2025-26 school year

Library Crawl

Yesterday Chickadee and I went on a really fun and unique field trip…we participated in the Illinois Heartland Library System’s “Library Crawl,” which was the perfect outing for Banned Books Week!

This is the 7th annual library crawl for the system, but it’s only the second year I’ve known about it. I thought it sounded cool last year, but I just couldn’t find time to go, so when it came around again this month, I made it a priority. There are 197 participating libraries (!!!) across a good deal of the state (minus the Chicagoland area and some other parts to the northwest), but we decided to stick pretty close to home, focusing on Madison and St. Clair counties. We managed a dozen stops, including the finale at our home library, where we had our “passports” verified (the goal is to visit at least five other locations).

Our day started in Troy, IL, at the Tri-Township Public Library:

We then traveled to the Edwardsville Public Library, which might have the prettiest exterior of the ones we visited, thanks to a beautiful fountain out front:

Next was the Glen Carbon Centennial Library, which had a really cool interior that felt like a cabin and had a huge fireplace near the entrance:

The Maryville Community Library smelled brand-new and offered a craft option in addition to passport stamping:

I’ve been to the Mississippi Valley Library District Collinsville Memorial Library before…it’s a beautiful building:

The Caseyville Public Library seemed very new, and matched the elementary school next door in architectural style and color:

We’re regular visitors to Fairview Heights, because that’s where the closest mall is, but we had never even been down the road where the Fairview Heights Public Library is located:

There was some construction right outside the O’Fallon Public Library, but we still made it:

The Lebanon Public Library was so tiny, they didn’t even have a stamp for our passports, the librarian simply signed it!

Next up was the Mascoutah Public Library:

And then down to the Freeburg Area Library District, which had a really cool mural inside:

We wrapped up our trip at the Belleville Public Library Main Library, which is an original Carnegie Library:

Along the way, we collected small gifts from the various libraries, including lunch bags, tote bags, pins, bookmarks, stickers, magnets, snacks, candy, and water. One stop also offered flower seed packets, and our home library had fun scratch-off cards (Chickadee and I both won a magnet). We also got to see a lot of places that were new to us, and we even stopped at a new coffee shop along the way. It was a really fun way to spend a nice fall day, and very different from any other field trip we’ve ever had…next year, we might head to Monroe and Randolph counties to see some of the libraries down there!

2025-26 School Year–Week Seven

Fun things first…we went to Oktoberfest in St. Charles, MO!

And then our regular work. In algebra Chickadee worked with the slope-intercept and point-slope formulas. She learned about the Suez Canal in history. We continued to read The Wind in the Willows. In science, she learned about the various models of the atom, and protons, neutrons, and electrons. She wrote about a fictional story in writing. In religion, we discussed the Lutheran views on heaven and hell. Our recipe for the week from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook was a vegan recipe for Mocha Chocolate Brownies inspired by 2019 girl-of-the-year Blaire.

Next week, we’re hoping to part in our area’s “library crawl!”

2025-26 School Year–Week Six

This has been another busy week of school! In algebra, Chickadee worked with fractional exponents, and then reviewed the Cartesian coordinate system. She worked on four-level outlines in writing. In history, we read about the fall of the Ottoman Empire. She finished the second chapter of her science text. We continued reading The Wind in the Willows. Our recipe for the week from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook was Mini Coconut-Lemon Bars inspired by Nanea…they were tropical and delicious!

We’re looking forward to the beginning of October, which will include a special library-themed field trip at some point…stay tuned!

2025-26 School Year–Week Five

Week five of the 2025-26 school year included a big new concept in algebra…rationalizing the denominator to get rid of a radical! In science, we read about the difference between physical and chemical changes, and used baking an example of the latter. Chickadee learned about a time of revolutions in France, including (but not limited to) the Three Glorious Days and the “Citizen King,” as well as Otto von Bismarck and the Second Reich in Prussia. We continued to read The Wind in the Willows. She finished her first three-page essay of the year, which focused on the history of American Girl. And this week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook was Caramel Squares inspired by 2021 Girl-of-the-Year Kira…they were amazing!

Did you know that if you’re a Thrivent member, you can request a “Cause Kit” and do a small service project at home? We assembled a trio of Solar Buddy lights, which will provide children living in poverty with light by which to study, and also three Wine to Water filters to help provide families with clean water. They were not difficult projects, but we were glad to help the global community in a small way…I highly recommend requesting a kit if you’re a Thrivent member!

We’re hoping for some cooler temperatures next week so we can get back to playing tennis again!

2025-26 School Year–Week Four

This was kind of a crazy week, as we came down with Covid in the middle of it. Despite that, we somehow still got a lot done…Chickadee bounced back much faster than I did, and really didn’t miss any of her subjects. In algebra she continued solving equations, especially ones containing fractions and decimals, and reviewed the properties of equality. We continued to read The Wind in the Willows. She learned about the American Civil War in history, and then moved south to read about Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance. In science she read about pure substances and mixtures, and the states of matter. She’s working on an essay in writing. We also did some more cooking from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook, starting with Pan-Seared Fish Tacos inspired by Joss, which were really delicious!

And we also baked Spiced Applesauce Muffins inspired by Kaya, which were a perfect taste of fall:

Hopefully we’re back to feeling completely normal next week!

2025-26 School Year–Week Three

This has been a busy week! We had a short day of school on Labor Day, and in honor of our book club also celebrated Back to Hogwarts with Butterbeer:

In religion we talked about the two natures of Christ. Chickadee reviewed adding and subtracting polynomials and multiplying monomials in algebra. She finished the first chapter in science. We continued to read The Wind in the Willows. In writing, she reviewed what makes something common knowledge and the rules about plagiarism. She read about David Livingstone as well as Garibaldi and the Young Italians in history. This week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook was another dessert…Courtney’s Chocolate, Vanilla & Raspberry Swirl Cake (only we made it with strawberry extract instead of raspberry!).

We also took a field trip to the Central Library in St. Louis to take a self-guided tour of the historic building:

And we stopped at The Soda Fountain at Union Station to share a banana split!

I feel like we’re getting into a pretty good routine with the 2025-26 school year!

2025-26 School Year–Week Two

This week, Chickadee continued to review concepts in algebra, including exponents, roots, and polynomials. In writing, she focused on finding and writing topic sentences. In religion, we discussed sin and the 10 Commandments. She read about the Crimean War in history. We continued to read The Wind in the Willows (and it dawned on me that Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disney was inspired by the book/movie!). She reviewed SI units and conversion in science. And we made another recipe from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook…Rebecca’s Potato Latkes. They were delicious!

I can’t believe Labor Day Weekend is already this weekend…it came early this year, but I think we might take Monday off anyway!

Busch 360 Tour

Last week, Chickadee and I went on a Busch Stadium tour. I’ve toured the park a few times, and even Chickadee has been on a classic tour (though she doesn’t remember it), but this time, we went on a fairly new tour experience…the 360 Tour. This particular excursion is meant to be a bit shorter, and less focused on Cardinals’ history, and more on the beautiful views of the ballpark. Like the classic tour, we started out near the statue of Stan outside the third base entrance.

After pausing for a photo in what is arguably one of the most scenic spots in Busch, we made our way to the Cardinals’ dugout, stopping to watch the real heroes of baseball, the grounds crew, at work on the field.

The dugout is always a favorite location…it’s so exciting to get to sit where the players sit, ad see where they enter and exit the field:

We stopped by the fancy green seats:

And then we got to see the even fancier dining spot that having a ticket to the green seats allows you to eat at:

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the space where they hold the post-game press conferences…Chickadee was very excited to take a seat at the table!

We walked through what is commonly known as “Aggie’s Office.”

And then went to the upper deck for the best views in baseball:

We walked around the whole ballpark:

It’s always fun to get a look down into the bullpen:

And we even got to walk out onto the patio above the “Batter’s Eye,” which was a really unique experience!

I really loved this tour…we still learned some things, but most importantly, we saw some really cool spots in the ballpark! We’re also hoping to go back on a classic tour later this school year, and also visit the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum…it’s just as important to learn about local history as anything else!

2025-26 School Year–Week One

The first week of the 2025-26 school year is in the books!

We had a fun and relaxed first day:

But we also got started on our work for the year. Chickadee started her religion course, Lutheranism 101. Algebra was (thankfully) all review. She also reviewed 3-level outlines in writing. We got started in physical science by reviewing the scientific method. In history, we read about Queen Victoria, The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations and the Crystal Palace, and the Sepoy Mutiny. She started her first literature study of the year, and it’s something that’s new to even me…The Wind in the Willows. Since I couldn’t find a cookbook that went with any of our literature for the year, we decided to make recipes from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook, starting with a recipe inspired by my original American Girl doll, Kirsten…Jam Twists, made with lingonberry jam from Ikea…perfect for a Swedish immigrant!

And because I really wanted to have a fun, first week field trip, we took the train downtown yesterday and went on a cool Busch Stadium 360 Tour…details to follow!

Next week we’ll fully be in our routine, but it was nice to have some fun activities this week!