Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Music is such a release for me. When I am having stress...I pull out some music and play it LOUD.

Today I needed some music to be the soundtrack of my day and I asked my boys what they wanted to listen to since they were hanging out in the same room. One shouted, "Rachmaninoff"!

Rachmaninoff? Perfect to play loud and chase the stress away.

My favorite piece by Rachmaninoff is Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. It has everything in it. Fast, slow, loud, soft, romance, galloping horses, flying birds, scary, running water, wind, gentle breezes.....you name it. This piece is like a complete storybook if you listen to the entire thing. Sergei takes you on a rollercoaster ride with his music...up high, down low, and then back up again.

Aren't we glad we have YouTube.com?

My favorite of the three videos is the third one...I get tears in my eyes every time I listen to the beginning of this one. Truly awesome sound...and emotions. If you only have time to listen to one of the sections, pick the third one. Big Finish!!!

Here are three videos that include the *entire* piece. The sound quality on these are fantastic. Listen loud or put on headphones.

Guaranteed to chance the stress away!


Rachmaninoff: Video 1





Rachmaninoff: Video 2



Rachmaninoff: Video 3

My favorite inexpensive Rachmaninoff CD.

Picture Study Tip: Using A Viewfinder

Picture study can take many forms. Here are some ideas to get you started!


Using a viewfinder can make picture study easy and not so overwhelming.

Cut a window out of cardstock and use the opening to isolate a section of a painting. Focus on that little section and then perhaps draw it for your notebook.


This painting by Gauguin that I printed out in 8" by 10" size has a lot of things going on to narrate about. Sliding the viewfinder over the painting, find a view that is interesting. The viewfinder helps isolate specific areas of the painting to observe and then to recreate in your notebook if you want to.


By moving the viewfinder, you get a different section of the image to enjoy and focus on. Here you can see the blue palm tree. This viewfinder is four inches square and I cut it out of a large index card.


This is the same Gauguin painting but this time you see the woman and her horse using the rectangular viewfinder. This rectangle is 4 1/4" by 2 1/2", but you can vary your size to fit your needs. I used cardstock to make this one.


How about this famous painting by Grant Wood? You can use the viewfinder to capture just one section to study and then narrate about either in words or in your sketchbook.

For a challenge, use a small square viewfinder and try to copy exactly what you see through the opening. This opening is one inch square and made with a regular index card.

I use a Post It Note tab (the red tab) to hold the card in place while the kids sketch what they see in the opening.


This is not as easy as it seems. This Picasso eye has a lot of shapes and colors to copy but it is a fun exercise. (The sketch on the right was done by my son when he was five.)

This is a great way to add some variety to your art appreciation. Use the viewfinder to help your child get started with picture study.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Don't Fence Me In

This was a really fun Sketch Tuesday assignment. I love, love, love all the sketches this week. The colors and the way you each focused on something different make them so interesting. Wonderful job by all!

Here is your slideshow: Monet's Garden Picture Study

This week's assignment, due Monday, July 6th: Sketch some sort of fence.

You can make the fence a part of a bigger drawing it you would like to show what kind of fence you have in your sketch. Please send in your sketches by Monday, July 6th and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. All sketches should be sent to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com

If you are interested in learning more about Claude Monet this summer, you should check out my free Summer Art and Music Appreciation Plans! The plans include a study of Claude Monet's paintings and Felix Mendelssohn's classical music. Included are six of Monet's paintings for you to view online, notebook pages for both Monet and Mendelssohn, and ideas for simple activities for all ages. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for all your hard work,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Artistic Pursuits High School Level Review

If you are interested in reading a review that I wrote about using Artistic Pursuits High School Level books, I posted one today over at Curriculum Choice.

Curriculum Choice is a great place to research ideas for your family as well as check out their new Homeschool Gadget.

Some of your favorite bloggers may be reviewers at Curriculum Choice so you might want to give it a look this week when you have some time to explore.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Summer Garden Picture Study

Your slideshow this week is full of your souvenirs. I really enjoyed this assignment and viewing all the sketches as they came in to my inbox. Thanks for sharing your souvenirs.

Here is your slideshow: Souvenirs

This week's assignment is another picture study. This time we will enjoy Claude Monet's, The Artist's Garden at Vetheiul. If you would like to view the painting in a larger size, here is the LINK.

The Artist's Garden at Vétheuil, 1880, oil on canvas,
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

I think you will find this link especially helpful: Link to detailed images of the painting at the National Gallery of Art

Have your children view the painting quietly for a few minutes and then have them tell you what they see in the artwork. You can right click and save the image to your desktop if you would like to view the painting that way. You can also print out a small print for each child to view and then keep in their notebooks.

Picture study is a skill that you can develop with your children over time. Try not to tell them too much about what you see in the painting but gently encourage them to describe something they like about the painting. Maybe they like the colors or the way the sunflowers look really tall. I like the sky in this painting and the blues are so blue. Did you notice that some of the plants are in pots? How many children do you see in the painting?

After your picture study, get out your art materials and have your children sketch the painting. As in previous weeks, you do not have to draw the whole thing. You can focus on one particular aspect of the painting that interests you.

Make your sketches and send them in by Monday, June 29th. Please send your sketches to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com

I hope you enjoy your picture study and then your sketch time this week. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival Today!

You will want to click over to Brenda's blog, The Tie That Binds Us, to read this week's edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival.

There are some very encouraging and inspiring posts! Don't miss Brenda's post, Tuesday Traditions-Art Museums.

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival

Enjoy,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Summer Vacation Time

We have been enjoying our view of the sky the last week or so. The clouds have been fantastic!


What better way to spend your afternoon on a hot summer day? (Although I would not consider resting on the sidewalk to be my *first* choice.)


He assures me the view is worth the discomfort.

Summer time memories are being made already. What have you been up to?

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

TOG-Question and Answers

Tapestry of Grace Questions and My Answers (in response to an email)

Do you use Classic or Redesign?
I actually have Classic for years three and four which are the paper versions. I purchased Redesign for years one and two on paper as well. Digital was not available at that time. :)

What about the printed TOG plans? Are they bound or loose leaf?
The printed TOG is paper that comes with hole punches to put into a binder. I usually put the assignment grid pages (two pages per week) into page protectors so I can write on them. I know many people put the whole shebang into page protectors but I have never found that necessary.

What is the Loom?
The Loom comes with the plans as far as I remember. It is a CD and includes all the reproducible pages for the year plan. This makes it easier to print out student pages as you need them. The Loom also includes the book lists and updates and all sorts of supplemental helps. At the Rhetoric level it includes loads of supplements for literature study. I'm sure there is more on there but that is what I have used over the last few years.

Do I need MapAids?
I have found the MapAids CD to be worth its weight in gold. I hate digging for maps and with the CD you can just fire it up and print out what you need on the fly. I also sometimes use the completed maps (teacher's maps) from the CD to print out for the boys if I want to have the info available but don't want to take the time to have them do the assignment.

I printed the sample. Will that give me a feel for TOG?
You will get a pretty good idea but everyone has trouble with "the fog" for the first month or so with Tapestry of Grace. Just a word of caution. There definitely is a learning curve with TOG, but I have found TOG to be something that helps me be a better teacher and leader for my boys.

What about the cost?
I purchased the plans with the intent to use them through two cycles. This means they are all lined up on my shelf and they are paid for. We are going to start our second cycle of history/literature/geography using TOG and it isn't costing me anything at all except for the few additional books that I haven't collected over the years in preparation for using TOG at the Rhetoric level. It was a good investment. Two boys, going through two cycles of TOG....think of all the money I saved over the long run. Excellent.

How do you like the book selections?
For the most part, we enjoy the books planned in TOG. Remember that Tapestry of Grace is written topically so you do not necessarily need to have the exact book recommended in the plans to be able to complete the week's work. I have found the selection of books to include a variety of living books including biographies, source documents, and great historical fiction.

If you have specific questions about TOG, please email me anytime.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Teaching With Balance: Art Appreciation

"But education needs balance. No single subject should assume greatest importance at the expense of other subjects that a child needs to know about. Math is easy to test, and as long as education is ruled by test scores, we'll have teaching focused on training exactness and solving problems efficiently, instead of teaching to awaken a sense of awe in contemplating a field of knowledge where perfection lives with or without us."
Charlotte Mason, volume six, page 231

We have long known that our public school system survives on teaching to the test.. Math, vocabulary, history facts, spelling, reading comprehension, and other easy to test topics have long dominated the public school schedules because they are easy to measure on a test.

As homeschoolers we are in the unique position to change our own thinking and look at our children as people with varying needs and interests. Balancing the more academic with an introduction to things beautiful to the mind and spirit brings a sense of joy to our homeschool.

"Art is a thing of the spirit, and we need to teach it in ways that affect the spirit. We realize that the ability to appreciate art and interpret it is as universal to all people as intelligence, or imagination, or the ability to form words to communicate. But that ability needs to be educated. Teaching the technical skill of producing pictures isn't the same as appreciating art. To appreciate, children need to have a reverent recognition of what's been created. Children need to learn about pictures: they need to learn about them a line at a time, and as groups, by studying pictures for themselves rather than by reading about them."
Charlotte Mason, volume six, page 214

Creating balance in our day with art appreciation takes a few minutes and little preparation.

• Pick an artist.
• Pick five or six of his paintings.
• Take one painting at a time and make it your computer's desktop background by right clicking the image and choosing "Set as Desktop Background".

Now for the fun part!
"The six reproductions are studied one at a time so that the students learn to not just see a picture, but to look carefully at it, absorbing every detail. After looking at the picture, it's turned over and the children narrate, telling what they saw, perhaps, 'a dog driving a flock of sheep along a road all by himself. No, wait, there's a boy, too. He's lying at the river, getting a drink. You can tell by the light that it's morning, so the sheep must be going out to graze in the pasture,' and so on. The children don't miss any details--the discarded plow, the crooked birch tree, the beautifully formed clouds that look like it might rain. There's enough to talk about to keep the children busy for half an hour, and afterwards, the picture will have formed such a memory that the children will recognize it wherever they see it, whether it's a signed proof, an oil reproduction, or the original itself in a museum."
Charlotte Mason, volume six page 214

If you are viewing the painting on your computer screen, you can have your child move away from the monitor and finish the narration of the painting from memory. This simple exercise helps your child to begin to see over time the unique style and techniques of each artist you study. A Monet will look like a Monet. A Raphael will look like a Raphael. All ages of children are capable of this sort of activity and all will learn to narrate paintings quite naturally if you offer the opportunity each week for art appreciation.

If you want some help getting started with picture study, please check out my free plans for six week's worth of art appreciation. Summer 2009 Art and Music Appreciation Plans Everything you need to get started with a study of Claude Monet is included in the plans, even the paintings and links to viewing them online.

"Art appreciation is regarded with a lot of respect, but teachers tend to be intimidated about how to teach it."
Charlotte Mason, volume six, page 213

Don't be intimidated. Choose to balance your homeschool day with a little art appreciation.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Artwork:
John James Audubon
Mary Cassatt
Robert McCall

Sketch Tuesday: Souvenirs

Your assignment last week was to sketch a fire hydrant or a fire extinguisher. I think everyone did a great job tackling this assignment. I hope you enjoy your slideshow.


Here is your slideshow: Fire Hydrants and extinguishers

This week your assignment is due Monday, June 22nd:
Sketch something you have brought home as a souvenir from a trip somewhere.

You can sketch something you purchased while on a trip or vacation. You can also choose to sketch something that you collected like a postcard or a shell. Be creative. Complete your sketches and mail them in by Monday, June 22nd. Please email your sketches to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com.

Thanks for your support of Sketch Tuesday.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom