2024-25 school year

2024-25 School Year–Christmas School

This year’s Christmas school was a bit more low-key than usual, but still fun. I wanted to tie our Paris 2024 summer school to our holiday studies, so I decided to go with “Christmas in France.” Unfortunately, I had a challenging time finding things unique to France to learn about it…it seems as though many of their Christmas traditions and even carols are borrowed from other European countries, so I really had to stretch to come up with activities. We did read a few French Christmas legends, and learned about a few Christmas songs. Coming up with an ornament craft was next to impossible, but I finally decided on cork Christmas trees, since France is famous for wine:

Finding a few cookie recipes wasn’t too challenging…we’ve made madeleines and palmiers before, but the sablés (not to mention the icing) were new for us:

And today we went to the History Exploration Day for the month at the Missouri History Museum, where the theme was immigrants and holiday celebrations…very timely, and we even got to see German dancers!

We also got to see the dress and coat Judy Garland wore in the Christmas scene of Meet Me in St. Louis!

That’s it for us in 2024…see you next year!

2024-25 School Year–Week Fifteen+

Back to work after Thanksgiving, so this wrap-up covers all of this week, plus the bit of school we had last week, too.

Ladybug learned how to identify different types of propaganda, and more specifically the appeal to fear, in logic. In her study of American culture and geography, she read about the Great Depression, WWII, and the Civil Rights Movement. She learned about hunger motivation in psychology. In writing, she wrote pros and cons for a thesis statement. She finished both Paradise Lost and Understanding Exposure. She continued reading A Tale of Two Cities. In religion, we read about Emperor Justinian.

Chickadee learned how to calculate probability and odds in pre-algebra. In history we read about the American Revolution (and kept quoting Hamilton), and the colonization of Australia. She finished reading about the Fossil Record in science. She continued reading The Trojan War. In writing she analyzed poetry. We began our annual read-through of A Christmas Carol. We also took some time to visit our town’s Christkindlmarkt and gingerbread house contest.

That wraps up our regular lessons until after Christmas break…next week is Christmas School!

2024-25 School Year–Week Fourteen

Fun things first…we spent a morning at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and checked out the Holiday Flower and Train Show while we were there…it was excellent!

Ladybug identified fallacies with proof by lack of evidence in logic. In psychology she read more about memory. Her study of US geography and culture focused on the Spanish-American War, unions, and WWI. She continued to read A Tale of Two Cities. In writing, she practiced writing both a thesis and an anti-thesis for different topics. We read Benedict of Nursia and Benedictine monasticism in religion.

Chickadee solved for mean, median, and mode in pre-algebra. She learned more about the fossil record in science. We continued to read The Trojan War. In history, she learned about some of the European wars that spilled over into the New World…we’re getting close to the American Revolution! We finished reading The Wizard of Oz, and made a special recipe from The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook…”Magic Granita Slushies.” The slushy itself was made with lemon and lime juice and zest mixed with a simple syrup, but the magic was the effect of the blue butterfly pea tea syrup turning the concoction purple!

Just a short week next week…Happy Thanksgiving!

2024-25 School Year–Week Thirteen

We started the week with our annual fall field trip to Cahokia Mounds…it was a beautiful, but fairly muddy, day!

This week Ladybug learned to identify the weak analogy and post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacies in logic. She read about the Sherman Anti-Trust Act as well as Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and U.S. Steel and John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company in her study of US culture. She continued her 30-day photography challenge. In psychology she focused on memory. She read more of the second book of A Tale of Two Cities. We read about Popes Leo I and Gregory I in religion.

Chickadee figured profits and royalties and drew different types of graphs in pre-algebra. We read about the British colonization of India in history. She started a chapter on the fossil record in science, learning about molds and casts as well as the process of petrifaction. In writing she worked on writing about the function of a Venus Flytrap by answering questions about it. We started reading The Trojan War. We’re almost done with The Wizard of Oz, so we made a pair of special recipes from The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook: “Up High Picnic Pie” and “There’s No Place Like Home(made) Apple Pie.” I’m hoping to make at least one more recipe from that cookbook before our Thanksgiving break.

We’re planning another outdoor field trip next week…hopefully the weather cooperates!

2024-25 School Year–Week Twelve

First let’s take a look back at our annual fall field trip to Creve Coeur Lake, where we walked the almost 4-mile loop and Ladybug took a bunch of pictures:

Ladybug identified hasty generalizations and analogies in logic. She started Book Two of A Tale of Two Cities. In writing she worked with the dictionary and thesaurus. In psychology she read about classical and operant conditioning and Pavlov’s dogs. She read about slave uprisings, the Civil War, and the Trail of Tears in A People’s History of the United States. In religion we discussed Augustine of Hippo. She started a 30-day photography challenge. She received her ACT scores…she was very pleased, as am I!

Chickadee learned how to calculate simple interest in pre-algebra. We finally finished Tom Sawyer! In history she read about Peter the Great in Russia. She learned about the different types of unconformities in science. We continued reading The Wizard of Oz and also made a pair of recipes from The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook: “Monkey Goes Bananas,” a beverage with the unusual flavor combination of coffee syrup, spice syrup, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, banana, and chocolate, with a lemon-cardamom sugar that rimmed the glass, and lemon “Always on Hand Cake,” served with a dusting of powdered sugar, cream cheese whipped cream, and strawberries.

Next week, we’re planning on our annual visit to Cahokia Mounds…I can’t wait!

2024-25 School Year–Week Eleven

Hello November! We’re solidly in my favorite time of year in terms of weather, holidays, and school events!

In logic, Ladybug was introduced to the either-or fallacy and generalizations. She finished book one of A Tale of Two Cities. In psychology she learned about the effects of different types of drugs. She started reading The Lively Art of Writing, a book that was foundational to my high school writing career. In religion we discussed the liturgy and John Chrysostom. She continued to read Understanding Exposure…there are going to be a few great opportunities for photography on field trips in the next few weeks! In social studies she read about women’s rights in A People’s History of the United States.

Chickadee learned how to calculate percent decrease and increase in pre-algebra. She read about Isaac Newton, John Locke, and the Enlightenment in history. In science she started a chapter on geology, learning about catastrophism, uniformitarianism, and the different types of rocks. She read “The Monkey’s Paw” for analysis in writing…always a dangerous proposition, but especially good for Halloween week! We only made one recipe from The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook this week, but it was a good one…the “Mountain Climber,” a blend of citrus juices (orange, lemon, and lime), combined with a lovely spiced simple syrup that tasted just like fall!

We visited the ice rink for the first time since last winter, and both Ladybug and Chickadee did a great job staying upright…I don’t think they wanted to leave!

We’re hoping for another field trip next week…and probably one the week after that, too! It’s great time of year to be outdoors!

2024-25 School Year–Week Ten

First up…a glimpse of our trip to Legends and Lanterns in St. Charles, MO, last weekend. A highlight of the event was a stop in Oz where we met the Wicked Witch of the East, and admired her silver slippers…we were glad she was representing the book we’ve been reading!

Speaking of Oz, we also stopped by Starbucks so we could try their new Wicked drinks:

On to the schoolwork, including some of the stuff we worked on last week. Ladybug learned about whole-to-part and part-to-whole fallacies in logic. She started a new literature study of A Tale of Two Cities, and also continued reading Paradise Lost. We read about Ambrose and Jerome in religion. She continued reading A People’s History of the United States, including the arrival of Columbus and the beginning of slavery in the Americas. In psychology she read about sleep cycles and different theories about dreams. Tomorrow she takes the ACT!

Chickadee solved problems using ratios and proportions in pre-algebra, and also converted decimals to percents and vice-versa. She read about the Kingdom of Prussia and New France in history. We discussed the internal, external, and bibliographic tests in science. She worked on writing an analysis of a short story. We’re getting closer to the end of Tom Sawyer (thankfully). We continued to read The Wizard of Oz, and made a pair of recipes from The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook…”Oh, Look! Apples and Walnut Salad with Shrub Vinaigrette” and “Apple Shrub Cocktail,” with flavors of the apple shrub we worked on all week, plus lemon juice, hibiscus syrup, and seltzer.

We have plans for a few outings we want to go on in the coming weeks…stay tuned!

2024-25 School Year–Week Nine

This was a short week for us. We had regular school days on Monday and Tuesday, and then on Wednesday, we went to Laumeier Sculpture Park to admire the art, enjoy the beautiful fall weather, and give Ladybug a chance to use her camera…we had a great time!

We took Thursday and Friday off for a bit of a fall break, and to get ready for our annual Markel Family Oktoberfest. We also too a break from our Wizard of Oz cookbook so Ladybug could make a pair of desserts from The Ultimate Final Fantasy XIV Online Cookbook…coffee biscuits and apple strudel.

We’ll be back to our regular schedule next week!

Tasty Tuesday–Cooking with The Wizard of Oz

If you’ve been following my homeschool weekly summaries, you may have noticed that we’ve been having a lot of fun with The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook. We’ve made quite a few recipes so far, so I thought I’d take a look back at everything we’ve tried.

  • Ruby-Red Punch
  • Dinner on the Farm Rolls
  • Marvelous Campfire Spread
  • Twister Shakes
  • Savory Pinwheel Lollipops
  • Auntie Em’s Crullers
  • Wicked Cruel-lers
  • Old-Fashioned Lemonade
  • Good Witch Pink Lemonade
  • Wicked Lemonade
  • Peach Iced Tea
  • I’m Losing My Hay
  • Grilled Sausages with Marvelous Campfire Spread
  • Follow the Spiral Omelet
  • Cornstalk Cheese Straws
  • Glinda Strawberry Jasmine Bubble Tea
  • What a World Spheres
  • Wicked Black Bread
  • Badwitches

I really like how many drink recipes there are in this cookbook, especially because they’re all non-alcoholic. That can be a struggle when looking for fun and different beverages for a family with underage children (or teetotalers for that matter). I have also really enjoyed learning some new cooking techniques while using this book…I do a lot of cooking, so anytime something I haven’t tried before comes my way, I think it’s pretty exciting! There are still plenty of recipes left, too, so we still have lots to look forward to!

2024-25 School Year–Week Eight

Ladybug identified equivocation and loaded questions in logic. She finished The Merchant of Venice. In psychology she finished the unit on the senses. She completed the March trilogy and began reading A People’s History of the United States. She also started Paradise Lost. We also took a nighttime walk last night to see if we could get a glimpse of the Northern Lights so Ladybug could photograph them, and we were actually able to spot them (even somewhat with the naked eye)! These are my photos taken with my iPhone, not the pictures Ladybug took with the Canon Rebel, but I think hers came out even better!

Chickadee continued reviewing fraction math, including improper fractions, mixed numbers, and dividing by fractions, in pre-algebra. She learned about the six classical simple machines in science. We continued reading Tom Sawyer. In writing, she worked on brainstorming for several different kinds of topics including history and science. Speaking of history, she read about Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate in England, and also about the Black Plague and the Great Fire of London. In religion we discussed Athanasius of Alexandria and the Great Cappadocian Fathers.

We continued reading The Wizard of Oz…we especially like the maps that are included in the book, because they really help us understand where everything is taking place. We also continued making recipes from The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook. We baked “Wicked Black Bread,” which was a pretty unusual recipe for us with additions of baking cocoa, espresso powder, and apple cider vinegar to the dough, but it was really good! We also tried “Ruby-Red Punch” with flavors of grapefruit and hibiscus, and “Badwitches,” which used the black bread we made, topped with blackberry jam, chocolate chips, brie, and basil. They sound a little strange, but they were very good!

We’re hoping to visit the sculpture park next week, and Ladybug is planning on taking more cool photos!