Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #10

Reading: I’m almost finished with the current Nerdy Bookish Friends pick Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. I can’t say that I’m enjoying it, but it is interesting.

Watching: We needed some light viewing and are making our way through S2 of Loot.

Listening: I haven’t started another audiobook and I haven’t listened to many podcasts. So nothing really right now.

Making: We’re putting grilled cheese on the menu this week per a request from the kids.

Feeling: My bookish retreat was last weekend and really recharged me. I’m feeling fairly relaxed right now.

Planning: Next Monday to Wednesday I’m taking the boys to Waterloo, IA for a mini road trip. We’re going to stop in Des Moines on the way. The boys are super excited about the waterpark we are visiting.

Loving: Between the retreat and a lighter activity week, I’m fully invested in lots of reading time.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

And I’m off to the retreat! Right now, I’m prepping to take the boys to swim lessons and then coop before heading out of town. It’s going to be a crazy busy day, but so worth it!
Speaking of retreat, I had planned on taking 5 physical books with me. I finished my last book abut four days ago and picked one of the 5 to start reading. I finished it in two days and then another in two days. Ooops! At least I’m reading from my shelves!
Cannot wait to visit some new indie bookstores on Friday. One is a romance book store and I’m very much here for it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #9

Reading: I’m slowly making my way through Blood by Jen Gunter. Just like one of her previous books, The Vagina Bible, I am learning so much! A must read.

Watching: We’ve made it to S3 of Welcome to Wrexham. Of course we are loving it.

Listening: I finally finished my giant audiobook, so I’ve switched back to the giant backlog of Hello from the Magic Tavern podcast episodes. Maybe in five years I will have caught up…

Making: So many piles hanging out! I’m a little over a week from the Bookish Retreat and that pile has grown dramatically. I also have homeschool piles, random school piles, coop piles, and random things all around.

Feeling: The temperature has dramatically increased this week and I am sweaty. I’m just living in a sweaty state.

Planning: I have most of the retreat tasks done, so I’ve turned to some of the more fun tasks. One of those is choosing my retreat TBR.

Loving: I got a new delivery of puzzles from Galison and they are really helping my mental health. My meditation is sitting down and puzzling for a few minutes. So good.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W32-34: We Made It!

Learning about care of chickens at the urban farm

What We Studied

We finally made it through our regular year of curriculum. We never really stop schooling, but we have finished with this year’s big curriculum pieces. For the next few months, we will be engaging in a lighter schoolwork load with small units and lots of activities.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished his current read aloud and started the next one. Our next read aloud is turning out to a great one. We are very into the mystery.

Hidden Figures for Young Readers by Margot Lee Shetterly
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Quentin finished his read aloud. We are moving onto a variety of stories and shorter books.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
Dragons Love Tacos 2 by Adam Rubin
Zoey and Sassafras: Wishypoof and Hiccups by Asia Citro
Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobel

Math

Arthur finally finished Singapore 5B. We will be doing a lot of math review throughout the summer.

Singapore Common Core 5B

Quentin has moved onto math review and will continue solidifying those skills.

Social Studies

Arthur finished his study of U.S. History with a few weeks covering the 1970s to the early 2000s.

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
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
Map Skills for Today G4

Quentin has already finished his history curriculum. We’ll be focusing on some geography skills for a summer units. We got started this past week.

Map Skills for Today G1

Science

Arthur finished up Volume 2 of The Story of Science. We have really enjoyed this book series so much. Cannot wait to get the last volume come August.

Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

Quentin is covering a variety of science packets and review. We’ll be engaging in some nature science throughout the summer before starting our next year’s science curriculum.

Coolest picture of a water drop and Quentin from the Luminarium

STEAM Coop

We finished our spring semester with a study of bats and caves for Quentin and conservation for Arthur. This is going to be a very strange year. The coop is transitioning to warm months only and will begin the summer session in early June. We’ll continue to meet until early October and then break until the next April. Arthur will be attending a new academic coop October through March to take the place of the enrichment coop.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

Documentaries are going to be sprinkled throughout our summer sessions. The past few weeks, we covered a few including a doc about the First Man on the Moon,

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
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
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Trip

We had our last two coop field trips for the year. We visited the Wildlife Safari to explore the Ice Age Animals exhibit. And we had a great picnic with friends seeing all the animals. It was a great outing. We also revisited a local Urban Farm. The farmer taught the kids about specific plants in her garden and care of the various crops. We really enjoyed our time at her farm.

High

We had a wonderful Coop Field Day acting as an end cap to our year. Our field day is all about organized game play instead of competition. Quentin won the award for Best Neck Hula Hooper. Arthur won the award for Best Duck Walk (Limbo). It was a very tiring day, but amazing.

Low

The weather has caused a few schedule interruptions. Oh well.

Next Week - We will be continuing our schooling with summer units and a higher workload.

Next up on the TBR pile:

June 2024 Life Goals

Let’s check in on May’s goals and my progress.

Read 18 Books ✓
Pause All Library Holds (Except Book Club Selections) - Another fail, but I’m getting better at this.
Solidify Coop Summer Plan ✓
Solidify Academic Coop Plan - Working on this
Finish Retreat Tasks ✓
Finish Homeschool Supply Cleanout ✓

June Goals:

Read 18 Books
Pause All Library Holds (Except Book Club Selections) - Third time’s the charm, right?
Schedule a Academic Coop Planning Meeting
Plan our Indiana Trip for late July, early August

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

My week went from nothing scheduled to something scheduled everyday. This is summer.
Our food stores are very limited today. Guess that means we need to go to the grocery store after our park playdate.
Thinking about my TBR pile for the retreat. Is 5 books of varying genres enough? I’m still debating with myself.
Currently in the middle of four different books. Very unusual for me, but that’s how it shaken out this week.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #8

Reading: Finally diving into The Morningside by Téa Obreht. This is one of the retreat book club selections and I’m leading the discussions. I wanted to read it closer to the event to keep it fresh in my mind.

Watching: We have made it to S3 of Welcome to Wrexham. Such drama!

Listening: I’m nearing the 75% mark of the audiobook of Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon by Matt Dinniman. Dungeon Crawler Carl is still my preferred book, but this one is good. Very gory…

Making: Finishing up the last pieces of retreat planning. I have a few leftover tasks before I’m completely ready to head down.

Feeling: With so many projects in progress, I’ve been feeling a little scattered. I need a good brain dump/reset this weekend.

Planning: Another project I’m working on is curriculum plans for fall.

Loving: I’m really enjoying watermelon and grapes. Fresh fruit is my go-to snack right now.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

My reading week has not been going well. Lackluster reads…
Last week of spring semester of coop today! I am very excited to wrap up another wonderful semester.
Working on the lots of retreat tasks. Only one month to go!
It’s getting a big warm outside. Pulling out my summer clothes.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #7

Reading: I’ve been diving into A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall. I really been loving the atmosphere and the mystery of this book.

Watching: J restarted Welcome to Wrexham S1 so that I could start watching it. Obviously I’m enjoying the show.

Listening: I finished an audiobook and decided to take a break and move back to podcasts for awhile.

Making: I’ve started the process of prepping book recommendations for the retreat in June. It’s a big process and takes a bit of time. I definitely needed to get started.

Feeling: I’ve got a lot on my plate right now and feeling a bit stretched. I need to get through the next two weeks before things calm down so that I can focus on the retreat.

Planning: Part of me being stretched is switching coop from spring to summer sessions. I’ve got everyone signing up for lessons and prepping the admin side. I’ve also got the planning of activities for our summer session.

Loving: With so much on my to-do list, I’m enjoying the quiet moments here and there.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W30-31: Nearing the End...

What We Studied

We are nearing the end of this year’s school. Okay that’s not true. We school year round, but we are nearing the end of our big curriculum pieces. Then, we will move to some summer units before starting our next curriculum round in August.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished his current read aloud and started the next one. We took it a bit easy with our ELA these two weeks. We finished our poetry collection and won’t start a new one until August. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

My America poem collection
Much Ado About Baseball by Rajani LaRocca
Hidden Figures for Young Readers by Margot Lee Shetterly

Quentin finished his read aloud. It took us a few days, but we got through it eventually. He also worked on his reading and comprehension skills.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

Math

Arthur moved through most a unit about angles. We slowed down a bit these past two weeks, but are still on track to finish 5B before the end of May.

Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic

Quentin has moved onto math review and will continue solidifying those skills.

Social Studies

Arthur continued with the 1960s with a focus on the Civil Rights Movement and then the Space Race. We’re inching our way to the present slowly, slowly.

