When we visited the Missouri History Museum, we were very excited that the north entrance is open again, and we were happy to see that they have a new set of letters (and the city flag on a heart!) out front. Chickadee was especially excited that her nail polish matched the heart…she had painted her nails with St. Louis city flag in mind, but had no idea about the new photo spot outside the museum!
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The big news this week was the solar eclipse! We didn’t get full totality this time around, but we were at 99%+ so we still had an impressive show, and I’m sad that it’s over!
Ladybug reviewed equations with radicals and absolute value in pre-calculus. She started the chapter on electric potential in physics. In US history she read about WWII. She started a chapter on the war against infection in health. In history she read about the end of the Avignon Papacy. She began her final literature study of the year, focusing on poetry & prose from the Elizabethan to Neo-Classical Age. In writing she worked on composing a (fictitious) complaint letter.
Chickadee used what she learned about calculating percents in math last week to find discounts and tax when shopping. In religion we began reading about the events of Holy Week, which are fresh in our minds. She finished the chapter on the immune system in science (just as Ladybug is starting it in health) by learning about antibiotics and vaccinations. We finished reading The Door in the Wall. In writing she learned how to add footnotes to a paper and how to determine if something is considered common knowledge. In history she read about Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare.
We also went to the History Exploration Day at the Missouri History Museum today…the theme was transportation, but the really exciting part of the day was seeing the newly renovated north entrance of the museum:
We’ve only got about four weeks to go before the end of the school year!
Ladybug worked with composite functions in pre-calculus. She read about vitamins and minerals in health (and we got to discuss one of my favorite topics…scurvy!). In history, she read about the last of the Crusades…finally! She is almost done with The Divine Comedy. In physics, she started a chapter on periodic motion by learning about Hooke’s Law and springs. She read about the ascetic movement in the early church in religion.
Chickadee continued to work with measurements in math, and learned how to convert from temperatures in degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit. She finished the extended chapter on the nervous system in science. In grammar, she learned about constructing sentences and avoiding run-on sentences. She met Smaug in The Hobbit. In history she read about the Bubonic Plague (I personally think it’s still too soon!).
Today we went to the Missouri History Museum for the February History Exploration Day, which focused on Black contributions to health and medicine in St. Louis (and the wider world). Ladybug and Chickadee got to make their own hand sanitizer, we got to handle some actual surgical tools, they made herb sachets, and we learned about a lot of interesting people we were unfamiliar with. While we were out, we also swung by the Science Center to see the TARDIS.
Next week isn’t just the middle of February…it’s also the beginning of Lent. I can only hope that it goes by quickly!
Chickadee has a fun time at the Missouri History Museum learning about Christmas nostalgia…I was not so thrilled that part of what they considered nostalgia was a neon photo wall that represented the malls of the 80s!
She also had fun being Santa Lucia yesterday!
Not to mention Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden last night!
This week we wrapped up a bunch of stuff before Christmas, and also started our annual “Christmas School!” We’re studying hymns this year…I choose two Advent, six Christmas, and one Epiphany hymn to make sure we covered the entire time of Christmas. We’re paining a scene to represent each one on a wooden square, which we plan to assemble quilt-style when all nine are complete. Here’s a peek at some of what we’ve done so far:
On to the regular work…Ladybug learned how to convert from degrees to radians and also from radians to degrees in pre-calculus. She finished reading “The Purgatario” section of The Divine Comedy…she’ll finish the book in the new year. In American history, she read about the events and people leading up the Civil War, including the gold rush, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Seneca Falls Convention, and Sojourner Truth.
Chickadee multiplied and divided with larger decimals in math. She learned about arteries, capillaries, and veins in science, and how the blood travels through the heart to the rest of the body and back again. We continued reading The Hobbit. She learned how to diagram demonstrative and interrogative pronouns in grammar. We read about Richard the Lionhearted, John Lackland, and Robin Hood in history.
We also went to this month’s “History Exploration Day” at the Missouri History Museum, which focused on Holiday Nostalgia and Family Traditions. It was a lot of fun, even if seeing what is counted as “nostalgia” these days made me feel old!
Next week is more Christmas School…we have five more hymns to study, plus some secular Christmas carols. We’re also planning on watching as many version of The Nutcracker as possible, and hopefully we’ll bake some Christmas cookies, too!
This has been a crazy week! We took the day off on Monday, and we might have done it anyway because Moose also had the day off, but the real reason for our long weekend was the story I taped with Rene Knott for the morning news!
Ladybug worked on rewriting a trig function using the cofunction in pre-calculus. She started learning about Newton’s First Law of Motion in physics. In health, we discussed birth order and family dynamics (something I’ve always found fascinating!). She punctuated titles in grammar. In writing, she learned about creating unbiased surveys. She read about the persecution of the Christians under Diocletian and Galerius in religion. In world history, she read about the Third Crusade led by Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, against Saladin following the capture of Jerusalem. In US history, she read about the French and Indian War, and some famous names started showing up!
Chickadee worked with three-dimensional figures in math. In health, she started a chapter on nutrition, learning about the importance of water and carbohydrates. She read about Australia and New Zealand in the Middle Ages, and we also read a myth about Maui, which had us singing songs from Moana! In grammar, she reviewed the list of prepositions and how to find the object of a preposition in a prepositional phrase. We continued reading Anne of Green Gables…we really don’t have much of the book left! We also baked the perfect fall recipe from The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook…Puffy Apple Dumplings. They were as delicious as they sound!
Today we went to the Missouri History Museum for this month’s “History Exploration Day.” The theme was “Harvest History: St. Louis Agriculture,” and it was the best one of their themed days we’ve been to yet! We all learned a lot, got to do some fun hands-on activities (even I made a craft), and got to meet an adorable calf!
I’m not sure how I’m going to top this week!
It’s been a busy week! On Wednesday, we took a field trip to see the new “Soccer City” exhibit at the Missouri History Museum. It was pretty cool (we even got to see some very recent history, because they had the ball that scored the first goal for St. Louis City SC on display!), and there were some fun, hands-on activities including foosball and a soccer video game that I was truly terrible at!
Even though our main purpose for driving into the city was touring that exhibit, the best part of the day was exploring the Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape in Forest Park for the first time (plus a brief stop at Turtle Park). It’s a great outdoor space, and while we were there, we got to see a few owls from the World Bird Sanctuary in Vally Park, which was really interesting.
The rest of the week wasn’t quite so exciting. Ladybug solved equations with three variables in algebra 2, which wasn’t as difficult as she was expecting. We started a chapter on kinetics in chemistry and she learned about reaction rates and rate orders. She read about William the Conqueror and the Norman Conquest in history (it was pretty exciting to learn about the first coronation at Westminster Abbey with the next coronation just over a week away!). In creative writing, she had to write a poem about a significant event (she chose COVID-19) within her lifetime. She started her last selection in literature, Everyman.
Chickadee continued to work with the metric system in math. We read more about dinosaurs in science, and I learned that Chickadee’s favorite dinosaur is the triceratops (mine is the maiasaura in case you were wondering). She started reviewing all of the poems she’s memorized this year (six of them!). We only have one chapter of Smoke on the Wind left.
Just two more weeks of school, and we’re hoping for two more field trips, too!
This was our last week of school before spring break, and the theme for the week was wrapping things up…we finished a remarkable number of things!
Ladybug graphed parabolas in algebra 2. She finished To Kill a Mockingbird. In history, she read about the breaking up of the Islamic Empire and also about Vikings in Britain. She finished the chapter on the gas phase in chemistry, focusing on the Ideal Gas Law.
Chickadee worked with ratios in math. We finished reading The Journey Begins. We also finished the science chapter on snakes and lizards. In history, she read all about Julius Caesar…the battles he fought, his rise to power, and his untimely death. She diagrammed compound sentences in grammar.
We also had an opportunity for a field trip this week…the Missouri History Museum had a “History Exploration Day” about mid-century women, which was right up my alley. The workshop on “Women, War, and the Workforce” was, in my opinion, one of the best they’ve presented. There were also some cool, um, “artifacts” to explore:
While we were out, we swung by the St. Louis Science Center:
I’m looking forward to spring break!
At the Missouri History Museum last week:
