A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas

Title: A Tempest at Sea (Lady Sherlock #7)

Author: Sherry Thomas

Publisher: Berkley 2023

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 353

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Fashionable Character

After feigning her own death in Cornwall to escape from Moriarty’s perilous attention, Charlotte Holmes goes into hiding. But then she receives a tempting offer: Find a dossier the crown is desperately seeking, and she might be able to go back to a normal life.
 
Her search leads her aboard the RMS Provence. But on the night Charlotte makes her move to retrieve the dossier, in the midst of a terrifying storm in the Bay of Biscay, a brutal murder takes place on the ship.
 
Instead of solving the crime, as she is accustomed to doing, Charlotte must take care not to be embroiled in this investigation, lest it become known to those who harbor ill intentions that Sherlock Holmes is abroad and still very much alive.

Absolutely loved this locked-room style murder mystery. We get to come back to all our favorite characters all aboard a sea voyage. Thomas brings all of our characters together for a variety of reasons and then of course, we get a murder. You knew it was coming. I was just waiting for the entire first third of the book just waiting to see who would die. From there, we mainly follow Lord Ingram has he assists the Inspector in the mystery. The volume felt a little different in that we have shifted from Charlotte to Ash as the main character the reader follows. And the entire locked room idea felt very Agatha Christie like. But I loved every page of it. This felt like a fresh murder mystery instead of just a Sherlock Holmes story. My favorite parts were the interactions between Ash and Charlotte. I have been rooting for them since the beginning and we finally get to see their feelings towards each other expressed out loud. Hallelujah! I cannot wait to see where this series goes next.

Lady Sherlock

• #1 A Study in Scarlet Women

• #2 A Conspiracy in Belgravia

• #3 The Hollow of Fear

• #4 The Art of Theft

• #5 Murder on Cold Street

• #6 Miss Moriarty, I Presume?

• #7 A Tempest at Sea

Next up on the TBR pile:

Barbarian Lover by Ruby Dixon

Title: Barbarian Lover (Ice Planet Barbarians #3)

Author: Ruby Dixon

Publisher: Ruby Dixon

Genre: Explicit Scifi Romance

Pages: 191

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Outer Space (Read a sci fi with“mars needs women” trope); COYER

Spice Rating: 6

As one of the few humans stranded on the ice planet, I should be happy that I have a new home. Human women are treasured here, and one alien in particular has made it clear that he wants me. It's hard to push away the sexy, flirtatious Aehako, when all I want to do is grab him by his horns and insist he take me to his furs.But I've got a terrible secret - the aliens who abducted me are back, and thanks to the translator in my ear, they can find me. My presence here endangers everyone...but can I give up my new life and the man I want more than anything?

Pretty meh about this one really. I wanted to love Kira and Aehako, but we didn’t get to spend much time with them. There was a lot more action and a lot less connection and even less sexy time in this one. I sped through this book, but wasn’t super excited about it at all. Oh well. They can’t all be winners.

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:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Looks like the rain will hold off for our field day today. We had hoped that the weather would be warm enough for water play and it should be.

• Side note: the gluten free and vegan cookies that I bought for treat look amazing. I might have to try one myself.

• Book club on Tuesday night got a little ridiculous. We have created a new name for the retreat complete with a mascot and a uniform. I’m so excited that it’s only a few weeks away.

• Really need to put a pause on my library holds. It’s gotten a little out of control. The mini road trip and retreat offers the perfect opportunity to put those pauses on.

• Seems like the perfect week for Italian pressed sandwiches and gazpacho. I’m needing that summer fair.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith

Title: The Library of the Unwritten (Hell’s Library #1)

Author: AJ Hackwith

Publisher: Ace Books 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; COYER

Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing-- a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell….and Earth.

Loved the premise and the settings, but ultimately, this one fell very flat for me. We are dropped into this plot line and action becomes nonstop from there. Very quickly it become very difficult to keep track of everything that was happened. The book didn’t have any quiet moments to sit and reflect on anything that was happening. On the other side, the characters were hard to really love. I enjoyed Brevity and Leto, but a lot of our time was spent with Claire and Ramiel. Those two were not easy to like or all that interesting of characters. The incredibly unlikeable characters are not really my jam. In the end, I was not all that interested in continuing the series.

Hell’s Library

• #1 The Library of the Unwritten

• #2 The Archive of the Forgotten

• #3 The God of Lost Words

Next up on the TBR pile:

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

Title: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

Author: J. Ryan Stradal

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books 2023

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; 52 Books Club - Script Font

Mariel Prager needs a break. Her husband Ned is having an identity crisis, her spunky, beloved restaurant is bleeding money by the day, and her mother Florence is stubbornly refusing to leave the church where she’s been holed up for more than a week. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades, and while Mariel’s grandmother embraced the business, seeing it as a saving grace, Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between mother and daughter that never quite healed.
    Ned is also an heir—to a chain of home-style diners—and while he doesn't have a head for business, he knows his family's chain could provide a better future than his wife's fading restaurant. In the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, and the hard-won victories of each family hang in the balance. With their dreams dashed, can one fractured family find a way to rebuild despite their losses, and will the Lakeside Supper Club be their salvation?
    In this colorful, vanishing world of relish trays and brandy Old Fashioneds, J. Ryan Stradal has once again given us a story full of his signature honest, lovable yet fallible Midwestern characters as they grapple with love, loss, and marriage; what we hold onto and what we leave behind; and what our legacy will be when we are gone.

After absolutely loving Strudel’s last two books, this one was a bit miss for me. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters or the plot. Most of the characters were incredibly likable and never really got any more likable to me throughout the pages. I just didn’t like them at all. The overall plot line also did not interest me. I didn’t connect with the settings and the events. Nothing. And then the structure really annoyed me. The jumping back and forth created a very disjointed reading experience for me. This one was definitely not for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W33: Sliding Into Summer

What We Studied

As we hit May, our school curriculum plan starts to wind down a bit. We are schooling through the summer, but I ease up our big curriculum and focus on smaller units and special activities. This helps us stay on top of a school mindset without the summer slump. But it always allows me to catchup a bit and relax during the summer. Only two one more real week of curriculum to go.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur and I started our next read aloud, actually a childhood favorite of mine. We’ll be finishing out our school year with this selection.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Quentin finished our Antarctic selection and will be moving on to a book that Quentin picked up at the library last week.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

• Evan Moor Smart Start Read and Write K

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 finished our financial literacy unit. We’ve been doing a ton of review and leftover lessons this past week.

• 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 finished our year with the start of the Civil War and secession. We’ll be taking a history break until August.

• 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

• Two Miserable Presidents by Steve Sheinkin

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. Quentin wrapped up his study of the world this week with a little review.

• 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

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 covered quantum weirdness with some thought experiments.

• 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. Our last official science lesson of the year, we focused on climate change.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• Why are the Ice Caps Melting? The Dangers of Global Warming by Anne Rockwell

STEAM Coop

Our last meeting of the year. The oldest kids did a lesson on organic molecules and play with paint. The littles and middles wrapped up their unit on domesticated animals. Quentin was very excited to use his new animal movement cards. And he learned to play gag ball.

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. We started watched Into the West, the mini series from early 2000s. I really like how it follows two main families from the 1820s all the way to the 1870s. We get to see how the west changes in that 50 years hitting all the big events. We’ll be continuing for the next few weeks.

Field Trip

Tuesday we visited the Wildlife Safari for exploration and a picnic. The park has a special exhibit with life-size dinosaurs that moved and made noise. We met up with some coop friends and even had a picnic. It was a great day seeing animals and playing.

High

• We had a lovely, albeit windy and chilly, morning at the playground with a few friends. We ended dup staying for 4 hours, much longer than I had anticipated. Still, it was nice to be outside with no real agenda.

• We also had a splashed playdate on Wednesday afternoon. We decided that science class is finished for the year (we did finish the textbook), so we just met up at a splash pad. The city turned some of them on early this year.

Low

• Nothing really. It was good day.

Next Week

• Continuing our current read aloud (A)

• Starting a new read aloud (Q)

• Continuing with some math review

• Watching another episode or two of Into the West

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

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - I Prevail "Deep End"

Really digging this new song from I Prevail. I’m definitely on a hard rock kick lately.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Stone Heart by Katee Robert

Title: Stone Heart (Dark Olympus #0.5)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 108

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Spice Rating: 4

In the city of Olympus, people only speak about Medusa in whispers. She’s Athena’s knife hand, the one sent when Athena wants someone to disappear. No one asks Medusa what she wants, but she owes Athena her life, and if staining her hands with blood is the only way to repay the debt, it’s a small price to pay.

Until Athena sends her after Calypso, the mistress of the rich politician Odysseus. Calypso is beautiful and cunning and she’ll do anything to keep her life—including seducing her would-be assassin.

What starts as a ploy to escape quickly spirals into genuine interest. But it doesn’t matter that they’ve finally found something special together. Athena will have her blood, and this time not even crossing the River Styx will save them…

Meh… There just wasn’t enough here for me to really enjoy. We learn just a tiny bit about Medusa and Calypso. We get some insta-love and light banter, but it wasn’t enough. My favorite part was the reveal of Hades of at the end. That bumped this novella up in my opinion. Now I have to wait for the next actual novel in the series…

Dark Olympus

• #0.5 Stone Heart

• #1 Neon Gods

• #1.5 Hades and Hades

• #2 Electric Idol

• #2.5 Zeus and Hera

• #3 Wicked Beauty

• #4 Radiant Sun

• #5 Cruel Seduction

• #6 Midnight Ruin

• #7 Dark Restraint

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #16

As I look outside my window: Very clear. Thankfully the smoke from the Canadian wildfires has moved out the area. It was super hazy the other day. Not to mention the terrible air quality that resulted from the fires.

Right now I am: Rushing out the door to get to a friend’s house for a playdate. It was supposed to be the coop book club meeting, but apparently we are the only ones that read it. So we switched the event to a playdate. I’m thinking about maybe taking the kids out to brunch afterward…

On my bedside table: The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton; Peter Nimble by Jonathan Auxier

On my tv this week: We’ve been randomly watching episodes of our current selections, but nothing really jumped out at me this past week.

Listening to: I was on YouTube looking up a specific music video which led me down a rabbit hole of lots of other music. I have my Music Monday selections lined up for the entire rest of the summer already. I found some new music and rediscovered some older music.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

• Tuesday - Leftovers

• Wednesday - Mississippi Pot Roast

• Thursday - Peanut Chicken and Noodles

• Friday - Sweet Potato Nachos

• Saturday - Avocado Bruschetta Chicken

• Sunday - Buffalo Chicken Sliders

On my to do list: I’ve got a list of things to do for the coop over the course of summer. Small tasks, but I’m scheduling them out to ease the stress. I also have random house tasks and such to take care of.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Home Day; Book Club

• Tuesday - Gifford Farm Living History Field Trip; Book Club

• Wednesday - Playdate with friends

• Thursday - Coop Field Day

• Friday - Nature Walk at Schramm

• Saturday - Chemistry Class Prep Meeting

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: Not any crafts this week, but I am making trivia and discussion questions for the retreat.

My simple pleasures: A quiet moment to think, unstructured time with friends, iced tea

Looking around the house: I completely cleaned out the coop bags and picked up the living room. Everything looks so much better now.

From the camera: Very sweaty and dirty kid after an exciting game of gaga ball.

How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

Title: How to Fake It in Hollywood

Author: Ava Wilder

Publisher: Dell 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 368

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Library (Free Choice); 52 Books Club - Contemporary Setting

Spice Rating: 4

Grey Brooks is on a mission to keep her career afloat now that the end of her long-running teen TV show has her (unsuccessfully) pounding the pavement again. With a life-changing role on the line, she’s finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist’s scheme: fake a love affair with a disgraced Hollywood heartthrob who needs the publicity, but for very different reasons.

Ethan Atkins just wants to be left alone. Between his high-profile divorce, struggles with drinking, and grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, Ethan has slowly let himself fade into the background. But if he ever wants to produce the last movie he and his partner wrote together, Ethan needs to clean up his reputation and step back into the spotlight. A gossip-inducing affair with a gorgeous actress might be just the ticket, even if it’s the last thing he wants to do.

Though their juicy public relationship is less than perfect behind the scenes, it doesn’t take long before Grey and Ethan’s sizzling chemistry starts to feel like more than just an act. But after decades in a ruthless industry that requires bulletproof emotional armor to survive, are they too used to faking it to open themselves up to the real thing?

Next up on the TBR pile:

Spring Bucket List Update #2

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

1. Read 45 Books (38/45)

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

3. Go on 12 Hikes (8/12)

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 (1/3)

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 (2/3)

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:

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Title: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1)

Author: Heather Fawcett

Publisher: Del Rey 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party—or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, muddle Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones—the most elusive of all faeries—lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all—her own heart.

Oh this was such an utter delight! We dive into an expedition journal by Emily Wilde and start to unravel the mysteries of the faeries in the far north. Emily is the prickliest of academics, but something in her inexhaustible drive to find the truth draws the reader in. We are rooting for her right from the beginning. Once she gets a little taste of the faerie world, the stakes are increased and the potential danger grows closer. I was enjoying the story and then Wendell arrived and I was completely hooked. The story took a very strange turn about 75% of the way through and was absolutely obsessed. I got to the end of the book and couldn’t believe that the story had ended. I wanted to continue the story. Thankfully we are getting a second book next year. I cannot wait.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Fine Print by Lauren Asher

Title: The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires #1)

Author: Lauren Asher

Publisher: Lauren Asher 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 448

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - The Office (Characters meet at work)

Spice Rating: 5

Rowan
I’m in the business of creating fairy tales.
Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels.
Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland.
My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her.
Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias.
By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late.
People like me don’t get happy endings.
Not when we’re destined to ruin them.

Zahra
After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland’s most expensive ride, I should have been fired.
Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job.
The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I’d ever met.
Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn’t care.
At least not until I discovered his secret.
It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn’t fix everything.
Especially not us

I picked this up after it appeared on a ton of spicy romance lists. Well… it’s not that spicy, but it was a decent contemporary romance. We get an enemies to lovers romance set a Disneyworld-like amusement park. I liked the extra discussions of family and banter-filled workplace scenes. Rowan was a great male lead character. Of course I wanted to see him open up to Zahra and everyone else around him. That part of the storyline was my favorite part of the plot. The romance itself was much more sweet than spicy. The book followed the usual format of no steamy scenes until about 60-70% of the way through. I will probably continue reading this series but not rushing out right this second.

Dreamland Billionaires

• #1 The Fine Print

• #2 Terms and Conditions

• #3 Final Offer

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #9

Reading: A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas - I finally got the next Lady Sherlock book and am absolutely loving it!

Watching: The Great S3 dropped and we are slowly making our way through it. I absolutely love how unhinged this show is.

Listening: Going all the way back into my podcast archives and I finally started listening to What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law. So far I’ve listening to the first five episodes and while I haven’t learned much, the episodes have been enjoyable.

Making: For Sunday’s brunch I made apple cinnamon muffins and they were epic. Time consuming to make, but oh so good to eat.

Feeling: I have a few plates up in the air right now and trying to make sure they don’t fall. It’s making me a bit anxious this week. I just want to set the plates down soon.

Planning: In connection with how I’m feeling, I’m dealing with some logistics this week. I’ve got coop plans and retreat plans to solidify. Hopefully I can get this done by Saturday.

Loving: Really loving the prompt responses that I get from most people when I put a call out for anything. I don’t mean immediate responses (although those are nice too), but responses that are done within a reasonable time period. I really dislike having to track people down to get them to respond. Ugh!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W32: Our Year is Winding Down!

What We Studied

As we hit May, our school curriculum plan starts to wind down a bit. We are schooling through the summer, but I ease up our big curriculum and focus on smaller units and special activities. This helps us stay on top of a school mindset without the summer slump. But it always allows me to catchup a bit and relax during the summer.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur and I finished our coop book selection. We really enjoyed the book, but didn’t quite realize that this was going to be a series. Hopefully the second book will get realized soon.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity

Quentin finished our Australia read aloud selection and started on our Antarctica read aloud selection. He’s not sure about how he feels about Mr. Popper’s Penguins, but has gotten better about listening to our read aloud.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• Audrey of the Outback by Christine Harris

• Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

• Evan Moor Smart Start Read and Write K

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 finished our financial literacy unit. We’ve been doing a ton of review and leftover lessons this past week.

• 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’re so close to the Civil War! One more week of US History before we take a break for the summer. I decided to run us up all the way to secession before stopping.

• 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

• Two Miserable Presidents by Steve Sheinkin

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. Quentin finished with the last continent, Antarctica this week. We’ll be doing a week of review and wrap-up to officially finish BYL Level 0.

• 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

• Sophie Scott Goes South by Alison Lester

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 covered quantum weirdness with some thought experiments.

• RSO Physics

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

• The Way Things Work Now

• My First Book of Quantum Physics by Sheddad Kaid Salah Ferron and Eduard Altarriba

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We finished out our animal science-lite curriculum with the Great Barrier Reef and the ocean around Antarctica.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• Keepers of the Reef by Sharon Wismer

• Getting to Know Our Planet: Great Barrier Reef by Vicky Franchino

• Great Barrier Reef by Martha London

STEAM Coop

The oldest group has moved on to their last theme of the year: Math + Art in Science. The kids played with color and focused on a few projects based on Mondrian’s works. The littles focused on domesticated animals. I actually stepped in to teach the middle kids about the species of animals that we domesticated through history.

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. We started watched Into the West, the mini series from early 2000s. I really like how it follows two main families from the 1820s all the way to the 1870s. We get to see how the west changes in that 50 years hitting all the big events. We’ll be continuing for the next few weeks.

Field Trip

Tuesday we visited the farm to learn about the animals. We learned a ton of facts about the animals that Gifford has on its farm. Our favorite part was getting to pet all the animals. I definitely wanted to take home the baby goats.

High and Low

• A cascading failure happened at coop this week. The middles teacher went out sick, then the assistant/substitute, and then the oldest teacher. So we were down two teachers in one week. A friend took over the oldest group and pulled out a great lesson on Mondrian. I stepped in and taught the middles about domestication of animals. All of this happened within 15 hours before coop. It was a few nerve-wracking hours for me trying to make sure that everyone and everything was in place. We pulled it out and the kids had great lessons for the week. But I definitely have some ideas of how we (really me) can avoid the stress next year.

Next Week

• Continuing our current read alouds

• Finally getting to the Civil War (before stopping)

• Wrapping up physics

• Review the world for social studies

• Watching another episode or two of Into the West

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

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Saint Asonia "Devastate"

And another new song… Really digging this new song. I need to go and download this album immediately.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #15

As I look outside my window:

Right now I am:

Thinking and pondering:

On my bedside table: I recently started two new books and a reread for this coming week

• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, reread for my Nerdy Bookish friends grou

• Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

• A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas.

On my tv this week: J and I have been watching Ted Lasso, Citadel (not super impressed), The Great, and The Misfits.

Listening to: Mostly just podcasts that are currently airing. I also went back into the archives and have finished listening to the first 100 episodes of 99PI. Really enjoy that little podcast so much. Eventually I might even completely catch up to present day.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Peanut Noodles with Chicken

• Tuesday - Chicken Tortilla Soup

• Wednesday - Leftovers

• Thursday - Honey Lime Tilapia

• Friday - Lemon Ginger Turmeric Chicken and Rice Soup

• Saturday - Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

• Sunday - Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

On my to do list:

Happening this week:

• Monday - Home Day

• Tuesday - Wildlife Safari Field Trip; Coop Happy Hour

• Wednesday - Science Class

• Thursday - Coop (last one for the year!)

• Friday - Lit Society

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Coop Book Club; Nerdy Bookish Friends Book Club

What I am creating:

My simple pleasures:

Looking around the house:

From the camera:

Forest Walking by Peter Wohlleben

Title: Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America

Author: Peter Wohlleben and Jane Billinghurst

Publisher: Greystone Books 2022

Genre: Nonfiction - Nature

Pages: 240

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When you walk in the woods, do you use all five senses to explore your surroundings? For most of us, the answer is no—but when we do, a walk in the woods can go from pleasant to immersive and restorative. Forest Walking teaches you how to engage with the forest by decoding nature’s signs and awakening to the ancient past and thrilling present of the ecosystem around you.

• What can you learn by following the spread of a root, by tasting the tip of a branch, by searching out that bitter almond smell? 

• What creatures can be found in a stream if you turn over a rock—and what is the best way to cross a forest stream, anyway? 

• How can you understand a forest’s history by the feel of the path underfoot, the scars on the trees along the trail, or the play of sunlight through the branches? 

• How can we safely explore the forest at night? 

• What activities can we use to engage children with the forest?

Throughout Forest Walking, the authors share experiences and observations from visiting forests across North America: from the rainforests and redwoods of the west coast to the towering white pines of the east, and down to the cypress swamps of the south and up to the boreal forests of the north.

Randomly I grabbed this volume in connection with A Year in the Woods. This one was more how-to than meditations on nature. Overall, I found the various sections to be very interesting mini lessons on trees in North America. This feels like one of those that you don’t just read once, but keep around for reference as you explore the natural world. Pairing this with Ekelund’s book was the perfect week. In fact, I will be giving this pairing as a book recommendation to a friend at the retreat next month.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Cinders & Sparrows by Stefan Bachmann

Title: Cinders & Sparrows

Author: Stefan Bachmann

Publisher: Greenwillow Books 2020

Genre: MG Fantasy

Pages: 368

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Spring TBR

When a scarecrow climbs over the garden wall, delivering twelve-year-old orphan Zita Brydgeborn a letter saying she has inherited a distant castle, she jumps at thechance of adventure. But little does she know that she is about to be thrust into a centuries-old battle between good and evil. Blackbird Castle was once home to a powerful dynasty of witches, all of them now dead under mysterious circumstances. All but Zita. And Zita, unfortunately, doesn't know the first thing about being a witch.

As she begins her lessons in charms and spells with her guardian, Mrs. Cantanker, Zita makes new allies--a crow, a talking marble head, two castle servants just her age named Bram and Minnifer, and the silent ghost of a green-eyed girl. But who is friend and who is foe? Zita must race to untangle her past and find the magic to save the home she's always hoped for. Because whatever claimed the souls of her family is now after her.

I grabbed this book out of our big collection of Owl Crate boxes. I was hoping for something a bit spooky and fun. This definitely hit the spot! Right away the book gives us a great spooky house full of gothic vibes. We meet some mysterious characters and a lost and found orphan. From here, the book immediately drops you into the plot and rushes forward until the end. I loved trying to figure out the mystery and peel back the layers of the house and the characters. I absolutely loved the book and will be keeping this one our shelves.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Thankful that the weather is holding out this week so we can still get outside for our events.

• Sometimes what I really need is a chocolate brownie.

• Feeling like I should see what new music releases are in my music app.

• Working on next year’s curriculum has invigorated me to finish this year’s curriculum. We’re so close!

• Need to set up a few ice cream meetups for coop friends this summer.

Next up on the TBR pile: