2023-24 school year

2023-24 School Year–Week Thirty

This week Ladybug was introduced to limits in pre-calculus (the last topic in the book!). She finished health. In religion, she read about Gregory the Great (Pope Gregory I). She started a unit on early 17th Century and Puritan literature, reading “Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women” by Aemilia Lanyer. In physics, she started learning about electric circuits. She read about The Black Prince in world history.

Chickadee graphed ordered pairs in math, and started dividing with negative numbers. She began working on her final composition in writing, which is going to be about elephants and their habitats. In science, she read about Gregor Mendel and dominant and recessive traits. We skipped the Holy Week readings in religion (since they are still fresh in our minds), and moved straight to the Ascension and Pentecost. In history, she read about John Cabot and Jacques Cartier.

We also took the train to St. Louis this week and walked the Arch grounds and visited some of our favorite downtown spots, including the Old Cathedral, Kiener Plaza, Citygarden, and Ballpark Village:

Two more weeks to go!

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-Nine

This week, Ladybug solved inequalities with absolute value and radicals in pre-calculus. She finished the chapter on electric potential in physics. In history she read about the House of Visconti and also Antipope Clement VII. She finished learning about the immune system in health. She read “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” by Sir Walter Raleigh in literature.

Chickadee started adding positive and negative numbers in math. She did a study of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Bells” in writing. In science she started a chapter on growth and development. She also learned about Sir Walter Raleigh this week, reading about the early colonization attempts of the British in North America and the lost colony of Roanoke in history.

At the end of the school year, when the weather is nice, I try to make sure we get out of the house one day a week. This week, we went to the St. Louis Zoo. That was fun…the day was beautiful, and we had fun observing the animals (although we didn’t get to see the baby tigers)…but the real highlight of the day was going to lunch at Olympia Kebob House, where not only did we enjoy gyros and chocolate baklava, but we got to see them set cheese on fire…Opa!

The most fun thing we did this week, though, was quite unexpected. When we went on our weekly trip to the library, we participated in a scavenger hunt on the research floor (I assume the point of the activity was to acquaint patrons with the research floor). While we were there, we learned a ton about the collections they have (some dating back over two hundred years!), and even made a second trip to do some local research, which was very enlightening. We’re looking forward to going back soon to delve even deeper into their collections!

I’m hoping for pleasant weather again next week so we can spend some time walking around the Arch grounds for the first time in years!

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-Eight

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!

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-Seven

It was quite a challenge to get right back to work following Easter, but we did plan a trip to the Missouri Botanical Garden in the middle of the week, which gave us a chance to enjoy the spring flowers (especially the tulips!) if not spring weather!

Ladybug worked with geometric sequences and series in pre-calculus. She read about the rise of the papacy around the time of Pope Leo I in religion. In health, she finished reading about bones and muscles. She did the final review and paper for Macbeth. She finished the chapter on Coulomb’s Law and the electric field in physics. In world history, she read about the rise of the Ming Dynasty in China.

Chickadee learned how to calculate percents in math. In history, she read about Copernicus and Galileo, and the contributions they made to modern science. We are almost done reading The Door in the Wall. In writing, she learned how to construct a two-level outline. She learned about antigens and antibodies in science.

The end of the school year is so close now…I’m hoping for lots of good opportunities for field trips to keep us going to the finish line!

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-Six

Back to work after spring break…we’re in the home stretch now! First the fun stuff…we’ve been working on a project for Easter. The girls painted Ostereier and we made an Ostereierbaum to display on Sunday…it turned out beautifully, and reminds me of the one I had when I was a child!

In pre-calculus, Ladybug worked with sequences and series. She read about Augustine and the Donatists in religion. In physics, she started the chapter on electrostatic force and Coulomb’s law. She finished reading Macbeth. In history, she read about Edward III’s fight against Scotland and France and the beginning of the Plague. She read about the different types of joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons in health.

Chickadee continued to work with ratios in math, and also had an introduction to simple probability. In religion, we read more of the teachings and miracles of Jesus. She started reading about the immune system in science. In history, she learned more about the Reformation, Gutenberg’s printing press, and the Renaissance. We continued to read The Door in the Wall.

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-Five

This was a busy week, which had me out of the house a lot for various appointments, but fortunately, my students are good at getting their work done even when I’m not home! We also made a few trips to the library this week, and I was very excited to find a book in the children’s section called Bob…my family can tell you that I will name literally anything and everything Bob, so this was a very special moment for me!

Ladybug followed up last week’s pre-calculus lessons by learning how to graph tangent and cotangent. She finished the chapter on geometric optics in physics by learning about Snell’s Law of Refraction and the structure of the human eye. In health she read about how bones grow, remodel, and heal. She finished Act IV of Macbeth. In history she read about Louis IV of Bavaria, who was eventually crowned as Holy Roman Emperor. She also spent a lot of time working on a special Easter craft project (details to follow)!

Chickadee reviewed ratios in math. In religion she read about some of the parables of Jesus. She finished learning about hair, skin, and nails in science. We continued reading The Door in the Wall. Her writing was extra fun this week, because it was centered around an excerpt from one of her favorite books, Anne of Green Gables. History was also fun, because we read about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, as well as Henry VIII and all of his wives.

Next week is spring break, Bunny will be home from college, and we have two birthdays to celebrate…I’m really looking forward to it!

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-Four

Even though it’s the first full week of March, which is normally nice after a long, boring February, we didn’t really do anything exciting…maybe next week! We did get a lot of work done, though.

Ladybug graphed cosecant and secant in pre-calculus. She learned about the Law of Refraction in physics, and practiced ray tracing. In US history, she read about the events up to WWI, including the Sherman Antitrust Act, the creation of the National Parks system, and the birth of unions. She finished Act III of Macbeth. In religion she read about the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon. She caught up to Chickadee in world history, reading about Mansa Musa.

Chickadee continued to use the compass to construct different shapes in math. She learned about the structure of hair in science. In history, she read about the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas of the Americas. We continued reading The Door in the Wall. In grammar she learned how to identify floating elements including appositives and absolute constructions. We read about Jesus’ early ministry in religion, which overlapped a great deal with our Jesus Tree readings for Lent.

Hopefully next week we’ll find a little something exciting to add to one of our school days!

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-Three

We made it to March! But before the end of February, we went back to the ice rink one more time before they closed for the season. Ladybug is already hoping to go back when they reopen in the fall…she really loves it!

Of course we also got a lot of work done this week. Ladybug graphed sine and cosine functions in precalculus. She finished the chapter on waves in physics. In history, she read about William Wallace and Robert Bruce. She got to take her blood pressure in health as she learned about the cardiovascular system. She continued reading Macbeth.

Chickadee learned how to bisect an angle using a compass in math. We got a taste of Advent and Christmas in Lent, as her religion readings focused on the time around Jesus’ birth. She learned about the layers of skin in science. We started reading The Door in the Wall. In history, she learned about the Mughal Empire and Akbar the Great. She learned about attribution and inserting quotations in grammar.

I’m looking forward to all of the fun March things we have planned this month!

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-Two

Things were learned this week. Ladybug started a chapter on waves in physics. Chickadee finished The Hobbit, and she had no idea how it was going to end, so she was really moved by Thorin’s death. But the big news of the week is that we discovered the Big Bear Bald Eagle Cam, and if you’re not watching Jackie and Shadow wait for their eggs to hatch, you’re really missing out! It was just what we needed to make it through the rest of February!

2023-24 School Year–Week Twenty-One

First, a look at something fun we did over the weekend that wasn’t specifically school-related, but did involve history and literature…the first-ever Once Upon a Valentine event in St. Charles, MO! Ladybug and Chickadee were excited to run into a favorite character from Legends and Lanterns, the Queen of Hearts:

Ladybug rewrote logarithms to exponential and base form and found the characteristic and mantissa in pre-calculus. She learned about the period of motion for a pendulum in physics. In religion she read about John Chrysostom. She finished reading The Divine Comedy and started Macbeth. In US history, she read about the era of Reconstruction. She read about Edward I and the First Scottish War of Independence in world history. She finally finished the chapter on micronutrients in health.

Chickadee learned how to find the area of a circle in math. She finished the Old Testament in religion. In science she started learning about the five senses. She’s almost done with The Hobbit. In history, she learned about the War of the Roses and the Princes in the Tower. She learned about conditional sentences and the subjunctive in grammar.

We’re over halfway done with February now, which is fine by me!