Sketch Tuesday: Playground Time!

Last week's assignment was to sketch something made with fabric, yarn, or beads. There is a small slideshow this week because of Spring Break but I am sure you will still enjoy the sketches! I look forward to everyone getting back in the swing of things this week.

Here is your slideshow: Something crafty.

This week's assignment, due Monday, May 2, 2011:
Sketch something you see at a playground.

All sketchers are welcome and there is no need to sign up. Send in your sketches in jpg format and mail them to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, May 2, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. If your sketches come in after Monday night I do not guarantee that I will add them in late.....just too much going on right now. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

High School Art Appreciation - Big Thank You to Charlotte Mason

Mr. A's last artist was Mondrian. Here is his art copywork.

Mr. A is approaching his last artist and composer study of the term, the year, and his high school course. This is the final time we will officially view an artist's work and listen to a composer's music as part of his homeschooling. I pray that it will not be the last of our experiencing these sorts of things together but my hope is that we will continue sharing fine arts together informally.

What have I enjoyed about this experience that we call art appreciation?

• We can talk about art and music. 
• We have shared experiences. 
• There has been depth and substance. 
• We can agree and disagree about art.
• My children have a special "something" about them...they are more interesting people. 
• It always makes me feel satisfied inside when a composer, an artist, or a poet comes up in conversation and my children can join in with some of their own thoughts and feelings. 
• Art and music appreciation is not just a subject in school but a part of who they are as people.

Mr. A is the first of my children to really experience what Charlotte Mason talked about in her volumes as far as an intimacy with beauty of sound and color. I can tell there is a real love for art and a better understanding of how to express himself because of having this exposure and then connection with art of all kinds.

Mr. A has made his art and music appreciation his own this year and has not pushed it aside when he got busy. Even now that he is really hustling to fit his schoolwork in around his paid and volunteer work, he takes the time to slow down and really make room for his art time. I see headphones on as he works on his other subjects and when I ask what he is listening to it is many times his current composer.


I tried to save the best for last...well, perhaps not the best but certainly the most fun for this child. His composer is currently John Williams and his artist is Edward Hopper.


We are going to have some fun with these paintings and we already have enjoyed picking the focus pieces for John Williams. (We are also looking forward to focusing on Langston Hughes as our very last poet.)

You absolutely need to view this YouTube for a fun look at a medley of John Williams tunes! Guaranteed to put the tunes in your head for the rest of the day. Besides...it is a clever young man who really worked hard at putting a great medley together...gave us some ideas for Mr. B's videography course.



Thank you Charlotte Mason for all your words of wisdom and your well thought out plans for those of us who have come after you. Thank you Charlotte Mason community (including Ambleside Online, Simply Charlotte Mason,  and Blog Carnival participants) for your generosity in sharing your plans.  I honestly don't think I would have kept up our art and composer study throughout high school if it were not for all the encouragement from the Charlotte Mason volumes and her modern day torch bearers.

It has enriched our lives.

You can read more about our high school art plans in this entry:
Homeschool Art Appreciation- Charlotte Mason High School Examples 

Sincerely

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Homeschool Bible Study - Follow Up Post

Follow Up To My Bible Post From Last Week:
Someone asked me if we really started at the beginning of the Bible and read straight through because they felt it was such a long stretch through the OT to get to the gospels. Here is my response.

Our staple is to read along from front to back and to make connections as we read. We do that every morning. We also have one additional study time each week where we read in the NT..right now we are working on the book of Acts (previously read Luke).

My boys also have their own personal study time that they work on their own projects. This could be a study of a person in the Bible, the study of a celebration like Passover, a prophecy, a word study, or a project of personal interest.

Our aim is to make everything point to the Kingdom of God...the Tabernacle in the wilderness was a foreshadow of the Temple arrangement, and a model of the heavenly arrangement. The sacrifices of the Law were leading to Christ. If you have a cross-reference Bible you can also take time to look up some of the references that will take you to fulfillment of prophecy or give you a clearer connection to the the NT.

I also recommend at least one time through your Bible to read it chronologically. You can Google "books of the Bible in chronological order" and there are places that give you a way to start from the beginning of history and travel through time. (This actually puts the book of Job after Genesis and you read the book of Psalms as your work through Samuel and Chronicles.) Here is one to give you an idea: Books in Chronological Order.

As far as pace, some days we work through more than a chapter and we read every day....not just school days. I think we are working on our 4th time through as a family. Some of the children have additionally worked on their own to read the Bible in a year as a project. My daughter is currently working on reading through in Spanish.

The intent of my original blog entry was to give some shape to how we grew through the stages with our children. We always aimed to make it meaningful and to make it something they could apply in their lives. The questions I listed in my post are really good at reaching little hearts (big hearts too).

Call for Tips and Links: I Need Some Help - Reusable Bags, Anatomy, and Tapestry of Grace Trade

I need to find the following things so if you have any information or links to share, I would greatly appreciate your help!

1. I would like to buy some pretty reusable grocery bags. I have looked on Amazon and Etsy but I can't find anything I like for a price that seems reasonable. I would like both bags for groceries and bags for things like produce and bulk items (nuts, grains, spices).

2. I am planning my son's Human Anatomy and Physiology course and I am looking for online resources, links to videos, suggestions for books in addition to a text (already have that picked out). He is interested in going into a medical field, not a full blown M.D. but perhaps radiology, ultrasound, physical therapy, or something like that. Any suggestions are welcome!

3. I am also thinking about looking for someone to trade Tapestry of Grace years with for next year. I have Year 1 and 2 (Redesign but not digital) that I would be interested in trading for Year 4 (Redesign print or digital*). I haven't posted on the TOG board yet but I will probably do so next week. I could also trade Harmony Fine Arts plans for Year 4 or at least work that into the deal. Please email me directly: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

* Edit 4/21/11: Apparently with TOG you can not transfer the digital edition. From their website:

"When you buy Tapestry of Grace DE,you are not buying a copy of the curriculum. You are buying software which grants you the permanent right to use (and print) copies of the curriculum for your family's personal use. LockLizard is controlled by a computer-specific license that you purchase."

So I will be using my TOG Year 4 Classic once again next year because I just can't see investing in another year plan for just one time through. It is a good plan but not my first choice for Mr. B. I will make it work. I appreciate the email from those willing to talk trading but it doesn't look like it is within TOG's rules.

That's it for now....thanks for your help.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Something Crafty

Last week's assignment was to sketch something with a tail and there are some great ideas shared in this week's slideshow. Thank you very much to all the sketchers who participated this week and welcome to all the new sketchers!

Here is your slideshow: Something with a tail.




This week's assignment due Monday, April 25, 2011: 
Sketch something made with fabric, beads, or yarn.

All sketchers are welcome and there is no need to sign up. Send in your sketches in jpg format and mail them to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, April 25, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. If your sketches come in after Monday night I do not guarantee that I will add them in late.....just too much going on right now. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

"For the Knowledge That is Better Than Silver or Gold" - Our Homeschool Bible Education Plans

What better living book than the Bible to help give our children ideas to think about and real life examples to learn from as they grow into lovers of truth? 

"We should be working as hard at understanding the teachings of Jesus as Plato's disciples did at comprehending his words of wisdom. Let's take up our notebooks and study the orderly and progressive sequence, the penetrating quality, the irresistible appeal, and the uniqueness of the Divine teaching. For this kind of study, it might be good to use a chronological arrangement of the Gospels. Let's not just read for our own benefit, although we will benefit. Let's read for the love of the knowledge that's better than silver or gold."
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 338

We have always included a study of the Bible in our homeschool even when the children were very young. The true test of a living book, in my opinion, is its ability to influence our thinking in a positive way, to move us to action. The combination of Bible reading and then some sort of interaction with the ideas is a powerful tool in raising a Godly family.

This is when Mr. A was obsessed with making bubble letters like his big sister.

Preschool - Reading Age (around 5): I would read aloud a Bible account from a children's Bible Stories book and then I would read the corresponding scriptures from the Bible. We do not use the King James version but one that is a modern translation. (Note: Charlotte Mason prefers the King James.)

The children would then narrate on a level that is appropriate for their abilities, either in drawings and/or short narrations. We gently started memorizing the order of the books in the Bible.

They would copy the scripture into the notebook and draw a picture to go with it.

Grammar Stage (approx. age 5-9): We started at the beginning of the Bible and each day we would read one chapter together. As soon as they were able, they would read a few verses aloud for the family. We would discuss the chapter after reading it and each person would answer one of the following questions:

• What do these scriptures teach us about God's qualities?
• How does this relate to the overall theme of the Bible?
• How does this affect my life?
• How can I share this with others?

We started Bible scripture memorization which at that time was one verse at a time of my choosing. We continued memorizing the order of the books of the Bible by using memory aids and games that I made up.


Logic Stage (approx. age 10-13): We continue with one chapter a day Bible reading (starting back at the beginning when we finished Revelation) and discussion outlined above but once a week we take time to choose a scripture to write about in our Bible notebooks. This is a short paragraph with our own thoughts and perhaps a plan for applying the counsel in our own lives.

We started the Simply Charlotte Mason Bible memorization system where we were learning multiple scriptures at a time. I can remember telling the boys that I wish I had learned a scripture a week when I was growing up so that I could draw those up to my memory now when I need them. I would remind them when they were discouraged that knowing Bible scripture is like having hidden treasure in your heart. (I think they are now at an age that they can appreciate the effort we have put into this project.)

Rhetoric Stage (approx. 14-18): The plan includes all the components from the Grammar and Logic stage but the Bible is used as a text for Ancient History study where we tie our history learning in with the Bible. This has been the best experience for me as a parent because I can actually see my children mature as we make connections and discuss all aspects of our history study in light of Bible scripture.

We also started memorizing longer and longer passages from the Bible. The boys now are memorizing whole chapters of scripture at a time. This is a process that seems impossible at first but it is so satisfactory when it is accomplished. I see great value in not only having a whole treasure chest filled with "silver and gold" scriptures but complete thoughts from Biblical writers like David, Paul, and Luke.


Each of us has our own Commonplace Book where we keep track of scriptures that we especially feel a need to remember. I keep mine by category....one category on a page with a list of scriptures written underneath. The boys just keep a journal type listing for scriptures that they feel apply to their lives.

Into Adulthood: My older two children are in their twenties and they have kept up their own personal Bible study in various ways. Meaningful study of the Bible can be a progressive training so that long into the adult years it is as natural as breathing. Treasures better than silver and gold...living thoughts that influence us for the life ahead.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

High School SAT Preparation, Transcripts, and College

I thought it was time that I shared a little about our family's goals regarding high school transcripts, SAT preparation, and college goals. These are probably my most frequently asked about high school homeschool topics here at the Harmony Art Mom blog (a close second are questions about Tapestry of Grace).

First of all, please know that I am talking from my heart and not from an "expert" point of view. This is not a post about the nitty-gritty of making a transcript or how to get your child into a university. There is no magic Harmony Art Mom formula for any of those things and if you read my blog with any frequency you can tell that our family's goal is not so much the narrow road to the SAT and then off to college. We prefer to wander a bit and to spend time together exploring fields of interest as they arise. We do not have tunnel vision to the SAT and not everything we do will end up on a high school transcript. 

SAT Preparation
We have always taken a balanced view of the SAT (or you can insert ACT or AP tests). It is in the long-range plan to have each of the children take the SAT. Part of what my husband and I decided long ago was to allow our homeschooling to prepare our children for whatever opportunities came along as they grew and developed personal interests. The SAT is a tool that some institutions look to as a measure of academic achievement. Were we going to only shoot for the SAT? No. Our aim was to have them take the SAT as a way to practice taking a formal test, be aware of what other students were learning, and perhaps gain some scholarship money for college courses if that was the road they chose.



I would rather stress a wide variety of reading in the first three years of high school, lots of writing of all sorts, and allow time and space for my boys to make connections with the thoughts and ideas that come up in their studies. The academics were kept mostly to the morning hours and that left afternoons free to develop other interests like art skills, robotics, building models and then flying them, auto shop, and volunteer work. I don't just teach to a test but try to offer a balance of opportunities for learning.

Transcripts
My best advice to anyone is to pick a system that works for you to record your schoolwork as well as other activities and then be faithful about using it as you go along. The extra activities can many times be worked into a more complete transcript course that will include not only academics but areas of interest that your children have been involved with over the course of your high school years. This will also keep you alert to areas that you may want to include in your homeschool plans. Examples of this in our home are my son's interest in aviation and working in the shop. My other son has developed a love for cooking and writing. These are not always part of their formal schoolwork but they definitely are part of their education. We use Homeschool Tracker and have found it to be a great tool for record-keeping. 



College
Here is my track record.

• My daughter graduated from college. Subsequently, she decided to take a career that does not use her degree in any way but it allows her to work a part time schedule and volunteer part time as well.
• My oldest son's senior year in high school was a combination of high school and community college courses. He currently has two courses left to finish his degree. He has already been working 2 1/2 years in his field of study and finishing the degree will be a formality....an ending. 
• Mr. A may very well end up to be the best read, most artistic welder in the world. He seems to have a natural ability in the machine shop as well and his instructor thinks he may very well have a good position lined up for him when he graduates in June. College may be something that waits. I trust he will make a prayerful decision. 
• Mr. B has decided to have a unique 12th grade year which will be interspersed with "gap year" activities. Instead of taking a whole year for the gap activities, we will be working with a modified school schedule. Basically it will be half school and half outside volunteer work, creative time, and job exploring. This will still have him graduating officially from high school at the age of 17. He is still following a somewhat normal sequence of high school study but part of it will be at the community college and we will see what it leads to.

Nothing in this post is too surprising if you are a regular reader of my blog. You can see how our weekly activities support the goals we have set as a family and for our children. We take seriously the role of mentors to our children and as we see their individual personalities, strengths, and interests emerge we try to build on them.



My husband and I have never looked to the age of eighteen as the magic age of maturity for our children. We have continued to parent and encourage our oldest two children into their twenties. They are solid people now and when Amanda moved out to her own home two years ago we knew it was the right time. Our oldest son is getting ready to make the big move too....purchasing his first home....spreading the wings wide and strong.

It really is about preparing them for life and not just the SAT and for college. No weekly wrap-up post this week...we have been on our spring break and next week may very well end up being a light week as well as we take advantage of some special opportunities that have come up.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Hearts and Trees Spring 2011 Kit is Ready! Art, Handicrafts, and Nature Study!

Amanda just posted her latest kit over on her Hearts and Trees blog!

Hearts and Trees Spring 2011 Kit

Please click over to see the latest art, handicraft, and nature study kit that features the cutest sewing project ever! She is also selling her remaining Fall 2010 kits at a discount so check that one out as well.

Thanks for all your encouraging words and support of Hearts and Trees.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Poem in Your Pocket Day: April 14, 2011

• We have come to appreciate poetry, the sound of the words and the rhythm of the verse. 
• Not all poetry we read is "great" poetry but it is often silly and entertaining. 
• Sometimes we don't understand a poem and it gives us the opportunity to talk about it.
• Poetry seems a natural part of a reading family's diet. 
• You don't have to be able to write poetry in order to enjoy a good poem.

April 14th is Poem in Your Pocket Day. This day is a day that encourages all of us to be prepared to share a poem with all we meet.

"The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends." 

So here is my choice for Poem in Your Pocket Day 2011.

Boats sail on the rivers,
And ships sail on the seas;
But clouds that sail across the sky
Are prettier far than these.
There are bridges on the rivers,
As pretty as you please;
But the bow that bridges heaven,
And overtops the trees,
And builds a road from earth to sky,
Is prettier far than these.
         By Christina Rossetti.

In researching how we can participate in this event, I found the following links helpful.
Poem in Your Pocket printable from Scholastic
Poem in a Pocket Printable from Jimmie's Collage and her wonderful Poetry in Homeschool page!

Need some pre-made poems for your pocket?
Try these from Homeschool Creations

Keep a Poem in Your Pocket
More Christina Rossetti poems on Ambleside

Sketch Tuesday: Tail End

Last week's assignment was to sketch something purple....my personal favorite color. Thank you to all of the sketchers who participated and emailed their sketches for the slideshow.

Here is your slideshow: Something purple.



Next week's assignment due Monday, April 18th, 2011:
Sketch something with a tail.

All sketchers are welcome and there is no need to sign up. Send in your sketches in jpg format and mail them to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, April 18, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. If your sketches come in after Monday night I do not guarantee that I will add them in late.....just too much going on right now. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Poetry for High Schoolers Part 5: Carl Sandburg plus Free Poetry Resources

Poetry has become a regular part of our high school literature course this year by picking one poet to focus on for six weeks at a time. (See how we started HERE.) As part of my refining of our poetry study, I started giving Mr. A specific assignments to go along with each week. These are simple nuts and bolts assignments that get him to think a little more about the poems he is reading. We used the two books listed at the bottom of the blog entry as the foundation of our study. (If you read in a reader you will more than likely need to click over to the blog to see them.) You can read more about our poetry work if you click the "poetry for high schoolers" tag at the bottom of this post. 

Carl Sandburg

Week 1:
Read one of the Carl Sandburg poetry books to get a feel for his poetry.
Focus this week on the poem, Fog. Look for and be ready to discuss the personification and metaphor in this poem.

Week 2:
Read Chicago. (http://poetry-archive.com/s/chicago.html)
Rewrite the first five lines of this poem about the Sierra at Tahoe Ski Resort using Sandburg's style. (You can pick a place that your child is familiar with...a city, an event, etc)

Week 3:
Read Bones. Pick two questions from your poetry analysis page to answer for this poem.

Week 4:
Read Jazz. Look for onomatopoeia words and list them. Write a five line poem about Kona (our dog) that usees at least three onomatopoeia words.

Week 5:
Pick one poem from you book and print it out. Highlight strong words in the poem and then go back with your thesaurus, replace the words with synonyms. Compare the two versions and see if it changes the tone of the poem. (I like Skyscraper or October Paint.)

Week 6:
Complete an author biography notebook page for Carl Sandburg. Pick a poem and practice reading it ten time before Friday. Be ready to read it to the family with expression.




Our Poetry Schedule:
Weeks 1-6 Edna St. Vincent Millay
Weeks 7-12 Robert Browning
Weeks 13-18 Robert Frost
Weeks 19-24 Carl Sandburg
Weeks 25-27 W.B. Yeats
Weeks 28-30 E.E. Cummings
Weeks 31-36 Langston Hughes

If you have younger children, you may be interested in the following free poetry units:

• Poetry Unit Study with Notebook Pages
• The Notebooking Fairy Sonnets and Poetry Notebook Pages
• NotebookingPages.com Free Copywork Pages - Perfect for poetry
• Types of Poems Wallcards - Free

Homeschool Home Stretch...High School Graduate on the Horizon

Mr. B compared these two portraits as part of his art appreciation this week.

Two weeks ago things changed around here with Mr. A. He got a part-time job...a real job! He is excited about the opportunity but for our family it has meant seeing a little less of his smiling face. It is just another step in the direction of becoming a mature young man and it is nice to see his satisfied look when he comes home each afternoon.

Mr. B and I have really missed him. I have lost a walking partner in the afternoons. Mr. B misses the basketball games in the driveway. I miss his help in the garden. It brought into focus even more that he is growing up and soon will be taking the next big steps.

In the meantime, we will finish off the remainder of the year with a flourish. We have started planning his graduation celebration with friends and family. We decided on a picnic and gathering of friends for fellowship and fun in the middle of May. I am ordering his graduation announcements in the next few weeks. I need to take his graduation portrait soon and get those printed to include in the announcement. These are fun times and I hope that he is ready for us all to celebrate his hard work.

The last few weeks have been busy with the same day to day schoolwork...reading and writing mostly.


Mr. B is reading: These Were the Romans, Bible: Matthew 1-7, Luke 1-3, sections in Mythology by Edith Hamilton along with the Aeneid (listening to snatches on Naxos.com).


Mr. A is reading: History of the 20th Century, Kennedy and Nixon, 1984 (final part of this book...much to my relief).


Mr. B is writing his very own ebook which is going to be a story writing tutorial for elementary grades using LEGO characters and settings. This is turning out so much better than I anticipated.

Mr. A is writing a formal essay on Richard Nixon and the space program. I can't remember if I shared his webpage on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that he made on Squidoo. I think he did a pretty good job at pulling things together and writing the narrative parts of the lens.

Here is the pile I am working on right now....HFA Grade 3.

I have been busy working on my new Harmony Fine Arts Grade 3 plans (to be released soon). Here is one piece that is featured during the Chopin weeks. Enjoy Nocturne.


We are taking next week as our Spring Break and I hope to catch up on posting and sharing videography, robotics, poetry, and astronomy. Great things taking place but no time to write about it this time around.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Purple

Last week's assignment was to sketch something you put into a fruit salad. Yum! Great job capturing some of the colorful fruits of a delicious salad.


Here is your slideshow: 
Something you put into a fruit salad.



This week's assignment, due Monday, April 11, 2011: 

Sketch something purple.

All sketchers are welcome and there is no need to sign up. Send in your sketches in jpg format and mail them to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, April 11, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. If your sketches come in after Monday night I do not guarantee that I will add them in late.....just too much going on right now. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom









Don't forget Heather' weekly meme using my Drawing With Children plans. Hop over to her Kingdom Arrows blog to read all about it.

Education is a Life: Truly Home Educating

An atmosphere that surrounds our thinking, a discipline that leads or days, and a life that happens as we share ideas and thoughts about so many worthy things.

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are well spoken of, whatever virtue there is and whatever praiseworthy thing there is, continue considering these things. The things that you learned as well as accepted and heard and saw in connection with me, practice these; and the God of peace will be with you. Philipians 4:8, 9

What has occurred to me lately is that the act of homeschooling is really just our way of life. It is the atmosphere that has grown inside our home and spread to our everyday activities. We don't have separate lives that we go off to each day and our learning is not confined to specific days and times.

And these words that I am commanding you today must prove to be on your heart; and you must inculcate them in your son and speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.Deut. 6:7, 8

Our time is spent in praiseworthy pursuits, those that fit our family. I have confidence that this way of educating our children, one that was sown in doubt, is one we now are reaping in confidence. Charlotte Mason was right. Every child is able to learn, to develop good character, and to speak and express themselves with words that are dignified.

• Poetry and Shakespeare gave us words to play with.
• Picture study gave us interesting things to look at and to enjoy, beauty to inspire
• Nature study gave us a sense of awe for our Creator.
• Great literature gave us things to think about and then talk about together.
• Chronological history gave us the big picture.
• Composer study delighted our ears.
• The Bible gave us our touchstone. 

Education is no longer so much about the specifics but about the creating of a House of Education.

Here is a quote from a post I wrote a few years ago about "Education is a Life".

Some days I want to call for a "do over" and start from the very beginning again homeschooling my children, not because I regret the methods I used but rather because I want to savor each year again. Reading the books, sharing the minute details of each day, watching the light bulb moments, watching them grow spiritually, and sharing the adventure all over.

I still feel that way. I hope you feel that way too when the time comes to look back and reflect on your children and their home education.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Totally Off-Topic- Researching How To Make Homemade Bread

I really intended to write a wrap-up post today but it is not coming together. Instead, here is a funny video I found when I was researching homemade bread. YouTube: Making Bread

I hope it makes you smile...I laughed so hard I cried.

I promise to make a good Weekly Wrap-Up post next week right before our Spring Break.

Have a great weekend.
Barb