Homeschool

What We’re Reading (and Watching)–Route 66

This year’s summer school is all about the 100th anniversary of Route 66! This is the first time that we’ve had a unit built more around field trips than anything else, but I do still have a short list of books, documentaries, and a few bonus fun activities, too:

  • The Best Hits on Route 66: Essential Stops on the Mother Road
  • Route 66: A Tribute to An American Icon
  • Driving the Green Book
  • Route 66 Road Trip Activity Book
  • Illinois Route 66 Passport (a fun freebie we picked up along the way)
  • Henry Reed’s Journey (not technically a story about Route 66 specifically, but it captures the spirit of the Great American Road Trip!)
  • The Route 66 Cookbook
  • Rand McNally Official Route 66 Centennial Map
  • Modern Marvels: “Route 66”
  • Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri
  • Cars (a just-for-fun selection that actually captures the spirt of 66 better than any documentary I’ve ever seen!)
  • Lego Speed Champions Lightning McQueen

I’m not going to lie…I think this is one of the best summer schools I’ve put together, and I’m thrilled that the Route 66 Centennial lined up with it so well!

Old Chain of Rocks Bridge

On Wednesday, we took a walk across the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge that connects Madison, IL with St. Louis, MO over the Mississippi River.

The bridge was built in 1929 and was part of old Route 66. It was open to vehicular traffic for about 40 years, and in 1999 became a pedestrian bridge. At about a mile long, it looks like it goes on forever! I guess you don’t usually think about how long bridges are when you’re zipping across them in a car!

But if you look closely, you’ll notice the most remarkable feature of the bridge…a 30-degree turn that was added to the design to make the waters below easier for boats to navigate.

It’s a truly impressive bend…I can’t really imagine actually driving across it!

One of the reasons the waters of the Mississippi are tough to navigate at this point, besides the eponymous “chain of rocks” under the water, are the two “castles” (originally water intake towers) adjacent to the bridge.

There are a few references to Route 66 along the way:

It is an outstanding example of engineering!

There are gates at each end of the bridge that are presumably closed from sunset to sunrise:

We walked from one state to another…and back!

This was our first Route 66-themed field trip for this year’s summer school…I have a few more planned that I’m also really excited about!

2025-26 Curriculum

For the first time in the history of my little homeschool, I only had to plan curriculum for one student in one grade! Of course, by this point, I have a strong foundation from all of my previous years as a home educator, so most of what we used for Chickadee’s eighth grade year has shown up at least once, and in some cases twice, before. Honestly, the biggest change this school year was a literature study of The Wind in the Willows, a book even I had never read before, and I kind of regret that it’s not something I taught all along, because it was a charming story!

Religion

  • Lutheranism 101

Math

  • Horizons Algebra

Language Arts

  • Spelling Workout H
  • Wordly Wise 3000, Book Eight
  • Writing with Skill, Level Three

Literature

  • The Wind in the Willows
  • Treasure Island
  • As You Like It
  • The Phantom Tollbooth

Social Studies

  • The Story of the World: The Modern Age
  • The US Constitution

Science

  • Apologia Exploring Creation with Physical Science

Electives

  • Duolingo
  • Cooking featuring the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook
  • Tennis

Up next…high school for Chickadee!

2025-26 School Year–Week Thirty-Two

That’s a wrap on the 2025-26 school year!

We spent the week tying up loose ends. Chickadee finished her massive algebra review. She also finished the final chapter in science. In history we read about independence in Africa and Nelson Mandela. We wrapped up our study of more modern history with one of my favorite 8th grade activities…a study of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” I gave her one last surprise writing assignment…she wrote a short essay about Simone Biles. We finished The Phantom Tollbooth. And we even squeezed in a visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden!

Our last recipe for the year came from a new book that followed our theme…The Official American Girl Cookbook, which is a new publication just in time for their 40th anniversary. We made Pac-Manicotti, a recipe inspired by Courtney, the doll that most closely represents the time in which I grew up!

And we celebrated the end of a successful school year with a treat at Dutch Bros!

This has been a different and busy school year, and we’re ready for a break…but there are plenty of opportunities for learning this summer before Chickadee begins high school!

K to 8

It’s become something of a tradition for me to post a gallery of the first days of school from kindergarten through 8th grade on the last day of each child’s 8th grade year. So, for the last time, here’s a look back at Chickadee from K to 8:

And a bonus picture of her today on her last day of 8th grade:

On to high school!

2025-26 School Year–Week Thirty-One

The penultimate week of the 2025-26 school year has come to an end!

We are really wrapping things up at this point. Chickadee continued her massive algebra review. We read about Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the first Persian Gulf War in history. In writing, she analyzed and summarized a short story by Hemingway. We read about the atmosphere, especially atmospheric pressure and energy in the atmosphere, in science. We continued reading The Phantom Tollbooth. The final recipe we’ll make from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook this year (I have something special planned for next week) was Cheese & Chive Crackers inspired by Courtney.

And today we went on a field trip I’ve been looking forward to for weeks, and one that bridges the 2025-26 school year with our 2026 summer school focused on the 100th anniversary of the Mother Road. In place of their regularly-scheduled History Exploration Day this month, the Missouri History Museum is holding a Route 66 Centennial Festival all weekend, and we were able to hear a talk by Author Cheryl Eichar Jett about the women who worked behind-the-scenes along Route 66, see some classic cars and neon signs, plan a retro trip, and make our own version of neon using pastel chalks (a craft I may revisit at home!). And while we were there, we finally got to ride the much-maligned but still fun Loop Trolley from end to end!

One week to go, and then it’s on to high school!

2025-26 School Year–Week Thirty

Fun things first…after we went on the Busch 360 Tour last August, I promised Chickadee we’d go on a classic tour of the ballpark this spring…Monday was the day! We also toured the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, where Chickadee got to hold a game-used Yadier Molina bat, and I got to hold one that belonged to Stan the Man! If you’re looking for a great way to learn local history, visit your nearest ballpark if you can!

We finished up a few final new concepts in algebra, including the mid-point formula, and then began a review that will take us through the end of the year. We discussed both the water and rock cycles in science. In history we read about the Chernobyl disaster, perestroika, glasnost, and the end of the Cold War. Chickadee began one final writing assignment that includes creating an outline based off a short story. We started a short, fun literature study of one of my favorite books, The Phantom Tollbooth. This week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook was Chocolate-Vanilla Sandwich Cookies inspired by Rebecca…yes, we basically made homemade Oreos!

Just two more weeks of the 2025-26 school year to go!

2025-26 School Year–Week Twenty-Nine

We started the week with a somewhat unexpected field trip to the St. Louis Zoo. We were supposed to go to the Missouri History Museum, until I remembered that they’re closed on Mondays. Since we always go on an end-of-the-year field trip to the zoo anyway, I just swapped them around. It gave us the opportunity to see the lanterns for Animals Aglow in the daylight, which is always a fun experience, and now we’re really excited about going to see them at night sometime soon!

Chickadee reviewed the Pythagorean Theorem in algebra, and then used what she knows about it to solve some geometry problems. In science she started a two-chapter unit on earth science, and we got to make “plastic rock” with cornstarch and water! She read about India and Pakistan after the partition and the Bhopal disaster in history. She finished one of her last big writing assignments. We wrapped our study of Lutheranism in religion. This week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook was Strawberry Icebox Pie, a delicious no-bake dessert perfect for spring inspired by one of the dolls in my personal collection, Melody.

Next week we’re hoping to go on a field trip that’s a follow-up to one we had at the beginning of the school year!

2025-26 School Year–Week Twenty-Eight

There’s a new exhibit exploring the connection between art, science, and nature at the Missouri Botanical Garden! Today we were there for the opening day of Patterns in Nature: The Art of HYBYCOZO:

We also stopped by Eckert’s to try the Tulip Lovers Sundae we weren’t able to get when we visited the Tulip Trail last week…the combination of lemon and lavender, not to mention the darling purple tulip lollipop, felt like it was custom made just for me!

In algebra, Chickadee solved literal problems, including ones involving interest and distance. She also found the limits of exponential equations and graphed them. We read about the Six-Day and Yom Kippur Wars, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the rise of terrorism in various countries in history. She continued to work on her big writing assignment. In science she learned about magnetism. We discussed missionary work at home and abroad in religion. This week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook was Cosmos Doughnuts, inspired by 2018 Girl-of-the-Year and space enthusiast Luciana. Chickadee has been wanting to make this recipe all year, but I’m glad we held off until now, because they were also the perfect treat to celebrate the journey of Artemis II to the moon and back!

There’s also a new exhibit opening at the Missouri History Museum this weekend, and I’m hoping we’ll have time to go explore it next week!

2025-26 School Year–Week Twenty-Seven

Fun things first…Chickadee and I went to Eckert’s to experience their new spring event, the Tulip Trail!

Chickadee worked with exponential growth and decay functions in algebra, and learned how to graph them. In history, we read about JFK, the Civil Rights Movement, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Vietnam War. She is re-reading one of her favorite books in preparation for one of her final writing assignments of the year. In science we talked about currents and resistance, and did a fun experiment with a battery and aluminum foil. And for this week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook, we made plum fruit leather (using three different kinds of plums), inspired by 2019 Girl of the Year, Blaire!

Now that it’s April, the end of the school year is coming fast…I can’t believe Chickadee is almost done with 8th grade!