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
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
March by John Lewis
The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson
Liberty's Civil Rights Road Trip by Michael W. Waters
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Malcolm X: A Fire Burning Brightly by Walter Dean Myers
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
Moonbound: Apollo 11 and the Dream of Spaceflight by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm

Quentin finished his History Quest Ancient Times curriculum with a chapter about Arabia. We will be taking a break from our big history curriculum by shifting to geography.

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
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Ancient Worlds
A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen
DK Eyewitness Wonders of the World

Science

We got back into chemistry with two weeks of lessons. Only one more to go! Beyond the chemistry, we continued reading our Story of Science. Nearing the end of that book as well.

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

Quentin finished his RSO Life curriculum with a review of the plant kingdom. We’ll be doing some science pieces here and there and obviously we have coop.

RSO Life
DK Trees, Leaves, Flowers & Seeds
It Starts with a Seed by Laura Knowles
Stems and Trunks by Melanie Waldron
Roots by Melanie Waldron
Muse: Secrets of Trees
We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow
What on Earth? Trees by Kevin Warwick
A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston

STEAM Coop

We had one coop lesson in the rain (the radar lied to me) and one coop lesson indoors due to weather. I was teaching archaeology to the Chatty Cheetahs. Neither one of the boys are in that class, but we needed a teacher and I enjoy the topic. Arthur focused on Environmental Science and Quentin learned about paleontology.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

Another two weeks, another couple of documentaries covering topics from our history lessons. Quentin watched one about the ancient city of Petra and one about the Emperor’s Ghost Army (the Terra Cotta Warriors). Arthur watched a great Modern Marvels episode about the Space Shuttle program.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
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
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Trip

We had a great field trip to Morrill Hall in Lincoln. The museum has been closed for a few months for renovations. There wasn’t a ton of visible changes, but I know that they updated a ton of the internal systems. Still, we had a great guided field trip learning about animals of the prehistoric past. Post field trip, some of our friends and we went to Prehistoric Putt for some mini golf fun.

We also attended another great theater performance. This time, we got to see Charlotte’s Web. Quentin really enjoyed the performance.

High

Our field trip coordinator for coop set up a great guided tour of Ashfall Fossil Beds in Royal. It was absolutely amazing to be guided by one of the one-site paleontologists. We had the place completely to ourselves and it was amazing. Three families and myself decided that three and a half hours of driving to and then three and a half hours of driving back in one day was too much. We decided to book an AirBnB nearby and spent a weekend exploring north central Nebraska. (While there, tornadoes hit Omaha and caused a decent amount of damage. Thankfully none of our coop families suffered any damage.) On Saturday we explored a beautiful state park right on the Missouri River and had lots of fund social time. Sunday, one of the families joined us on a side tour to Sioux City. It was a great weekend.

Low

Weather created some interruptions and concern for our activities, families, and coop.

Next Week

Stating a new read aloud for Quentin
Continuing Arthur’s read aloud
Moving through the end of the 1960s and 1970s
Continuing learning about angles and moving to percentages
Starting our math review
Covering more chapters in the Story of Science
Spending more time outdoors

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

So into our new television show. It’s just so much fun. No wonder as the story is originally from Neil Gaiman.
My May TBR is intense. I have so many books that I need (want) to read this month. Not sure how I’m going to fit them all in.
I think a recipe treasure trove revamp might be in order. Feeling a bit stale with our rotation lately.
I need to get working of the bookish recommendations for the retreat. A very daunting task, but I’ll get them done.

Next up on the TBR pile:

May 2024 Life Goals

Let’s check in on April’s goals and my progress.

Read 18 Books - just squeaked by with 19 books read ✓
Pause All Library Holds (Except Book Club Selections) - Fail!
Finish Planning Ashfall Trip ✓
Launch Coop Summer Plan ✓
Start Working on Retreat Crafts - And I almost have them finished! ✓
Finish Homeschool Supply Cleanout - in progress

May Goals:

Read 18 Books
Pause All Library Holds (Except Book Club Selections) - I’m trying this one again…
Solidify Coop Summer Plan
Solidify Academic Coop Plan
Finish Retreat Tasks
Finish Homeschool Supply Cleanout

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W29: Rain Rain Go Away

What We Studied

We had a week of schedule changes and weather issues. We rescheduled the park playdate for the next day. Unfortunately coop could not be rescheduled and we had to cancel. Hopefully the weather will cooperate next week.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur started reading a modern book playing off of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. We finished the first Reading Explorer book which focuses on reading comprehension. We’ll hold off book two for next August. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

My America poem collection
Reading Explorer 1
Much Ado About Baseball by Rajani LaRocca

Quentin finished his read aloud. He also worked on his reading and comprehension skills.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Charlotte’s Web by EB White

Math

Arthur moved into a unit about angles. We will definitely be finishing 5B by the end of this “school year.”

Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic

Quentin finished his volume of Singapore Math with more about multiplication and division and a review. We’ll be switched gears to a financial literacy unit.

Singapore Common Core 2A

Social Studies

Arthur continued with the Cold War Era by moving into the 1960s. We covered Kennedy’s administration and broached Civil Rights.

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
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
A Time to Act: John F. Kennedy's Big Speech by Shana Corey

Quentin covered the chapter about the Byzantine Empire. We’re so close to finishing this year’s history curriculum.

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
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Ancient Worlds
A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen
DK Eyewitness Wonders of the World

Science

We had a break week from chemistry class. Only three more Chemistry weeks to go for the year! We made sure to read more chapters in our Story of Science book.

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

Quentin continued the Plant Kingdom section of his curriculum. We talked about leaves.

RSO Life
DK Trees, Leaves, Flowers & Seeds
What Do Roots, Stems, Leaves, and Flowers Do? by Ruth Owen
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
Plants on the Move by Emilie Vast
Before We Stood Tall by Jessica Kulekjian
Seeds and Trees by Brandon Walden
What Kinds of Seeds are These? by Heidi Bee Roemer
Little Dandelion Seeds the World by Julia Richardson
Every Little Seed by Cynthia Schumerth

STEAM Coop

Coop was cancelled due to the weather

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We snuck in a mini lesson about cutouts and learned about the compositions about Franz Schubert. And we slipped in some documentaries. Quentin watched one about the Hagia Sophia to go with our history chapter about the Byzantine Empire.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
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
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Trip

With coop being cancelled, I grabbed a library pass for the Durham Museum. We really wanted to visit the Toytopia exhibit. The boys had fun playing all the classic games.

High

Thankfully our park playdate was able to rescheduled to the next door. The boys needed some running time with friends. And I need to just relax a bit.

Low

My body was very angry and created some issues for me. I am thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling to work around these issues.

Next Week

Stating a new read aloud for Quentin
Reading a Shakespeare-inspired story for Arthur
Moving through the Civil Rights Movement
Continuing learned about angles
Switching to a financial literacy unit
Covering more chapters in the Story of Science
Learning more about the Arabian Peninsula
Exploring more parts of the plant kingdom
Bringing back some art and music

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

After going on a big side quest, my office is so clean and pretty! You can actually walk all around without stepping over things.
I started buying the nonperishables for the retreat. Aldi’s had a great deal on some dried fruit and I had to take advantage.
Speaking of, I need to make a grocery list for our Ashfall trip next week. I’m in charge of part of our charcuterie board night and my family’s breakfast and lunch.
Diving into a horror book this week and loving it. Just what I needed!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W28: We Took It Easy

What We Studied

We ended up taking it a bit easy this week. My body was in a lot of pain, so I eased off our workload. Instead, we spent more time with some easy activities.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur covered another of Shakespeare’s play. We are continuing with a light study of the actual play with focus on the story and a good short experience with the language of the 17th century. We continued the first Reading Explorer book which focuses on reading comprehension. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

My America poem collection
Reading Explorer 1
Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare

Quentin started the next read aloud. He also worked on his reading and comprehension skills.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Charlotte’s Web by EB White

Math

Arthur moved into looking at averages, line graphs, and plotting. We will definitely be finishing 5B by the end of this “school year.”

Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic

Quentin got back into Singapore with a unit on multiplication and division concepts. He then started on 2 and 3s.

Singapore Common Core 2A

Social Studies

Arthur stared on the Cold War with a large scale overview. We then moved onto the politics and Korean War.

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
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
Dwight D. Eisenhower by Mirella S. Miller
The Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi
The Korean War by Andrew Santella

Quentin covered the second chapter about Ancient China. And we even watched a documentary. We’re still moving through our Ancient Times curriculum.

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
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Ancient Worlds
A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen
Ancient China by Dale Anderson
D is for Dragon Dance by Ying Chang Compestine
20 Fun Facts About the Great Wall of China by Therese Shea
Great Wall of China by Kristine Spanier
DK Eyewitness Wonders of the World

Science

We had a break week from chemistry class. Only three more Chemistry weeks to go for the year! We made sure to read more chapters in our Story of Science book.

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

Quentin continued the Plant Kingdom section of his curriculum. We talked about seeds.

RSO Life
DK Trees, Leaves, Flowers & Seeds
A Seed Grows by Antoinette Portis
Seeds and Fruit by Melanie Waldron
Seeds We Eat by Katherine Rawson
Seeds by John Wood
Seeds by Carme Lemniscates
A Seed is the Start by Melissa Stewart
Seeds Move by Robin Page
Seeds by Grace Hansen
The Journey of Seeds by Soo-bok Choi
Sprout, Seed Sprout! by Annika Dunklee
A Seed in Need by Sam Godwin
Spring is Here! A Story About Seeds by Joan Holub

STEAM Coop

We had coop outdoors. Unfortunately the wind was incredibly high. It made things a bit complicated. Oh well, we survived. Arthur and Quentin both covered conservation.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

No formal music or art this week. But we did slip in some documentaries. Arthur watched on about D-Day and underwater archaeology. Quentin watched one about Ancient Chinese chariots.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
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
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Trip

We took Wednesday off to hit up a park for the Omaha Parks Challenge. We spent some time there with friends. Afterwards, we moved over the Omaha Children’s Museum to use one of our GetOut Passes. The kids enjoyed their time, but I was reminded why we don’t go there often. I was very overstimulated by the time we left. We also got in a nature walk on Friday morning with some friends that we haven’t seen for awhile.

Moping (I think) and the newest baby elephant Hondo

Elephant baby backsides: Eugenia, Hondo, and Moping (I think)

High

After coop on Thursday, I didn’t feel like going home and doing schoolwork. So we decided to go to the zoo. I finally got to see the new baby elephant! We also visited the jungle, aquarium, and kingdoms of the night.

Low

My body was very angry and created some issues for me. I am thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling to work around these issues.

Next Week

Continue Quentin’s read aloud
Reading a Shakespeare-inspired story for Arthur
Moving through the early Cold War years
Continuing our math units
Covering more chapters in the Story of Science
Learning more about the Byzantine Empire
Exploring more parts of the plant kingdom
Bringing back some art and music

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W27: Two Weeks of Relaxed Yet Productive School

What We Studied

This post actually contains a Flex Week and a regular week. We’re definitely getting to the point in the year when our schooling rhythm changes once again. We took advantage of some outside exploration and fun with friends. We also didn’t stress about the curriculum, but made sure that we were plugging away.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur continued and then finished our current read aloud. I absolutely loved it. He was a much harsher critic. For this one, I bought a new-to-me ELA curriculum unit and tried it out. The unit focused on paragraph writing and analysis of text. I’m really liking it. It’s not fancy or colorful, but has worthwhile activities. I think I’m going to pick up a few more lit studies for other books we are going to read. We continued the first Reading Explorer book which focuses on reading comprehension. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

My America poem collection
Reading Explorer 1
Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston

Checking out the Dinos at Lauritzen Gardens

Quentin finished two read aloud this past two weeks. We covered a bunch of short stories with Frog and Toad. I even added on some language arts activities to expand. From there, we started and finished a short read aloud. Bonus points as it’s our next coop book club selection.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr

Math

Arthur moved into looking at averages, line graphs, and plotting. We will definitely be finishing 5B by the end of this “school year.”

Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic

Quentin got back into Singapore with a unit on multiplication and division concepts. He then started on 2 and 3s.

Singapore Common Core 2A

Social Studies

Arthur wrapped his study of World War II. We also snuck in a documentary about The Manhattan Project. I’m super excited to get into the Cold War era this week.

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
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
DK Eyewitness World War II
The US Navy in World War II by Peter Benoit
The US Army is World War II by Peter Benoit
Big Battles of World War II by Peter Benoit
The Great Depression and World War II by Susan E. Hamen
Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm

Quentin covered the African kingdoms of Aksum and Kush. He then started his two-part unit on Ancient China. We’re still moving through our Ancient Times curriculum.

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
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Ancient Worlds
A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen
Ancient China by Dale Anderson

Science

I taught our chemistry lesson about acids and bases. I even created my own homemade indicator paper for the experiments. And then we had a break week. Only three more Chemistry weeks to go for the year! We made sure to read more chapters in our Story of Science book.

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

Quentin started the Plant Kingdom section of his curriculum. We talked about the basics of plant life and flowers.

RSO Life
An ABC of Flowers by Jutta Hilpuesch
Flowers by Gail Gibbons
Flowers by Grace Hansen
Flowers by Jennifer Colby
Fantastic Flowers by Susan Stockdale
Have You Ever Seen a Flower by Shawn Harris
The Flower by John Light
Bloom Boom by April Pulley Sayre
Flowers by Elaine Pascoe
What are Flowers by Kelley MacAulay
Tell Me Why Flowers Bloom by Nancy Robinson Masters
Flowers We Eat by Katherine Rawson

STEAM Coop

We had one coop meeting inside at one of the local libraries and one outside at a park (finally!). For Arthur covered the last two weeks of Spring Growth by creating a composter and sun prints. Quentin focused on botany with a seed planting and flowers.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We covered oil painting the Frederic Chopin this week.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
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
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Trip

We had a lovely field trip to Lauritzen Gardens (our local botanical garden and conservatory). I got to hang out with the littles class where we did a lot of plant observation as well as enjoyed the dinosaurs models made out of Lego. Arthur’s class got to learn about the evolution of plants from prehistoric times until now. This past Friday, we had a free explore day at Arbor Day Farm with lots of coop friends. When we go, you better believe that we spend all day there! It’s great. I even convinced the boys to do the trail around the back when their friends left.

High

We are trying to complete the Omaha Parks Challenge. They give us 10 parks to visit and take pictures. Completing a certain number gets you a goody bag and another number gets you entered into a drawing for pool passes. We have until May 12th to complete our visits. So far, we’ve hit three parks, but we have two more parks this week on our schedule. Some of these parks I didn’t even know existed! It’s a great way to explore.

Low

The wind and cold temps made coop (and then book club on Saturday) not a hugely pleasant experiences. In particular, we attempted a new-to-us park and had to leave after 15 minutes. The 30mph wind gusts on top of low 40s temps pushed us back into our cars and home. Oh well. We do live in the Midwest!

Next Week

Starting a new read aloud for Quentin
Beginning our yearly Shakespeare unit for Arthur
Moving through the early Cold War years
Continuing our math units
Expanding upon chemical reactions and acids and bases
Learning more Ancient China
Exploring more parts of the plant kingdom
Bringing back some art and music

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

I’ve got so many plans in motion for this summer and fall. Working on my big project management charts.
Meal planning might be my least favorite reoccurring household task. It is never-ending.
Sometimes nothing is better than a glass of ice water.
I need to make a watchlist for May…
And possibly redo my TBR pile.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #6

Reading: Diving into The Housemaid by Freida McFadden for upcoming book club. It’s a thriller, but I’m actually enjoying it right now.

Watching: We’re keeping up with the currently airing Shögun series. I am really really enjoying it and super excited that they do not dub the Japanese.

Listening: I’ve dove back into Motionless in White’s entire discography and a remembering why I love them.

Making: It’s time to make grocery lists and meal plans for the next month. It’s one of my least favorite household management tasks.

Feeling: The weather took another turn to the chilly and wet again this week. I’m craving comfy sweaters.

Planning: It’s time to start seriously planning the retreat meal plan and grocery lists. It’s a big job, but I’ve streamlined the process fairly well.

Loving: I taught chemistry yesterday to three very excited students. I really love their enthusiasm.

Next up on the TBR pile:

April 2024 Life Goals

Let’s check in on March’s goals and my progress.

Read 18 Books ✓
Finalize Guest List for the Bookish Retreat - I ended up at 18 participants. Very good number! ✓
Start the Homeschool Supplies Cleanout ✓
Get New Glasses ✓
Finalize Spring Travel Plans - Still working on this one!

April Goals:

Read 18 Books
Pause All Library Holds (Except Book Club Selections)
Finish Planning Ashfall Trip
Launch Coop Summer Plan
Start Working on Retreat Crafts
Finish Homeschool Supply Cleanout

Next up on the TBR pile: