chicks

2025-26 School Year–Week Twenty-Four

This year we’re trying something new. Instead of a taking a full week for spring break, we’re taking a day or two off here and there spread out over the course of several weeks. This week, we had three days of school. In algebra, Chickadee learned how to show inequalities on a number line and learned what conjunctions are outside of grammar. We discussed the Korean War in history, which gave me an opportunity to bring up several examples from M*A*S*H. Chickadee finished reading As You Like It. In science she learned about the difference between refraction, polarization, and scattering of light. We baked Southern Tea Cakes inspired by Addy from the American Girl Sweet and Savory Treats Cookbook…they were light and buttery and delicious, and we also added some lavender, which gave Chickadee the opportunity to practice muddling.

Chickadee also got to go to the teen craft night at the library this week…they did a really cool art project based on Monet’s paintings!

And speaking of the library…the chicks hatched this week!

I have something really fun I’m hoping we’re going to be able to do in two weeks…stay tuned!

2024-25 School Year–Week Twenty-Three

Ladybug continued reading Jane Eyre this week. She also started Murder on the Orient Express. In psychology she learned about IQ tests and the difference between general intelligence and emotional intelligence as well as the difference between fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. In writing she practiced writing different forms of parallelism. We read about John Knox and John Wesley in religion.

Chickadee continued to work with systems of equations and also converted between celsius and fahrenheit in pre-algebra. We read about the Zulu in Africa in history. In science, she finished the chapter on the superstructures of the human body. We continued The Bronze Bow. We also began our Lenten Jesus Tree readings and Amon’s Adventure. We stopped by the library to see the baby chicks once more before they move on…they’ve gotten so big!

Speaking of birds, we’ve been on pip watch and absolutely obsessed with Jackie and Shadow’s adorable babies…the Big Bear Bald Eagle Live Nest cam has been on pretty much all day all week here!

We celebrated making it to March and the return of our very favorite Starbucks drink, too!

One more week of school, and then it’s time for spring break!

2024-25 School Year–Week Twenty-Two

It’s finally the last day of February (and the month decided to be annoying one last time with the gift of a flat tire, but that’s neither here nor there….)!

Ladybug began reading Jane Eyre for her next literature study. In religion we discussed Calvin and Zwingli and Reformed theology. She worked on extending sentences with prepositional phrases, participles, and appositives in writing. In psychology she read about spotlight effect and self-esteem. She finished Wuthering Heights and continued to read Travel as a Political Act.

Chickadee learned how to calculate slope, rewrite equations in slope-intercept form, and solve systems of equations in pre-algebra. In history she read about Santa Anna and Mexican independence. We finished reading Heart and Soul, which was an overview of Black history in the US, and turned our attention to the stories of some specific Black Americans…in addition to more well-known figures like Ruby Bridges, Coretta Scott King, and Jackie Robinson, we also read about a few lesser-known individuals like Ann Lowe and Ethel Payne. In science she learned about the skeletal system and began a section on muscles. We began reading The Bronze Bow.

We also went to the library to check up on the chicks. We saw some the day they hatched:

And we went back once all five of them were moved from the incubator to the box they’re currently residing in:

We’re hoping to go back to the library next week and see the chicks once more before they move to the farm that will be their new home!