What We Studied

We are definitely ready for Christmas break! It’s been a hectic couple of weeks to finish this semester and I’m ready to be done for a bit. We ended up finishing this semester with a flex week that turned into a week that we used to finish up some lessons and books.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur started and finished a unit on Norse mythology. We then moved on to starting the next coop book club selection. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

Poetry for Young People: American Poetry
Reading Explorer: Intro
Norse Mythology
The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Quentin got back into the Blossom & Root curriculum with two tales and their variations. I’m really enjoying the format for this year. He also worked on some basic grammar.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Fairy Tales Collection
The Other Side of the Story
Cinderella by Jenna Mueller
Cinderella by Barbara McClintock
Cinderella by Marcia Brown
Cinderstella: A Tale of Planets not Princes by Brenda S. Miles and Susan D. Sweet
Cinderella by Michele Marineau
Cinderella and the Furry Slippers by Davide Cali
Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred by Deborah Hopkinson
Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood
Cinderella with Dogs by Linda Bailey
Cinderella's Rat by Susan Meddaugh
Rose Red & Snow White by Ruth Sanderson
Jo Bright and the Seven Bots by Deborah Underwood
Snow Pony and the Seven Miniature Ponies by Christian Tremmer
Zoey and Sassafras: The Pod and the Bog by Asia Citro
The Little Red Elf by Barbara Barbieri McGrath
Reading Beauty by Deborah Underwood

Math

Arthur came close to finishing Singapore 5A. but not quite finished. We have one more unit. I’m going to wait until January to finish it up and move on to 5B.

Singapore Common Core 5A
Orbiting with Logic
Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter by Cindy Neuscwander

Quentin’s all about review right now. I don’t anticipate starting Singapore 2A until January. We also continued our logic book.

Lollipop Logic Book 3
Tinkeractive Math Grade 1

Social Studies

Arthur covered more about immigration and urbanization.

DK American History
We were There Too! Young People in US History
Words that Build a Nation
Heart and Soul
Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
A Different Mirror for Young People
This is Our Land: A History of American Immigration
The House that Jane Built: A Story About Jane Addams by Tanya Lee Stone.
Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Leslea Newman
Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom

Quentin learned about the ancient Babylonian, Assyrian, and Persian Empires.

History Quest Early Times
DK When on Earth?
Human Wold
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK A Child Through Time
A History of Western Art
DK Science Year by Year
DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories
Mesopotamia by Sunita Apte
Ancient Babylon by Karen Bush Gibson
Lost Cities by Giles Laroche
The Assyrians by Elaine Landau
Ancient Persia by Don Nardo

Science

Arthur continued covering specific elements with our Chemistry class. We’re still loving our little coop class.

RSO Chemistry
DK Super Simple Chemistry
Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim
DK The Elements

Quentin continued invertebrates and covered reptiles.

RSO Life
DK Oversimple Biology
Reptiles by Ann O. Squire
DK Eyewitness: Reptile
Retiles Everywhere by Britta Teckentrup

STEAM Coop

Arthur completed his exploration of board games. The kids made some great games and we got to playtest on the last week. Quentin finished out the semester studying architecture. We’ll be back in January.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We got back into it covering four artists (Paul Klee, Henri Rousseau, Henri Matisse, Franz Marc) and four composers (Beethoven, Vivaldi, Handel, Tchaikovsky). We managed to have some great free art sessions while listening to various composers. I’m hoping to keep the momentum going in January.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw
13 American Artists Children Should Know
A Child's Introduction to Art
Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky
Iconic Composers by Nicholas Csicsko & Emi Ferguson
13 Art Movements Children Should Know
13 Artists Children Should Know
The 39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven by Jonah Winter
Ludwig van Beethoven by Mike Venezia
What Music! The Fifty-year Friendship Between Beethoven and Nannette Streicher, Who Built His Pianos by Laurie Lawlor
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström Pg. 50-51
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge Pg. 82
Henri Rousseau by Mike Venezia
The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel
Dreaming Pictures Paul Klee
Vivaldi and the Invisible Orchestra by Stephan Costanza
The Story Orchestra: Four Seasons in One Day
Oooh! Matisse by Mil Niepold
Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter
The Iridescence of Birds by Patricia MacLachlan
Henri Matisse by Mike Venezia
Colorful Dreamer by Marjorie Blain Parker
Matisse's Garden by Samantha Friedman
Handel: Who Knew What He Liked by T Anderson

Field Trip

We had a wonderful tour of the Nebraska State Capitol with an emphasis on the art included in the building. I really loved getting more information about this beautiful building. We were even there when they were bringing in the Christmas tree and got to see them set it up.

High

After our State Capitol tour, some friends joined the boys at Lost in Fun in Lincoln for an entire afternoon of playtime. Sometimes the boys just need unfettered play time with friends and this was the perfect day to do it. Bonus: Lost in Fun was one of our GetOut Pass items, so it was no extra money to go. The next day, we used another GetOut Pass to mini golf at Medieval Putt.

Low

I’m feeling very tired… it’s been a semester.

Next Week - Break time until January!

Next up on the TBR pile: