Christmas Bucket List - Update

Another Christmas season is upon us! Time for another bucket list:

Read 10 Holiday Romances (6/10)
- Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
- The Christmas Clash by Suzanna Park
- The Highlander’s Christmas Bride by Vanessa Kelly
- You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky
- Whiteout by Various Authors
- Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey
Coop Christmas Party! ✓
Decorate the Mini Tree ✓
Letter to Santa ✓
Christmas Movies x3
Make Paper Snowflakes
Go See Santa at Cabela’s ✓
Go See Werner Park Lights ✓
Hot Chocolate Bar ✓
Meet the Reindeer ✓
Go for a Winter Hike ✓
Puzzle Day ✓
Make Gingerbread Cookies
Visit Lauritzen Gardens ✓
Decorate Gingerbread Ninjas
Drive around and see the lights
Fantasy of Lights
Dinner at Coney Island and Visit to Santa Lights
Christmas music dance party
Watch The Grinch
Make Peppermint Bark
Christmas Advent Books (in progress)
- Christmas Mouse by Anne Mortimer
- The Twelve Days of Christmas Dogs by Carolyn Conahan
- The Three Bears’ Christmas by Kathy Duval
- The Dinosaurs’ Night Before Christmas by Anne Muercke
- It’s Christmas by Tracey Corderoy
- The 12 Sleighs of Christmas by Sherry Duskey Rinker
- Just Right for Christmas by Birdie Black & Rosalind Beardshaw
- The Twelve Day sod Christmas illustrated by Emma Randall
- Christmas at the Toy Museum by David Lucas
- One Cozy Christmas by M. Christina Butler
- Merry Christmas, Squirrels! by Nancy Rose
- The Last Christmas Tree by Stephen Krensky
- A Day So Gray by Marie Lamba
- Coming Home by Michael Morpurgo
- Christmas with the Mousekins by Maggie Smith
- The Bear Who Didn’t Want to Miss Christmas by Marie Tibi
- A Pirate’s Twelve Days of Christmas by Philip Yates
- Madeline’s Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans
- How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky
- Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood and Don Wood
- Mouse’s Night Before Christmas by Tracey Corderoy
- Christmas is Here! by Charles M. Schulz
- Scooby’s Scary Christmas
- Dino-Christmas by Lisa Wheeler
- The Unicorns Who Saved Christmas by Mary Winn Heider
- How to Catch a Reindeer by Adam Wallace
- How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace
Find a New Christmas Album
Have a Candy Cane Hunt
Go Sledding (Here’s hoping the weather cooperates)
Send out Christmas cards
Take a photo of all four boys together
Finish 2021’s December Daily album
Try a new holiday drink

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

Homeschool W16: Winding Down the Semester

What We Studied

We only have one more official week for the fall semester and we’re definitely ready for a break. This week was full of random appointments with less schooling worked in. We did cover some reading and math and had our final coop meeting of the fall.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur and I continued our read aloud. The story is really getting good. I’m loving that Arthur has recognized a lot of the folklore and mythological characters. Sometimes he really does pay attention.

Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry
In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry
A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister
Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta
Pete the Cat's 12 Groovy Days of Christmas by Kimberly and James Dean
One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland
Merry Christmas, Dear Dragon by Margaret Hillert
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship by Arthur Ransome
Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco

Math

Logic Liftoff (Arthur)
Singapore 4B
Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)
Smart Start Math Grade 1

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’ve continued the section covering the Revolutionary War. I’m loving one of our read aloud resources.

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
A Different Mirror
DK American History Visual Encyclopedia
King George: What was His Problem? How to Start a Revolution
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Map Skills for Today Grade 3

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We moved onto studying Eastern Europe and Russia.

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

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’re back to our RSO with a unit on air and air pressure. The boys really enjoyed trying to prove that air takes up space and has matter. Great experiments this week!

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.

Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas
DK Animal
Lonely Planet: The Animal Book
The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

STEAM Coop

One last week for the fall semester. Arthur finished the genetics unit learning a little bit about CRISPR. I had to emergency teach mental health to the middle class. I led the kids on some mindfulness exercises before we made emotional regulation charts and did some animal themed yoga. I pulled out that lesson in 15 minutes and felt really good about the results. Sometimes we just have to quickly pivot and get the job done.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

Field Trip

No field trip, but we did host board game morning on Tuesday. Lots of kids came and played board games. They even did it fairly independently!

On Sunday, we had our book club discussion for The Girl Who Drank the Moon. While discussing, the kids drew their own versions of Glerk and Fyrian and all the rest of the characters. Not all of the kids liked the book, but we had a great discussion of why. They are really starting to get how to talk about books. I’m so excited for spring!

High

I hosted coop happy hour for the coop parents on Tuesday. We had a lovely evening chatting without kid interruptions. Will definitely have to do it again in the spring.

Low

All the doctor appointments! The boys had their well-check visits on Monday so school was a wash. And then I had an appointment on Wednesday morning and one on Friday morning. Lots of poking prodding this week.

Next Week

Finishing our read aloud and maybe starting the coop book club selection (A)
Learning more about the Revolutionary War for US History (A)
Moving forward with 4B for Math (A)
Wrapping up air and air pressure for physics (A)
Finishing Europe for social studies and science (Q)
Celebrating the season with all our coop friends at the Christmas party!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Today is our last coop meeting of the semester! We’re taking a break for the holidays. As much as I love coop, I’m ready for a little break to recenter.
White chocolate cranberry cookies (or cake) sounds like a plan for today’s cooking.
I think I’m going to DNF my current read, or maybe I will suffer through. It’s just not catching my attention.
Feeling very cozy and comfy this week. The snow today is magical.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #22

Reading: You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky. I’m fully into my holiday romances for the month.

Watching: J has me start watching Leverage Redemption S1. We’ve almost finished this season and we’ll start the newly released one soon.

Listening: The boys and I have been listening to Christmas music while doing our advent activities.

Making: Today’s activity is making Christmas flavored cookies. I’m thinking Ginger Molasses and Cranberry White Chocolate.

Feeling: I had my doctor’s appointment last week and we now have a plan to tackle my persistent pain. I’m feeling a little less anxious now.

Planning: I’m nearing the end of planning our spring curriculum. Just a few sections to finish prepping. My floor is looking cleaner now.

Loving: We got new pots and pans this week and I’m very excited about the tea kettle. It’s so pretty!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W15: Turkey Day and the Start of Christmas

What We Studied

We had a break week for Thanksgiving and a normal week. But with the start of December, our activities increased dramatically. The amount of actual schoolwork that we will get done this month will be small.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur and I started our next read aloud. This will take us toward the end of the year. Even a third of the way in, we are really enjoying this one.

Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry
In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Many Lucious Lollipops by Ruth Heller

Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry
A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister
Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta
Four Good Friends by Margaret Hillert (Quentin Reads)
Beatrice Likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke
How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead and Megan Joyce
How to Catch a Monster by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton
A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall
Sir Ladybug and the Queen Bee by Corey R. Tabor
Fall Leaves by Loretta Holland
Babushka Baba Yaga by Patricia Polacco
Sir Ladybug and the Bookworms by Corey R. Tabor
Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer
Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds
Shape Shift by Joyce Hesselberth
The Cookie House by Margaret Hillert (Quentin Reads)
The Glass Mountain: Tales from Poland by David Walser
The Little, Little House by Jessica Souhami
Luba and the Wren by Patricia Polacco
The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse
The Mitten by Jan Brett

Math

Logic Liftoff (Arthur)
Singapore 4B
Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)
Smart Start Math Grade 1

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’ve started the section covering the Revolutionary War. I’m loving one of our read aloud resources.

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
A Different Mirror
DK American History Visual Encyclopedia
Cobblestone: North American Beaver Fur Trade
Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars by Betsy Maestro
King George: What was His Problem? How to Start a Revolution
Map Skills for Today Grade 3

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We moved onto studying Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, .

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
P is for Poland by Agnieszka Mrówcyzńska & Prodeepta Das

Arthur Independent 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. We took a bit of a break from Physics to explore paper making and print making. The boys even got to make their own homemade paper. After thinking about it, we’re going to recycle (heehee) that idea for coop for spring.

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.

Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas
DK Animal
Lonely Planet: The Animal Book
The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

STEAM Coop

We are running right up tot he end of the semester Arthur is continuing the genetics unit while Quentin is learning about mental health.

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 fox and flamingo together. We actually had our last class until probably January Life is just a little hectic right now.

Field Trip

During Thanksgiving week we joined some coop friends at the zoo. We haven’t been the zoo since August. It was nice to get out and the weather was perfect for our excursion.

High

We had a small get together to work on our service project. The coop chose to make no-tie fleece blankets for the local animal shelter. I only finished two blankets, but we had a great chat while cutting and tying.

Low

Not much actual schoolwork was finished this past two weeks. That’s okay, but I had hoped to get a little further in our curriculum.

Next Week

Continuing our new read aloud (A)
Learning more about the Revolutionary War for US History (A)
Moving forward with 4B for Math (A)
Coming back to physics air and air pressure (A)
Covering more of Eastern Europe for social studies and science (Q)
Covering genetics, (A) and mental health (Q) for coop - it’s the last coop meeting of the semester!

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2022 Life Goals

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

Read 18 Books
Read 5 from My Unread Shelf
Have a Friendsgiving
Plan the Coop Christmas Party

December Goals:

Read 18 Books

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List

Another Christmas season is upon us! Time for another bucket list:

Read 10 Holiday Romances
Coop Christmas Party!
Decorate the Mini Tree
Letter to Santa
Christmas Movies x3
Make Paper Snowflakes
Go See Santa at Cabela’s
Go See Werner Park Lights
Hot Chocolate bar
Meet the reindeer
Go for a winter hike
Puzzle Day
Make Gingerbread Cookies
Visit Lauritzen Gardens
Decorate Gingerbread Ninjas
Drive around and see the lights
Fantasy of Lights
Dinner at Coney Island and Visit to Santa Lights
Christmas music dance party
Watch The Grinch
Make Peppermint Bark
Christmas Advent Books
Find a New Christmas Album
Have a Candy Cane Hunt
Go Sledding (Here’s hoping the weather cooperates)
Send out Christmas cards
Take a photo of all four boys together
Finish 2021’s December Daily album
Try a new holiday drink

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

Fall Bucket List Final

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

Visit Vala’s 5x ✓
Celebrate Friendsgiving ✓
Read 50 Books (47/50) - So very close!
Complete Spooky Movie Month ✓
Execute a Halloween Party for Coop ✓
Have an Art/Craft Day
Two State Park Visists
Two Zoo Visits (1/2)
Pick Out and Carve Pumpkins ✓
Go Trick-or-Treating ✓
Jump in a Pile of Leaves
Go Through a Corn Maze ✓
Make 5 Fall Recipes
Make Leaf Art
Go Pick Apples ✓
Go on a Fall Forest Hike ✓
Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes
Go Bowling

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #21

Reading: Finishing The Highlander Who Protected Me by Vanessa Kelly. I picked up this series because two out of the five books are Christmas themed. Just about done with the first book. They are utterly predictable, but I’m totally okay with that.

Watching: We chose Spirited as our family movie selection. Very entertaining! So entertaining that we blew past the kids’ bedtime to finish the movie.

Listening: Very much obsessed with Michael Hobbes’ new podcast If Books Could Kill.

Making: Working on twice-baked sweet potatoes for our Thanksgiving. Love that these are easy to make early for Thanksgiving.

Feeling: I have not been sleeping well lately at all. I am tired. It was help if my body would stop waking me up at 7am when I have no where to be.

Planning: I’m hosting the Coop’s Christmas Party again this year. I got a lead on a Vegan GF baker to make us some cut-out sugar cookies. And I’ve ordered dairy-free hot chocolate mix. Now I need to organize the games and crafts.

Loving: The kids have been playing their own animal show most evenings. Basically they play charades but only do animals.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W14: Airplanes, Bingo, and DNA

What We Studied

J left for a work trip from Wednesday to Friday, which always makes our week feel a bit strange. The theme of the week was lazy schooling. We get our usual outings (science and coop), but also spent a ton of time schooling on the couch. Works for me!

Literature and Poetry

Arthur and I finished our current read aloud. He really liked the humor and the friendship bits. I might pick up the sequel for him to read independently.

Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry
In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
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 Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece. We also finished reading The Children of Noisy Village by the author of Pippi Longstocking. it’s like a collection of vignettes. I don’t think I was a big fan of the book. I don’t think Q really liked it either. The stories were a bit too old-fashioned for us, which makes sense as it was written in 1946.

Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry
The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren
A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister
Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta
Fox and the Bike Ride by Corey R. Tabor
Snail Crossing by Corey R. Tabor (Quentin Read)
Three Golden Oranges by Alma Flora Ada
The Key from Spain by Debbie Levy
Princess Florecita and the Iron Shoes by John Warren Stewing
The Beautiful Butterfly by Judy Sierra
Gabriella's Song by Candace Fleming
Caterina: The Clever Farm Girl by Julienne Peterson
Priceless Gifts by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss
Count Silvernose by Eric A. Kimmel
The Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori and the Invention of the Piano by Elizabeth Rusch
Tony's Bread by Tomie dePaola
Papa Gatto by Ruth Sanderson
Night Circus by Etienne Delessert
Two Brothers, Four Hands: The Artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
A Tale of Two Brothers by Eveline Hasler
The Orphan: A Cinderella Story from Greece by Anthony L. Manna and Soula Mitakidou
The Librarian Who measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
Greek Myths: Three Heroic Tales by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden

Math

Logic Liftoff (Arthur)
Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)
Smart Start Math Grade 1

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 ended up not getting to history this past week, which it totally okay. We will catch up next week.

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
A Different Mirror
DK American History Visual Encyclopedia
Map Skills for Today Grade 3

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We moved onto studying Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece.

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
All Around the World: Spain by Kristine Spanier
Alcazar Castle by Grace Hansen
Barcelona City Trails by Moira Butterfield
Gaudi: Architect of Imagination by Susan B. Katz
Just Being Dali: The Story of Artist Salvador Dali by Amy Guglielmo
C is for Ciao: An Italy Alphabet by Elissa D. Grodin and Mario M. Cuomo
Living in Italy by Chloe Perkins
Cool Italian Cooking by Lisa Wagner
Follow Me Around Italy by Wiley Blevins
Follow Me Around Greece by Anna T. Tabachnik

Arthur Independent Time

Science

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 a study of the animals of the Alps.

Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas
DK Animal
Lonely Planet: The Animal Book
The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

STEAM Coop

We’re back to coop after our absence week. Arthur continued with genetics. The kids explored mitosis and extracted DNA from strawberries. Quentin explored renewable energy and made a solar lantern.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

Field Trip

On Monday, we visited the SAC Museum. The kids got a private tour and two lessons (planes and rockets) before free play. Quentin’s paper plane flew the farthest so he won a prize. He was very excited to win something. The kids enjoyed the day the museum with their friends.

High

I somehow took the kids by myself to Music Bingo on Wednesday night. Except for one little meltdown from Q, we had fun. I won and Arthur won. Q didn’t win, but some random guy gave Q his prize (it was a Mulan coloring set). Overall, we had a good evening at the cafe enjoying 2000s Punk.

Low

Q and I did not finish the ELA and Math packet. The papers are starting to pile up a bit. Hoping we can catch up a bit next week, before we hit December 1st.

Next Week (and the week after)

Starting our new read aloud (A)
Moving to the run-up to the Revolutionary War for US History (A)
Beginning 4B for Math (A)
Taking a break from physics to explore bridges(A)
Covering more of Eastern Europe for social studies and science (Q)
Covering genetics, (A) and renewable energy (Q) for coop - it’s the last coop meeting of the semester!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W13: Ummm... It was an uneventful week.

What We Studied

It felt like a weird week, but we did manage to get a good chunk of schooling done.

Literature and Poetry

A new read aloud was started this week. Arthur is enjoying the humor and parts about friendships. A plus is that it’s easy to read aloud. I like it when the prose flows.

Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry
In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Behind the Mask: A Book About Prepositions by Ruth Heller

Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry
The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren
A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister
Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta
Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor (Quentin Reads)
How to Become a Knigth by Todd Tarpley
If You Find a Leaf by Aimee Sicuro
The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice and Martin Provensen
The Cat Who Walked Across France by Katy Banks
Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter
Up and Away! How Two Brothers Invented the Hot Air Balloon by Jason Henry
Three Perfect Peaches by Cynthia DeFelice and Mary DeMarsh
I, Crocodile by Fred Marcellino
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Adele & Simon by Barbara McClintock
Mornings with Monet by Barb Rosenstock
Three Sacks of Truth by Eric A. Kimmel
The Twelve Dancing Princesses by The Brothers Grimm
The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Lisbeth Zwerger
Hansel & Gretel by Holly Hobbie
The Star Child by The Brothers Grimm
The Bremen Town Musicians by Doris Orgel
Mother Holly by Bernadette Watts
Iron Hans by Stephen Mitchell

German night dinner: bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad, apple strudel

Math

Logic Liftoff (Arthur)
Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)
Smart Start Math Grade 1

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 growth of the English colonies, touched on the other European colonies, and explored the start of slavery.

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
A Different Mirror
DK American History Visual Encyclopedia
The Winter People by Joseph Bruchac
Map Skills for Today Grade 3

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We moved onto studying France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Austria.

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
E is for Eiffel Tower by Helen L. Wilbur
Follow Me Around France by Wiley Blevins
Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christina Björk and Lena Anderson
Pedal Power: How One Community Became the Bicycle Capital of the World by Allan Drummond
Windmill De Kat by Hyo-mi Park
Follow Me Around Germany by Wiley Blevins
Neuschwanstein Castle by Grace Hansen
Out of the Shadows: How Lotte Reiniger Made the First Animated Fairy Tale Movie by Fiona Robinson

Arthur Independent 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. We covered pulleys this week. I bought a great construction kit that builds 26 different simple machines.

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

STEAM Coop

We’re back to coop after our absence week. Arthur continued with genetics. The kids learned about genotypes and phenotypes and played with Punnett squares. Quentin explored renewable energy.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

Field Trip

We didn’t have a field trip this week at all. We did attempt to have a park afternoon, but it started raining pretty much as soon as we got there.

High

Not school related, but we had a great playdate on Saturday with a friend that we hadn’t seen for awhile. We need to so it again soon.

Low

There was a general feeling of apathy this week. Not great energy at all.

Next Week

Continuing our new read aloud (A)
Moving to the French and Indian War for US History (A)
Taking a break from physics to explore the printing press and printmaking (A)
Covering more of Western Europe for social studies and science (Q)
Covering genetics, (A) and renewable energy (Q) for coop

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List Update #2

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

Visit Vala’s 5x ✓
Celebrate Friendsgiving
Read 50 Books (36/50)
Complete Spooky Movie Month ✓
Execute a Halloween Party for Coop ✓
Have an Art/Craft Day
Two State Park Visists
Two Zoo Visits
Pick Out and Carve Pumpkins ✓
Go Trick-or-Treating ✓
Jump in a Pile of Leaves
Go Through a Corn Maze ✓
Make 5 Fall Recipes ✓
Make Leaf Art
Go Pick Apples ✓
Go on a Fall Forest Hike ✓
Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes
Go Bowling

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Rereading an old favorite and it’s still so good.
Thinking about Christmas presents. Not sure which direction to take with the boys.
We’re officially indoors for coop until probably late March/early April.
Might need to swing by and get a pick-me-up coffee later after errands. It’s cold and dreary today.

Next up on the TBR pile:

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

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.

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

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

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

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.

Visit Vala’s 5x ✓
Celebrate Friendsgiving
Read 50 Books (23/50)
Complete Spooky Movie Month - in progress
Execute a Halloween Party for Coop
Have an Art/Craft Day
Two State Park Visists
Two Zoo Visits
Pick Out and Carve Pumpkins
Go Trick-or-Treating
Jump in a Pile of Leaves
Go Through a Corn Maze
Make 5 Fall Recipes
Make Leaf Art
Go Pick Apples ✓
Go on a Fall Forest Hike ✓
Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes
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: