Homeschool W29: We Love the Library!

What We Studied

Literature and Poetry

We finished reading The One and Only Ivan. I’ll admit that I teared up at the end. I really enjoyed that story. Arthur seemed to also. We might read the sequel, The One and Only Bob, during our July break.

• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

• Max Goes to the Library by Adria F. Klein (Arthur read)

• Max Goes to the Nature Center by Adria F. Klein (Arthur read)

• Springtime Surprises by Anna Jane Hays (Arthur read)

• Miffy at the LIbrary (Arthur read)

• Pete the Kitty and the Unicorn’s Missing Colors by Kimberly & James Dean (Arthur read)

• Let’s Go to the library (Arthur read)

• Olivia Goes to the Library (Arthur read)

Math

We worked through Unit 7 (multiple and divide 4, 5, and 10) and most of 8 (money) for math this week. We also added in some extra math packets to review some skills and read some math books.

• Corkscrew Counts by Donna Jo Napoli

• Marvelous Math Poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

• How High Can a Dinosaur Count! And Other Math Mysteries by Valorie Fisher

Social Studies

We covered the Byzantine Empire this week! We learned about how the Roman Empire was split, all about Justinian’s reign, and watched a NOVA episode about the mysteries of the Hagia Sophia. We also watched a NOVA episode about the prehistoric horse riders. Fascinating random documentary pick from Arthur.

Science

We continued with gardening, plants, and rainbows this week. Really diving into a gentle pace for sciences, but having lots of fun exploring. Nature science is clearly a preference for the boys.

• Spring: A Haiku Story selected by George Shannon

• A New Beginning: Celebrating the Spring Equinox by Linda Bleck

• Spectacular Spring by Bruce Goldstone

• From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons

• Can You Touch a Rainbow by Sue Nicholson

• Nature’s Paintbox: A Seasonal Gallery of Art and Verse by Patricia Thomas

• Gardening by Nessa Black

• Gardening by the Numbers by Cecilia Linden

• The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons

• How Does My Garden Grow? by Gerda Muller

• Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

• Ready, Set, Grow

• Try This! Gardening by Stephanie Turnbull

• Color Me a Rhyme by Jane Yolen

• It’s Raining by Gail Gibbons

• Rainbows: Nature’s Light Show by Kristen Rajczak

• A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman

• Ava and the Rainbow (Who Stayed) by Ged Adamson

Art

Nothing formal

Music

Nothing formal

Unit Theme

We celebrated Library Week this week. We learned all about how to use the library including the Dewey Decimal system. Arthur learned how to navigate the online library catalog and even picked specific books to find. We did our library visit on Thursday and found our books! One Friday we focused on the variety of libraries around the world. Arthur loved learning about the alternatives to library buildings.

• Jumping Off the Library Shelves: A Book of Poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

• ABC Letters in the Library by Bonnie Farmer

• Karl and Caroline Uncover the Parts of a Book by Sandy Donovan

• A Library Field Trip by Isabel Martin

• Out and About at the Public Library by Kitty Shea

• Manners in the Library by Carrie Finn

• Library Day by Anne Rockwell

• Peppa Pig and the Library Visit

• Bored Bella Learns About Fiction and Nonfiction by Sandy Donovan

• Pingpong Perry Experiences How a Book is Made by Sandy Donovan

• Bob the Alien Discovers the Dewey Decimal System by Sandy Donovan

• Our Library by Eve Bunting

• The Library Doors by Toni Buzzeo

• Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children by Jan Pinborough

• Library on Wheels: Mary Lemist Titcomb and America’s First Bookmobile by Sharlee Glenn

• Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia by Jeanette Winter

• My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs

• The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman

• Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen

• Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

• The Lady of the Library by Angie Karcher

• When the Library Lights Go Out by Megan McDonald

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Max and Marla are Having a Picnic by Alexandra Boiger

• Flower Garden by Eve Bunting

• The Gardener by Sarah Stewart

• Nesting by Henry Cole

• Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham

• Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole

• When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes

• Hi Jack by Mac Barnett

• Every Color of Light by Hiroshi Osada

• Thank You, Garden by Liza Garton Scanlon

• Sunshine Brightens Springtime by Charles Ghigna

• My Garden by Kevin Henkes

Highs

• We had a rainy, but fun park playdate on Tuesday with a new friend. According to Quentin, R is his new best friend.

• I bought and put together a new shelf to house our homeschooling supplies. So excited to get all the stuff off my floor!

Lows

• My energy level was low all week. Hoping I have more next week!

Next Week

We’ll be covering a usual amount of topics and subjects including:

• Starting Pippi Longstocking for our read aloud

• Poetry featuring a Shel Silverstein deep dive (It’s poetry week!)

• Australia for geography

• The Declaration of Independence and Soldiers and Leaders for U.S History

• Continuing gardening, rainbows, and spring for science

• Money and Fractions for math

• Listening to Alexandre Desplat’s movie scores for music

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Machine Gun Kelly feat. Halsey "Forget Me Too"

Winter was all about Emo song selections. Now that we’ve moved into spring, I’m turning back into hard rock and metal. Enjoy!

I think I actually liked Machine Gun Kelly… I’m as surprised as you are.

Life Right Now #11

As I look outside my window: Another bright and sunny morning, although it’s only about 45 degrees right now.

Right now I am: Doing a bit of curriculum planning before I make brunch and work on the meal plan / grocery list for the next two weeks.

Thinking and pondering: How to structure our summer? Our homeschool year goes through the end of June, and I had intended to take July off (if nothing else but for my own mental health). But Arthur does not do well without some kind of routine and/or structure. I need to think about how to plan out July and a week or two of August that doesn’t cause me stress but gives structure. Maybe independent LEGO projects or daily NOVA docs? We’ll continue doing a read aloud, but that’s the only definite thing so far.

On my bedside table: On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn; Lady Mechanika Vol. 5 and 6

On my tv this week: For movie night, Arthur convinced us to watch the new Godzilla vs. King Kong. It was surprisingly good. Just don’t think about the characters too much.

Listening to: Mostly podcasts, although I did get to listen to my beloved Emo Project yesterday while putting together my new shelf.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday -

• Tuesday -

• Wednesday -

• Thursday -

• Friday -

• Saturday

• Sunday -

On my to do list: Sheets and towels need to be washed (might do this tomorrow as J is supposed to be working on the laundry room today); need to pay some bills; I should clean my office/craft room; I would like to finish my current book by Tuesday (125 pages left); and I need to lay out the rest of spring.

Happening this week: I need to do grocery run this week and we have a park playdate scheduled. Of course we are going to visit the library at some point this week.

What I am creating: Nothing that exciting. I really want to work on my December Daily album, but my craft stash is a mess. Guess I need to clean that up first. On the house front, I have the wallpaper to cover the back of the built-ins. Just need to find some time and motivation to actually do it. It’s a small change, but I think it will make a big visual impact to that dark wall of the living room.

My simple pleasures: Good coffee, a few minutes of silence, new shelving unit to organize (love getting stuff of the floor).

Looking around the house: Our laundry room is officially in renovation, but a small one. We debated doing a full reno or a temporary one and have decided on the temporary. We’re just going to cosmetically fix the back wall (just sanding and painting as they stained directly onto the drywall). J wants to move the water line about 18 inches to another wall, but that’s going to take a plumber. Not sure the timeline on that… And he’s debating about grounding the 220 line and moving the 110 line over. This would leave me with a much more functional, if not pretty laundry room.

From the camera: I put together a new shelf to hold our homeschooling supplies. My office/craft room is finally coming together. Next step is to clean off the floor.

Alice by Christina Henry

Title: Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1)

Author: Christina Henry

Publisher: Ace 2015

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood...

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful. And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.

CW: Sexual assault, rape

I finally got to read this gritty adult version of Alice in Wonderland. Whoever had checked it out from the library kept it for a year during the pandemic. Terrible! But I got it and tore through this book. I love dark retellings of classic stories and this one delivers on that promise. We get Alice and Hatcher (Mad Hatter) traveling through the Old City to attempt to defeat the Jabberwock. We get encounters with the Walrus, the Carpenter, the Caterpillar, the Rabbit, and (my absolute favorite) Cheshire. I adored Cheshire in this book. You definitely shouldn’t trust him, but he is incredibly entertaining. I loved the inclusion of the rose garden. This book wrapped up the Jabberwock storyline but leaves the overall storyline open further adventures in the world. I can’t wait to read the next in the series. But be forewarned, this is a very gritty adult take on Alice in Wonderland, not for children or even teens.

The Chronicles of Alice

• #1 Alice

• #2 Red Queen

• #3 Looking Glass

Next up on the TBR pile:

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman

Title: A House at the Bottom of a Lake

Author: Josh Malerman

Publisher: 2016

Genre: Horror

Pages: 114

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

The story begins: young lovers, anxious to connect, agree to a first date, thinking outside of the box.
At seventeen years old, James and Amelia can feel the rest of their lives beginning. They have got this summer and this summer alone to experience the extraordinary.
But they didn’t expect to find it in a house at the bottom of a lake.
The house is cold and dark, but it’s also their own.
Caution be damned, until being carefree becomes dangerous. For the teens must decide: swim deeper into the house—all the while falling deeper in love?
Whatever they do, they will never be able to turn their backs on what they discovered together. And what they learned:
Just because a house is empty, doesn’t mean nobody’s home.

I randomly picked this on up after seeing a review on another book blog. I was intrigued by the premise and had a hankering for a horror story. I absolutely adored this one for the atmosphere and descent into an almost dream state over the course of just a few pages. The lake becomes this otherworldly setting that morphs into a creepy horror show once we start exploring the house. I loved how the characters were adamant about not asking “how.” The premise is fascinating and i was very unsettled by the end of the story. Loved it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• 88 degrees and sunny on Monday, 40 degrees and rainy today. Welcome to the Midwest!

• My removable wallpaper came yesterday! So excited to jazz up our built-ins flanking the fireplace. Hopefully it will get done this weekend.

• I also have a bookshelf arriving today. I need a place to store all our homeschooling resources. Piles on my craft room floor is not cutting it now.

• Read a picture book last night that made me cry. Hit me right in the feels. It’s a time capsule for the first few months of the pandemic. Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham

• I have my first haircut in 9 months this afternoon and I’m still deciding what to do. I’m thinking a dramatic asymmetrical bob.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Title: Robots and Empire

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher: 

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 512

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scifi

Isaac Asmiov's classic novel about the decline and fall of Solaria. Gladia Delmarre's homeworld, the Spacer planet Solaria, has been abandoned - by its human population. Countless robots remain there. And when traders from Settler worlds attempt to salvage them, the robots of Solaria turn to killing...in defiance of the Three Laws of Robotics. Pax Robotica Long ago, Gladia's robots Daneel and Giskard played a vital role in opening the worlds beyond the Solar system to Settlers from Earth. Now the conscience-stricken robots are faced with an even greater challenge. Either the sacred Three Laws of Robotics are in ruins - or a new, superior Law must be established to bring peace to the galaxy. With Madam Gladia and D.G. Baley - the captain of the Settler traders and a descendant of the robots' friend Elijah Baley - Daneel and Giskard travel to the robot stronghold of Solaria...where they uncover a sinister Spacer plot to destroy Earth itself.

Oh goodness! This just became my favorite Asimov book so far. I absolutely loved this one. Where the previous books were focused a lot on the plot (the murder mysteries), the mystery in this one is a bit more background. The philosophical conversations between characters (especially Daneel and Giskard) were center stage in this volume. I loved seeing the connection between the time of Elijah Baley and the founding of the empire. We get to see a new side with the settlers lead by DG Baley and his interactions with Gladia. So now we get to see what has happened to Earth, the Settlers, and the Spacers. I thought the mystery of the plot to destroy Earth was interesting, but again, it was the conversations that kept me reading. I loved the examination of the Laws of Robotics. This book renewed my motivation to read the rest of the Asimov’s books.

Next up on the TBR Pile:

Outlawed by Anna North

Title: Outlawed

Author: Anna North

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2021

Genre: Fiction - Alternate History; Western

Pages: 261

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Seasonal RC

In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw.

The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada’s life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows.

She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she’s willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all.

I was so excited to grab this on from Book of the Month back in January. It was a very enjoyable story, but missed the mark just a bit for me. The book was slightly slow to start, but once Ada arrived at the Hole in the Wall Gang, everything started to pick up. From there, I was reading at a decent clip to get to the end of the adventure. Ada is at times, a very sympathetic character and a very annoying character. I enjoyed many of the other characters, and wished we had learned a bit more about some of them (e.g. Lo and Newsy). The book misses the mark just a bit by getting bogged down in Ada’s obsession with having a child/getting married. In this sections, I was less likely to keep reading the book. Upon reflection, I think this is a really good feminist alternate history western. But for my 5 star read, I would turn to Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey. I love their take on a feminist western.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W28: Three Outings and a COVID Vaccine

What We Studied

Beyond our usual school work, we had multiple outings this week. We started with a park playdate with potential coop families. Monday was a windy but warm and sunny day to be at the park. We found a new-to-us park that wasn’t busy (until right at noon) and has a variety of playground structures.

On Tuesday, we joined a friend and visited the animals at a farm. It was cold and windy, but the animals were fun to meet. We got up close and personal with goats, chickens (and chicks!), horses, donkeys, a llama, and two baby sheep. One of the employees gave us some important farm lessons and even got a chick out for us to pet. The boys loved feeding the baby sheep and playing in the nature classroom. We are going back in a few weeks to see the piglets and baby ducks they are getting!

Wednesday afternoon, we braved the chilly weather to go find all the easter eggs scattered about Lauritzen Gardens. We walked down almost every path and even traveled all the way to the back gate. I didn’t even know they had a back gate. I’ve never been back that far… After finding all the eggs, we explored the fantastical fairy lands in the indoor greenhouses. I loved looking at all the fairy houses.

On Friday, I (and J) got the first COVID vaccine. Someday we might actually get to have friends over for a cookout.

Literature and Poetry

We have almost finished The One and Only Ivan. I am actually really enjoying the story. Can’t wait to see how it ends next week.

• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Math

For math we covered Unit 7 which was multiplying and dividing by 4, 5, and 10. We also did some random math review throughout the week.

Found a snake friend outside

Social Studies

We went to ancient China for this week’s history lessons. Lots of great information and videos pertaining to Ancient China. Even I learned some things.

• D is for Dancing Dragon by Carol Crane

• Ancient China by Mel Friedman

• 20 Fun Facts About the Great Wall of China by Therese Shea

• Secrets of the Terracotta Army by Michael Capek

• The Ancient Chinese by Jane Shuter

Science

We counted our farm visit and garden visit as impromptu science lessons for the week.

Art

Nothing formal

Found a ton of turkeys at the gardens

Music

Our composer was Danny Elfman. I really enjoy his scores (Edward Scissorhands might be my favorite), and we listened to a few good ones for Arthur. He loved The Nightmare Before Christmas, but that’s about it. I don’t think Arthur was into appreciating music compositions this week.

Unit Theme

Instead of a unit theme this week, we just focused on Easter activities on Saturday. We colored eggs, had an egg hunt, decorated cookies, and did some games and puzzles. My favorite part was the jelly bean math. Arthur guessed that the bad held 50 jelly beans. When we counted, we found 185 jelly beans in the bag!

• Easter by Elaine Landau

• Turkey’s Eggcellent Easter by Wendi Silvano

• Here Comes the Easter Cat by Deborah Underwood

• The Littlest Easter Bunny by Brandi Doughtry

• There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick by Lucille Colandro

• How to Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Bloom by Deborah Diesen

• The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle

• 999 Frogs Wake Up by Ken Kimura

• Spring Hare by Eugene Yelchin

• Rabbit’s Spring Gift by Anita Loughrey

• The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes

• Raindrops Fall All Around by Charles Ghigna

• Hail to Spring by Charles Ghigna

• Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn

• There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher

• And Then It’s Spring by Julia Fogliano

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

• My Spring Robin by Anne Rockwell

• Good Morning, Neighbor by Davide Call

Highs

• I can’t decided between the park, the farm, and the gardens. We had so much fun during this very busy week!

Lows

• Thursday’s dental appointment took me out of commission for the day. We wasted a whole day…

Next Week

We’re back to more of a normal schedule. We do have a park playdate on Tuesday and a library visit on Thursday, but that’s it for outings. We will be studying the Byzantine Empire, Australia, rainbows, gardening, and libraries (It’s Library Week!). We will be finished The One and Only Ivan and Unit 8 in math.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Bring Me the Horizon "1 x 1"

Winter was all about Emo song selections. Now that we’ve moved into spring, I’m turning back into hard rock and metal. Enjoy!

Bring Me the Horizon might be one of current favorite bands. I love all the songs that I play on Sirius XM’s Octane.

Life Right Now #10

As I look outside my window: It’s a beautiful day outside. The birds are very vocal, the sun is shining, and it’s supposed to be 85 degrees by 4pm. Goodness!

Right now I am: Trying to sneak outside and hide the eggs. The kids keep getting up at the crack of dawn and I didn’t have a chance before they got up.

On my bedside table: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner; Alice by Christina Henry

On my tv this week: We’re continuing our watch of A.P. Bio. The first season was funny, but the second season is even funnier!

Listening to: Mostly podcasts, but I did listen to a decent amount of The Emo Project and Alt Nation’s Alt 18. I completely forgot that I can listen to all the Sirius XM On Demand shows through Sonos.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Irish Whiskey Short Rib Stew

• Tuesday - Chicken n Dumplings

• Wednesday - Leftovers

• Thursday - BBQ, Avocado, Cheddar Chicken

• Friday - Shrimp Scampi Fra Diavolo

• Saturday - Baked Mac n Cheese

• Sunday - Chicken Tikka Masala

On my to do list: I’ve got some curriculum to sort, a few appointments to make, and lots of things to clean!

Happening this week: Back to somewhat more normal schedule. We’ll be doing a park playdate on Tuesday and a library visit on Thursday. I also have a hair appointment on Thursday. My first haircut in over 6 months. I’m excited for my hair to be doing something interesting.

What I am creating: Mostly just lists. Although I hope to get to my craft projects at some point this week.

My simple pleasures: A nice breeze and sunshine on the back deck. Also iced tea.

Looking around the house: We (okay J actually) ripped out the cabinets in the laundry room in anticipation of getting a new washer dryer set. Just by taking those down, the room has so much more room.

From the camera: Found some great fairy houses at the botanical garden this week.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Title: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig

Publisher: Viking 2020

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 299

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Currently Reading - Someone Wants Me to Read

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Such buzz about this book! I have heard so many people talk about how deeply affecting it was and how they were tears by the end of the book. And I did not have that reaction. Overall, I think this is a very decent It’s a Wonderful Life-esque book. I was interested to see how different choices would shape the different lives of Nora. I was hoping that at least one would result in her being together with Ash. And I felt that the ending was very fitting. it was an enjoyable book. But it did nothing for me emotionally. It might be because I have read so many of these types of books or it could be that the writing just didn’t speak to me. Either way, I didn’t shed a single tear while reading this one, but I did come away feeling that it was a worthwhile read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

April 2021 Life Goals

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

• Read 15 books, including 5 Unread Shelf reads - 50% success. I read over 15 books, but only 2 of them were from my Unread Shelf

• Layout podcast episodes - On hold… while J takes care of some other projects and tasks

• Make 4 52 Dessert Recipes - Fail. I had hoped to make some more, but I only ended up with three recipes made. So close!

• Walk at least 20 miles on the treadmill ✓ - I’m calling this a win even though I didn’t do all 20 miles on the treadmill. We ended up with multiple outings that included long walks.

• Make eye appointments - Fail

April’s Goals:

• Read 15 Books, Including 5 Unread Shelf Reads - Hoping for a big unread shelf month!

• Walk at Least 15 Miles on the Treadmill - Hoping to transition from the treadmill to outdoor walks.

• Work on My December Daily Projects - I will finish this at some point…

• Make 4 52 Dessert Recipes - I’ve got some good ones lined up.

• Weekly Field Trips! - We’ve got the ball rolling again. Still taking tons of precautions, but excited to to get a bit more out and about. I’m shooting for at least one outing a week.

• Plan Out the Rest of Spring Homeschool Weeks - Gotten a good jump on this, but hoping to tidy it up soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Videos, I Guess

I so hope that this is better than the first one…

Definitely creepy. I am here for it!