Last week was pretty relaxed for us with homeschooling. I’m still feeling out how much structure and challenge we need in our days at the moment. I’ve come to accept that this will ALWAYS be changing because my children are always growing and changing!

Note: I’ve included affiliate links to the books and games we used. If you chose to buy them, I’d love if you can use my link. I get a tiny commission on each purchase which helps support our small home business.

Here is what we did over the week:

Reading

The Reverso Poem Books - Mirror Mirror, Follow Follow, Echo Echo

Fairy tales and mythology are retold as poems. Reading them forward and backward tells different perspectives on the same tale!

Bookwanderers by Anna James

This book really encourages appreciation of literature.

Magic Hoofbeats: Fantastic Horse Tales by Josepha Sherman

An around-the-world journey through mythology about horses. Always a good idea to pre-read mythology, a few of the stories were a bit scary, but a few we really enjoyed.

A Chicken Followed Me Home! Questions and Answers about a Familiar Fowl by Robin Page

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 by, Michelle Markel

I try to bring social issues like this into our reading stack as often as I can.

The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-el

This audiobook, set in the artic, had my kids giggling during a long drive.

Evening Read Aloud:

• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Read to Self:

• Weird but True - Ripped from the Headlines by National Geographic Kids

• National Geographic Kids - January Edition

• Old Ranger Magazines

• Several books from the Notebook of Doom series

Playing

Sleeping Queens

Code Stack

Spot It

Quirkle (2 digit addition practice)

Look Both Ways: City Math (I Love Math) - All Around Town (Subtraction practice) & Three in A Row (Understanding grids)

Making

Drawing & Writing Prompt: Imagine yourself inside your favorite book & include a quote from the book

Glue, Salt, and Watercolor Process Art

Kiwi Crate - Sun and Moon Model and Lantern

Practicing (Math & Literacy)

Two-Digit Addition (Verbal practice and through games)

Number Bonds & Commutative Property of Addition (Using number erasers)

Exploring

Outer Space (Through Web Research together)

World Mythology (Through Videos we watched together on YouTube)

Magical Moments

It was amazing to see my son take so much ownership of building the sun and moon model. His sister was out of the house for a moment and I was seeing if he might be able to work independently on a project while I worked. It went well! A year or two ago he would have needed a lot of help. He’s showing a huge improvement in executive function skills.

Forest “school” (a homeschoolers meetup in the woods that we attend) continues to be an amazing time for both children to play creatively, problem-solve, and develop independence. A particular highlight last week was noticing crunchy icy mud puddles!

And that’s our weekly homeschool log!

If you love hands-on play-based learning, be sure to check out the NorthStar store. We make flexible guides to help your family bring a lot of fun into your homeschool days.