Here's my randomness for the week:
Thankful for getting back into our schedule.
All 6 of my family members now have library cards!
Flu shots are done for the year and I’m so happy that’s over.
I really need to get back into a workout routine for October.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Reading: Lovely War by Julie Berry - one of my Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide choices
Watching: We’re close to finishing S2 of The Orville. Pretty darn good.
Listening: Arthur has really been enjoying The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd. Such a fun radio play!
Making: It’s apple season! We’re going apple picking on Thursday and I’m lining up all the apple recipes. First up is definitely apple crumb with homemade caramel sauce.
Feeling: After the last few weeks, I’ve been feeling really weird. Grief is a strange thing to get a grasp on.
Planning: There will be no trick-or-treating for my family this year. We’re just not willing to take the risk. Instead, I’m planning some kind of Easter Egg hunt activity (but with Halloween stuff of course), spooky movie marathon, possible glow stick dance party, and maybe some other fun things…
Loving: After multiple weeks of over 90 degree weather, we’re experiencing beautiful fall weather!
Next up on the TBR pile:
I ended up combining two different weeks into one post after we had to take an emergency trip over to Indiana. My father died a few weeks back and we traveled over to attend the funeral. My carefully set schedule went out the window for a few weeks as we traveled and came home. I made sure we took some curriculum just to keep busy, but mostly let our plans go for the time. We’re back home and getting back into schedule for the coming weeks.
Literature and Poetry
Egyptian Diary by Richard Platt
Hey You! Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitos, and Other Fun Things
Half Magic by Edward Eager
Sharing the Seasons
Math
We started 1B Unit 11, which was basically a review of two digit addition and subtraction. And we covered Unit 12 about an introduction to multiplication. Arthur quickly grasped the concept. We will be circling back to it in a few weeks after introducing division next week.
Social Studies
It was Ancient Egypt week(s)!
Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs by Gail Gibbons
Egypt in Spectacular Cross-Section by Stephen Biesty
The Egyptian Pyramid by Elizabeth Longley
People Who Made History
Tut’s Mummy Lost and Found by Judy Donnelly
Temple Cat by Andrew Clements
The Mummy Makers of Egypt by Tamara Bower
The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
Ancient Worlds
Science
We finished out Mary Anning Book Seed once returning to Nebraska.
Stone Girl, Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt
We also continued out ongoing study of biodiversity, biomes, ecosystems, and habitats. We watched a Bill Nye episode on biodiversity, an oldie but a goodie!
Art
We didn’t do any dedicated art lessons, but did make crafts for ancient Egypt. Arthur loved decorating a sarcophagus.
Jackson Pollock Splashed Paint and Wasn’t Sorry by Fausto Gilberti
Music
None these two weeks
Nature Play Day
None these two weeks due to travel
Unit Theme
Week 6’s unit theme was deserts to go along with Africa from W5 and Egypt from W6. We learned about the various animals in desert habitats along with some plants and general facts. We visited the zoo before leaving Omaha specifically to go to the desert dome. Arthur was excited to connect the Namib and Sonoran deserts to the two sections in the desert dome. Magic School Bus had a great episode about deserts: All Dried Up!
The Dry Desert by Philip Johansson
Desert by Cassie Mayer
Desert Baths by Darcy Pattison
Desert Song by Tony Johnston
The Desert is Theirs by Byrd Baylor
A Day and Night in the Desert by Caroline Arnold
D is for Desert by Barbara Gowan
Desert by Elizabeth Haldane
Animal Camouflage in the Desert by Martha E.H. Rustad
Let’s Visit the Desert by Buffy Silverman
Desert by Fleur Star
Week 7’s unit theme was Fall and Leaves to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox. We ended up just reading a ton of books.
Talking a Walk: Fall in the Country by Sue Tarsky
Oak Leaf by John Sandford
Come Next Season by Kim Norman
Signs of Autumn by Colleen Dolphin
Counting on Fall by Lizann Flatt
My Autumn Book by Wong Herbert Yee
Fall leaves Fun by Martha E.H. Rustad
Fall Harvest Fun by Martha E.H. Rustad
The Squirrel’s Busy Year by Martin Jenkins
Hello Fall by Deborah Diesen
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
I Love Fall by Alison Inches
Mouse’s First Fall by Lauren Thompson
In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
Fall Weather Fun by Martha E.H. Rustad
Hello Autumn by Shelley Rotner
The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
Autumn by Gerda Muller
Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Four Friends in Autumn by Tomie DePaola
Misc. - Random picture books read
Pretty Salma by Niki Daly
Counting on Letters by Lizann Flatt
The Leopard’s Drum by Jessica Souhami
Koi and the Kola Nuts by Verna Aardema
Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli
Chicka, Chicka, 1, 2, 3 by Bill Martin Jr.
More great podcasts this week! We found a Storynory spin-off about the writings of Herodotus. We listened to the Egypt related episodes. We also found some good 60 Second Science episodes about archaeology.
We managed to fit in two zoo visits with focuses on the desert and African animals. And we made it to Vala’s for their special homeschooling day.
All the travel…
Next Week
Maybe we will get back into a normal schedule this week. We focusing on Ancient India along with scarecrows and corn.
Next up on the TBR pile:
It’s going to be another strange season still in the midst of the pandemic. And we’re homeschooling. Being at home does allow for some other fun activities, I just need to be more intentional about doing the activities. And we need to lower our expectations this year, just a bit…
Visit Vala’s
Read 5 Chapter Book Read-alouds
Carve Pumpkins
Go Apple Picking
Read 15 Books from My UnRead Shelf
Hike at Fontenelle Forest
Go on a Hayride
Take Pictures of Boys in a Pile of Leaves
Bake a Pie
Watch 10 Fall/Spooky Movies
Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
Decorate the Front Porch
Make a Leaf Craft
Buy Halloween Pajamas
Read 15 Spooky Kids Books
Next up on the TBR pile:
As predicted, our summer bucket list did not go well. We spent so much time trying to manage our daily lives and then starting homeschool that we didn’t get to special things. Oh well.
Visit Heron Haven
Comic Book Day
Make Ice Cream Sundaes
Hitchcock Nature Center
Read aloud 5 chapter books ✓
Oh Say, I Can’t See by Jon Scieszka
Amazon in the Afternoon by Mary Pope Osborne
Dolphins at Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne
Buffalo Before Breakfast by Mary Pope Osborne
Tornadoes on Tuesday by Mary Pope Osborne
Board Game Day
Scatter Joy Acres
Finger Paint
Read 50 books (50/50) ✓
Have a Backyard Picnic ✓
Weekly Sprinkler Time ✓
Go to the Zoo 5x (3/5)
Make S’mores
Tie Dye Something
Hopscotch in Driveway
Hike at the River ✓
Complete Two Jigsaw Puzzles
Make Doughnuts
Next up on the TBR pile:
Here's my randomness for the week:
Driving 630 miles in one long shot is a lot to handle… I do not love the drive at all, but driving straight through seemed the best option given current times.
I now have a pair of nice skinny black pants. Not an addition I was looking for, but at least they were fairly cheap and are comfortable.
I miss my own bed. It’s just so incredibly comfy.
Redoing the library holds takes time…
Next up on the TBR pile:
Literature and Poetry
We had fun reading and attempting the cases in Encyclopedia Brown’s first story collection. Arthur enjoyed the stories but was less interested in actually solving the cases. We started a new poem collection filled with fun short poems. We’ll be continuing this collection next week.
Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol
Hey You! Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitos, and Other Fun Things
Math
As we finished 1A last week, we took this week to play some math games and do some Khan Academy lessons. The favorite part was playing with tannegrams on Monday.
Social Studies
The first part of the week we focused on the Native American tribes of the Northeast before European contact. We read some classic tales, watched some videos, and learned about various tribes and their cultures. On Wednesday, we watched the first episode of the PBS documentary Native America. Although it focused on the cultures of the Southwest and Mesoamerica, we still learned a lot. I can’t wait to watch the rest of the series over the next couple of weeks.
First Nations of North America: Northeast Indians
Children of Native America Today
Skywoman by Joanne Shenandoah
Rabbit’s Snow Dance by James and Joseph Bruchac
The Iroquois by Danielle Smith-Llera
The Iroquois by Emily J. Dolbear
The Iroquois by KaaVonia Hinton
Hiawatha Messenger of Peace by Dennis Brindell Fradin
D is for Drum by Debbie and Michael Shoulders
Song of the Hermit Thrush by Gloria Dominic
Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child
The second half of the week we started our continent study. First up: Africa! We learned about the African geography, some traditional stories, and the animals. My favorite part was learning about a few of the natural wonders of the continent.
Here is the African Savanna by Madeleine Dunphy
A is for Africa by Ifeoma Onyefulu
Africa by Mary Lindeen
African Culture
Wangari’s Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter
The Spider Weaver by Margaret Musgrove
Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott
Zomo the Rabbit by Gerald McDermott
The Amazing African Animal Alphabet by Kristina Jones
The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks by Verna Aardema
Anansi Does the Impossible by Verna Aardema
Science
We had a bit of a light science week. We started with a study of ecosystems and habitats. Thankfully Magic School Bus had two great episodes about ecosystems and habitats to reinforce our learning. Later in the week we started Blossom and Root’s Book Seed about Mary Anning. I do so love learning about women scientists.
Mary Annin and the Sea Dragon by Jeannine Atkins
Art
No formal art lessons this week. All of our projects were tied to our unit theme or social studies.
Music
Our composer for the week was Johann Sebastian Bach. Arthur still prefers Beethoven, but I love Bach. Beyond our usual composer podcasts and listening journal, we did a special music lesson on Wednesday. We listened to Camille Saint-Saen’s The Carnival of the Animals and drew the animals we heard in each movement.
The Carnival of the Animals Jack Prelutsky
Nature Play Day
As it was apple week, most of our nature play activities focused on apples. We did an apple taste, investigated an apple, stamped with apples, made a coffee filter apple, and ____. It was raining on Wednesday so we skipped our outdoor hike.
Apple Harvest by Jenna Lee Gleisner
Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
Unit Theme - Apples
I thought the second week of September would be the perfect week to learn about apples. The fresh vs. frozen apples experiment was a lot of fun even if we didn’t actually eat the frozen one. It was disgusting… Beyond the experiment, we read a ton of apple themed books and did a deeper dive into the life of Johnny Appleseed.
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
The Apple Doll by Elisa Kleven
From Apple Trees to Cider Please by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky
Bad Apple by Edward Hemingway
Our Apple Tree by Gorel Kristina Naslund
The Apple Orchard Riddle by Margaret McNamara
The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson
Johnny Appleseed Plants Trees Across the Land by Eric Braun
12 Amazing American Myths and Legends
Johnny Appleseed by Jane Yolen
A is for Autumn by Robert Maass
Misc. - Random picture books read
The Piano by Marika Maijala and Juha Virta
Good Morning City by Pat Kiernan
Welcome Home Bear by Il Sung Na
The Ocean in Your Bathtub by Seth Fishman
Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty
The Hike by Alison Farrell
Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg
Silent Kay and the Dragon by Larry Dane Brimner
The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt
Math Fables Too by Greg Tang
We listened to great podcasts this week including the end of the Gilgamesh series, WOW in the World, and multiple Dr. Floyd episodes.
Quentin loves doing his school work! Guess I need to print more.
Arthur had a few attitude moments throughout the week. We are working on good attitudes and asking for help when frustrated instead of breaking down.
Next Week
Depending on the situation, we may be taking a few days off this coming week. Things are very much up in the air right now. I do have W6 and W7 already planned out if I need it. We are going to focus on Egypt, Deserts, Fall and Leaves, and the Southwest Native American tribes.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Literature and Poetry
Our read aloud this week was Home Price by Robert McCloskey. I had never read it, but the collection of stories appeared on many a First Grade reading list. Overall we really liked the six stories of Homer’s adventures in and around Centerburg, Ohio. I liked the story about doughnuts the best.
For poetry, we read I am Someone Else: Poems About Pretending
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
I am Someone Else: Poems About Pretending collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Math
Arthur officially finished Singapore Math 1A this week. It was mostly a big review for him, but review is always a good idea before moving forward. We are going to do some math projects next week before starting 1B. I also bought 2A and 2B as I imagine that 1B will not last for the rest of the year. On Friday we read a fun measuring book and made a poster.
Me and the Measure of Things by Joan Sweeney
Social Studies
I rearranged our schedule a bit and we covered History Quest Ch. 3 Civilizations Begin and Ch. 4 Sumer this week instead of breaking it into two different weeks. So we covered Mesopotamia and Sumer including cuneiform, King Sargon, ziggurats, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. For our night reading, we read Lugalbanda retold by Kathy Henderson which is a translated and retold version of an ancient story. Arthur loved making a cuneiform tablet and a ziggurat out of Legos.
Technology of the Ancients: The Mesopotamians by Wil Mara
Picturing the Past Mesopotamia Iraq in Ancient Times by Peter Chrisp
Ancients in Their Own Words Mesopotamians by Michael Kerrigan
Lugalbanda retold by Kathy Henderson
Hands-on History Mesopotamia by Lorna Oakes
Lost Cities by Neil Morris
Sunset of the Sabertooth by Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House night reading selection)
Science
We did some free exploration early in the week. We also did a bit of review of animal classifications. On Friday, we did a mini unit on growing food in the cities using Heroes of the Environment Ch. 1 . Arthur is now convinced that we need to create an entire backyard garden. First we need to replace the deck and re-landscape the backyard. Maybe in two years…
Watch Me Grow by Deborah Hodge
Grow! Raise! Catch! How We Get Our Food by Shelley Rotner
The Children’s Garden by Carole Lexa Schaefer
Art
Beyond doing some projects relating to our nature play, we did a mini study of Leonardo da Vinci on Friday. We read some books about him, looked at his works, modernized the Mona Lisa, and watched a few NOVA episodes about his works (S39E4 and S46E21 in case you were wondering). Arthur decided to recreate the painting in question from the NOVA episode. He drew and colored then cut it out, pasted to a cream piece of cardstock, and then added it to a yellow paper “frame.” Very inventive!
Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci by Gene Barretta
Leonardo da Vinci biography by Mike Venezia
Steal Back the Mona Lisa by Meghan McCarthy
If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur by Amy Newbold
Fly Kite Fly: A Story of Leonardo and a Bird Catcher by John Winch
Music
Our Classics for Kids composer for the week was Johannes Brahms. Arthur liked his music, but prefers Beethoven. There were only four Brahms episodes, so on Friday we read a book about musical instruments and the orchestra.
The Story of the Incredibly Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak
Nature Play Day
We had another fun nature play day with our friends. We made some cotton swab paintings, baking soda and vinegar creations, a large collaborative drawing, and sun prints outdoors. We also created some animals tracks in the play sand and read a few books about animal tracks. We wrapped up our morning with a few Doreen Cronin books and an epic snack lunch!
Step by Step by Loreen Leedy
Unit Theme
We picked author Doreen Cronin for our weekly theme. We checked out almost all of her books and read them throughout the day. I found some fun little puzzle pages to go with some and some ELA pages to go with others. Arthur’s favorite was Diary of a Worm.
Duck for President
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type
Click, Clack, Moo: I Love You!
Click, Clack, Ho, Ho, Ho
Click, Clack, Surprise!
Click, Clack, Quack to School
Giggle, Giggle, Quack
Dooby Dooby Moo
Duck Stays in the Truck
Pool Party
Click, Clack, Boo!
Diary of a Worm
Diary of a Spider
Diary of a Fly
Boom Snot Twitty
Click, Clack, Peep!
Click, Clack, ABC
Smick!
Rescue Bunnies
Bloom
Bounce
Stretch
Wiggle
Misc. - Random picture books read
P is for Pterodactyl by Raji Haldar and Christ Carpenter
Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy
Finding Shortest and Longest by Amy Rauen
Bug in a Vacuum by Melanie Watt
Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein
Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
Finished The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd S1 podcast and started S2. Arthur is really enjoying this old-style radio play.
Arthur requested multiple NOVA episodes to watch throughout this week. We watched one on the Secrets of Stonehenge, one about an Ice Age Death Trap, one about the last extinction (ice age), and two about Leonardo Da Vinci and his works.
Grocery store weeks really throw off our schedule. Because of COVID, I don’t take the kids to the store with me. Which means that I need to leave with J and he needs to be somewhat available to monitor the kids. So mornings are my only real option. I rush out and hit multiple stores to stock up for two weeks. Add in that we don’t get takeout that often and I make three meals a day plus snacks, I’m buying a lot of food each trip. This takes up the entire morning, meaning no real school work is done. Arthur is not independent enough to do things without me monitoring…
Next Week
We are going to read Encyclopedia Brown next week (the first volume). I’m certain Arthur is going to love the mysteries. We are going to spend a week doing math projects instead of starting the next textbook. For history, we are going to switch gears and start A River of Voices (U.S. History) and then do a continent study for Africa. Our science unit includes starting the Blossom and Root Book Seed: Mary Anning. I foresee some dinosaur and fossil related activities for the next two weeks. Our weekly theme will be apples. I can’t wait!
Next up on the TBR pile:
Week 25: Kharcho (Beef Stew) from Georgia
Decent but not a punch of flavor like we love.
Recipe used from Natasha’s Kitchen
Week 26: Paplou Soup (Fish Soup) from Oman
I liked this but needed more broth. Possibly simmering it on the stove longer…
Recipe used from International Cuisine
Week 27: Prawn and Sweet Potato Curry from Jamaica
This might be J’s favorite so far. Very spicy (I did add more spice than the recipe called for)!
Recipe used from Olive Magazine
Week 28: Fish Chowder from Australia
I liked this basic fish chowder. More subtle flavors. This would be great in the dead of winter.
Recipe used from Recipe Tin Eats
Week 29: Mang Cua (Crap and Asparagus Soup) from Vietnam
This was oh so yummy! A nice light broth filled with crab, egg, and asparagus. I will definitely make this one again. The quail eggs were a nice touch.
Recipe used from A Taste of Joy and Love
Week 30: Cawl Cennin (Potato Leek Soup) from Wales
A lovely basic leek soup. I enjoy the simple recipes sometimes.
Recipe used from All Recipes
Week 31: Bariis Maraq (Beef Stew) from Somalia
This was okay, but not amazing.
Recipe used from Epicurious
Week 32: Dovga from Azerbaijan
This was pretty good. I think with a little tweaking, this could be really great.
Recipe used from Golubka Kitchen
Here's my randomness for the week:
Two mediocre books in a row has me in a blergh mood. Here’s so hoping the next one is better.
We’re finishing our first math text tomorrow… next week I have to organize some math projects as an in-between.
Iced water is so incredibly good. I can’t get enough lately.
Hoping the library processes my returns today. Seriously, I have so many that were turned in but haven’t been processed yet. My numbers are way too high right now… seriously process my books already.
Yesterday’s snack lunch was a great idea. Need to do it again today and maybe tomorrow.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Let’s check in on August’s goals and my progress.
Read 20 Books - So close! I ended up reading 17 books.
Send out Exchange Cards ✓
Walk 30 miles on the treadmill ✓
Start homeschooling! ✓
September’s Goals:
Get a Notary for the Trash Cans
Preplan the next four weeks of homeschooling
Check out the new note taking app
Read 15 books
Organize my end of year reading plan
Plan Saturday art projects.
Next up on the TBR list:
Literature and Poetry
Our read aloud was Stuart Little. I had never actually read the book before. It’s more of a series of vignettes instead of one cohesive story. We also read the Summer themed poems from Outside Your Window.
Stuart Little by E.B. White
Outside Your Window by Nicola Davies
Math
We flew through two more units in Singapore Math 1A. We’ll be close to finishing the book next week. Still lots of review and solidifying concepts of basic number theory.
Social Studies
This week we covered Paleolithic and Neolothic eras including the Agricultural Revolution. We did a little map work to help understand the areas we read about. We walked some great videos on YouTube showing the time periods. We learned about various ice age animals including the domestication of wolves. Arthur’s favorite is the Saber Tooth Cat. We also watched the NOVA episode about the mystery of Otzi the Iceman. Finally we learned about the first cities (Catalhoyuk and Jericho) as well as some notable Stone Age sites (Stonehenge and Skara Brae).
The Secret Cave by Emily Arnold McCully
Painters of the Caves by Patricia Lauber
You Wouldn’t Want to be a Mammoth Hunter
Kali’s Song by Jeannette Winter
Caveboy Crush by Beth Ferry
Peter Kent’s City Across Time
The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein
There was an Old Man Who Painted by Teri Sloat
The Secrets of Stonehenge by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
The Genius of The Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages by Izzi Howell
Hands-on History Stone Age by Charlotte Hurdman
The First Dog by Jan Brett
How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson
Mammoths on the Move by Lisa Wheeler
Science
This week’s science was a catch-all of mini lessons on animal habitats, water conservation, Alexander von Humboldt (talking about being a naturalist), the water cycle, and landforms. For extra fun, we did a mini study of the Missouri River. We traveled the few miles down the to the riverwalk. We met the troll that lives under the bridge, played in the splash pad, explored the garden, and walked across the bridge to Iowa.
Art
During our study of prehistoric times, the boys made their own cave paintings. Q loved coloring his bull purple while Arthur made an entire scene.
Otherwise we did some fun side art projects dealing with color.
Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
Music
We listened to Classics for Kids episodes about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Arthur really like some of his pieces.
Mozart Biography
Play, Mozart, Play by Peter Sis
Nature Play Day
We took a field trip with our friends to the Tree Adventure in Nebraska City. We had a ton of fun exploring the natural areas as well as the nature classroom. The tree houses were still tons of fun, but I preferred the trail. We even got to see two deer in the woods! In total, we spent over 5 hours exploring and playing with our friends. A great day!
Unit Theme
No unit theme this week
Misc. - Random picture books read
When Planet Earth was New by James Gladstone
On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen
What’s Your Favorite Bug?
The Mission of Addition by Brian P. Cleary
I’m loving the flexibility to venture out to various places during school hours. Our field trips were so much fun (even if I was tired afterward). I’m hoping to do a field trip once every two weeks.
We upped our picture book game this week and I love reading all the books!
The boys were excited to see another frog hiding in the sign posts at the Tree Adventure.
I’m not used to going out so much in a few days. I was exhausted!
Next Week
We are studying the beginning of civilization and Mesopotamia for our world history. We’re also starting A River of Voices with a lesson on Native American groups of the Northeast. Our weekly theme is the books of Doreen Cronin.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Reading: Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt. It’s number three in the Maiden Lane series. Loving my historical romance breaks.
Watching: J and I are finally watching The Orville S1. I initially resisted because Family Guy Seth McFarlane bothers me. This one is much more awkward humor and I’m really enjoying it.
Listening: The kids have started listening to WOW in the World podcast from NPR. I even enjoy it!
Making: Trying to make cookies, but our oven has some strange hot and cold spots. Very annoying…
Feeling: It’s so fucking hot here, still. I hate it.
Planning: I’m looking at some potential field trips to sprinkle into our homeschooling weeks. COVID is making is hard to plan, as we really are trying to avoid indoor places. Today we are going doing to the Missouri River to walk across the pedestrian bridge and then check out the Oregon Trail statue park downtown. Tomorrow we’re going to Tree Adventures in Nebraska City for our nature play day. I’m hoping we can go apple picking next month and are scheduling a homeschooling day at Vala’s. Making a list of some others.
Loving: I’m so hot… drinking lots of iced tea.
Next up on the TBR pile:
This week, I hit a huge obstacle with our science curriculum. Actually our problem was two fold. 1) I had scheduled too many science activities for each day. 2) The flow of activities as prescribed by Build Your Library did not make sense to me. Let’s break this down a bit more.
1) Too many activities
I started following the Build Your Library schedule of activities, but also had added some related lessons and some other pieces like the Blossom and Root Profiles in Science. Unfortunately, it was just too much! Arthur really does get into the science activities and wants to spend some time in one little thing. That’s great! But it was leaving a huge schedule backlog and I was scrambling to finish. Not a good feeling. I needed to drastically decrease the activities per day.
2) Flow doesn’t make sense
I had just started the BYL activities without looking at the larger scope. Late last week I started wondering if I needed to take a look at all the weeks and their lessons. And I realized that some of the lessons were just not where I would like them to be. I liked the lessons, just not the schedule.
This weekend, I spent a lot of time looking at all the science lessons, reordering them, and laying out a more manageable schedule for us to follow. We’ll see how this next week goes…
Making a Lego Minecraft pig and zombie
Even with the obstacles stated above, I still feel like we had a very successful homeschooling week. The obstacles were felt by me, not really by the kids.
Literature and Poetry
We finished The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. I ended up really enjoying the book. And Arthur seemed to finally settle in and enjoy the read aloud. We kept the activities to a minimum, but did draw our favorite scene from the book. Arthur chose Despereaux being born for his scene. I also sprinkled in some summer themed poems.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies
Our Big Home by Linda Glaser
Math
We sailed through another couple of units in our review. We’ll be finished with 1A very soon…
Social Studies
This was a big week for social studies! We officially started our history curriculum. We read about the general concept of history and quickly moved onto archaeology and evolution. The evolution days tied in nicely to our science unit about Charles Darwin from Blossom and Root. As an extra special activity on Saturday, I made Arthur a small archeology dig. He had to use the tools to uncover the “artifacts” (like coins, legos, and cars) and chart his findings on graph. Kinetic sand for the win.
As we studied the family tree for life on Earth and specifically the human race, we decided to make our own family tree. Arthur really got into creating this little tree. He had to have help to spell everyone’s names correctly, but did the rest himself.
One Day a Dot by Ian Lendler
Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke
Mary Leakey Biography
I Used to be a Fish by Tom Sullivan
It Started with a Big Bang by Floor Bal
How Did I Get Here? By Philip Bunting
Life by Martin Jenkins and Grahame Baker-Smith
Continental Drift by Martin Ince
Life on Earth by Steve Jenkins
Darwin’s Tree of Life by Michael Bright
Galapagos George by Jean Craighead George
You are Stardust by Elin Kelsey
Our Family Tree by Lisa Westberg Peters
Who’s In My Family? By Robie H. Harris
Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney
Grandmother Fish by Jonathan Tweet
The World’s Most Amazing Lost Cities by Ann Weil
Science
This week’s science was a bit all over the place. We did spend some time outdoors looking for colors, finding predators and prey, and talking about summer.
Hike by Pete Oswald
Pollen by Darcy Pattison
Art
A lot of our art this week came from looking at various color books. We really got into the picture book Dancing Through Fields of Color about artist Helen Frankenthaler. We decided to use her art as inspiration for a project. We played around with adding different colors to our art projects.
Pocket Full of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire by Amy Guglielmo
The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow
Dancing Through Fields of Color: The Story of Helen Frankenthaler by Elizabeth Brown
Swatch by Julia Kenos
Music
We covered Beethoven this week with Classics for Kids, various picture books, and lots of listening for our journal. Arthur liked Beethoven more than Copland. Wonder how he’ll respond to Mozart next week?
The 39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven by Jonah Winter
Nature Play Day
We started our day making our own trail mix to take on our expeditions. Once we had loaded up, we went to explore the woods near our house. We looked for lots of colors, animal tracks, and various leaf shapes. We let the kids play at the playground for awhile before coming back to the house. We read some books about color and did some fun color activities. The littles had fun making a rainbow out of punched shapes. We finished up our Wednesday with some pool time.
A Year with Mama Earth by Rebecca Grabill
Unit Theme
This week’s theme was colors! We played color games, sorted color teddy bears (really Quentin did this about 50 times this week), read books about colors, and found some cool videos about the artist and items from the picture books.
Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett
Color Dance by Ann Jonas
How the Crayons Saved the Unicorn by Monica Sweeney
Cat’s Colors by Airlie Anderson
Colors by Shelley Rotner and Anne Woodhull
Festival of Colors by Kabir Sehgal
Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds
Living Color by Steven Jenkins
Neon Leon by Britta Teckentrup
Colors by Felicia Law
The Color Monster by Anna Llenas
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
White Rabbit’s Colors by Alan Baker
Bears Sees Colors by Karma Wilson
Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
Walk and See Colors
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Red by Michael Hall
Vivid by Julie Paschkis
Green is a Chile Pepper by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
Duck & Goose Colors by Tad Hills
Colors Versus Shapes by Mike Boldt
Every Color Soup by Jorey Hurley
Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
Misc.
Quentin has really gotten into sorting his color teddy bears. We’re going to make patterns next week.
Another successful nature play day! Complete with backyard wading pool time!
We finished The Tale of Despereaux, our first read aloud for the year!
Not so much a Homeschool problem, but I developed a migraine Wednesday afternoon that affected the last few parts of school that day and most of Thursday. I was hurting and subsequently annoyed by Arthur’s inability to focus on the task at hand.
Q’s a little behind on his letter work, but that’s ultimately okay.
Our themes are Paleolithic and Neolithic Times for history and the Letter C for Quentin. We won’t have a unit theme (I’ve built in some lesser weeks to give us a rest). For Wednesday’s nature play day, we are going to Tree Adventure in Nebraska City to explore the outdoors and enjoy the weather before it gets cold. And we’re going to go see the Missouri River as a part of Tuesday’s science lesson.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Here's my randomness for the week:
Homeschooling is going pretty well. We’re adjusting, but that was to be expected.
I’m surprised about how much I’m loving reading The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. I’ve never read it before.
Planning another visit to Tree Adventure, but this time with friends.
Migraines suck. Especially when attempting to homeschool…
Looking forward to hot tea season.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Reading: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Oh so good and super creepy!
Watching: We finally started The Orville S1. Not bad, not bad.
Listening: I’ve put Black Veil Brides’s new album Restitch These Wounds on repeat this week. So good!
Making: This week we are studying history, archaeology, and evolution. For the archaeology bit, I’m making a small archaeological dig for us to practice. Should be fun.
Feeling: The first week of homeschooling is over and I feel like I’ve made some good choices for our schooling. Feeling much more prepared for the coming weeks.
Planning: Along with our homeschool plans, I’m planning a little field trip for next week’s nature play day. We’re going to get out into nature (and not just the neighborhood)!
Loving: I’ve made plum cake twice in the last two weeks. Oh so good!
Next up on the TBR pile:
We officially started homeschooling on Monday. And I feel like I’ve started a full time job… because I have.
Overall, we managed to get a great start on all our subjects. I’m hoping to keep the momentum up into next week.
Literature and Poetry
We started reading The Tale of the Despereaux for our literature selection. We will be continuing this read aloud into next week.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Math
We started Singapore Math 1A Common Core edition and realized very quickly that Arthur knows the entire book. So we’re going to treat 1A as a review. In our first week, we have reviewed and worked through Units 1-3. Good thing that I bought 1B two weeks ago. We’ll be there by week 3. We also have daily ELA and Math pages that we are doing. The above page will make an appearance a few times a week. Each time, I will pick a random number to work through. Arthur really likes working with numbers.
Social Studies
We didn’t have a formal history unit this week, but we did do some map skills work. We read some books about maps, did some review about maps, and created a few maps of our own. This was a nice easy start to our social studies year.
Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney
Follow that Map by Scot Richie
A Child’s Introduction to the World by Heather Alexander
Geography A to Z by Jack Knowlton
Science
For science, we started a few different things. We started Blossom and Root’s Charles Darwin Book Seed. The boys learned about Darwin and aspects of evolution and natural selection. The kids really got into a lesson about beak adaptations amongst birds. We also started working through the Nature Connection book for our basic nature science. And we reviewed some basic concepts relating to doing science and being a scientist.
Charles Darwin’s Around the World Adventure by Jennifer Thermes
Art
Our art projects were related to our unit theme or science this week. My personal favorite was our watercolor resist iguanas for our Charles Darwin unit.
Music
We started listening to Classic for Kids podcast. My plan is to choose one composer each week. We will listen to the podcast episodes and then do a small listening journaling with a few of the composer’s famous pieces. This week we listened to Aaron Copland. Arthur’s (and my) favorite piece was “Appalachian Spring. “ He seems to really enjoy this subject.
Barn Dance by Pat Hutchins
Looking at a grasshopper
Faux Tinkergarten Nature Play Day (not sure what I want to call this)
Every Wednesday, we plan on having a friend and her daughter over for some lessons and play time. The little girl is 2, so we’re doing activities that can involve all three kids (and ages). We'll probably tweak the schedule in the next few weeks, but this first one went pretty well. We started with a science lesson, created a nature journal and talked about being a naturalist. We went on a walk around our yard investigating. The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves.
Then we came back inside to do a few art projects. We made watercolor resist iguanas (part of the Darwin unit) and did a more open-ended art lesson about the month of August.
Finally, we read a few Mo Willems books and created a paper plate Piggie while Arthur made a bus for our pigeon, duckling, and bus driver cutouts.
So much fun! We had lunch and the kids got to play for awhile. So nice during this quarantine time.
A Big Garden by Gilles Clement
Unit Theme
Our unit theme was Mo Willems. We ended up reading almost every Mo Williems book and doing some fun activities. This was our easing into school unit. I purposefully picked a theme that I knew the kids would love. We love the pigeon in this house!
All the Mo Willems books
Misc.
Every morning we started our day with the calendar and a podcast. We started (and are loving) The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd. Plus we listened to a episode of WOW in the World (Arthur really loves) and an episode of Tumble Science (less of a fan). Quentin worked with the letter A this week. He got into the Letter A song, daubing the various papers with the Bingo daubers, and reading the alphabet books.
A Busy Creature’s Day Eating by Mo Willems
Decent attitudes all through the week. I was concerned with Arthur, but we only had a few small meltdowns. I’d say this week was a win.
Quentin is excited to do his letter work. We don’t do a ton, but we’re focusing on one letter every week. He really got into doing some fun things associated with the Letter A.
Our faux Tinkergarten Wednesday with a friend was a big hit! All the kids seemed to enjoy themselves and I got to spend time with a friend. Looking forward to our next time.
Not so much a high point, but an exciting point. Right as we started school on Monday, a derecho storm blew through our area. It was over and done with in 15 minutes, but it was a scary 15 minutes with very high wind gusts.
I’m so tired… seriously. We had a very lax routine throughout the summer. We added more things and it’s taking more work for me to prep everything. I know that things will get better as we settle in.
Friday we ran out of steam in the afternoon. Not a huge deal, but it meant that we ended up doing some science on Saturday morning.
Next Week
We are starting our more formal history curriculum next week with History Quest. Before we dive into a time period, we are going to talk about the concepts of history, archaeology and then evolution. In addition, we will be finishing our Book Seed: Profile in Science Charles Darwin unit and The Tale of Despereaux read aloud. For our unit theme, we are going to study colors. This will be a huge part of our Wednesday day. Quentin will be covering the Letter B.
Next up on the TBR pile:
So now I have the supplies, it’s time to start planning and gathering everything I want to do. I’m a Type A planner that always feels better with a good plan going in. I’m always up for flexibility and change in the spur of the moment, but I need a plan to reference when things change.
My general approach to the days will be subjects flowing from one to another often integrated into one block. However, it’s always good to start with a basic schedule to map everything out. My first pass at scheduling our day looked like this:
As I started really putting together the curriculum, things didn’t quite work out like the schedule above. I ended up using a variety of items to help me plan each week:
A Big Planner
Weekly Pull Lists
Blank notebook
Book List Pages
Unit Study Planning Pages
Craft Supply List Pages
A Year Calendar
Let’s start with the planner. I have a personal planner full of house tasks, appointments, meals, and other misc notes to myself. I didn’t want to cram in homeschooling, so I bought a cheaper planner. I sketched out a few different planning styles and ideas and this is where I landed.
