Cahokia Mounds

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!

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!

2023-24 School Year–Week Thirteen

Ladybug used the Law of Sines to find angles and sides of a non right triangle in pre-calculus. She read about the downfall of Licinius and the reuniting of the Roman Empire under Constantine in religion. She continued reading “The Purgatorio” in The Divine Comedy. In physics, she started a new chapter on uniform circular motion and gravity. She reviewed punctuation in grammar. In history, she read about the threat of Genghis Khan moving west.

Chickadee found the least common denominator between a pair of fractions and compared fractions in math. She started a chapter on the circulatory system in science. In history, she read about the English Code of Chivalry and knights, plus the Samurai in Japan. She learned some advanced pronouns, including possessive and indefinite, in grammar. We continued reading The Hobbit. In religion, she finished the section on the first three kings of Israel, ending with Solomon and the building of the Temple. In writing, she reviewed writing and outlining a scientific description.

We also started our traditional “Thanksgiving School” by reading some of our favorite Thanksgiving-themed books and visiting Cahokia Mounds. It was actually a fairly warm day to be there, which was a little disappointing, and we were worried that we weren’t going to see any deer, but we did finally run across some, so it was a good trip!

Next week, the plan is to wrap up a few things we didn’t finish this week, and to do a few more fun Thanksgiving activities before the real Thanksgiving fun begins!

2022-23 School Year–Week Fourteen

We started the week with another favorite field trip…we took a hike around Cahokia Mounds. The Interpretive Center is still closed, so we couldn’t go in there, but we did take a trail we’ve never been down before, and really enjoyed seeing some different things (and we also came across several deer!).

Ladybug worked on calculating percents in algebra 2. She learned about moles (the measurement, not the animal) in chemistry. In history, she read about the deaths of Justinian and Khosru of Persia. We started the last section of The Scarlet Letter. She worked on writing non-linear dialogue in creative writing. Although we took a break from reading The Fellowship of the Ring to focus on some of our favorite Thanksgiving stories, we did bake Bilbo’s Eleventy-First Birthday Cake (even though it’s also not currently his birthday!):

Chickadee reviewed time zones in math and worked on converting units of time. She started learning about rodents in science, by learning what makes a rodent a rodent. We continued to read about the ancient Greeks in history, including their alphabet and how it relates to ours, and some of the stories of Homer. She continued to identify prepositional phrases in grammar, focusing on ones that work as adjective phrases.

Next week will be a short week of mostly fun and catching up, and then Thanksgiving!

Chickadee Thursday

On Monday, we braved the unseasonably chilly weather to visit Cahokia Mounds. Not only did we climb to the top of Monks Mound, we took a different trail for our walk, where we really enjoyed exploring new scenery and looking for deer!

A Brisk November Morning at Cahokia Mounds

Yesterday we made our every-November visit to Cahokia Mounds. We took a different trail this time, and in spite of the chilly weather, we were treated to some great views on our four-mile hike!

2021-22 School Year–Week Thirteen+

This time, I’m wrapping up a week, plus a couple of days of school!

Ladybug learned how to calculate the area of a circle and an ellipse in geometry. She learned about Roman Catholicism in her study of Christian denominations. In biology, she wrapped up her study of cellular energy by learning about cellular respiration and fermentation. She finished the second part of Beowulf. She finished reading Invincible Louisa, and is now working on Little Men.

Chickadee is starting to lay the foundation for long division in math…I’m a little scared! She finished the chapter on primeval reptiles in her science book by learning about pliosaurs and ichthyosaurs. We’re still trying to untangle Zeus’s family tree in her literature study of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths! After Ladybug finished it, she started reading Invincible Louisa…it’s interesting to listen to her compare the lives of Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Over the last seven school days, we also read some of our favorite Thanksgiving books:

  • Native Homes
  • Tapenum’s Day
  • On the Mayflower
  • Sarah Morton’s Day
  • Samuel Eaton’s Day
  • If You Were At…The First Thanksgiving
  • Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving
  • Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration
  • An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving
  • Sarah Gives Thanks
  • Milly and the Macy’s Parade
  • Pardon That Turkey
  • Over the River and Through the Woods
  • Time for Cranberries
  • A Turkey for Thanksgiving
  • The Night Before Thanksgiving

This week, we wrapped up a few regular school things, and had some Thanksgiving fun! We visited Cahokia Mounds and had a lovely nature walk, where we saw lots of deer and even a few turkeys. We also made the 10-story climb up Monks Mound.

And we did a couple of fun turkey crafts, including my favorite, hand-and-footprint turkeys:

Next week, we get to start some of our Advent activities, not to mention the countdown to Christmas vacation!