Currently #20

Reading: I’m getting closer to finishing Fairy Tale by Stephen King for a my Nerdy Bookish Friends book club. Overall, it’s been good, but King is a bit too long-winded for my tastes.

Watching: We’ve been on a Bollywood kick lately. Very over the top movies, but I’m loving it.

Listening: I got in a weird mood the other day and wanted to listen to some 70s women-led rock. So I downloaded all of Heart’s albums and binged listened. So good.

Making: For brunch I made blueberry sour cream coffee cake. Now I want to make all the different kinds of coffee cake. Perfect for these chilly Sunday mornings.

Feeling: We are in hibernation mode this week. Curling up with a good book and a cup of tea is just right.

Planning: I’m working on our Christmas plans. I need to formulate our Christmas advent and start making travel pans.

Loving: I’m all about the weird books lately. I finished Comfort Me with Apples on Sunday and Mrs. Caliban yesterday. Both were very strange.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W12: Halloween is My Favorite Holiday!

What We Studied

We settled into a calm and relaxed week of school. We didn’t run around everywhere, but focused on a few activities with our coop friends

Literature and Poetry

We finished Howl’s Moving Castle as our main read aloud. We even watched the movie version for family movie night on Friday. Arthur really enjoyed the book and the movie. We finished our current book club book just in time to join in the meeting. The kids had a lovely evening chatting about the book. We also started the next book club selection.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton

• Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We continued Europe and covered stories from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor (Quentin Reads)

• Fox Versus Winter by Corey R. Tabor (Quentin reads)

• Nat Geo Kids Halloween by Laura Marsh

• The Littlest Mummy by Brandi Dougherty

• The Littlest Witch by Brandi Dougherty

• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

• Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell

• Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

• Trick or Treat Crankenstein by Samantha Berger

• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

• Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler

• Miss Turie's Magic Creatures by Joy Keller

• Frankenslime by Joy Keller

• Back to School with Bigfoot by Samantha Berger

• Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka by Tomie dePaola

• Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola

• Fiona's Lace by Patricia Polacco

• Finn McCoul by Brian Gleeson

• The Irish Cinderlad by Shirley Climo

• Ronan and the Mermaid by Marianne McShane

• An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Mythical Creatures

• Katie in London by James Mayhew

• The Teeny-Tiny Woman by Paul Galdone

• Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow by Robert D. San Souci

• The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog by Margaret Read MacDonald

• The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies by Heather Forest

• The Black Bull of Norroway by Charlotte Huck

• An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Mythical Creatures by Theresa Breslin

• An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Fairy Tales by Theresa Breslin

• An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Castle Legends by Theresa Breslin

Arthur’s Candy

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). Arthur officially finished 4A. We we probably take a small break before starting in on 4B. To celebrate Halloween, we graphed out our category into a variety of categories. The boys had fun.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4A

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

• Smart Start Math Grade 1

Quentin’s Candy

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We covered the founding of the rest of the English colonies.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We moved onto studying England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me; A School Like Mine

• S is for Shamrock: An Ireland Alphabet by Eve Bunting

• Follow Me Around: Ireland by Wiley Blevins

• Whole Wide World: Big Ben by Kristine Spanier

• Follow Me Around: United Kingdom by Wiley Blevins

• Edinburgh Castle by Grace Hansen

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Q’s messy hands at coop

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. We covered the rest of wheels and axles.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We did just a little overview of the animals of Europe.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

Work in progress

STEAM Coop

We’re back to coop after our absence week. Arthur caught up with genetics and Quentin studied anatomy. We had our last 70 degree day of the year (probably), so we had a great meeting at the park. We probably won’t be back out until late spring.

Trick-or-treating

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. This week music just didn’t happen. But that’s okay. Arthur’s continued with the Outschool drawing class. This week’s animal was a panther.

Field Trip

We didn’t have a field trip this week Instead, we had other activities to occupy our time. On Monday, we had the Coop Halloween Party at the park. The kids got to trick or treat and make some crafts. On Tuesday evening, we had coop book club. Many of the families had not finished the book, but we still ha da good discussion. We also picked our selections for the next six months.

High

• The Halloween party was such a great time. I really love that coop has decided to do these quarterly holiday parties.

Low

• We didn’t get through as much curriculum as I had hoped that we would. I might need to retool our schedule a bit.

Next Week

• Starting a new read aloud (A)

• Moving to the conflicts with Native Americans for US History (A)

• Moving to pulleys for Physics (A)

• Covering Western Europe for social studies and science (Q)

• Covering genetics, (A) and renewable energy (Q) for coop

Next up on the TBR pile:

November 2022 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Complete Spooky Movie Month ✓

• Go to Vala’s at Least 5x ✓

• Have a Fun Birthday Party for the Boys ✓

November Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Read 5 from My Unread Shelf

• Have a Friendsgiving

• Plan the Coop Christmas Party

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W11: All the Fall Fun!

What We Studied

Another combo post of a Flex Week and the regular week. These Flex Weeks are really working out well for my compulsion to schedule and check off boxes. We fit in a few activities but also a lot of relaxing time at time following a few appointments.

Dentist appointment!

Literature and Poetry

We started Howl’s Moving Castle as our next main read aloud. Of course, we are still continuing our creation stories and our Nature Poetry. We have been reading a collection of scary stories before bed each night. Arthur and I started The Westing Game, our coop book club selection. We need to read it quickly as the meeting is on Tuesday night.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton

• Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

• The Cabinet of Curiosities

• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We started Europe and covered stories from Scandinavia. We also started and finished the My Father’s Dragon collection. Q really liked it, so I call is a success.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

• Fox and the Jumping Contest by Corey R. Tabor (Quentin reads)

• The Mystery of the Dragon Eggs by Maggie Testa (Quentin reads)

• Sir Ladybug by Corey R. Tabor (Quentin Read)

• FriendBots: Blink and Block Bug Each Other by Vicky Fang (Quentin Read)

• Fox is Late by Corey R. Tabor (Quentin Read)

• Ola by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

• The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Jerry Pinkney

• Agnes's Place by Marit Larsen

• The Troll with No Heart in His Body and Other Tales of Trolls, from Norway by Lise Lunge-Larsen

• D'Aulaires' Book of Norwegian Folktales

• The Pancake Boy by Lorinda Byran Cauley

• The Dragon's Hoard by Lari Don

• Master Maid: A Tale of Norway by Aaron Shepard

• Nat Geo Treasury of Norse Mythology

• The Most Beautiful Story by Brynjulf June Tjønn and Øyvind Torseter

• Boots and His Brothers by Eric A. Kimmel

• The Kalevala: Tales of Magic and Adventure

• The Princess Mouse by Aaron Shepard

• A Little Bitty Man and Other Poems for the Very Young by Halfdan Rasmussen

• Fat Cat by Margaret Read MacDonald

• The Whispering Town by Jennifer Elvgren

• Coffee Rabbit Snowdrop Lost by Betina Birkjær

• Hans Christian Andersen: The Journey of His Life by Heinz Janisch

• The Mouse Bride by Linda Allen

• The Sinking of the Vasa by Russell Freedman

• Now that Night is Near by Astrid Lindgren

• The Little Old Woman and the Hungry Cat by Nancy Polette

Weekly LEGO creation - a Star Wars speeder that crashed

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). We played a lot of math packet catch-up this week. We had been pushing hard and it was nice to slow down a bit and work on mastery of skills. I also pulled out the Autumn tangrams to play with on a rainy day. The boys always love when I pull those out and it helps them work on their spatial relations.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4A

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

• Smart Start Math Grade 1

Proof we did do some bookwork

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We moved onto the Plymouth colony and the settlement of New England. We’re slowing moving through the timeline, but it’s a good pace for us.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We did an overview of Europe and moved into the Scandinavian countries. We even had an Atlas Crate for Sweden, so extra fun was had.

• Skill Sharpeners Geography Grade K

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me; A School Like Mine

• D is for Dala Horse: A Nordic Countries Alphabet by Kathy-jo Wargin

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. We covered wheels and axles.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

• Wheels and Cranks by David Glover

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We did just a little overview of the animals of Europe.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

Honey Brown Butter, Chocolate Fudge, Cherry, and Salted Caramel Apple

S’mores and Bourbon Pecan

STEAM Coop

We had a very strange two weeks of coop. The first week, Arthur finished up the Telecommunications unit. Unfortunately things conspired against the middles and littles and so we pivoted to show and tell and board games. The kids still got some time to socialize and see their friends. The second week, I had a dentist appointment and the kids weren’t feeling great, so we skipped coop that week.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. This week music just didn’t happen. But that’s okay. Arthur’s continued with the Outschool drawing class. He made a great picture of a dolphin and sea turtle and one of a sparrow. He is really loving this class and it’s really keeping up his skills.

Field Trip

We ventured out on the coldest day of the year so far (25 degrees!) to Arbor Day Farm. We spent all day there exploring nature and hanging out with some friends. it was very chilly, but we did have a good day.

We also had a virtual park ranger program where a Park Ranger from Petrified Forest talked to the kids about the National Parks and specifically her park. It was a good hour discussion. And we got to stay home and enjoy the program from our couch. Extra win!

High

• We hit Vala’s three times to get the most out of our season passes. Monday was rough as it was raining the entire time, but we redeemed ourselves with Friday’s visit. We hit all our favorite places and enjoyed lots of treats. Loved it!

• On the general life front: The kids finally got access to the bivalent COVID booster. A small worry taken off my plate for this season. And the boys had their regular dentist appointment with no issues. They’ll be back in 6 months.

Low

• Rainy and cold on our field trip days messed up our flow. And the kids had a touch of a cold, so that wasn’t fun.

Next Week

• Finishing Howl’s Moving Castle (A)

• Moving to the French, Dutch, and Spanish settlements for US History (A)

• Moving to pulleys for Physics (A)

• Covering Western Europe for social studies and science (Q)

• Reading some Halloween themed books (Q)

• Covering genetics, (A) and anatomy (Q) for coop

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Dentist appointment this morning and surprisingly I had very little pain.

• Unfortunately, I had pain elsewhere due to my scar tissue. Can’t have an entire day pain free…

• I did make a doctor’s appointment to start the long process of figuring out everything that’s wrong with me, but it’s not until early December.

• Thinking about extending Spooky Book Month through November. There are so many good ones on my stack that I am not going to get to by Tuesday.

• I really need to make a clothing shopping list for myself. Underwear and socks are a must. I want some new Pjs also and my sneakers are getting very worn.

• The area around my chair is mess. I haven’t had a chance to clear up the curriculum piles, library books, magazines, and assorted items. Guess what I’m doing Saturday morning.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List Update #1

My favorite season of the year. We’re diving into the spooky season and planning on soaking up all the fall fun.

1. Visit Vala’s 5x ✓

2. Celebrate Friendsgiving

3. Read 50 Books (23/50)

4. Complete Spooky Movie Month - in progress

5. Execute a Halloween Party for Coop

6. Have an Art/Craft Day

7. Two State Park Visists

8. Two Zoo Visits

9. Pick Out and Carve Pumpkins

10. Go Trick-or-Treating

11. Jump in a Pile of Leaves

12. Go Through a Corn Maze

13. Make 5 Fall Recipes

14. Make Leaf Art

15. Go Pick Apples ✓

16. Go on a Fall Forest Hike ✓

17. Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes

18. Go Bowling

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #19

Reading: I finally grabbed My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris from the library. I’m really loving the drawings and the mystery involved in the passages.

Watching: We transitioned from Spooky Movie Month to Spooky Movie Series Month. We watched the Underworld series and Blade series. Now we are in the middle of the Alien and Predator series.

Listening: Catching up on the back episodes of Currently Reading. Somehow I got behind by 6 episodes or so.

Making: The weather turned chilly, so that means that I’m making all the soups this season. We had very yummy baked potato soup last night.

Feeling: Today the high is 45 degrees and we are planning on being outside all day at Arbor Day Farm. I foresee being very chilly today.

Planning: We’re fast approaching Halloween and I’m filling in our activities.

Loving: I pulled out a puzzle for this weekend. Haven’t done of these in awhile. I was very excited to get back to puzzling.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W10: A Very Chill Week

What We Studied

After the epic birthday party weekend, we decided to have a very chill week. We went minimal places and didn’t go so heavy on the schoolwork. It was nice to have a bit of a break from everything. We still managed to get some work and lots of reading done.

Literature and Poetry

We finished The Wild Robot Escapes (oh so good) and paused before our next read aloud choice. We have been reading a collection of scary stories before bed each night.

• The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton

• Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost

• The Cabinet of Curiosities

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We wrapped up South America. We also started and finished the first book in the My Father’s Dragon series. Q really liked it, so we plan on reading the next two volumes over the next two weeks.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

• Fox at Night by Corey R. Tabor (Q reads)

• Captain Cat Goes to Mars by Emma J. Virján (Q reads)

• Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss (Q reads)

• Bunny Will Not Jump! by Jason Tharp (Q Reads)

• Bunny Will Not Smile by Jason Tharp (Q Reads)

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). We played a lot of math packet catch-up this week. We had been pushing hard and it was nice to slow down a bit and work on mastery of skills.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4A

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We paused on the larger history timeline to finish reading a historical fiction book about the founding of James Town.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• History Quest: U.S. History

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Blood on the Water: James Town 1607 by Elisa Carbone

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We finished our study of South America. Next up is Europe.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me; A School Like Mine

• Mia’s Story by Michael Foreman

• Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood

• The Magic Bean Tree: A Legend from Argentina by Nancy Van Laan

• Abuelo by Arthur Dorros

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. We covered the sections about levers and made a few levers.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• Levers by Sally M. Walker

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We talked a lot about the southern part of South America and the animals who live there. We also continued reading our true book about wild animals.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

STEAM Coop

The older class continued their telecommunications theme. They finally learned about the internet and wireless communication. Quentin’s class focused on the structure of our government. They got to vote on some issues and see democracy in action.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. This week music just didn’t happen. But that’s okay. Arthur’s continued with the Outschool drawing class. This week they made a picture of a gazelle. He even decided to trace over the lines in marker and then color it a bit afterward. Love it!

Field Trip

None this week for us

High

• The quiet time was nice

Low

• Sad to miss out on the homeschool fall dance on Thursday, but the boys really were not feeling it. Hopefully the organizer does it again in spring. We would definitely attend!

Next Week

• Starting Howl’s Moving Castle (A)

• Moving to the Pilgrims for US History (A)

• Finishing levers for Physics (A)

• Introducing Europe for social studies and science (Q)

• Continuing to read the My Father’s Dragon series (Q)

• Traveling to Nebraska City for Arbor Day Farm field trip

• Getting out to Vala’s (with J) at least once this week

• Covering telecommunications, one last class, (A) and government (Q) for coop

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Dealing with the management side of coop is not my favorite at all…

• Temperatures are all over the place once again his week and next. I would like a week of 60-70 degree temps please. That would be magical.

• My patio furniture was moved inside for the party and I think it may live in my living room for the winter. I feel silly putting it back outside, but also the space in the garage has changed since April.

• COVID boosters were just approved for kids! I’m off to make appointments for the boys!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W8-9: Lots of Pumpkin Patch Time!

What We Studied

Our week 8 ended being a bit abbreviated because of lots of different activities, so I’m combining it with our week 9 for the recap. We ended our week 9 with the boys’ epic Knights of the Round Table Party, so we had another slightly abbreviated week. Still got a lot of school done and time outside, but we will be playing catch-up a bit on our next flex week (after week 10).

Literature and Poetry

As our extra read aloud, we finished A Wolf Called Wander in the middle of the two weeks. For our actual curriculum, we started and almost finished The Wild Robot Escapes. I really loved the entire duology of Roz’s adventures. I loved every part of those books. We’ll be wrapping that book up this week and diving into our next read aloud (and the coop book club selection for October).

• The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton

• Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost

• A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We stayed in South American for our stories.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• Looking for Jaguar and Other Rain Forest Poems by Susan Katz

• Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection by Alma Flor Ada

• Jabuti The Tortoise: A Trickster Tale from the Amazon by Gerald McDermott

• Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia by Jeanette Winter

• Love and Roast Chicken by Barbara Knutson

• Miro in the Kingdom of the Sun by Jane Kurtz

• One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest by Jean Craighead George

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). Quentin finished his Tinkeractive text so we are ready to move onto Singapore and Smart Start Math.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4A

• Tinkeractive Math Kindergarten

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We wrapped up our exploration of the various groups of Native Americans pre-1492 and dove into the European colonization of the continent. We ended up covering Jamestown and beginnings of what would be Virginia.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• History Quest: U.S. History

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• 1607: A New Look at Jamestown

• Blood on the Water by Elisa Carbone

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We did a study of South America covering multiple regions. We also had a Sunnie Press maps for Rio de Janeiro and a Atlas Crate box for Brazil.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me; A School Like Mine

• Along the Tapajos by Fernando Vilela

• Living in Brazil by Chloe Perkins

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. We covered more simple machines. and more from our Story of Science.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• Screws by Sally M. Walker and Roseann Feldmann

• The Math Book

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We talked a lot about the Amazonia rainforest and the animals that live there.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Rainforest Grew All Around by Susan K. Mitchell

• Rainforest by Julia Groves

• In the Rainforest by Kate Duke

• Anteaters, Bats, and Boas: The Amazon Rainforest from the Forest Floor to the Treetops by Roxie Munro

• Rainforests by Andrea Silen

• Over and Under the Rainforest by Kate Messner

• The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry

• The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest by Heather Lang

• Tree of Wonder: The Many Marvelous Lives of a Rainforest Tree by Kate Messner

STEAM Coop

The older class continued their telecommunications theme. Arthur got really into making a transmitter tower and a crystal radio. Quentin’s class focused on life skills.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. This week music just didn’t happen. But that’s okay. Arthur’s continued with the Outschool drawing class. He has really gotten into the idea of a new animal each week. He drew an elephant and a red panda.

Field Trip

We had a Zoom tour of a radio station to align with our telecommunications unit. It was fun too see a working radio station even if it was virtual. We also had coop school pictures which led to a park playdate practically next-door to the studio. We also went to the pumpkin patch multiple times these past two weeks. Good thing we have season passes.

High

• Quentin’s 6th birthday was right at the end of September. We had a fun day at the pumpkin patch even if I did just about expire afterward.

Low

• My body has been hurting lately. It got much worse these past two weeks. Not a fan at all.

Next Week

• Finishing The Wild Robot Escapes and staring Howl’s Moving Castle (A)

• Moving to the Pilgrims for US History (A)

• Covering levers for Physics (A)

• Reading some animal stories from South America (Q)

• Finishing the South American countries (Q)

• Covering telecommunications (A) and government (Q) for coop

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #18

Reading: Somehow I currently have five different books that I’m currently reading (not counting the kid read aloud). I’m reading The Girl and the Goddess, The Yoga Store Murder, The 1619 Project, Fledgling, and her Majesty’s Royal Coven.

Watching: It’s another Spooky Movie Month and we kicked it off with a terrible choice (Morbius) and a rewatch to attempt to finish a series (Underworld).

Listening: I am finally finishing Unobscured S4 about Rasputin. I am learning so much about that man. Fascinating.

Making: I’m finishing up my big birthday party crafts by making sigils for shields. I have a ton to cut by Saturday.

Feeling: I spent all of yesterday at Vala’s and walked I don’t even know how many thousands of steps. I’m a bit sore today.

Planning: I’m deep into birthday party prep. Only a few more days until the big event and I still have some things to finish.

Loving: We had our third visit to Vala’s yesterday. And we have the fourth visit scheduled for tomorrow. I am aiming at going at least five times in October. It really is my happy place.

Next up on the TBR pile:

October 2022 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Have a Fun Weekend in Des Moines ✓

• Complete Music Movies and Documentary Month ✓

• Plan the Boys’ Birthday Party ✓

October Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Complete Spooky Movie Month

• Go to Vala’s at Least 5x

• Have a Fun Birthday Party for the Boys

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Birthday party prep is going well, but I still have so much to do. I’m getting there…

• I overdid it at Vala’s on Monday, but I might go again on Friday. we just won’t be spending 6 1/2 hours there….

• Book club was a treat this week. We spent four hours chatting about books and other things. And we spent the time out on a beautiful patio (last time probably before it gets too cold).

• Looking forward to my October TBR pile.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W7: Our First Flex Week!

What We Studied

As part of my planning process, I have inserted Flex Weeks into our regular schedule. In essence, Flex Weeks help me account for random days off and delays in our schedule. (Except for the first section) I schedule 4 weeks of lessons and then insert a Flex Week. If we get behind during those 4 weeks, we can make up our lessons and time during the Flex Week. I originally called them Break Weeks, but that’s not what they are. We don’t have schedule week breaks after every session. Instead, we often take a day off during a random week. Sometimes it’s due to sickness or general attitudes and sometimes it’s due to a fun opportunity to go somewhere or see something special. Homeschool is all about flexibility and this is how I remain flexible.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished The Wild Robot and loved it. We are planning on starting the sequel next week. We must see how Roz’s journey ends. We also started a new poetry book of Robert Frost’s creations. Beyond the selections tied to curriculum, we started reading A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry for a bedtime selection. It took a very serious turn the other night and I am very sad for the characters (who are wolves).

• The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton

• Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost

• A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We moved into South American tales and stories to round out our reading.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead

• Looking for Jaguar and Other Rain Forest Poems by Susan Katz

• Abuelita and Me by Leonarda Carranza

• Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection by Alma Flor Ada

Creations at The Durham Museum

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin).

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4A

• Tinkeractive Math Kindergarten

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

Another Durham creation

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We wrapped up our exploration of the various groups of Native Americans pre-1492. We also finished two history read alouds. Arthur also took another Outschool class from Kelly Tudor, this time about Indigenous People's’ Day. I really love her classes. I’ll have to check to see if she has any other good upcoming ones.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• Between Earth and Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places by Jospeh Bruchac and James Bruchac

• The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet by Joseph Bruchac

• Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• Trickster: Native American Tales by Matt Dembicki

• History Quest: U.S. History

• Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris

• Morning Girl by Michael Dorris

• The Girl Who Helped Thunder retold by James Bruchac and Joseph Bruchac

Quentin began his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We did a study of Central America, the Caribbean, and started on South America.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me; A School Like Mine

• Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin by Duncan Tonatiuh

• Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore

• The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico by Nina Jaffe

• How Music Came to the World by Hal Ober

• Dalia's Wondrous Hair by Laura Lacamara

• Alfredito Flies Home by Jorge Argueta and Luis Garay

• Rainbow Weaver by Tejedora Del Arcoiris

• Islandborn by Junot Diaz

• South America by Libby Koponen

• South America by Alexis Roumanis

• Introducing South America by Anita Ganeri

• Spotlight on South America by Karen Bush Gibson

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. I finally downloaded Flipaclip for Arthur to work on his drawing skills. A good friend of his has it and was showing him the cool creations. We has been really enjoying the drawing time.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. The one week, our friends were sick, so we held the experiment for the next week. We did cover work, energy, and planes and wedges.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We talked about animals of Central America and the Caribbean nations. We also threw in a little discussion about the Autumnal Equinox.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• A is for Anaconda by Anthony Frederick

• We're Roaming in the Rainforest: An Amazon Adventure by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson

• Llamas by Mary R. Dunn

• Howler Monkeys by Chadwick Gillenwater

• Poison Dart Frogs by Julie Murray

• Amazon River by Sangma Francis

• Toucans by Julie Murray

• Sloths by Julie Murray

• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Park

STEAM Coop

The older class started their telecommunications unit. Which means that I get to sit back a bit and just assist the various classes. The younger two classes learned about maps and geography. Quentin really got into make a sample landform map in a Tupperware.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. This week music just didn’t happen. But that’s okay. Arthur participated in an Outschool drawing class and really enjoyed it. They drew a falcon. Currently, he is signed up for this weekly class. We might not make it to every week, but it should be a fun class to continue with. Each week they will draw a different animal.

For our cooking projects, we had a Jamaica Night and a Cuba Night. For Jamaica, we made jerk chicken, beans and coconut rice, banana punch, and ting. For Cuba, we made pork Cubano, baked plantains, and coconut rum cake. All so good! Quentin even tried everything and liked some of it.

Jamaican Night

Cuban Night

Field Trip

We went to the Durham with coop for a very interesting look at the founding and Omaha and the International Exposition. I enjoyed our time at the museum.

Family Game Night

Result from Arthur’s first drawing class

High

• Our coop meetings were a blast these past two weeks. I don’t have to teach (yeah!) and can spend some time observing and help all of the students. And the weather held out last Thursday making it a bit chilly but no rain for our meeting time. I really resist moving into houses with the changing weather.

Low

• My body has been hurting lately which makes me less likely to take the kids places. I need to get into a better routine there.

Marshmallow catapults for science

Next Week

• Starting The Wild Robot Escapes (A)

• Finishing A Wolf Called Wander

• Moving past 1492 for US History (A)

• Covering more simple machines for Physics (A)

• Reading some animal stories from South America (Q)

• Covering various South American countries (Q)

• Covering telecommunications (A) and life skills Q) for coop

• Fall Picture Day!

• Quentin’s Birthday and a trip to Vala’s!

Excited about our random Aldi find this week

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List

My favorite season of the year. We’re diving into the spooky season and planning on soaking up all the fall fun.

1. Visit Vala’s 5x - We have season passes, so we are definitely going to be living there this season.

2. Celebrate Friendsgiving

3. Read 50 Books

4. Complete Spooky Movie Month

5. Execute a Halloween Party for Coop

6. Have an Art/Craft Day

7. Two State Park Visists

8. Two Zoo Visits

9. Pick Out and Carve Pumpkins

10. Go Trick-or-Treating

11. Jump in a Pile of Leaves

12. Go Through a Corn Maze

13. Make 5 Fall Recipes

14. Make Leaf Art

15. Go Pick Apples

16. Go on a Fall Forest Hike

17. Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes

18. Go Bowling

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer Bucket List Finish

Another season, another summer bucket list. In our town, it’s been feeling like summer for weeks now. I sat down with the kids the other day and they helped me come up with a list of activities for this season.

1. Complete the Library Reading Program ✓

2. Tour of Midwest Zoos ✓

3. Ice Cream Tour of Omaha

4. Louisville SRA ✓

5. Durham Dinosaur Exhibit ✓

6. Trip to Indiana, Iowa, Illinois ✓

7. Cookout with Friends ✓

8. Lincoln Day

9. Medieval, Pirate, and Prehistoric Putt - In progress. The boys went with J to Medieval Putt while I was gone at the end of June.

10. Redo the Playroom ✓

11. Bird Watching Hike

12. Pam Nelson Farm

13. Lauritzen Gardens ✓ - We went with coop for a field trip.

14. 5 Splash Pad Visits ✓

15. 3 Movies at the Theater - 2 done

16. 3 Omaha Zoo Visits ✓

17. Craft/Art Day ✓

18. Read 50 Books ✓

19. July Movie Month! ✓ - We made the instead a September music documentary and movie month. So far, it’s going great.

20. Clear Out My Library Cart ✓ - I returned basically all my library holds and focused on my own books for September.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #17

Reading: I finally started The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George from my giant Unread Shelf. After multiple dark and depressing books, this might be just what I need this week.

Watching: As part of our music documentary month, we started watching Sonics Highways and I am very into the stories

Listening: After binging S3 of Unobscured about the Whitechapel murders, I quickly moved into S4 about Rasputin. I’m really enjoying this deep dive.

Making: I’m deep into birthday party planning mode. I’ve got some games and crafts that I need to finish before the actual day,

Feeling: We got our COVID boosters (J and I) on Sunday and feel like I had no ill-effects. J was done for almost 24 hours feeling terrible, but I’m totally fine. Very surprising.

Planning: Thursday we have our fall semester parent meeting and I’m finishing out my agenda. So many things to discuss.

Loving: I made coconut rum cake this past weekend and it was absolutely delightful. Will be making again and again.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Getting back into our regular schedule has reenergized me… thank goodness, I was flagging.

• Looking forward to pumpkin patch season.

• But first, I need to finish planning the boys’ birthday party.

• We’re going a Jamaican food night and a Cuban food night this week to celebrate our geography study. I’m looking forward to the coconut rum cake.

• I’ve read three horror books in a row and it’s been glorious I’m leaning into my comfort reads this month.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W6: Busy as Bees

What We Studied

It was a very busy week for us. We had a field trip, our regular activities, a trip to the airport (drop off for J), and the start of a weekend trip. Being so busy and attempting to stay on top of the house meant that we cut back a bit on schoolwork to accommodate. That’s okay. This week (like starting today) is a flex week where we get to take some time to catch up on units and rearrange things for the next block of weeks.

Doing logic with Hootie the owl

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished reading Word of Mouse as our coop book club selection. We finished in time to take to coop so another family to borrow our book. As for our actual big ELA read aloud, we started reading The Wild Robot and Arthur is very into the story. I loved how the chapter give us little vignettes that connect with Roz’s longer storyline. Loving it! Hopefully we finished next week and then can dive right into the sequel. Arthur officially started his spelling curriculum this year. I hadn’t planned on doing a formal spelling curriculum, but one of my favorite resources, The Moffatt Girls, released a 3rd grade version and offered a discount for the first week. I snapped it up we will continue with spelling for another year.

• The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton

• Word of Mouse by James Patterson

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). I also found a fun packet of logic puzzles based on Alice in Wonderland. We will be spreading these out over our reading of the text.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4A

• Tinkeractive Math Kindergarten

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We did a bit more exploration of the various groups of Native Americans. Turtle Island is my current favorite resource. I love how the chapters are divided. We get a little snapshot of many different cultures and areas. Arthur also continued reading a graphic novel collections of Native American tales as part of his independent work. We also started a history read aloud for our Native American study.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• Native Americans: A Visual Exploration by SN Paella

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac

• Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• Trickster: Native American Tales by Matt Dembicki

• History Quest: U.S. History

• Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris

Quentin began his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We did a study of the United States. We covered Mexico this week with a lot of stories and books.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me; A School Like Mine

• Mexican Art and Architecture by Anna Carew-Miller

• Mexico by Elaine Landau

• Living In Mexico by Chloe Perkins

• Follow Me Around Mexico by Wiley Blevins

• P is for Pinata by Tony Johnston

• Let's Explore Mexico by Walt K. Moon

• Mexico ABCs

• Cinco de Mouse-O! by Judy Cox

• Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales

• Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

• The First Tortilla by Rudolfo Anaya

• My Family Celebrates Day of the Dead

• Danza! by Duncan Tonatiuh

• Holy Mole by Caroline McAllister

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. Beyond the paperwork, Arthur focused on his game he’s been making (Lord of the Book) and some random side creative projects. This week he also had an Outschool class on creative writing. It was a big brainstorming session with tips and tricks to write better stories. Afterward, he dove right into making up some new stories.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. This week the boys learned about friction and had fun with some race cars

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We talked about animals of North America. Specially we learned a bit about the American Bison this week. Lots of fun as we have seen bison up close on a number of occasions.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

STEAM Coop

The older class finished their geology unit with a study of volcanoes and earthquakes. After some good discussion, we made lava flows with puffy paint and flower pots. With the conclusion of this week, I am done teaching for the semester. Now I get to just participate and fix problems as they arise. The younger two classes learned about fungi. Quentin learned about yeast and took home some to make bread net week..

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. This week, art and music just didn’t happen. But that’s okay. This is why I have built in flex weeks to catch up on some of the things that get pushed aside during a normal week. We also didn’t do much cooking this week due to the busy schedule.

Field Trip

Tuesday we did a guided tour of Lauritzen Gardens with a special emphasis on spotting mushrooms through the gardens. We did some interesting specimens on our walk. Afterward, we went into the classroom to learn a bit more about mushrooms and make our own out of rocks, felt, and yarn. It was a big, busy field trip, but I enjoyed our walk.

Friday was took off on a weekend trip to Des Moines. Specifically we were going to visit the Living History Farms for their homeschool day, but I didn’t want to drive over 4 hours in one day. So, we added two more days and explored the area. After the Living History Farms, we spent the afternoon at a local arcade and stayed for pizza dinner. Saturday it rained all day so we ended up visiting the Science Center of Iowa. We will definitely be back there soon! It was full of interactive exhibits and shows. We snuck in a bookstore browsing session after the Science Center. On Sunday, we traveled northwest to Boone to take a ride on the Fraser Excursion Train. The trip is an 11 mile round trip through the Des Moines River Valley area. We saw some beautiful countryside and even a few eagles. As an added bonus, it was Day Out with Thomas this weekend, so we got to enjoy those exhibits as well.

High

• Coop was lots of fun and low pressure this week. I think all the kids are finally settling in and getting comfortable.

Low

• A hectic schedule meant that we had to skip art class this week. Oh well, maybe next week.

Next Week

• Continuing an ELA read aloud and a History read aloud (A)

• Catching up on history (A)

• Moving on to Energy for Physics (A)

• Reading some animal stories (Q)

• Covering Central America and the Caribbean (Q)

• Covering telecommunications (A) and maps and geography (Q) for coop

• Introducing the art of John Singleton Copley?

• Listening to Bach

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #16

Reading: I grabbed an ebook of Sarah Gailey’s new book, Just Like Home. it was described as gothic horror, so of course, I needed to read it like now. I’m only about 40 pages in and the mystery has yet to really be revealed. But it definitely has a ton of atmosphere.

Watching: J and I are focusing on music documentaries and movie for September. We started watching Sonic Highways, one of the two docu-series done by the Foo Fighters. I’m loving this look at different music scenes and people around the country.

Listening: I’m finally catching up on my small backlog of Currently Reading podcast episodes.

Making: Working through my August Memory Planner pages. I’m hoping to stay on top of this throughout the end of this year.

Feeling: The boys and I are doing a weekend trip to Des Moines starting on Friday. We all want to go now. Unfortunately, we still have to get through today, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Planning: Slowly planning out the boys’ birthday party in early October. We’re doing a Knights of the Round Table theme.

Loving: Sometimes I want a bit of sweetness in my iced tea, but don’t really want proper sweet tea. So excited that Gold Peak sells Slightly Sweet Tea. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile: