Our Homeschool Week: Jan 31- Feb 6

It was a week of reading, hands-on science, self-directed projects, great discussions, and so much growth!

Magical Moments

We have been studying Madagascar off and on for many weeks now, exploring lots of books, videos and activities. My son was particularly interested in learning about lemurs and other animals endemic to Madagascar. To close our study he wrote a travel “review” from the Torchlight K curriculum and we designed a stamp to put in his passport (the passport wasn’t my design but unfortunately I can't remember where this came from). I had purchased Torchlight and several other around the world study resources a few years back. We like exploring each place at a much slower pace than those curricula suggest, so we are still using them years later. Over time, I’ve discovered that it works well to have a set of roughly four or five topics we are exploring each month, one topic of which is a new country, and I pull from several resources to find books and activities. Since I make curriculum myself too, one topic we are studying is usually something I have made into a curriculum resource in our store or something I’m currently developing based on my child’s interests. I have goals to make a global studies curriculum someday too, but for now, I’m piecing it together as we go.

The main book we have been reading about Madagascar is lengthy and doesn't have a ton of photos. I was concerned we wouldn't be able to focus on it. But the culture of Madagascar was FASCINATING to both of us. My son was very into the animals and he searched photos of each animal the book mentioned while I read out loud. Bonus: we talked a lot about reputable sources! And stumbled on some awesome videos of bee hummingbirds too, which we discovered are from Cuba.

Thinking about an unschooling approach to history, we had a really fun discussion one evening about what someone who came from the middle ages would think if they were plopped into our modern-day home. We looked up random inventions and discoveries to figure out when they were made. This helped us guess what someone from the past would think of our technology such as lights, clocks, televisions, toasters, sliced bread, sandwiches, and the internet.

My son helped me with a little filming for Instagram. He finds this really fun. We talked a lot about good lighting because the lighting in our house is terrible and I’ve been thinking of getting a ring light. He watched me edit and told me “Mom, this is good. You are overthinking this. It’s ready.” He can be really hard on himself and struggles with perfectionism (and I do too!). So we are often talking about learning to accept mistakes and embrace small imperfections. I guess it's sinking in and it was so sweet to see him being so supportive of me too. By the way, as a small business owner, trying to get the word out about our products can be a huge lift sometimes. If you like what we have to offer, I really appreciate it when you spread the word!

Exploring

Rocket Science - We enjoyed making paper fliers to test.

The Science of Snow - We explored the current exhibit about snow and climate change at OMSI.

Magnets - Built a maglev train following a science kit. My son used the magnets for other small explorations and schooled me a bunch of which side had the opposing charge. Built a magnet arch in the science lab at OMSI too.

Electricity - This was the theme at our science club this week and we enjoyed exploring that further in the Physics Lab afterward. He wrote about this in his discovery journal after we got home.

Black History - We listened to an episode of Bite-Sized Black History about Ronald McNair and I really want to get the whole series now. I’m not an affiliate for them, we just really liked this resource. This is such a great way to incorporate Black History into our studies. This episode started a great conversation about what privilege is. We also highlighted Mae Jemison in our space studies this week. I loved the book we chose, see below!

Madagascar - This week, as I mentioned a little before, we wrapped up our Madagascar studies. We finished our main reading about Madagascar, which was an in-depth book covering geography, culture, animals, and more. We also watched a few sweet Mouk cartoons set in Madagascar as well.

Tae Kwon Do - He started lessons this week and is very excited about it. Spent some time learning about other martial arts traditions, such as capoeira too.

Reading

Note: I’ve included affiliate links for the books and games mentioned here. All opinions are my own. If you purchase through my link I get a very small percentage that helps support this small business.

Finished:

• Madagascar by Tamara Orr

• The Very Very Far North by Dan Bar El

• Even Superheroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker

• Astronaut Handbook by Meghan McCarthy

• 8 little Planets by Chris Ferrie

• Just Because I am: A Child's book of Affirmation by Lauren Murphy Payne

• I am the shark by Joan Holub

Still Reading:

• Work It, Girl: Blast off into Space like Mae Jemison by Caroline Moss - This book was inspiring in so many ways. A teacher discouraged her from pursuing her dreams, but she kept trying. Mae displays incredible grit, perseverance, and passion, in the face of racism and injustice. I’m considering it for the Rocket Science unit I’m currently developing. It’s also a great book to read for Black History Month.

• Lila and Ecco’s Do It Yourself Comics Club by Willow Dawson

• The Lost Words: A Spell Book by Robert Macfarlane

• Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers by Anna James

Evening Read Aloud:

• Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Read to Self:

• Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

• Ranger Rick Magazine

• This Book Can Read Your Mind by Susannah Lloyd

• Do not open this book by Michaela Muntean

• Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski

Playing

Mr. Toast - I hadn’t heard of this game before. He played it with friends and was laughing a lot.

Dragonwood - He did all the scoring himself!

Making

Illustrations - Imagining a fantastical way that amber could be formed

Digital Art - Using photos and creative filters and brushes. He's exploring textures and patterns in a really interesting way! This lead into some research about pop art in our DK arts book because of one of the filters his camera has.

Comics - We are working on exercises from Lila & Ecco’s Comics Club - Created setting and character for a hybrid animal superhero tale.

Lego Minecraft - He completed two WHOLE builds by himself this weekend. He had a few moments of frustration but overall his executive functioning is improving a lot.

Practicing (Math & Literacy)

Typing - Practiced the homerow using KidzType.com

Playful Geometry - Following a prompt from Wild Math 3rd Grade, we used foam shapes to explore the names and characteristics of different shapes. We explored right angles and parallel lines. My son enjoyed the topic so we went even further and explored the degrees in a circle and different combinations that add up to 90 degrees.

Language Arts- Learned about malaphors and copied one out with his best handwriting. Little sister scribbled over it immediately. :(

Cookie Math - We baked cookies and practiced adding fractions, reading the time, and figuring out the time the cookies would be ready.

Verbal Math - At bedtime, we did a little large number addition and subtraction.

Grammar - Following on some corrections I've made in his writing, he was excited to point out to me that a list I had written should have an “and” before the last word.

If our hands-on play-based homeschooling approach appeals to you, be sure to check out the curriculum in my store. It’s based on our daily homeschool experience with activities road-tested by my kids and our friends too.

Stay up to date on our daily homeschool life! Follow @northstarhomeschool on Instagram.