2020-21 School Year–Week Nine

Hymn of the Week–“Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” (Lutheran Service Book #655)

This week was a little strange. We had Monday off as part of our long weekend, and then we had what I’m calling “Documentary Day” on Tuesday. We watched various episodes from different shows covering nature (Frozen Planet), architecture/history (Great Estates of Scotland), American history (America: The Story of US), and biography (The Diamond Queen). This was a nice way to have a different and laid-back day of school, especially since we don’t have our usual field trips that we would enjoy going on for a break, and I think we may do it again at some point!

On to the rest of the week. Turkey and Bunny learned about the different kinds of joints in advanced biology. They read more about dreams and states of consciousness in psychology. We discovered that even our hymn study can include some humor, and although we weren’t expecting it, we had a good laugh when reading the text background for “Lord, Keep Up Steadfast in Your Word,” because it include a parody lyric that was popular at one point. They finished reading There are No Children Here for our study of US geography and cultures.

Ladybug learned about atoms and molecules, compounds and solutions in science, as well as the states of matter. She and Chickadee learned about the Boer Wars in history. She read about the death of Achilles in The Trojan War. Both she and Chickadee continued to work on their election lapbooks…here’s a look at some of what she added this week:

Chickadee continued to multiply two-digit numbers by one-digit numbers in math. We started reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins together. In spelling, she worked with “ee” and “ea” words. She learned about what gives feathers their color in science.

Also, we finally had an outing today! Our local pumpkin patch is offering some different options due to COVID-19, and I was very comfortable with how they’re doing things, so we went a picked a pumpkin (or four) this morning!!!

This was a nice, low-key week of school, and just what we needed!

An October Afternoon at Braeutigum Orchards

Yesterday, the Fab Five and I headed out to Braeutigum Orchards to pick our pumpkin for the year. It was a beautiful day to be out…clear, and fairly cool, and lots to see:

We picked two pumpkins this year…a really cool pink and green one seen below:

And a beautiful yellow (yes, yellow!) pumpkin that I just couldn’t leave behind (I couldn’t leave the apple cider or the apple cider donuts behind, either!):

This is the third year in a row we’ve visited the pumpkin patch at Braeutigum Orchards, and I’m so glad we decided to start going there regularly, because it’s a lovely and friendly place!

Chickadee Thursday

Today we visited the most sincere pumpkin patch in the St. Louis area! As always, Chickadee loved the experience:

And a bonus picture from our visit to Legends and Lanterns in St. Charles, MO, last weekend. The first characters we ran into (Josephine Clofullia, who is better known as the Bearded Lady, and Captain George Costentenus, the tattooed prince), were eager to get a photo with her!

At the Pumpkin Patch

It seems like we visit the pumpkin patch later and later every year. I was really starting to think we weren’t going to pick one this fall, but we decided to head to Braeutigum Orchards to try to beat the rain after school on Thursday, and we were rewarded with what was one of the most perfect fall days we’ve had for pumpkin picking…it was just the right amount of chilly, which around here, can be hard to find in October!

2018-19 School Year–Week Eleven

Each week seems a bit crazier than the last!

Turkey and Bunny did begin conjugates in math, as promised. Fortunately, they mostly thought they weren’t too bad. Their history lessons focused on medieval India, particularly Java. They had their choice of writing either a horror or crime short story in creative writing. In science, they began dealing with polyatomic ions. They also finished the second act of Romeo and Juliet.

Ladybug thought math was interesting, because she got to work with base-2 this week. She finally got to meet the title character in Misty of Chincoteague. She learned about the Vikings, and a bit of Norse mythology in history. (I discovered how much of my knowledge of Norse mythology comes from the Marvel movies!) She also worked on rewriting sentences without using clichés.

Chickadee started subtraction in math! She began her second I Can Read It book, and was very excited to discover that the first story is about a family of her favorite animal (the elephant). She had her first handwriting lesson that was not straight review, and got to use one of her fancy pieces of handwriting paper, which was very fun.

Yesterday, we had a field trip to the most sincere pumpkin patch we could find, where we picked out what Turkey thinks is our best pumpkin yet (not the biggest, but the one with the most perfect shape), and his standards are very high! Since we waited to go after Moose was done with school, I’m not sure it counts as a school field trip, but I’m going to share a picture anyway!

I have a few fun things planned in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, including our annual nature walk, but I’m still hoping that we can keep going without taking a full fall break!

Chickadee Thursday

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch today!

Chickadee had a great time inspecting all the pumpkins…

…until she discovered a few burrs stuck to her boots. She started shrieking, and would barely stand still long enough for me to pull them off. Once she finally calmed down, I was able to figure out what the problem was. She had never encountered a burr before, and thought she had “baby porcupines” stuck to her! In the end, she still had a great time, and I don’t think any of us will forget the porcupine story!

The Most Sincere Pumpkin Patch in Belleville

I was on the hunt for a new pumpkin patch this year…the one we used to go to just wasn’t sincere enough anymore. I was beginning to think that we were going to run out of time to find one, and then I remembered Braeutigum Orchards, a place we’ve visited a few times in the past to pick apples and other fruit (including a school field for Moose about eight years ago!), and even once to pick pumpkins. So after we went to Legends and Lanterns on Saturday, we headed out to the pumpkin patch!

I wasn’t disappointed…the pumpkin patch was very sincere, and even though it was warmer than I like for pumpkin picking, it was a beautiful day. I’m glad our pumpkin picking tradition survived, and now I know where we should head next fall!

Pumpkin Picking 2016

Today after Moose was done with school, we headed out to the most sincere pumpkin patch in Belleville to search for our “Great Pumpkin.” This is a little earlier than we usually go, but the weather today was perfect (and Eckert’s was offering 50% off on pick-your-own pumpkins), so I figured there was no time like the present!

It’s always fun to see the children rush off in search of the perfect pumpkin. Especially Chickadee, who still can’t lift most of them off the ground! It’s also fun seeing how seriously Turkey takes the search…he puts more thought into what the pumpkin should look like than any of his siblings!

After much searching, finding, replacing, and arguing, everyone had their idea of the perfect pumpkin. In the end, we only took one home (I decided a few years ago that buying 80-plus pounds of pumpkins every year was a bit much), but we certainly had a good selection from which to choose! Our prized pumpkin weighed in at just over 15 pounds (if you’re wondering which one we brought home, it’s the one in the picture with Ladybug).