Winter Bucket List

2020 has been such a strange year. Here’s hoping 2021 starts off better than the last year ended. I’m not going to make a big list as I know things are still very strange.

Read 45 books
Complete Two Jigsaw Puzzles
Movie Month February
Weekly Game Day/Night
Have an Indoor Picnic
Make Ice Cream Sundaes
DIY Spa Night
Buy Fresh Flowers Biweekly
Take a Winter Hike
Read 50 Winter Picture Books
Make a Blanket and Pillow Fort
Use Food Coloring to Make Pictures in the Snow
Bake Cookies
Make a Snowglobe
Have a Board Game Night
Have a Craft Day
Make a Bird Feeder

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Finish

Instead of a separate bucket list, I’m just going to highlight our advent activities for December. I bought the cute countdown kit from Stampin’ Up and using that as my calendar.

Decorate mini tree ✓

Write a letter to Santa ✓

Go See Santa at Cabela’s ✓

Lego Build ✓

Xmas PJs ✓

Go See Werner Park Lights ✓

Coloring Books ✓

Bath bombs ✓

Window Clings ✓

Zorinsky Park Lights - canceled due to bad weather

Decorate Gingerbread Houses ✓

Hot Chocolate Bar ✓

Stamp and Ink to Make Cards ✓

Make Gingerbread Cookies ✓

Watch The Nutcracker ✓

Paper wreaths and snowflakes ✓

Puzzle Day ✓

Watch 5 Christmas Movies ✓

Babes in Toyland ✓
Elf ✓
White Christmas ✓
Muppet Christmas Carol ✓
Christmas Vacation ✓
The Grinch ✓

Cookie Decorating ✓

Christmas Music Dance Party ✓

Drive around and see the lights ✓

Next up on the TBR pile:

2021 Desserts and Snacks

And just like that we are onto our third yearly food project. First year was grilled cheese (got a bit repetitive) and our second year was Soups and Stews Around the World (loved it), so this year I wanted to go a completely different direction. We are going to strive to make 52 New-to-Us Desserts and Snacks. Some will be recipes that I’ve had for a long time but never made. Some will be completely new. Some will be ones that are recommended from friends. Some will be ones that I purposely seek out. Whatever form they my take, all our recipes will be ones that we have never attempted before. I am going to try and balance our heavy desserts with lighter breakfast-style baked goods and interesting snacks (some might be more like appetizers). I’ve got a Pinterest board full of possibilities, a few options already in Paprika, and a stack of recipes books on my floor all ready to dive into this year’s project!

2020 Soups and Stews from Around the World - Top 10 Picks!

We ended up making 53 recipes from 53 different countries and territories throughout the world. Our basic plan was to rotate through regions to not overload ourselves in similar flavor profiles. Each of our Top 10 lists have some variations, but we ended up having a lot of crossover. There were some definite wins and definite losses through the year. Overall, I really enjoyed this project! We didn’t reach every country we wanted and even left out some big ones (India and China come to mind), so we are going to informally continue this project into the next few years. I want to scratch off all the countries and flags on my world map. But, let’s see what we loved this year:

My Top 10 Picks!

I ended up with a wide range taste profiles and countries. All of our Top 10 picks are definitely going into regular rotation.

Sega Wat from Ethiopia - Hands down the best recipe we made!
Gazpacho from Spain - I will be making this one many times during the hot months.
Maafe from Senegal - Such a flavorful peanut stew.
Mang Cua from Vietnam - Loved this flavor profile!
Prawn and Sweet Potato Curry from Jamaica - Spicy jerk blend really elevated this one!
Miso from Japan - Super simple but oh so tasty!
Fesenjan from Iran - Different flavor profile that I really enjoyed.
Cullen Skink from Scotland - Really really good and could be better with proper smoked haddock.
Chili Verde from Mexico - Love my Tex-Mex style recipes.
Asam Pedas from Malaysia - I really loved the flavor profile and think I can make this even better.

2020 Soups and Stews from Around the World - November and December

Recipe 40: Ajiaco from Chile

A very standard type of beef stew. Not great, but a good variation of beef stew.

Recipe used from Mi Diario de Cocina

Recipe 41: Farikal (Lamb and Cabbage Soup) from Norway

This was interesting… J liked it, I was less sure. There is a very strong lamb taste to this dish and I wasn’t quite sure that I loved it. The peppercorns really do elevate the dish.

Recipe used from Fusion Craftiness

Recipe 42: Soupe au Pistou (Vegetable Soup) from Monaco

Good vegetable soup. I especially liked the garnish on top; added a nice bit of extra flavor.

Recipe used from International Cuisine

Recipe 43: Carbonada Criolla from Argentina

Decent beef stew. I think I would up the amount of wine, apricots, and prunes and lessen the amount of potatoes if we make it again.

Recipe used from Sugar Loves Spices

Recipe 44: Lamb Soup from Iceland

I liked this so much more than the Norwegian version. A subtler lamb flavor and more vegetables. Pretty good!

Recipe used from Foodie Quine

Recipe 45: Dovi (Peanut Stew) from Zimbabwe

This was so so good! We are definitely adding this into a regular rotation. Our only big change was to add more peri-peri sauce and sub in squash for okra (the store didn’t have any okra).

Recipe used from Arousing Appetites

Recipe 46: Scallop Bisque from Ireland

Ooh.. This was good, but could be amazing. We’re keeping it on our list of things to play around with.

Recipe used from Beyond Mere Sustenance

Recipe 47: Beef Stew from Flanders

I liked the beer flavor in this one, but the rest of it was pretty bland. We want big flavor in this house, and this one didn’t do it.

Recipe used from Ang Sarap

Recipe 48 : Mushroom and Potato Soup from Russia

Decent potato soup. I liked the inclusion of the dill, but otherwise it wasn’t amazing.

Recipe used from Tara’s Multicultural Table

Recipe 49 : Laksa Soup from Singapore

This was decent, but there’s something missing from the recipe. J and I kept debating different ingredients all through dinner. I bet I can figure this out and make the dish really really good. Also, I need less noodles and more broth next time.

Recipe used from Canadian Cooking Adventures

Recipe 50: Onion Soup from France

This was so good! So very rich, but so very good! It might end up on our Top 10 for the year.

Recipe used from The Kitchn

Recipe 51: Creamy Pineapple Soup from Cambodia

This was really good! With a couple of tweaks (more chili, add in some pineapple juice), I think it could be absolutely amazing!

Recipe used from Homemade and Yummy

Recipe 52: Chili Verde from Mexico

Really good! It was mild, but we could easily kick up the spice factor with more peppers. As is, we added some hot sauce on top with a dollop of sour cream and avocado. We ate it with tortilla chips.

Recipe used from Closet Cooking

Recipe 53: Fish Curry from the Seychelles

This was pretty good, but not quite great. The smell was amazing, but the taste didn’t live up to the smell.

Recipe used from The Food Dictator

2021 Goals and Resolutions

Checking in with my 2020 Goals and Resolutions - Obviously this turned into a very strange year and some of these goals and resolutions just couldn’t happen.

House Goals/Resolutions

Successfully move into our new house! ✓
Make a list of house renovations/projects and complete at least 50% - Nope. Quarantining put a weird damper on this goal.
Create a plan to tackle the house one room at a time ✓ - We do have a more solid plan.

Life Goals/Resolutions

Get back into a gym schedule - We dropped our membership due to COVID, but did buy a treadmill in July and have been more intentional in using it.
Complete our 52 Weeks of Soups and Stews Around the World (adding some permanently to Paprika) ✓ - We completed 53 different recipes.
Create a spending budget and stick to it - Nope. I completely forgot about this.
Create and stick to a new weekly routine for Quentin and Arthur - Nope.
Plan and complete a fun summer road trip! - Nope. Cancelled.
Plan and complete a reading retreat! - Nope. Cancelled.

Reading Goals/Resolutions

Read 200 books / 50,000 pages ✓
Decrease my physical UnRead Shelves by 50 books - Nope. I didn’t get very many completed.
Decrease my ebook UnRead Shelves by 30 books - Nope. But I did get closer than the previous goal.
Create a library/reading space in the new house ✓ - Loving my space!
Follow my reading whims/cravings instead of rigid reading challenges ✓

Craft Goals/Resolutions

Finish all currently in progress projects - Nope. Completely unrealtistic goal.
Organize a craft space in the new house ✓ - In December, but I did it!
Take stock of my supplies and use them! ✓ - I need to do a bit more organizing and weeding, but I did buy less this year.

And now on to 2021…

House Goals/Resolutions

Tackle at least one big renovation project - We’re thinking it’s probably going to be landscaping and the deck. The deck is going to be a safety issue pretty soon so we at least need to remove it this summer at some point.
Lay out a kitchen renovation plan - The actual construction won’t be for a few years, but we need to figure out most of the plan soon as it might impact some other house projects.

Life Goals/Resolutions

Set a treadmill goal for every month - I am really enjoying the convenience of having a treadmill in the basement. I need a firmer schedule, but it has been going well.
Complete our 52 Weeks of Desserts and Snack
Plan and Complete a fun summer road trip
Plan and complete a reading retreat

Reading Goals/Resolutions

Set up a book buying budget - Last year I spent somewhere around $315 on books. For this year, I’m going to set a budget of $350 to spend on books (new, used, or ebooks).
Read 200 books / 50,000 pages
Decrease my physical UnRead Shelves by 50 books
Decrease my ebook UnRead Shelves by 30 books

Craft Goals/Resolutions

Complete at least 60% of my currently in-progress projects
Finish organizing my craft space
Organize and use my supplies! (limited buying)

Next up on the TBR pile:

January 2021 Life Goals

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

Read 15 Books ✓
Plan Out January for Homeschooling ✓
Send Out Christmas Cards ✓
Walk at Least 20 miles on the Treadmill - Fail. But I got fairly close with 16 miles.
Clean Out TBR Piles, Lists, Etc. ✓

January’s Goals:

Read 15 Books
Plan Out Our 52 Desserts and Snacks for January, February, and March
Walk at Least 20 Miles on the Treadmill
Do a Goodwill Donation Run
Put Together Drawers for Boys
Prep for February Movie Month
Make Eye Appointments
Make Dentist Appointments
Make Driver’s License Appointment

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W18: The End of the Fall Semester!

I somehow managed to not take a single picture of homeschooling this week. I have pictures of our advent activities, just not our regular school stuff. Oh well…

What We Studied

Another week of anatomy, coding, and Greece! We’re taking it easy this month and not pushing the curriculum too far. Plus we have all those fun advent activities to fit in! With the end of this week, we are officially done with the fall semester.

Literature and Poetry

We finished Book 4 and almost Book 5 of Tales from the Odyssey. I’m hoping to finish reading this one before Christmas, but we might be cutting it really close.

Tales from the Odyssey Part 2 by Mary Pope Osborne

Math

Instead of continuing Singapore Math, we switched over and started learning about computer science. We are slowing working through the second Ruby book. We’ll be continuing this unit into January. (Arthur has also been doing daily math pages to keep up his arithmetic skills.)

Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding by Linda Liukas

Social Studies

History was all about Greece. We wrapped up our study of Greece with the Macedonians on Friday. Arthur really enjoyed learning about the Greeks. We watched a great NOVA episode about Archimedes.

How People Lived in Ancient Greece by Colin Hynson
Eyewitness: Ancient Greece
Ancients in Their Own Words: Ancient Greece by Michael Kerrigan
Ancient Greece: Voyages Through Time by Peter Ackroyd
Great Leaders and Thinkers of Ancient Greece by Megan Cooley Peterson
Socrates by Jim Whitting
Gods and Goddesses by Danielle Smith-Llera
What Did the Greeks Do for Me by Patrick Catel

Science

Science until Christmas is all about anatomy and physiology. This week we covered the cardiovascular system. respiratory system, and nervous system.

Eyewitness: Human Body
My Amazing Body Machine by Robert Winston
The Magic School Bus Has a Heart
Organs! by Nancy Winslow Parker
The Brain is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk
The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes by Julia Finley Mosca

Art

No formal art lessons this month, but we are doing a variety of projects related to the season and to our other subjects. This week Arthur did

Music

Our composer this week was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. I love all of has ballets so we did a bit of a deeper dive into Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. I found some great picture books based on the ballets and we eventually watched a ballet version of The Nutcracker on Friday night.

Swan Lake retold by Ji-yeong Lee
The Nutcracker retold by Bo-geum Cha
Waltz of the Snowflakes by Elly Mackay
The Nutcracker Comes to America by Chris Barton

Unit Theme

Our unit theme until Christmas is holidays around the world. We did some random holiday activities this week. Plus, we are doing an advent (see my Christmas Bucket List post) that is all holiday themed. Finally, I wrapped the 24 days of Christmas books again this year to enjoy. The boys love opening a package of two books every night. I got some new ones from the library along with some old favorites (both borrowed and owned).

24 Days of Books

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace
Sammy Claws by Lucy Rowland and Paula Bowles
One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland
The Nutcracker by Grace Maccarone
It’s Christmas! by Tracey Corderoy
Jingle Bells by Rosie Greening
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Kate Toms
Christmas City by Michael Garland
Wintercake by Lynne Rae Perkins
The Christmas Crocodile by Bonny Becker
Little Bear’s Special Friend by Claire Freedman
The Littlest Elf by Brandi Dougherty
The Littlest Reindeer by Brandi Dougherty

Misc. - Random picture books read

Dragon’s Fat Cat by Dav Pilkey
There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor by Wade Bradford
Never Follow a Dinosaur by Alex Latimer
Thomas the Tank Engine: Thomas and the Beanstalk
Merry Christmas Peppa
Chicks by Sandra Horning
Finding Christmas by Lezlie Evans
A Christmas Sweater for Nina by Cecilia Heikkila

Highs

I can’t believe that we have finished a semester of homeschooling. Accomplishments!
I’m loving the easy pace of this holiday season.

Lows

We didn’t quite finish Tales of the Odyssey yet. We’ll continue so we can finish, but I wanted a clean break.

Next Week

We are going to continue with our holiday activities and do a bit of literature and math. I hope to finish Tales from the Odyssey before Christmas Day. We’re going to take a few days off after Christmas to be very lazy. But I am making a small New Year’s unit to break up the time. I’m planning to start the spring semester on January 10th.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #3

Instead of a separate bucket list, I’m just going to highlight our advent activities for December. I bought the cute countdown kit from Stampin’ Up and using that as my calendar.

Decorate mini tree ✓

Write a letter to Santa ✓

Go See Santa at Cabela’s ✓

Lego Build ✓

Xmas PJs ✓

Go See Werner Park Lights ✓

Coloring Books ✓

Bath bombs ✓

Window Clings ✓

Zorinsky Park Lights - canceled due to bad weather

Decorate Gingerbread Houses ✓

Hot Chocolate Bar ✓

Stamp and Ink to Make Cards ✓ - The boys made some cards to send to Grandma Becky and Grandma Heidi and Papa Bill.

Make Gingerbread Cookies ✓ - I love making fluffy gingerbread molasses cookies. We even delivered some cookies to our neighbors.

Watch The Nutcracker ✓ - After studying Tchaikovsky all week, we then watched the Royal Opera House version of The Nutcracker ballet. The boys actually sat through the entire thing.

Paper wreaths and snowflakes ✓ - Our big picture window is now very decorated.

Puzzle Day ✓ - A 300 piece puzzle was the perfect difficulty level for an afternoon’s worth of puzzling.

Watch 5 Christmas Movies - in Progress

Babes in Toyland ✓
Elf ✓
White Christmas ✓
Muppet Christmas Carol
The Polar Express
The Grinch

Items Left to Do:

Go for a hike and get pine cones
Melty Bead Kits
Cookie Decorating
Christmas music dance party

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

I’ve blown past my reading challenge number. Quarantining has done wonders for my reading in some ways.
I did three advent activities yesterday (paper snowflakes, gingerbread cookies, Christmas cards). I’m doing something easy today.
Excited to make Arthur watch a version of The Nutcracker ballet tomorrow night.
Need to work on my plan and grocery lists for Christmas week and the week after.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W17: Wild Weather Week!

Running across the park to get the wiggles out!

What We Studied

Another week of anatomy, coding, and Greece! We’re taking is easy this month and not pushing the curriculum too far. Plus we have all those fun advent activities to fit in!

Literature and Poetry

We finished Part 1 and have moved into Part 2. Arthur liked the story more when we really get into more of the monsters. He especially liked Scylla.

Tales from the Odyssey Part 1 by Mary Pope Osborne
Tales from the Odyssey Part 2 by Mary Pope Osborne

Math

Instead of continuing Singapore Math, we switched over and started learning about computer science. We finished the first book with Ruby and have moved onto the second book. Some of the activities in the back of the book are great to reinfornce certain ideas. This past week we talked about and, or statements, logic gates, and pixels. (Arthur has also been doing daily math pages to keep up his arithmetic skills.)

Hello Ruby: Journey Inside the Computer by Linda Liukas
Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding by Linda Liukas
Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Social Studies

History was all about Greece (and will be about Greece until Christmas). We wrapped up the Minoans and Mycenaeans and talked about the development of Greece, specifically the rise of the city-states. We focused a bit on Sparta and learned about their way of life. This coming week will feature Athens and then Alexander the Great.

How People Lived in Ancient Greece by Colin Hynson
Eyewitness: Ancient Greece
Ancients in Their Own Words: Ancient Greece by Michael Kerrigan
Ancient Greece: Voyages Through Time by Peter Ackroyd
The Wooden Horse of Troy by Cari Meister
The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War by Emily Little
Ancient Greece by Mari McGee
The First Olympics by Lisa M. Bolt Simons

Science

Science until Christmas is all about anatomy and physiology. We studies the muscular and digestive systems. Now Arthur just wants to tell me poop jokes all the time.

Eyewitness: Human Body
My Amazing Body Machine by Robert Winston

Art

No formal art lessons this month, but we are doing a variety of projects related to the season and to our other subjects. This week Arthur did a drawing of the Trojan Horse and some free drawing for holiday time.

Music

Our composer this week was Ralph Vaughan Williams. Another composer that I have definitely heard his music, but couldn’t place the name. Arthur was not a fan.

Unit Theme

24 Days of Books

Auntie Clause for the Holidays by Elisa Primavera
Maple and Willow’s Christmas Tree by Lori Nichols
Holiday Heroes Save the Christmas by Adam Wallace
Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
The Perfect Christmas by Eileen Spinelli
The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray
Turkey Claus by Wendi Silvano
Just Right for Christmas by Birdie Black
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Carolyn Conahan
The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton
A Christmas Tree for Pyn by Olivier Dunrea
Was That Christmas? by Hilary McKay
Dino-Christmas by Lisa Wheeler
The Knights Before Christmas by Joan Holub
Henry and Mudge and a Very Merry Christmas by Cynthia Rylant
Here Comes Santa Cat by Deborah Underwood

Misc. - Random picture books read

John Cena Elbow Grease: My Monster Truck Family
Zen Happiness by Jon J Muth
Goldenlocks and the Three Pirates by April Jones Prince

Highs

it was 60 degrees on Tuesday and we played at the park!
And then it was below freezing on Friday and Saturday and the boys played in the snow! They loved both days.

Lows

Feeling a bit of crunch in terms of getting through everything I planned for this month. Outwardly being very light and relaxed; inwardly a bit wound up.

Next Week

More of the same topics! We will be continuing with the development of Ancient Greece, reading The Odyssey, learning about computers, exploring the human body, choosing a new composer, and doing all the holiday activities!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #2

Instead of a separate bucket list, I’m just going to highlight our advent activities for December. I bought the cute countdown kit from Stampin’ Up and using that as my calendar.

Decorate mini tree ✓

Write a letter to Santa ✓

Go See Santa at Cabela’s ✓

Lego Build ✓

Xmas PJs ✓ - Carter’s order to the rescue!

Go See Werner Park Lights ✓ - Given that we can’t really go anywhere this year, this was totally worth the admission fee.

Coloring Books ✓ - I grabbed two from the Target Dollar Spot. The boys have been coloring in them here and there all week.

Bath bombs ✓ - The boys used one already, but we have two more bath bombs for future fun times.

Window Clings ✓ - Another Target cheap find.

Zorinsky Park Lights - canceled due to bad weather

Decorate Gingerbread Houses ✓ - More like deconstructed gingerbread houses, but we did it and the kids loved the activity.

Hot Chocolate Bar ✓ - Arthur’s favorite was the milk chocolate; Quentin’s favorite was the marshmallow; Mom’s favorite was the caramel

Watch 5 Christmas Movies - in Progress

Babes in Toyland ✓
Elf ✓
White Christmas ✓
The Polar Express
The Grinch

Items Left to Do:

Stamp and Ink to Make Cards
Go for a hike and get pine cones
Watch The Nutcracker
Melty Bead Kits
Make Gingerbread Cookies
Puzzle Day
Cookie Decorating
Paper wreaths and snowflakes
Christmas music dance party

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W16: A Week and a Half in One!

What We Studied

Before we get to our W16 studies, we did some Thanksgiving activities during our pseudo-break week. There were some fun turkey based games and puzzles. Arthur really got into Captain Underpants, and made lots of comic stories based on the character. Beyond those activities, we read a ton of picture books over the week.

Picture Books We Read:

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental
Presents Through the Window by Taro Gomi
I’m Trying to Love Math by Bethany Barton
Pirates Aren’t Afraid of the Dark by Maudie Powell-Tuck
Hogula, Dread Pig of Night by Jean Gralley
Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
Thanksgiving with Me by Margaret Willey
Llama Llama Gives Thanks by Anna Dewdney
Turkey Tot by George Shannon
The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors by Drew Daywalt
Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler
Boom Snot Twitty: This Way, That Way by Doreen Cronin
This is a Book of Shapes by Kenneth Kraegel
Bear Out There by Jacob Grant
Swing by Michael Hall
This is a Book to Read with a Worm by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen
I am a Story by Dan Yaccarino
Dump Truck’s Colors by Sherri Duskey Rinker
Duck and Hippo Give Thanks by Jonathan London
Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka
The Thanksgiving Bowl by Virginia Kroll

Literature and Poetry

We started reading the story of the The Odyssey to go along with our history study of Greece. So far, Arthur seems to like it, but still has trouble settling into storytime.

Tales from the Odyssey Part 1 by Mary Pop Osborne

Math

Instead of continuing Singapore Math, we switched over and started learning about computer science. We have a book on Ruby, but I also picked up some other books from the library to supplement. Crash Course has a 40 video series on Computer Science that is great if a bit much for Arthur right now. We did watch three episodes this week: history of computer, early computing, and early computer languages. We also did a bio on Ada Lovelace and talked a lot about how computers work, both the hardware and software. We’ll be getting more into computing languages next week. (Arthur has also been doing daily math pages to keep up his arithmetic skills.)

Kids Get Coding: A World of Programming by Heather Lyons
Ada Lovelace: Poet of Science by Diane Stanley
Ada’s Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World’s First Computer Programmer by Fiona Robinson
Kids Get Coding: Learn to Program by Heather Lyons
Hello Ruby: Journey Inside the Computer by Linda Liukas
The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang

Social Studies

History was all about Greece (and will be about Greece until Christmas). This week we started with the Minoans and Mycenaeans. We learned about their culture, history, and art. We did a big of a deep dive into Akrotiri and the island of Thera. We talked about how environmental factors led to the downfall of the Minoans. Arthur really liked their sea life art. We also watched a NOVA episode about an ancient computer, the Antikythera Mechanism. Fascinating stuff! Arthur was sad that we have to wait until next week to watch another NOVA episode about Greece (I’m trying to space them out a bit). To help reinforce Greek myths, we started listening to National Geographic’s Greeking Out podcast. Each episode tells one of the Greek myths. I’m really enjoying those.

Count Your Way Through Greece by Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson
Lost Cities by Giles Laroche (Akrotiri)
How People Lived in Ancient Greece by Colin Hynson
Eyewitness: Ancient Greece

Science

Science until Christmas is all about anatomy and physiology. Arthur really got into the idea of studying the human body, so I created a huge two month unit. We began at an overall picture of the human body and will start going through each of the major systems. We only got through the skeletal system this week. But we did take a detour to watch two Magic School Bus episodes: one about cells and one about DNA. Good stuff!

Me and My Amazing Body by Joan Sweeney
Who We Are by Robie H. Harris
My Body by Martha Rustad
Inside Your Outside by Tish Rabe
Eyewitness: Human Body
Professor Astro Cat’s Human Body Odyssey
My Amazing Body Machine by Robert Winston
I Have a Skeleton by Simone T. Ribke

Art

No formal art lessons this month, but we are doing a variety of projects related to the season and to our other subjects. This week Arthur did a lot of drawing related to history and anatomy. The picture above is his version on parts of the Antikythera Mechanism from history. He also drew some pieces relating to our Magic School Bus episodes.

Music

Our composer this week was Franz Joseph Haydn. Arthur still insists that nobody can beat Beethoven (fair, fair), but he said Haydn was okay. He really did not like his Trumpet Concerto, but the string quartets were okay.

The Farewell Symphony by Anna Harwell Celenza
Biography by Carole Greene

Unit Theme

Our unit theme until Christmas is holidays around the world. This week we learned about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. Next week, we’ll be adding in more holiday activities. Plus, we are doing an advent (see my Christmas Bucket List post) that is all holiday themed. Finally, I wrapped the 24 days of Christmas books again this year to enjoy. The boys love opening a package of two books every night. I got some new ones from the library along with some old favorites (both borrowed and owned).

December by K.C. Kelley and Bob Ostrom
Kwanzaa by Julie Murray
Celebrate Kwanzaa by Carolyn Otto
World Holidays by Heather Moehn
Celebrate Hanukkah by Deborah Heiligman

24 Days of Books

The Crayons’ Christmas by Drew Daywalt
Over the River and Through the Woods by Linda Ashman
A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas by Jane Yolen
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
The Biggest Smallest Christmas Present by Harriet Muncaster
The is Christmas by Tom Booth
There’s an Elf in Your Book by Tom Fletcher

Misc. - Random picture books read

Violet and the Woof by Rebecca Grabill
The Eeensy Weensy Spider Freaks Out by Troy Cummings
Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
Storybots: Triceratops
Choo Choo School by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Happy Birthday Thomas
Dinosaur Farm by Frann Preston-Gannon

Highs

Going to see Santa at Cabela’s! We didn’t think we could see Santa this year, but the store made it possible with lots of rules and restrictions, but a painless process. We made a reservation for a Thursday at 10am ensuring that the store would be relatively empty. After pictures, we made sure to check out the taxidermy animals and the aquarium. Q really loved the big catfish.
Generally, our advent calendar is such a joy. I love Christmas and was bummed that we won’t be traveling this year. I rallied and made sure our advent was stocked with fun little gifts and activities.
My attitude change of just letting things go has helped not feel stressed about school. I’m purposely scheduling lighter weeks to enjoy the season.

Lows

Sound - seriously the boys can be so loud some days. My ears cannot take it. We need to find a way to enforce a quiet hour.
Library woes - The library is quarantining all books for 6 days after they are returned. We aren’t charged late fees, but have to wait extra time. At this point, they are very behind and my books are taking almost 10 days to be checked in after returning them. Couple that with the fact that many people still haven’t returned books from when the library was closed, and I’m a bit frustrated that I cannot get certain books. We’re winding down the semester and my numbers are going back down (want to get to almost 0 on all cards by Dec. 31st), but I need to strategize for next semester.

Next Week

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #1

Instead of a separate bucket list, I’m just going to highlight our advent activities for December. I bought the cute countdown kit from Stampin’ Up and using that as my calendar.

Decorate mini tree ✓ - As we aren’t traveling this year and we don’t have a big tree, I just bought a little tree that the boys could decorate. They love their little tree.

Write a letter to Santa ✓ - Arthur wants various Lego sets and Quentin wants dinosaurs.

Go See Santa at Cabela’s ✓ - We had to make reservations, but it was free and there was no one there on a Thursday at 10am. Perfect!

Lego Build ✓ - We got a mini Santa and Christmas tree kits to build.

Watch 5 Christmas Movies - in Progress

Babes in Toyland ✓
Elf ✓
The Polar Express
The Grinch

Xmas PJs

Items Left to Do:

Stamp and Ink to Make Cards
Go See Werner Park Lights
Go for a hike and get pine cones
Window Clings
Zorinsky Park Lights
Watch The Nutcracker
Melty Bead Kits
Gingerbread Cookies Make
Decorate Gingerbread Houses
Puzzle Day
Coloring Books
Hot Chocolate bar
Bath bombs
Cookie Decorating
Paper wreaths and snowflakes
Christmas music dance party

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Resisting the urge to load up my library holds. I really need to read the books I own.
Heading to see Santa today (following all the precautions) and hoping to get a good picture of the boys.
I miss having book club in person (hate the over-talking and weird ambient noise on Zoom), but clearly we will be doing this for another 6 months probably.
My kitchen attempts have not gone well this past week. Making Italian Beef Sandwiches tonight. I know these work so fingers crossed.
Is is strange that I want to read horror this December?
I missed a few weird hairs when cutting the boys’ hair. Guess I need to pull out the scissors.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List

Instead of a separate bucket list, I’m just going to highlight our advent activities for December.

Decorate Mini Tree
Letter to Santa
Go See Santa at Cabela’s
Lego Build
Christmas Movie
Xmas PJs
Stamp and Ink to Make Cards
Go See Werner Park Lights
Go for a hike and get pine cones
Window Clings
Zorinsky Park Lights
Watch The Nutcracker
Melty Bead Kits
Gingerbread Cookies Make
Decorate Gingerbread Houses
Puzzle Day
Coloring Books
Hot Chocolate bar
Christmas Movie
Bath bombs
Cookie Decorating
Paper wreaths and snowflakes
Christmas music dance party
Watch The Polar Express
Watch The Grinch

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2020 Life Goals

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

Read 15 Books ✓
Walk at Least 20 Miles on the Treadmill - Fail. I only logged 12 miles on the treadmill this past month.
Make Christmas Cards ✓
Clean out TBR Piles, Lists, Etc - Partially completed. I still ned to finish this before January.
Finish Out Homeschool Planning for the Semester ✓

December’s Goals:

Read 15 Books
Plan Out January for Homeschooling
Send Out Christmas Cards
Walk at Least 20 Miles on the Treadmill
Clean Out TBR Piles, Lists, Etc.

Next up on the TBR list:

Fall Bucket List Finish Line

I ended up with a respectable showing of 11/15 tasks completed.

Visit Vala’s ✓
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
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Carve Pumpkins ✓
Go Apple Picking ✓
Read 15 Books from My UnRead Shelf (2/15)
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
- Labyrinth
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Hocus Pocus
Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
Decorate the Front Porch ✓
Make a Leaf Craft ✓
Buy Halloween Pajamas ✓
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:

Currently #19

Reading: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff - Oh so good! But very hard to explain.

Watching: We started the second season of His Dark Materials and it is just amazing.

Listening: Loving all the episodes of Lore. I like to play the game of guessing what he is going to talk about based on the first five minutes.

Making: I finally, finally, finally started making Christmas cards! I made 18 cards in the past three days.

Feeling: I had to go grocery shopping and it started sleeting while I was in there. Very chilly day yesterday…

Planning: I’m working on getting all the Thanksgiving components scheduled out. It’s going to be a little bit harder to make everything without two ovens.

Loving: I need apple cider in my everyday life…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W15: We're Really into Weather This Week!

What We Studied

We continued our study of weather and finished our reading of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. We also slowed down a bit and let some thing go. And I spent some time planning our our second semester.

Literature and Poetry

We finished reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I was super excited to finish my re-reading of this volume. On Saturday night, we watched the newer movie version. Arthur loved it, but was scared at a few parts. He’s very sensitive about movies and television shows right now. On Friday, we did a literature study of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in connection with our weather unit. Arthur loved comparing the book to the movie version.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
Pickles to Pittsburgh by Judi Barrett
Planet of the Pies by Judi Barrett

Math

Another big review week for math. We played some math games, did some Khan Academy, and did some review sheets.

Mummy Math by Cindy Neuschwander
Math Potatoes by Greg Tang

Social Studies

We did a mini study of the Native groups of the Southeast with focus on the Cherokee and the Seminole. We also finished watching the PBS documentary Native America. It was such a great series. I was sad that we reached the end. We also did a mini study on the continent of Europe.

The Southeast Indians Daily Life in the 1500s by Kathy Jo Slusher-Haas
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp
Osceola by Santana Hunt
The Cherokees by Michelle Levine
The Cherokees by Anne M. Todd
We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
We are Grateful by Traci Sorell
Europe by Sandra Newman
Europe by Mary Lindeen
Introducing Europe by Chris Oxlade

Science

We carried over our weather study into this week. Specifically we studied extreme weather and a bit of climate change. We also watched an interesting NOVA episode about tornadoes and tornado prediction. Plus we watched a few Magic School Bus episodes about weather formation and weathering.

Tornado or Dust Devil? by Josh Plattner
Tornadoes! by Gail Gibbons
Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Cheyenne Lewison
Little Cloud by Eric Carle
Hurricane or Waterspout? by Josh Plattner
What Makes a Blizzard? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Hurricanes! by Gail Gibbons
Winter Storm or Blizzard? by Kelly Doudna
I Don’t Like Rain! by Sarah Dillard
Good Night, Wind by Linda Elovitz Marshall
Rain by Sam Usher
Snow by Sam Usher
Worm Weather by Jean Taft
Watch Out for Muddy Puddles! by Ben Faulks
Storm by Sam Usher
Raindrops All Around by Charles Ghigna
Puddle by Richard Jackson
Home in the Rain by Bob Graham
Stormy Weather by Debi Gliori
Like a Windy Day by Frank and Devon Asch

Art

None formal this week.

Music

Our composer was Johann Strauss Jr. I love his waltzes and Arthur enjoyed more of them. I think he liked the Tritsch-Tratsch Polka the most.

Unit Theme

Our theme was Thankfulness in anticipation of Thanksgiving. We we all also continue this theme into next week.

It’s Thanksgiving Poems by Jack Pretlutsky
Giving Thanks by Ellen Surrey
The Can-Do Thanksgiving by Marion Hess Pomeranc
Gobble Gobble Mr. Wobble by Becky Cummings
Thanksgiving Rules by Laurie Friedman
We Gather Together by Wendy Pfeffer
Over the River by Derek Anderson
Thanksgiving and Other Festivals of the Harvest by Betsy Richardson
Thanksgiving Mice by Bethany Roberts
Gobble Gobble by Cathryn Falwell
‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
Gobble Gobble Crash by Julie Stiegemeyer
Thanksgiving Day at Our House by Nancy White Carlstorm
Thelonius Turkey Lives! by Lynn Rowe Reed

Misc. - Random picture books read

Green on Green by Dianne White
Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
Thomas and Friends: Thomas and the Piglets
Little Taco Truck by Tanya Valentine and Jorge Martin
Henry and Mudge: The First Book by Cynthia Rylant
Encore, Opera Cat! by Tess Weaver
Dino School: Peter Can Fly! by Bonnie Williams
Why Should I Protect Nature by Jen Green
Honk! Splat! Vroom! by Barry Gott (a Quentin favorite)

Highs

Love Arthur’s enthusiasm for our weather unit (and science in general).
Doing a math review week was definitely a good choice.

Lows

I’m missing our history lessons.

Next Week

We are having an off-week in terms of scheduling and planning. I have a few small packets made up to do some math and language arts review. I also have some leftover Thanksgiving themed activities to do each day. So a bit of an informal week for Thanksgiving.

Next up on the TBR pile: