March 2017

We packed a lot into this month!


We started the month attending a meeting with our local Wildlife Conservancy on Bluebird Monitoring, learning how to monitor and maintain bluebird boxes around the county.

Hawkeye also participated in an Amphibian Action Night with the same Wildlife Conservancy group, learning about local amphibians, where they live and what they need for a healthy eco-environment.

Hawkeye also participated in our 4-H Share the Fun event, with his Cloverbud group. This involved performing a skit before an audience of about 100 people - the group had so much fun, and Hawkeye led the group confidently, as the eldest in the bunch.

Our Homeschool Field Trip this month took us to the Building Museum in Washington DC, where he learned about city planning, and zoning. This was a very hand's on event, and the participants were were split in to groups, with each group responsible for a different zone type. It was fantastic!

Hawkeye also accompanied me to my 4-H Schole event this month, this time joining my group to the newly remodeled West Building of the National Gallery of Art. This encouraged some fantastic conversations about what makes modern art art, how different colors make us feel, and whether creating art needs bravery. Hawkeye's favorite piece was Jackson Pollock's Lavender Mist, which he was fortunate to learn about from a docent!

But he highlight of his month was a three day trip to the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg and Jamestown. In preparation for the trip, we brushed up on the early American History that we learned last year. During our trip we spent an entire day at each site; Hawkeye's favorite part of the trip was most certainly the visit to the Yorktown museum. It happened to having it's grand opening on the day we visited, and Hawkeye was invited to be part of the opening ceremonies! He marched in to the outdoor opening event, with the Governors of Delaware and Virginia, and local dignitaries. It was a fantastic trip, and really helped solidify what we have been reading and learning about.

 

This month also saw his continuing involvement in 4-H electronics, Ecology classes and his Project Feederwatch citizen science project  through Cornell Lab. This month also saw the start of his 4-H embryology class. Here he learned about eggs and developing chicks, how to care for unhatched eggs, and how they develop.



Reading
We continued daily reading practice (easy Readers, level 2)

Math
Hawkeye continues to work through Life of Fred: Goldfish, and averages two chapters each week.


History
We continued reading Brighty of the Canyon, by Marguerite Henry, learning about the Colorado River, the geography of Arizona, and the mining of metals.


Ongoing Reading

Among the Meadow People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
    - The Measuring Worm's Joke
     - The Puzzled Cicada
     - The Tree Frog's Story

The Burgess Animal Book for Children, by Thornton Burgess
     - A Worker and a Robber
     - A Trader and a Handsome Fellow
     - Two Unlike Little Cousins
Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 21

The Story Book of Science, by Jean Henri Fabre
     - Gold and Iron
     - The Fleece

Understood Betsy, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (completed)
     - Betsy Has a Birthday
     - Understood Aunt Frances

American Tall Tales, by Adrien Stoutenburg (completed)
     - Joe Magarac

D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths
     - Centaurs
     - Asclepius
     - The Nine Muses
     - Orpheus

Chapter Books Read
Understood Betsy, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Ember Falls, by S. D. Smith
Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers
American Tall Tales, by Adrien Stoutenburg

Picture Books Read
The Boss Baby, by Marla Frazee
Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies, by Ann Turner
The Scallywags, by David Melling
Have You Seen My New Blue Socks, by Eve Bunting
Ada Twist, Scientist, by Andrea Beaty
That's What Leprechauns Do, by Eve Bunting
Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka, by Tomie dePaola
St. Patricks Day in the Morning, by eve Bunting
Another Monster at the End of This Book, by Jon Stone
Bedtime in the Forest, by Kazuo Iwamura
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, by Judi Barrett
Fiona's Lace, by Patricia Polacco
Dragon Was Terrible, by Kelly DiPucchio
Miss Moon: Wise Words From a Dog Governess, by Janet Hill
The Littlest Family's Big Day, by Emily Winfield Martin
The Highest Mountain of Books in the World, by Rocio Bonilla
One Bird Hill, by Jane Yolen
1 is One, by Tasha Tudor
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Non-Fiction Books Read
When Washington Crossed the Delaware, by Lynne Cheney
D is for Drums, by Kay Chorao (A Colonial Williamsburg ABC)
Life in Jamestown Colony, by Janey Levy

April 2017

This was a rather abbreviated home education month for us; I traveled overseas for two weeks, and we took a break from homeschool during that time.

However, Hawkeye was still involved in his ongoing projects: 4-H Electronics, Ecology Class, and 4-H Embryology.

Hawkeye also began a new 4-H project, learning about monarch butterflies. During this month's meetings he learned about the monarch's migration pattern, their feeding needs and how many generations of butterflies live in a single season. He helped plant milkweed at a local Butterfly Waystation.

He helped maintain local bluebird boxes, learned about their nesting habits, and their eggs and chicks. He helped take notes on the findings, and helped identify other birds (and possible aggressors) in the area.

This month we picked up chicks to keep at out home for a few weeks, so Hawkeye had daily care of chicks, and learning about them, their needs and development from chicks to full grown hens.

His Homeschool Fieldtrip this month was to a local Animal Shelter, where he learned about how the shelter runs and cares for all the different animals. He quickly picked out his favorite animal there - a Caucasian Shepherd Dog, which outweighed him by some 100 lbs!

He also went on a family camping trip where he was able to put into use some of the survival skills he has been practicing, such as lighting a fire with a steel and flint, whittling with a knife, and rope tying.

Lastly, Hawkeye accompanied my 4-H Schole group to a concert by our local Symphony Orchestra, to hear a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto, No. 23, and the overture to his opera Cosi Fan Tutti, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E Minor.


Reading
We continued daily reading practice (easy Readers, level 2)

Math
Hawkeye continues to work through Life of Fred: Goldfish, and averages two chapters each week.

History
We continued reading Brighty of the Canyon, by Marguerite Henry, learning about the Colorado River, the geography of Arizona, and the mining of metals.


Ongoing Reading


Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 22
     - chapter 23

The Adventures of Buster Bear, by Thornton W. Burgess
     - Buster Bear Becomes a Hero
     - Blacky the Crow Tells His Plan
     - Farmer Brown's Boy and Buster Bear Grow Curious
     - Farmer Brown's Boy and Buster Bear Meet

D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths
     - Europa and Cadmus
     - Tantalus and Pelops

Chapter Books Read
The BFG, by Roald Dahl
Love From Paddington, by Michael Bond
Henry and the Paper Route, by Beverly Cleary
The Mowgli Stories, by Rudyard Kipling

Picture Books Read
Fix This Mess, by Tedd Arnold
The Honest-to-Goodness Truth, by Patricia C. McKissack
Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car, by John Burmingham
Come to the Fairies' Ball, by Jane Yolen
Toot and Puddle, by Holly Hobbie
Olivia, by Ian Falconer
And Then It's Spring, by Julie Fogliano
A Tale for Easter, by Tasha Tudor
When Spring COmes, by Kevin Henkes
The Easter Egg, by jan Brett
The Watermelon Seed, by Greg Pizzoli
Mr. Gumpy's Outing, by John Burningham
Pickles to Pittsburgh, by Judi Barrett
What Do You Do With a Problem, by Kobi Yamada
Frederick, by Leo Lionni
No Jumping on the Bed!, by Tedd Arnold
Bunny's First Spring, by Sally Lloyd-Jones
The Huey's in What's the Opposite, by Oliver Jeffers
Little White Rabbit, by Kevin Henkes

May 2017

This was our month to reboot, read and spend time outside! Bliss!

Hawkeye started this month by volunteering at our local foodbank, and packing for Backpack Buddies, a program that supplies local school children with food and snacks for the weekends.

A few days later, he participated in an Honor Flight, welcoming veterans from Bushy Creek Iowa to our local airport, who would be spending the day visiting war memorials in DC. He shook each veteran by the hand and thanked them for their service. It was a powerful morning.

 

Our local library hosted a homeschool STEAM enrichment class, which he attended. This class was on constellations and the stars that make up the constellations. They learned about some of the major constellations and stars, how to locate them, and then tried their hand at creating their own constellations. So much fun!

A second library class Hawkeye attended, discussed the art work and technique of one of his favorite artists, Jackson Pollock. After learning about him and his life, Hawkeye was then able to collaborate with some other children in creating a Pollock-esque piece of art. Messy, but so much fun!

 

We went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore for their Member Evening, and Hawkeye was able to talk at length to several of the handlers, in particular to the jellyfish and skate handlers. He was able to touch them, and have so many of his questions answered.

We had kept a moth cocoon in our butterfly keeper over the winter, and were thrilled to find that some six months later, a beautiful Prometheus Moth had emerged! Hawkeye really enjoyed watching it dry out it's wings, before we released it.

 Our Homeschool Field Trip this month was to Accokeek Colonial Farm Park, for a program on Colonial Eco-Explorers, identifying more eco-friendly historical options to everyday items used today.

In addition to these events, Hawkeye also continued to attend his Ecology Class, 4-H Electronics, 4-H Monarch Butterflies, and Bluebird Box Monitoring for our local county.

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Reading
We continued daily reading practice (easy Readers, level 2)

Math
Hawkeye completed Life of Fred: Goldfish, and began Life of Fred: Honey. He averages two chapters each week.
He has also began working on memorizing his multiplication tables, and writing out the tables into a handmade booklet.

History
We continued reading Brighty of the Canyon, by Marguerite Henry, learning about the Colorado River, the geography of Arizona, and the mining of metals.


Ongoing Reading

The Burgess Animal Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess
     - Danny's Northern Cousins, and Nimbleheels
     - Three Little Redcoats and some Others
     - Mice With Pockets and Others
     - Teeny Weeny and His Cousin

Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling (completed)
     - chapter 24
     - chapter 25
     - chapter 26
     - chapter 27

The Adventures of Buster Bear, by Thornton W. Burgess
     - Buster Bear Has a Fine Time
     - Buster Bear is a Fallen Hero
     - Chatterer the Red Squirrel Jumps For His Life
     - Buster Bear Goes Berrying
     - Somebody Else Goes Berrying

D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths
     -Danaus, Perseus and the Gorgon
     - Clever and Vainglorious Kings
     - Bellerophon
     - Melampus

Among the Meadow People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
     - When the Grass Was Cut
     - The Grasshopper and the Measuring Worm
     - Mr. Green Frog
     - The Dignified Walking-Sticks

The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights, by Sir James Knowles
     - reading approximately 5 pages each week

The Boy Who Drew Cats, by Lefcadio Hearn
     - Chin-Chin Kobakama
     - The Goblin-Spider

America First, by Lawton B. Evans
     - Leif the Lucky
     - The Lost Colony of Roanoke
     - Persecutiona of the Pilgrims
     - Building a Canoe
     - The Flight of Roger Williams

Elementary Geography, by Charlotte Mason
     - Our World, part 1 and part 2

Wonders of the Jungle, Book One, by Sarath Kumar Ghosh
     - The Midnight Pool
     - The Law of the Jungle

Wildlife in Woods and Fields, by Arabella B. Buckley
     - Spiders on the Common
     - The woodpecker's Nest
     - Spring Flowers
     - A Family of Squirrels
     - The Skylark and Her Enemy
     - Nuts and Nut-eaters

Chapter Books Read
Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
Henry and the Clubhouse, by Beverly Cleary
Thimbleberry Stories, by Cynthia Rylant
Ribsy, by Beverly Cleary
Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling

Picture Books Read
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones, by Ruth Heller
Have a Look Says Book, by Richard Jackson and Kevin Henkes
Parts, by Tedd Arnold
Fish is Fish, by Leo Lionni
we're All wonders, by R. J. Palacio
All Ears, All Eyes, by Richard Jackson
Again!, by Emily Gravett
Dragons Love Tacos, by Adam Rubin
My Princess Boy, by Cheryl Kilodavis
Up in the Garden and Down in the dirt, by Kate Messner
Do Princesses make Happy Campers, by Carmela LaVigna Coyle
Mama, Is It Summer Yet?, by Nikki McClure
Have You Seen My Dragon?, by Steve Light
George and Martha, by James Marshall
Jack's Garden, by Henry Cole
Too Big, by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
The Two Cars, by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
Flower Garden, by Eve Bunting
Swimmy, by Leo Lionni
The Country Bunny and thre Little Golden Shoes, by Du Bose Heyward
Prudence Wants a Pet, by Cathleen Daly
The Travels of Babar, by Jean de Brunhoff
Inch by Inch, by Leo Lionni
Not All Princesses Dress in Pink, by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple

December 2016

A relatively quiet month for December!

There were many ongoing projects this month, including out Ecology Class, 4-H Electronics class, and Cornell Lab Project Feederwatch citizen science project.

Hawkeye also went to a Christmas Bird Count Primer event with our 4-H Bird project, hosted by our local county Conservancy group. For this event, we split into teams and counted as many  birds by type as possible; for this particular event, Hawkeye was fortunate to be on a team with two experience birders, who were happy to talk birds with him and really took time to give him advice and tips. He was thrilled to have birding mentors for the morning!

Hawkeye also continued leading his 4-H project, Board Game Club. In his capacity as a Project Leader, he emails project members, books the library rooms for the meetings and leads the meetings themselves, all with my help when needed, of course. The monthly club is well attended, with about 30 attendees, from toddlers to adults all playing board games. They are such fun afternoons!

We took a two week break at the end of the month.

Reading
We continued daily reading practice (easy Readers, level 2)

Math
Hawkeye continues to work through Life of Fred: Farming, and averages two chapters each week.


History
We continued reading White Stallion of Lipizza, by Marguerite Henry, learning about the Lipizzaner horses and the training techniques of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria.

Waldorf Essentials
After completing our reading, summarizing and grammar study of the Buster Stories of Thornton Burgess, we moved on to learning about two Saints days, Saint Nicholas and Saint Lucia.
The study of Saint Nicholas, although relatively brief was a nice juxtaposition to the more contemporary image of Santa.

For Santa Lucia day on the 13th, we studied her story, made paper crowns (wreaths with candles for girls, and pointed hats decorated with stars for boys) and made St. Lucia saffron buns.

Ongoing Reading

Among the Forest People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson (completed)
     -A Mild Day in Winter

Among the Meadow People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
     - The Butterfly That went Calling
     - The Robins Build a Nest
     - The Selfish Tent Caterpillar

The Burgess animal Book for Children, by Thornton Burgess
     - More of Peter's Long-Legged Cousins
     - Chatterer and Happy Jack Join
     - The Squirrels of the Trees
     - Striped Chipmunk and His Cousins
     - Johnny Chuck Joins the Class

Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 4
     - chapter 5
     - chapter 6
     - chapter 7
     - chapter 8
     - chapter 9
     - chapter 10
     - chapter 11

The Story Book of Science, by Jean Henri Fabre
     - The Wily Dervish
     - The Numerous Family
     - The Old Pear Tree

Understood Betsy, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
     - Aunt Harriet Has a Cough
     - Betsy Holds the Reins
     - A Short Morning
     - Betsy Goes to School

American Tall Tales, by Adrien Stoutenburg
     - Paul Bunyan
     - Pecos Bill
     - Stormalong

D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths
     - Athena
     - Poseidon
     - Apollo
     - Artemis
     - Hermes

Chapter Books Read
Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers, by Ralph Moody
The Magician's Nephew, by C. S. Lewis
Heidi, by Johanna Spyri
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson

Picture Books Read
Winter's Coming, by Jan Thornhill
Nuts to You!, by Lois Ehlert
A Rainbow of My Own, by Don Freeman
Full, Full, Full of Love, by Trish Cooke
Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild, by Mem Fox
The Legend of the Candy Cane, by Lori Walburg
The Animal's Santa, by Jan Brett
Cobweb Christmas, by Shirley Climo
Gingerbread Christmas, by Jan Brett
One Starry Night, by Lauren Thompson
The Twelve Days of Christmas, by Jan Brett
I Face the Wind, by Vicki Cobb
Night Tree, by Eve Bunting
Christmas in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Christmas in the Barn, by Margaret Wise Brown
Santa Claus and the Three Bears, by Maria Modugno
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, by Gloria Houston
Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?, by Jan Brett
The Night Before Christmas, by Jan Brett
The Wild Christmas Reindeer, by Jan Brett
The Legend of the Poinsettia, by Tomie dePaola
Stega Nona's Gift, by Tomie dePaola
Babushka, A Christmas Tale, by Dawn Casey
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, by Robert Barry
The Night of the Las Posadas, by Tomie dePaola
Home for Christmas, by Jan Brett
The Baker's Dozen, by Heather Forest
Christmas Farm, by Mary Lyn Ray
The Little Drummer Boy, by Ezra Jack Keats
Hurry! Hurry! Have You Heard?, by Laura Krauss Melmed
Christmas Trolls, by Jan Brett
Merry Christmas, Strega Nona, by Tomie dePaola
Christmas Dolls, by Tasha Tudor
The Nutcracker, by Susan Jeffers

Movies Watched
The Wind in the Willows, A&E

November 2016

We kicked off this month by attending a talk for our local Wildlife Conservancy group on Vultures, given by Katie Fallon, featuring her recently published book Vulture: The Private Life of the Unloved Bird.

Hawkeye learned about the nesting, breeding and eating habits of vultures, their physiognomy and quirks, and the speaker brought a vulture to the talk - which was fascinating!

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We went on a field trip into Washington DC to The Phillips Collection, an art museum. There we had a tour with a docent, which focused on just half a dozen works of art; the children in the group had the opportunity to discuss the context of the pieces, how they felt while looking at them, drawing their own versions of the works and creating their own tableaus mimicking the art. It was wonderful!

While in DC, we made a quick stop to visit the Bird House at the National Zoo; this is Hawkeye's favorite part of the zoo, and we stop by whenever we are able. The highlight of this particular visit was a walk past the flamingo area, and finding a few flamingo feathers that had blown out of the enclosure! Such a wonderful addition to Hawkeye's feather collection!

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Hawkeye's ecology class at our local botanical garden focused on  plate tectonics and fossils. For both classes, the teacher created hand's on experiments to demonstrate the concepts.

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Our monthly Wildlife Conservancy class this month was on geology; after a lecture given by a Federal Geologist, who specializes in out county's geology, with all sorts of specimens that the children participating were able to handle and examine. Hawkeye learned about rock types, mountain formation, rock identification and fossils. We then moved the class outside, to examine local rock formations, and spend time looking at the local landscape for a hands on lesson on geology and how to get clues on land formation from the rocks around us. 

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Hawkeye also began a monthly 4-H class electronics class, based on the Make: Electronics book. This class is very hands on and experiential, and a huge hit with Hawkeye! For this month's class he built circuits with electrical components, using pliers and wire strippers; the aim was to create a circuit able to turn a light on and off.

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This month also saw the start of Hawkeye's annual involvement in Cornell Lab's citizen science Project Feedwatch, in which he does a bird feeder count two days each week from November until April. This project involves a myriad of skills, from bird identification, tallying bird counts, online research of the weather and imputing the collected data on the Cornell Lab web site. For this, Hawkeye also makes suet cakes for the birds each week.

As birds are an ongoing fascination for Hawkeye, this project always leads to much research and discussion, including bird identification, migration habits, physiognomy and feeder preferences, weather influences and patterns, and the stories of John James Audubon and Roger Tory Peterson.

We also attended birding walks with our local Wildlife Conservancy chapter, where amateur birders gave Hawkeye tips and guidance on using binoculars, bird identification and building a life list. Hawkeye's dedication to birds and birding shows in his willingness to get up before dawn, and trudge through nature conserves in the cold and dark for the opportunity of bird sightings!

Reading
We continued daily reading (Easy Reader, Level 1 books) and played on the Teach Your Monster To Read app.

Math
We are working our way through Life of Fred: Farming (we average two chapters each week). We have also been enjoying some of the We Love Math books.

History
This month we continued out study of the History of the Horse curriculum from Beautiful Feet, beginning to read White Stallion of Lipizza, by Marguerite Henry. Hawkeye learned about the breeding and characteristics of the Lipizzaner, and the differences between the Lipizzaner and the Arab. As the book is set in Vienna, Austria, we did some research on that geographical area. But, for Hawkeye the fascination was truly in the ballet of the Lipizzaners and how they are trained to perform such feats. We watched You Tube videos on the Lipizzans and a PBS documentary, both of which sparked a fascination.

Waldorf Essentials
Continuing our work in the WE curriculum, we continued reading Aesop's animal fables, with Hawkeye dictating his summaries of the fables to me, and then identifying the nouns and verbs.
We also learned about Saint Martin, in preparation for Martinmas, before moving onto the moral animal tales about Muster Bear by Thornton Burgess.


Ongoing Reading

Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin (completed)
     - Casabianca
     - Antonio Canova
     - Picciola
     - Mignon

The Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 6
     - chapter 7
     - chapter 8

The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess (completed)
     - The Pine Grosbeak and the Redpoll
     - The Goshawk and the Great Horned Owl

The Burgess Animal Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess
     - chapter 1, introduction
     - The Cottontail Rabbit, Northern Hare and Marsh Rabbit
 
Among the Forest People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
     - The Wild Turkeys Come
     - The Travelers Go South
     - The Ruffed Grouse's Story
    
The Story Book of Science, by Jean Henri Fabre
     - The Cows
     - The Sheepfold

D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths
     - introduction
     - Hera
     - Hephaestus
     - Aphrodite
     - Ares

Chapter Books Read
The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess
Henry and Beezus, by Beverly Cleary
Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Poppy, by Avi
The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, by Jennifer Trafton
Betsy-Tacy, by Maud Hart Lovelace
The Moffats, by Eleanor Estes
Skunked! Calpurnia Tate, Animal Doctor in Training, by by Jacqueline Tate
Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl

Non-fiction Books Read
Squirrel and John Muir, by Emily Arnold McCully
Thanksgiving Is ... , by Gail Gibbons
The Thanksgiving Story, by Alice Dalgliesh


Picture Books Read
On Meadowview Street, by Henry Cole
Black and White, by David Macaulay
Crow Boy, by Taro Yashima
Baby Brains and Robomom, by Simon James
Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Pena
The Funny Little Woman, by Arlene Mosel
Night of the Goat Children, by J. Patrick Lewis
Round Trip, by Ann Jonas
Anna's Table, by Eve Bunting
The Great Day, by Taro Gomi
In November, by Cynthia Rylant
The Three Little Bears, by Paul Galdone
The Warlord's Kite, by Virginia Walton Pilegard
Apple Farmer Annie, by Monica Wellington
Come on Rain!, by Karen Hesse
The Little Red Hen, by Paul Galdone
Too Many Turkeys, by Linda White
Earl the Squirrel, by Don Freeman
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, by Alison Jackson
Over the River and Through the Wood, by Lydia Maria Child
Miss Suzy, by Miriam Young
Sharing the Bread, by Pat Zietlow Miller
Thanksgiving is Here!, by Diane Goode


Movies Watched
You Tube Videos featuring excerpts from The Magic Flute, by Mozart
Legendary White Stallions: The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions, Nature


Podcasts
Classics for Kids: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
     - Child Prodigy Composers
     - What's a Rondo
     - Janissary Music
     - Mozart's Opera
     - About Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
     - The Magic Flute

October 2016

October was another full home education month for us!

We started the month with a 4H Project meeting on Monarch Butterflies. For this we watched a short movie on the migration of Monarchs, learned about their life cycle and their feeding needs. We were then able to release some butterflies that had recently emerged from their chrysalis'.

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For our local Wildlife Conservation group outing this month, we learned about seeds with a local expert botanist. Hawkeye learned about different characteristics of seeds, including seed distribution types, how seeds grow and the conditions they need.

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We went on a homeschool field trip to a local outdoor performing arts venue. It was fascinating to tour backstage, see how the scenery is raised and lowered, learn about the technicalities of managing the space and the sheer number of people involved.

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However, Hawkeye's big adventure of the month was an eight day trip to the Pacific Northwest! He visited many of Seattle's landmarks, including Pike's Place, the Space Needle and the Seattle Great Wheel (a permanent 175' ferris wheel, over looking Elliot Bay). He also spent time at the fish Ladder at Ballard Locks, a fascinating series of water steps and locks for migrating salmon.

A day was also spent at the Seattle Aquarium, where he learned about all manner of marine animals, and had the opportunity to hand feed a tank of sea urchins! Sometimes it pays to be really curious kid in the crowd, with a ton of questions!

Reading
We continued daily reading (Easy Reader, Level 2 books) and played on the Teach Your Monster To Read app.

Math
Working our way through Life of Fred: Farming (we average two chapters each week)

Waldorf Essentials
This month we studied Animal Fables; after the telling of the story, we would then either do a Charlotte Mason inspired narration, or the more Waldorf recalling of the story the following day. I helped Hawkeye write these summaries out, and we then introduced nouns and verbs within the summaries. 

History
We are continuing our work through The History of the Horse, from Beautiful Feet.
We finished reading The King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry; this month our reading inspired us to study the geography of England in relation to Morocco and then France, tracing the path of the novel's protagonist, Agba. We also discussed the monarchy and peerage system of England.
We also read Black Beauty by Anna Sewell; for this novel we learned about the Thoroughbred horse, tackle, and determining a horse's age by looking at it's teeth.
We also used our Horse Breeds of the World playing cards to play some basic card games; these were Hawkeye's first introduction into playing cards, and I found that there was a nice overlap between using the cards to learn about the different horse breeds and practicing math facts through the playing of games. Fun!

Ongoing Reading
My Book House, In the Nursery (daily)
Aesop Fables (daily) (completed)

Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin
   - The Blind Man and the Elephant
   - Maximillian and the Goose Boy

The Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 3
     - chapter 4
     - chapter 5

The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess
     - The Snow Bunting and the Horned Lark
     - The Screech Owl
     - The Ruffled Grouse and the Crossbills

Among the Forest People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
     - The Undecided Rattlesnake
     - The Quarrelsome Mole

The Story Book of Science, by Jean Henri Fabre
     - The Fairy Tale and the True Story
     - The Building of the City
     
Chapter Books Read
Henry Huggins, by Beverly Cleary
Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell
King of the Wind, by Marguerite Henry
The Boy and His Horse, by C. S. Lewis

Non-Fiction Books Read
Hillary Rodham Clinton, by Kathleen Krull
Why Do Leaves Change Color, by Betsy Maestro

Picture Books Read
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, by William Joyce
I Want a Monster, by Elise Gravel
Do Princesses Scrape Their Knees, by Carmela LaVigna Coyle
Mossy, by Jan Brett
Farmer Will, by Jane Cowen-Fletcher
Children of the Forest, by Elsa Beskow
Foxy, by Emma Dodd
The Dollhouse Fairy, by Jane Ray
Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great, by Bob Shea
A Unicorn Named Sparkle, by Amy Young
The Seven Princesses, by Smiljanah Coh
The Very Fluffy Kitty, Papillon, by A. N. Kang
Today and Today, by Issa
Hachiko, by Pamela S. Turner
How My Parents Learned to Eat, by Ina R. Friedman
The Trouble With Dragons, by Debi Gliori
The Water Hole, by Graeme Base
Twelve dancing Unicorns, by Alissa Heyman
The Little Island, by Margaret Wise Brown

September 2016

The beginning of September brought on all the 'back to school' activities, of field trips, co-op and new classes.

We went on a field-trip to a local Fire Station, that was definitely geared a little more to the older children in our group. The fire station tour leaders talked about basic fire safety and how the fire station operates, but also covered topics such as area jurisdictions, insurance restrictions and how it effects how a company runs, sex equality, electrical safety, maps, and the social responsibility the station has for caring for those in need. It was pretty fantastic!

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A good friend and I started a local Nature Co-op this month, aimed at providing children with hands-on time out in nature, with a range of topics we hope to cover over the course of the year's meetings. This month we started with outdoor safety and what to pack in a daypack. Our initial meetings also provided plenty of social time for all our members to get to know each other, so there was plenty of running around, climbing trees, and rock scrambling. Good stuff!

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Hawkeye started a new Ecology class for homeschoolers this month too. This is a year long class, and will meet twice a month at a local botanical gardens, led by a Biologist. During the first class, the students discussed the physical needs of different animals, and the basic ecological properties of water.

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He also attended a class on Trees at our local Wildlife Conservancy group; Hawkeye particularly enjoys these monthly classes! This one was led by a Botanist, and we covered a large amount of information, including native vs. non-native trees, invasive plant species, trees as insect habitats, strata of tree canopies and the different light/water needs of those varying trees, what characteristics to use in identifying different trees, how to use a field guide, the life cycle of a tree, and the differences between male and female trees. It was really fantastic! We came home eager to look up more information on trees, and spent time walking our own neighborhood with a field guide to ID our local trees. One of the trees discussed during the class was the Paw Paw; as chance would have it a neighbor overheard our tree discussions, and gave us a couple of Paw Paw fruit that she had collected that morning. We waited until they were ripe, and then Haweye and his siblings were able to sample them. They were a huge hit, and we now look for Paw Paw fruit whenever we are out and about!

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Hawkeye also attended a library class on Snap Circuit electronics; through this he was able to experiment with solar panels, electrical flow, sound waves through voice, and see Bernoulli's principle of balancing a ball over a flow of air. Although we have several Snap Circuit sets, Hawkeye really enjoyed seeing more complex sets with different projects to build.

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During September we also continued several Ambleside Online inspired studies; we listened to the music of Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina and learned about his life, studied the art and life of Hans Holbein the Younger, and read several picture book versions of Shakepeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

We also began the Brave Writer Jot It Down curriculum, with month one of the Fairy Tale Project. This month we focused on Rapunzel, with book reading and narration, discussion and art.

Hawkeye also expressed an interest in learning about Japan, so we spent some time learning about Japanese culture through picture books, atlas study, reading about Japan in some fantastic reference books (Material World and Children Just Like Me), and making sushi. We also tried our hand at Origami and Kirigami (which led us to watch the fascinating documentary, Between the Folds) and looked at calligraphy, haiku and pictographs. It continues to be a fascinating rabbit hole to explore!

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We had a fantastic field trip with friends to a local Colonial era farm, where Hawkeye had the opportunity to  try a variety of hands on skills, including candle dipping, wool carding and using a drop spindle to make yarn, pounding dried corn, and playing colonial era games. We then visited the farm as well, seeing a smoke house and a root cellar.

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We started several new curricula this month as well:
Waldorf Essentials, Grade 2 - we practiced form drawing, and read stories about the lives of Saints (St Francis, St Christopher and St Jerome). We verbally narrated each of these stories, and then Hawkeye dictated his own summary of each to me.

We also did a week long study of St. Michael and St. George (both famous for their dragon stories!) in preparation for Michaelmas. We made sewed and dyed capes, made shields and swords (out of cardboard), made dragon bread and painted huge dragon banners. So much fun! 

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Exploring Nature With Children
 - week 1. Seed distribution, through wind, air, water or by animal. We collected seeds and divided them into the different distribution types. We also read a few books about seeds, how they develop and how they grow, and did a seed germination experiment.
- week 2. Mini-Beast Hunt; we looked for a wide variety of 'mini-beasts' outside, and then identified them as gastropods, molluscs, insects, isopods ... We read about the identifying features of insects, made clay models of our favorites and wrote our very first Acrostic poem!

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Beautiful Feet: The History of Horses
We are beginning by reading Marguerite Henry's chapter book, The King of the Wind. Through this we have been encouraged to research Morocco, the Islamic faith, Arabian horses, thoroughbred horses and purebred lines, stud books, family trees, King Louis the XV, the palace of Versailles, 18th Century travel and parts of a horse.

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Reading
We continued daily reading (Easy Reader, Level 1 books) and played on the Teach Your Monster To Read app.

Math
Completed Life of Fred: Edgewood
Began working our way through Life of Fred: Farming (we average two chapters each week)

History
We completed the Beautiful Feet Early American History (Primary/Intermediate) curriculum, and began History of the Horse, also from Beautiful Feet

Ongoing Reading
My Book House, In the Nursery (daily)
Aesop Fables (daily)
The poems of Walter de la Mare (daily) completed
The poems of Eugene Field

Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin
     - Doctor Goldsmith
     - The Kingdoms
     - The Barmecide Feast

Seabird, by Holling C. Holling (completed)
     - chapter 27

The Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 1
     - chapter 2

The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess
     - The Chickadee
     - The Canada Goose and the Loon
     - The White-Breasted Nuthatch and the Brown Creeper
     - The Tree Sparrow and the Junco

Among the Forest People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
     - The Little Bat Who Wouldn't Go To Bed
     - A Swarm Leaves the Bee Tree
     - The Haughty Ground Hog

The Story Book of Science, by Jean Henri Fabre
     - The Six
 
Chapter Books Read
Seabird, by Holling C. Holling
Ramona's World, by Beverly Cleary
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown, by Sydney Taylor


Non-fiction Books Read
How a Seed Grows, by Helene J. Jordan
From Seed to Plant, by Gail Gibbons
Ten Mile Day: And the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad, by Mary Ann Fraser
John Muir: America's Naturalist, by Thomas Locker


Picture Books Read
Puppies and Piggies, by Cynthia Rylant
The Teeny-Tiny Woman, by Paul Galdone
Sarah's Unicorn, Bruce Colville
A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Philip C. Stead
The Egg, by M. P. Robertson
Happy Birthday, Good Knight, by Shelley Moore Thomas
A Good Knight's Rest, by Shelley Moore Thomas
A Cold Winter's Good Knight, by Shelley Moore Thomas
Wabi Sabi, by Mark Reibstein
Rapunzel, by Paul O. Zelinsky
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and Their New Skates, by Maj Lindman
The Warlord's Beads, by Virginia Walton Pilegard (a picture book about math concepts)
Take Care, Good Knight, by Shelley Moore Thomas
Princess Super Kitty, by Antoinette Portis
Wait, by Antoinette Portis
A Time to Keep, by Tasha Tudor
Babushka's doll, by Patricia Polacco
The Warlord's Fish, by Virgina Walton Pilgard (a fictional picture book about scientific concepts)
Cupid and Psyche, by M. Charlotte Craft, illus. by K. Y. Craft
Pony Island, by Candice F. Ransom
Obelix and Co., by Goscinny and Uderzo
Johnny Appleseed, by Jane Yolen
Applesauce Season, by Eden Ross Lipson
The Paper Crane, by Molly Bang
Not a Stick, by Antoinette Portis
Leaf Man, by Lois Ehlert
Rain Makes Applesauce, by Julian Scheer
A Penguin Story, by Antoinette Portis
Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis
The Apple Pie That Papa Baked, by Lauren Thompson
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, by Lois ehlert
Froodle, by Antoinette Portis
Grandfather's Journey, by Allen Say
Flora's Very Windy Day, by Jeanne Birdsall
The Busy Little Squirrel, by Nancy Tafuri
We Gather Together, by Wendy Pfeffer
Ox Cart man, by Donald Hall
The Bicycle Man, by Allen Say

Movies Watched
Nature - Animal Homes
     - Location, Location, Location
     - Animal Cities
Reading Rainbow
     - Ox Cart Man
Between the Folds

Podcasts
Tumble Science
     - How Ants Conquered the Earth
     - The Code of the Flashing Firefly
But Why?
     - How Long Does it Take for a Baby Cheetah to go From a Fluffball to a Hunter
Sparkle Stories
     - The Dragon and the Unicorn