February 2021 Life Goals

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

• Read 15 Books ✓

• Plan Out Our 52 Desserts and Snacks for January, February, and March ✓

• Walk at Least 20 Miles on the Treadmill - Fail. I only did 15.91 miles on the treadmill.

• Do a Goodwill Donation Run - Fail, although I have started two bags.

• Put Together Drawers for Boys - Fail.

• Prep for February Movie Month ✓ - I have a short list of about 90 movies to choose from.

• Make Eye Appointments - Fail.

• Make Dentist Appointments - Fail.

• Make Driver’s License Appointment - Fail.

February Goals:

• Read 15 books, At Least 5 Unread Shelf Reads

• Layout Podcast Episodes - A project J and I are working on for March or April. More info to come.

• Make 4 52 Desert Recipes - I got a big behind in January. Hoping to catch up.

• Walk at Least 20 Miles on the Treadmill - I need to be a bit more intentional about this one.

• Put Together Drawers for Boys

• Make Eye Appointments - Carryover goal

• Make Dentist Appointments - Carryover goal

• Make Driver’s License Appointment - Carryover

• Make a Spring Wish List - I’m planning on taking a bit of money (not much, but a big) of my paycheck for the last quarter to update my wardrobe a little bit. Not super exciting, but things like underwear, gym shoes, and lounge pants to replace my worn out things.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W21: So Much Snow!

What We Studied

We started our week with almost 14 inches of snow in about 24 hours! Oh goodness. The boys have really gotten into playing in the snow, but our previous snowfall had long since melted. We were super excited to watch the snow fall all day and night on Monday so we could play in the snow for the rest of the week. I’ve never been so glad to not have to leave the house for 4 days or so as we dug out.

Literature and Poetry

We did a ton of picture book studies, read alouds, and independent reading this week! We’re really leaning into being literature-based homeschoolers. Oh so good! We finished our Matilda read aloud and started our Just Beyond the Very Very Far North read aloud. On Friday night, we watched the Danny DeVito/Mara Wilson movie version of Matilda. Both boys really loved watching the movie. We even had a little discussion about the changes the movie made to the story. We all agreed that it’s still a really good movie. We also celebrated our 100th Day of School with some books and a Lego build.

• Matilda by Roald Dahl

• Just Beyond the Very Very Far North by Dan Bar-el

• Blizzard by John Rocco

• The Hat by Jan Brett

• Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

• Ready, Set, 100th Day by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

• Rocket’s 100th Day of School by Tad Hills

• Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

• Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel by Adam Rubin

• When the Sun Shines on Antarctica by Irene Latham (poems)

• Who Ate My Book by Tina Kugler (Arthur read)

• Rocket Brave by Tad Hills (Arthur read)

• Peanut Butter’s First Day of School by Terry Border (Arthur read)

Math

We officially started Singapore Math 2A Common Core Edition this week. It’s definitely a big review for Arthur, but it’s great to get some extra practice before we tackle the next big milestone.

• Peg + Cat: The Penguin Problem by Jennifer Oxley

• Give Me Half by Stuart J. Murphy

Monday Night

Social Studies

We got back into ancient world history this week and covered two chapters and a continent study. We covered Mesoamerica (huge hit with Arthur) and the Kushites and Aksumites. Beyond the history, we covered North America for our continent study. That leaves just Australia for the continents.

• The Ancient Maya by Jackie Maloy

• Eyewitness: Aztec, Inca, and Maya

• National Geographic Investigates Ancient Maya by Nathaniel Harris

• Ancient Maya by Sue Bradford Edwards

• Ancient Maya by Barbara A. Somervill

• African Beginnings by James Haskins and Kathleen Benson

• National Geographic Investigates Ancient Africa by Victoria Sherrow

• Arts of Ancient Nubia by Denise M. Doxey

• North America by Libby Koponen

• North America by Mary Lindeen

Science

Part of our Unit Theme This Week

Art

Nothing Formal This Week

Music

Our composer this week was Scott Joplin. Arthur was amazed at how many of his compositions that he had heard in cartoons and movies. Definitely one of those composers that we don’t know the name but know the music. By the end of the week, I made a big change to our music curriculum. Instead of doing week-long composers for February, I’m creating an almost month-long unit on Jazz for February! Joplin was a great starting point to head into next month’s lessons.

• Scott Joplin by Russell Roberts

Unit Theme

We covered Penguins this week. Arthur definitely gets into animal science and this was perfect.

• A Rookery of Penguins and Other Bird Groups by Jilly Hunt

• Penguin Day by Nic Bishop

• A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis

• A Small Blue Whale by Beth Ferry

• If You were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor

• Little Penguin Stays Awake by Tadgh Bentley

• The Frozen March of Emperor Penguins by Beth Bence Reinke

• I am Pangoo the Penguin by Satome Ichikawa

• Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant

• Penguinaut by Marcie Colleen

• Five Flying Penguins by Barbara Barbieri McGrath

• Penguins Don’t Wear Sweaters by Marikka Tamura

• Pip the Little Penguin by Roger Priddy

• Chilly Da Vinci by J. Rutland

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Winter is Here by Kevin Henkes

• Bedtime for Yeti by Vin Vogel

• The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel

• Now What? by Robie H. Harris

• Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Mechenmoser

• Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming

• Max and Marla by Alexandra Boiger

• Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows

• Baby Bear’s Not Hibernating by Lynn Plourde

• Sizing Up Winter by Lizann Flatt

• The Most Perfect Snowman by Chris Britt

• Polar Opposites by Erik Brooks

• Two Wool Gloves by Bo Jin

• Pip and Squeak by Ian Schoenherr

• Winter is for Snow by Robert Neubecker

• Snow by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

• Best in Snow by April Pulley Sayre

• Sam the Snowman by Susan Winget

• Where's Walrus? And Penguin? by Stephen Savage

• Dear Yeti by James Kwan

• A Really Good Snowman by Daniel J. Mahoney

• The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear

Highs

• The snowfall was a great event for the week. The boys have been outside playing every day. Glad to be able to get some fresh air this week.

• I’ve been loving all the winter themed picture books I got from the library.

• Speaking of, really loving that our library is open right now. The boys and I did our usual visit on Friday get our multiple bags of books.

Lows

• We didn’t finish our Penguin Unit by the weekend. I don’t want to just scrap up, so I had to rework this coming week to finish penguins on Monday.

• Cooking just didn’t really happen this week and we didn’t get to the recipes I wanted to make with Arthur.

Next Week

We’re going to finish up our Penguin unit and finish off our big overall winter theme with Ice and Snow for our unit theme. I have a mini lesson for Groundhog Day incorporating some picture books, geography, and weather science. We are also going to start our 3 week Jazz Unit for music. I’m really looking forward to this one! We’ll continue our usual read alouds and pictures for literature and continue with Duane’s adventures in Just Beyond the Very Very Far North. For social studies, we are starting a 2-3 week unit on Rome. So many good things coming up in February!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Winter Bucket List Update #1

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. Oooffff… I am not doing great with this season’s list. Better get on some of these.

1. Read 45 books (18/45)

2. Complete Two Jigsaw Puzzles

3. Movie Month February - prepping this right now

4. Weekly Game Day/Night

5. Have an Indoor Picnic

6. Make Ice Cream Sundaes

7. DIY Spa Night

8. Buy Fresh Flowers Biweekly

9. Take a Winter Hike

10. Read 50 Winter Picture Books (50/50) ✓

11. Make a Blanket and Pillow Fort

12. Use Food Coloring to Make Pictures in the Snow

13. Bake Cookies

14. Make a Snowglobe

15. Have a Board Game Night

16. Have a Craft Day

17. Make a Bird Feeder

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Great start to 2021’s reading! Here’s hoping that I can keep it up.

• So sad that we’re almost finished with Schitt’s Creek. it’s been such a good series.

• We’ve had over a foot of snow this week. I’m not loving shoveling our large driveway, but at least we don’t have to go anywhere this week.

• Need to make a few deserts this coming week to catch up.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W20: We Visited the Puffins!

What We Studied

Literature and Poetry

Basically same thing I said last week: “Our literature selection for this month is Matilda by Roald Dahl. Arthur, J, and I attended a performance of the musical version (lyrics by Tim Minchin!), back in 2019. It was nice to start with a book that I have read before and that Arthur is mostly familiar with. After we finish (in two weeks), we are going to watch the movie with Mara Wilson and Danny Devito. Beyond our literature selection, I’ve been having Arthur read a book aloud to me a few times this week. We will be continuing this into the rest of the semester. He even picked out a few Level 2 readers to challenge his reading for next week. We also started a few winter-themed picture books literature studies. I found a couple of great resources online to go with 30 different books. We’ll be sprinkling these in through the month. And we grabbed a few winter themed poetry books.”

• Matilda by Roald Dahl

• Winter Song by William Shakespeare

• Winter Friends by Mary Quattlebaum

• The Snowman and the Snowdog by Raymond Briggs (Arthur read)

• Duck Duck Dinosaur: Snowy Surprise by Kallie George (Arthur read)

• Thomas the Tank Engine: Treasure on the Tracks (Arthur read)

• The Mitten by Jan Brett (literature study)

• Snow by Cynthia Rylant (literature Study)

• The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (Literature study)

• Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle (Quentin literature study)

Math

We wrapped up our Ruby book and did some more activities involving aspects of computer science. Arthur really loved creating his own game.

• Mission Addition by Loreen Leedy

• Subtraction Action by Loreen Leedy

• Kids Get Coding

Social Studies

Because of other events, our social studies was shortened this week. We covered the Andes Mountain Civilizations, specifically the Nazca. We’'ll cover Mesoamerica next week. We did sneak in two mini units about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Presidential Innauguration.

• Martin Luther King Jr: A Peaceful Leader by Sarah Albee

• Eyewitness: Aztec, Inca, and Maya

Science

We reached the last week in our anatomy study. We covered the reproductive system and life cycle before doing a bit review of the body. We also watched two Magic School Bus Rides Again episodes that went along with our unit. We watched one about the nervous system and one about eyes. Always entertaining!

• Eyewitness: Human Body

• My Amazing Body Machine

• Who Has What? All About Girls’ Bodies and Boys’ Bodies by Robie H. Harris

For the second half the week, we started Blossom and Root’s The Mitten Bookseed. We talked about the book and started diving into the STEAM activities. Quentin loved doing the ordinal numbers activities.

• The Mitten by Alvin Tressalt

Art

Nothing formal

Music

Our composer was George Gerswhin. I had forgotten how much I love his music! Arthur enjoyed it and even seemed to really get into learning about Rhapsody in Blue.

• The Music in George’s Head by Suzanna Slade

• Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue by Anna Harwell Celenza

Unit Theme

Our big theme was Polar Bears, continuing the cold weather theme for January. We learned a lot about the animals along with reading a ton of great picture books featuring polar bears.

• Polar Bear by Dee Phillips

• Polar Bear’s Underwear by Tupera Tupera

• What If? Then We? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

• Sea Bear by Lindsay Moore

• Caspian Finds a Friend by Jaqueline Veissid

• A Baby Polar Bear Story by Martha E.H. Rustad

• Polar Bear Postman by Seigo Kijima

• The Snow Bear by Sean Taylor

• Do You Really Want to Meet a Polar Bear? by Marcie Aboff

• One Very Big Bear by Alice Biere-Haquet

• The Bear Report by Thyra Heder

• Love Matters Most by Mij Kelly and Gerry Turley

• Something’s Fishy by Jean Gourounas

• The Polar Bear by Jenni Desmond

• Nanuk the Ice Bear by Jeannette Winter

• Lost and Found by JiWon Beck

• Snowy Bear by Tony Mitton

• If Polar Bears Disappeared by Lily Williams

Misc. - Random picture books read

• A Perfect Day by Carin Berger

• The Little Snowplow by Lora Koehler

• First Snow by Bernette Ford

• The Abominable Snow Teacher by Lisa Passen

• First Snow by Nancy Viau

• One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo

• No Yeti Yet by Mary Ann Fraser

• Mimi and Bear in the Snow by Janee Trasler

• Snow Sisters by Kerri Kokias and Teagan White

• Coming Home by Michael Morpurgo

• The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen

• When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan

Highs

• We took a break on Thursday from our curriculum and visited the zoo. We haven’t been there in about 4 months. It was nice to walk around without many people and spend time with some of our favorite animals. Quentin requested to see the elephants (love them myself!) and Arthur wanted to visit the swamp in Kingdoms of the Night (an alligator splashing scared me this time). I think we will be going again this week to do a mini study of the penguins. Our zoo has three species, so it’ll be great to compare and contrast them. And I’m hoping we get to see the sea lions. they are at the opposite end of the zoo from the elephants and it’s quite a walk in the cold and not being able to use the shortcut through the gorilla house (closed for construction).

Lows

• Between the zoo and grocery shopping, two of our days were cut down drastically. We need to find a better balance.

Next Week

Out unit theme will be penguins to go along with cold weather. We will be catching up in history with three topics: Mesoamerican Civilizations, Kushites and Aksumites, and North America Geography. For literature, we should finish Matilda on Tuesday, so we’ll be starting a new book on Wednesday! And we hope to get to the zoo on Thursday or Friday specifically for the penguins.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #1

Reading: I finally started Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series with The Duke and I . I’m about 75% of the way through it and loving every page (except for that one bedroom scene, so many problems). I’m hoping to read at least the next three books before starting the TV series.

Watching: J convinced me to start watching Lupin S1 and I’m really digging it. It’s a lovely action, spy-style show with quite a bit of mystery and humor. As it’s in French, we have to read the subtitled version which is fine except for when I have a nasty headache. Consequently, we aren’t burning through the series like we usually do. We’ve only watched the first three episodes so far.

Listening: Still loving Currently Reading. I joined their Patreon in December, so I had a ton of back podcasts to listen to from the members only section. And they are putting out a ton of great new content on the main podcast feed. I’m all about Meredith and Kaytee (and Mindy and Mary) right now!

Making: Our 2021 Food Project of 52 Weeks of Desserts and Snacks is off to a great start. After two dessert recipes, I’m turning to more breakfast style baked goods for the rest of January. I made Earl Grey Tea Bread earlier this week and hope to make Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal later this week.

Feeling: Being stuck in our house all day every day with no real hope of outside activities is really getting to me. I’m so grateful to have a home with some space, but we are all still here together for the foreseeable future. I’m really mourning the days when we could do activities outside of our home.

Planning: As to the previous point, I think I’m going to try and schedule a zoo day this week. The zoo is usually very sparsely attended during a normal January. I’m hoping that there will be even less people so we enjoy the Jungle Building, Desert Dome, Aquarium, and maybe even the giraffes and elephants. Also wondering if we can get to the sea lion exhibit without walking the long way around outside (must inquire at the check-in…). I’m thinking maybe Thursday before or after the library.

Loving: I’m all about a hot cup of coffee in the morning and a hot cup of tea in the afternoon (during reading time) or in the evening (during TV with J time).

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W19: Back to Our Usual Routine

What We Studied

It has been so nice to get back to our usual routine. We all needed a break over Christmas, but the fact that we couldn’t really leave the house made the break seem more like cabin fever after awhile. Judging by the increasing attitude from the kids, they need to be out and about or at least have a home routine. The attitude has receded as we got back into the regular week. Phew!

Literature and Poetry

Our literature selection for this month is Matilda by Roald Dahl. Arthur, J, and I attended a performance of the musical version (lyrics by Tim Minchin!), back in 2019. It was nice to start with a book that I have read before and that Arthur is mostly familiar with. After we finish (in two weeks), we are going to watch the movie with Mara Wilson and Danny Devito. Beyond our literature selection, I’ve been having Arthur read a book aloud to me a few times this week. We will be continuing this into the rest of the semester. He even picked out a few Level 2 readers to challenge his reading for next week. We also started a few winter-themed picture books literature studies. I found a couple of great resources online to go with 30 different books. We’ll be sprinkling these in through the month. And we grabbed a few winter themed poetry books.

• Matilda by Roald Dahl

• Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston

• Winter Lights by Anna Grossnickle Hines

• Snow by Marion Dane Bauer (Arthur read)

• Fox Versus Winter by Corey R. Tabor (Arthur read)

• Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright (literature study)

• The Snow Globe Family by Jane O’Connor (literature study)

Math

We’re finishing out our Ruby book this week and next. Arthur has really gotten into the various exercises from the book. We’ll be moving into using Codespark sometime next week. We are also continuing to supplement with Khan Academy’s math courses and various worksheets. We should be starting Singapore 2A in two weeks.

• If You were a Circle by Molly Blaisdell

Social Studies

This week was all about geography! We covered both Antarctica and South America for our continent studies. Antarctica because we are studying cold weather right now for our unit theme. And South America because we will be studying ancient Andes Mountain and Mesoamerican Cultures. We also learned about a few specific polar region and South American explorers from our Explorers books. (See Unit Theme for book list related to the cold)

Science

We covered the Endocrine System and Immune System for Anatomy this week. Next week will be our last week for anatomy before moving on to other science topics. I’m surprised at how much Arthur really got into this study.

• Eyewitness: Human Body

• My Amazing Body Machine

Art

Nothing formal

Music

Our composer was Leonard Bernstein. Arthur was not a huge fan except for West Side Story, which is one of my least favorite musicals. But at least he listened! He did like watching Kristin Chenoweth perform a selection from Candide.

Unit Theme

Our big theme was the cold weather regions and accompanying subjects. We covered the geography and weather of the Arctic and Antarctic, polar exploration, native groups of the Arctic, general weather, plants of the cold, animals of the cold, and animal adaptations. Plus we read a ton of winter themed picture books.

• The Coldest Places on Earth by Jennifer M. Besel

• Winter by Cynthia Amoroso and Robert B. Noyed

• Wonderful Winter by Bruce Goldstone

• Explore Antarctica by Bobbie Kalman

• Antarctic Tundra by Vicky Franchino

• Antarctica by Mel Friedman

• Eyewitness: Polar Exploration

• Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow by Sharon Gibson Palermo

• Grandmother Winter by Phyllis Root

• The Snow Dancer by Addie Boswell

• My Winter City by James Gladstone

• The Inuit by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit

• Igloos and Inuit Life by Louise Spilsbury

• Ituko: An Inuit Child

• Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer

• Caribou Song by Atihko Nikamon

• Big Snow by Jonathan Bean

• Snow Bear by Jean Craighead George

• Today is Snowy by Martha E.H. Rustad

• Whiteout by Rick Thomas

• Plants in Winter by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst

• Weather in Winter by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst

• It’s Winter by Linda Glaser

• When the Snow Falls by Linda Booth Sweeney

• Red Sled by Lita Judge (Quentin’s favorite!)

• Mama, Do You Love Me by Barbara M. Joosse

• Sugar White Snow and Evergreen by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky

• Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk

• Ocean Anatomy

• Reindeer by Dee Phillips

• Harp Seal by Dee Phillips

• Walrus Tusk Tusk by Stephen Person

• In Arctic Waters by Laura Crawford

• Immi’s Gift by Karin Littlewood

• Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell

• The Stolen Sun by Amanda Hall

• Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle by Laura Prudie Salas

• Winter Sleep by Sean Taylor and Alex Morss

• A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson

• Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit by Sung Na

• Do Polar Bears Snooze in Hollow Trees by Laura Purdie Salas

• Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins and G. Brian Karas

• Chaucer’s First Winter by Stephen Krensky

• Winter Trees by Leslie Evans

• Snowman’s Story by Will Hillenbrand

• Snow is Falling by Franklyn M. Branley

• The Little Snowplow Wishes for Snow by Lora Koehler

• One Snowy Day by Diana Murray

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Thomas the Tank Engine: Easter Engines (Arthur read)

• If Picasso Painted a Snowman by Amy and Greg Newbold

Highs

• The routine is so nice! The attitudes have really turned around this week.

• On Wednesday, we stopped into the library for our usual. We also stopped at Half Price Books so I could sell some books. The boys each picked out a new book (Quentin picked a dinosaur book, big surprise, and Arthur picked a Captain Underpants book) and I grabbed a new Ravensburger dinosaur puzzle for us to put together next week.

Lows

• The melting snow made it impossible to go outside and play for most of the week. The slush makes parts of our year a mud pit.

Movie Night: Shanghai Noon

Next Week

So many things on tap for next week!

• Finishing Ruby book

• Finishing Anatomy unit

• Covering Polar Bears

• Continuing Matilda, poetry, and literature studies

• Listening to George Gershwin

• Learning about the Nazca, Olmec, Toltec, and Zapotec cultures

• Possible visit to the zoo

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• I have officially DNFed my first book in a very very long time. I suspected something was going to happen, read some GR reviews, and decided that I didn’t want to read that. DNF

• Thankfully, I read a few good short contemporary romances to help get me back on track.

• Arthur has made an entire “winter camp” in the living room complete with ice fishing area and igloo.

• We’re very addicted to S1 of Lupin right now. Unfortunately, there’s a limited list of things I can do while reading subtitles.

• Thinking I need new yoga pants…

• I’m really into all the winter themed picture books we’ve been reading lately.

• Ugh! Victoria really needs to go on The Bachelor. She is beyond unbelievable.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool Christmas Break

What We Studied

Arthur thrives on routine and structure. Too many days of unstructured activities lead to a very moody 7 year old. For Christmas break, I tried to do a bit of math and language arts most days with some little crafty projects thrown in here and there.

Literature and Poetry

I randomly picked up The Very Very Far North by Dan Bar-el from the library and it turned out to be the perfect winter break read-aloud. It’s a very gentle story about Duane the Polar Bear who lives in the Very Very Far North and who meets new friends in his explorations. Each friend has a different personality and Duane has to learn how to value each new friend. A sequel just came out and I’m currently on hold at the library for it. This was such an easy story for our cold snowy days. Perfect! We also read a few winter themed poetry books.

• The Very Very Far North by Dan Bar-el

• A Chill in the Air by John Frank

• Winter Bees by Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen

Math

We did some holiday theme math pages throughout and progressed a bit more in Khan Academy. Arthur definitely has trouble with inattentive mistakes. I’m hoping some more practice will help him get more steady so we can move on. I do know that Singapore Math 2A will be a bit of review so that might help.

Social Studies

Nothing formal, but we did do a mini unit on New Year’s Day. We read a few books (fiction and nonfiction) about the holiday and discussed how people celebrate. And then Arthur made a few mini books with resolutions.

• New Year’s Day by Dana Meachen Rau

• Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution by Pat Miller

• The Night Before New Year’s by Natasha Wing

Science

Does playing in the snow count? We definitely did that a lot. And there was some documentary watching and random conversations about topics we have already studied a bit.

Art

We made some fun Christmas and winter themed crafts to hang around the house. Arthur and Quentin also got a huge stack of craft kits for Christmas, so we’ve been doing some of those on random days.

Music

Nothing formal

Unit Theme

We read the last of our Christmas themed books throughout the end of December. Right before the New Year, I started pulling winter themed books from the library for our first couple of second semester weeks. I also made sure that some of them were picture books for night reading.

24 Days of Books - Another successful year!

• The Shortest Day by

• Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter by Kenard Pak

• The Finest Christmas Tree by

• Christmas Farm by

• The Nutcracker Ballet

• Merry Christmas Stinky Face

• Merry Christmas Little Elliott

• The Polar Express

• The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Pirate Jack Gets Dressed by Nancy Raines Day

• One Dark and Dreadful Night by Randy Cecil

• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

• Fright Club by Ethan Long

• Good Night, Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

• Quit Calling Me a Monster by Jory John

• Only a Tree Knows How to Be a Tree by Mary Murpjy

• Dino Duckling by Alison Murray

• Animal City by Joan Negrescolor

• Unicorn Day by Diana Murray

• Goodnight, Veggies by Diana Murray

• A Birthday for Cow by Jan Thomas

• Miffy Can Help

• Linus the Vegetarian T. Rex by Robert Neubecker

• A Time for Sleeping by Ron Hirschi

• Walk on the Wild Side by Nicholas Oldland

• There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor by Wade Bradford

• From Ed’s to Ned’s by Gideon Sterer

• Dragon was Terrible by Kelly DiPucchio

• A Trapezoid is NOT a Dinosaur by Suzanne Morris

• If You Hopped Like a Frog by David M. Schwartz

• Up the Creek by Nicholas Oldland

• Unlike Other Monsters by Audrey Veronica

• Hockey in the Wild by Nicholas Oldland

• Al Pha’s Bet by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

• If Frogs Made Weather by Marion Dane Bauer

• Who Stole Mona Lisa by Ruthie Knapp

• Dinosaur Countdown by Nicholas Oldland

• Outstanding in the Rain by Frank Viva

• Make Way for Dumb Bunnies by Dav Pilkey

• Super Saurus Saves Kindergarten by Deborah Underwood

• Ice Boy by David Ezra Stein

• A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse by Frank Viva

• The Walrus Who Escaped by Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley

• Snow Party by Harriet Ziefert

• Flannel Kisses by Linda Crotta Brennan

• The First Day of Winter by Consie Powell

• Little Red Gliding Hood by Tara Lazar

Highs

Even in the midst of a pandemic with no travel, I think we managed to have a lovely Christmas.

Lows

Arthur definitely thrives on schedules and we didn’t really have any schedules over break. I could see his attitude decline throughout. Thank goodness we’re going back to a schedule this week.

Next Week

We’re back to our regularly scheduled homeschool week.

Next up on the TBR pile:

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.

1. Read 45 books

2. Complete Two Jigsaw Puzzles

3. Movie Month February

4. Weekly Game Day/Night

5. Have an Indoor Picnic

6. Make Ice Cream Sundaes

7. DIY Spa Night

8. Buy Fresh Flowers Biweekly

9. Take a Winter Hike

10. Read 50 Winter Picture Books

11. Make a Blanket and Pillow Fort

12. Use Food Coloring to Make Pictures in the Snow

13. Bake Cookies

14. Make a Snowglobe

15. Have a Board Game Night

16. Have a Craft Day

17. 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 ✓

1. Babes in Toyland ✓

2. Elf ✓

3. White Christmas ✓

4. Muppet Christmas Carol ✓

5. Christmas Vacation ✓

6. 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.

1. Sega Wat from Ethiopia - Hands down the best recipe we made!

2. Gazpacho from Spain - I will be making this one many times during the hot months.

3. Maafe from Senegal - Such a flavorful peanut stew.

4. Mang Cua from Vietnam - Loved this flavor profile!

5. Prawn and Sweet Potato Curry from Jamaica - Spicy jerk blend really elevated this one!

6. Miso from Japan - Super simple but oh so tasty!

7. Fesenjan from Iran - Different flavor profile that I really enjoyed.

8. Cullen Skink from Scotland - Really really good and could be better with proper smoked haddock.

9. Chili Verde from Mexico - Love my Tex-Mex style recipes.

10. 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

1. Babes in Toyland ✓

2. Elf ✓

3. White Christmas ✓

4. Muppet Christmas Carol

5. The Polar Express

6. 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!

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

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

• 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: