2020-21 School Year

2020-21 School Year–Week Eighteen

Hymn of the Week–“Abide with Me” (Lutheran Service Book #878)

This week felt pretty short…Moose had off on Monday, so I don’t suppose we did our full amount of work that day, and we devoted most of Wednesday to watching Inauguration coverage (although we did get a few subjects done early before it started!).

Turkey and Bunny learned L’Hôpital’s rule in calculus…they described it as “not hard, but weird.” They both did a great job on the test, so I guess their summary was pretty accurate! In our study of American history and culture, we discussed the expansion of the midlands and yankeedom prior to the Civil War. They moved from the brain to the spinal cord in advanced biology.

Ladybug continued factoring in algebra, and also worked on finding exclusions in fractions. Her study of the US Constitution continued with an introduction to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 (enter Hamilton references). She and Chickadee learned about the rise of Mussolini in history, and I have to admit, in light of current events, it was rather exhausting to teach about it.

Chickadee learned how to determine distances between cities on a map in math. She read about both megabats and microbats in science. We enjoyed reading about Paddington’s adventures in the train station and department store. Her writing lessons focused on a piece about Paul Revere (enter more Hamilton references).

I don’t have any big plans for next week, but we have talked about venturing out to the Missouri Botanical Garden one day…it would be nice to get out of the house, so we’ll see!

2020-21 School Year–Week Seventeen

Hymn of the Week–“As with Gladness Men of Old” (Lutheran Service Book #397)

I’m beginning to think that taking such an extended Christmas break was a bad idea, because it was really hard to get back into a routine this week!

Turkey and Bunny graphed with the second derivative in calculus. They started a chapter on the structure of the brain in advanced biology. We picked up our reading of A Tale of Two Cities. Their study of US culture and geography focused on how different areas of the (not yet) country responded to the American Revolution.

Ladybug reviewed factoring in algebra. We started our 8th grade study of the US Constitution. We read about the Easter Uprising and the Treaty of Versailles in history. In science, she learned about speed and velocity. We continued our study of Treasure Island.

Chickadee multiplied money in math. She started a chapter about bats in science. We started reading A Bear Called Paddington. Her cursive handwriting has become extraordinarily neat!

We’re about halfway through the school year now, which is a struggle for me on several levels, starting with this period through the end of February is always a challenge for me, and more so now that we’re so limited in out-of-the-house activities. This certainly isn’t the way I wanted the last half of the last year Turkey and Bunny are homeschooled to go, but we’re going to make the best of it!

2020-21 School Year–Christmas School

Hymn of the Week–“Where Shepherds Lately Knelt” (Lutheran Service Book #369)

It’s been a long time since we’ve dedicated a week to “Christmas School,” but if ever a year needed it, it’s 2020. So this week was spent making ornaments, baking cookies, reading Christmas stories, and watching different versions of The Nutcracker.

I was especially excited about the ornaments. I had originally planned for the children to make them two years ago, but that was the year I broke my ankle, and I just didn’t have the energy to deal with it. Last year I found ornament kits that I really wanted to make, so these beautiful sequin ornaments got pushed back one more year. We had lots of options for colors and sizes:

They were definitely worth the wait (and the seed beads that may be rolling around the kitchen forever!), because they are beautiful!

We also decorated gingerbread houses, something we have done in the past, but it’s been a few years, and I’ve never had a house for each child (the mansion was a group project).

Speaking of gingerbread houses, we did get out of the house to see the gingerbread creations in the store windows on Main Street. We might not have been able to do most of the Christmas activities I had planned this year, but it was nice to do one familiar thing!

This was also “Cookie Week.” I decided we should bake a different kind of cookie every day, and they should all be cookies we don’t usually bake. On Monday, we made eggnog blossoms, Tuesday was chocolate crinkles, Wednesday we baked kolacky, Thursday we made both Madelines and palmiers, and today we baked spritz.

We did a lot of reading this week, too. We finished A Christmas Carol, and made it through most of Letters from Father Christmas (I plan on finishing that next week). We also read a bunch of storybooks:

  • Lucia Morning in Sweden
  • Lucia: Saint of Light
  • The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit
  • Jackie’s Gift
  • The Carpenter’s Gift
  • Fear Not Joseph
  • Madeline’s Christmas
  • The 12 Days of Christmas
  • The Three Wise Women of Christmas
  • The Nativity

It was also “Nutcracker Week.” This is not totally unheard of for us, although this year we were supposed to see a live production. We watched a different version every day:

  • Monday: Ballet Company of The National Opera of Ukraine
  • Tuesday: Dutch National Ballet
  • Wednesday: Wiener Staatsballett
  • Thursday: The Royal Ballet
  • Friday: The Bolshoi Ballet

We saved our favorite, the San Francisco Ballet production, to watch tomorrow. If we have time next week, we’ll watch the Berlin Nutcracker, too…that’s the only one we have on disc that we didn’t schedule for this week.

This was a really fun week of school, but I’m looking forward to taking a break for a few weeks. Merry Christmas!

2020-21 School Year–Week Sixteen

Hymn of the Week–“Prepare the Royal Highway” (Lutheran Service Book #343)

What a whirlwind week! We kept up with all of our Advent activities (the Jesse Tree, Tabitha’s Travels, and A Christmas Carol, plus our daily Lego build). In addition to that, Turkey and Bunny graphed with the first derivative in calculus. In advanced biology they finished the chapter on the nervous system…the brain is up next! They read about the connection between physical and emotional well-being in psychology. They continued their study of A Tale of Two Cities.

Ladybug learned how to factor trinomials with a beginning coefficient greater than one in algebra. I’m not going to lie…I really had to stretch my brain to remember how to do that, and it’s only been a few years since I taught Turkey and Bunny how to do it! She finished reading the next section of Treasure Island. In history, she and Chickadee learned about WWI and the Russian Revolution. Here’s a look at the beautiful Advent picture she colored in The Illuminated Hymnal:

Chickadee learned about equivalent fractions in math. She finished the chapter on eggs and baby birds in science. She continued to choose books from our Christmas collection for us to read out loud…there were a lot of them this week!

  • Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend
  • An Orange for Frankie
  • The Crippled Lamb
  • The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet
  • The Day Before Christmas
  • The Nutcracker in Harlem
  • Silent Night
  • Christmas in the Trenches
  • Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
  • The Queen and the First Christmas Tree

Next week, we’re going to have a fun week of Christmas School. I’m planning on finishing A Christmas Carol, and reading some more of our favorite picture books out loud. We’re also going to make ornaments and gingerbread houses, and watch many versions of The Nutcracker! And we’re going to bake a different (and new to us!) kind of Christmas cookie every day next week. I’m really looking forward to it!

2020-21 School Year–Week Fifteen+

Hymn of the Week (Thanksgiving)–“Praise and Thanksgiving” (Lutheran Service Book #789)

I’m not even going to pretend that I remember what we did on Monday and Tuesday last week, which seems like an eternity ago, so here’s a look at this year’s Thankful Tree, plus the hand-and-footprint turkeys the Fab Five made:

Hymn of the Week–“Savior of the Nations, Come” (Lutheran Service Book #332)

Lots going on this week, though! We started all of our favorite Advent traditions…the Jesse Tree, Advent calendars, the Advent wreath, and reading A Christmas Carol and our Arnold Ytreeide selection for this year, Tabitha’s Travels. Chickadee also picked a different storybook off our Christmas shelf each day, and we read them aloud:

  • The Muppet Christmas Carol
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
  • Eloise at Christmastime
  • The Nutcracker Comes to America
  • Too Many Tamales

Oh, we had our regular schoolwork, too. Turkey and Bunny worked with implicit differentiation in calculus. They began a chapter on the nervous system in advanced biology. In psychology, they learned about the psychology behind hunger and friendship. They read about the Deep South, the Midlands, and Greater Appalachia in history.

Ladybug factored polynomials in algebra. In history, she and Chickadee read about the Balkan Wars…WWI is not far off! She learned about the different kinds of chemical reactions in science. The voyage is almost ready to begin in Treasure Island.

Chickadee worked on carrying while multiplying in math. She had her first 20 word spelling test! Her writing assignments were based on excerpts from The Mouse and the Motorcycle, so she decided to read the whole book. In science, she learned about nest-building and eggs.

In other news, I also finally found (and built) an Advent wreath for our school room..it’s perfect!

Only one more true week of school before we break for Christmas!

2020-21 School Year–Week Fourteen

Hymn of the Week–“Now Thank We All Our God” (Lutheran Service Book #895)

I always enjoy the week before Thanksgiving in school, because not only do we read all of our favorite Thanksgiving books, this is also usually the week we visit Cahokia Mounds, which we did on Wednesday. It was a beautiful, clear, chilly day, and we had most of the trail to ourselves, which made our masks pretty unnecessary. I’m extra thankful for the few traditions we can continue to do in this very strange year!

As for the rest of the week…Turkey and Bunny continued to work with derivatives in calculus…I guess that’s pretty much all they’ll be doing for the near future. They started reading A Tale of Two Cities…I think the themes of the book are going to very timely and appropriate. They read about Yankeedom and New Netherland in American Nations.

Ladybug multiplied binomials by trinomials in algebra. She finished the first section of Treasure Island. In science, she read about cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension. She and Chickadee learned about the Russo-Japanese War and the Treaty of Portsmouth in history.

Chickadee continued to practice division in math. She finished the chapter on birds’ nests in science. Instead of starting a new book right before Thanksgiving, we read some extra Thanksgiving stories together. She learned about conjunctions in grammar.

Next week will be a super short week of school because of Thanksgiving, so I’ll save my next wrap-up for two weeks from now…have a happy Thanksgiving!

2020-21 School Year–Week Thirteen

Hymn of the Week–“Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” (Lutheran Service Book #892)

This has been A Week. It started out well enough, with a Sunday evening visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden for Garden Glow.

And Monday was nice, too, as it was Moose’s birthday (although we did still have school). Things kind of fell apart after that, however, as my mom was admitted to the ICU on Tuesday. So we did school this week, but I have to admit, I think we were all pretty distracted.

Turkey and Bunny did derivatives of trigonometric functions in calculus. In advanced biology, they learned the names and functions of a lot of muscles. Ryan commented that it learned like we were casting spells from Harry Potter one day! They learned about language development in psychology. They read about “El Norte,” “New France,” and “Tidewater” in American Nations.

Ladybug continued to work with systems of equations in algebra. She and Chickadee read about the Boxer Rebellion in history. In science she learned about valance electrons and how chemical reactions occur. We started reading Treasure Island.

Chickadee started some simple division in math…I was not ready for that! We finished reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins…she wanted it to last forever! In science, she learned about several different kinds of nests. She was relieved to have a review week in spelling…that means no test!

I don’t know what next week will look like, but hopefully it’s a little better than this week has been!

2020-21 School Year–Week Twelve

Hymn of the Week–“For All the Saints” (Lutheran Service Book #677)

I’m so happy it’s finally November (even if it has been unusually warm the last few days)!

On Monday, we took our annual walk around Creve Coeur Lake…it was the perfect day for it, and there was still plenty of fall color to see. And most importantly, we got out of the house!

After our very rare field trip day, we got back to our regular work. Turkey and Bunny learned the chain rule for derivatives in calculus. They started reading two new books for history: American Nations and Light in the Dark Belt. Now that they’ve learned about how muscles work in advanced biology, they’re learning about specific muscles/muscle groups.

Ladybug worked with adding, subtracting, and multiplying systems of equations in algebra. She learned how elements are grouped on the periodic table in science. She also learned how to write a scientific paper. We finished reading The Trojan War. In history, she and Chickadee read about the Oregon Trail.

Chickadee started carrying in multiplication in math. Her writing lessons focused on passages from 101 Dalmatians. She learned a bit more about migration in science. We read about the first theater performance of Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

Ladybug and Chickadee put the finishing touches on their election lapbooks this week. The biggest addition was the “Vocabinet,” which summarized all the terms they’ve learned over the last month:

Both Ladybug and Chickadee were very proud of their finished projects!

Next week will be a pretty normal week, and then we’ll add in our Thanksgiving studies!

2020-21 School Year–Week Eleven

Hymn of the Week–“A Mighty Fortress is Our God” (Lutheran Service Book #656)

Turkey and Bunny solved for derivatives in calculus this week, which was not the most fun thing ever. They started the third volume of Jane Eyre. They finished reading about the muscular system in advanced biology. They also learned more about conditioning in psychology.

Ladybug worked with solving and graphing inequalities in algebra. In history, she and Chickadee learned about the First Sino-Japanese War. She read about various models of the atom throughout history in science. We’ve almost made it to the end of The Trojan War!

Chickadee worked with more fractions in math this week. She loved reading about Captain Cook’s and Greta’s adorable penguin chicks in Mr. Popper’s Penguins! She learned about bird migration in science.

Ladybug and Chickadee have almost completed their election lapbooks…last week we spent a lot of time trying to figure out the Electoral College!

I think this might be a long week, but we have a fun outdoor activity planned, so that’s something to look forward to!

2020-21 School Year–Week Ten

Hymn of the Week–“Thy Strong Word” (Lutheran Service Book #578)

I can’t believe we’ve finished 10 weeks of school already!

Derivatives made an appearance in Turkey’s and Bunny’s calculus lesson this week…I guess we’re really in it now! They started a chapter on the muscular system in advanced biology. They read about Pavlov’s dogs in psychology.

Ladybug put all of the information she learned about slope, equations, and graphing together to solve some fun word problems about roller coasters in algebra. She and Chickadee read about the emperors of Brazil as well as Abdulhamid the Red in history. In science, she learned about phase changes.

Chickadee worked on arranging fractions from largest to smallest in math. She learned about the muscles that enable birds to fly in science. She’s really enjoying Mr. Popper’s Penguins! Her narrations and dictations in writing were about Pippi Longstocking.

Here’s a look at one of the more clever things Ladybug and Chickadee did in their election lapbooks this week…there’s a wheel that spins to rain glitter confetti down on the candidate family!

Next week, we’ve looking forward to spending some time on the Reformation!