Homeschool W33: Road Trip Madness!

What We Studied

After only one day of school for the week, we prepped to leave on a 5-day road trip to Kansas. After getting back on Sunday, we were supposed to have a normal school week. It didn’t quite work out that way. We got some school work in, but also spent two days at the park (coop field day and a regular park day), plus errands and unpacking. Good thing we have already finished our history, math, and science curriculum for the year. We’re slowing down a bit, making plans for next year, and enjoying lots of time with friends.

Literature and Poetry

We finished our current read aloud and started the next one. Arthur continued with his spelling curriculum and we read a ton of picture books and such.

• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
• The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Math

Another week of math games, puzzles, and review

• Logic Countdown
• The School of Numbers

Social Studies

Arthur did some map work and a few scavenger hunts. He really got into playing around on Google Earth and finding different places. I love when a small assignment leads to more independent research and fun. He even spotted a good restaurant in Wichita for us that wasn’t on my list. We had dinner there and it was great (Wichita Pizza and Brewing Company, if you wanted to know).

Informally we learned a lot from the various museums and attractions that we saw in Kansas. I loved learning more about the Cosmonaut program in the 1950s and 1960s from the exhibits the Cosmosphere. Arthur really got into the exhibits at the World of Treasures Museum.

Arthur Independent Time

To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history.

Science and STEAM Coop

Nothing formal but we did go to a lot of science-related spots on our road trip. We learned a ton about salt and mining at Strataca in Hutchinson.

Art/Music

None this week

Quentin

I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included.

ELA

• Eric Carle’s Animals Animals
• Eric Carle’s Dragons Dragons
• The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
• Hugs & Kisses for The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
• Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle
• Do You Want to be My Friend? by Eric Carle
• Today is Monday by Eric Carle
• Eric Carle and Friends: What’s Your Favorite Bug?
• A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
• The Greedy Python by Eric Carle
• The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
• Happy Halloween from the Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
• Eric Carle and Friends: What’s Your Favorite Animal?
• The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
• Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
• Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
• Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?

Math

• Lollipop Logic Book 1
• Tinkeractive PreK Math

Other

• Crayola Our Colorful Earth: Celebrating the Natural Work
• Tinkeractive PreK Science
• Ten Pigs by Derek Anderson

Field Trip

There wasn’t a field trip this week.

Documentary Selection

I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. We watched a great NOVA episode about searching for Life on Mars. It detailed the various Mars rovers and focused heavily on the Perseverance mission.

Misc. Picture Books Read

• The Fantastic Fishsitter by Mo O’Hara

High

• Kansas Road Trip! What started as a weekend trip to Hutchinson to see the Cosmosphere turned into a 5 day trip to Hutchinson and Wichita filled with many stops. One of my favorites was getting a private tour of the Great Plains Transportation Museum from a former rail worker. Bob gave us so much more information than was listed on the signs and handouts.

Low

• The transition back home after road trip is always a bit rough. We ended up with a lighter school week than I intended.

Next Week

• Continuing our read aloud
• Playing some math games
• Watching a documentary or two
• Making a craft?
• Exploring outside with friends.

Next up on the TBR pile: