Homeschool W3: Another Week of Activities, But We Caught Up Mostly

Q’s History

What We Studied

We had another week that was full of activities. In fact, we ended up taking a break on Friday due my health issues. Even with all the activities, we managed to mostly catch up on our work.

A’s ELA

Q’s ELA and Math

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. We finished our first read aloud and even started on the second read aloud for the year. We caught up with our spelling and completed our week 2 list. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

• Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd

• Mars One by Jonathan Maberry

• Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. This week, we took a bit of a departure to start reading a book that aligns with our history.

• The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the World’s Worst Knight by Tim Collins

• Poetry: Mites to Mastodons by Maxine Kumin

• Write Shop B

Fun with shadows

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We covered the another lesson and did some practice. We will also be working through Evan Moor’s Financial Literacy G5 book and random math packets.

• Math in Focus Court 1 Book A

• EM Financial Literacy G5

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. He started with the lessons in 2B. I imagine that we will be slowing working through that this semester. He also started his next logic book and did some math packets for practice and review.

• Primarily Logic

• Singapore Primary Common Core 2B

Fun with gears

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. We got back on track with our history with the next section about Spain. We also learned about Miguel de Cervantes.

• Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 supporting. We got back into history with a chapter about the Byzantine Empire.

• History Quest Middle Times

• DK When on Earth?

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

Q’s ELA and Math

A’s ELA

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. Our coverage will be spotty until October. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall semester course, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. We did read another chapter in the Story of Science. Right now, the book is setting the stage for Einstein’s Miracle Year.

• RSO Biology 1

• Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. We covered the first lesson and pivoted to B&R’s Book Seed: Over and the Under the Pond. I rearranged some of the RSO units to make sense for our weather. We are starting with water. We ended up skipping science this week to accommodate activities.

• RSO Earth and Environment

• Earth by the Numbers by Steve Jenkins

• DK First Earth Encyclopedia

Q’s ELA and Math

A’s ELA and Math

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

Enrichment co-op has shifted from warm months only (April to October). We are in the middle of our transitionary “Summer Session.” This week both Arthur and Quentin’s class covered engineering. Q’s class focused on making a machine to save a toy and A’s class made balloon rockets.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. (The Joslyn Art Museum is reopening in September after being closed for two years!) And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. This week was all about Johnny Cash. The boys weren’t sold on his music.

• Music Lab: We Rock!

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

We had an excursion day downtown at the Lewis and Clark Landing and the Luminarium. It was a very warm day which made everyone a bit cranky. We did have some fun at the playground. Our time in the museum was cut a bit short due to attitudes. We plan on going to the Luminarium once a month until our membership expires in February.

High

On Friday night, J took off work early to join us at the Luminarium for their last late Friday for the summer. It was the first time that he was able to join us. We had fun even with my health issues this week.

Low

The boys had Pokemon club on Wednesday that was seemingly a waste of time. They don’t really play Pokemon like we had envisioned. Add in the fact that I drove basically an hour and a half to the locale, and I’m just about done with this. I think we need to reevaluate.

Next Week

• Continuing our read aloud (A)

• Finished our read aloud (Q)

• Learning about Eastern Europe (A) and Western Europe (Q) - pretty funny that I’m covering both sides of Europe next week

• Listening to The Shirelles and Frankie Lymon

• Exploring the zoo

Next up on the TBR pile:

September 2024 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books ✓ - I just made it!

• Schedule a Meeting for All of Secular Omaha - pushing to October

• Finish Academic Co-op Lesson Plans - So close

• Plan the Boys’ Birthday Party - Utter fail

September Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Wrap up Enrichment Co-op

• Prep Start of Academic Co-op

• Enjoy Spooky Reading Season

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #15

Reading: I’m deep into Kate Quinn’s new book The Briar Club. This is a different type of book for her. Still historical fiction, but this time we have a murder mystery that folds in an episodic way by exploring each character’s story.

Watching: We’re deep into S2 of Star Trek: Discovery. It’s so dramatic and good.

Listening: We’re loving our music study this year. This week we covered Johnny Cash. The boys liked him more than Elvis, but not as much as Fats Domino.

Making: This past week has been about trying new-to-us dinner recipes. I made a good spring green spaghetti carbonara, Mexican street corn totchos, and buffalo chicken chili. Two of those were hits. The chili was a bit disappointing.

Feeling: The temperatures spiked again this week and it’s terrible. I hate the heat.

Planning: I’m now teaching the last four weeks of enrichment co-op. Our theme is art + mathematics. I’m leaning on the math side to teach geometry puzzles to the Running Rhinos and then probability and cryptography to the Buff Gorillas.

Loving: We broke open the package of Key Lime Oreos (off brand from Aldis) and they were delicious. Now I have to wait another year to get another package.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W2: Activities Took Over!

A’s science and ELA

What We Studied

All my big talk of balance the first week went out the window last week. Except for Monday, we had activities that took up most of our time. They were worthwhile activities, but it meant that we only did schoolwork two days in the week.

Q’s ELA and Math

Pond Study

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Our read aloud has continue along with poetry and grammar. Our spelling list 2 will be stretched to two weeks to accommodate.

• Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd

• Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. It took us all week, but we finished our very short read aloud. Q also read two chapter books independently in that time. I think he’s finally caught the reading bug.

• Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

• Song of the Water Boatman by Joyce Kidman (poetry)

• Write Shop B

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We covered the another lesson and did some practice. We will also be working through Evan Moor’s Financial Literacy G5 book and random math packets.

• Math in Focus Court 1 Book A

• EM Financial Literacy G5

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. He started with the lessons in 2B. I imagine that we will be slowing working through that this semester. He also started his next logic book and did some math packets for practice and review.

• Primarily Logic

• Singapore Primary Common Core 2B

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. We skipped history this week due to time constraints.

• Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 supporting. We skipped history this week due to time constraints.

• History Quest Middle Times

• DK When on Earth?

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. Our coverage will be spotty until October. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall semester course, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. We did read three more chapters in the Story of Science. Right now, the book is setting the stage for Einstein’s Miracle Year.

• RSO Biology 1

• Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. We covered the first lesson and pivoted to B&R’s Book Seed: Over and the Under the Pond. I rearranged some of the RSO units to make sense for our weather. We are staring with water. To learn more, we covered some readings and videos about ponds before spending most of Friday doing an exploration and experiments day with friends.

• RSO Earth and Environment

• Earth by the Numbers by Steve Jenkins

• DK First Earth Encyclopedia

• Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler

• On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen

• Tadpoles by Matt James

• Pond Circle by Betsy Franco

• Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner

• Life in a Pond by Craig Hammersmith

• Life in a Pond by Allan Fowler

• Look Inside a Pond by Louise Spilsbury

Water testing at the pond

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

Enrichment co-op has shifted from warm months only (April to October). We are in the middle of our transitionary “Summer Session.” This week both Arthur and Quentin’s class covered engineering. Q’s class focused on simple machines while Arthur’s class made balloon powered cars.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. (The Joslyn Art Museum is reopening in September after being closed for two years!) And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies. We did some art-related activities while at the pond on Friday. Arthur made an amazing clay rendition of the pond. I snapped a picture before he destroyed it.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. This week was all about Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. I’m a Chuck Berry fan; the boys preferred Fats Domino.

• Music Lab: We Rock!

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

Not a guided field trip, but we did have a lovely day at the zoo on Tuesday. It rained, but lightly, which meant that many of the animals were very active!

On Friday, I hosted a pond exploration day at Platte River State Park. They have a set of cascading shallow ponds called Crawdad Creek that you can actually wade into and explore. We caught (and released) some critters, learned about ponds, tested the water, and engaged in some free art. Afterward, we had to have a picnic and playtime at the playground. It has ziplines!

High

Wednesday we spent all day at the park with the No (we’re not supposed to be in) School Picnic with many of our homeschool friends. It was a nice way for some new families to join and make some connections. The boys’ favorite part was the axe throwing.

Low

Not getting to a ton of schoolwork? Nah, that’s not. a low, just a reality.

Next Week

• Finishing his read aloud and starting a new one (A)

• Starting a new read aloud (Q)

• Learning about the Spanish Empire (A) and Byzantine Empire (Q)

• Listening to Johnny Cash

• Exploring the local science museum and another state park

• Covering engineering for co-op, last week for this cycle

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• The weather has taken a turn for the windy, cloudy, and cooler. Thank goodness! I am going to enjoy it for the next few days because next week it’s going to be back into the 90s.

• Tomorrow I’m leading a pond exploration for 23 kiddos ages 4 to 12. I foresee so much chaos!

• A friend asked some of us if an adult’s night at Vala’s would be something interesting. Oh hell yeah! My favorite place during my favorite time of the year and no kids with me. Sign me up! (I’m hosting a family campfire night there in October, but this is completely different!)

• One of my co-op supply bags has acquired multiple holes in the bottom. Duct tape to the rescue, but I’m sad. I may need to watch the website for sales and buy some new ones.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #14

Reading: After social media pressure, I started reading The Idea of You by Robinne Lee. I’m not quite sure what I think about the book so far, but I will say that it’s an easy read.

Watching: J convinced me to jump back into Star Trek: Discovery. We sped through the second half of the first season and are ready to start the second season this week.

Listening: The boys and I are embarking on a great music curriculum this year based on Music Lab: We Rock! This wee we covered Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. The boys decided that they love Fats Domino. I’m more of a Chuck Berry fan myself.

Making: I’ve been working on creating academic co-op lessons for the civics course I’m teaching. I’ve got about half of them done completely. The rest have basic outlines and brainstormed ideas.

Feeling: We finished our first week of school strong. I’m feeling very accomplished with what we have done and the balance between school and activities that we created.

Planning: We’re going full force into fall with lots of social co-op activities. I’m very excited about the reopening of the Joslyn Art Museum in September. We are going to do a monthly art exploration meetup there.

Loving: Every time we go to Aldis, I have to get the kitchen sink cookies if they have any. I absolutely love them!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W1: Year 5 has begun!

What We Studied

We hit the ground running on Monday with a full week of curriculum and activities. My focus word for the year is balance. Last year, I felt like we let activities take over our life at many points throughout the year and then never really recovered. I felt very rushed and behind. I don’t want to feel that way. One thing that I pinpointed was the fact that we didn’t have a dedicated home day. Every week was different in terms of flow. This year I am reserving Mondays for home. If something amazing comes up, we will jump on it. But otherwise, we will stay home and be chill on Mondays. I like to get that big jump on our curriculum after our weekend breaks. This should help.

Music

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. We started all the components on Monday and we’re really enjoying it so far. We read about half of our literature selection, analyzed a poem, learned a spelling list, covered some grammar, and wrote a sample essay. We made a ton of progress in just one week!

• Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd

• Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. He bean his B&R study with a unit about American tall tales. Arthur really enjoyed starting the year with those tales and I think Quentin agrees. We learned about tall tales, imagery, exaggeration, and descriptive language.

• Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss (Q reads)

• Song of the Water Boatman by Joyce Kidman (poetry)

• American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne

• Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen

• Write Shop B

Elizabethan England

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We covered the first lesson and did some practice. We will also be working through Evan Moor’s Financial Literacy G5 book and random math packets.

• Math in Focus Court 1 Book A

• EM Financial Literacy G5

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. He started with the lessons in 2B. I imagine that we will be slowing working through that this semester. He also stated his next logic book and did some math packets for practice and review.

• Primarily Logic

• Singapore Primary Common Core 2B

Q's ELA (Monday)

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. We started the year with the first section all about Elizabethan England. I’m very excited that his history has a ton of extras and projects associated with it. For the culture corner, he learned about Hans Holbein and anamorphosis. He even tried his hand at the technique with a drawing.

• Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

• Lives of Extraordinary Women by Kathleen Krull

• Frenemy in the Family by Kathleen Krull

• The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes, and Ferrets by Marcia Williams

• 100 Facts You Should Know: Kings and Queens

• Mary Tudor: Bloody Mary by Gretchen Maurer

• You Wouldn’t Want to Sail in the Spanish Armada by John Malam

• You Wouldn’t Want to be Mary, Queen of Scots by Fiona Macdonald

• Corpse Talk: Groundbreaking Rebels by Adam & Lisa Murphy

• What was Queen Elizabeth I?

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 supporting. We started with the first chapter about Islamic Innovations.

• History Quest Middle Times

• DK When on Earth?

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

• About Time: A First Look at Time and Clocks by Bruce Koschielniak

• Mosque by David Macaulay

A's ELA

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. We did cover the first lesson this week, but our coverage will be spotty until October. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall semester course, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. We did started Volume 3 of The Story of Science and will be working through that this year.

• RSO Biology 1

• Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

• Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies

• The Universe in You: A Microscopic Journey by Jason Chin

• The Three Little Tardigrades by Sandra Fay

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. For our first week, we didn’t have any formal science.

• None

Q's History

Q's Math and ELA

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

Enrichment co-op has shifted from warm months only (April to October). We are in the middle of our transitionary “Summer Session.” This week both Arthur and Quentin’s class covered engineering by talking about gravity and building egg drop units. It was nice to get back to co-op after two weeks away while traveling.

A's Science

A's ELA and Math

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. (The Joslyn Art Museum is reopening in September after being closed for two years!) And I incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. For the first week, we covered Elvis Presley. The boys likes the rhythm and beat of the music, but not so much Elvis as a singer.

• Music Lab: We Rock!

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Elvis: The Story of the Rock and Roll King by Bonnie Christensen

• Elvis is King by Jonah Winter

A's ELA and Science

Q's ELA and Math

Field Trip/Activities

On Monday, Arthur had a dentist appointment to take care of a baby tooth that wouldn’t come out. Not fun, but necessary appointment.

Wednesday we were supposed to have a splash pad birthday party for a friend, but weather cancelled it. We did get to have Pokemon club that afternoon.

Thursday after co-op will always be errands and/or extra activities. This week we used out Get Out pass with friends to visit Papio Fun Park. Quentin is finally tall enough to drive the go-karts by himself. The boys enjoyed go-karts and laser tag while there. We stayed for almost five hours!

Friday morning we had our biweekly nature walk. This time one other friend joined us at Fontennelle Forest for a “board hike” as our friend called it. A hike on the boardwalk. We also ran into two other families that we knew. They were there for a blood drive.

High

Despite coming off of traveling the week before, we accomplished a ton for our first week. I always like to dive straight in and see what happens. We covered almost everything I had on the schedule and spent a ton of time with friends and outside in nature. I’d say that we had a great first week!

Q's roly poly friend

Low

The changing weather interrupted our plans for one last water park day. Oh well. We did spent a ton of time in pools this summer.

Tree at Fontenelle - most likely broke and twisted in the last storm

Next Week

• Finishing his read aloud (A)

• Starting Fortunately, the Milk (Q)

• Learning about the Spanish Empire (A) and Byzantine Empire (Q)

• Listening to Chuck Berry and Fats Domino

• Exploring ponds and hydrology

• Covering engineering for co-op

• Celebrating the year at the homeschool picnic

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Back to leading co-op. It went well today, but my goodness, it was humid.

• I’m a bit out of sorts today we we we out of the house from 9am to 6pm. That’s a long day away for us.

• Looking forward to our walk in the woods tomorrow morning.

• Longing for fall weather….

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer Adventures - July

Instead of a summer bucket list, we are just taking the weeks as they come. But we ended up having many adventures this month.

Stormy weather caused us to pivot to the Mahoney Activity Center for an afternoon

Saw Trolls 2 at the theater for the cheap movies series

Pool party at a friend’s house for the 4th of July

Multiple hikes around town - Glacier Creek, Heron Haven,

Exploration at the Luminarium

Multiple pool visits

Second session of swim lessons - A passed Level 2, Q did not

Playing Pokemon at club

Ice cream at Dairy Twist

Sleepover at a friend’s house!

Visited the Omaha Zoo complete with splash pad fun

Old fashioned park playdate

Video games playdate with friends

Sushi train visit

Trip to Indiana!

We popped into the Putnam Museum in Davenport on the way. (Free admission using our Morrill Hall membership pass.)

Due to a plane delay, we found ourselves in Indianapolis for an extra day. Explored the Indiana State Museum and walked along the canal. (Free admission using our Morrill Hall membership pass.)

Next up on the TBR pile:

August 2024 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Finish Planning Indiana Trip - Considering that I am here, I’m going to say that it’s planned. ✓

• Complete Our Summer Bucket List ✓

• Prep August and September Homeschool Plans ✓

• Get Academic Coop Off the Ground - Still working on this one.

August Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Schedule a Meeting for All of Secular Omaha

• Finish Academic Co-op Lesson Plans

• Plan the Boys’ Birthday Party

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Summer is winding down. Many of our places are closing (so early!) but we do have some things still on our bucket lists.

• Excited for the Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo (in two weeks). I really like Maritime history places.

• Temperatures are back in the 90s with high humidity. I do not like.

• We met some new homeschool friends this week. Here’s hoping they come to another event soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #12

Reading: I’m deep into The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett for this month’s Nerdy Bookish Friends pick. I’m really enjoying this murder mystery set in am epic fantasy world.

Watching: The Bachelorette is back! I’m enjoy Jenn, but I must say that her men are lacking as a group. I’m not impressed.

Listening: Very slowly making my way through S10 of the Revolutions podcast about the Russian Revolution. I only have ~60 episodes to go…

Making: Still working on travel plans to Indiana. I have a basic outline, but I need to fill in some details. Plus I need to confirm our sleeping arrangements while there.

Feeling: The heat wave is finally breaking today, but my goodness, it has been terrible. Yesterday when I was going to the dentist the temperature was 95 degrees with a feels like temperature of 108 degrees. That’s just way too hot!

Planning: I’ve got a co-op lesson about robots coming up. I also have all of the academic co-op’s civics class to finish planning. Plus I have a co-op lesson about geometry and two about cryptography to plan.

Loving: After 34 years, my fake front tooth started to show decay. My dentist has been watching it for five years, and determined it was time. The two appointments were not fun at all, but I’m loving my new tooth. No more discoloration. No more weird ridge. And it fits very well. I’m excited to eat normally again soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer Adventures - June

Instead of a summer bucket list, we are just taking the weeks as they come. But we ended up having many adventures this month.

Visited the Omaha Zoo complete with splash pad fun

Strawberry picking - we missed it last year

Used our quarterly pass to Bounce U

Took a walk at Fontenelle Forest

Took swimming lessons - The boys passed Level 1!

Pool time with friends! (We also had a mini pool party with a friend at her house.)

Despite their expressions, we loved going to see Inside Out 2

A very hot walk at the OPPD Arboretum

We stopped at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines

We also popped into Reiman Gardens. Such a beautiful place even if it was super hot.

Visited an indie bookstore (The Nook), yummy pizza (Urban Pie), and ice cream (The Vibe) in Cedar Falls

We spent an entire day at the Lost Island Waterpark

We also spent a day at the Lost Island Adventure Park

We had ice cream with friends (not pictured) at Graley’s to kick off our ice cream tour

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #11

Reading: Getting ready to dive into the 3rd book in The Illuminae Files series, Obsidio. I am really enjoying this series.

Watching: While I was gone, J started watching Barry S1. He paused, backed up, and restarted it so I could watch too. This is one of those shows that we wanted to watch when it aired, but then it got lost in the media shuffle.

Listening:I started S10 of the Revolutions podcast. This last full season is on the Russian Revolution. Eleven episodes in and we are just now covering anything to do with Russia. There was a lot of political and economic philosophy set-up to the season.

Making: We switched from Paprika to Mealie for our recipe management, so I need to make some meal plans for the rest of the summer. I like the interface, but the transfer is a bit of work.

Feeling: I wasn’t feeling great this past weekend (migraine), but thankfully I’m doing better. Ready to tackle the rest of the week.

Planning: Working on our late summer trip to Indiana and then Ohio and Michigan. I think I’ve got the basics mapped out. Now I need to work on hotels and restaurants.

Loving: After horrid hot days, a nice rainstorm moved in yesterday. It was so nice to wake up to the sound of the rain.

Next up on the TBR pile:

July 2024 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books - Not quite, I did get to 17.

• Pause All Library Holds (Except Book Club Selections) ✓ - I am doing so well finally!

• Schedule a Academic Coop Planning Meeting ✓

• Plan our Indiana Trip for late July, early August - in progress

July Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Finish Planning Indiana Trip

• Complete Our Summer Bucket List (or at least come close)

• Prep August and September Homeschool Plans

• Get Academic Coop Off the Ground (planning meeting is July 14th)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #10

Reading: I’m almost finished with the current Nerdy Bookish Friends pick Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. I can’t say that I’m enjoying it, but it is interesting.

Watching: We needed some light viewing and are making our way through S2 of Loot.

Listening: I haven’t started another audiobook and I haven’t listened to many podcasts. So nothing really right now.

Making: We’re putting grilled cheese on the menu this week per a request from the kids.

Feeling: My bookish retreat was last weekend and really recharged me. I’m feeling fairly relaxed right now.

Planning: Next Monday to Wednesday I’m taking the boys to Waterloo, IA for a mini road trip. We’re going to stop in Des Moines on the way. The boys are super excited about the waterpark we are visiting.

Loving: Between the retreat and a lighter activity week, I’m fully invested in lots of reading time.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• And I’m off to the retreat! Right now, I’m prepping to take the boys to swim lessons and then coop before heading out of town. It’s going to be a crazy busy day, but so worth it!

• Speaking of retreat, I had planned on taking 5 physical books with me. I finished my last book abut four days ago and picked one of the 5 to start reading. I finished it in two days and then another in two days. Ooops! At least I’m reading from my shelves!

• Cannot wait to visit some new indie bookstores on Friday. One is a romance book store and I’m very much here for it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #9

Reading: I’m slowly making my way through Blood by Jen Gunter. Just like one of her previous books, The Vagina Bible, I am learning so much! A must read.

Watching: We’ve made it to S3 of Welcome to Wrexham. Of course we are loving it.

Listening: I finally finished my giant audiobook, so I’ve switched back to the giant backlog of Hello from the Magic Tavern podcast episodes. Maybe in five years I will have caught up…

Making: So many piles hanging out! I’m a little over a week from the Bookish Retreat and that pile has grown dramatically. I also have homeschool piles, random school piles, coop piles, and random things all around.

Feeling: The temperature has dramatically increased this week and I am sweaty. I’m just living in a sweaty state.

Planning: I have most of the retreat tasks done, so I’ve turned to some of the more fun tasks. One of those is choosing my retreat TBR.

Loving: I got a new delivery of puzzles from Galison and they are really helping my mental health. My meditation is sitting down and puzzling for a few minutes. So good.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W32-34: We Made It!

What We Studied

We finally made it through our regular year of curriculum. We never really stop schooling, but we have finished with this year’s big curriculum pieces. For the next few months, we will be engaging in a lighter schoolwork load with small units and lots of activities.

Making caves at coop

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished his current read aloud and started the next one. Our next read aloud is turning out to a great one. We are very into the mystery.

• Hidden Figures for Young Readers by Margot Lee Shetterly

• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Quentin finished his read aloud. We are moving onto a variety of stories and shorter books.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

• Dragons Love Tacos 2 by Adam Rubin

• Zoey and Sassafras: Wishypoof and Hiccups by Asia Citro

• Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobel

Math

Arthur finally finished Singapore 5B. We will be doing a lot of math review throughout the summer.

• Singapore Common Core 5B

Quentin has moved onto math review and will continue solidifying those skills.

Social Studies

Arthur finished his study of U.S. History with a few weeks covering the 1970s to the early 2000s.

• 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

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK History

• Map Skills for Today G4

Quentin has already finished his history curriculum. We’ll be focusing on some geography skills for a summer units. We got started this past week.

• Map Skills for Today G1

Science

Arthur finished up Volume 2 of The Story of Science. We have really enjoyed this book series so much. Cannot wait to get the last volume come August.

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

Quentin is covering a variety of science packets and review. We’ll be engaging in some nature science throughout the summer before starting our next year’s science curriculum.

Coolest picture of a water drop and Quentin from the Luminarium

STEAM Coop

We finished our spring semester with a study of bats and caves for Quentin and conservation for Arthur. This is going to be a very strange year. The coop is transitioning to warm months only and will begin the summer session in early June. We’ll continue to meet until early October and then break until the next April. Arthur will be attending a new academic coop October through March to take the place of the enrichment coop.

Arthur’s Math, ELA, and Science

Quentin’s ELA

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

Documentaries are going to be sprinkled throughout our summer sessions. The past few weeks, we covered a few including a doc about the First Man on the Moon,

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• DK Art and How It Works

• 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

• 13 Art Movements Children Should Know

• 13 Artists Children Should Know

• 13 Modern Artists Children Should Know

• The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström

• Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Day silliness!

Field Trip

We had our last two coop field trips for the year. We visited the Wildlife Safari to explore the Ice Age Animals exhibit. And we had a great picnic with friends seeing all the animals. It was a great outing. We also revisited a local Urban Farm. The farmer taught the kids about specific plants in her garden and care of the various crops. We really enjoyed our time at her farm.

Arthur’s ELA and Geography

Quentin’s ELA

High

We had a wonderful Coop Field Day acting as an end cap to our year. Our field day is all about organized game play instead of competition. Quentin won the award for Best Neck Hula Hooper. Arthur won the award for Best Duck Walk (Limbo). It was a very tiring day, but amazing.

Low

The weather has caused a few schedule interruptions. Oh well.

Next Week - We will be continuing our schooling with summer units and a higher workload.

Next up on the TBR pile: