2021 Desserts and Snacks - May and June

Week 14: Sicilian Orange Breakfast Cake

Definitely going on our top list! This was oh so yummy and easy to make. Our friends even appreciated it when we shared!

Recipe used from The View from Great Island

Week 15: Blueberry Breakfast Cake

I liked the overall taste of this one, but it ended up being a bit dry.

Recipe used from Amanda’s Cookin’

Week 16: Lemony Lemonies

Amazing! This recipe was loved by everyone in the family. Definitely going on our favorites list.

Recipe used from Bakerella

Week 17: Pesto Twists

These were so incredibly easy and a great side to our gazpacho.

Recipe used from a Facebook video

Week 18-19: Strawberry Pie and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie made on the new grill

J made these to try out his new grill and they turned out amazing. So incredibly good!

Recipe used from Joy the Baker and Traeger

Week 20: Chocolate Pound Cake

I’ve had some great recipes these two months, and this might be my favorite. This cake was amazingly moist and flavorful. I will be making this all the time now!

Recipe used from Cake Whiz

July 2021 Life Goals

I threw out all my goals for June and spent a lot of time really sorting through the brain fog. I’m tweaking my usual goals concepts for July and trying to time block. I have multiple projects coming this fall and I need concentrated time to work on each.

July Goals:

• Read 15 Books

• Plan August Homeschooling Lessons and Coop

• Stick to My Time Blocking

• Weekly Field Trips

• Cross Off 7 Items on Our Summer Bucket List

• Get My Email Inbox to 0

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W38: We're Done!

What We Studied

We’re officially done with our first year of homeschooling! For next week and July, we will be taking it easy. Arthur will be working on his Highlights and BrainQuest summer bridge workbooks. We will be continuing our read alouds and picture books at night. Beyond that, we are going to focus on downtime, games, and fun excursions.

Literature and Poetry

We’re still reading Scary Stories for Young Foxes and really enjoyed it, even if it is really scary. Beyond our reading selection, Arthur completed his end of Grade 1 spelling assessment. Not too shabby! Especially considering that spelling has not really been a focus this past year. (I’m debating about adding it in for next year.) Finally, he’s been working on his Highlights and BrainQuest summer bridge workbooks. These pages are the focus of our language arts and math for the summer.

• Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker

Math

Highlights and BrainQuest summer bridge workbooks

Social Studies

None

Science

We covered motion and forces for our last official week of the school year. I was amazed at how quickly Arthur got the concepts of potential and kinetic motion. Definitely a science kid! We also watched two Magic School Bus episodes about energy and motion.

• Forces Make Things Move by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

• Give It a Push! Give It a Pull! A Look at Forces by Jennifer Boothroyd

• Why Do Moving Objects Slow Down? A Look at Friction by Jennifer Boothroyd

• Cece Loves Science: Push and Pull by Kimberly Derting

• Experiments with Motion by Susan H. Gray

Art

None

Music

We continued listening to the Beatles. We covered recordings from 1964 to 1966. Arthur has only been a fan of a few songs (seriously, is he even my kid?). His favorites have been “Help” and “Nowhere Man.”

Unit Theme

We did a simple unit theme based on ice cream. We read a ton of ice cream books (fiction and Nonfiction), plus watched a great Modern Marvels documentary about the making of ice cream. Of course, had to also eat some ice cream!

• Ice Cream: The Full Scoop by Gail Gibbons

• Ice Cream Soup by Ann Ingalls (Arthur Read)

• Sweet Success by Liz and Jimmy Reed

• Ice Cream Summer by Peter Sís

• The Scoop on Ice Cream by Bonnie Williams

• Ice-Cream Cones for Sale! by Elaine Greenstein

• Saffron Ice Cream by Rashin

• Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems (Arthur read)

• Francesco Tirelli's Ice Cream Shop by Tamar Meir

• Vanilla Ice Cream by Bob Graham

• Fox Tails: The Giant Ice Cream Mess by Tina Kügler

• I Scream Ice Cream by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

• The Little Ice Cream Truck by Margery Cuyler

• Chuggington: Wilson and the Ice Cream Fair by Mara Conlon (Arthur read)

• Curious George Goes to an Ice Cream Shop by Margret Rey and Alan J. Shalleck

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Sealed with a Kiss by Beth Ferry

• Be Who You Are by Todd Parr

• Rainbow: A First Book of Pride by Michael Genhart

• Welcome Home, Whales by Christina Booth

• Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

• Trapped! A Whale's Rescue by Robert Burleigh

• Phoenix Goes to School by Michelle and Phoenix Finch

• Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino

• Curious George Good Night, Zoo by Gina Gold

• Whale Trails: Before and Now by Lesa Cline-Ransome

Highs

• We took advantage of a day with below 90 degree temperatures and went to the zoo. Apparently we had the same idea as everyone else in Omaha. But it was still fun. We finally got to ride the train (it’s been closed since summer 2019)!

Lows

• The heat got to all of us and it wasn’t pretty. Lots of grouchiness and terrible attitudes.

Next Week

We’re officially on summer break. We have a stack of library books and our summer workbooks. Plus we have our summer bucket list to check off. And we have made sure to schedule lots of outings and field trips.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W37: We Finished Our U.S. History Curriculum!

What We Studied

Literature and Poetry

We finished one read aloud and started the next one. I was super excited about reading The Phantom Tollbooth and Arthur was excited about reading Scary Stories for Young Foxes. We also did some journal writing.

• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

• Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker

Math

Another week of math review and Khan Academy.

Social Studies

We finished our U.S. History curriculum for the year with a lesson on the Bill of Rights and one on the native groups of the Northwest and the Plateau.

