s plan. Overall, my entire week was derailed trying to take care of car crap.

Next Week

Starting our new read alouds
Moving forward with our math chapters
Learning about the New England and Atlantic English colonies (Q) and Colonization in Southeast Asia (A) for history
Covering erosion and weather (A) and motion (Q) for science
Going to Academic Co-op for Week 2 — Arthur’s class is covering prehistoric Nebraska for my class
Visiting Vala’s

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W7: Two Weeks of Pushing Through

What We Studied

We’ve actually had our first Flex Week and a regular week these two past weeks. Our Flex Weeks are unplanned curriculum weeks that we can use to catch up with anything we got behind in and/or give us a break. We also had two weeks of activities and errands.

Literature and Poetry

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
The Story Collector by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G3 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 3 and random books that we have around the house. We are also starting the Reading Explorer series to focus on reading comprehension and word choice. We started one of my favorite books getting about halfway through the book in these weeks. We should be able to finish next week without a big problem.

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 2. Effectively this is Singapore’s 7th grade math text. We continued Chapter 2 focusing on integers. I think this book will force us to slow down a bit and take more time for mastery. We don’t have formal logic book this year, but are focusing on lots of critical thinking and math puzzles.

Math in Focus Course 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We finished up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. We started our next chapter about money.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1. Unfortunately CC only has volume 1 published so far. This will take us to Christmas break. If they don’t release volume 2 by then, I’m going to have to do it myself. We covered two sections: one on Latin America and one on the failure of Reconstruction and end of slavery.

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
A Journey Through Art

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We finished our study of indigenous cultures in North America. We also finished watching Native America S2. I really enjoyed the documentaries in the series.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A Kid's Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac and Thomas Locker
Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America by Tom Pecore Weso
The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchac
Native Americans: A Visual Exploration SN Paleja

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. Arthur covered the chapter about absolute dating in geology. He also completed his first science test.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
DK Eyewitness Energy

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. We covered the chapter about friction exploring some topics and terminology.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction
The Way Things Work Now
Why Do Moving Objects Slow Down? A Look at Friction by Jennifer Boothroyd
Energy by Andi Diehn
Give It a Push! Give It a Pull! A Look at Forces by Jennifer Boothroyd
All About Forces by Angela Royston

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

We’re so close to finishing Enrichment for the year. The boys had fun exploring geometry and art in these weeks. Only one more to go before we are done!

Art and Music

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak

Field Trip/Activities

We visited Vala’s multiple times these past weeks. .

High

Um… Vala’s I guess. I do love going there in the fall.

Low

Changes in Nick’s work schedule caused changes in my activity schedule interrupting our plans. Oh well. Sometimes things do not go as planned.

Next Week

Finishing our read aloud and possibly starting new ones
Moving forward with our math chapters
Learning about the European invasion of North America (Q) and the Reservation System (A) for history
Covering erosion and weather (A) and motion (Q) for science
Prepping for Physics with Academic Co-op (A)
Listening to Mozart
Visiting Vala’s and the Zoo
Getting school pictures taken for the year!
Attending the last week of Enrichment Co-op for 2025!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W6: Sickness Ugh!

What We Studied

Sickness derailed our activities plans, but it did allow for us to get a ton of school work done. This leaves us with more time for activities in the next few weeks.

Literature and Poetry

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G3 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 3 and random books that we have around the house. We are also starting the Reading Explorer series to focus on reading comprehension and word choice. Quentin finished his read aloud, loving every page of it. We’ll have to work in the last book in the series at some point this year.

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

Math

Math in Focus Court 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We also are finishing up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. We finished a chapter about Capacity.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1. Unfortunately CC only has volume 1 published so far. This will take us to Christmas break. If they don’t release volume 2 by then, I’m going to have to do it myself. We covered two sections: one on European Nationalism and one on Slavery and the American Civil War. We are officially caught back up to where I thought we would be when I planned the year back in July.

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
A Journey Through Art
Stories of the Spirit of Justice by Jemar Tisby
Louisa May's Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Woman by Kathleen Krull
To the Front!: Clara Barton Braves the Battle of Antietam by Claudia Friddell
Stitch by Stitch: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly Sews Her Way to Freedom by Connie Schofield-Morrison

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We covered the indigenous peoples of the Northeast. We will stay with indigenous peoples for the first six weeks or so. In fact, we wrapped up our big unit this week. After we com back from our Flex Week, we will be diving into the European invasion of North America. We also continued watching the documentary series Native America. We have two episodes left that we will hopefully watch next week.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A Kid's Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac and Thomas Locker
Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America by Tom Pecore Weso
The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchac
Native Americans: A Visual Exploration SN Paleja

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. Arthur covered the chapter on sedimentary rocks with a focus on fossil fuels. While much of it was review, we did go deeper in how fossil fuels were formed. And we covered a chapter about relative dating in geology focusing on big concepts. My favorite part was the Famous Science Series on Yellowstone. We also watched a documentary: Inside Planet Earth.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
DK Eyewitness Energy
The Sun and Renewable Energy by Kaitlyn Duling
Making Cities Green by Jeanette Leardi
All About Green Tech by Clara MacCarald
Volcano Dreams: A Story of Yellowstone by Janet Fox
Welcome to Yellowstone National Park by Teri and Bob Temple
A Weird and Wild Beauty: The Story of Yellowstone, the World's First National Park by Erin Peabody
Yellowstone National Park by Chris Bowman
Earth's Incredible Places: Yellowstone by Catherine Ard

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. Well, that is our plan, but I’m waiting on the plans for Academic Co-op to be solidified before I start. There’s a possibility that the younger kid class (if we get the second classroom) will be doing Physics in a collective fashion. We covered Newton’s Laws of Motion this week. Taking baby steps through this curriculum.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction
Understanding Newton's Laws of Motion by Barbara Martina Linde

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

We’ve entered into the last four weeks of Co-op which means the lessons are focused on math and art concepts. Arthur’s class covered fractals and Sierpinski triangles. Quentin’s class covered Seurat and dot paining.

Art and Music

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak

Field Trip/Activities

All of our activities were canceled due to sickness.

High

We managed to get a ton of schoolwork down. That’s my win this week.

Low

Sickness really puts a damper on our flow.

Next Week

Next week is our first Flex Week. We will hopefully catch up on science, ELA, and math before starting out next section.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W5: A lighter, but productive week

What We Studied

In terms of bookwork, we had a lighter week. Activities got in the way a bit, but we still managed to accomplish most of what I had planned. We are still figuring out our ebb and flow, but I’m always excited when we knock out our core subjects and still have fun with friends.

Literature and Poetry

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G3 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 3 and random books that we have around the house. We are also starting the Reading Explorer series to focus on reading comprehension and word choice. Quentin dove into The Wild Robot Escapes after loving the first book two years ago. We’re about halfway through the book.

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

Math

Math in Focus Court 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We also are finishing up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. We moved onto a chapter about Capacity while also finishing our Alice in Numberland book.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B
Alice in Cumberland

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1. Unfortunately CC only has volume 1 published so far. This will take us to Christmas break. If they don’t release volume 2 by then, I’m going to have to do it myself. Our current section really moved into discussing the effects of the British Empire. We covered a chapter about British control of Canada and South Africa.

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
A Journey Through Art
The British Empire by Ellis Roxburgh

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We covered the indigenous peoples of the Northeast. We will stay with indigenous peoples for the first six weeks or so. We also continued watching the documentary series Native America. I love how we get to hear about the history of various Indigenous cultures and then see how they are still living today. It’s so well done! And in between the years, a second season was released. I cannot wait to rewatch Season 1 and move onto Season 2. This past week we explored more regions. Getting close to finishing this big unit.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A Kid's Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac and Thomas Locker
Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America by Tom Pecore Weso
The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchac
Native Americans: A Visual Exploration SN Paleja

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. We ended up pushing science this week. That’s okay, we’re catch back up soon enough.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. Well, that is our plan, but I’m waiting on the plans for Academic Co-op to be solidified before I start. There’s a possibility that the younger kid class (if we get the second classroom) will be doing Physics in a collective fashion. We pivoted to our Story of Science and read about calendars, Ionia, and some famous early scientists.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

This week was a break week for Labor Day.

Art and Music

We are doing something a little different this year. Instead of trying to do music and art every week, we will be trading off. I realized last year these subjects were always the first to be cut when we had time constraints. We moved back to music and covered Bach, one of my absolute favorites. I had planned on finishing half the lesson this week and half next week, but we got so into it that we finished it all. Works for me!

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak

Field Trip/Activities

We spent Wednesday morning exploring the zoo. We got to see a ton of animals and hang out with some friends. We had a lovely time and it wasn’t too hot (bonus!).

High

We managed to squeeze in multiple friend activities this week. Q had a friend over for playdate on Tuesday (long time coming). Both boys went to a friend’s birthday party on Thursday (rescheduled due to prior illness). And we all went to Vala’s on Friday. We had planned to just stay 1pm-6pm as that was when Nick was working, but ended up closing down the park at 10pm. A friend and her kids join us for dinner and evening fun. Everyone was having so much fun that we just rolled with the night. It was so lovely!

Low

Nothing. I think this week was great!

Next Week

Finishing our classic (A)
(Maybe) finishing our current read aloud (Q)
Learning about European Nationalism (A) and finishing with Native Nations (Q) for history
Exploring Newton’s Laws of Motion (Q) and climate change (A) for science
Learning about art at the Joslyn
Taking a road trip to Beatrice for the Homestead National Monument

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W4: Our groove is back!

What We Studied

Four weeks in and I feel like we are finally in the groove. I’m still a bit frustrated about some attitudes, but we got through a ton of curriculum. And we still managed to take our time and make time for friends and activities.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G6 for his language arts this year. While I love H&S, there’s never enough literature in there. Thankfully we have a stack of books just waiting to be picked up and read. Beyond H&S, we are focusing on expanding vocabulary and reading comprehension this year. I thought I had bought the first Hearth and Story literature selection, but could not find it anywhere… Very annoying. More annoying considering the local library does not have a copy. So, I had to pivot to something else. I latched onto picking up a classic written in the late 1800s to coincide with our history lessons.

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 2. Effectively this is Singapore’s 7th grade math text. We started onto Chapter 2 focusing on integers. I think this book will force us to slow down a bit and take more time for mastery. We don’t have formal logic book this year, but are focusing on lots of critical thinking and math puzzles.

Math in Focus Court 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We also are finishing up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. We continued with our chapter about mass and weight; not quite finishing it.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B
Weight by Julie Murray**
How Heavy? Wacky Ways to Compare Weight by Mark Weakland**

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1. Unfortunately CC only has volume 1 published so far. This will take us to Christmas break. If they don’t release volume 2 by then, I’m going to have to do it myself. Our next section really moved into discussing the effects of the British Empire. We covered a chapter about India and a chapter about Australia and New Zealand.

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
A Journey Through Art
The British Empire by Ellis Roxburgh

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We covered the indigenous peoples of the Northeast. We will stay with indigenous peoples for the first six weeks or so. We also continued watching the documentary series Native America. I love how we get to hear about the history of various Indigenous cultures and then see how they are still living today. It’s so well done! And in between the years, a second season was released. I cannot wait to rewatch Season 1 and move onto Season 2.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A Kid's Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac and Thomas Locker
Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America by Tom Pecore Weso
The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchac
Native Americans: A Visual Exploration SN Paleja
Shawnee by Sara Tieck
The Story of Jumping Mouse by Amanda St. John
Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird by Joe Medicine Crow

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. The next chapter moved onto rocks and the rock cycle. It was mostly review for us, but a good review. Our Famous Science Series covered Uluru which connected nicely to our history chapters. We also watched a great documentary about caves from NOVA. Fascinating discussion about cave formations.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
DK Eyewitness Rocks and Minerals
Science Comics: Rocks and Minerals by Andy Hirsch
Nat Geo Kids Weird But True: Rocks and Minerals by Michael Burgan
DK Nature Guide: Rocks and Minerals
Stories in Stone by Kevin Cuff
Sedimentary Rocks and the Rock Cycle by Joanne Mattern
Metamorphic Rocks and the Rock Cycle by Joanne Mattern
Igneous Rocks and the Rock Cycle by Joanne Mattern

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. Well, that is our plan, but I’m waiting on the plans for Academic Co-op to be solidified before I start. There’s a possibility that the younger kid class (if we get the second classroom) will be doing Physics in a collective fashion. We covered a short section in RSO about matter, density, and water displacement.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

Arthur covered his last week about knots. Overall, his class was not locked into the lesson and gave the teacher way too much sass this week. Quentin covered homemade rockets, but noped out halfway through. Neither kid was into co-op this week.

Art and Music

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak

Field Trip/Activities

We planned a nature hike to Platte River State Park for a trip to the waterfall. Unfortunately, the waterfall trailhead was closed and the other trails are more complicated to reach the waterfall easily. We waited for the attendees to arrive, but they all ghosted us. So we picked a few random trails to follow for a bit and then visited the pond before going home.

High

We covered a good chunk of curriculum during ur home days.

Low

Being ghosted at events is a terrible feeling. I hate it. The boys hate it because they are waiting for friends to come and play. It’s a longly feeling.

Next Week

Continuing our classic (A)
Starting a new read aloud (Q)
Learning about British Empire (A) and continuing with Native Nations (Q)
Listening to Bach
Exploring Newton’s Laws of Motion (Q) and Sedimentary Rocks (A) for science
Spending more time at home

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W3: I think we are finally getting there...

What We Studied

We might be finally getting our footing for this year. We ended up doing schoolwork three out of the five days without much complaint and fuss. We completed our lessons and still had time for social activities. Overall, I think it ended up being a decent week.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G6 for his language arts this year. While I love H&S, there’s never enough literature in there. Thankfully we have a stack of books just waiting to be picked up and read. Beyond H&S, we are focusing on expanding vocabulary and reading comprehension this year. Our first book is a sequel of sorts to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon we read back in 3rd grade. The third book in series is featured in H&S, but we wanted to read the second first. I really love how Lin incorporates Chinese folklore and myth in these quest stories. We finished it this week and chose to hold off on our newest book until next week.

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G3 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 3 and random books that we have around the house. We are also starting the Reading Explorer series to focus on reading comprehension and word choice. We continued with Lewis Carroll and started reading the sequel to Alice.

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 2. Effectively this is Singapore’s 7th grade math text. We covered the first chapter which mainly focused on review and basic math vocabulary. We don’t have formal logic book this year, but are focusing on lots of critical thinking and math puzzles.

Math in Focus Court 2 Book A

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B
Weight by Julie Murray
How Heavy? Wacky Ways to Compare Weight by Mark Weakland

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1. Unfortunately CC only has volume 1 published so far. This will take us to Christmas break. If they don’t release volume 2 by then, I’m going to have to do it myself. We started the next section focusing on Darwin, Pasteur, and all the scientific advancements in the 18302s-1850s.

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK Science Year by Year
A Journey Through Art
Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas by Cheryl Bardoe
Pollen: Darwin's 130 Year Prediction by Darcy Pattison
Charles Darwin’s Around the World Adventure by Jennifer Thermes
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: Words That Changed the World by Anna Brett
Darwin's Rival: Alfred Russel Wallace and the Search for Evolution by Christiane Dorion
A Shot in the Arm! by Don Brown

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We covered the indigenous peoples of the Northeast. We will stay with indigenous peoples for the first six weeks or so. We also continued watching the documentary series Native America. I love how we get to hear about the history of various Indigenous cultures and then see how they are still living today. It’s so well done! And in between the years, a second season was released. I cannot wait to rewatch Season 1 and move onto Season 2.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A Kid's Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac and Thomas Locker
The People Shall Continue by Simon J. Ortiz
Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America by Tom Pecore Weso
The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchac
Native Americans: A Visual Exploration SN Paleja
Indians of the Northeast by Lisa Sita
Iroquois by Sarah Tieck
The Iroquois of the Northeast by KaaVonia Hinton
Algonquin by Sarah Tieck

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. We moved on to Minerals and dove into how they create rocks. It was a short lesson, but much more in depth that we’ve covered before.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
DK Eyewitness Rocks and Minerals
Science Comics: Rocks and Minerals by Andy Hirsch
Nat Geo Kids Weird But True: Rocks and Minerals by Michael Burgan
All About Rocks by Alessandra Potenza
Geology: The Study of Rocks by Susan H. Gray
All About Minerals: Discovering the Building Blocks of Earth by Cody Crane
Minerals by Ann O. Squire
Researching Rocks by Sally M. Walker

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. Well, that is our plan, but I’m waiting on the plans for Academic Co-op to be solidified before I start. There’s a possibility that the younger kid class (if we get the second classroom) will be doing Physics in a collective fashion. So, we started our Story of Science Volume 1 book and did some general review about the scientific review.

RSO Physics 1
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim
Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature by Jane Gardner
Physics for Curious Kids Introduction
Mass and Weight by Barbara A. Somervill

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

Arthur got to make marble roller coasters for his engineering unit. Quentin created building structures with toothpicks and marshmallows. I think Arthur had more fun than Quentin, but it was still a good week for co-op.

Art and Music

We are doing something a little different this year. Instead of trying to do music and art every week, we will be trading off. I realized last year these subjects were always the first to be cut when we had time constraints. We covered our first art lesson about Medieval Art. This connected with our visit to the Joslyn Art Museum last week.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak

Field Trip/Activities

We visited Fontenelle Forest for a playdate at their new Acorn Acres playground. It was terribly hot and humid, but we made it almost two hours before heading home. It was nice to see some friends and chat with some new members of the group.

High

On Wednesday, our sister homeschool group held it’s We’re Not Supposed to Be in School Picnic. We spent over four hours connecting with new and old friends and celebrating the start of the school year.

Low

The heat really got to me again this week. It’s terrible. Thankfully the temperatures are heading below 80 degrees for next week. So excited for the change.

Next Week

Starting a new one (A)
Finishing our current read aloud (Q)
Learning about British Empire (A) and continuing the Natives of the Northeast (Q)
Looking at Islamic Art
Exploring Newton’s Laws of Motion (Q) and the Rock Cycle (A) for science
Spending more time at home

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W1-2: Kicking Off Our Year in Hard Mode

What We Studied

We’ve officially started our 6th year of homeschooling and I will admit that it’s been difficult. For whatever reason, the boys had a really hard transition back to our normal schedule. We usually do not take a long summer “break” as we like to have many smaller breaks during the regular year. But between travel, activities, and my mental health, we ended up taking a longer break. Bad idea! The transition was difficult. I think we are finally settling in, but it’s been difficult.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G6 for his language arts this year. While I love H&S, there’s never enough literature in there. Thankfully we have a stack of books just waiting to be picked up and read. Beyond H&S, we are focusing on expanding vocabulary and reading comprehension this year. Our first book is a sequel of sorts to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon we read back in 3rd grade. The third book in series is featured in H&S, but we wanted to read the second first. I really love how Lin incorporates Chinese folklore and myth in these quest stories.

Poetry: Hearth & Story G6
Poetry: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll
The Vocabulary Workbook for 6th Grade by Kelly Anne McLellan
When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G3 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 3 and random books that we have around the house. We are also starting the Reading Explorer series to focus on reading comprehension and word choice. We started the year with my absolute favorite childhood classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Poetry: National Geography Book of Nature Poetry
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton

Math

Math in Focus Court 2 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 3B and 4A. We also are finishing up our logic book before moving to more complicated puzzles. These two weeks, we covered a chapter about mass and weight.

Primarily Logic
Singapore Primary Common Core 3B

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1. Unfortunately CC only has volume 1 published so far. This will take us to Christmas break. If they don’t release volume 2 by then, I’m going to have to do it myself. Despite time constraints, we finished the first Section focusing on Queen Victoria and the British Empire. For our documentary selection, we watched the NOVA episode “What Darwin Never Knew” connecting our history study with our science study.

Curiosity Chronicles Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
Ground Breaking Guys: 40 Men Who Became Great by Doing Good by Stephanie True Peters
A Journey Through Art
The Story of Buildings by Patrick Dillon
The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London's Poop Pollution Problem by Colleen Paeff
Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine by Laurie Walmark
Ada’s Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World’s First Computer Programmer by Fiona Robinson
Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer by Diane Stanley
Florence Nightingale by Demi
DK Timelines from Black History

Quentin is using Build Your Library Level 5 to begin our two year exploration of American History. We started with a basic geography lesson and moved to an introduction of indigenous peoples before European contact. We will stay with indigenous peoples for the first six weeks or so. We also started watching the documentary series Native America. I love how we get to hear about the history of various Indigenous cultures and then see how they are still living today. It’s so well done! And in between the years, a second season was released. I cannot wait to rewatch Season 1 and move onto Season 2.

History Quest United States History
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
If America were a Village by David J. Smith
The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
D is for Drum: A Native American Alphabet by Debbie and Michael Shoulders
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A Kid's Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac and Thomas Locker
The People Shall Continue by Simon J. Ortiz
Moon Mother by Ed Young
We are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell
Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger
Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America by Tom Pecore Weso
The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchac

Science

Arthur is using RSO Earth and Environment 2 and later RSO Astronomy 2 for science. We begin with a basic overview of earth science and quickly reviewed the Four Spheres and Plate Tectonics.

RSO Earth and Environment 2 (August-November; March-May)
RSO Astronomy 2 (November-March)
Investigating the Scientific Method with Max Axiom by Donald B. Lemke
From a Super Continent to Seven
Plate Tectonics by Stephen M. Tomecek

Quentin is using RSO Physics 1. Well, that is our plan, but I’m waiting on the plans for Academic Co-op to be solidified before I start. There’s a possibility that the younger kid class (if we get the second classroom) will be doing Physics in a collective fashion. So, we started our Story of Science Volume 1 book and did some general review about the scientific review.

RSO Physics 1
Where Did We Come From? by Chris Ferrie
How to Think Like a Scientist by Stephen P. Kramer
The Story of Science Vol. 1 by Joy Hakim

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

We’re entering into the second half of Session B for the 2025 Session. Arthur focused on two weeks dealing with knots. Quentin learned about engineering skills while making paper roller coasters and then balance toys.

Art and Music

We are doing something a little different this year. Instead of trying to do music and art every week, we will be trading off. I realized last year these subjects were always the first to be cut when we had time constraints. So far, we managed to still do music for the first two weeks of school. We’re talking a lite approach to music appreciation and some musical theory built in. As our backbone, we are using the Music Comes Alive curriculum. While it’s not strictly secular, it’s neutral, I’m okay with their approach to music. It was the best for what I have time for and wanted to expend energy toward.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
The First Notes: The Story of DO, RE, MI by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton
Iconic Composers
Hildegard of Bingen by Demi
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak

Field Trip/Activities

No formalized field trips, but we did have quite a few activities these first two weeks. We had our monthly zoo visit with two friends on the first Wednesday. We mostly stuck to the outdoor buildings and rode the train. We also visit Heron Haven for a quick nature walk with friends on Friday. The second Wednesday was our monthly Josly Art Explorers visit. Two friends joined us to look at the human form in paintings and sculpture. We focused primarily on the Medieval gallery through the Neoclassical gallery to compare and contrast. I had a lovely conversation with an eight year old about realism and the human body. And a friend hosted the first monthly Curriculum Planning meeting. While I didn’t do much planning, it was nice to chat with other homeschooling parents while the boys hung out with their friends at a lovely coffee shop. Looking forward to doing it monthly!

High

If wasn’t on my plan, but we ended up going to our favorite pool twice the first week of school. The pools closed August 10th, so it was our last chance to visit! We went on Tuesday, but it was a bit chilly. So we all decided to come back on Friday to celebrate the hot weather and the last few pool days. As the boys are much strong swimmers this year, it’s been a great summer of being at the pool but not having to constantly watch them. I love this new level of parenting!

Low

Everyone was struggling to get back into the routine and feel comfortable with our homeschool schedule this year. Hopefully W3 and beyond goes better.

Next Week

Finishing his read aloud and starting a new one (A)
Starting a new read aloud, in fact the sequel to our first book (Q)
Learning about Science in 1850s and the British Empire (A) and Ice Age and Natives of the Northeast(Q)
Looking at Medieval Art
Exploring Rocks and Minerals for science (A)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W32-33: Lots of Travel!

What We Studied

We completed one regular school week and then a few days of another week before leaving for Indiana for Alex’s graduation. So I decided to combine these two weeks into one post.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Arthur started and finished another Applegate book. We have loved every book that she has written. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Poetry: A First Book of the Sea by Nicola Davies
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We finished the textbook and will be doing review for the summer.

Math in Focus Course 1 Book B

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A.We are close to finishing 3A, but not quite there.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. Beyond random documentaries and museum visits, we will be pausing our history study until August.

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We will be pausing history until August.

Science

Arthur finished his RSO Biology 1 course with the end of the academic co-op. We switched gears a bit and covered a few BookSeeds from Blossom & Root.

Quentin finished RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. He started a side unit about oceans. We got through multiple topics and watched a few episodes of Blue Planet to reinforce.

A First Book of the Sea by Nicola Davies
Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman
DK Earth's Incredible Oceans by Jess French
DK Ocean
DK Eyewitness Ocean
The Ocean in Your Bathtub by Seth Fishman
The Girl Who Built an Ocean: An Artist, an Argonaut, and the true Story of the World's First Aquarium by Jess Keating
A Turtle's View of the Ocean Blue by Catherine Barr
Oceanography: The Study of Oceans by Susan H. Gray
Manfish by Jennifer Berne
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
Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola

Enrichment Co-op

We covered our fourth week of co-op. Arthur covered slime chemistry. Quentin wasn’t feeling it and stay home that day.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

Before leaving for Indiana, we had our twice a year visit to Arbor Day Farm. We absolutely love that place and can spend all day exploring and playing. A ton of homeschool friends joined us for a full day.

High

Thankfully we have reached the point in the year where we can slow down the lessons to allow for travel and activities.

Low

Arthur hasn’t gotten to all the literature pieces that I had hoped for this year. Not a huge deal as we will just continue, but I think I need to recalibrate for next year’s plans.

Next Week

We are currently in Indiana and not covering any big lessons. We brought a bag of work to complete and will just fit it in here and there.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W30-31: Wrapping Up and Travel

What We Studied

We completed one regular school week and then a few days of another week before leaving for Indiana for Alex’s graduation. So I decided to combine these two weeks into one post.

Literature and Poetry

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Poetry: A First Book of the Sea by Nicola Davies
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We finished the textbook and will be doing review for the summer.

Math in Focus Course 1 Book B

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A.We are close to finishing 3A, but not quite there.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. Beyond random documentaries and museum visits, we will be pausing our history study until August.

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We will be pausing history until August.

Science

Arthur finished his RSO Biology 1 course with the end of the academic co-op. We switched gears a bit and covered a few BookSeeds from Blossom & Root.

Quentin finished RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. He started a side unit about oceans. We got through multiple topics and watched a few episodes of Blue Planet to reinforce.

A First Book of the Sea by Nicola Davies
Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman
DK Earth's Incredible Oceans by Jess French
DK Ocean
DK Eyewitness Ocean
The Ocean in Your Bathtub by Seth Fishman
The Girl Who Built an Ocean: An Artist, an Argonaut, and the true Story of the World's First Aquarium by Jess Keating
A Turtle's View of the Ocean Blue by Catherine Barr
Oceanography: The Study of Oceans by Susan H. Gray
Manfish by Jennifer Berne
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
Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola

Enrichment Co-op

We covered our fourth week of co-op. Arthur covered slime chemistry. Quentin wasn’t feeling it and stay home that day.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

High

Thankfully we have reached the point in the year where we can slow down the lessons to allow for travel and activities.

Low

Arthur hasn’t gotten to all the literature pieces that I had hoped for this year. Not a huge deal as we will just continue, but I think I need to recalibrate for next year’s plans.

Next Week

We are currently in Indiana and not covering any big lessons. We brought a bag of work to complete and will just fit it in here and there.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W29: A Normal Week I Guess

What We Studied

We pushed through and finished a pretty normal week for us. My body decided to make me cancel Friday’s hike, but we did engage in a few other activities this week.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Arthur started and finished the June Co-op Book Club selection. I was feeling in the mood for some good adventure fantasy and this one looked perfect. Arthur ended up not loving the second half, but I did. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Poetry: Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmer’s Market by Michelle Schaub
Matilda by Roald Dahl

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We got back into our math textbook and completed a chapter about Statistics. Only one more chapter to go!

Math in Focus Course 1 Book B

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons. Taking it slow but moving along.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. Beyond random documentaries and museum visits, we will be pausing our history study until August.

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We will be pausing history until August.

Science

Arthur finished his RSO Biology 1 course with the end of the academic co-op. We switched gears a bit and covered a few BookSeeds from Blossom & Root.

Quentin finished RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. He started a side unit about oceans. We got through multiple topics and watched a few episodes of Blue Planet to reinforce.

A First Book of the Sea by Nicola Davies
Ocean by Stacy McAnulty
Oceans by Peter Benoit
Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman
DK Earth's Incredible Oceans by Jess French
DK Ocean
Discover the Oceans: Southern Ocean by Emily Rose Oachs
Discover the Oceans: Pacific Ocean by Emily Rose Oachs
Discover the Oceans: Indian Ocean by Emily Rose Oachs
Discover the Oceans: Atlantic Ocean by Emily Rose Oachs
Discover the Oceans: Arctic Ocean by Emily Rose Oachs
How Deep is the Ocean? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock and Katherine Roy
Diving Deep: Using Machines to Explore the Ocean by Michelle Cusolito
Sandy Feet! Whose Feet? Footprints At the Shore by Susan Wood
Seashores by Cathryn Sill
DK Shell
Seashells: More Than a Home by Melissa Stewart
A Nature Walk at the Beach by Louise and Richard Spilsbury
Tide Pool by Louise Spilsbury
A Turtle's View of the Ocean Blue by Catherine Barr
Coral Reefs by Precious McKenzie
One Night in the Coral Sea by Sneed B. Collard III
Coral Reefs by Cathryn Sill
Seagrass Dreams by Kathleen M. Hanes

Enrichment Co-op

We covered our third week of co-op. The transition to a new park worked well. The classes seemed to go really well. Arthur learned about sugar chemistry. Quentin learned about the scientific method through experiments with Peeps.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. We listened to Fleetwood Mac to finish the New Rock Sound chapter. The boys were not huge fans (I do not understand this sentiment). We moved onto the New Wave chapter with Roxy Music and Devo. Boys weren’t super excited about these bands but we had fun discussing how different they are from the last chapter’s bands.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

Wednesday we had our monthly exploration at Joslyn Art Museum. The kids focused on light and shadow by taking pictures in the outdoor sculpture gardens. I think Arthur had more fun chatting with friends than taking pictures, but it was a lovely day to look at some art.

High

We got so much schoolwork done this week. We are in a great position to take off from school the two weeks we are in Indiana. And when we come back, our load will be light.

Low

Very sad to miss our Friday hike at Platte River State Park. My body was revolting and I just couldn’t bring myself to drive down there and then hike.

Next Week

Reading more literature
Moving forward with our math textbooks; very close to being done
Exploring the ocean (Q) for science
Listening to Blondie and David Bowie for music!
Transitioning to a more summer routine of activities and schoolwork

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W28: We're Getting to the End

What We Studied

We had a normal week and a flex week. Basically it means that we came other the end of my preplanned weeks. I like to take a flex week to catch up on anything we pushed to the side and plan the next few weeks. This flex week was a bit different as we are nearing the end of the big school year. I spent time planning our activities as some of our curriculum is basically done.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Arthur started the June Co-op Book Club selection. I was feeling in the mood for some good adventure fantasy and this one looked perfect. We’re about halfway through it and very much enjoying the story and characters. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Poetry: Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill
Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We got back into our math textbook and started a chapter about the Area and Circumference of Circles.

Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons. Taking it slow but moving along.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. Arthur finished the history curriculum with a chapter about Manifest Destiny in the US and Social Reforms movements around the world. Beyond random documentaries and museum visits, we will be pausing our history study until August.

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We finished the chapters with one focusing on Elizabethan Times. We will be pausing history until August.

History Quest Middle Times
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley
Shakespeare's Theatre by Andrew Langley
The Tudors: Kings, Queen, Scribes, and Ferrets by Marcia Williams
Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England by Diane Stanley

Science

Arthur finished his RSO Biology 1 course with the end of the academic co-op. We finished the Story of Science Vol. 3. We switched gears a bit and covered a few BookSeeds from Blossom & Root.

Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul
The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins

Quentin finished RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. He joined Arthur in the BookSeeds. As a bonus we did a review of the biomes of earth before concluding our RSO focus. We are also adding an oceanography unit for the rest of April and maybe into May.

RSO Earth and Environment
DK First Earth Encyclopedia
What on Earth? Trees by Kevin Warwick
Muse: Secrets of Trees
We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
Many Biomes, One Earth by Sneed B. Collard III
Desert Biome by Grace Hansen
A Day in the Life of the Desert: 6 Desert Habitats, 108 Species, and How to Save Them by Roxie Munro
Deserts by Gail Gibbons
Forest Biome by Grace Hansen
Over and Under the Rainforest by Kate Messner
Tundra Biome by Grace Hansen
Marine Biome by Grace Hansen

Enrichment Co-op

We kicked off Enrichment Co-op with the first week of April. Arthur’s class learned about chemistry by making bouncy balls and colors by experimenting with chromatography. Quentin’s class was all about soil for the two weeks.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. We listened to Queen, Heart, Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, and Journey. There was favorite was Queen (as it should be!) followed by Heart and Journey. They were not big fans of The Boss and Kiss, but that tracks.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

We traveled to Lincoln for a Morrill Hall visit focusing on our favorite exhibits there. It was our first time using our membership at the museum, but we have used the reciporcal benefits all across the midwest. We will be renewing this pass at the end of May and plan to go back to Morrill Hall at least once more this summer. After the museum, the friends we were with joined us at Lost in Fun for an afternoon of free play.

High

On Friday, we finally got back into our biweekly nature hikes! I had been craving some time out in the woods and we made it to Schramm. One other family joined us for the 3 mile hike. The rangers have thinned the trees in preparation for planting oaks in their place. (A lot of the existing trees were not native to Nebraska; oaks are native.) The trails were a bit strange, but we made it through. I was thoroughly tired and sweaty, but it was a great walk.

Low

Not a big low, but co-op this past week was a bit of a chore. It was warm enough outside, but the wind was fierce! We had to battle flying everything while attempting to complete the activities. I got home and my lips were completely wind burnt.

Next Week

Continuing our read alouds
Moving forward with our math textbooks
Exploring more BookSeeds and the ocean (Q) for science
Listening to Fleetwood Mac for music!
Transitioning to a more summer routine of activities and schoolwork

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W27: Spring Finally Arrived!

What We Studied

After a March filled with weird weather, this week finally cooperated and we took full advantage. Our schoolwork was shortened to spend multiple days outside with friends. It was well worth it to boost our general mental health. Apparently I took like no photos this week. All of our photos in this post were ones that Arthur took at Heron Haven.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Arthur took a break from novels to focus on some short stories. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. We started a fun book of a young girl and an intelligent squirrel. So much comedy in this story. We love it.

Poetry: The Tree That Time Built
Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

Math

Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons. Taking it slow but moving along.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. We covered a section about the potato famine in Ireland and then social reform movements. We also watched more PBS Eons vides. Getting closer to finishing the entire series.

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We covered a chapter focused on New Ideas for Europe, exploring the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. We have one more chapter left in the curriculum.

History Quest Middle Times
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time

Science

Arthur finished his RSO Biology 1 course with the end of the academic co-op. We switched gears and focused on reading some more chapters from the Story of Science. We only have about six chapters left in the book. I also want to work through a few Blossom & Root Bookseeds this late spring.

Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

RSO Earth and Environment
DK First Earth Encyclopedia

Academic Co-op

With the cancellation, our spring semester has ended.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. We listened to Parliament-Funkadelic and Hall & Oates this week. Arthur preferred the funk and Quentin preferred H&O, which was surprising. I love seeing how they have such different opinions about different bands.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

On Friday, we got back into our nature walk routine with a visit to Heron Haven. Our last few attempts have been thwarted by weather issues. It was lovely to explore the wetland and spot signs of spring and some animals. We had a good group of multiple families join us allowing for some socializing time for the kids and the adults.

High

Thursday we had our enrichment kick-off playdate. We were supposed to be at Chalco, but the Papio RND had closed the playground for a field trip (hate when they do that and do not post anywhere in advance). We had to scramble to relocate and made it to Zorinsky. Not my favorite park, but most of the families joined us for some great playtime. It was also a chance for some of the new families to meet the old families. Love seeing our little community come together and form relationships.

Low

We had another playdate on Friday afternoon downtown. Nine families RSVPed and only three (including myself) actually showed up. Very disappointed in all these families who claim to want to community and just never show up to anything but make posts in the FB group about needing friends and activities. So come? Frustrating.

Next Week

Finishing our read alouds
Moving forward with our math textbooks
Traveling to the United States and then War in Europe (A) and Elizabethan Times (Q) for history
Exploring astrophysics (A) and soil (Q) for science
Listening to Queen for music!
Going to Lincoln to explore Morrill Hall and whatever else we decide to do while there

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W26: Weather Again!

What We Studied

We had a full week planned with multiple activities and the last week of Academic Co-op. Unfortunately, a blizzard hit us on Tuesday night cancelling our Wednesday Joslyn visit and Thursday co-op meeting. Oh well. At least we finished up a ton of schoolwork.

Literature and Poetry

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Poetry: The Tree That Time Built
Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

Math

Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons. Taking it slow but moving along.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. We covered two more sections of history focusing on Victorian Britain and British Imperialism. We actually only have two more sections left in the curriculum. We also watched more PBS Eons vides. Getting closer to finishing the entire series.

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Victorian Servant, by Fiona MacDonald
You Wouldn’t Want to Work in a Victorian Mill!, by John Malam

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We covered two chapters exploring the Mughal Empire and the Ottoman Empire. We have two more chapters left in the curriculum.

History Quest Middle Times
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK Explorers
Taj Mahal by Cynthia Kennedy Hanzel
Where is the Taj Mahal? by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall and spring semester courses, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. We read some more chapters from the Story of Science.

RSO Biology 1
Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. We covered extreme weather which was appropriate given the blizzard.

RSO Earth and Environment
DK First Earth Encyclopedia
DK Eyewitness: Weather
Wind by Grace Hansen
What on Earth? Wind by Isabel Thomas
Cloud or Fog? by Kelly Doudna
Hail or Freezing Rain? by Josh Plattner
Extreme Weather by Ann O. Squire
A Child's Introduction to the Environment
Hurricane or Waterspout? by Josh Plattner
Tornado Alert by Franklyn M. Branley
Tornado or Dust Devil? by Josh Plattner
Tornadoes by Gail Gibbons
Tidal Wave or Tsunami? by Kelly Doudna
Winter Storm or Blizzard? by Kelly Doudna
All About Heat Waves and Droughts by Steve Tomecek

Academic Co-op

With the cancellation, our spring semester has ended.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

On Friday, we attended board game club at a local coffee shop. I had a nice time chatting with other homeschool moms.

High

Tuesday we renewed our Fontenelle Forest membership to meet up with friends to play at the new nature play area. And then we went on a nice walk on the boardwalk. It was lovely to get out in nature, especially as a blizzard came in that night. .

Low

Sad that we couldn’t finish out our Academic Co-op semester.

Next Week

Finishing our read alouds
Moving forward with our math textbooks
Traveling to the Ireland (A) and Europe (Q) for history
Exploring astrophysics (A) and climate (Q) for science
Listening to Parliament-Funkadelic and Hatt & Oates
Going to the park for a playdate and the nature preserve for a hike

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W25: Another Normal Week (We're on a Roll!)

What We Studied

Another week full of regular schoolwork, co-op, and a few activities. Very very normal.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Arthur finished the co-op book club selection. We cannot wait to discuss it in two weeks. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Poetry: The Tree That Time Built
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We ended up taking a short break from our textbook to explore more logic and algebraic expressions and do some review and catchup.

Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons. Taking it slow but moving along.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. We covered North America and the attempts at colonization.

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We covered a chapter about Russia and the Ivans.

History Quest Middle Times
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK Explorers
The Mongol Empire from Britannica Educational Publishing
Follow Me Around: Russia by Wiley Blevins
Let's Explore Russia by Walt K. Moon
Living In Russia by Jesse Burton
Russia ABCs by Ann Berge
Matreshka by Becky Hickox Ayres
The Flying Witch by Jane Yolen
The Black Geese by Alison Lurie
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave by Marianna Mayer
Grandma Chickenlegs by Geraldine McCaughrean
Baba Yaga and the Wise Doll by Hiawyn Oram
Baba Yaga by An Leysen

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall and spring semester courses, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. Other than co-op, we watched a ton of PBS Eons videos this week.

RSO Biology 1
Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. We started a small unit about weather But we also just watched a ton of PBS Eons videos.

RSO Earth and Environment
DK First Earth Encyclopedia
Nat Geo Kids: Weather
The Child's Introduction to the Environment
What Will the Weather Be? by Lynda Dewitt
Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons
DK Eyewonder: Weather
Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather by Kathleen V. Kudlinski

Academic Co-op

We’re entering the home stretch of this semester of co-op. For biology, the kids learned about reptiles and birds. In art, they covered blind contour drawing. And for writer’s workshop, we conferenced the fictional narratives. Only one week to go!

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. We covered Donna Summer and The Bee Gees, so I guess it was disco week. The boys liked The Bee Gees more than Donna Summer, but neither were favorites.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

No specific field trip this week, but we did finally get back to the zoo. We visited the desert, jungle, and aquarium with some friends. It was lovely to get back to our favorites.

High

The boys got to attend the winter homeschool dance on Thursday night and then sketchbook club on Friday afternoon. So two big activities with friends.

Low

I’m getting some attitude and laziness from both of the boys. I’m annoyed…

Next Week

Starting our new read alouds
Moving forward with our math textbooks
Traveling to the Victorian Britain (A) and the Mughal Empire (Q) for history
Exploring weather and climate for science
Listening to Madonna
Moving into the last week of Academic Co-op

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W24: Back to Normal?

What We Studied

We had a pretty normal week. Lots of schoolwork, a few activities, but also weather that interrupted some plans. We had a big blizzard blow through on Tuesday night that cancelled our Wednesday plans. We pivoted by covering more schoolwork and watching some more documentaries. Not a big deal.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Arthur dove into our next coop book club selection. We’re both really loving it! It’s a gentle story, but with a lot to say. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Science Verse by Jon Scieszka
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. We started our next read aloud that aligns with our Blossom and Root curriculum. We’re both really loved it!

Poetry: Out of This World: ICE Poems About Polar Life by Douglas Florian
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Math

Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons. Taking it slow but moving along.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. Because of our changes in scheduled, we ended up covering three sections of history this week. We learned about the Latin American Revolutions in South America, the revolutions in Brazil and Mexico, and the African Zulu Empire and Central African caliphates

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
Simon Bolivar: Latin American Liberator by Frank de Varona
A Kid’s Guide to Latino History: More than 50 Activities, by Valerie Petrillo
Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers, by Juliet Menendez
Where Is the Amazon?, by Sarah Fabiny
DK Eyewitness: The Amazon
Fiesta Femenina: Celebrating Women of Mexican Folklore, by Mary-Joan Gerson
Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection, by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy
Brazil: Enchantment of the World, by Ann Heinrichs
Mexico: Enchantment of the World, by Liz Sonneborn
A Kid's Guide to Latino History by Valerie Petrillo
Shaka Zulu by Richard Spilsbury

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We covered two chapters, one about the Inca Empire and one about the Renaissance..

History Quest Middle Times
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK Explorers
Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas! by Anita Yasuda
The Inca Empire by Sandra Newman
20 Fun Facts About Machu Picchu by Janey Levy
Inca by Lawrence Kovacs
Lost Treasure of the Inca by Peter Lourie
A Look at Renaissance Art by J. Jean Robertson
Raphael by Mike Venezia
Leonardo, Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd
Leonardo da Vinci by Mike Venezia
The Renaissance by Enzo George

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall and spring semester courses, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. Other than co-op, we watched a ton of PBS Eons videos this week.

RSO Biology 1
Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. We jumped back into RSO Earth & Environment to cover the atmosphere. But we also just watched a ton of PBS Eons videos.

RSO Earth and Environment
DK First Earth Encyclopedia

Academic Co-op

We’re entering the home stretch of this semester of co-op. For biology, the kids learned about fish and amphibians. For art, they focused on abstract and absurdist art. And for writing, we started our unit on Fictional Narrative. Only two weeks to go!

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

No specific field trip this week.

High

We got a lot of curriculum covered…

Low

The weather brought a fun winter storm and some terrible road conditions that disrupted our week. We had to skip our nature walk due to sleet and soggy ground. And our social meetup was cancelled due to the blizzard.

Next Week

Finishing our read alouds, probably starting our next ones
Moving forward with our math textbooks
Traveling to the United States and Russia (A) and Russia (Q) for history
Exploring weather for science
Visiting the zoo
Attending a nature class
Moving into the last two weeks of Academic Co-op

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W22-23: Lots of activities, a Flex week, and a trip!

What We Studied

We had a week of a ton of activities. Seriously, we only did book work school one day between a birthday party, a parent meeting, co-op, and the Valentine’s Day party. And then the next week was technically a flex week, but we pushed in some school. So that we could leave on Friday to go on a mini trip to Kansas City and Great Wolf Lodge with friends. We’re back this week on Tuesday, but will be taking a bit of a break from school to regroup. Plus we have co-op as usual on Thursday, so we won’t be just sitting around.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Arthur started and finished the next Co-op Book Club selection. It was written in verse, so something a little different for him. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. We dove into a modern classic. Q even tried to read it himself, but said that the words were too hard. It is above his independent reading level right now, but we’ll get there.

Poetry: Out of This World: Star-Studded Haiu by Sally M. Walker
The Tale of Despeareaux by Kate DiCamillo

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We took a short break so Arthur could catch up on some independent work, and then dove back into area of polygons and triangles.

Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons. Taking it slow but moving along.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. Arthur covered the Industrial Revolution and the Rise of Romanticism. From there, we learned about Napoleon. We are blazing through this history curriculum this year.

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
Crossing on Time: Steam Engines, Fast Ships, and a Journey to the New World by David Macaulay
Cars, Trains, Ships, and Planes: A Visual Encyclopedia of Every Vehicle, by DK and the Smithsonian Institution
Train: The Definitive Visual History by DK and the Smithsonian Institution
Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey
She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lynn Fulton
DK Eyewitness Books: Judaism by DK
Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers: Ludwig van Beethoven, by Mike Venezia
Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers: Frederic Chopin, by Mike Venezia
Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley and Gris Grimly
Beethoven’s Heroic Symphony, by Anna Harwell Celenza
Blades of Freedom: A Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales 10), by Nathan Hale
Napoleon vs. the Bunnies, by J. F. Fox
Battles that Changed History, by DK and Smithsonian Institution
The Game of Hope, by Sandra Gulland
Who Was Napoleon?, by Jim Gigliotti

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We covered the chapter about the Aztec Empire.

History Quest Middle Times
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK Explorers
The Aztec Empire by Sunita Apte
The Aztec Empire by Ellis Roxburgh
The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh
Ancient Aztec: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of Mexico's Past by Time Cooke
Ancient Civilizations: Aztec, Maya, Incas! by Anita Yasuda

Science

RSO Biology 1
Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. Lots of science this week! We covered Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and beyond. We finished the documentary series The Planets. But we also just watched a ton of PBS Eons videos.

RSO Earth and Environment
DK First Earth Encyclopedia
RSO Asttonomy 1
DK Eyewitness Astronomy
DK Space
DK First Space Encyclopedia
DK Eyewitness The Planets
13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System by David A. Aguilar
Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space by Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman
Goodnight, Astronaut by Scott Kelly
Starry Messenger by Peter Sis

Academic Co-op

Back at it with weeks 4 and 5. In biology, they covered climate change and started the unit on evolution. Art focused on perspective. And in Writer’s Workshop, we started our opinion writing project.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

So many incredible activiites over the last few weeks. So many activities…

High

It finally snowed properly! The boys got to play outside multiple days. It was even powdery snow, perfect for sledding down to the neighbors yards. Their record was sledding four houses down.

Low

We had our co-op Valentine’s Day party at a bowling alley. A great idea, and the planners did awesome. Unfortunately, there was some logistical miscommunication and my group of boys that wanted to bowl together lost their lane and we had to split them up on other lanes. Q was especially upset that he couldn’t bowl with the kids he had originally wanted to bowl with. The planners and I chatted about how to avoid that issue next time we do a bowling party.

Next Week

Starting new read alouds
Moving forward with our math textbooks
Traveling to Latin America (A) and the medieval Incan Empire (Q) for history
Exploring the atmosphere for science
Moving into the last three weeks of Academic Co-op

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W21: More Sickness

What We Studied

Another week of winter 2025, another sickness impacting our scheduled activities. I really hope that we can get back to some activities this next week. As a less of an impact, co-op was cancelled due to multiple families being sick.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. We finished our read aloud and doc into a short unit involving the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
Hans Christian Andersen storie collection

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. We finished The Hobbit. Q is definitely liking it more than our last one. For Friday movie night, we watched the 1977 animated version of the book.

Poetry: Out of This World: Poems and Facts About Space by Amy E. Sklansky
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Tale of Despeareaux by Kate DiCamillo

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. Arthur continued the second book of the course, exploring more about coordinate planes. We finished the chapter and took a short break so Arthur could catch up on some independent work.

Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons. Taking it slow but moving along.

Singapore Primary 3A
Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. Arthur covered the slave revolts in Haiti and other colonies. We then fit in a chapter about the United States expanding.

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
Blades of Freedom: A Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales 10) by Nathan Hale
Toussaint L’ouvertrue: The Fight for Haiti’s Freedom by Walter Dean Myers
Haiti: Enchantment of the World by Liz Sonneborn
Freedom Soup by Tami Charles
Olaudah Equiano: A Voice for Africa; Nigeria Heritage Series by John Adoga
No More!: Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance by Doreen Rappaport
The Kidnapped Prince: The Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano and Ann Cameron
A New Nation: The United States: 1783–1815, by Betsy Maestro
Blades of Freedom: A Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales 10), by Nathan Hale
Brick by Brick, by Charles R. Smith Jr.
Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library, by Barb Rosenstock
Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud, by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain
Where Is the White House?, by Megan Stine
Who Was Alexander Hamilton?, by Pam Pollack
Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story, by S. D. Nelson
Gift Horse: A Lakota Story, by S.D. Nelson
Sacagawea: Journey into the West, by Jessica Gunderson
Star People: A Lakota Story, by S.D. Nelson
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, by Jessica Gunderson
Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Hunt: The True Story of the Quest for America’s Biggest Bones, by Carrie Clickard
50 Fearless Women Who Made American History: An American History Book for Kids, by Jenifer Bazzit
Lewis and Clark for Kids: Their Journey of Discovery with 21 Activities, by Janis Herbert
You Wouldn’t Want to Explore with Lewis and Clark!, by Jacqueline Morley
Sacajawea, by Joseph Bruchac
What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition?, by Judith St. George
Who Was Sacagawea?, by Judith Bloom Fradin

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. We covered the chapter about the Age of Exploration.

History Quest Middle Times
DK When on Earth?
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK Timelines of Everyone
DK A Child Through Time
DK Explorers

Science

RSO Biology 1
Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. Lots of science this week! We covered Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt. And we started watching the NOVA/BBC series The Planets.

RSO Earth and Environment
DK First Earth Encyclopedia
RSO Asttonomy 1
DK Eyewitness Astronomy
DK Space
DK First Space Encyclopedia
DK Eyewitness The Planets
13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System by David A. Aguilar
Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space by Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman
Mars: Earthlings Welcome by Stacy McAnulty
Mousetronaut by Mark Kelly
Mousetronaut Goes to Mars by Mary Kelly
Comets by Kristen Rajczak
Shooting Stars by Kristen Rajczak
Caroline's Comets by Emily Arnold McCully
Comet Chaser: The True Cinderella Story of Caroline Herschel, The First Professional Woman Astronomer by Pamela S. Turner

Academic Co-op

Multiple families were sick, so we canceled this week’s meeting. I’m so glad that the remaining families are understanding and flexible while still communicating with each other.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. The chapter covered the music of Michael Jackson. We listened to some early songs and then dove into the best of the music videos.

Music Lab: We Rock!
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

Nothing…

High

It wasn’t the week that I wanted to have, but we managed to finish a ton of school work and get ahead on our lessons. This should mean that the week after our Kansas City trip, we can take a break. The boys are looking forward to that.

Low

Sickness. I really hate having to cancel activities.

Next Week

Continuing our read alouds
Moving forward with math lessons
Traveling to Europe from the Industrial Revolution (A) for history
Exploring Saturn and Jupiter for Q’s science
Listening to Earth, Wind, and Fire and Chic
Hopefully getting back to our activities including a friend’s birthday party
Starting Opinion Writing for Writer’s Workshop at co-op

Next up on the TBR pile: