How about some new Doctor? I’m glad that Yaz is back.
I’m so going to miss Jessica Walters in this. She was the best!
Not sure about this one, but I will watch it just for Billy Porter
Definitely put this one on the watch list
We really need to finish watching Miracle Workers…
Title: Prelude to Foundation
Author: Isaac Asimov
Publisher: 1988
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 405
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scifi
It is the year 12,020 G.E. and Emperor Cleon I sits uneasily on the Imperial throne of Trantor. Here in the great multidomed capital of the Galactic Empire, forty billion people have created a civilization of unimaginable technological and cultural complexity. Yet Cleon knows there are those who would see him fall—those whom he would destroy if only he could read the future.
Hari Seldon has come to Trantor to deliver his paper on psychohistory, his remarkable theory of prediction. Little does the young Outworld mathematician know that he has already sealed his fate and the fate of humanity. For Hari possesses the prophetic power that makes him the most wanted man in the Empire . . . the man who holds the key to the future—an apocalyptic power to be known forever after as the Foundation.
Oooh. This is a good one. Right away I was sucked into this story following Hari Seldon’s adventures around Trantor. The pace is propulsive. The characters are intriguing. The adventures are illuminating. And the twists caused me to gasp out loud. I rarely gasp out loud at twists, but I did with this book. We get so much information about the state of the Empire and specifically Trantor in this story. It’s a nice bridge from the Robots and Empire books and the Galactic Empire books to the Foundation series. I can’t wait see what happens next.
Next up on the TBR pile:
I really need to find our groove this fall. I cut back even more to allow for more flexibility. We’ll see how it goes going forward.
Literature and Poetry
We finished reading The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum in alignment the Blossom and Root 2nd Grade Language Arts curriculum. The curriculum doesn’t actual start with The Wizard of Oz, but I reordered everything to align closer to our history this year. I’m really enjoying the spelling curriculum that I bought from The Moffatt Girls on Teachers Pay Teachers. And Arthur has taken to doing one spelling list spread out over the course of the week.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs int he Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull
I Invited a Dragon to Dinner
Math
We started Singapore Math Common Core 3A this week. We’re shooting for one unit every week or so. Unit 1 is complete!
Singapore Math Common Core Edition 3A
Millions, Billions, and trillions: Understanding Big Numbers by David A. Adler
Mind-Boggling Numbers by Michael J. Rosen
Social Studies
We started History Quest Middle Times this week with Ch. 1 Islamic Innovations. I really loved this chapter. I even learned some things.
OMAR Finds a Home
DK Eyewitness: Islam
DK Timelines of Everyone
The Arab World Thought of It by Saima S. Hussain
Looking Back: The World of Islam Before 1700 by Hazel Mary Martell
Islamic Art & Culture by Nicola Barber
The Arabian Nights
Arthur Independent Time
To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history. This week, he focused on some packet work and started his next creative project: Geography of Home book.
Science and STEAM Coop
Photos were taken; not by me as I was teaching. Unfortunately the pictures all had pictures of other people’s kids so I can’t post them on here.
We started our bird theme this week and I taught the older kids. We talked about birds in general and birds of prey specifically. Then we joined the younger kids and dissected owl pellets. I was so proud of the older kids as they assisted the younger kids in their dissection. This week really solidified the idea of mixing up the age groups some weeks. Next week we are continuing the birds theme with beaks and feathers.
Bird Count by Susan Edwards Richmond
Robin Where are You? by Harriet Ziefert
Animal School: What Class are You? by Michael Garland
The Animal Book by Steve Jenkins
Nature Files: Animal Groupings by Anita Ganeri
Carl Linnaeus: Genius of Classification by Margaret J. Anderson
Art/Music
Our music study was cut this week. We just ran out of time and other things got prioritized.
Quentin
I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included. For ELA, we continued our big overview of the alphabet. We covered more counting and some basic math concepts as well as simple map skills. And we had some puzzles to round out the week.
ELA
Ten Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSieg
Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
The Wheels on the Bus
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Math
One is Not a Pair by Britta Teckentrup
No Two Alike by Keith Baker
Know Your Numbers: Food by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann
Know Your Numbers: Nature by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann
Know Your Numbers: Animals by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann
Know Your Numbers: Toys by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann
Other
High Five magazine volume
Field Trip
We had a great two event day on Tuesday with our coop friends. In the morning, we visited Heron Haven and explored nature. We saw turtles, frogs, fish, birds, butterflies, and caterpillars. We loved it and will definitely go back soon. In the afternoon, we met some coop friends at the park for playground time and board games. My kids really loved playing with someone else. We’re aiming to schedule two board games days a month.
Documentary Selection
I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. This week, we watched a great episode about math.
NOVA S42 E7: The Great Math Mystery
Misc. - Random picture books read
Vivi Loves Science by Kimberly Derting
Tuesday was so much fun! The boys loved the nature walk and especially loved the board games afternoon.
Some things fell by the wayside this week. I’m reconfiguring our schedule for next week to help this out.
Next Week
Starting The Hobbit
Moving on to Unit 2 in math.
Continuing with our birds theme for coop
Fall of the Byzantine Empire is up next for history.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Ooof. This song has got me this week.
As I look outside my window:
Right now I am:
Thinking and pondering:
On my bedside table: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo; A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe
On my tv this week: Nothing super exciting, just the usual current shows and ongoing shows (Hustle, Star Trek: Voyager).
Listening to: I’m finally catching up on my back episodes of Dungeons and Daddies. Plus I’m trying to keep up with my usual podcasts.
On the menu for this week:
Monday - Blackberry Bacon Grilled Cheese
Tuesday - Pineapple BBQ Chicken
Wednesday - Blackened Salmon
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Peanut Sauce Chicken with Broccoli Rice Bowls
Saturday - Mosterdseop
Sunday - Pesto Stuffed Shells
On my to do list: I need to make a few appointments. I imagine that I need to make a bit more progress on my big projects (Road trip and Bookish retreat). I also need to update my big brain dump list.
Happening this week:
Monday - Grocery Day
Tuesday - Field Trip to Fontenelle Forest
Wednesday - Dentist for Me
Thursday - Coop
Friday - Home day
Saturday - Home day
Sunday - Home day
What I am creating: I hope that I can finish one or two bookish retreat crafts this week. No peeks, but I have some good ideas.
My simple pleasures: Alton Brown’s Blueberry Muffins (so friggin’ good), space adventures, cooler temperatures
Looking around the house: Blergh. My laundry room is out of control. Guess what I’m doing today…
From the camera: Yummy ice cream after book club. I got a scoop of lavender lemon and a scoop of mango raspberry habanero. So good!
Title: Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore
Author: Patric Richardson
Publisher: Flatiron Books 2021
Genre: Nonfiction
Pages: 186
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy; Seasonal TBR
Doing laundry is rarely anyone’s favorite task. But to Patric Richardson, laundry isn't just fun―it's a way of life. After years of running Laundry Camp at the Mall of America for thousands of eager learners, he's ready to share his tips, tricks, and hacks―bringing surprise and delight to this commonly dreaded chore.
Sorting your laundry? It's not all about whites and darks. Pondering the wash cycles? Every load, even your delicates, should be washed using express or quick-wash on warm. Facing expensive dry cleaning bills? You'll learn how to wash everything―yes everything―at home. And those basically clean but smelly clothes? Richardson has a secret for freshening those too (hint: it involves vodka, not soap).
Changing your relationship with laundry can also change your life. Richardson’s handy advice shows us how to save time and money (and the planet!) with our laundry―and he intersperses it all with a healthy dose of humor, real-life laundry stories, and lessons from his Appalachian upbringing and career in fashion.
You would think that a book about laundry would be boring and very dry. But this book is not either! Right away Richardson invites into the fascinating world of laundering. We get practical tips and fun stories. I have been doing laundry for decades at this point and apparently I was doing many things wrong. To be fair to myself, I was taught (like most people) wrong. The volume is slim, but packed with helpful tips and explanations. I actually really enjoyed reading this one.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: World Travel: An Irreverent Guide
Author: Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever
Publisher: Ecco 2021
Genre: Travel Memoir
Pages: 480
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy; Summer TBR
Anthony Bourdain saw more of the world than nearly anyone. His travels took him from the hidden pockets of his hometown of New York to a tribal longhouse in Borneo, from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Paris, and Shanghai to Tanzania’s utter beauty and the stunning desert solitude of Oman’s Empty Quarter—and many places beyond.
In World Travel, a life of experience is collected into an entertaining, practical, fun and frank travel guide that gives readers an introduction to some of his favorite places—in his own words. Featuring essential advice on how to get there, what to eat, where to stay and, in some cases, what to avoid, World Travel provides essential context that will help readers further appreciate the reasons why Bourdain found a place enchanting and memorable.
Supplementing Bourdain’s words are a handful of essays by friends, colleagues, and family that tell even deeper stories about a place, including sardonic accounts of traveling with Bourdain by his brother, Christopher; a guide to Chicago’s best cheap eats by legendary music producer Steve Albini, and more. Additionally, each chapter includes illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook.
For veteran travelers, armchair enthusiasts, and those in between, World Travel offers a chance to experience the world like Anthony Bourdain.
I picked this up because Anne Bogel chose it for the Summer Reading Guide. I was intrigued by the prospect of reading the last work from Anthony Bourdain. Unfortunately the idea of this book far outweighed the actual execution of this book. The book is part travel guide and part rumination on the soul of countries. I enjoyed the ruminations. I enjoyed the essays written by those who new Bourdain. I just didn’t enjoy the parts that were more akin to a travel guide. Overall, the book really just made me want to watch No Reservations or Parts Unknown again.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Here's my randomness for the week:
I am so hot all the time. The temps really need to get cooler now.
Making my way through the Foundation series. I’ve got a bit of momentum now.
Coop has been great so far. We’re loving our new friends.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Act Your Age, Eve Brown (Brown Sisters #3)
Author: Talia Hibbert
Publisher: Avon 2021
Genre: Romance
Pages: 393
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong. So she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It's time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she's not entirely sure how…
Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.
Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore... and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.
Ohhh I loved this book so much. It’s become my favorite the Brown Sisters books. I immediately loved Eve and wanted to see her succeed at life. And then she gets herself in a bit of a pickle and loved watching her blossom. I actually really liked that the book was focused on Eve and not her sisters as much. They make a few appearances, but we get a very focused story. On the other side, Jacob is a great leading man. I loved getting to know him through conversations with Mont and Eve. I loved seeing how he viewed the world and the struggles that he endured. Hibbert has definitely increased the steam and I am here for every scene. I will be keeping Hibbert on my watch list for new books.
Brown Sisters
#3 Act Your Age, Eve Brown
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Lumberjanes Vol. 18:
Author: Shannon Watters; Kat Leyh
Publisher: BOOM! 2021
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 112
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
THEY’RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS QUITE YET! When April, Jo, Mal, Molly, and Ripley get in trouble with Rosie, the mysterious director of Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types, they figure the punishment is gonna be a walk in the park… er, woods. That’s before a super gross, and seemingly-sentient creeping vine starts popping up everywhere and scooping ‘Janes up! And then there’s Rosie’s best friend from long ago: the elegant and enigmatic Abigail, who’s appeared out of the woodwork to join forces with the Lumberjanes once more!
I love these storyline where we get to learn more about the camp’s past. Every once in a while, there’s a small snippet of information or we even get to meet someone from the past. In this volume, we get to revisit Abigail (yeah, loved her character previously) and learn about the founding of the Lumberjanes. I’m sad that the series is coming to an end, but the ladies have been at camp for a very long time now… We’ll see how they wrap up their summer. Maybe we will get more information about the past and why the forest is just so strange.
Analyzing poetry structures
Two weeks of fairly intense field trips has left me extremely tired. While we are loving the fun, we need to better structure our weeks to allow for time to recharge. I am extremely tired going into our third week. We did tackle some great lessons this week and made progress on our projects.
Working on character traits with his emerald glasses
Literature and Poetry
We continued reading The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum in alignment the Blossom and Root 2nd Grade Language Arts curriculum. The curriculum doesn’t actual start with The Wizard of Oz, but I reordered everything to align closer to our history this year. I’m really enjoying the spelling curriculum that I bought from The Moffatt Girls on Teachers Pay Teachers. And Arthur has taken to doing one spelling list spread out over the course of the week.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
I Invited a Dragon to Dinner
Math
We spent the week doing a bit of math review and math games. And we started our new logic book: Primarily Logic. I am liking the different type of logic problems from our previous series, Lollipop Logic.
Millions, Billions, and trillions: Understanding Big Numbers by David A. Adler
Mind-Boggling Numbers by Michael J. Rosen
Social Studies
We continued with our map skills and did a review of our last year’s study of ancient history.
Got Geography! poems
If Maps Could Talk by Erika L. Shores
How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz
It’s a Round, Round World by Ellie Peterson
Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke
Dinosaur scene in LEGOs
Arthur Independent Time
To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history. This week, he focused on some packet work and a creative project. He made emerald glasses with which to visit the Emerald City of Oz.
Science and STEAM Coop
No photos as I was busy teaching…
The second week of our Math in Nature theme. We had a bit of a hiccup with the older kids leader calling in sick the day before. Totally understandable! But it meant that I had to scramble for a new plan Instead of teaching the littles group, I switched to the older group and found another member to teach the littles. In the older group, we covered symmetry and tessellation. I was proud of my quick thinking and ability to be flexible.
Nature Math by Penny Dowdy
Math Art + Drawing Games for Kids by Karyn Tripp
STEM Quest: Fabulous Figure and Cool Calculations by Colin Stuart
Shapes in Math, Science, and Nature by Catherine Sheldrick Ross
Math Lab for Kids by Rebecca Rapoprt and J.A. Yoder
Math Everywhere Get in Shape: Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Shapes by Rob Colson
Art/Music
We started our music study this year with Fanny Mendelssohn. Our actual lesson was mostly just listening to her work, but we did find a good biography video to watch.
Quentin
I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included. For ELA, we continued our big overview of the alphabet. We covered more counting and some basic math concepts as well as simple map skills. And we had some puzzles to round out the week.
ELA
Creature ABC by Andrew Zuckerman
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
LMNO Pea-quel by Keith Baker
Llamas with Lemonade by Ariana Koultourides
I Spy A to Z by Jean Marzollo
Math
10 Little Rubber Ducks
Animal Numbers by Christopher Silas Neal
Chicka Chicka 123 by Bill Martin Jr.
Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Patterns by Joanna Brundle
Shapes Around Us by Daniel Nunn
Shapes by Joanna Brundle
Shaping Up Summer by Lizann Flatt
Other
High Five magazine volume
Follow that Map: A First Book of Mapping Skills by Scot Ritchie
Field Trip
Our field trip this week was our first with the STEAM coop. It was a terribly hot day, but we did spend a bit over an hour at the OPPD Arboretum exploring nature and reminding ourselves of various shapes in nature. Wednesday was Zoo Member Appreciation Day so we had to stop in to get our ride tickets and special events. It was very hot, but we still enjoyed many animals, carousel, tram, stingray beach, and the splash pad.
Fossil hunting at the Arboretum
Documentary Selection
I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. This week, we watched the second of the series about A to Z. This episode focused on book making and specifically the advent of the Guttenburg printing press.
NOVA S47 E12: A to Z
Nature hike
Misc. - Random picture books read
Beyond the Dinosaurs: Monsters of the Air and Sea by Charlotte Lewis Brown
Heavy Equipment: Cranes by David Armentrout
Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford
Nick and Nack Float a Boat by Brandon Budzi
N is for Nebraska: A Cornhusker State ABC Primer by Christin Farley
Omaha ABCs by Ashlee Coffey
Snappsy the Alligator by Julie Falatko
Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese
Although it was very warm, I loved our visit to the OPPD Arboretum. We will definitely go back. Maybe in the fall when the colors start changing?
I’m still figuring out the scheduling aspect. How much is too much to aim for getting done in a day. It’s different from last year in that Q is in the mix and we have weekly activities and field trips (with coop). I overestimated this week…
We spotted three wobbegong sharks at the zoo! (one is not pictured here) We thought there was only one.
Next Week
Finishing The Wizard of Oz
Starting birds for coop and science
Listening to Beethoven for music
Covering A and B for Quentin’s letter work
Diving into the Middle Ages with the Islamic Empire
Hello Lion!
Next up on the TBR pile:
Another new song being featured on Octane that I am really enjoying.
On my bedside table: Foundation by Isaac Asimov, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
On my tv this week: We’ve continued our watching of Star Trek: Voyager and Hustle along with starting the new season of Lower Decks. As for our movie nights, we got to Ant Man. I love that movie so much.
Listening to: The usual podcast. I haven’t listened to anything that new lately.
On the menu for this week: Umm… I have some chicken in the fridge. Other than chicken ranch tacos, I have no idea what we are going to make this week. Maybe we should do brats on the grill again or maybe some salmon.
On my to do list: I need to do a bit of cleanup of my big brain dump. From there, I have some small retreat projects and coop projects to prep.
Happening this week:
Monday - Home day
Tuesday - Big day full of a field trip, board game playdate, and trivia night.
Wednesday - Errands probably
Thursday - Coop day, Book club evening
Friday - Home day
Saturday - Home day
Sunday - Home day
What I am creating: I’m working on coop lessons for our birds theme. I have so many ideas, but I really need to pare it down.
My simple pleasures: Smores, good science documentaries
Looking around the house: I probably need to focus on some housework this week. I need to vacuum and do some deep cleaning of the kitchen.
From the camera: We finally visited stingray bay. The boys absolutely loved touching the stingrays.
Title: Pebble in the Sky (Galactic Empire #3)
Author: Isaac Asimov
Publisher:
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 246
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scifi
After years of bitter struggle, Trantor had at last completed its work—its Galactic Empire ruled all 200 million planets of the Galaxy . . . all but one. On a backward planet called Earth were those who nurtured bitter dreams of a mythical, half-remembered past when the planet was humanity’s only home. The other worlds despised it or merely patronized it—until a man from the past miraculously stepped through a time fault that spanned a millennium, living proof of Earth’s most preposterous claims.
Joseph Schwartz was a happily retired Chicago tailor circa 1949. Trapped in an incredible future he could barely comprehend, the unlikely time traveler would soon become a pawn in a desperate conspiracy to bring down the Empire in a twist of agony and death—a mad plan to restore Earth’s tarnished glory by ending human life on every other world.
Wow! This was such a great adventure style story. We get to see what became of Earth years after Elijah Bailey and Daneel. I needed that interlude to understand what has happened to the Galaxy. We get the very classic scifi trope of a man being transported into the future. Schwartz is a typical 1950s character and is definitely out of place in the future, but not that much out of place. Really the star of the show is Dr. Arvardan and his conspiracy theories about Earth being the birthplace of humanity. I loved how the story unfurled. We get planet, nay Galaxy wide, threats and more insight into the political relationships within the Empire. I have my momentum back and am ready to dive into the next trilogy.
Galactic Empire:
#3 Pebble in the Sky
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Lumberjanes Vol. 17: Smitten in the Stars
Author: Shannon Watters; Kat Leyh
Publisher: BOOM! 2021
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 112
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
STOLEN KITTIES, SECRET CRUSHES & A NIGHT TO REMEMBER! Jen and Rosie plan to take the Lumberjane scouts to see an amazing astronomical event. But their night of star-gazing is thrown off course when half of the Roanoke and Zodiac cabins sneak away into the night in search of aliens, leaving everyone else to deal with a gatecrashing goddess who throws the entire camp into a tizzy. Not to mention there’s a nefarious kitten-napping and a super-secret crush to contend with!
Oh yay! We get another story featuring Diane and the various gods and goddesses that seem to pop into camp now and again. I loved the reveal our the new visitor and her “mission” on Earth. Plus we get a big mystical fight with Diane, appearances from the other members of Zodiac cabin, and Marigold (my favorite kitty!). Such a fun volume.
Title: Lumberjanes Vol. 16: Mind Over Mettle
Author: Shannon Watters; Kat Leyh
Publisher: BOOM! 2020
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 112
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
DINOSAURS, DANGER & DIMENSION-HOPPING AND ...OH MY!
Mal wants to learn to be braver, but when she recruits Ripley to help her face her fears, she ends up somewhere she really should be afraid of--the Land of Lost Things, a pocket universe where dinosaurs still roam the earth, and time doesn’t work the way it should. Stranded on her own in an alternate dimension, will Mal be able to find her way back home to camp? And back on the other side of the portal, will Molly, April, Jo, and Ripley be able to find Mal again and save her? Or are they about to get stuck, too?
Yes! This is the kind of volume that I’m always up for. We get a fun and dangerous adventure in the Land of Lost Things. I love that we get to revisit some great settings and see how things have changed. Plus we get some great character development for Mal. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Title: Cursed Objects: Strange But True Stories of the World’s Most Infamous Items
Author: J.W. Ocker
Publisher: Quirk Books 2020
Genre: Nonfiction
Pages: 272
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
They’re lurking in museums, graveyards, and private homes. Their often tragic and always bizarre stories have inspired countless horror movies, reality TV shows, novels, and campfire tales. They’re cursed objects, and all they need to unleash a wave of misfortune is . . . you.
Many of these unfortunate items have intersected with some of the most notable events and people in history, leaving death and destruction in their wake. But never before have the true stories of these eerie oddities been compiled into a fascinating and chilling volume.
I needed something a little light-hearted to read while tackling Asimov and Four Hundred Souls. This pick off the library new book shelf was just the thing that I needed to sprinkle in. Many of these stories were ones that I already knew, but they were still very entertaining. The chapters were quick and to the point. We get the myths and urban legends and enough actual history to satisfy my skeptic heart. I love a good collection of these “scary” stories.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Ice Planet Barbarians (Ice Planet Barbarians #1)
Author: Ruby Dixon
Publisher: Ruby Dixon 2015
Genre: Explicit Scifi Romance
Pages: 188
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet.
And the only native inhabitant I've met? He's big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me...
CW: Rape
The hype around this series really blew up in the last few months. One of the book bloggers I follow has read this entire series and loved every minute. And then I saw it mentioned in news articles and other blogs. A friend sent me the links as a bit of a joke and I took up the challenge fo reading the first book. I sped through it (it’s not that long), and really did enjoy it. This definitely a NSFW book. The sex is explicit and often. The book opens with a pretty explicit rape scene. But once you get past the first section, the tone lightens up a bit and we get moving with the main romance. Georgie and Vektal are fun characters and a lot of action and movement is packed into their short story. This was a nice break from my more serious hard science fiction. I might actually keep reading this series.
Ice Planet Barbarians
#1 Ice Planet Barbarians (Georgie/Vektal)
#2 Barbarian Alien (Liz/Raahosh)
#3 Barbarian Lover (Kira/Aehako)
#4 Barbarian Mine (Harlow/Rukh)
#4.5 Ice Planet Holiday (novella)
#5 Barbarian's Prize (Tiffany/Salukh)
#6 Barbarian's Mate (Josie/Haeden)
#6.5 Having the Barbarian's Baby (short story)
#6.75 Ice Ice Babies (short story)
#7 Barbarian's Touch (Lila/Rokan)
#7.5 Calm(short story)
#8 Barbarian's Taming (Maddie/Hassen)
#8.5 Aftershocks (short story)
#9 Barbarian's Heart (Stacy/Pashov)
#10 Barbarian's Hope (Asha/Hemalo)
#11 Barbarian's Choice (Farli/Mardok)
#12 Barbarian's Redemption (Elly/Bek)
#13 Barbarian's Lady (Kate/Harrec)
#14 Barbarian's Rescue (Summer/Warrek)
#15 Barbarian's Tease (Brooke/Taushen)
#15.5 The Barbarian Before Christmas (novella)
#16 Barbarian's Beloved (Ariana/Zolaya)
#16.5 Barbarian's Valentine (novella)
#17 Barbarian's Seduction (Marlene/Zennek)
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Surviving Savannah
Author: Patti Callahan
Publisher: Berkley 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 431
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.
Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah's society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving.
I have a history of not liking historical fiction that employs a historical and a modern timeline. I usually find the modern timeline lacking greatly. In this volume, the modern storyline is not perfect, but I mostly enjoyed Everly’s story of finding herself after grief. I was drawn to the book because it is based on a real life maritime disaster and I definitely have a thing for maritime disasters. We drive right into the story of the travelers aboard the doomed Pulaski. And right away, I was loving the character of Augusta. Thankfully we get to see more of her throughout the story. Turning to the modern storyline, I did love the mystery of finding the wreckage and piecing together the story of some of the people. The drama kept me engaged with the storyline and characters until the end. There are a few parts that dragged a bit (obsessing about the Noble Boy/Red Devil for example) but it’s still a solid historical fiction. Don’t skip the notes at the end that dive into the actual history of the Pulaski.
Next up on the TBR pile:
We have officially started our second year of homeschooling. This year, I have added Quentin into the mix. We’re still trying to find a balance of together and separate subjects while adding in our STEAM coop, field trips and the usual errands.
Literature and Poetry
We started reading The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum in alignment the Blossom and Root 2nd Grade Language Arts curriculum. The curriculum doesn’t actual start with The Wizard of Oz, but I reordered everything to align closer to our history this year. We also started a new book of poems, a spelling curriculum, and some random grammar pages.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
I Invited a Dragon to Dinner
Math
We spent the week doing a bit of math review and math games. Monday was all about shapes and playing with tangrams. On Wednesday, we focused on time. Quentin joined us for part of the big math review. He especially loved playing with tangrams.
Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
If You were a Quadrilateral by Molly Blaisdell
About Time: A First Look at time and Clocks by Bruce Koscielniak
Social Studies
Instead of starting our big history curriculum, we focused on a review of map skills and talks about where we live this week. We also dove into the concept of a city and did some city planning projects.
Got Geography! poems
Follow that Map by Sheri Tan (Arthur read)
Cities: Discover How They Work by Kathleen M. Reilly
Arthur Independent Time
To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history. This week, he focused on some packet work and a creative project. He made shadow puppets for The Wizard of Oz. Hopefully we can use those next week to act out various scenes from the book.
Science and STEAM Coop
We officially started our STEAM coop this week with a theme of Math in Nature! Definitely a learning curve, but I think we had a great first meeting. The older kid group had five kids and the younger kid group had five kids. I taught the little kids and we focused on spirals and the Fibonacci sequence. We made spirals on our boards and in the grass using found objects. We used Fibonacci boxes to make an art project. The kids lasted about an hour before they were done. The older kids did a more in depth exploration of Fibonacci and his sequence. Arthur joined the big kids and loved the lesson! According to the teacher, he was a great student and asked some great questions. I think it went really well! Afterward, the kids played at the playground until it go too hot. We will be continuing the theme into next week and I will once again be teaching the younger group.
Nature Math by Penny Dowdy
Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature by Sarah C. Campbell
Math Art + Drawing Games for Kids by Karyn Tripp
STEM Quest: Fabulous Figure and Cool Calculations by Colin Stuart
Shapes in Math, Science, and Nature by Catherine Sheldrick Ross
Math Lab for Kids by Rebecca Rapoprt and J.A. Yoder
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman
Math Everywhere Get in Shape: Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Shapes by Rob Colson
Art/Music
None this week
Quentin
I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included. After giving Q a PreK assessment, I am going to have to accelerate the curriculum. He only missed a few questions and is probably closer to a Kindergarten curriculum than PreK. We are going to condense the letter work to one semester instead of one year and add in phonics. I’m debating about how to accelerate the math portion. He might start Singapore Math 1 in October or so. For this week, I focused on getting him used to the idea of school time. We review the alphabet and counting while also playing some games and working on map skills.
ELA
R is for Rocket by Tad Hills
Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin
Alphamals by Graham Carter
I Spy Letters by Jean Marzollo
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Math
Richard Scarry’s Best Counting Book Ever
Counting by Joanna Brundle
It’s About Time by Stuart J. Murphy
Other
High Five magazine volume
August by K.C. Kelley and Bob Ostrom
Field Trip
Our field trip this week was another visit to the zoo. We got to visit the newly opened aviary as well as stopping at the splash pad. Before leaving, we stopped into the theater and the boys got to participate in the lesson about how the zoo trains animals. Q was super excited to see the dog they used. It got really hot so we didn’t stay super late, but it was fun.
Documentary Selection
I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. This week, we picked a seemingly random NOVA episode about the alphabet, but in reality, I thought it would be a good starting point as we are reviewing the alphabet with Quentin and it connects to a lot of ancient history Arthur studied last year.
NOVA S47 E11: A to Z The First Alphabet
Misc. - Random picture books read
1001 Creatures by Laura Merz translated by Emily Jeremiah
Numbers Everywhere by Linda Leopold Strauss
Old MacDonald Had a Boat by Steve Goetz
Pajama Pirates by Andrew Kramer
10 Reasons to Love an Elephant by Catherine Barr
Iguanodon by Lucia Raatma
Giant Pandas by Jill Anderson
The Z was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg
We loved our first STEAM coop meeting! Hoping to keep up the excitement and momentum.
We skipped out on Friday morning and did a splash pad visit. We had a friend join us and it was nice for the boys to have some socialization time.
Both boys had a few meltdowns throughout the week. Our break (most of July) was probably a bit too long and the boys had trouble making the transition. Hopefully we get over this small hiccup.
Next Week
We’re still going to take it a bit easier next week. I’ve decided to plan for half weeks through the month of August. I want to get in as much outdoor time while the weather holds. We’re just going to keep plugging along and see where we get next week. I am hoping to take a bit more of a relaxed and flexible approach this semester.
Next up on the TBR pile:
