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!
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!
You’ve already seen Ladybug’s graduation photos, but I waited until today for the final wrap-up of the 2024-25 school year because I had one more very special outing planned for Ladybug:
The rest of the week was just finishing everything up…Ladybug was ecstatic to be done with Jane Eyre and her term paper, plus she finished American Nations and our mad dash through poetry. Chickadee also finished her final paper and history project, plus wrapped up pre-algebra, and now I never have to teach it again!
We also did a few of our favorite things one last time…took a really long walk, visited the library, and played tennis.
And our favorite last-day-of-school activity…building some new Lego sets! We went with a floral theme this time…they’ll make excellent decorations for our school room (or any other place in the house that needs a bit of brightening), and there’s a fourth piece in the set that Chickadee will build on the first day of her eighth grade year!
That’s a wrap on my 17th year of homeschooling…up next, my first year ever with only one student in my school!
The penultimate week (and a short week, no less) of the 2024-25 school year is complete!
We spent a lot of time outside, walking, playing tennis, and taking a field trip.
For our field trip, we took the train to downtown St. Louis, not just to walk around the Arch grounds, Citygarden, and Ballpark Village, (which we did), but also to visit the Old Courthouse, which just reopened over the weekend following years of renovations.
Ladybug is almost done with Jane Eyre! She continued reading American Nations. We began a (very brief) study of poetry from the Romantic to Victorian Age…better late than never, right? She continued working on her term paper.
Chickadee worked on her review of all of the big concepts in pre-algebra. She also reviewed for her final science test. She continued working on her final writing assignment, as well as the special project about the Oregon Trail I assigned her.
One more week until Ladybug’s high school graduation!
This was a fun week! Not only did we finally get to play tennis, but we also took a rare nighttime field trip to the St. Louis Zoo for the Animals Aglow Lantern Festival!
Of course, we did our regular work, too, although that is dwindling down, and our days are getting shorter. Ladybug began volume three of Jane Eyre…the end is in sight! She continued working on her term paper. In psychology she read about aggression, attraction, and altruism. Her final writing assignment was writing a “bad” thesis using subtle and blatant irony. She continued reading American Nations.
Chickadee completed all of the new material in her pre-algebra book with a final lesson on finding the area of regular polygons, and is now ready for the end-of-year review! Since she finished her history curriculum for the year, we’re focusing on topics that bridge the time around the California Gold Rush and the Civil War, including the Underground Railroad and the Oregon Trail. She began learning about the five senses in science. We started reading Amon’s Secret.
Three more weeks of school, and a lot of fun things in the mix between now and then!
We have completed the first week of the 2024-25 school year!
Our first day of school was mostly fun, but we did get into some work…Ladybug was very excited to get started on her advanced physics course, and Chickadee was just excited about everything!
Ladybug began the intro to logic course she’s taking this year instead of standard math. In advanced physics, she reviewed vectors and the dot method. She started reading 1491 for social studies. She also read Act I of The Merchant of Venice (and read the entirety of The Great Gatsby!). In religion, a walk through all of church history, which she and Chickadee are doing together, she read about James the Brother of Jesus and Ignatius of Antioch.
Chickadee reviewed the identity formulas for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and the rules for arithmetic involving signs in pre-algebra. Her first literature selection of the year is Tom Sawyer, and she read the first chapter. In history, she read about the Holy Roman Empire at the time of Charles V. She reviewed one and two-level outlines in writing. She began an intro to general science, and got to do her first experiment, which demonstrated how molecules move at different temperatures.
This year, we’re going to be reading The Wizard of Oz out loud together, and making recipes from The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook. We started with a fairly simple recipe from Auntie Em’s Recipe Box for “Dinner on the Farm Rolls.”
We also took advantage of one of the fall-like days we had this week to play tennis. It has been a few years (I think) since we played tennis, and let me tell you, I’m really feeling it!
Next week it’s going to be hot again, so I don’t anticipate any fun outdoor adventures, but we are going to get fully into the routine of school!
I decided on a whim that this should be “Outdoors Week.” In addition to reading Little Women under the tree in our front yard, we participated only in activities that could be done outdoors, and I even came up with themes for each day!
Monday was “History and Nature.” We visited historic Concordia Cemetery in St. Louis and found C.F.W. Walther’s mausoleum. We also learned about his life and contributions to the Lutheran church in America.
Tuesday was “Art and Nature.” We went back into the city to walk around the Missouri Botanical Garden and Forest Park, and sketch some of the beautiful things we saw:
Wednesday was “Fitness and Nature.” We finally got back to the tennis court for the first time since before the pandemic began, and we also did a fitness course on a local walking trail.
Thursday was “Exploration and Nature.” We took a five-mile walk down some trails we’ve never used before, and also tried to identify some of the trees we saw along the way based on their leaves, pods, and nuts.
And today we took it easy, and ended the week by watching Little Women (the Winona Ryder version, because it’s my favorite), since we finally finished the book. We’ll get back to our regular work next week, but this was a really fun way to spend the first week of November!
One thing I’ll say about this school year so far…I hardly have time to catch my breath!
Turkey and Bunny worked with a chart of trigonometric ratios in pre-calculus. They’re both really enjoying their study of The Divine Comedy…they’re over halfway through with “The Inferno.” They finished their first chapter in physics, and are looking forward to their first test next week. In history they read about the great failure that was the Second Crusade. They also learned about some of the first European explorers who visited the Americas in US history.
Ladybug reviewed prime factorization in pre-algebra…she really enjoys making factor trees. In history, she learned about King James, as well as Samuel Champlain and the search for the Northwest Passage. She continued her study of The Hobbit, and finished her additional reading of The Fellowship of the Ring, and started The Two Towers. She also finished her first chapter in science, which focused on the history of scientific discovery.
Chickadee continued to review in math. She worked on several narrations about the story of Pinocchio in writing. She also finished her first chapter of science…at least she doesn’t have to worry about taking a test yet! She’s reading one chapter every day in The Beginner’s Bible for her phonics practice. We got to read one of my favorite chapters in Little House in the Big Woods today!
We also (finally) got back to the tennis courts this week, and had an absolutely beautiful morning to play…I’m looking forward to more beautiful fall weather in the days ahead!
I’ve also been trying to add some extra fun activities into our school days. For example, during lunch, we’ve been watching re-runs of Good Eats, which is a fun way to learn a little extra science (and find some new recipes we want to try!). We’ve also been playing more board games when we have time…our new favorite is Sagrada, which is, as the name suggests, based on the stained glass in the perpetually-under-construction cathedral (a place Ryan has actually had the opportunity to visit!). It’s a fun game, and very different from anything we’ve played before, which means we’re learning to think a bit differently to play…always a good thing!
I have to confess, I also did finally do some rearranging of the school room this week…I guess I just wasn’t satisfied leaving well enough alone! I’m not sure if I’m done yet, so photos will have to wait until I know for sure!