First, I went through and mapped out all the big history chapters and unit themes (those are in purple). Some weeks, we won’t have a formalized unit theme, but that’s fine by me. I purposefully left a few weeks open to help me have some wiggle room as it becomes needed. I also notated what I needed to source and when (blue and brown). The orange notes are silly random holidays I found. We might randomly celebrate some of these. We will be having a mini party on Thursday August 13th for Left Hander’s Day. Arthur and I are both lefties! Schedule days off will be notated in pink (none in August of course!).
Then, I started diving into my weeks. There was a bit of writing and erasing until I figured out a system that made sense to me.
I broke down the columns into Podcasts (breakfast or morning basket time), Unit Theme (none extra for W1), Math, Biography (incorporated into one of the other subject blocks), Art/Music, History, Literature/Poetry, Computers/Philosophy, Science, and PE/Cook/Extra. I just started plugging in ideas or plans for the first week. Some come directly from Build Your Library’s lessons and some are just me throwing items on the plan. There’s not a lot of detail, but I can look at this planner and get an overall view of the week. This helps me wrap my brain around all the different subjects without getting overwhelmed in the details.
From there, I started writing a document with more details and notes. The document is a simple Pages document, but helps me flesh out all the stuff. It’s not a formalized lesson plan, but I don’t really need one of those. I just need to be able to check things off or refer to what’s coming next. This document includes links to videos and crafts as well as notes for vocab, supplies, and discussion questions.
From there, I started sourcing extra materials (books, videos, worksheets, etc) for the first two weeks or so. As I sourced, I inevitably ran across things that I can use later in the year. And so the folders on the computer and lists on paper began. I have lists of interesting picture books by broad topic (math, history, etc) and by time of the year. I have bookmarked links and various other resources. I started a weekly book pull list to organize which books I want to check out from the library. If I put them on hold about two weeks before the week I need, most of them should arrive for curbside pickup. I also use a simple blank notebook to make notes and such as I’m working on other things.
It sounds like a lot of planning, but that’s the way I work best. I like having a detailed plan to work from. Plans will change, items will be dropped and/or added, and things will go wrong. But my anxiety is tamed by spending time laying out what I want to happen. Now it’s time to actually get teaching!
Next up on the TBR pile:
Things are still very much up in the air at the moment. Various places have reopened, but many with heavy restrictions. Our summer bucket list is going to look very different this year. No fun trips and very few outings to places. Instead, we are focusing on activities at home.
Visit Heron Haven
Comic Book Day
Make Ice Cream Sundaes
Hitchcock Nature Center
Read aloud 5 chapter books ✓
Oh Say, I Can’t See by Jon Scieszka
Amazon in the Afternoon by Mary Pope Osborne
Dolphins at Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne
Buffalo Before Breakfast by Mary Pope Osborne
Tornadoes on Tuesday by Mary Pope Osborne
Board Game Day
Scatter Joy Acres
Finger Paint
Read 50 books (36/50)
Have a Backyard Picnic ✓
Weekly Sprinkler Time ✓
Go to the Zoo 5x (2/5)
Make S’mores
Tie Dye Something
Hopscotch in Driveway
Hike at the River
Complete Two Jigsaw Puzzles
Make Doughnuts
Next up on the TBR pile:
Once we decided our style and what we wanted to teach, I dove into the wild world of homeschool curriculum. There is so much out there, it can be easy to get lost. I jotted down some criteria to help me narrow down the choices:
secular
rigorous
wide world perspective
not necessarily all-in-one
at least some physical items, not all online
cheap (not necessarily the cheapest, but not expensive)
We didn’t create a strict budget, but I was mindful of the cost of various options to get the best deal for what we wanted. I also was mindful of systems that presumed continued homeschooling versus being able to dip in and out. I read a ton of blogs. I made multiple lists of options. I crossed off some items and added others. And eventually I decided on a collection of items and supplies to buy.
As we started buying, I knew that my eclectic approach would require coordinating many different sources and suppliers. No box curriculum for us! Even some of the more box-like items I purchased, I made changes along the way. Here’s what we have purchased for our homeschooling adventure.
Math
Singapore Math 1A and 1B Common Core Edition - I bought just the textbook and workbook for each level. I didn’t feel it was necessary to buy the teacher’s textbook or test booklet. After receiving the materials, Arthur seems like he could jump right to 1B, but we decided to spend August and September doing a big review before moving up. We will probably buy 2A after Christmas if our schedule holds.
Lollipop Logic Book 1 - I love the idea of teaching logic in a more formalized way. We’ll work through book 1 and if we like it, we’ll get book 2.
TinkerActive Math Grade 1 and 2 - These will mainly be used as daily math practice pages, but I also love that they have STEM activities for each unit.
Language Arts
Arthur has started reading, so we don’t necessarily want curriculum to teach the basics. I wanted items that would build his reading comprehension and writing skills. The books in the picture will be used for daily ELA practice. I bought:
Phonics G1-2
Beyond the grammar components, we are planning weekly read alouds with discussions, daily poetry reading, and various picture books for night reading. Our first read aloud is going to be The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. We happened to own the book, but most of our read alouds will be checked out from the library. (Here the libraries are closed, but they do offer curbside pickups of holds) Writing will often be incorporated into one of the other subjects.
Social Studies - The Hard One!
I went back and forth when it came to Social Studies. In schools, SS is often only taught 1-2 days a week for about 20 minutes each time. This is a travesty in my mind! I wanted something where we would be working with social studies (and science, see next section) almost every day. After wading through, we ended up buying Build Your Library Level 1. BYL is a set of 36 weekly lesson plans coordinating history, literature, poetry, science, and art. They were created by a homeschooler utilizing a more eclectic approach but grounded in Charlotte Mason philosophy. I liked the idea of a framework to keep me grounded, but like that BYL is very flexible. Most of our read alouds will be taken from the plans, as well as most of the basic nature science. I liked the history, but the spine featured, Story of the World, is not a secular spine. I searched around and found out that Pandia Press has created a truly secular version called HistoryQuest. Right now they have the ancient world released. So I bought that! The textbook, history told in a narrative style, and the study guide are in a pdf format (so no picture!). We are only printing the pages that Arthur needs to work with and keeping the rest on the iPad. I am switching around some of the chapters to make more sense of the timeline in my mind, but we will be following a lot of the activities and discussions provided. Beyond the spine, BYL has a book list of suggested volumes to purchase. I went through, pulled out ones that were featured for more than 3 weeks and seriously thought about buying them all. A took a moment to look at how they were being used and made a few changes. I ended up buying the volumes above to act as supplementary materials to the main HistoryQuest text. We will also be utilizing a ton of videos and internet resources for each chapter. And the library will be the main source of supplementary texts both fiction and nonfiction.
After thinking about it some more, I went back and bought Blossom and Root’s A River of Voices U.S. History curriculum. I was hesitant at first, but after reading more about it, thought it would be a good fit for us. The PDF’s cover 36 lessons from the earliest North American explorers to 1791. The big draw is that RoV is told from an inclusive standpoint. We get a majority of lessons featuring marginalized communities. We are planning on checking out the spines and suggested reading books from the library, but may end up buying some of theme as the year progresses. Using RoV with HQ, we are going to do split weeks. Most Mondays, Tuesday, and Wednesdays, we will focus on the HQ chapter. Most Thursdays and Fridays, we will focus on a RoV lesson. We will also have random weeks in there where Thursday and Friday is being reserved for a continent study. I’m really hoping this works!
Curiositree’s The Human World - BYL had their Natural World volume in the book list, but I found this one at an outlet sale and decided to grab it.
When on Earth - Great maps through time!
Explorers - The illustrations are amazing and the bios are wide-ranging.
The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia - BYL has Usborne’s version on the list. I found this one at an outlet sale and decided to sub.
Ancient Civilizations History Pockets - I’ve alway loved this series, so I had to add this one to our curriculum. I might end up picking up a few different ones to supplement.
Science
Science will mainly be coming from BYL’s plan utilizing Nature Connection, but we will also be doing unit studies of various subjects. I know that there are science topics Arthur has expressed interest in (biomes for one) and some others that J and I want to teach (basic chemistry concepts, physics, etc). BYL’s science curriculum is very nature based and hands-on. That is a part of Charlotte Mason that I really enjoy. I want Arthur to be able to outside and connect to the Earth almost every day.
I also ended up buying Blossom and Root’s Book Seeds: Profiles in Science. This pack includes 6 two-week lessons featuring a famous scientist paired with a picture book, STEAM activities, art activities, and nature studies. I wasn’t going to buy B&R’s big science curriculum, but loved these small units. Our first Book Seed: Profiles in Science is about Charles Darwin. Perfect to align with Week 2’s History, Archaeology, and Evolution theme! I will be sprinkling these in throughout the year. I also ended up grabbing B&R’s Book Seed: Mittens and Book Seed: Rainbows for a discounted price. Two more little science units to add into our year.
Animals of the World - Target Dollar Spot find for extra fun
Tinkeractive G1 and G2 Science - This will be added lessons when we cannot go outside.
One Small Square: Backyard - Featured in BYL lessons. Decided to actually buy it.
Nature Connection - BYL science spine. I checked it out from the library and then decided it was a jam packed workbook that we had to own.
Heroes of the Environment - Another BYL listed item. I found it for just a few dollars, so we bought it.
Other Curriculum
We wanted to include a variety of subjects beyond the basics, so I scoured our own libraries for choices and then bought a few things. The items above are ones that I hope to sprinkle through our weeks. Art is not really listed separately, but we will be doing almost daily art either it’s a free create day, tied to one of our unit studies or history or literature other subject, or a more formal art history lesson (those will mainly come from online and library books). Similarly, music will be coming in the form of Classics for Kids podcast and supplementary library books. I want Arthur to gain an awareness of music through time right now, not necessarily a formal music education.
Children’s Dictionary - This is for reference of course, but we didn’t own a physical one.
I Can Draw books - I picked up these two for Christmas and we never opened them. They are going to be used for the occasional free draw day.
Human Body Activity Book - Hoping to work this into our science curriculum on bad weather days.
Philosophy for Kids - J picked this up a few years ago. I think it’s now the time to break it open. The book includes 40 large philosophy questions with readings, discussions, and activities. We will be tackling a question each week.
Early Spanish - Target Dollar Spot find
Measuring and Cooking - Another Target Dollar Spot find. We are planning on at least one cooking project a week. Sometimes it will relate to our units and other times it will just be helping me make dinner or cookies.
Coding Book About Ruby - J really wants Arthur to learn coding soon…
Q&A a Day Journal - Thought this would be a fun way to start our days.
Supplementary Curriculum
Over the past year, I have acquired a few more summer bridge style workbooks. These will mostly be used as math and language arts daily pages. Just 3-4 pages a day to keep up some skills.
As for supplementary material, I have found a ton of free printables online and have even bought a few things from various educators on Teachers Pay Teachers. As we move through the year, I’ll be sourcing other items for specific lessons and subjects, but don’t anticipate a lot of big expenses moving forward.
I love back-to-school shopping! But I knew that I needed to focus on other needs this year. Still, I did grab some basic supplies for our upcoming year. Not all items are pictured above.
Notebooks and paper - just a few of each including some grid paper, handwriting paper, blank sketchpads, and lined notebooks
Dry erase boards - I found a blank one and one with lines at the Target dollar spot
Dry erase markers
Pencils - Ticonderoga of course!
Glue sticks
Upper and Lower Case Alphabet Stamps - For extra fun and for Quentin (prewriting)
Dry erase pockets - Another Target Dollar Spot find! These are amazing!
File folders - To make history pockets
Highlighters, markers, and crayons
Index cards - Used for a variety of things
Rulers
Post-it Notes
Binders - To control the chaos!
Over the course of the year, I know I will pick up some things here and there, but we’ve mostly got our stuff in order!
Next up on the TBR pile:
