ABSee Photo Meme: I is for Incredible Sky

Wow, what an incredible sky!

This was a beautiful sky from a few days ago on our late afternoon hike.

Don't forget to look up when you go outdoors.
Join the fun.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Tapestry of Grace and My Struggle to Make it Work

Hopefully this entry will help another family trying to work at the Rhetoric Level of Year Two using Tapestry of Grace.

I have long struggled with Tapestry of Grace and its overwhelming amount of material to cover in a short period of time, especially at the Rhetoric Level. I have written about it before on this blog but this time the subject at the forefront is not literature alone but in combination with history.

History for the most part drives our homeschool. We try to keep our history study, literature readings, writing, poetry, composer study, and artist study all together as we move along the timeline. It makes it very neat and tidy. We feel immersed in a time period. We can see the influences that writers, religious leaders, musicians, politicians, explorers, and artists all had on each other. It makes it a very rich experience as we connect one thing to another.

I think Tapestry of Grace has made the road a little less bumpy but our week is not really on auto-pilot either. It still takes a large commitment of time on my part to orchestrate the week's shape and form and I do feel a sense of satisfaction on Fridays when we have our weekly discussion about what we each found through our reading and additional research.

Sand Verbena-Joshua Tree National Park

Then there are weeks like the last two weeks where as the coordinator of the journey, I feel totally buried beneath the sheer amount of material we are expected to cover. I know we are to pick and choose but to try to incorporate history on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean during the Age of Reason and tie it to colonial history....I am feeling inadequate to cover these subjects in a week, even with the Teacher's Notes to do justice to this rich time period.

Most of this is all new material for me even after taking history in college. This is great stuff and really very interesting but it is the volume and speed at which we are expected to cover the weeks.

Here is the list from last week's history overview:
Learn about the founding of Pennsylvania and Delaware. (sort of covered this in previous years so I feel okay with what we did learn)
Continue learning about Louis XIV of France and read about the reigns of James II, William and Mary, and Anne of Great Britain.
Learn about the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Spanish Succession, AND the Great Northern War.

This week we are to add in the great thinkers of the time: Descartes, Newton, John Locke.

This is on top of the literature assignment which was a review and overview of all the Medieval literature, Renaissance literature, and the Age of Reason literature we have covered so far this year. We had to do a lot of reading on the Loom and turning back to our previous weeks' literature assignments to do justice to this particular assignment. It basically turned into a lecture on my part right from the Teacher's Notes. I talked so much that my throat hurt. This is not what I want from our literature study.

First purple wildflower of the season

Time to regroup. Time to get back to a more Charlotte Mason approach with slow reading and oral and written narrations.

I hate to cut things out or abbreviate them in any way because I feel like there is a lot of substance to the selections both in history and literature. Most of the topics my boys are really getting interested in learning more about. They are also putting in extra effort and reading on their own time so that is not part of the issue this time.

So how do I manipulate the reading lists and expectations without taking the life out of Tapestry of Grace? I already shared how we are paring things down for literature and now I need to do the same for history.

The New Plan

We are going to go back to only using the Core History books because these are meaty enough to help us have lots of food for thought. I will read the first blue page of the Tapestry of Grace Teacher's Notes (general information) with them on Monday and we will highlight the main points to keep in mind while we do our reading for the week. The boys will be going back to keeping a Commonplace Book while they read to record their thoughts and any important quotes or ideas that they come across as they read. We will be using Mind Map techniques to tie history to art and music as we work through those subjects. Their written narration piece each week will come from history, science, art, music, or literature and will be on topics that they themselves will choose. I will then step back and see what we come up with to discuss on Fridays.

For myself I will remember that we are not trying for complete coverage and/or all the "right" answers but reaching for some sort of meaningful connections as we read and discuss the week's topics. This is the biggest change in our plans with Tapestry of Grace.

I think we are going to only tackle two more novels before the end of the school year: Don Quixote and Gulliver's Travels. We have some poetry to cover as well: Pope, Swift, and Johnson. In theory, it should not be too bad. We have read junior versions of both novels before and we seem to be able to sift through the poetry fairly well. I can always cut it back to just the novels or the novels and one poet if we need to pare it back some.

I am confident that we can make this work if we look at the plans with flexibility and with *our* goals in mind.

I am grateful for a framework and Tapestry of Grace provides that and then some. It is the "and then some" that frustrates our family.

Stay tuned to see how it goes.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

ABSee Photo Meme: L is for Landscape

Desert landscape.....with ocotillo that is just about ready to blossom.

Here is what it looks like close-up.

Hummingbirds really like this plant and last year when we were in Tucson, Arizona, we noticed many, many hummers sipping nectar from these prickly plants.

Join the fun!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Jungle Painting Copywork

Can you hear them singing? There are so many tropical birds to share this week! The colors and shapes and sizes are all so beautiful. Enjoy!

Here is your slideshow: Tropical Birds

This week's assignment is going to be something different just for fun. I am going to post a painting and your assignment is going to be to view the painting and then to copy a part of it into your own sketch.

You can sketch the whole thing or just a little part of it.

Spend some time viewing the painting and have your child tell you what they see. Don't tell them the title of the painting and see what they think the title should be after they have viewed it carefully. You can click the image on the blog entry to make it larger, do a Google Image search using the name of the painting and then pull it up on your computer, or use the pdf link below to make a 4" by 6" print of the painting on your color printer.

Picture Study and copying artwork may be something new for your child so I suggest you get out your own pencil and paper and try the assignment right alongside them.

Here is your painting:
Henri Rousseau Woman Walking in an Exotic Forest
1905, The Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania

This painting has some really great stuff to copy. You could try to copy one of the plants with the fruit or one of the really big colorful flowers. You could add the woman with the hat if you wanted. I would suggest regular or colored pencils for this assignment.

Give it a try and see what happens! This sort of assignment is appropriate for all ages of sketchers.

You will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your child will catch on to this sort of assignment.


Make your sketches and then send them in by Monday, February 23rd to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Just a Reflection Under a Palm Tree

Sometimes it takes a "moment" to have your life come into focus. For some it is a near miss experience or when a baby joins a family. For me this week while on our little roadtrip to the desert, I had one of those moments at the swimming pool.


It was when we were all in the pool. I looked around at the other teens there and they were all so disconnected from their families. They had their iPods plugged in and their cell phones at hand. My teens were in the pool tormenting their dad. Well, more like having a fantastic dad-son time. Cannonballs, Marco Polo games, handstand contests....you know, guy stuff.

That was the moment it hit me, actually gave me a little chill.

My teens still thought hanging out with their dad was cool.

This is what it is all about for our family. A big reason we persevere with homeschooling and the way of life we have built around it. Roadtrips taken on school days. Swimming pools in the dead of winter.

Climbing up massive granite boulders in the desert with not another soul around.

We don't have too many years left to go with homeschooling but the relationships we are building will last us a lifetime.

So when you wake up in the morning and you don't feel like having school....remember it is more than just book learning and remember my moment.

You will have yours too.

Mine came with a view like this.....sweet.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

It is a Prickly Cactus Kind of Day

Just taking a little blog break this week. I will be back to my normal posting on Monday.

Have a great weekend.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Tropical Bird

There were so many clever sketches this week showing all kinds of soaps. I am always surprised how each person interprets the assignment. Thank you so much for sharing all the lovely sketches.

Here is your slideshow:
Sketch Tuesday-Draw a Kind of Soap

This week's assignment, due February 23nd: Sketch a tropical bird.

Everyone is welcome to sketch and you do not need to sign up ahead of time. Each week we have new sketchers so please don't hesitate to join with the group. Make your sketch and then send it in to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, February 23nd and I will include it in the next slideshow.

Thanks for your participation,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

From Oils to Acrylics

This year has been a year of exploring with different kinds of paints.

After working with watercolors, oils, and acrylics, each son has found his favorite.

My youngest is in love with oils. His style is very impressionistic and oils seem to suit how he wants the paints to go onto the canvas. Lots of paint and lots of time to manipulate the paint make for a happy painter.

I have a hard time with the smell of oils and I can hardly wait until he can paint en plein air.


My middle son jumped for joy the first time he painted with acrylics. I could hear him as he got started exclaiming how he loved the way the paints mixed in the palette. He fooled around with tinting and shading and mixing and more mixing until he got the exact color he wanted.


He went right to work on his very first acrylic project....the assignment was to view a series of landscapes online and then come up with his own that included a foreground, middle ground, and background.

I love that his subject was a fjord...something we had been studying in marine biology over the last few weeks. Here is his beginnings as he sketched out the mountains with grays and black.


He took two afternoons to complete his project and he says he is happy with the results. I think this one gets a frame. :)



My advice: Don't get stuck working with one medium and don't hesitate to offer a variety of paints even for your younger children. Make the leap from watercolors to acrylic to oils and see what happens. Your reluctant painter may just find that they like working with something new.


Barb-Harmony Art Mom

ABSee Photo Meme: O is for Oak

O is for Oak....in the snowy mist after the a storm.


Join in the fun!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Winter Art-Three Different Ideas

Winter has come to our neighborhood....


We had three inches of snowfall this morning so we called it an official "Snow Day" from regular schoolwork. I brought out the art supplies and we each made our version of a snow day painting. Actually the boys each decided to draw theirs and I used watercolors and chinese brushes....easy and great results. I was inspired by a YouTube video that I posted over on my nature blog from last week. Here is the link: How to Paint a Tree



This is my middle son's drawing using black pastel paper and white oil pastels. Once again, he shows that gesture drawing style of his. Boy it looks cold in his drawing.





My youngest thought he would try using pen in his nature journal to record the snowy day. This is the view out our front window.




What a great day to enjoy our winter weather.


Hope this inspires some art around your house.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sprinkles Make Life Better

Amanda has been treating us to a variety of delicious desserts lately...most of them with sprinkles. You just have to love anything with sprinkles. :)


I have been relaxing and playing with some new watercolor pencils. Here is my drawing before I touched it with brush and water.

Now look how pretty it is!


We all need a little something with sprinkles and a little something to play with.....nothing better than some "mother culture" time.

Mine usually is accompanied by chocolate, the darker the better.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: All Washed Up

Your slideshow this week has all the signs of being a success. :)

Here is your link to last week's assignment to draw a street sign:
Sketch Tuesday: Street Signs

This week's assignment, due February 16th: Sketch some kind of soap.

All sketchers are welcome of any age....even moms and dads! Make your sketch and send it to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, February 16th and I will include it in the slideshow. Have a fun week sketching!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

ABSee Photo Meme: D is for Daffodil

D is for Daffodil....in my garden.....this week!

Yes, I was surprised too.


Join in the fun.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Encouragement for Those With Very Little Ones

I posted a really long entry over on my nature blog this morning about how to include very young children in your nature study.

I wanted to link over here in case you don't normally read my Handbook of Nature Study blog.

Enjoy.
Nature Study With Very Young Children

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Mission Accomplished: New Curtains

Just in case you were wondering after my curtain post......



Another view.....


Thanks for helping me be accountable.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Mark Kistler Drawing and Picture Study

I had a great question from one of the moms who is reviewing the new Medieval and Renaissance Art and Music Appreciation plans. She is using option two which includes going through Mark Kistler's Draw Squad book and then applying the drawing element to the painting in option one.

If you are not using my art plans, you can still apply these ideas to whatever drawing and picture study plans you are using with your children. It is a rather simple concept but a very powerful tool.

Here is a link to view a sample from the ebook and to have a better understanding of how I connected the Mark Kistler drawing lesson to the painting that is viewed in option one.
Medieval and Renaissance Art and Music Appreciation Sample Pages

General instructions for option two, day two:

• The plans for option two, day two suggest completing Lesson One: Foreshortening in Draw Squad.
  
• After you finish the lesson, I suggest viewing the painting by Giotto, Life of St. Francis, Renunciation of Wealth and look for the shapes and angles.
  
• After viewing the painting, I suggest having your child draw a building from the painting using what they learned about foreshortening.

Here are some samples from this lesson that my son completed.

His sketches from Lesson One: Foreshortening



Here is his sketch of the right hand buildings from the painting. (See the painting at the top of the blog entry.)


I talked last week about my idea that art copywork helps train the eyes to see the shapes and art elements that the painter used to solve the problems in making things look real. As you begin the Mark Kistler lessons and then complete the follow-up exercises, you will start to see your child apply immediately the concepts from the drawing lessons.

In the beginning, it may help to work alongside your child to help them begin to see how the objects he is drawing in the Draw Squad lessons are applicable to the paintings. You do not need to insist on perfection but a really good try is acceptable at first. Pick a small portion of the painting where you can clearly see the new art concept illustrated. In this particular example, your child could concentrate exclusively on the yellow box-shaped building on the top right side of the painting. Keep it simple and let your child progress at their own pace.

As you work through the progressive lessons, I am sure you will begin to see application of the art skills learned in option two of Medieval and Renaissance Art and Music Appreciation.

If you would like to read how this reviewer's second week is going with these plans, here is her blog entry.
The Sinister Scribe

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Why Include Art And Music Appreciation? Part 1 I Don't Have Time

Reprinted from my old blog-Enjoy!

This series of four posts will help you get started with art and music appreciation by overcoming all the normal excuses. I hope it encourages you!

"I don't have time to teach art...I am so far behind in my core subjects...I have no talent in art...We will do some projects over the summer"

Sound familiar? In my ten years of homeschooling I have heard many excuses from my friends about why they do not include art and music in their weekly routines. Truth be told, I thought some of the very same things until I realized that these two subjects are easily incorporated into our daily lives. No matter what style of homeschool you use-textbook, classical, unschooling, or anything in between-art and music can be woven into your year. The study of great works of art, the listening to uplifting pieces of music, and the freedom to be creative in any subject can enrich and expand what we already offer to our children. If this is your first time to journey into this world, much enjoyment can be found experiencing these subjects with your children and growing along side them. I will share how we have done this in our family and how I have encouraged others to do so in their lives....homeschooled or not. Be open to the possibility that you can add some art and music into your homeschool day.

Part One: I Don't Have Time

Music appreciation can easily be accomplished by picking two or three composers a year and finding CD's to listen to. Start with the well-known masters such as Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart. Choose a CD and then regularly listen during your school day or as you drive in the car to other activities. Each CD will quickly become familiar as you listen to it over and over. Many times an artist will even be easily recognized by the children and they will shout out how they heard this piece in a movie or during a cartoon. Some artists will not immediately be liked but you will find that after you get a "taste" for a certain composer their music will grow on you. If your child has not been exposed to classical music, it may take some time before they will enjoy the sound of it so don't give up.

Art appreciation, or picture study, can be a complement to your other subjects. I start by choosing an artist that goes along with the period of history we are studying. After selecting the artist, I find a source for viewing that artist's work. The Internet is a valuable and efficient source for finding a great quantity of artwork. My two favorite choices are Mark Harden's The Artchive (www.artchive.com) and Olga's Gallery (www.abcgallery.com). Another source is the library where we find art books, children's biographies, and videos that supplement our picture study. We study four to five different artists a year this way. It will not take long before your children are recognizing famous artwork when you are going about your daily life.

I will post the next in the series soon. They also will be eventually posted in the left sidebar of my blog.

In the meantime, use the links on my right sidebar to pick a composer to listen to and an artist to study. Keep it simple and have fun.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

ABSee Photo Meme: B is for Bench

B is for bench.

This is such a beautiful place to sit and contemplate just about anything....maybe not sit so much this time of year but take a walk and stand for a few minutes and enjoy the view.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom


Join the fun.

Sketch Tuesday: Street Signs

Last week's assignment was to sketch your favorite vegetable. I had a hard time deciding what my favorite is because there are so many to choose from. I loved the variety of subjects this time. Thanks for sharing your sketches.

Here is your slideshow:
Your Favorite Vegetable

This week's assignment, due February 9th: Sketch a street sign.

You could sketch a traffic sign or a street sign...use your imagination.

Everyone is welcome to sketch and there is no need to sign up. Make your sketch and then send it in to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, February 9th and I will include it in the slideshow.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Just Do It: Curtains

No matter what you think of me you probably never would imagine that I am a huge procrastinator. Yes, procrastinator. I agonize over certain projects until they are Mt. Everest in size.

I have one such project looming in front of me at this moment. I have even filed our income taxes instead of working on this project.

Curtains for the living room.

I really thought this was going to be an easy, just get it done sort of project but the fabric is still sort of draped over the rod just as it has been for the last two months. You can't really see in the photo but the fabric is all pooled at the bottom in a huge mound.



I absolutely am in love with the fabric and I know it will be an easy job once I get started. Can you see the little dragonflies and butterflies? Too perfect for my living room and just the right colors to go with everything else in the room. I also purchased it at a bargain price...thanks Joann Fabrics.

It is just the getting started part that I am procrastinating.

I am only going to be making panels with rod pockets and then installing tie back hardware. Easy as pie.

So how long do you think it will actually take me to cut and seam up four panels for the living room? Probably an afternoon at most is my guess.

I just need a kick in the behind to get started. That is why I am writing this post......accountability. Next Saturday I am going to actually make the curtains. Stay tuned.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

ABSee Photo Meme: M is for MINI COOPER

M is for MINI COOPER.....6' 7" son assures me that his car is not too little.