• We the People: The United States Constitution Explored and Explained by Aura Lewis & Evan Sargent

• Flags Over America by Cheryl Harness

• Northwest Coast Indians by Liz Sonneborn

• The Eagle’s Song: A Tale from the Pacific Northwest by Kristina Rodanas

• Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott

• Nez Perce by Sarah Tieck

• Plateau Indians by Christin Ditchfield

Science

We covered energy in the form of sound and light. Arthur got pretty interested and made some great connections to previous lessons. We also watched two episodes of Magic School Bus to review our information.

• Light is All Around Us by Wendy Pfeffer

• The Energy We See: A Look at Light by Jennifer Boothroyd

• Invention Hunters: Discover How Light Works by Korwin Briggs

• Light Waves by David A. Adler

• Science Experiments with Light by Alex Kiskowski

• Let's Ride a Wave! Diving Into the Science of Light and Sound Waves with Physics by Chris Ferrie

• Sounds All Around by Wendy Pfeffer

• The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito

• Science Experiments with Sight and Sound by Alex Kuskowski

• Can You Hear Sounds in Space? and Other Questions About Sound by Anna Claybourne

• All About Sound by Angela Royston

Art

Nothing formal

Music

We continued with The Beatles by listening to A Hard Day’s Night and Beatles for Sale.

Unit Theme

We spent some time learning about Juneteenth and connecting history to our current social issues. I’m amazed that Arthur really connected and make conclusions as much as he did.

• Let's Talk About Race by Julius Lester

• Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper

• All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson

• Juneteenth Jamboree by Carole Boston Weatherford

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Squid Kid the Magnificent by Lynne Berry

• Alistair and Kip’s Great Adventure by John Segal

• Together by Emma Dodd

• The Whale in My Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan

• The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs by Joanna Cole

• There’s a Dolphin in the Grand Canal by John Bemelmans Marciano

• A Perfect Day by Sarah S. Brannen

• Trucks Roll by George Ella Lyon

• Lenny the Lobster Can’t Stay for Dinner by Finn Buckley with Michael Buckley

• Whale Shines by Fiona Robinson

• The Old Mermaid Who Swallowed a Shark by Lucille Colandro

• A Home for Leo by Vin Vogel

• I’m a Shark by Bob Shea

• Introducing Teddy by Jessica Walton

• The Whale the Sea and the Stars by Adrián Macho

Highs

• We had a lovely park playdate with friends on Tuesday. We are really enjoying shady parks right now due to the high temperatures.

Lows

• The temperatures were absolutely ridiculous… and we lost all motivation to go anywhere or do anything.

Next Week

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• The heart is really getting to me… I never want to eat food (even though I really should) and I’m having so much trouble sleeping.

• Thankful that we replaced the AC last fall. So much better than last summer!

• Watermelon is amazing. That’s all.

• I have so many projects in the works. I really need to make a few Gantt charts to help me out.

• Working on our fall schedule and I just keep moving everything around. Really need to just commit to something for peace of mind right now.

• Speaking of, I need to pull all my material for Quentin and rethink some things. He’s been just passively learning this past year and I think some of it will be beneath him.

• Over the last week I have put in a Book Outlet order for 26 books and two Amazon orders a total of 30 books. Five were for the reading retreat and one was for me. The rest are for the kids for homeschooling. So many books will be arriving!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W36: It's Too Hot to School...

What We Studied

Literature and Poetry

We continued reading The Phantom Tollbooth and many other picture books. We also worked on some basic grammar review and more journal writing.

• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

• Silver Seeds by Paul Paolilli and Dan Brewer (poems)

• We Need More Nuts by Jonathan Fenske (Arthur read)

• Hello Crabby by Jonathan Fenske (Arthur read)

Math

Continuing with our big review and games. We finished Lollipop Logic Book 3. Now I need to find some other logic puzzle series for Arthur.

• Max Explains Everything: Grocery Store Expert by Stacy McAnulty

• Last to Finish: A Story About the Smartest Boy in Math Class by Barbara Esham

Social Studies

We covered three different U.S. History lessons this week. We started with a lesson on African Americans after the War featuring Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, Paul Cuffee, and Ona Judge. We moved on to a lesson on Benjamin Banneker. And finished with a lesson about John and Abigail Adams.

• Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle

• 100 African Americans Who Shaped American History by Chrisanne Beckner

• America’s Black Founders by Nancy Sanders

• The Escape of Oney Judge by Emily Arnold McCully

• Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepard

• Molly Bannaky by Alice McGill

• Tick Tock Banneker’s Clock by Shana Keller

• The Revolutionary John Adams by Cheryl Harness

• A Picture Book of John and Abigail Adams by David A. Adler

• Abigail Adams by Alexandra Wallner

• Leave It to Abigail: The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams by Barb Rosenstock

Science

We learned all about matter and changing states of matter this week. I’m amazed at how quickly Arthur (and even Quentin) caught on to this concept.

• Matter: See It, Touch It, Taste It, Smell. It by Darlene Stille

• Change It! Solids, Liquids, Gases, and You by Adrienne Mason

• Solids, Liquids, Gases, and Plasma by David A. Adler

• Experiments with States of Matter by Trevor Cook

Art

Nothing formal

Music

We started our big unit on The Beatles. We are going to listen to all the songs from the Beatles and trace their musical growth through the years. This week we covered everything from 1962 and 1963.

• The Beatles by Mike Venezia

• The Beatles were Fab (and They were Funny) by Kathleen Krull

Unit Theme

We celebrated Pride Month this week by learning about gender identity, the rainbow flag, and the history of Pride. I found some really good basic books to introduce this topic.

• It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn

• The Gender Wheel: A Story About Bodies and Gender for Everybody by Maya Gonzalez

• This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman

• Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders

• Sewing the Rainbow: The Story of Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag by Gayle E. Pitman

• The Rainbow Flag: Bright, Bold, and Beautiful by Michelle Millar Fisher

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Pup 681: A Sea Otter Rescue by Jean Reidy

• To the Sea by Cale Atkinson

• Ebb & Flo and the Baby Seal by Jane Simmons

• The Boy and the Whale by Mordicai Gerstein

• Beachy and Me by Bob Staake

• Inky's Amazing Escape by Sy Montgomery

• Wake Up, Crabby! by Jonathan Fenske

• Always Remember by Cece Meng

• The Storm Whale by Benji Davies

• A Whale of a Mistake by Ioana Hobai

• A Whale in the Bathtub by Kylie Westaway

• Star of the Sea by Janet Halfmann

• Peanut Butter and Jellyfish by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

• Little Whale by Jo Weaver

• The Heart of a Whale by Anna Pignataro

• Starfish, Where are You? by Barroux

• All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and Katherine Tillotson

Highs

• We braved the very high temperatures to go berry picking on Monday. Unlike last year, we actually came home with a ton of strawberries. J made a strawberry pie and a strawberry rhubarb pie out of them. Yum!

Lows

• The very high temperatures meant that we didn’t spend that much time outside this past week. I wanted to go to another state park, but knew we wouldn’t be able to handle the heat.

Next Week

We are going to finish The Phantom Tollbooth as well as our U.S. History Curriculum. For science we will be studying light and sound. We will continue listening to the Beatles and doing a math review. And we will cover Juneteenth for our unit theme.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #4

Reading: Broken (in the best way possible) by Jenny Lawson. J said that I can’t read it in bed as I was laughing too loudly and shaking the bed. It’s just that funny!

Watching: J signed us up for a 30 day engineering course with Mark Rober. Arthur has been enjoying his various videos on YouTube. The squirrel ninja course is his current favorite video.

Listening: I’ve gotten a bit behind on a lot of my favorite podcasts. I’m attempting to run the backlog this week.

Making: I tried a new dessert recipe for a chocolate pound cake and it basically grew and exploded in the oven. Not sure if it was the recipe or my oven that caused the issues (our oven is a bit wonky right now). I had to scrape off burnt cake from the bottom of the oven and all over a cookie sheet and my pyrex. I’m going to try it again using a different container.

Feeling: The daily temperature has been hitting 90 every day for the past weekly. I’m just constantly hot and sweaty and I don’t like it.

Planning: I’m deep into planning the Reading Retreat for the end of September. I’ve got the book selections form ready to go and have started doing my expenses spreadsheet. Also, I’m putting the finishing touches on the book swap I’m hosting on Saturday. We didn’t get to do our Christmas swap so we’re doing it in June!

Loving: We got a new patio set! I can now sit on our back deck and enjoy a cup of coffee and a chapter of my current read in the morning before we start school. It’s been delightful.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool Memorial Day Break

What We Studied

For the last week in May, Memorial Day, and the first week in June, we ended up taking a semi-break. For us, that means we only did school about an hour a day and added in more outings, activities, field trips, games, and crafts. We are schooling year round which easily lends itself to these types of lighter weeks to change things up. We’ve realized that both boys really do well with routine and structure. Dropping all school for two weeks is a terrible idea. Going a bit lighter works perfectly for us!

Literature and Poetry

We read the four book Frog and Toad collection by Arnold Lobel and started reading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster. Frog and Toad are some of my favorite childhood characters so it was nice to revisit with Arthur. I’ve never actually read The Phantom Tollbooth, but have heard so many amazing things about it as an adult. Arthur’s not completely sold on the story, but I am loving the word play and silliness. Beyond our read alouds, we read a ton of picture books, Arthur tackled some early readers, and focused on reading comprehension. We also completed a sample standardized test meant to close out First Grade. It was a nice review for Arthur and work on some test taking skills.

• Frog and Toad Collection by Arnold Lobel

• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster

• At the Beach by Alexa Andrews (Arthur read)

• Otter: Hello, Sea Friends! by Sam Garton (Arthur Read)

New playground just opened!

Math

We did a ton of review, some skill building, logic puzzles, and Khan Academy. We’re going to continue with all that throughout the rest of the summer up until we start Level 4 in August.

Social Studies

Nothing formal, but we did a ton of local exploration

Loggerhead

Science

See Unit Theme

Green Sea Turtle

Art

Nothing formal, but a lot of drawing and free expression

Mermaid’s purse and a wobbegong shark (very camouflaged against the wall of the tank)

Music

We finished our American Folk Music unit with lots of bands and songs from the 1960s and 1970s. We could keep going, but have decided to switch focus a bit for June.

Unit Theme

We finally wrapped up our giant Ocean unit. We focused on specific animals on different days along with a trip to the zoo to check out the aquarium. Arthur was super excited to spot both species of sea turtles (loggerhead and green), three species of shark, a couple mermaid purses, and a wobbegong shark! Plus Arthur watched a ton of videos from Brave Wilderness highlighting encounters with various sea creatures.

• DK Ocean

• Nat Geo Ocean Animals

• Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman

• Sea Turtles by Gail Gibbons

• Nat Geo Kids: Sea Turtles by Laura Marsh

• Nat Geo Kids: Mission Sea Turtle Rescue by Karen Romano Young

• Octopuses by Elizabeth R. Johnson

• Nat Geo Kids: Ink! by Stephanie Warren Drimmer

• Giant Squid and Octopuses by Ruth Owen

• Giant Squid by Mary M. Cerullo and Clyde F.E. Roper

• Giant Squid by Candace Fleming

• Here There Be Monsters: The Legendary Kraken and Giant Squid by HP Newquist

• Crabs by Ann Herriges

• Hermit Crabs by Ellen Lawrence

• Jellyfish by Grace Hansen

• A Day in the Life: Jellyfish by Louise Spilsbury

• Becoming a Jellyfish by Grace Hansen

• A Day in the Life Sea Animals: Seal by Louise Spilsbury

• Sea Lions by Colleen Sexton

• A Day in the Life Sea Animals: Leopard Seal byKatie Marsico

• Walruses by Renee C. Rebman

• Super Swimmers by Caroline Arnold

• Sea Otters by Nathan Sommer

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Abracadabra It’s Spring by Anne Sibley O’Brien

• Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry

• Good Thing You’re Not an Octopus by Julie Markes

• Ocean Soup by Meeg Pincus

• Shark Nate-O by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie

• Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

• Nugget and Fang Go to School by Tammi Sauer

• I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

• Octopuses One to Ten by Ellen Jackson

• Squid and Octopus Friends For Always by Tao Nye

• I am Not a Fish by Peter Raymundo

• Inky the Octopus by Erin Guendelsberger

• Day at the Beach by Tom Booth

• Crabby Crab by Chris Raschka

• Shark Detective by Jessica Olien

• The Hermit Crab by Carter Goodrich

• You're a Crab by Jenny Whitehead

• After Squidnight by Jonathan Fenske

• The Fisherman and the Whale by Jessica Lanan

• Don't Worry Little Crab by Chris Haughton

• The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort

• Following Papa's Song by Gianna Marino

• Sink or Swim by Valerie Coulman

• Flip & Fin: We Rule the School by Timothy Gill

• Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals

• There Might Be Lobsters by Carolyn Crimi

• Whale in a Fishbowl by Troy Howell

• Ida and the Whale by Rebecca Gugger

• Adelita: A Sea Turtle's Journey by Jenny Goebel

• Melissa's Octopus and Other Unsuitable Pets by Charlotte Voake

• A Small Blue Whale by Beth Ferry

• President Squid by Aaron Reynolds

• Mabel: A Mermaid Fable by Rowboat Watkins

Highs

So many to choose from these past two weeks!

Snapping turtle!

• We spent a lovely day at Schramm State Park hiking the 3 mile trail, checking out the education center, observing the fish hatcheries, looking for fossils, and enjoying a picnic. Now that we have a state park pass, we’ll be back!

• We watched a fun Book Blast presentation from the library highlighting some great new children’s books. Arthur made me put almost half of them on hold. At the end, they did a raffle and we won a book bundle of four of the selections. So exciting! They are doing it again July with different books and we definitely going to be attending.

Making magic wands

• The local maker space is doing a summer STEM challenge with projects and activities. We picked up our passports, watched the kick-off, and made our first project! We will be having fun completing activities all summer long and earning prizes.

• Speaking of summer challenges, we signed up for the library’s summer reading program and got our free book to kickstart our summer reading.

• We made our summer bucket list and opened our summer basket! Schooling year round doesn’t mean that we skip summer activities. We just incorporate them into the school days.

Lows

• It’s been super hot around here (in the 90s) and I really don’t want to go anywhere any afternoon. I have messed up our schedule a few days and cause us to be outside after noon. Not making that mistake again.

Next Week

We’re back to a normal-ish schedule for us. I want to get close to finishing our U.S. History curriculum (only 6 more lessons), start our new music unit (The Beatles), complete another read aloud, and continue reviewing for math and language arts. Plus we have a few extra topics for the week including Pride Month and States of Matter. Also, we have strawberry picking and a park playdate scheduled for the week as well as working on a 30 day engineering course as a family.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• The boys conquered a 3 mile hike on Tuesday and I am so proud of them.

• I three big events tentatively scheduled for fall. Things are happening!

• Eyeglasses are next on my big life list of things to take care of.

• I started reading Broken by Jenny Lawson in bed and realized that was a bag choice. I was laughing so hard, it felt like one of those vibrating beds. Guess that will be my daytime read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

June 2021 Life Goals

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

• Read 15 books, including 5 Unread Shelf reads - Well, I read 19 books, but only 2 of those were from my Unread Shelf. Darn.

• Make Four 52 Dessert Recipes - Fail, but I’ll make up for it soon.

• Weekly Field Trips - Success!

• Create a summer bucket list - Fail, although I have it on our schedule for Friday…

• Finish the Laundry Room - Success! I am so happy with how functional it is now.

• Try two new dinner recipes - Fail

Goals:

I am officially throwing the goals out the window for June. (I also threw out my TBR list) We’re going to take it slow in June and just see where the days go.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W35: Rays, Whales, and Dolphins, Oh My!

What We Studied

Beyond our studies, we had two park playdates this week along with a grocery store visit and a library stop. Park playdates can be tiring for me, but we’re trying to get out more and meet new friends for our fall STEAM coop. Also, I really dropped the ball on taking pictures this week. Oh well.

Literature and Poetry

We finished reading The One and Only Bob for our read aloud. I liked it a little less than The One and Only Ivan, but still a really good book. There’s a lot of serious danger in this one and lots of talk of death. Be cautious.

• The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

• Rainbow Soup by Brian P. Cleary (poems)

Math

A mishmash of review pages, little projects, and Khan Academy. We covered graphing, fractions, and multiplication with our homemade packets. Plus, we’re almost at the end of Lollipop Logic Book 3. I need to find some harder logic puzzles for both kids.

Social Studies

We finally reached the end of the Revolutionary War. In addition to covering the end, the Articles of Confederation, and the formation of the Constitution, we did biographies on a few African Americans during the war. I loved learning more about Elizabeth Freeman and Phillis Wheatley. I read some of Wheatley’s poetry in college and enjoyed her voice.

• 100 African Americans Who Shaped American History

• Phillis Wheatley: Poet of the Revolutionary Era by Molly Aloian

• Phillis Sings Out Freedom: The Story of George Washington and Phillis Wheatley by Ann Malaspina

• Phillis's Big Test by Catherine Clinton

• America's Black Founders by Nancy Sanders

• Answering the Cry of Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle

• Mumbet's Declaration of Independence by Gretchen Woelfle

• Fight for Freedom by Benson Bobrick

Science

See Unit Theme

Art

Nothing formal, but lots of random drawing.

Music

We covered Pete Seeger on Monday. Arthur loved his songs for kids, but not so much when it came to the adult stuff. From there we did a sampling of music from the 1960s (Joan Baez, The Byrds, Dave Von Ronk, and Janis Ian). Arthur wasn’t really a fan of any of them, but I am. We’ll continue the 1960s next week.

• Stand Up and Sing: Pete Seeger, Folk Music, and the Path to Justice by Susanna Reich

Unit Theme

For Oceans, we focused on rays, dolphins, and whales. How did I not know that orcas are genetically dolphins? I love it when I get to learn something new.

• Rays by Valerie Bodden

• Thomas & Friends: Thomas and the Shark (Arthur read)

• Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman

• Nat Geo Ocean Animals

• DK Oceans

• DK Whales and Dolphins

• Dolphins! Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle

• How Do Dolphins Sleep? by Nancy Furstinger

• Nat Geo Absolute Expert Dolphins by Jennifer Swanson

• Ranger Rick: I Wish I was an Orca by Sandra Markle (Arthur Read)

• Wild Orca: The Oldest, Wisest Whale in the World by Brenda Peterson

• Amazing Whales! by Sarah L. Thomson (Arthur read)

• Whales by Grace Hansen

• 10 Reasons to Love a Whale by Catherine Barr

• Blue Whales by Grace Hansen

• How Long is a Whale? by Alison Limentani

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Shawn Loves Sharks by Curtis Manley

• A Surprise for Mrs. Tortoise by Paula Merlan

• Violet and the Eggplant Painting Problem by Cynthia Wylie and Courtney Carbone

• Also an Octopus by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

• Inky's Great Escape: The Incredible (and Mostly True) Story of an Octopus Escape by Casey Lyall

• This is a Seahorse by Cassandra Federman

• Larry Gets Lost Under the Sea by Eric Ode and John Skewes

• Beach by Elisha Cooper

• Deep Underwater by Irene Luxbacher

• Flip & Fin: Super Sharks to the Rescue! by Timothy Gill

• Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck

• Jurassic World: Danger Dinosaurs

• Dario and the Whale by Cheryl Lawton Malone

• Stories in a Seashell by Alex Nogués Otero

• Dinosaur Tracks by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

Highs

• We got to listen to a few episodes of The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd on our way across the river on Tuesday. All of us really love that show. We’re almost at the end of season six. There are only eight seasons, so we should be done with the series sometime this summer.

Lows

• I’m losing all motivation for school. It’s such a weird month for our family.

Next Week

For the next two weeks, we are on a semi-break. Originally we were going to be traveling to Indiana for family stuff, but that isn’t happening. Instead, we will just be home. But I hope to include more craft projects, art, and games into the next two weeks. We’ll be reading our next selection (Frog and Toad collection by Arnold Lobel), working through various ocean animals, listening to the folk music of the 1960s and 1970s, and doing some basic math review. I might even add a few more outings beyond the already scheduled park playdates.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• I finally finished a craft project yesterday. Only 50 million left to go…

• Is May homeschooling fatigue a thing? I think I’ve got it.

• Started planning our fall road trip (rescheduled from summer 2020) and I’m super excited about the possibilities.

• Need to pick a dessert to make, maybe Andes Mint Cupcakes?

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #3

Reading: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary. Book club needed something a little more light and fluffy.

Watching: J got me started watching Hustle. I know he had me watch the first episode years ago and then we moved to something else and never continued. It’s entertaining in a light way. Con of the week style episodes. We’ve been alternating between Hustle and S3 of Star Trek: Voyager this past week.

Listening: Not much music this week, but I have been catching up on Bookend Homeschoolers podcast. Not every episode is super useful to me, but many of them have great nuggets of advice.

Making: I’m finally getting back to my December Daily album for 2020. Here’s hoping I finish before the end of the month.

Feeling: So very tired. Q has been getting up at 6:30am usually by screaming or crying. It’s taking a toll on my sleep to be woken up so abruptly.

Planning: To travel or not? I’m thinking about the summer months but also our road trip. We might be able to do the road trip in fall (like late September) and I need to start planning it.

Loving: I’ve been making fruit smoothies for breakfast on and off for the past two months. Big hit over here! I now have a stack of like 20 different recipes that we cycle through.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W34: Candy Math Makes the Day Sweeter

What We Studied

Literature and Poetry

We started reading The One and Only Bob. I really like Bob as a character, but I think The One and Only Ivan was better told. We’re halfway through the book and things have gotten very intense.

• The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

• Rainbow Soup by Brian P. Cleary (poems)

• Clark the Shark: Tooth Trouble by Bruce Hale (Arthur Read)

Math

Another week of review and games. Arthur progressed in his Khan Academy lessons. We review some concepts. Arthur and Quentin both did some math with gummy bears and then with Skittles. They definitely enjoyed eating our manipulatives afterward.

Social Studies

We covered two more lessons about the American Revolution: Loyalists and Assistance from France and Spain. Getting close to the end of the war!

• Mary Geddy’s Day: A Colonia Girl in Williamsburg by Kate Waters

• Fight for Freedom by Benson Bobrick

• Revolutionary Friends: General George Washing and the Marquis de Lafayette by Selene Castrovilla

Science

See unit theme

Art

Nothing formal, but Arthur had some fun drawing sea creatures. I grabbed a few “how to draw” books from the library and he’s been doing that during free time.

Music

We progressed with our study of American folk music. We covered the early years 1920s-1950s including the country side. We started with The Carter Family and the Weavers; not huge fans. Arthur did not like Johnny Cash or Jack Elliott but did like Bill Monroe. Guess he falls on the bluegrass side which is fine by me. For movie night, we watched O Brother Where Art Thou? J and I love the Coen Brothers and this is one my favorites. We talked about the fact that the movie is a version of the Odyssey and enjoyed the music. I didn’t think he liked it, but afterward Arthur told me he was going to watch it again.

Unit Theme

Our ocean study focused on exploration, fish, and sharks this week! We learned about Marie Tharp, Sylvia Earle, and Jacques Cousteau. Then we moved on to all the different species of shark! Arthur’s been loving the YouTube channel Brave Wilderness for great animal encounter videos. We found some that apply to the ocean!

• Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Karen Coombs

• Oceanography: The Study of Oceans by Susan H. Gray

• The Undersea World by Tamra B. Orr

• Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman

• Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Early by Claire A. Nivola

• Marie's Ocean: Marie Tharp Maps the Mountains Under the Sea by Josie James

• Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea by Robert Burleigh

• Ocean Speaks by Jess Keating

• DK: Fishy Tales (Arthur read)

• Goby Fish and Snapping Shrimp by Kari Schuetz

• What's It Like to be a Fish? by Wendy Pfeffer

• DK Oceans

• Nat Geo Ocean Animals

• Manfish by Jennifer Berne

• The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho

• Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs by Kate Messner

• Nat Geo Kids: Sharks (Arthur read)

• Sharks by Valerie Bodden

• Sharks Have Six Senses by John F. Waters

• Slickety Quick: Poems About Sharks by Skila Brown

• Smart About Sharks by Owen Davey

• DK Eyewitness: Shark

• Great White Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Hammerhead Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Blacktip Reef Sharks by Grace Hansen

• Nurse Sharks by Grace Hansen

• Basking Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Whale Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Mako Sharks by Nico Barnes

• Zebra Sharks by Nico Barnes

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Norman The Slug with the Silly Shell by Sue Hendra

• There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell! by Lucille Colandro

• Iced Out by CK Smouha

• Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni

• Shark Dog by Ged Adamson

• The Ocean Story by John Seven

• Shark Dog and the School Trip Rescue by Ged Adamson

• I'm a Shark by Bob Shea

• How to Spy on a Shark by Lori Haskins Houran

• The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Ken Geist

• Perfect Square by Michael Hall

• Blue on Blue by Dianne White

• Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson

• Misunderstood Shark by Ame Dyckman

Highs

• We had a lovely park playdate with three other coop families on Tuesday. The weather was perfect!

• On Thursday, we went to the zoo. Haven’t been there in a few weeks and it was nice to go when the weather was nice. We had to check in with Marshall the rhino. He’s getting so big! He’s about 18 months old now.

Lows

• Apparently everyone went ot the zoo on Thursday along with at least 8 buses full of school kids. it was crowded and people were not masking. I really dislike going when it’s so crowded. Hopefully next time we go it will be less people. The kids were super whiny the entire time (tired, warm weather, lots of people, probably contributed) and make me regret trying to go and do something fun. It was a long day…

Next Week

We should finish our read aloud next week. Guess I need to line out our next couple. We are going to continue covering the oceans (rays, dolphins, and whales), folk music (getting to the 1960s!), and the American Revolution (ending the war). I think we need to pull out some board games for math to supplement our review. Plus we have two park playdates scheduled.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W33: Into the Treetops Once Again

What We Studied

Literature and Poetry

We finished reading Nim’s Island and then had a movie night on Friday. The book was pretty good; a slim adventure story. And the movie actually held up. Decent! For a related art project, Arthur had to make his own island map. It’s a little hard to read in places, but he made sure to label everything.

• Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr

• Rainbow Soup by Brian P. Cleary (poems)

• Sea Sheep by Eric Seltzer (Arthur read)

Math

We are officially done with Singapore Math 2! We’re not going to move into 3 until August. Until then, we will be doing some review, catching up on Khan Academy, studying coding again, playing math games, and probably doing a unit on nature math (golden ratio; Fibonacci).

Social Studies

We are back into the American Revolution covering female patriots (Rebecca Stillwell Willets was Arthur’s favroite), spies (love the Culper Ring!), and life during the war.

• Fight for Freedom: The American Revolutionary War by Benson Bobrick

• Great Women of the American Revolution by Brianna Hall

• Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies by Cokie Roberts

• Patriots and Petticoats: Heroines of the American Revolution by Shirley Raye Redmond

• If You were a Kid During the American Revoluion by Wil Mara

• Life During the Revolutionary War by Bonnie Hinman

• Revolutionary Rogues: John André and Benedict Arnold by Selene Castrovilla

• A Spy Called James by Anne Rockwell

• Anna Strong by Sarah Glenn Marsh

• The Scarlet Stockings Spy by Trinka Hakes Noble

Science

See Unit Theme

Art

Nothing formal

Music

We started our big unit on American Folk Music! I’m super excited about this one. We started with a short random documentary I found from the 1970s. It’s dated, but does an amazing job of tracing a few folk songs from England to today. From there, we did a few days with Woody Guthrie (not Arthur’s favorite). On the way back from the Treetops, we listened to a Smithsonian compilation album of Children’s Folk Music. They actually really enjoyed it! There is hope!

• Passing the Music Down by Sarah Sullivan

• This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

Unit Theme

Continuing with oceans! We will be in this unit for the entire month of May. This week we studied coral reefs, the open ocean, and the deep. We watched a great episode of Blue Planet about coral seas and an episode of NOVA about Reef Rescue.

• One Night in the Coral Sea by Sneed B. Collard III

• Nat Geo Kids: Coral Reefs

• Coral Reefs by Precious McKenzie

• Coral Reefs by Gail Gibbons

• Nat Geo Kids: Ocean Animals

• Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman (I really need to just buy this one!)

• DK Ocean

• Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Karen Coombs

• W is for Waves by Marie and Roland Smith

• Seashells: More Than a Home by Melissa Stewart

• Deep in the ocean by Lucie Brunelliere

• The Deep, Deep Ocean by John Woodward

• Into the Deep by Annika Siems

• Deep Oceans by Ellen Labrecqu

• Exploring the Deep Dark Sea by Gail Gibbons

• Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock

• Down Down Down by Steve Jenkins

• Journey into the Deep by Rebecca L. Johnson

Misc. - Random picture books read Lots of ocean themed reading for nighttime.

• The Mermaid by Jan Brett

• Sandy Feet! Whose Feet? Footprints at the Shore by Susan Wood

• A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer

• Field Trip to the Ocean Deep by John Hare

• Ocean Animals from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick

• Little Turtle and the Changing Sea by Becky Davies

• The Specific Ocean by Kyo Maclear

• Gone Fishing: Ocean Life by the Numbers by David McLimans

• Dive In: Swim with Sea Creatures at Their Actual Size by Roxie Munro

• The Nice Dream Truck by Beth Ferry

• Love is by Diane Adams

• Over int he Ocean in a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes

• Red by Michael Hall

• Hello Ocean by Pam Muñoz Ryan

• The Little Fish that Got Away by Bernadine Cook

Highs

• Our trip to Arbor Day Farm and the Treetops Village on Friday was delightful! It wasn’t too busy even with a few school groups. The weather was cooler but sunny. And the forest was in bloom! We did all the things and wore ourselves out. I even jumped on the trampoline (and fell over a few times). Lots of fun was had!

Lows

• No one showed up to our park playdate on Tuesday. The boys had fun playing at the playground by themselves, but it would have been nice to have some friends. We cut our park trip a little short and I took them to Build-a-Bear to make a new stuffie. (I was planning on going there something this month, but hadn’t told the boys beforehand.) Arthur built a Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon and Quentin made a Chase from Paw Patrol. The day was salvaged but still a bit sad.

Next Week

We are starting a new read aloud (The One and Only Bob!), playing some math games, and doing some review. We will be continuing with the Revolution, the ocean, and folk music. Plus we have a park playdate schedule and a field trip day to find all the Bees of the Heartland down in the Auburn area.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• I need to put a visit to a local farmer’s market on my calendar. Hoping we can get some good local produce to supplement the meager grocery store offerings.

• Very excited about the free resources available for teacher appreciation week. Homeschool resourcing has become more challenging as we are recalibrating for next year.

• So excited to get my permanent bridge put in today. I might be able to eat correctly tomorrow or Saturday.

• I’m not sure what I’ll be eating tonight for dinner…

• I think my mint plant died… possibly from shock (the temps have been all over the place this past week). The flowers look okay, and the tomatoes seem to have started growing, but I’m concerned still.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W32: Impromptu Picnics are the Best

What We Studied

We had three days of outings this week. On Monday, we went to the garden center. On Tuesday, we visited Gifford Farm and got to see the new baby animals. The new baby cows were my favorite. And the slide barn was open so we got to play a bit more. The boys even helped feed the bunnies. On Wednesday, we wen to the park for a playdate.

Literature and Poetry

We started reading Nim’s Island to go along with our Ocean theme! So far, so far. Arthur’s excited to finish so we can watch the movie version.

• Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr

• A First Book of the Sea by Nicola Davies

Math

We finished Unit 11 in Singapore Math. That leaves one more unit to finish the book.

Social Studies

We covered our last chapter in History Quest Ancient Times focusing on Arabia and the rise of Islam. We read some of the tales from the Arabian Nights. We wrapped up the week with a documentary about the ancient city of Petra.

• A is for Arabia by Julia Johnson

• The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan

Science

Our unit theme of oceans takes care of our science, but we did spend most of Monday at the garden center and then planting our purchases. The plants are in a bit of a shock, but they’re slowly acclimating.

Art

Nothing formal

Music

Nothing formal

Unit Theme

We started our month long study of ocean. We began with a review of the ocean basics before moving on currents, tides, ocean layers, the food chain, and the shoreline. Along with our regular books and videos, we started watching Blue Planet. We’ll continue through the first and the second series over the course of the month. We also found a great YouTube channel featuring a man who explores the water.

• The Earth is Mostly Ocean by Allan Fowler

• Ocean by Stacy McAnulty

• Oceans by Cathryn Sill

• Ocean Seasons by Ron Hirschi

• Oceans by Peter Benoit

• Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman

• DK Ocean

• Discover the Oceans by Emily Rose Oachs (Southern, Pacific, Indian, Atlantic)

• Oceans by Precious McKenzie

• Bill Nye’s Big Blue Ocean

• How Deep is the Ocean by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

• Gone Fishing by David McLimans

• Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plant Feed the Seas by Molly Bang

• Shells by Cassie Meyer

• A Nature Walk at the Beach by Louise and Richard Spilsbury

• Along the Shore by John Woodward

• Tide Pool by Louise Spilsbury

• DK Shell

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairy Tale by Alice Kuipers

• Grandpa’s Garden by Stella Fry

• Ocean by Britta Teckentrup

• The Water Dragon by Li Jian

• These Seas Count by Alison Formento

• The Big Beach Cleanup by Charlotte Offsay

• The Three Little Pigs Count to 100 by Grace Maccarone

• Boats on the Bay by Jeanne Walker Harvey

• Blue Floats Away by Travis Jonker

• Where is Spring by Yang-Huan

• Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert

• Octopus Stew by Eric Velasquez

• What’s Inside a Flower by Rachel Ignotofsky

• Sea Bones by Bob Barner

• Crab Cake by Andrea Tsurumi

• Someday, Narwhal by Lisa Mantchev

• Seagrass Dreams by Kathleen M. Hanes

Highs

• We had such a fun time playing with our new friends. After a year in quarantine, it’s been nice to get out even a little bit. We are still masking up and keeping our distance, but park playdates and other outside activities are on our schedule.

Lows

• I hadn’t planned on spending all Monday doing gardening activities. Arthur enjoyed the gardening, but it pushed back all of our schooling.

Next Week

We’re continuing oceans and Nim’s Island. We’ll be starting an American folk music unit for music and finishing Singapore Math 2B. As for outings, we’ll b doing a park playdate and visiting the treehouses at Arbor Day Farm.

Next up on the TBR pile:

2021 Desserts and Snacks - March and April

Week 7: Breakfast Milk Tea and Honey Pound Cake

This was decent, although a bit too dense. I am going to have to try it again sometime.

Recipe used from Lady & Pups

Week 8: Apple Butter Crumble Cake

Nice recipe, but a bit too dry and crumbly. Maybe another recipe.

Recipe used from Inside the Bru Crew Life

Week 9: Marble Pound Cake

Delicious! I really really loved the taste of this one, even if it didn’t look very pretty.

Recipe used from Munaty Cooking

Week 10: Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Oh so incredibly good! Definitely making this one again.

Recipe used from Shutterbean

Week 11: Orange and Cardamom Muffins

Definitely landing on our Top 10 for the year! We loved these not super sweet muffins.

Recipe used from The View from Great Island

Week 12: Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding

As long as you add some ice cream, this is delicious. Definitely cannot eat this plain.

Recipe used from The View from Great Island

Week 13: Maamoul (Arabian Date Filled Cookies)

Did not turn out correctly at all, but the taste was good. If we get a new oven, I’ll try this one again.

Recipe used from Curious Cuisinière

May 2021 Life Goals

Let’s check in on May goals and my progress:

• Read 15 books, including 5 unread shelf reads ✓ - I ended up reading 17 books with 6 of those being from my unread shelf!

• Walk at least 15 miles on the treadmill - Fail. Health issues.

• Work on my December Daily project - Fail

• Make 4 52 dessert recipes ✓ - I managed to just get over the line the last week of the month.

• Weekly field trips ✓ - We’re been at the park every week. Carrying this into May.

• Plan out the rest of spring homeschool weeks ✓ - I’ve got a plan in place!

May’s Goals: Mostly I’m just going to be repeating some goals.

• Read 15 books, including 5 Unread Shelf reads

• Make Four 52 Dessert Recipes

• Weekly Field Trips - We have a bee scavenger hunt, Platte River State Park, Dreamland Playground, and Arbor Day Farm all on the calendar. I’m attempting to transition us to a four day homeschooling week with one field trip day.

• Create a summer bucket list - I missed creating a spring bucket list. Hoping to resurrect this one for summer.

• Finish the Laundry Room - We had to get a new washer dryer set and we took the opportunity to make some basic renovations. We need to paint, install the set, and put some new shelving in.

• Try two new dinner recipes

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W31: A 1/2 Week to Account for Appointments

Apparently, I took no photos this week except my post-vaccine picture and a few at the park on Thursday…

What We Studied

I had multiple dentist appointments and my second vaccine appointment, so I decided on a 1/2 week. We cut out history and unit themes to focus on ELA, math, and science (Earth Day and climate change). It worked really well to balance all of our families needs.

Literature and Poetry

We finished Pippi Longstocking and watched the 1988 movie version for family movie night. Arthur actually really liked Pippi and I didn’t mind reading it at all! We also did a bit more of the poentry unit that we didn’t finish last week.

• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

• The Year Comes Round: Haiku Through the Seasons by Sid Farrar

• The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales by Dawn Casey and Anne Wilson

• The Earth is Painted Green: A Garden of Poems About Our Planet edited by Barbara Brenner

Math

We wrapped up Unit 9 and 10 in Singapore Math 2B. We’re on track to finish the book in about two weeks.

Social Studies

Nothing this week

Science

We celebrated Earth Day but learning about the various ways we can help the Earth. Later in the week, we did a mini study on climate change along with a couple of good NOVA documentaries about the topic.

• Storybots: The Amazing Planet Earth (Arthur read)

• Celebrating Earth Day by MJ York

• The Earth Gives More by Sue Fliess

• One Earth by Eileen Spinelli

• Thank You Earth by April Pulley Sayre

• Does Earth Feel? by Marc Majewski

• My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan

• Our Earth Helping Out by Peggy Hock

• On Earth by G. Brian Karas

• Earth Hour by Nanette Heffernan

• Dear Earth… from Your Friends in Room 5 by Erin Dealey

• Our Gift-Filled Earth by Eun Hee Na

• Heal the Earth by Julian Lennon

• Climate Change by Peter Benoit

• The Magic School Bus and the Climate Change by Joanna Cole

Art

Nothing this week

Music

As we got behind last week, we finished listening to some of Alexandre Desplat’s movie scores. Arthur really enjoyed his Wes Anderson movie scores and the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 score. The more serious movies, he did not enjoy but I did.

Unit Theme

See science

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Badger’s Perfect Garden by Marsha Diane Arnold

• Library Mouse: A Museum Adventure by Daniel Kirk

• Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre

• L is for Library by Sonya Terry

• The Forever Garden by Laurel Snyder

• Little Blue Truck’s Springtime by Alice Schertle

• Hooray for Spring by Kazuo Iwamura

• Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima

• The Song of Spring by Hendrik Jonas

• The Not So Quiet Library b Zachariah Ohora

• The Fox in the Library by Lorenz Pauli

• Little i by Michael Hall

• Crinkle, Crackle, Crack It’s Spring by Marion Dane Bauer

• Two Shy Pandas by Julia Jarman

• The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

• Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña

• Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock

• Violet and Victor Write The Best-ever Bookworm Book by Alice Kuipers

Highs

• On Thursday, we had a lovely playdate with two other coop families. I’m so excited to have a group for the kids (and for me) this coming school year. I’m already planning possible themes and field trips.

• Our two NOVA episodes on energy and climate change were very interesting. I even learned some things!

Lows

• Two dentist appointments took me out of commission for all of Tuesday. And Arthur and Quentin’s attitudes suffered for it. They were little bears on Wednesday. We really do love our routine in this house.

Next Week

We’re back to a somewhat normal schedule next week, although we do have multiple outside activities planned. We are going to cover the last chapter of History Quest: Ancient Times about Arabia. We will be starting our new read aloud (Nim’s Island), new science unit (Oceans), and new music unit (American folk music). I can feel us winding down a bit as the end of the year comes closer.

Next up on the TBR pile: