What We Studied

All my big talk of balance the first week went out the window last week. Except for Monday, we had activities that took up most of our time. They were worthwhile activities, but it meant that we only did schoolwork two days in the week.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. Our read aloud has continue along with poetry and grammar. Our spelling list 2 will be stretched to two weeks to accommodate.

• Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd

• Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. It took us all week, but we finished our very short read aloud. Q also read two chapter books independently in that time. I think he’s finally caught the reading bug.

• Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

• Song of the Water Boatman by Joyce Kidman (poetry)

• Write Shop B

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. We covered the another lesson and did some practice. We will also be working through Evan Moor’s Financial Literacy G5 book and random math packets.

• Math in Focus Court 1 Book A

• EM Financial Literacy G5

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. He started with the lessons in 2B. I imagine that we will be slowing working through that this semester. He also started his next logic book and did some math packets for practice and review.

• Primarily Logic

• Singapore Primary Common Core 2B

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. We skipped history this week due to time constraints.

• Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 supporting. We skipped history this week due to time constraints.

• History Quest Middle Times

• DK When on Earth?

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. Our coverage will be spotty until October. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall semester course, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. We did read three more chapters in the Story of Science. Right now, the book is setting the stage for Einstein’s Miracle Year.

• RSO Biology 1

• Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. We covered the first lesson and pivoted to B&R’s Book Seed: Over and the Under the Pond. I rearranged some of the RSO units to make sense for our weather. We are staring with water. To learn more, we covered some readings and videos about ponds before spending most of Friday doing an exploration and experiments day with friends.

• RSO Earth and Environment

• Earth by the Numbers by Steve Jenkins

• DK First Earth Encyclopedia

• Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler

• On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen

• Tadpoles by Matt James

• Pond Circle by Betsy Franco

• Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner

• Life in a Pond by Craig Hammersmith

• Life in a Pond by Allan Fowler

• Look Inside a Pond by Louise Spilsbury

Enrichment STEAM Co-op

Enrichment co-op has shifted from warm months only (April to October). We are in the middle of our transitionary “Summer Session.” This week both Arthur and Quentin’s class covered engineering. Q’s class focused on simple machines while Arthur’s class made balloon powered cars.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. (The Joslyn Art Museum is reopening in September after being closed for two years!) And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies. We did some art-related activities while at the pond on Friday. Arthur made an amazing clay rendition of the pond. I snapped a picture before he destroyed it.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. This week was all about Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. I’m a Chuck Berry fan; the boys preferred Fats Domino.

• Music Lab: We Rock!

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

Not a guided field trip, but we did have a lovely day at the zoo on Tuesday. It rained, but lightly, which meant that many of the animals were very active!

On Friday, I hosted a pond exploration day at Platte River State Park. They have a set of cascading shallow ponds called Crawdad Creek that you can actually wade into and explore. We caught (and released) some critters, learned about ponds, tested the water, and engaged in some free art. Afterward, we had to have a picnic and playtime at the playground. It has ziplines!

High

Wednesday we spent all day at the park with the No (we’re not supposed to be in) School Picnic with many of our homeschool friends. It was a nice way for some new families to join and make some connections. The boys’ favorite part was the axe throwing.

Low

Not getting to a ton of schoolwork? Nah, that’s not. a low, just a reality.

Next Week

• Finishing his read aloud and starting a new one (A)

• Starting a new read aloud (Q)

• Learning about the Spanish Empire (A) and Byzantine Empire (Q)

• Listening to Johnny Cash

• Exploring the local science museum and another state park

• Covering engineering for co-op, last week for this cycle

Next up on the TBR pile: