Currently #18

Reading: There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins - I just started it and so far, it’s a fun slasher thriller.

Watching: We are so incredibly close to being done with Battlestar Galactica. Only the series finale remains for us to watch. I’m definitely ready to move on to a new-to-me series.

Listening: After the stress of election week, I’m pressing play on all my bookish podcasts like Currently Reading, Reading Glasses, and What Should I Read Next.

Making: In summer we hit a lull in our 52 Soups and Stews Around the World project, but fall has rekindled my motivation. We’re up to 43 recipes done. Might just make it to 52 by the end of December!

Feeling: Our new HVAC system has already made the house much more even and cozier. It’s really made a difference.

Planning: My Ikea storage finally came and has been assembled. I’ve been busy the last few days planning out where things go. Something categories are easy, but others are giving me trouble.

Loving: Life has returned to a slower pace this week and I’m totally here for it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W13: A Week of Half Days

What We Studied

This week was a bit strange with me working on a project for J’s company. As we had so much to do, we ended up doing only half days of school this past week.

Literature and Poetry

We finished reading The Magician’s Nephew this week. I had never read it and I loved the story. It explains so much about the creation of Narnia and where certain things come from.

• The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Math

It was another review week in math. I created some math packets and little projects. One of our favorites was a mystery packet. Arthur had to use various math techniques and skills to solve the case of the missing pumpkins.

• Money Math by David A. Adler

• Me Counting Time by Joan Sweeney

• If You Were an Even Number by Marcie Aboff

• Max’s Math by Kate Banks

• How Much is a Million? by David M. Schwartz

• Peg + Cat: The Pizza Problem by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson

Music

Our composer of the week was Felix Mendelssohn. I didn’t realize how much I loved Mendelssohn’s music. Arthur didn’t love his music, but liked it much better than some of the other composers we studied.

Unit Theme

Our theme was the election of course! We learned the basics of how elections work and the details of this year’s election. There are some great picture books about the election.

• Why are Elections Important? by Jacqueline Laks Gorman

• The President of the Jungle by Andre Rodrigues

• One Vote, Two Votes, I Vote, You Vote

• Buddy for President by Hans Wilhelm

• Today on Election Day by Catherine Stier

• Monster Needs Your Vote by Paul Czajak

• Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio

• Robin Hill School: Election Day by Margaret McNamara

• What’s the Big Deal About Elections by Ruby Shamir

• If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier

• LaRue for Mayor by Mark Teague

• Vote for Our Future by Margaret McNamara

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Cece Loves Science by Kimberly Derting and Shelli R. Johannes

• There was an Old Mummy Who Swallowed a Spider by Jennifer Ward

• Ghost Cat by Kevan Atteberry

• Rocket and the Perfect Pumpkin by Tad Hills

• Never Kick a Ghost by Judy Sierra

• Ollie’s Halloween by Olivier Dunrea

• How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green

• Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins

• Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

• We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger

• Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer and Adam Schaefer

• Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

• Peppa Pig and the Library Visit

• Steam Train Dream Train Colors by Sherry Dusky Rinker

• Summer Green to Autumn Gold by Mia Rosada

• Horrible Bear by Are Dyckman

• Thanksgiving for Emily Ann by Teresa Johnston

• Ralph and the Rocket Ship by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

• I am a Leaf by Jean Marzollo

• Be Brave, Little Elephant by Carol Bicak

• To the Beach by Thomas Docherty

• Jo MacDonald Had a Garden by Mary Quattlebaum

• Colors by Katie Wilson

• Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur by Judy Sierra

• Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson

Highs

• Our math lessons were lots of fun.

• I loved reading The Magician’s Nephew.

Our tree on Friday

Lows

• So incredibly busy!

Next Week

Back to our regularly scheduled program, hopefully… We are going to study our last four U.S. History lessons for the fall semester. We are also going to finish our formal art history lessons this week. Then we will be focusing on more creative free art. We will be studying weather for our unit theme and finishing up our National Parks research project.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Trying to work from home, do homeschooling, and all the usual house stuff (cooking, cleaning, child care)… I don’t have enough hours in a day. This sucks.

• After this project, I’m taking a day to just read.

• Coloring makes me happy

• I need to make some scones or tea bread this weekend.

Next up on the TBR pile:

2020 Soups and Stews from Around the World - September and October

Week 33: Chorba Frik from Algeria

Pretty decent, although it definitely needed more frik than the recipe called for.

Recipe used from Cuisine Culinaire

Recipe 34: Calulu from Sao Tome and Principe

A good side dish, but definitely not a great main dish.

Recipe used from Tall’s World Food Journey

Recipe 35: Lubee (Green Bean Stew) from Lebanon

Pretty darn good…

Recipe used from Pear Tree Kitchen

Recipe 36: Mtuzi wa Samaki (Swahili Fish with Coconut Rice) from Kenya

Good, but not amazing. I wasn’t super fan of the mix of flavors.

Recipe used from Pika Chakula

Recipe 37: Curried Coconut and Lime Gourd Soup from Solomon Islands

This was good! I will definitely make this again.

Recipe used from Soups of Our Planet

Recipe 38: Kartoffelsuppe from Germany

Good, although we need to add something to this, maybe paprika?

Recipe used from The View from the Great Island

Recipe 39: Zurek (Rye Soup) from Poland

This was very interesting. I actually took the 5 days to prep the sour liquid and it definitely adds an interesting flavor. We will have to make this one again.

Recipe used from The Polish Housewife

Fall Bucket List Update #2

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… I few more items crossed off. We’ll see what I get to this month.

1. Visit Vala’s ✓

2. Read 5 Chapter Book Read-alouds

   • Half Magic by Edward Eager

   • Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

   • The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

   • The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

3. Carve Pumpkins ✓

4. Go Apple Picking ✓

5. Read 15 Books from My UnRead Shelf (1/15)

6. Hike at Fontenelle Forest

7. Go on a Hayride ✓

8. Take Pictures of Boys in a Pile of Leaves

9. Bake a Pie

10. Watch 10 Fall/Spooky Movies

    • Labyrinth

    • The Nightmare Before Christmas

    • Hocus Pocus

11. Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

12. Decorate the Front Porch ✓

13. Make a Leaf Craft

14. Buy Halloween Pajamas ✓

15. Read 15 Spooky Kids Books ✓

    • Chicken on a Broom by Adam Lehrhaupt

    • The Ghosts Go Haunting by Helen Ketteman

    • The 13 Days of Halloween by Carol Greene

    • Only a Witch Can Fly by Alison McGhee

    • Read, Steady, Ghost by Elizabeth Bauley

    • Black Cat Creeping by Teddy Slater

    • Teeny Tiny Ghost by Rachel Matson

    • The Too-Scary Story by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

    • Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes

    • Black Cat, White Cat by Silvia Borando

    • Frankencrayon by Michael Hall

    • Trick-or -Treat by Debbie Leppanen

    • Halloween Hats by Elizabeth Winthrop

    • Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat by Sue Lowell Gallion

    • T. Rex Trick-or-Treats by Lois G. Grambling

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W12: We Embraced Spooky Season!

What We Studied

I love Halloween! So, we embraced the spooky season with our activities this week.

Literature and Poetry

We started The Magician’s Nephew, the first book of the Chronicles of Narnia. I’ve never actually read this one. We’re halfway through and I’m loving this one! It answers so many questions about Narnia and the White Witch. Excited to finish this one next week! For poetry, we read a collection of spooky nursery rhymes.

• The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

• Mother Ghost by Rachel Kolar

Woke up to this on Monday morning…

Math

We finished the last unit in Singapore Math 1B. The unit was about money. Mostly a review for Arthur. In reviewing our math curriculum so far, I’ve identified a few areas to review and increase fluency. We are going to take a break before starting 2A. We’re going to do a big review filled with puzzles and math games. Plus, I’m thinking of adding a small coding unit to start Arthur on coding lessons.

Social Studies

We covered ancient Persia, the Hebrews, and Phoenicians for world history this week. I had a hard time finding elementary-appropriate info about those groups that didn’t cross the line in a racist approach or a Judeo-Christian centered approach. I ended up doing shorter lessons on these and focused on their accomplishments.

• Ancient Persia by Don Nardo

• Eyewitness: Bible Lands by Jonathan N. Tubb

Science

Our week was a bit of catch-up and getting a start on a new unit. We did a mini lesson on living things, dissected an owl pellet, and did a pumpkin investigation. On Friday, we started out Blossom and Root Book Seed about John Muir. Next week we are going to do a National Parks research project, so today’s lesson was all about doing sone introduction. We also started the first episode of the PBS documentary: National Parks (by Ken Burns). We’ll be sprinkling the documentary in hour segments throughout next week. (It’s perfect viewing for when I’m on the treadmill.)

• John Muir Wrestles a Waterfall by Julie Danneberg

• M is for Majestic by David Domeniconi

• The 12 Most Amazing American Natural Wonders by Rebecca Rowell

Art

We covered two famous artist this week: Hokusai and Claude Monet. I found a great short video from Christie’s on YouTube about how Hokusai created The Great Wave. Arthur loved seeing a modern artist create a woodblock picture. For Monet, we review his paintings and his life and talked about our favorites. Arthur really loved the Haystacks series.

• Hokusai: The Man Who Painted a Mountain by Deborah Kogan Ray

• Hokusai: Genius of the Japanese Ukiyo-e by Seiji Nagata (adult art book; we flipped through to highlight the art)

• Monet Paints a Day by Julie Dannenberg

• Claude Monet Biography by Alix Wood

• If Monet Paints a Monster by Amy Newbold

Music

Our composer was Igor Stravinsky. I like Stravinsky’s unusual sound. Arthur wasn’t the biggest fan.

Nature Play Day

None this week as our friends were sick. And we are probably stopping this as a few circumstances have changed.

Unit Theme

It’s Halloween week! Of course our book stack and activities were all Halloween themed. I love this season so much! We also did a science experiment with dissolving candy corn and tried to build a candy corn tower.

• Seven Orange Pumpkins by Stephen Savage

• Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies

• The 12 Days of Halloween by Jenna Lettice

• The Bake Shop Ghost by Jacqueline K. Ogburn

• Ghost Cat by Eve Bunting

• The Halloween Tree by Susan Montanari

• Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round by Rosanna Battigelli

• Ready, Steady, Ghost by Elizabeth Baguley

• Only a Witch Can Fly by Alison McGhee

• Pumpkin Countdown by Joan Holub

• The 13 Days of Halloween by Carol Greene

• J is for Jack-O-Lantern by Denise Brennan-Nelson

• The Witch with a Twitch by Layn Marlow

• Trick or Treat by Debbie Leppanen

• Black Cat Creeping by Teddy Slater

• Teeny Tiny Ghost by Rachel Matson

• The Too-Scary Story by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

• Lost Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes

• Black Cat, White Cat by Silvia Borando

• Frankencrayon by Michael Hall

• Trick-or-Treat by Debbie Leppanen

• Halloween Hats by Elizabeth Winthrop

• Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat by Sue Lowell Gallion

• T. Rex Trick-or-Treats by Lois G. Grambling

• Turkey Trick or Treat by Wendi Silvano

• Runaway Pumpkins by Teresa Bateman

• Boo Haiku by Deanna Caswell and Bob Shea

• How to Scare a Ghost by Jean Reagan

• I am a Witch’s Cat by Harriet Muncaster

Misc. - Random picture books read - Non as they all related to a subject or Halloween.

Highs

• I love spooky season!

• We got our hands dirty for science and it was fun.

• I loved all our Halloween picture books. We found some great ones to read.

Lows

• Our schedule was very wonky this week with HVAC install, grocery, and various appointments. Too much!

• Sad that we have to discontinue our nature play day with friends.

Next Week

We’re switching back to U.S. History to cover the early English colonies as well as Native groups of the Southeast. We’ll continue our study of the National Parks and our read-aloud.

Next up on the TBR pile:

November 2020 Life Goals

Let’s check in on October’s goals and my progress.

• Walk at least 20 miles on the treadmill/outdoors ✓ - I did almost 27 miles this month!

• Read 15 books ✓

• Cross off at least 5 items on my Fall Bucket List - Fail. Although I did get a three things checked out.

• Plan out October and 1/2 of November for Homeschool ✓

• Line up November’s TBR pile ✓

• Starting planning Christmas gifts - Started

• Thanksgiving plans? - Nope

• Plan a Halloween party for the kids ✓

November’s Goals:

• Read 15 Books

• Walk at Least 20 Miles on the Treadmill

• Make Christmas Cards

• Clean out TBR piles, lists, etc.

• Finish out Homeschool planning for the semester

Next up on the TBR list:

Homeschool W11: In Which We Covered Everything I Planned!

What We Studied

This week our subjects were Babylon, Assyria, and Asia (Social Studies), Van Gogh (art), Bats and Spiders (unit theme), Moon (science), Antonin Dvorak (music), and Winnie the Pooh (literature). Amazingly, we managed to finish everything that I had planned in my usual ambitious lesson plan. It will never happen again, but it was an accomplishment.

Literature and Poetry

We finished reading The House at Pooh Corner and did some study questions about the stories. Arthur also watched the Disney movie version of The World of Pooh.

• The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

• Candy Corn: Poems by James Stevenson

Math

We covered Unit 16 in Singapore Math 1B. These lessons were all about numbers up to 120; addition, subtraction, and basic number theory. With this unit done, we only have one more unit to cover in Singapore Math 1.

Social Studies

We covered Ancient Babylon and Assyria for World History. At the end of the week, we did a geography continent study for Asia.

• Hammurabi by John Bankston

• Ancient Babylon by Karen Bush Gibson

• The Assyrians by Elaine Landau

• Spotlight on Asia by A.R. Schaefer

• Introducing Asia by Anita Ganeri

• Asia by Mary Lindeen

• Adventures in Asian Art by Sue DiCicco

Science

We finished our moon study and started documenting the various phases of the moon leading up to and after Halloween.

• Smithsonian The Moon by James Buckley Jr

• The Moon by Michael George

• The Sun and the Moon by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano

• The Moon Keeper by Zosienka

• Earth Space Moon Base by Ben Joel Price

• The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson

• Moon Wishes by Guy and Patricia Storms

• Once in a Blue Moon by Danielle Daniel

• Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

• The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons

• Moon by Steve Tomecek

• Wild Kratts: Glow Wild by Martin and Chris Kratt

Art

We did a study fo Van Gogh’s life and paintings. We focused on The Starry Night, Sunflowers, Bedroom in Arles, and Self Portrait. Arthur made his own versions of those paintings. We also found some great picture books about Van Gogh.

• Vincent Paints His House by Tedd Arnold

• The Yellow House by Susan Goldman Rubin

• Vincent Can’t Sleep by Barb Rosenstock

• Biography by Mike Venezia

• Vincent’s Colors by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Music

Our composer of the week was Antonin Dvorak. J and I are big fans of Dvorak. Arthur liked his compositions, but not quite as much as Mozart and Beethoven.

Nature Play Day

No nature play this week as Q had a small cold. We didn’t want to infect our friends.

Unit Theme

Our theme was bats and spiders! We’re embracing the spooky for October. Lots of animal science this week and a ton of picture books. We also watched two Magic School Bus episodes about spiders and bats. I’m so excited that I found some great video guides to go along with the episodes.

• Spiders by Nic Bishop

• A Web by Isabelle Simler

• Miss Muffet or What Came After by Marilyn Singer

• Frank the Seven-Legged Spider by Michaele Razi

• Spartacus the Spider by Etienne Delessert

• Spiders: Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle

• Spiders Deadly Predators by Claire Llewellyn

• The Hugely-Wugley Spider by Ethan T. Berlin

• Bear’s Scare by Jacob Grant

• The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howl

• The Spider by Elise Gravel

• The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

• Bats by Sally Morgan

• Bats by Kate Riggs

• Bats After Dark by Ruth O’Shaughnessy

• Bats by Julia Vogel

• The Bat can Bat by Gene Barretta

• Bats at the Ballgame by Brian Lies

• I am Bat by Morag Hood

• Hello, Bumblebee Bat by Darrin Lunde

• A Kite for Moon by Jane Yolen

• Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

• Little Red Bat by Carole Gerber

• Bats in the Band by Brian Lies

• Bats by Julie Murray

• Bat Count by Anna Forrester

• Bats Biggest Littles by Sandra Markle

• Bats by J. Angelique Johnson

• The Bat by Elise Gravel

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Applesauce Day by Lisa Amstutz

• Ready for Pumpkins by Kate Duke

• Hooray for Fall by Kazuo Iwamura

• Hedgehugs by Steve Wilson and Lucy Tapper

• Attack of the 50 Foot Fluffy by Mike Boldt

• Manana Iguana by Ann Whitford Paul

• Penguin Problems by Jory John

• Little Lizard’s Big Party by Melinda Melton Crow

Highs

• Spontaneous dance party!

• We had a fun time doing the Boo Drive-thru at the Oak View Mall on Friday.

Lows

• Quentin had a bit of cold this week so no nature play. Sad to miss our friends!

• I think that both kids had a bit of cold and there were many meltdowns throughout the week.

Next Week

We’re going to start The Chronicles of Narnia; first up is The Magician’s Nephew. For history, we’re going to cover Persia, Hebrews, and Phoenicians. And next week is Halloween! Lots of fun spooky books in our stack.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #17

Reading: I finally started reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune and it is just making me so happy. I’m loving every page of it!

Watching: We introduced the kids to The Music Man (2003 version) this past weekend. We covered Sousa in music last week and it seemed appropriate. Next weekend, we’re thinking the original movie version.

Listening: I finally went back to listen to the mini series of At the Mountains of Dadness from Dungeons and Daddies. This three part Call of Cthulhu adventure is perfect for my horror heart.

Making: I’m thinking I need to make a few loaves of banana bread this week. That sounds perfect for these fall temperatures.

Feeling: The temperatures have officially dropped. I’m all about the cozy lately. I do love my fall wardrobe, full of cardigans and slippers.

Planning: We’re doing a family Halloween party instead of trick-or-treating. I’m planning some fun activities for the kiddos.

Loving: Cooler temps mean snuggling with fuzzy blankets. Yes!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W10: In Which We Switch the Schedule Every Day

What We Studied

Every single day, we switched the schedule and what we did per Arthur’s request. It made for an interesting week for homeschooling.

Literature and Poetry

We kept reading Winnie the Pooh and started reading The House at Pooh Corner. We didn’t get as far as I would have liked, but we’re plugging through the book next week also. Good thing too as our next book didn’t yet come off hold at the library. That’s okay. I think we are going to substitute with a different book the next week instead. We also grabbed a new poetry book featuring seasonal poems.

• Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

• The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

• Pumpkin Butterfly: Poems from the other Side of Nature by Heidi Mordhorst

Math

This week was all about fractions! Arthur caught on pretty quickly, so we went further than I thought we would go. We even covered improper and equivalent fractions a bit. We’ll circle back in a few weeks.

• Fraction Action by Loreen Leedy

• Fraction Fun by David A. Adler

• Working with Fractions by David A. Adler

• Fractions, Decimals, and Percents by David A. Adler

• If You Were a Fraction by Trisha Speed Shaskan

Social Studies

We covered a few U.S. History lessons this week. On Monday, we learned about Indigenous Peoples’ Day and talked about why we don’t celebrate Columbus Day anymore. From there, we covered Jamestown, Roanoke, and the Pilgrims’ arrival. We also watched another episode of Native America. Only one more in the documentary series. So sad! It’s just so so good! Arthur actually requested history multiple times this week. It was a good week.

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke by Jean Fritz

• 1607: A New Look at Jamestown by Karen E. Lange

• The Jamestown Colony by Peter Benoit

• The Mayflower by Mark Greenwood

• Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage by Peter Arenstam

• Fact Tracker: Pilgrims by Mary Kate Osborne

• 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O’Neill Grace

• Pilgrim Cat by Carol Antoinette Peacock

Science

Science was all about nocturnal animals this week! It dovetailed nicely with our weekly unit theme of owls.

• When the Stars Come Out by Nicola Edwards

• Nocturnal Animals by Abbie Dunne

• While the World is Sleeping by Pamela Duncan Edwards

• Daylight Starlight Wildlife by Wendell Minor

• The Night is for Darkness by Jonathan Stutzman

• After Dark: Poems About Nocturnal Animals by David L. Harrison

• Night Animals by Gianna Marino

• Daytime Nighttime by Diane Lang

• Nighttime by Jill Esbaum

• The Night Box by Louise Greig

• Lucy’s Light by Margarita del Mazo

• Night Animals Need Sleep Too by Gianna Marino

Art

We didn’t end up with any formal art lessons this week.

Music

Our composer of the week was John Philip Sousa. Arthur enjoyed him a lot more than Puccini and opera from last week. We need to watch The Music Man this week to keep up our march theme.

• Biography by Mike Venezia

Nature Play Day

Our nature play was all about fall this week! We walked down to the forest to notice the seasonal changes and search for animal tracks. Because it was such a nice day, we spent some time at the playground before heading back to the house. After lunch, we made fun seasonal shapes stained glass and compared some leaves. Such a lovely day!

Unit Theme

Our weekly theme was owls! Lots and lots of owl books, some owl facts, and fun owl videos. We also covered the chapters in The Tarantula in My Purse that talked about a screech owl.

• Owls by Mary R. Dunn

• Berkeley’s Barn Owl Dance by Tera Johnson and Tania Howells

• Whobert, Whoever Owl Detective by Jason Gallagher

• Knight Owls by Eric Seltzer

• Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton

• Hooray for Today by Brian Won

• The Happy Owls by Celestino Piatti

• Owl Sees Owl by Laura Godwin and Rob Dunlavey

• Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan

• Good Luck Baby Owls by Giles and Alexandra Milton

• Little Owl’s Orange Scarf by Tatyana Feeney

• Owls are Good at Keeping Secrets by Sara O’Leary

• A Snowy Owl Story by Melissa Kim

• The Owl and Other Night Creatures

• Owls by Valerie Bodden

• Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

• Baby Owl’s Bakery by Ji-hyeon Kim

• Baby Owl’s Rescue by Jennifer Keats Curtis

• Whoo-ku Haiku by Maria Gianferrari

• Otto the Owl Who Loved Poetry by Vern Kousky

Misc. - Random picture books read

• it’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond

• Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks

• Little Tree by Loren Long

• Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers

• By the Light of the Moon by Fran Preston-Gannon

• The Perfect Pumpkin Pie by Denys Cazet

• Moon Rabbit by Natalie Russell

• Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

• How to Be on the Moon by Viviane Schwarz

• Hey, Hey, Hay! by Christy Mihaly

• Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant

• Tractor Mac: Autumn is Here by Billy Steers

• The Pumpkin Mystery by Carol Wallace

• The Magic School Bus Ride Again: Hide-and-Seek

• Charle the Ranch Dog: Rock Star by Ree Drummond

• The Ghosts Go Haunting by Helen Ketteman

• Pinky and Rex and the Perfect Pumpkin by James Howe

• Little Muir’s Song by John Muir

• Pattan’s Pumpkin by Chitra Soundar

• WonderFall by Michael Hall

• Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell

Highs

• Arthur’s birthday was on Thursday! We had sundaes and a shortened school day.

• Loved the owl theme this week!

Lows

• We ran out of steam a few times this week…

Next Week

Our weekly theme is bats and spiders! Celebrating the spooky for the month. In history, we are going to cover ancient Babylon and Assyria, plus a continent study for Asia.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Cooler temperatures are so much nicer for playing outside and sleeping.

• I need to read at least one more scary book before the month ends.

• Pumpkin pie this weekend? I’m thinking yes.

• My new house shoes are so comfortable. Definitely a great purchase.

• Thinking about Thanksgiving plans. Where and who?

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List Update #1

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… We managed to knock out a few items from our list already!

1. Visit Vala’s ✓

2. Read 5 Chapter Book Read-alouds

   • Half Magic by Edward Eager

3. Carve Pumpkins

4. Go Apple Picking ✓

5. Read 15 Books from My UnRead Shelf (1/15)

6. Hike at Fontenelle Forest

7. Go on a Hayride ✓

8. Take Pictures of Boys in a Pile of Leaves

9. Bake a Pie

10. Watch 10 Fall/Spooky Movies

11. Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

12. Decorate the Front Porch (in progress)

13. Make a Leaf Craft

14. Buy Halloween Pajamas ✓

15. Read 15 Spooky Kids Books (1/15)

    • Chicken on a Broom by Adam Lehrhaupt

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W9: Few Pictures, But We Did Do School!

Not really sure what happened, but I took a total of seven pictures for the entire week. I was so exhausted this week… I just forgot to document. But we did do school!

What We Studied

We focused on Pumpkins and some U.S. History this week.

Literature and Poetry

We started reading Winnie the Pooh this week. A classic! Arthur liked this selection much more than last week’s book. We’ll be carrying this book into next week and moving on to The House at Pooh Corner. Plus, once we finish, we will watch the movie versions and compare.

• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

• Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh by Sally M. Walker

• Leaf by Leaf: Autumn Poems

Math

Our unit this week was all about time. Mostly a review for Arthur, but always good to review concepts. We also did a math review packet on Thursday and completed a few Khan Academy units this week. Next week is fractions which is relatively new to Arthur. We’ve been reading some books to introduce the topic and next week we will learn the basics.

• Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Pizza Slice by Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler

• Fractions in Disguise by Edward Einhorn

• Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Hat by Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler

Social Studies

We switched around the schedule again this week (seems like a weekly occurrence at this point) and focused on A River of Voices Lessons #2-3 focusing on Spanish Exploration and Settlement. I also added in a lesson on Monday about the various Native American groups of the Southwest. And we watched another episode of the PBS documentary Native America. So good! For the art component, Arthur colored a traditional Navajo rug and made some pictures inspired by the paintings in A Rainbow at Night. I also added in a lesson about the Taino people of the Caribbean and what happened to them after Columbus arrived. I was taught that they were wiped out, but that’s not true. They had to move to other islands, but some of their numbers survived and have held on to the culture and traditions all these centuries.

• First Nations of the North America: Southwest Indians

• The Southwest Indians: Daily Life in the 1500s by Mary Englar

• The Navajo by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit

• A Rainbow at Night by Bruce Hucko

• The Precious Gift by Ellen Jackson

• Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott

• A Kid’s Guide to Latino History

• The Conquistadores by R. Conrad Stein

• Early Explorations by Roger E. Hernandez

• A Quetzalcoatl Tale of Corn by Marilyn Parke and Sharon Panik

• Johonaa’ei: Bringer of Dawn by Veronica Tsinajinnie

• Encounter by Brittany Luby

• Southwest Sunrise by Nikki Grimes

Science

Our topics this week were Animal Migration, Animal Survival, and Animal Camouflage. We went outside one day to spot animals using the various techniques and to say goodbye to some of the birds flying south. We also watched a great NOVA episode, “Journey of the Butterflies,” about the migration of the monarch butterflies. We also read a chapter from The Tarantula in My Purse about geese. We’ll be sprinkling in these chapters over the next few months.

• Animal Migration by Jeanie Mebane

• On the Move by Scott Cohn

• Going Home by Marianne Berkes

• Why Do Geese Fly South in Winter? by Kathy Allen

• How Do Birds Find Their Way? by Roma Gans

• Animal Migrations by Vicky Franchino

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• Little Home Bird by Jo Empson

• Is This Panama? by Jan Thornhill

Art

We did mini artist studies of Henri Rousseau and Andy Warhol this week. Arthur really loved the jungle paintings of Rousseau. He even made his own version. And he colored some fun Andy Warhol-esque pages.

• The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel

• Henri Rousseau Biography by Mike Venezia

• Andy Warhol Biography by Mike Venezia

• Andy Warhol Pop Art Painter by Susan Goldman Rubin

• Uncle Andy’s by James Warhola

• Uncle Andy’s Cats by James Warhola

Music

Our composer for this week was Giacomo Puccini. Arthur was not a fan of his compositions or opera in general. I’ll admit that I didn’t appreciate opera until adulthood so no big deal. We’ll be doing Sousa next week. Hopefully that’s more interesting to him.

Nature Play Day

None this week. We instead went over to a friend’s house and had an old-fashioned playdate. The kids really need to just hang out and blow off some steam.

Unit Theme

It was pumpkin week! We read a ton of pumpkin books and do some pumpkin activities. We didn’t get to our pumpkin investigation (cutting on up, etc), but we’ll slot that into our Halloween week along with carving our jack-o-lanterns.

• The Pumpkin Painter by Jennifer Matthai Garner

• From Seed to Pumpkin by Crystal Sikkens

• The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis

• Flat Stanley and the Missing Pumpkins by Lori Haskins Houran

• The Pumpkin Man by Judith Moffat

• Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell

• The Very Best Pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton

• Marley and the Runaway Pumpkin by Susan Hill

• Fall Pumpkin Fun

• Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills

• Autumn Orange by Christianne C. Jones

• Pumpkin Day by Candice Pansom

• Pumpkin Harvest by Calvin Harris

• From Pumpkin to Pie by Lisa Owings

• The Story of Jack O’Lantern by Katherine Tegen

• The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin by Margaret Wise Brown

Misc. - Random picture books read

• The Amazing Planet Earth by Scott Emmons (Arthur read this one to me)

• Armadilly Chili by Helen Ketterman

• Mela and the Elephant by Dow Phumiruk

• Thomas and Friends Easter Engines

• The Magic School Bus Rides Again Rock Man Vs. Weather Man

• Croc and Ally Friends Forever by Derek Anderson

• Lofty and the Giraffe

• Muck on Ice

• The Ants Go Marching by Priscilla Burris

• Chicken on a Broom by Adam Lehrhaupt (Arthur read this one to me)

• How the Sphinx Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland

• The Bean Team

• Monkey: A Trickster Tale from India by Gerald McDermott

• You Can Be Anything by Charles M. Schulz

Highs

I loved how much Arthur got into Henri Rousseau’s art. And the Native America documentary is always a win.

Lows

I was so tired this week. It was a struggle.

Next Week

We are going to continue our U.S. History lessons with ones focused on Jamestown and the Mayflower and the Pilgrims. For our unit theme, I chose Owls which will pair nicely with the science lessons on nocturnal animals and the moon. We’re planning on doing a moon tracking lesson starting with the New Moon on October 16th. Plus, Arthur’s 7th birthday is on Thursday… We’ll have to plan something special for that day. Maybe a zoo visit?

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #16

Reading: Lumberjanes Vol. 12-13. I needed some fun comfort reads for this week. I love this series so much!

Watching: The Great British Bake-Off is back!!! And I finally got to watch the first episode. I’ll miss Sandy, but Matt is a nice addition.

Listening: All the politics podcasts, I needed a break. Thankfully I had a few back episodes of Currently Reading (and What Should I Read Next) to listen to this week. I love their discussions about books and only books.

Making: We’re going to attempt fry bread this week to go along with our lessons about Native Americans of the Southwest.

Feeling: I’m so out of sorts this week and I just don’t even know why. Things are all just topsy-turvy. I think I need to get outside more and enjoy the fall season. I really do love this time of the year usually.

Planning: No trick-or-treating for us this year. I’m continuing to plan some fun Halloween party items instead.

Loving: I am enjoying the beautiful leaves in our neighborhood. I was very excited to move into a neighborhood with mature trees. They are so pretty!

Next up on the TBR pile:

October 2020 Life Goals

Let’s check in on September’s goals and my progress. Things did not go as planned as we unexpectedly had to travel to Indiana for over a week in the middle of the month.

• Get a Notary for the Trash Cans - Fail

• Preplan the next four weeks of homeschooling ✓

• Check out the new note taking app - Fail

• Read 15 books - Fail. So close with 14 reads!

• Organize my end of year reading plan - Fail

• Plan Saturday art projects - Fail

October’s Goals:

• Walk at least 20 miles on the treadmill/outdoors

• Read 15 books

• Cross off at least 5 items on my Fall Bucket List

• Plan out October and 1/2 of November for Homeschool - This includes my library book rotation, theme activities, nature play, and literature.

• Line up November’s TBR pile

• Start planning Christmas gifts

• Thanksgiving plans?

• Plan a Halloween party for the kids (and maybe one friend)

Next up on the TBR list:

Odds and Ends

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:

Currently #15

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:

Homeschool W6-7: A Big Interruption

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.

What We Studied

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.

Highs

• 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.

Lows

• 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:

Fall Bucket List

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…

1. Visit Vala’s

2. Read 5 Chapter Book Read-alouds

3. Carve Pumpkins

4. Go Apple Picking

5. Read 15 Books from My UnRead Shelf

6. Hike at Fontenelle Forest

7. Go on a Hayride

8. Take Pictures of Boys in a Pile of Leaves

9. Bake a Pie

10. Watch 10 Fall/Spooky Movies

11. Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

12. Decorate the Front Porch

13. Make a Leaf Craft

14. Buy Halloween Pajamas

15. Read 15 Spooky Kids Books

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer Bucket List Update #3

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.

1. Visit Heron Haven

2. Comic Book Day

3. Make Ice Cream Sundaes

4. Hitchcock Nature Center

5. 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

6. Board Game Day

7. Scatter Joy Acres

8. Finger Paint

9. Read 50 books (50/50) ✓

10. Have a Backyard Picnic ✓

11. Weekly Sprinkler Time ✓

12. Go to the Zoo 5x (3/5)

13. Make S’mores

14. Tie Dye Something

15. Hopscotch in Driveway

16. Hike at the River ✓

17. Complete Two Jigsaw Puzzles

18. Make Doughnuts

Next up on the TBR pile: