Spring Bucket List Update #1

Another season, another bucket list. Our main goal is to get out in nature weekly.

1. Read 45 Books (20/45)

2. Movie Month - We scrapped this one for now.

3. Go on 12 Hikes (5/12)

4. Have an Indoor Picnic

5. Check Off 50 Hours Outside - We’re getting there…

6. Visit the Zoo 3 Times

7. Monthly Bingo/Trivia Nights (1/3)

8. Use the GetOut Pass 3 Times

9. Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

10. Make a New Dessert

11. Have an Ice Cream Sundae Night

12. Two Lincoln Excursion Days 

13. Three State Park Visits

14. Day trip to Des Moines

15. Plan out curriculum for next year - Working on this

16. Plan an Indiana trip for summer complete with mini trip - Working on this

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

Currently #7

Reading: Tackling The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith for next month’s book club selection. It’s an interesting fantasy novel, but I’ve been moving slowly through it. I’ve been very distracted when it comes to my reading this week.

Watching: After finally starting Misfits, we’re now in season three. It’s just so good!

Listening: Still working my way through Revolutions S3 podcast. The topic is the French Revolution and we’re coming to the end, but not quite there yet.

Making: Definitely need to make a batch of gazpacho for this week’s lunches. Sounded better last week with temps in the 80s. The weather has turned, but I’m still going to make it.

Feeling: After a busy weekend of stuff and tasks, I’m feeling much more relaxed.

Planning: Right now, I’m working on planning two summer trips. The boys and I are going to travel west to the Grand Island-Kearney area for a few days before my reading retreat. In July, we are going to Indiana to visit family and afterward, we’re going to drive over to Dayton to see some museums and zoos.

Loving: I made chocolate chip cookies last night and forgot just how much I love them. Warm and gooey cookies are just the best.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W29: So Much Outside Time!

What We Studied

On the schoolwork front, we had a normal week. Outside of the table work, we spent a lot of time outside. It was great to take advantage of the great weather especially as this week’s forecast is calling for a ton of wind, rain, and lower temps.

Literature and Poetry

Instead of starting the next coop book club selection, J continued reading the Bromeliad trilogy to the boys.

We finished Midsummer’s Mayhem and it was utterly delightful. We loved how it puts a new spin on the classic Shakespeare story.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• On the Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Berne

• Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We finished the second book in the Heartwood Hotel series. I imagine that we will read the third book soon.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• Heartwood Hotel: The Greatest Gift by Kallie George

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). We continued our financial literacy unit. Quentin has very small lessons. Arthur is going more in depth. I had him quickly work through the Financial Literacy books for grade 1 and 2. We didn’t do the big activities, instead we just worked through the concepts and questions.

• Evan Moor Financial Literacy Grade 1

• Evan Moor Financial Literacy Grade 2

• A Penny's Worth by Kimberly Wilson

• Follow the Money by Loreen Leedy

• What is Money? by Kate Marsico

• Nat Geo Kids: Not-So-Common Cents by Sarah Wassner Flynn

• Singapore 1B

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We covered the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, and the independence of Texas.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• Smart About the First Ladies

• Which Way to the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin

• Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President by Shirley Raye Redmond

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We finished our study of Africa with a focus on South African countries.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

• Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill by Virginia Kroll

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales

• Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa by Verna Aardema

• Nubiah’s Well by Donna W. Guthrie

• Honey Honey Lion by Jan Brett

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. The boys didn’t quite finish their model engines this week, so we are going to take one more week to finish those before moving on to optics.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We continued watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q. We also covered more animals from Africa.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways by Avis Harley

• African Critters by Robert B. Haas

• Life-Size Anaimals by Rita Mabel Schiavo

• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

• Grasslands by Laura Purdie Salas

• Over in the Grasslands by Marianne Berkes

• Here is the African Savanna by Madeleine Dunphy

• Hippopotamuses by Kari Schuetz

• Meerkats, Moles, and Voles: Animals of the Underground by Jody Sullivan Rake

• Meerkats by Jody Sullivan Rake

• Zebras by Amelie von Zumbusch

• Lake of the Big Snake by Isaac Olaleye

• Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae

• Draw by Raul Colon

• Tree of Life: The World of the African Baobab by Barbara Bash

STEAM Coop

The oldest group has moved on to their last theme of the year: Math + Art in Science. This week, there was a bit of a mix-up, but they ended up making art from found nature objects and a shelter with tree branches. Q’s group started on a gardening theme focusing on how bean plants grow.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy.

Field Trip

On Tuesday, we had a guided field trip to Lauritzen Gardens. The older group walked the entire gardens observing signs of spring along the way. We then identified trees and learned about various species. Thankfully the weather was perfect for our visit to the gardens. We even got to have a picnic on the patio afterwards.

We also had book club on Saturday morning. I didn’t actually have to lead the meeting this month. A friend brought a great cipher activity to add to our discussion.

High

Friday’s spring hike at Fontenelle Forest was just delightful. We got out into the woods, saw some turkeys, and generally enjoyed the perfect weather. After our hike, we visited Raptor Rescue to check out all the birds. While there, I spied a garter snake. A worked caught it and gave us an impromptu lesson about snakes in the area. Turns out that snakes were this particular guy’s specialty. I love it when we get unexpected lessons while out and about.

Low

Nothing really. We had a good week.

Next Week

• Starting two new read alouds

• Continuing a financial literacy unit (both kids)

• Finishing building engines for physics

• Taking a break from social studies (Q)

• Catching up with our math and language arts packets and random pages

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Mike Shinoda feat. Kailee Morgue "In My Head"

Apparently the new Scream movie has a great soundtrack. This is the perfect song for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #13

As I look outside my window: It’s cold, windy, cloudy, and rainy. After temps in the 80s this past week, we’ve dropped back to around 40 degrees for this weekend. Very dreary weather.

Right now I am: Surrounded by curriculum for the rest of the year. Thankfully, I only need to sort Quentin’s math and language arts and I’ll be done until I start planning next year’s curriculum.

On my bedside table: The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher; Crossings by Alex Landrigan

On my tv this week: We watched a few movies (The Portable Door was absolutely amazing!) and continued watching our currently airing shows (Schmicago, The Mandalorian, Ted Lasso).

Listening to: Still making my way through the Revolutions podcast season on the French Revolution.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Pork and Green Chile Stew

• Tuesday - Ham and Potato Soup

• Wednesday - Leftovers

• Thursday - Cheesy Bacon and Egg Hash

• Friday - White Chicken Chili

• Saturday - Beef Stew

• Sunday - Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

On my to do list: So much! But first priority is to cleanout my Notes app. I have so many little (and big) things listed in there. I need to organize my notes and get my brain dump list straight so I can know what I need to tackle first.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Crafting afternoon at the park (if the weather holds)

• Tuesday - Coop Earth Day Party

• Wednesday - Science Class

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - Nature Explorers at Heron Haven; Lit Society

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: I want to work on my March Memory Planner pages this week. Maybe I can take them to the crafting day at the park on Monday.

My simple pleasures: Yogurt, organized curriculum, a good night’s sleep

Looking around the house: Meh. I need to do laundry today and really need to put away all the clothes. That would help make the house much cleaner.

From the camera: Making and breaking ciphers at coop book club.

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

Title: Part of Your World

Author: Abby Jimenez

Publisher: Forever 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; Romanceopoly - Spring (Has an animal on the cover)

Spice Meter: 4

After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable.

While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.

Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

CW: Domestic Violence, Abuse

Look at that Content Warning. Usually I immediately put a book down if it deals with those topics, and yet I wanted to read this one. I think my ability to attempt it is due to previous success with Jimenez’s books. She deftly handles very difficult topics within her contemporary romance books. In this one, we meet two very different people that eventually realize just what they are missing in life. Alexis is a great character, but Daniel is the real favorite of the couple. I loved his commitment to his town and the people within his life. Seriously, so attractive! There’s a happy ending, but it definitely takes a while for our characters to get there. Along the way, we get very serious events and discussions. I found myself working through the some of my past. Strange cathartic book for me. It’s not super steamy, but a very satisfying contemporary romance.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Title: The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut #1)

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal

Publisher: Tor Books 2018

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 431

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.

Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.

Overall, this book just didn’t quite land with me. I was so caught up in the weird innuendo scenes between Nathaniel and Elma and the in-your-face sexism and anti-semitism that I had trouble really connecting to the rest of the story and characters. By setting the book in the 1950s, I knew that there was going to be a lot of -ism, but the storyline really never seemed to get past it in anyway. Even Elma herself constantly exhibited micro-aggressions towards her colleagues. I expected to see growth and really didn’t get much of any. And the marriage between Nathaniel and Elma constantly annoyed me. I realize that it’s still the 1950s, but come on. We get weird foreplay scenes and then fade to black almost every other chapter. We get to see Nathaniel support Elma, but then also constantly question her abilities and role. It was like watching a very infuriating tennis match. I was not a fan of them at all. And then we get to the storyline. While I was glad that we didn’t dwell on the immediate death and destruction caused by the meteorite, I feel like the it was quickly forgotten as we focused on the day-to-day running of the space program. I wanted a bit more about what was happening to the world. We get a few tiny snippets, but Elma mostly dismissing them. I would have liked to hear more about how the impact had affected people around the world instead of focusing on the small cast of characters in Kansas City. On a last note, the pacing was really slow in the middle. I was struggling to stay with it and not turn to other books. Unfortunately, I just don’t think that this story was for me at all.

Lady Astronaut

• #1 The Calculating Stars

• #2 The Fated Sky

• #3 The Relentless Moon

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• This season of Ted Lasso is killing me. So many emotions!

• A weird reading slump this week… I’m just not feeling the books that I’m reading.

• I’m still on the lookout for some comfy pajamas that don’t make me hot.

• Very thankful that coop is finally outside for our meetings. Here’s hoping the weather holds for the next five weeks.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

Title: A Touch of Darkness (Hades X Persephone #1)

Author: Scarlett St. Clair

Publisher: Scarlett St. Clair 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 353

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; Romanceopoly - Coffee Shop (Read a book that has been recommended to you!)

Spice Meter: 5

"Let me worship you," he said.

She remembered the words she had whispered to him in the back of the limo after La Rose. "You will worship me, and I won't even have to order you." His request felt sinful and devious, and she reveled in it.

She answered, "Yes."

Persephone is the Goddess of Spring in title only. Since she was a little girl, flowers have only shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hoped to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. All of that changes when she sits down in a forbidden nightclub to play a hand of cards with a hypnotic and mysterious stranger.

Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. But nothing has ever intrigued him as much as the goddess offering him a bargain he can't resist.

After her encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead, and his terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. The bet does more than expose Persephone's failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—a love that is both captivating and forbidden.

I’m a bit conflicted about this book. I really loved Greek mythology retelling stories and the overall concept of this one really got me. I loved the work that was created with the gods coming down to the mortal world and revealing themselves. How fun! I loved the various gods that we meet throughout the story, especially Hades and Hermes. All of those parts of the book made me want to give this 5 stars. But then we get to Persephone herself and I just couldn’t with her. She constantly tells everyone how strong she is, but turns around at every situation and allows others to decide her actions. She’s just so spineless throughout most of the book that I could not really root for her. And her constant ignorance of how the gods operate really got me. Like I understand that your mom kept you sequestered, but you’ve been out in the world for a few years now. Did you learn anything? Clearly the answer is no. Even her interactions with Hades made it so that I couldn’t really root for her. I will probably keep reading this series, but I’m not the biggest fan of Persephone at this point.

Hades X Persephone

• #1 A Touch of Darkness

• #2 A Touch of Ruuin

• #3 A Touch of Malice

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W28: Distracted By Our Foster Chicks

What We Studied

With our foster chickens, our school time was greatly decreased. They were just too entertaining to hang out with. Plus we had to farm/nature walks and our usual science and coop classes. We’ll catch back up, I’m not concerned. Some weeks we focus less on book work and more on experiences.

Literature and Poetry

We still reading the coop book club selection. I’m interested in the overall mystery, but the pacing is very slow. We finally finished the book this week, but our club meeting isn’t for another week.

• The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

To follow up after the previous week’s Shakespeare unit, our literature selection is a retelling of Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’m very into this book and Arthur has also been enjoying it.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We continued with the second book in the Heartwood Hotel series. Quentin likes the gentle nature of these books.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• Heartwood Hotel: The Greatest Gift by Kallie George

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). We started our financial literacy unit. Quentin has very small lessons. Arthur is going more in depth.

• Kumon Geometry and Measurement Grade 4 WB

• Lots and Lots of Coins by Margarette S. Reid (A)

• The Invention of Money by Nicolas Brasch (A)

• The History of Money: From Bartering to Banking by Martin Jenkins (A)

• Nat Geo Kids: Not-So-Common Cents by Sarah Wassner Flynn (A)

• DK Eyewitness: Money (A)

• One Proud Penny by Randy Siegel (A)

• What is Money? by Katie Marsico (A)

• Paper Money by Dana Meachen Rau (A)

• 10 Fascinating Facts About Dollar Bills by Chris Jozefowicz (A)

• Singapore 1B

• Froggy's Lemonade Stand by Jonathan London (Q)

• A Kids Book About Money by Adam Stramwasser (Q)

• Let's Explore Needs and Wants by Laura Hamilton Waxman (Q)

• Needs and Wants by Nadia Higgins (Q)

• Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money by Emily Jenkins & G. Brian Karas (Q)

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We covered the lives of Irish immigrants and mill workers in the early 1800s.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• What the Eagle Sees

• A is for Abigail: F for First Ladies

• Smart About the First Ladies

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We continued our study of Africa with a focus on East African countries.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

• Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill by Virginia Kroll

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales

• Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa by Verna Aardema

• The Perfect Orange by Frank P. Araujo

• The Best Beekeeper in Lalibela by Cristina Kessler

• Only a Pigeon by Jane and Christopher Kurtz

• Fire on the Mountain by Jane Kurtz

• For You are a Kenyan Child by Kelly Cunnane

• Wangari's Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter

• Mama Panya's Pancakes by Mary and Rich Chamberlin

• My Rows and Piles of Coins by Tololwa M. Mollel

• We All Went on Safari by Laurie Krebs

Making model engines

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

A took the zip line gondola and made an entire station with a queue

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. We’ll be spending the next week finishing building model engines.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We continued watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways by Avis Harley

• African Critters by Robert B. Haas

STEAM Coop

I finished teaching the oldest kids the Engineering Challenge unit. We wrapped up with creating zip line gondolas. I think the kids had fun. Now we are going to move on to Math and Art in Science for the oldest kids. Q’s group covered telescopes and microscopes. They will move on to gardening next cycle.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy.

Field Trip

We had a visit to the Gifford Farm to see all the baby animals that have arrived. A couple of coop friends joined us for a lovely morning. We’ll be back later this month for two different guided field trips.

We had another Nature Explorers meeting. This time we traveled over to Iowa to the Hitchcock Center. We walked the ridge trail (about 1 1/2 miles) and got to see some great views. The kids really enjoyed exploring. Afterward, we had to stop at the playground there to play and eat a snack lunch.

High

• For the second year, we rented two chickens for the week. We pick up 3-day old chickens and take care of them for the week. The boys were begging to do it again. And we spent a lot of time playing with them and devising things for them to explore. We’ll be doing this again next year.

Low

• We have gotten a bit behind on our curriculum due to our multiple excursions this week and the distraction of the chicks.

Next Week

• Finishing a Midsummer Night’s Dream retelling novel and Heartwood Hotel

• Continuing a financial literacy unit (both kids)

• Finishing building engines for physics

• Moving to South Africa (our final selection)

• Fitting in animal science for Q (hopefully!)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Arctic Monkeys "Sculptures of Anything Goes"

To follow up with last week’s Music Monday. I’m very into this new song from AM.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #12

As I look outside my window: There are Easter Eggs all over our yard, just waiting for the boys to notice and go get them.

Right now I am: Getting ready to make some rhubarb bread for brunch. Very excited to eat it in about two hours.

On my bedside table: The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith; Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

On my tv this week: We’ve continued to pick through The Misfits S2 and a few of our currently airing shows (The Mandalorian, Ted Lasso).

Listening to: Mostly just the shuffle of all the songs on my Apple Music account. I did catch up with a few podcasts (Currently Reading, If Books Could Kill, Pod Save America) and continued with some of the big podcasts I’m trying to listen to their backlists (Revolutions, 99PI).

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Sesame Chicken

• Tuesday - Leftovers

• Wednesday - Balsamic Pork Roast

• Thursday - Honey Lime Chicken with Asparagus

• Friday - Chicken Parmesan

• Saturday - Pork and Green Chili Stew

• Sunday - Texas Cheese Fries

On my to do list: I actually crossed off a ton of items from my last brain dump. Guess today is the day to make a new one. I definitely have a few coop and retreat tasks that I want to get to soon. But in general, I have cleared a lot of my plate.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Home Day

• Tuesday - Lauritzen Gardens Field Trip; Trivia at Edge of the Universe

• Wednesday - Science Class

• Thursday - Coop (I’m not teaching! Woohoo!)

• Friday - Nature Hike at Fontenelle

• Saturday - Coop Book Club

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: Hopefully, I can find some time today to finish my March Memory Planner pages. I started on it, but I need concentrated two hours or so to finish.

My simple pleasures: Hot coffee, an engrossing book, comfy clothes

Looking around the house: After dropping the chicks back off at the farm, I cleaned the living room. it looks so nice!

From the camera: Being super silly at the Easter Egg hunt. Meet “Mr. Buckethead.”

The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell

Title: The Dark King (Deviant Kings #1)

Author: Gina L. Maxwell

Publisher: Entangled: Amara 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 339

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; Romanceopoly - Action Avenue (Read a fantasy from your TBR)

Spice Meter: 6

CW: Sexual Assault (off page), BDSM

For Bryn Meara, a free trip to the exclusive and ultra-luxe Nightfall hotel and casino in Vegas should’ve been the perfect way to escape the debris of her crumbling career. But waking up from a martini-and-lust-fueled night to find herself married to Caiden Verran, the reclusive billionaire who owns the hotel and most of the city, isn’t the jackpot one would think. It seems her dark and sexy new husband is actual royalty—the fae king of the Night Court—and there’s an entire world beneath the veil of Vegas.

Whether light or shadow, the fae are a far cry from fairy tales, and now they’ve made Bryn a pawn in their dark games for power. And Caiden is the most dangerous of all—an intoxicating cocktail of sin and raw, insatiable hunger. She should run. But every night of passion pulls Bryn deeper into his strange and sinister world, until she’s no longer certain she wants to leave…even if she could.

I grabbed this one off of the library’s new books shelf. I probably should have at least looked into a review or two before diving in. This story and these characters really didn’t connect for me. I finished the book and had a bit of trouble figuring out just why I was disappointed. After some reflection, I was very disappointed in the power dynamics and lack of communication in the main relationship. I get the Beauty and the Beast-like setup. I okay with the BDSM sex scenes. But the real problem is how much Caiden keeps Bryn in the dark. She never has the upper hand or the dominant position in the relationship until the very very end of the story. I want to see more of a partnership between my main characters. I was also upset that the sex scenes did not being with proper communication. I’m okay with lots of behaviors in the bedroom if both (or more) parties are on the same page. We do not see that here at Bryn. Not a fan.

Deviant Kings

• #1 The Dark King

• #2 The Rebel King

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Night Ship by Jess Kidd

Title: The Night Ship

Author: Jess Kidd

Publisher: Atria Books 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Spring TBR

1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch East Indies on the Batavia, one of the greatest ships of the Dutch Golden Age. Curious and mischievous, Mayken spends the long journey going on misadventures above and below the deck, searching for a mythical monster. But the true monsters might be closer than she thinks.

1989: A lonely boy named Gil is sent to live off the coast of Western Australia among the seasonal fishing community where his late mother once resided. There, on the tiny reef-shrouded island, he discovers the story of an infamous shipwreck…

I grabbed this book right after Christmas and was so excited to read it after living Kidd’s previous book, Things in Jars. This one is a very different book from that and I just didn’t enjoy it as much. This one alternates between two pretty dire situations and time periods. There’s not a light or hope in this book. It’s very dark and depressing. Two main characters are set adrift in the world, one very literally. Both characters have experienced horrors in life and they seem to be continuing. I was really rooting for each of those characters (and many of the side characters) even while knowing that the story of the Batavia doesn’t really have a happy ending. My favorite part was the weaving of the mythology and folklore into the two storylines. We get to hear snippets of stories throughout the journeys. In some passages, it really felt like those stories had come to life and were stalking the characters. You’re never really certain what’s real and what’s imaginary. That play between real and unreal lifted this book from just a sad story to something mystical.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Vampire Villain by Melody Raven

Title: The Vampire Villain (Evil Rising #2)

Author: Melody Raven

Publisher: 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 232

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; COYER

Spice Rating: 5 (albeit with a vampire)

Marcus might look like an angel, but he's always been a villain. So when he's tasked with infiltrating the Vampire rebellion he doesn't expect it to be complicated. But his plans might take on a new path as he grows closer to a mortal, who can't--or won't--die.

After Gena is brutally murdered and mysteriously resurrected, she sets out to discover the truth about her supernatural background. But when she crosses paths with the sexy and vengeful Marcus, she realizes that there is more to her past than she ever realized.

With time running out, Gena and Marcus search for answers to her past, while going head-to-head with their enemies. Will it end the same way it began--with Gena's death?

Oof this one did not land at all. I read the first one and, for the most part, enjoyed it. I liked the spin on the vampire myth. This volume I could not get behind at all. First off, Gena is just way too blasé about everything and never truly understands how much danger she is in. I really hated that she never really asked enough questions about what was going on. And Marcus is the worst of the alpha male type. He never tempted me at all. And then we find out just what Gena and I got even more annoyed. Nope. Don’t believe, don’t care. Guess I am done with this series.

Evil Rising

• #1 The Lost Vampire Prince

• #2 The Vampire Villain

• #3 Her Very Own Demon

• #4 The Werewolf and the Siren

• #5 Beauty and the Shapeshifter

Next up on the TBR pile:

Radiant Sin by Katee Robert

Title: Radiant Sin (Dark Olympus #4)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 345

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; Romanceopoly - Killer Crescent (Mystery/Thriller of choice)

Spice Rating: 5

As a disgraced member of a fallen house, Cassandra Gataki has seen firsthand what comes from trusting the venomous Thirteen. But when the maddeningly gorgeous and kind Apollo asks her to go undercover as his plus-one at a week-long party hosted by a dangerous new power player…Cassandra reluctantly agrees to have his back.

On one condition: when it's all over, and Apollo has the ammunition he needs to protect Olympus, she and her sister will be allowed to leave. For good.

Apollo may be the city's official spymaster, but it's his ability to inspire others that keeps him at the top. Despite what the rest of Olympus says, there's no one he trusts more than Cassandra. Yet even as their fake relationship takes a wicked turn for the scaldingly hot, a very real danger surfaces… threatening not only Cassandra and Apollo, but the very heart of Olympus itself.

Another decent volume in this series. I do love returning to the Dark Olympus world and revisiting some of the characters. I wish that we would have had more appearances from past characters, but this one was much more of a limited cast list. Apollo and Cassandra are fun characters and I loved how the relationship between the two grew over the course of the book. We get some great quiet moments between them and some great steamy scenes. I would have liked more steamy scenes, but the ones included were good enough. The locked room mystery was an extra fun angle to the series. And now Robert has announced two more books int he series. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Dark Olympus

• #1 Neon Gods

• #2 Electric Idol

• #3 Wicked Beauty

• #4 Radiant Sun

• #5 Cruel Seduction

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #6

Reading: The Night Ship by Jess Kidd - I’m actually reading a book off of my Unread Shelf. It’s interesting, but a bit sad and slow.

Watching: We finally started watching The Misfits and it is absolutely amazing! We sped through S1 and are onto S2.

Listening: Fall Out Boy’s new album is great. Didn’t realize that I needed some new music from another emo band.

Making: Working on ideas for our summer bucket list. I may do one or throw it out in preview of a summer excursion notebook.

Feeling: I’ve been feeling a bit stretched thin lately. Making some plans for the summer and fall to help myself out.

Planning: Instead of a big family road trip, I’m going to take the kids for a mini trip to Kearney and Grand Island. Getting the details worked out now.

Loving: We are fostering to baby chicks this week and they have been a delight, if not much feistier than the ones we got last year.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W27: Finally Spring has Come!

What We Studied

The temperature finally went above 60 degrees for a great day out and about. We took off the rest of Thursday in favor of joining friends at the park. As such, the school bookwork was lighter this week. And I apparently didn’t take many photos at all…

Literature and Poetry

We still reading the coop book club selection. I’m interested in the overall mystery, but the pacing is very slow.

• The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

To follow up after the previous week’s Shakespeare unit, our literature selection is a retelling of Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’m very into this book and Arthur has also been enjoying it.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• Emily Writes: Emily Dickinson and Her Poetic Beginnings by Jane Yolen

• Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We started the second book in the Heartwood Hotel series. Quentin likes the gentle nature of these books.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• Heartwood Hotel: The Greatest Gift by Kallie George

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). Arthur‘s been working on a review workbook before we move onto a Personal Finance unit. Quentin is moving through 1B now.

• Kumon Geometry and Measurement Grade 4 WB

• Singapore 1B

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We covered the harsh reality of slavery in America and learned more about Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• What the Eagle Sees

• A is for Abigail: F for First Ladies

• Smart About the First Ladies

• Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

• An Apple for Harriet Tubman by Glennette Tilley Turner

• Follow the Drinking Gourd by Cari Meister

• Two Friends by Dean Robbins

• Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass by Lesa Cline-Ransome

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We continued our study of Africa with a focus on Central African nations.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

• Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill by Virginia Kroll

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales

• Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa by Verna Aardema

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. We finally got back together of science and the boys make a force field engine. We’ll be spending the next week (or two) building model engines. On the other side, we finished reading The Story of Science Vol. 1. Arthur wants us to immediately continue to volume two. I’m still thinking on. it.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We continued watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways by Avis Harley

• African Critters by Robert B. Haas

STEAM Coop

The little kids focused on telescopes this week, making their own simple telescope. The big kids had to create crash test dummy cars. Each pair of students had to ram their car into the wall with a raw egg passenger. Amazingly, all six eggs survived their ordeal! The kids really got into this project.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy.

Field Trip

No field trip this week

High

• We spent many hours outside this week. Thursday afternoon was all about a park playdate with lots of friends. Friday, we walked the trail around Walnut Creek Lake (about 3 miles) with lots of friends. I’m so proud of all of the kids for making it all the way around the lake. They even had energy for the island play area and the playground.

Low

• Little school work - I don’t regret spending the time outside, but had hoped to get to school work Friday afternoon. It just didn’t happen. Oh well. I’m not too upset, but it does add more for next week.

We are renting chicks again this year.

Next Week

• Continuing a Midsummer Night’s Dream retelling novel, the coop book club selection, and Heartwood Hotel

• Starting a financial literacy unit (both kids)

• Building engines for physics

• Moving to East Africa

• Fitting in animal science for Q

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Dua Lipa and Arctic Monkeys "Do I Wanna Know"

This is a fan mashup of these two groups doing the Arctic Monkeys, but it was just so magical that I had to add it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #11

As I look outside my window:

Right now I am:

Thinking and pondering:

On my bedside table: I’m actually a bit between books right now. I might end up doing a book flight this week to decide on my next read.

On my tv this week: We finished the first season of The Misfits. Oh so good! We definitely need to finish that series.

Listening to: Very podcast heavy week, but I also downloaded some new-to-me albums from some favorite bands. I grabbed the new Miley Cyrus, Silversun Pickups, and Arctic Monkeys.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Out for book club

• Tuesday - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quinoa Bowls

• Wednesday - Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole

• Thursday - Ham and Potato Soup

• Friday - Pizza Night

• Saturday - Pork and Green Chili Stew

• Sunday - Sesame Chicken

On my to do list: I made a brain dump list a while back. Currently actually checking things off my list. Very exciting!

Happening this week:

• Monday - Gifford Farm Public Days; Book Club

• Tuesday - Home Day

• Wednesday - Science Class

• Thursday - Coop; Lit Society

• Friday - Nature Explorers

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: I’m trying to work on my February Memory Planner this weekend.

My simple pleasures:

Looking around the house:

From the camera: Welcome Mustardseed and Peaseblossom to the house for the week.