Currently #23

Reading: I’m deep into Holiday Romances. I always love to end my year with some light-hearted holiday themed romances.

Watching: J and I have been watching Obliterated and it’s a delightful action adventure. It’s full of violence and nudity, but is such a delight.

Listening: We’ve been sprinkling in holiday music during out car time. I need to find a new-to-me album for our travel to Indiana.

Making: Molasses cookies are on the recipe list for this week. J has requested that I don’t take them all to Indiana with me, but make sure to leave a container here for him.

Feeling: It’s been very cold and windy lately which has added to my achy body feelings. Hopefully I can get warm soon.

Planning: I’m starting my travel packing list. I always feel better with a list.

Loving: To help me get warm, I’ve been enjoying raspberry hot chocolate (made with almond milk of course) during our nightly television.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• So so busy… I feel like we haven’t been home for school very much this week.

• The new season of Slow Horses is absolutely amazing! It’s so hard to wait each week for the next episode.

• I really need to drop off two bags of library books today. We need to slowly turn all our library books back in before we leave for Indiana.

• Couldn’t resist the holiday treats at Aldis this week. Oh so good.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W14-15: Thanksgiving Break was Needed

The Fox stories

More Fox books

What We Studied

Two weeks of activities and school. Overall, I’m amazed at how much school we actually accomplished. Only a few more weeks until Christmas break. Getting those last lessons.

Chemistry Class

A’s ELA

Fairy Tale books

Literature and Poetry

Arthur started and finished his next read aloud. He enjoyed it, but I did forget about how many weird God references are in that book. I really gloss over those things. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Reading Explorer: Intro

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Quentin got back into the Blossom & Root curriculum with two tales and their variations. I’m really enjoying the format for this year. He also worked on some basic grammar.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Pumpkin Butterfly: Poems from the Other Side of Nature by Heidi Mordhorst

• Fairy Tales Collection

• The Other Side of the Story

• Little Red Riding Hood by Paul Galdone

• Lon Po Po by Ed Young

• Red by Jed Alexander

• Little Red Ruthie by Gloria Koster

• Little Red Riding Sheep by Linda Ravin Lodding

• The Girl and the Wolf by Katherena Vermette

• The Wolf's Story by Toby Forward

• Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alec T. Smith

• Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz

• Werewolf? There Wolf! by Kyle Sullivan

• Tango Red Riding Hood by Rachel S. Hobbs

• Little Red Riding Hood and the Misread Wolf by Troy Wilson

• Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon by Ying Chang Compestine

• Very Little Red Riding Hood by Heapy & Heap

• The Other Side of the Story: Little Red Riding Hood

• Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins

• Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood by Mike Artell

• Yummy by Lucy Cousins

• Henny Penny by Paul Galdone

• The Sky is Falling by Mark Teague

• Henny Penny by Vivian French

• The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night by Peter Spier

• Flossie and the Fox by Patricia McKissack

• Basho and the River Stones by Tim J Myers

• Fox: A Circle of Life Story by Isabel Thomas

• Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike by Cynthia Rylant

• The Great Gran Plan by Elli Woollard

• Watch Out for Wolf! by Anica Mrose Rissi

• Redlocks and the Three Bears by Claudia Rueda

• Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

• The Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney

• The Little Red Hen by Jerry Pinkney

• The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier

• The Grasshopper's Song by Nikki Giovanni and Chris Raschka

• The Little Red Hen by Margot Zemach

• Rapunzel by Barbara Rogasky

• Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky

• Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox

• Petrosinella: A Neapolitan Rapunzel by Diane Stanley

• Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel by Patricia Storace

• Rapunzel by Bethan Woollvin

• Really Rapunzel Needed a Haircut by Jessica Gunderson

• Rapunzel Let Down Your Zip Wire by Jasmine Brooke

Math

Arthur continued to dive into Singapore 5A. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. We’ve moved onto new skills dealing with multiplying and dividing fractions. Time for me to relearn some math! We also continued our next logic book.

• Singapore Common Core 5A

• Orbiting with Logic

Quentin’s all about review right now. I don’t anticipate starting Singapore 2A until January. We also continued our logic book.

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Tinkeractive Math Grade 1

Social Studies

Arthur covered more about immigration, specifically Japanese immigration. We also covered the inventions and presidents of the late 1800s. We did a specific lesson on the Statue of Liberty.

• DK American History

• We were There Too! Young People in US History

• Words that Build a Nation

• Heart and Soul

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

• A Different Mirror for Young People

• This is Our Land: A History of American Immigration

• Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers

• Let Liberty Rise! How America's Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty by Chana Stiefel

• Liberty Arrives! How America's Grandest Statue Found Her Home by Robert Byrd

Quentin learned about the ancient Meosamerican cultures including the Maya.

• History Quest Early Times

• DK When on Earth?

• Human Wold

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK A Child Through Time

• A History of Western Art

• DK Science Year by Year

• DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories

• The Ancient World: Ancient Maya by Barbara A. Somervill

• The Ancient Maya by Jackie Maloy

• The Genius of the Maya by Izzi Howell

• The Mystery of the Maya: Uncovering the Lost City of Palenque by Peter Lourie

A’s ELA, Math, and History

Q’s ELA and Math

Art and Music

Science

Arthur started covering the first couple of elements on the Periodic Table. We’ll be doing this for the next couple of weeks for Chemistry. We also caught back up with our Story of Science chapters.

• RSO Chemistry

• DK Super Simple Chemistry

• Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

• DK The Elements

Quentin moved to invertebrates and covered fish and amphibians.

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

• Fish by Isabel Martin

• DK Eyewitness Fish

• Fish by Christine Taylor-Butler

• Do You Know About Amphibians by Buffy Silverman

• Amphibians by Christine Taylor-Butler

Q’s History

Q’s Work and Harvest Books

A’s History, Science, ELA, and Math

STEAM Coop

Arthur continued his exploration of board games. By the end of the six weeks, the kids will have created their own board games. We started our board game construction. Quentin’s class finished their exploration of Native Americans.

A’s Monet Mash-up Art

A’s ELA and Math

Q’s The Tower Books

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We got back into it covering three artists (Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Vincent Van Gogh) and three composers (Johann Sebastian Bach, Mozart, and Brahms). I’m working these subjects in as we can, but proud of our progress so far. They are always the first on the chopping block if we run out of time during the week.

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw

• 13 American Artists Children Should Know

• A Child's Introduction to Art

• Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

• Iconic Composers by Nicholas Csicsko & Emi Ferguson

• Johann Sebastian Bach by Mike Venezia

• The Piano by Marika Maijala and Juha Virta

• Becoming Bach by Tom Leonard

• 13 Art Movements Children Should Know

• 13 Artists Children Should Know

• Monet Paints a Day by Julie Danneberg

• Claude Monet by Mike Venezia

• Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron

• The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström

• Impressionism: 13 Artists Children Should Know

• Johannes Brahms by Mike Venezia

• Vincent Van Gogh by Mike Venezia

• The Yellow House by Susan Goldman Rubin

• Vincent’s Colors by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

• The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström

• Katie's Starry Night

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Mike Venezia

• Mozart: Great Lives in Graphics

• Play, Mozart, Play by Peter Sis

• Mary Cassatt: Extraordinary Impressionist Painter by Barbara Herkert

• Mary Cassatt by Mike Venezia

• Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

Q’s Science

Doing free art

Q’s version of Van Gogh’s Starry Night

Field Trip

Not a field trip, we did have a fun playdate at Backyard Playworld with some friends.

Art with pandas

Art and Music

High

• We took a cold, but lovely walk at Heron Haven on Black Friday. It was the perfect choice for the day after Thanksgiving. Bonus, there was no one else there.

Low

• We actually didn’t really have a low point this two weeks. Taking a few days off for the Thanksgiving break really helped.

More art and music

ELA and Math

Next Week

• Starting a new read aloud

• Covering more classic tales

• Learning about area and perimeter for math (A)

• Lots of math review (Q)

• Covering specific elements on the Periodic table

• Engaging in a few fun field trips

Open play at Bounce U

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2023 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Have a Great Thanksgiving ✓

• Finish Cleaning Out My Clothes

• Make Christmas Plans

December Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Complete our Christmas Bucket List

• Travel to Indiana for Christmas

• Finalize Reading Retreat Plans

• Prep Blog for 2024

• Solidify Art and Geometry Plan (Coop)

• Get the Spring Semester in Order (Homeschool)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List

Another Christmas season is upon us! Time for another bucket list. Let’s see what I’m hoping to do this year:

1. Read 10 Holiday Romances

2. Coop Christmas Party!

3. Decorate the Mini Tree

4. Letter to Santa

5. Christmas Movies x3

6. Make Paper Snowflakes

7. Go See Santa at Cabela’s

8. Go See Werner Park Lights

9. Hot Chocolate Bar

10. Meet the Reindeer

11. Go for a Winter Hike

12. Puzzle Day

13. Make Gingerbread Cookies

14. Visit Zoolightful at the Zoo

15. Drive around and see the lights

16. Fantasy of Lights

17. Dinner at Coney Island and Visit to Santa Lights

18. Christmas music dance party

19. Watch The Grinch

20. Make Peppermint Bark

21. Christmas Advent Books

22. Find a New Christmas Album

23. Have a Candy Cane Hunt

24. Go Sledding

25. Send out Christmas cards

26. Try a new holiday drink

27. Make a snowglobe

28. Make Christmas cocktails

29. Create my December Daily base pages

30. Read A Christmas Carol

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

Fall Bucket List Finish

My favorite season of the year. Decent showing this year, even if I decided to slow everything down and rest this season.

1. Visit Vala’s 6x ✓

2. Celebrate Friendsgiving - Cancelled due to sickeness

3. Read 50 Books ✓

4. Complete Spooky Movie Month ✓

5. Execute a Halloween Party for Coop ✓

6. Have an Art/Craft Day

7. Three 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 3 Fall Forest Hikes ✓

17. Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes

18. Go Bowling

19. Use our GetOut Pass 2 Times - Only used it one time

20. Decorate for Fall ✓

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #22

Reading: I’m in between two books at the moment. I picked Whalefall by Daniel Kraus as my lighter thrillers and Bad Bachelor by Stephanie London as a potential dirty book month pick.

Watching: We’re wrapping up our first Nicolas Cage Quarterly. We’ve managed to get to the early 1990s in our first month. I know it’s going to take at least four months to get through all his movies and realistically more like five or six. But we’re doing it.

Listening: What else, I’ve been listening to 99PI and Hello from the Magic Tavern. Slowly, slowly I’m working through the back episodes.

Making: I was going to make coffee cake on Sunday, but just didn’t get around to it. Today is the day!

Feeling: After taking a few days off for Thanksgiving, I’m feel more centered. I took some time and relaxed a bit.

Planning: Just a few weeks until Christmas so I’m deep into travel planning. Trying to decide exactly when I’m going to leave and when I’m going to travel back home. I might just wait until I see the weather report for the week of Christmas before making final plans.

Loving: I had to grab more caramel lava cakes from Aldi’s this week. They are way too delicious!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• It’s friends and food day

• I made a mess of next coop semester’s schedule of teachers. Two many changes happening (comings and goings, plus an added class) have caused lots of needed changes. We’ll work it out, but I spent like 20 minutes Tuesday making a list of proposed changes.

• Speaking of… I really need to work on the homeschool plan for spring. I’m still really adjusting to Quentin being a first grader along with coop and activities.

• Blowing way past my reading goal for the year. I’ll be past 250 when December 31st rolls around. So much reading this year!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W13: Coop Problems are Taking a toll

What We Studied

We love our coop. I love the creation of a community and the opportunities we have with them. But... there have been a few hiccups lately that have really thrown me. Despite delegating and appointing others to certain roles, balls are being dropped and I have to scramble to pick them up. Hopefully a few conversations this week will fix it. On the flip side, the kids are having a ton of fun learning about a variety of topics. Arthur’s group is creating board games this cycle and I cannot wait to see what they come up with!

Arthur’s ELA, Math, and History

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished Tristan Strong Destroys the World. It’s number two in the series. B&R has the first book in its curriculum for grade 4, but we’ve already read it. So I’m just adapting. I have the third one (last in the trilogy) coming and we might read that over Christmas break. I really want to see how the story ends. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Reading Explorer: Intro

• Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia

Quentin got back into the Blossom & Root curriculum with two tales and their variations. I’m really enjoying the format for this year. He also worked on some basic grammar.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Pumpkin Butterfly: Poems from the Other Side of Nature by Heidi Mordhorst

• Fairy Tales Collection

• The Other Side of the Story

• The Magic Fish by Freya Littledale

• Luba and the Wren by Patricia Polacco

• The Fisherman and His Wife by Rachel Isadora

• Tortoise Races Home by Jill Atkins and Beccy Blake (Q read)

• Hare and Tortoise by Alison Murray

• The Tortoise and the Hare by Jerry Pinkney

• The Fastest Tortoise in Town by Howard Calvert

• The Great Race by Kevin O'Malley

• When Turtle Grew Feathers by Tim Tangle

• The Hare and the Tortoise by Ranjit Bolt

• The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit by Susan Lowell

Quentin’s ELA and Math

Math

Arthur continued to dive into Singapore 5A. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. We’ve moved onto new skills dealing with multiplying and dividing fractions. Time for me to relearn some math! We also continued our next logic book.

• Singapore Common Core 5A

• Orbiting with Logic

Quentin finished the Tinkeractive Math Book. We’re all about review right now. I don’t anticipate starting Singapore 2A until January. We also continued our logic book.

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Tinkeractive Math Grade 1

Quentin’s Math, ELA, History, and Science

Social Studies

Arthur covered industrialization and more about immigration with an aside about the San Francisco Earthquake. He also finished reading his historical fiction read aloud, Prairie Lotus

• DK American History

• We were There Too! Young People in US History

• Words that Build a Nation

• Heart and Soul

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

• A Different Mirror for Young People

• This is Our Land: A History of American Immigration

• Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park

• I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 by Lauren Tarshis

• What was the San Francisco Earthquake by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

Quentin learned about the Andes Mountain cultures of the Chavin, Moche, and Nazca. Short chapter, but an important one.

• History Quest Early Times

• DK When on Earth?

• Human Wold

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK A Child Through Time

• A History of Western Art

• DK Science Year by Year

• DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories

Arthur’s ELA and Math

Science

Arthur review Periodic Groups this week with an experiment featuring the effects of baking powder. We also caught back up with our Story of Science chapters.

• RSO Chemistry

• DK Super Simple Chemistry

• Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

• DK The Elements

Quentin covered the last of the invertebrates with crustaceans.

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

• Hermit Crabs by Ellen Lawrence

• About Crustaceans by Cathryn Sill

• Crayfish by Deborah Coldiron

• Mantis Shrimp by Josh Plattner

• A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle

STEAM Coop

Arthur continued his exploration of board games. By the end of the six weeks, the kids will have created their own board games. We learned about the various types of games and played some as examples. Quentin’s class started their exploration of Native Americans.

Pirate Putt Time!

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We got back into it covering two artists (Leonardo da Vinci and Jan Vermeer) and one composter (Cecile Chaminade). I’m working these subjects in as we can, but proud of our progress so far. They are always the first on the chopping block if we run out of time during the week.

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw

• 13 American Artists Children Should Know

• A Child's Introduction to Art

• Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

• We are Artists by Kari Herbert

• Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo Da Vinci by Gene Barretta

• Steal Back the Mona Lisa by Meghan McCarthy

• If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur by Amy Newbold

• Fly, Kite, Fly: A Story of Leonardo and a Bird Catcher by John Winch

• Jan Vermeer by Mike Venezia

Quentin’s ELA

Field Trip

No field trip this week. The kids had dentist appointments and we did lots of errands.

Nature Walk

High

The boys had an old fashioned playmate on Wednesday morning. Every once in a while, it’s great to have some free play with friends. As an added bonus, I got to talk to my friend for a few hours without kids interrupting us.

Low

Coop problems…

Boys cannot take a serious photo

Next Week

• Starting a new read aloud

• Covering more classic tales

• Reviewing multiplying and dividing fractions (A)

• Lots of math review (Q)

• Move to Mesoamerica for Q’s History

• More about industrialization for A’s History

• Covering specific elements on the Periodic table

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #21

Reading: So close to finishing The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers for Nerdy Bookish Friends book club. It’s such a weird book but I am enjoying it.

Watching: We finished Loki S2 and I definitely started tearing up at the end. I’m super sad that this is the end of Loki, but it’s a beautiful ending for the character.

Listening: Still trucking along through old episodes of 99PI. I’m put to the end of 2016. Only about 250 episodes to go.

Making: The kids in coop are working on their board games. I’m helping them create supply lists for their games.

Feeling: Loving the lower temps and cozy vibes. I’m all about sweater weather, but I’m usually way too hot.

Planning: Working on planning my Holiday reads TBR. Lots of good choices for this year.

Loving: The coop gained two new families with week. While they won’t join Thursday meetings until January, they’ve officially joined the group. We hope to see them at an extra event soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W12: Not Much Book Work Happened...

What We Studied

Another week full of activities that impeded on our book work. We managed to find two mornings to focus on book work. In looking at the next week, we’re going to have the same thing happen. Oh well. Right now we’re all about the activities.

Quentin’s Math, ELA, and Spider Unit

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is all in with reading Tristan Strong Destroys the World. It’s number two in the series. B&R has the first book in its curriculum for grade 4, but we’ve already read it. So I’m just adapting. We are enjoying this sequel. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Reading Explorer: Intro

• Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia

Quentin read books about bats in honor of our coop themes and the time of the year. He also worked on some basic grammar.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Fairy Tales Collection

• The Other Side of the Story

• Mr. Bat Wants a Hat by Kitty Black

• Amara and the Bats by Emma Reynolds

• I Am Bat by Morag Hood

• The Bat Book by Charlotte Milner

• Bat Colonies by Karen Latchana Kenney

• Bat Count by Anna Forrester

• Bats Biggest! Littlest! by Sandra Markle

• Bats in the Band by Brian Lies

• Bats at the Ballgame by Brian Lies

• Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

• Good Night, Bat! Good Morning, Squirrel! by Paul Meisel

• Little Bat in Night School by Brian Lies

• It's Raining Bats and Frogs by Rebecca Colby

Chemistry Class

Math

Arthur continued to dive into Singapore 5A. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. These past weeks, the units were very much a review of decimals and fractions. We also continued our next logic book.

• Singapore Common Core 5A

• Orbiting with Logic

Quentin continued with the Tinkeractive Math Book and worked through about a third of it this week. We’re all about review right now. I don’t anticipate starting Singapore 2A until January. We also continued our logic book.

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Tinkeractive Math Grade 1

Social Studies

Arthur covered the beginning of the immigration unit with a discussion of the waves before and right after the Civil War.

• DK American History

• We were There Too! Young People in US History

• Words that Build a Nation

• Heart and Soul

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

• This is Our Land: A History of American Immigration

• Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park

Quentin finished exploring Egypt. We focused on daily life and the myths and stories. Next week, we’ll move on to Mesoamerica. So much to learn and explore!

• History Quest Early Times

• DK When on Earth?

• Human Wold

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK A Child Through Time

• A History of Western Art

• DK Science Year by Year

• DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories

• Ancient Worlds by Miranda Smith

• Nat Geo Investigates: Ancient Egypt by Jill Rubalcaba

• Egypt in Spectacular Cross Section

• Ancient Egypt by Jinny Johnson

• DK Eyewitness Ancient Egypt

• Hieroglyphs by Joyce Milton

• What Did the Ancient Egyptians Do for Me? by Patrick Catel

• Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green

Science

Arthur learned about Periodic Groups this week. We did an experiment about the difference Sodium and Potassium.

• RSO Chemistry

• DK Super Simple Chemistry

• Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

• DK The Elements

Quentin got back into RSO Life with a unit on Arthropods and specifically arachnids. Q really got into spiders!

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

• Are You a Spider by Judy Allen

• Frank the Seven-Legged Spider by Michaele Razi

• The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howl

• Spiders! Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle

• The Eeensy Weensy Spider Freaks Out by Troy Cummings

Board Games at a Coffeehouse

STEAM Coop

Arthur continued his exploration of board games. By the end of the six weeks, the kids will have created their own board games. We learned about the elements of games and created a rough and dirty race-to-the-end game as an example. Quentin’s class finished their theme on government.

STEM Day

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

None this week. Maybe next week…

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw

• 13 American Artists Children Should Know

• A Child's Introduction to Art

• Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

• We are Artists by Kari Herbert

Field Trip

We had a field trip planned for Tuesday, but it completely fell apart at the last minute. The boys and I pivoted and went to one of the new parks. We played for a few hours before continuing with our planned day.

On Wednesday, we got to participate in DoSpace’s STEM Day. The kids cycled through four different topics and projects through the morning. They learned about hydroponics, rockets, robots, and DNA. The logistics were a little messy, but we had a good time.

Making a board game at coop

High

We had a successful meeting with a new coop family coupled with the boys playing a few board games with their friend. We followed that up with a board game meet-up with some coop friends.

Quentin’s Math and Bats Unit

Low

A friend started a Pokemon group. We went, but it was so draining for me. I know the boys had fun, but my goodness, I was so tired afterward. Hopefully this will get better as the kids really learned to play.

Quentin’s Egypt

Arthur’s ELA and Math

Next Week

• Finishing Tristan Strong?

• Covering more classic tales

• Reviewing multiplying and dividing fractions (A)

• Lots of math review (Q)

• Move to Meosamerica for Q’s History

• Moving into industrialization for A’s History

• Covering more of the Periodic Table

Pokemon Club

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.

1. Visit Vala’s 6x ✓

2. Celebrate Friendsgiving

3. Read 50 Books - in progress

4. Complete Spooky Movie Month ✓

5. Execute a Halloween Party for Coop ✓

6. Have an Art/Craft Day

7. Three 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 3 Fall Forest Hikes (2/3)

17. Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes

18. Go Bowling

19. Use our GetOut Pass 2 Times

20. Decorate for Fall ✓

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• This week has been nonstop with activities. I need a break.

• Nic Cage November has been an interesting experiment. Slowly making our way through.

• Planning a very quiet very small reading weekend for February. There’s some cute options within 2 hours of here.

• I still need to clean out the clothes in my dresser. It’s been slow going.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W11: Back to a Semblance of Normal

Art and Music Books

What We Studied

I think that I’ve accepted that this past week is going to be a new normal. We just don’t have enough hours in a week to shove everything in and I need to make some cuts. Basically, I have slowed down our book work to continue our nature hikes, extra coop activities, and errands. At some point I have to actually go to the grocery store and the library. We made time for all of that this week and I don’t feel like our school work completely disappeared. This year has really been about adjusting expectations with two kids doing full-time work.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is all in with reading Tristan Strong Destroys the World. It’s number two in the series. B&R has the first book in its curriculum for grade 4, but we’ve already read it. So I’m just adapting. We are enjoying this sequel. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Reading Explorer: Intro

• Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia

Quentin covered the B&R theme of Tell it in Three with books on the Goldilocks and Three Little Pigs fairy tales. He loved them! We also did a mini unit on pumpkins. He also worked on some basic grammar.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Fairy Tales Collection

• The Three Bears by Paul Galdone

• Goldilocks and the Three Knocks by Gregory Barrington

• Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim

• Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

• The Other Side of the Story

• You Choose: Goldilocks and the Three Bears

• The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone

• The Three Little Pigs by Barry Moser

• The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall

• The Three Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

• Three Three Superpigs by Claire Evans

• The Three Swingin' Pigs by Vicky Rubin

• It's Not the Three Little Pigs by Josh Funk

• The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf by Mark Teague

• The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell

• Let's Celebrate Halloween by J. Patrick Lewis

• The Pumpkin Mystery by Carol Wallace

• Pumpkin. by Jackie Lee

• Ten Little Pumpkins by Rosie Greening

• Pumpkin Heads by Wendell Minor

• When Pumpkins Fly by Margaret Lawrence

• The Bumpy Little Pumpkin by Margery Cuyler

• The Great Zombie Pumpkin Parade by Robert Burleigh

• Flat Stanley and the Missing Pumpkins by Lori Haskins Houran

• Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell

• Rocket and the Perfect Pumpkin by Tad Hills

• Oh My, Pumpkin Pie by Charles Ghigna

• Duck, Duck, Dinosaur: Perfect Pumpkin by Kallie George

• Pumpkin Day by Candice Ransom

• Mr. Pumpkin's Tea Party by Erin Barker

• A Unicorn Named Sparkles and the Pumpkin Monster by Amy Young

• Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas

• Let's Explore Pumpkins by Jill Colella

• The Great Pumpkin Contest by Angie Rozelaar

• Runaway Pumpkins by Teresa Bateman

• 10 Spooky Pumpkins by Cris Grimly

• The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis

• It's a Pumpkin by Wendy McClure

Ancient Egypt

ELA/Math and Goldliocks Books

Math

Arthur continued to dive into Singapore 5A. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. These past weeks, the units were very much a review of decimals and fractions. We also continued our next logic book.

• Singapore Common Core 5A

• Orbiting with Logic

Quentin started a Tinkeractive Math Book and worked through about half of it this week. We’re all about review right now. I don’t anticipate starting Singapore 2A until January. We also continued our logic book.

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Tinkeractive Math Grade 1

Happy Halloween!

The Great Candy Sort of 2023 (complete with math lesson)

Social Studies

Arthur covered cowboys vs. farmers and the end of the west for this week’s history. Our next big unit is all about Industrialization, Immigration, and Urbanization. We’re getting to my favorite time period in U.S. History.

• DK American History

• We were There Too! Young People in US History

• Words that Build a Nation

• Heart and Soul

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

• Which Way to the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin

• Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Riding' Cowboy by Andrea D. Pinkney

• Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park

Quentin continued exploring Egypt. We focused on the famous pharaohs. We have one more week in Egypt before we cross an ocean to Mesoamerica. So much to learn and explore!

• History Quest Early Times

• DK When on Earth?

• Human Wold

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK A Child Through Time

• A History of Western Art

• DK Science Year by Year

• DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories

• Ancient Worlds by Miranda Smith

• Tut’s Mummy Lost and Found by Judy Donnelly

• Howard's Mummy: Howard Carter and the Search for King Tut's Tomb by Tracey Fern

• Nat Geo Investigates: Ancient Egypt by Jill Rubalcaba

• Egypt in Spectacular Cross Section

• Ancient Egypt by Jinny Johnson

• DK Eyewitness Ancient Egypt

• Tutankhamun by Demi

• The Pharaoh’s Boat by David Weitzman

• Pharaohs and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt by Kristine Carlson Asselin

• Hatshepsut: His Majesty, Herself by Catherine M. Andronik

Science

Arthur covered another chapter in our Story of Science. This was our break week from Chemistry class. We’ll get back into the periodic table next week.

• RSO Chemistry

• DK Super Simple Chemistry

• Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

• DK The Elements

• The Periodic Table of Elements by Jenny Karpelenia

Quentin got back into RSO Life with a unit on Arthropods and specifically insects.

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

• Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

• Are You a Ladybug by Judy Allen

• Are You a Butterfly by Judy Allen

• Are You a Grasshopper by Judy Allen

• Are You a Dragonfly by Judy Allen

• Are You a Bee by Judy Allen

• Becoming a Butterfly by Karen Wallace

• Nat Geo Kids: Great Migrations Butterflies by Laura Marsh

• Insects by the Numbers by Steven Jenkins

• Wild Kratts: Wild Insects and Spiders! by Martin Kratt and Christ Kratt

• Insects and Spiders by Christine Taylor Butler

• Bug Off! Creepy, Crawly Poems by Jane Yolen

• Insects Biggest! Littles! by Sandra Markle

• My Life as a Monarch Butterfly by John Sazaklis

• Insect Detective by Steve Voake

• B is for Bee y Catherine Ipcizade

• Ants Don't Wear Pants by Kevin McCloskey

• Insects by Seymour Simon

• Small Wonders: Jean-Henri Fabre & His World of Insects by Matthew Clark Smith

• Butterflies are Pretty Gross by Rosemary Mosco

• Bugs are Insects by Anne Rockwell

• How to Build an Insect by Roberta Gibson

• One Million Insects by Isabel Thomas

• DK Eyewitness Insect

A’s Math, ELA, and History

STEAM Coop

Arthur started his exploration of board games. By the end of the six weeks, the kids will have created their own board games. I taught this week and focused on “What is a game” and the History of Board Games. The kids got to play some ancient board games. Quentin’s class started their theme on government. They learned about the city council and pretended to vote on some issues.

Q’s Math and Tell It in Three (Three Little Pigs)

Q’s Insect Unit

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

I actually fit in art and music this week! I’m so excited. We actually covered two artists (Amrita Sher-Gill and Oscar Howe) and two musicians (Miles Davis and Camille Saint Saens). The boys really enjoyed heir free art time this week.

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw

• 13 American Artists Children Should Know

• A Child's Introduction to Art

• Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

• We are Artists by Kari Herbert

• Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel with a Paintbrush by Anita Vachharajani

• Birth of the Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound by Kathleen Cornell Berman

• Looking for Bird in the Big City by Robert Burleigh

• Welcome to Jazz: A Swing-along Celebration of America's Music by Carolyn Sloan

• The Carnival of the Animals by Jack Prelutsky

• Carnival of the Animals: Poems Inspired by Saint Saens' Music edited by Judith Chernaik

Q’s Insect Unit (Part 2)

Miss Allyson teaching Q chess

Field Trip

No proper field trip this week, but we did have the Coop Halloween Party on Halloween. The organizers secured an indoor space as it was freezing that day! The kids got to do some crafts and trick-or-treat indoors while hanging out with their friends. That night, I did take the boys trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. We also got in a nature hike on Friday. It was the perfect temperature. We definitely needed a bit of outdoor exercise time.

Playing the Royal Game of Ur

Q’s Math and Pumpkin Unit

High and Low

After coop, I took the boys to the Library Book Sale to use their Summer Reading Programs coupons for a free book. I forgot that the library does not take credit cards so we couldn’t really dig into the shelves (My Low). We took our three books up to the checkout where the ladies told us that each coupon actually gets us three kids books! So we went back and got a few more. Thank you to the library ladies for helping us out and getting more books that we were anticipating. I’m planning on getting some cash from the ATM and going back this week after coop. I saw some brand new workbooks and summer bridge books and hope they will still be there (I’m sure they will be…).

Q’s Pumpkin Unit (Part 2)

Next Week

• Continuing Tristan Strong

• Covering more classic tales

• Reviewing multiplying and diving fractions (A)

• Lots of math review (Q)

• Finishing Egypt for Q’s History

• Moving into industrialization for A’s History

• Covering more of the Periodic Table

• Learning about spiders and bats

• Hitting the Library Book Sale again!

Next up on the TBR pile:

November 2023 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Figure Out Christmas Plans

• Visit Vala’s 5x ✓

• Make a TBR for the Rest of the Year ✓

November Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Have a Great Thanksgiving

• Finish Cleaning Out My Clothes

• Make Christmas Plans

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W10: What Happened to My Weeks?

What We Studied

This is actually a recap of two weeks: one normal week and one flex week. But, I’m really asking myself, What happened to my weeks? Everything seemed to just go off the rails these past two weeks and I wanted to get back on track. School work was all over the place. Everyone was stupid exhausted. And scheduled kept changing everyday. Not a fan. Here’s hoping we can get it together for this week.

Quentin’s Owl Unit

Arthur’s Monday ELA and Math

Literature and Poetry

Arthur wrapped up the unit on Langston Hughes with lots more poetry and a new picture book. We also started reading Tristan Strong Destroys the World. It’s number two in the series. B&R has the first book in its curriculum for grade 4, but we’ve already read it. So I’m just adapting. Unfortunately, we didn’t get very far at all. Her'e’s hoping we make some progress next week. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes

• Reading Explorer: Intro

• Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia

• There was a Party for Langston: King O' Letters by Jason Reynolds

Quentin first covered a unit theme about owls for his reading. We then moved onto starting B&R Level 1 Language Arts. We introduced the concept of fairy tales and covered two different themes. He also worked on some basic grammar.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Where I Live: Poems About My Home, My Street, and My Town

• Owls by Gail Gibbons

• Berkeley’s Barn Owl Dance by Tera Johnson and Tania Howells

• Whobert, Whoever Owl Detective by Jason Gallaher

• Knight Owl by Christopher Denise

• Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton

• Hooray for Today by Brian Won

• The Happy Owls by Celestino Piatti

• Owl Sees Owl by Laura Godwin and Rob Dunlavey

• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

• Whoo-ku Haiku by Maria Gianferrari

• Otto the Owl Who Loved Poetry by Vern Kousky

• Good Luck Baby Owls by Giles and Alexandra Milton

• Owls are Good at Keeping Secrets by Sara O’Leary

• The Owl and Other Night Creatures

• Owls by Valerie Bodden

• Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

• Happy Owl-Oween by Laura Gehl

• Knight Owls by Eric Setlzer

• A Haunted Ghost Tour in Nebraska by Louise Martin

• The Turnip by Jan Brett

• The Gigantic Turnip by Aleksei Tolstoy

• The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck

• It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach

Quentin’s ELA and Math

Arthur’s ELA and Quentin’s History

Math

Arthur continued to dive into Singapore 5A. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. These past weeks, the units were very much a review of decimals and fractions. We also continued our next logic book.

• Singapore Common Core 5A

• Orbiting with Logic

Quentin finished Singapore 1B with a unit on math to 120.We will be taking a short break between levels to do a Tinkeractive Book and finish our math packets.. We also continued our logic book.

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Singapore Common Core 1B

Social Studies

Arthur continued through the passage of time with a few weeks on the Transcontinental Railroad and conflicts with the Native Americans.

• DK American History

• We were There Too! Young People in US History

• Words that Build a Nation

• Heart and Soul

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

• Which Way to the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin

• In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III

• The Transcontinental Railroad by John Perritano

• Ten Mile Day and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad by Mary Ann Fraser

Quentin dove into Egypt. We will be sticking to that civilization for the next few weeks also. So much to learn and explore!

• History Quest Early Times

• DK When on Earth?

• Human Wold

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK A Child Through Time

• A History of Western Art

• DK Science Year by Year

• DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories

• Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long

• Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs by Gail Gibbons

• Nat Geo Investigates: Ancient Egypt by Jill Rubalcaba

• Egypt in Spectacular Cross Section

• Ancient Worlds by Miranda Smith

• Ancient Egypt by Jinny Johnson

• DK Eyewitness Ancient Egypt

• DK Eyewitness Pyramid

• 20 Fun Facts About the Great Pyramid by Kristen Rajczak

• Pyramids of Ancient Egypt by Christopher Forest

• What Did the Ancient Egyptians Do for Me? by Patrick Catel

• Nat Geo Investigates: Ancient Egypt by Jill Rubalcaba

• Who Built the Pyramid? by Meredith Hooper

• Mummy Cat by Marcus Ewert

• The Mummy Makers of Egypt by Tamara Bower

Science

Arthur explored more of the periodic table and atom basics. We also covered another chapter in our Story of Science. At chemistry class, they built elements and learned about how changing the combination of elements changes the outcome.

• RSO Chemistry

• DK Super Simple Chemistry

• Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

• DK The Elements

• The Periodic Table of Elements by Jenny Karpelenia

Quentin ended up not covering any units from RSO Life these two weeks. He did get some great clouds and weather lessons from coop, so that’s okay. We’ll catch up soon.

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

Quentin’s Turnip Stories, Poetry, and Math

Arthur’s ELA and Math

STEAM Coop

Arthur finished art mediums with two weeks spent exploring watercolors. He really got excited by the projects. Quentin covered clouds and weather. His favorite part was making a glittery red tornado bottle. .

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

And I continued not fitting in these subjects. I just could’t seem to get it to fit in our schedueles. I suspect this will be an issue until November, but hoping we can slide it in at least half of the weeks.

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw

• 13 American Artists Children Should Know

• A Child's Introduction to Art

• Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

• We are Artists by Kari Herbert

Arthur’s ELA and Math featuring Langston Hughes Unit

Arthur’s History

Field Trip

We did a fun free exploration day at Arbor Day Farm with coop friends. We really love it there. The kids enjoy the nature classroom and treehouses. Unfortunately, the trampoline had been taken down. I assume that it needed to be replaced. Just annoyed that the website didn’t notate that. The kids very disappointed about running full out to the treehouses and realizing that the trampoline wasn’t there.

Quentin’s Egypt Unit

Quentin’s ELA

High

We finished our season of visits at Vala’s. Our total for September and October was eight visits. Many rides were ridden and ciders were drunk. We had tons of fun. Until next year Vala’s.

Low

Constant schedule changes left me a bit of a mess. I really hate last minute changes to plans.

Next Week

• Continuing Tristran Strong

• Covering Tell It in Three as a read aloud theme

• Multiplying and diving fractions (A)

• Lots of math review (Q)

• Continuing Egypt for Q’s History

• Moving into cowboys and farmers for A’s History

• Covering more of the Periodic Table

• Learning about insects

• Having fun for Halloween!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• I am exhausted! I don’t know what it is about this week, but I am so incredibly tired. Good thing we don’t have anything scheduled for this weekend.

• We had our 8th visit to Vala’s yesterday! I think we got our money’s worth for those season passes.

• I took advantage of Old Navy’s 50% everything online sale this week. Very excited to get a few new tops and pants along with Christmas pjs and fleece jackets for the kids.

• Sad that spooky movie month is almost over. But that means it’s almost…

• Nic Cage November! We are planning on doing a retrospective of his movies. J and I each get one veto, but otherwise, we are going to dive in.

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 6x ✓

2. Celebrate Friendsgiving

3. Read 50 Books

4. Complete Spooky Movie Month - in progress!

5. Execute a Halloween Party for Coop

6. Have an Art/Craft Day

7. Three State Park Visists (2/3)

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 3 Fall Forest Hikes (2/3)

17. Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes

18. Go Bowling

19. Use our GetOut Pass 2 Times

20. Decorate for Fall

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #20

Reading: I started Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. Loving this haunted house story.

Watching: We’re deep into spooky movie month. So many good choices this year.

Listening: After a very short horror audiobook, I started White Cat by Holly Black. I’m not sure that I really like it, but I’m going to give it a few more chapters.

Making: It’s soup season in this house. This coming week, I’m definitely making Chicken Tortilla Soup and Baked Potato Soup.

Feeling: The weather has turned to cool and rainy, but that’s okay. I’m cozy!

Planning: I’ve got a list of house chores for this fall. First up is finishing the clothes cleanout.

Loving: It’s the season for my nightly cup of hot tea. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W8-9: Two Busy Weeks Complete with a Birthday Party

Q’s Monday ELA, Math, and History

What We Studied

We had two weeks full of activities and school coming before and after the boys’ birthday party. Some day we might have a quieter week, but fall is definitely not the season for it. Maybe November… For now, we will continue with our fast speed of study.

Q’s Wednesday Math, and ELA

A’s Wednesday ELA, Math, and Science

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished reading Echo Mountain. I really enjoyed that book, and Arthur seemed to also enjoy it. The second week, we focused on Langston Hughes including his poetry and a historical fiction book. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: African American Poetry

• Reading Explorer: Intro

• Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk

• Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome

• That is My Dream by Langston Hughes and Daniel Miya

• Langston’s Train Ride by Robert Burleigh

• Visiting Langston by Willie Perdomo

• The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes

• I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes

• Sail Away by Langston Hughes

• Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes by Floyd Cooper

Quentin spent the school days reading book tied to his fall themes. We covered apples, fall, leaves, corn, and scarecrows. He also worked on some basic grammar.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Where I Live: Poems About My Home, My Street, and My Town

• How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro

• Applesauce Day by Lisa J. Amstutz

• Bad Apple by Huw Lewis Jones

• Apples for Little Fox by Ekaterina Trukhan

• The Poisoned Apple by Anne Lambelet

• Corn Aplenty by Dana Meachen Rau

• A Questzalcoatl Tale of Corn by Marilyn Parke and Sharon Panik

• Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share by Kevin O’Malley

• Popcorn Country by Chris Peterson

• From Kernel to Corn by Robin Nelson

• The Story of Corn: It Starts with a Seed by Robin Nelson

• Of Corn Silk and Black Braids by Vincent L. Johnson

• Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington

• It's Fall! by Renee Kurilla

• The Scarecrow’s Dance by Jane Yolen

• Scarecrows by Calvin Harris

• The Scarecrow's Hat by Ken Brown

• Samurai Scarecrow b Rubin Pingk

• Hopefully the Scarecrow by Michelle Houts

• Scarecrow Magic by Ed Masessa

• Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant

Math

Arthur continued to dive into Singapore 5A. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. We also continued our next logic book.

• Singapore Common Core 5A

• Orbiting with Logic

Quentin continued working toward the end of Singapore 1B with a unit on math to 120. I’m still debating if we should take a small review break after finishing 1B and before beginning 2A. We also continued our logic book.

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Singapore Common Core 1B

Q’s Thursday ELA, Math, and Apple Unit

A’s Thursday ELA and Math

Social Studies

Arthur continued through the passage of time with a few weeks on topics such as the Pony Express, Transcontinental Express, and conflicts with the Native Americans.

• DK American History

• We were There Too! Young People in US History

• Words that Build a Nation

• Heart and Soul

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

• Red Cloud: A Lakota Story of War and Surrender by S.D. Nelson

• Which Way to the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin

• They're Off: The Story of the Pony Express by Cheryl Harness

• In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III

• Coolies by Yin

Quentin continued with Mesopotamia with a focus on stories. And then we did a mini introduction unit to Egypt with a focus on deserts.

• History Quest Early Times

• DK When on Earth?

• Human Wold

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK A Child Through Time

• A History of Western Art

• DK Science Year by Year

• The Genius of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages by Izzi Howell

• Mesopotamia by Sunita Apte

• Lugalbanda by Kathy Henderson

• Lost Cities

• DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories

• Gilgamesh the King by Ludmila Zeman

• Destination Desert by Laura Perdew

• Desert Song by Tony Johnston

• The Sahara Desert: The Biggest Desert by Aileen Weintroub

• Life in a Desert by Carol K. Lindeen

• Desert Biome by Grace Hansen

• How the Sphinx Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland

Q’s Snail Unit

A’s Monday ELA, Math, and Langston Hughes Unit

Science

Arthur explored more of the periodic table and atom basics. We also covered another chapter in our Story of Science all about Galileo.

• RSO Chemistry

• DK Super Simple Chemistry

• Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

• DK The Elements

• The Periodic Table of Elements by Jenny Karpelenia

Quentin covered units on Mollusca and echinoderms. I’m loving the slow progress through our main science text.

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

• Are You a Snail by Judy Allen

• Slimy Snails by Laura Hamilton Waxman

• Some of These are Snails by Carter Higgins

• Snail Trail by Ruth Brown

• How to Party Like a Snail by Naseem Hrab

• Snail Crossing Corey R. Tabor

• Wake Out, Snail! by Gay Hay and Margaret Tolland

• The Rainbow Snail by Karin Akesson

• Are You a Snail? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

• Snails are Just My Speed! by Kevin McCloskey

• Big as a Giant Snail by Jess Keating

• The Snail with the Right Heart by Maria Popova

• Escargot by Pashka Slater

• A Book for Escargot by Pashka Slater

• Snail Mail by Samantha Berger

Q’s Monday Snail Unit, ELA, and Math

Apple Tasting

STEAM Coop

Arthur continued with his Art Mediums theme with two weeks of working with clay. He really really loved working with clay. Quentin’s class covered nocturnal animals with lots of fun games.

A’s Tuesday ELA, Math, and Langston Hughes Unit

Q’s Tuesday Math, ELA, and Corn Unit

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

And I continued not fitting in these subjects. I just could’t seem to get it to fit in our schedueles. I suspect this will be an issue until November, but hoping we can slide it in at least half of the weeks.

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw

• 13 American Artists Children Should Know

• A Child's Introduction to Art

• Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

• We are Artists by Kari Herbert

Q’s Desert Unit

Fossil Hunting

Field Trip

No field trip this week, but we did go to Vala’s twice. We’re hoping to get in three more Vala’s visits before Halloween.

High

The birthday party was amazing! The Art Party was a huge success and the kids seemed to have fun creating.

Low

I’m definitely going to need another quiet home day soon.

Next Week

• Starting our next read alouds

• Finishing 1B for Math (Q) and taking the next lessons in 5A slowly (A)

• Beginning Egypt for Q’s History

• Completing the Transcontinental Railroad for A’s History

• Covering more of the Periodic Table

• Learning about insects

Next up on the TBR pile: