2025-26 school year

2025-26 School Year–Christmas School

Buon Natale!

This year’s Christmas School is a lead-in to the 2026 Winter Olympics…we learned all about Christmas in Italy!

We started on Saturday, with a trip to The Hill, St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood. We used to attend Christmas on the Hill fairly regularly, but this is the first time we’ve been in several years (at least!).

We enjoyed the Nativity Walk, where we saw the various nativity scenes, or “presepi,” set up in shop windows, and listened to La Befana tell her tale:

And we got to do the activity Chickadee was most looking forward to…we toured the Herbaria, where we learned a little bit about the history of soap, and how they make their soaps right there in store, visited with the store dog, Bubbles, and made a cut-out soap to take home:

Of course we did a few crafts. This year we made cross-stitch ornaments, which was something very new for us. Chickadee also made an Italian flag ornament as a reminder of this year’s theme. We made a string art in the colors of the Italian flag (this was a true group project, as we had to call Bunny in for help!), and, in keeping with the presepi theme (nativity scenes appear to be the most common Christmas decoration in Italy), we made a lantern version to decorate our home.

We baked some Italian Christmas cookies…the classic Italian ricotta cookies, topped with sprinkles in Christmas colors (which conveniently also happen to be the color of the Italian flag), and Italian Rainbow cookies, which are gorgeous and delicious and a true labor of love!

I decided we should do some cooking beyond baking, so I taught Chickadee how to make risotto…pasta making will have to wait until the Olympics (but we are having an Italian-themed Christmas dinner this year, too)!

We met La Befana again at Christmas Tradition in St. Charles, MO:

While we were at Christmas on the Hill, we also got a small chocolate chip Panettone to share…it was delicious!

We also read lots of Italian Christmas stories, including several versions of the La Befana tale, each of which portrays her in a slightly different light. And to end what is essentially the first semester of the 2025-26 school year, we stopped at our new Dutch Bros. Coffee for a little treat!

This was a fun way to end school before Christmas break…Merry Christmas!

2025-26 School Year–Week Fifteen

This was a busy week of school following our Thanksgiving break (and also our only full week of subjects before we shift gears to learning about Christmas in Italy!).

This week I taught the lesson I hate most out of all of the years of math…Factoring trinomials of the form of ax² + bx + c. I don’t know why, but I have a major mental block about teaching it, but Chickadee did a fabulous job! In religion we discussed the role of the pastor, as well as the meaning behind the pastor’s “uniform.” She learned about the difference between distance and displacement as well speed and velocity in science. In history we read about the Russian revolution and the end of WWI. We continued reading Treasure Island, and I realized there’s no way we’re going to finish it before Christmas. And this week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook was also a seasonal favorite…ginger cookies inspired by Felicity.

Next week is Christmas school, a little more math, and general catching up on anything we need to get done before our vacation!

2025-26 School Year–Week Thirteen

I’m not going to lie…this was another kind of weird week, starting with the fact that I went on a field trip without my single student. We had already planned to make our annual autumn visit to Cahokia Mounds on Veteran’s Day before Chickadee broke her ankle, and she wasn’t up to that kind of trail walking, so Bunny, Ladybug, and I had to go without her. It was a beautiful, cool day, and I guess I’m counting it as a teacher inservice? I promised Chickadee we’d go back in the spring, too.

To make up for Cahokia Mounds, we went to the St. Louis Art Museum to check out the Native American art, and we saw some cool things, including this bowl and necklace, but a lot of those galleries are currently undergoing renovations, so that didn’t really work as planned either.

But we did get a lot of regular work done. Chickadee reviewed the FOIL method in algebra and also multiplied larger polynomials. She learned about synthesis & decomposition reactions as well as single & double replacement reactions in science. In religion we discussed the Office of the Keys and the difference between the releasing and binding keys. She read about the Balkan wars in history…WWI approaches! We continued reading Treasure Island. We began a study of the U.S. Constitution. And our recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook was a good one…we made “Day at the Beach Cupcakes” inspired by 2020 Girl of the Year Joss…they were delicious and cute!

Next week we get to delve into all of our favorite Thanksgiving stories!

2025-26 School Year–Week Twelve

It’s been quite a week!

On Saturday, we went on our annual autumn walk around Creve Coeur Lake. It was a beautiful day!

Chickadee and I had fun playing tennis:

We made challah from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook inspired by Chickadee’s original American Girl doll, Rebecca Rubin:

And then Chickadee broke her ankle. We still got quite a bit of work done, but I’m not going to lie…some things got skipped this week! In algebra she reviewed everything she’s learned about solving systems of equations, and then graphed them, too. In history we read about the Boxer rebellion and Japan’s victory over a European army when they defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. In science we continued to discuss the naming of compounds. We continued reading Treasure Island. And we stopped by Dunkin’ Donuts to try their new Wicked for Good drinks…the matcha variety was especially delicious!

I’ve had to rearrange our field trip plans for the next few weeks due to Chickadee’s broken ankle, and I definitely don’t think we’ll be playing tennis anytime soon!

2025-26 School Year–Week Eleven

This week Chickadee graphed inequalities and solved systems of equations in algebra. She worked on four-level outlines in writing. In history we read about westward expansion, the rise of stockholders, and Andrew Carnagie. She finished the chapter in science by learning about adhesion and cohesion. We continued to read Treasure Island. This week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook was “Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies” inspired by Josefina…they’re one of my favorite things we’ve made so far!

We’re planning on going on our favorite annual fall field trip tomorrow!

2025-26 School Year–Week Ten

We finally got out to the tennis court this week!

In algebra Chickadee solved inequalities with absolute values. She read about Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia in history. We continued to read Treasure Island. In writing she focused on how to write a scientific lab report, which meant she got to do a bonus science experiment! She learned more about bonding in her actual science class. In religion we talked about what makes a church. And this week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook was “Seashell Madeleines” inspired by 2020 Girl-of-the-Year Joss. 

I’m loving that it’s finally fall and we have more opportunities to be outside!

2025-26 School Year–Week Nine

This week in algebra, Chickadee put everything she’s learned about graphing equations together to write equations for lines that had already been graphed, and then graph parallel and perpendicular lines to go with it. She also did some word problems about roller coasters that used her knowledge of slope and graphing equations. In science, she learned about chemical bonds, and the difference between ionic and covalent bonds. She read about the Irish Potato Famine and the Boer War in history. We began Treasure Island. She practiced writing an instructional sequence in writing. This week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook was “Frozen Yogurt Berry Bites” inspired by Kaya. They were quick and easy to make, and tasted delicious, but I can’t help but think they could have done better than “berries were a staple of the Nez Percé diet” for Kaya.

And today we went pumpkin picking…not in our own backyard like last year, because we didn’t grow anything this time around, but at our favorite local pumpkin patch. For the first time in several years, all five children were home and available, so they all come along, and since we couldn’t decide, we ended up with four pumpkins (and apple cider donuts, too!):

It looks like next week, it’s actually going to feel like fall, and I am very excited about that!

2025-26 School Year–Week Eight

We started the week by participating in the Illinois Heartland Library System’s “Library Crawl.” We had a lot of fun visiting a dozen libraries, and Chickadee also got some practice with maps and navigation!

The rest of the week we focused on our regular work. In algebra she learned about the standard form of linear equations, and practiced “reading” a graph to come up with a formula to go with it. In history we read about the continued colonization of Australia and Africa. We finished The Wind in the Willows…it was a charming book! In religion we read about the difference between the theology of the cross and the theology of glory. She finished the chapter on the introduction to the periodic table in science. And this week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook was Apple Bread Pudding inspired by Kit. It might be my favorite thing we’ve made so far…it tasted just like fall!

Not sure if we have anything special going on next week, but we’ll see!