Sketch Tuesday Will Be Back 9/6/11

The summer months are winding down and I have received a few inquiries about Sketch Tuesday. We will be back with a new assignment on September 6, 2011! I will be keeping the same format and guidelines which you can read by clicking the tab at the top of my blog.

Mr. B and Mr. A have been sketching all summer long.....lots of sci-fi themed projects.

I will be gathering sketches for a Back to School Sketch Tuesday Slideshow. Please submit any sketches (one per person) you completed over the summer to sketchtuesday@yahoo.com and I will put together a slideshow for your enjoyment. All sketches will be due by 9/5/11.

I look forward to another year of Sketch Tuesday. Thanks for the support of all the past participants.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Charlotte Mason Keeps Me On Track

This post is for those of us who are still planning and those that may have started and it is rough going at first. I hope it encourages you to find your own touchstone.

Touchstone: As a metaphor, a touchstone refers to any physical or intellectual measure by which the validity or merit of a concept can be tested. (Wikipedia 8/8/11)

I am thick into my school planning right now and I realized that I keep coming back to my touchstone.....well, one of my two touchstones, the first and foremost touchstone is Biblical and keeping a spiritual eye on all we learn and do. The second is more of a "how to" touchstone and is my interpretation of a Charlotte Mason style education....living books, lots of interaction with ideas, and narrating back in some fashion what is being learned.

This CM touchstone has helped me eliminate a lot of books, texts, and other activities that don't fit that mold. What a relief to cut away all the fluff and busywork! As I look through each subject, carefully paging through the books and ideas for projects, I try to consider the learning style of my son and how best to use the books to help open up his thinking and to give him some ideas to ponder over. We are studying the 20th Century in history, literature, art, music, and science. We are looking for ways to connect these things together by using notebook pages and a really good timeline. Where the study will lead is up to his interests. I need to allow room for exploring the ideas and not just push through to a pre-planned finish (a test, an essay, or a project).

I feel a little like I am leaving myself open to missing "something" but with the added image in my mind of a touchstone.....I don't feel like I am left dangling. I have a place to run to when I need encouragement, first to the Word of God and then to the goals we have set in place using the CM style of learning which include educating the whole child.

We have not been in too great a hurry to start official school work this year. Now that there are some plans down on paper though I realize that we will be ready to go when September 6th rolls around. The garden is starting to fade, I have very few sunflowers left in blossom and the veggies are slowing down. The leaves are beginning to rustle in the dry afternoon heat along with much cooler nights. We even had one morning this week that "felt" like fall. Now our thoughts can turn to school again.

Mr. B has been working on his juggling skills, his drawing, and still reading for many an hour on hot afternoons. I hate to disturb his summer too soon. The time is ticking on this last of my school age children and just like I savored Mr. A's last year of homeschooling, I am trying to capture the last glows of homeschooling Mr. B. The dynamics of our household have changed dramatically in the last few months. This is not a bad thing but rather a new season of learning and living together.

My touchstone(s) have served me well and as I enter this new season I can't help but be reminded of this scripture: Psalms 127:3-5....look it up and see if you don't feel the same way as you look at your children.

Homeschool Science: Things I Would Do Differently

Mr. B's sketch based on an illustration in Astronomy Magazine

"Mr. Fisher says, 'There are real books, and there are textbooks.' The day is soon coming when everyone will realize that textbooks have no educational value. We hardly ever use textbooks in our Parents Union Schools. Whenever possible, we use books that spark the imagination and have a touch of originality. These are the differences between a real book and a text book.
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 272

Teaching high school science can put fear in your heart. Science texts tend to be a little overwhelming and can increase your anxiety that you cannot offer high school science in your home. Setting that fear aside and keeping in mind your goals, it is possible to have a great science experience at home.  Here are a few thoughts from my brain this week on how I would handle the teaching of science in our home if I could go back and do it again.

1. Throw out the preplanned sequences, especially in the lower grades. I can see the wisdom now in allowing the younger years to be left open for exploring and observing in nature. See volume 1 page 43-44 for more information on how to accomplish this with your little ones.


2. Include larger numbers of living books. Living books about nature and the world of science are much more interesting than any textbook. I have learned even in high school that a good interest-drawing book is worth its weight in gold. It takes some more thought and preparation but they are available for just about any topic. (I am working on a Squidoo lens to gather the living books we used for high school science.) Don't rely solely on textbooks.

3. Do the best you can with labwork and leave the rest for a later date. Labs in high school science are highly overrated. I stressed too much over not having the right equipment and supplies to make labs "exciting". Most labwork is not all that exciting since our homeschool labs and budgets do not allow room for the WOW! factor. I can offer simple labs that teach what I want my boys to learn: lab procedure, how to record a lab, and to think beyond the text. I am limiting the number of labs to those that are going to teach what they need to know and then leave the rest for online demos, YouTube videos, and then co-op classes, cc, and beyond. I hate it when you put in a lot of time, money, and effort and then the lab falls flat. All that fussing and you could have done just as well to have them watch an online demo and then research any questions or topics that come up.

4. Tell the story of science chronologically. I would teach more of the history of science with stories of scientists who were successful and also struggled and failed. I found a great series for using with our high school science that my boys loved and would narrate with enthusiasm. It tied history, science, and real people together. Check out the Story of Science series by Joy Hakim. Timeline work would be a part of science study.


5. Start the study of Greek and Latin roots early. This will make things easier once you get to high school biology, chemistry, and human anatomy. I used the Science Roots system from Paula of Paula's Archives when the boys were studying biology and those vocabulary cards are coming back out now as we study human anatomy. She suggests you start the roots before you hit high school biology and I want to chime in to second that idea. Don't wait.....

I am actually looking forward to Mr. B's Human Anatomy and Physiology course this year. I chose a basic course that we are adding some CM style learning to with sketching, biographies, and narrative books. I was struggling with a text until I realized that I didn't want a text... I came up with this:  Simple Schooling: Human Anatomy and Physiology Part 1 and there is a Part 2.

Don't let high school science intimidate you when the time comes. Stay the course with Charlotte Mason's principles and make it work in your family.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Harmony Fine Arts- Grades 1-4 Bundle Blog Special

Note 9/3/11: This offer has expired. You can still purchase the Grades 1-4 Bundle without the mini-units. 

It has been a summer of researching and writing but the revised Harmony Fine Arts Grades 1-4 Bundle is now available. All four grades are updated and now available as either ebooks or in print.

What could be better than having all four levels at your fingertips as you need them? I know that many of my readers are Charlotte Mason homeschoolers and wish to regularly offer art and music appreciation in your homeschooling week. Using the Harmony Fine Arts plans will make your planning so much easier.

Harmony Fine Arts Grades 1-4 Artists and Composers Chart - Free Download!

From now until September 1, 2011, I am offering a blog special for all customers who purchase my 
Harmony Fine Arts Grades 1-4 Bundle.

• Order my Harmony Fine Arts Grades 1-4 Bundle at the already discounted price using the button here in this entry and you will receive all of my Harmony Fine Arts Mini-Units for FREE! This is a $11.85 value.
• Plus I will give you the option to purchase the bundle in either print or ebook versions....your choice!

With the special bundle offer you will receive free:


Harmony Fine Arts - Vermeer and Haydn


Harmony Fine Arts - Degas and Prokofiev


Harmony Fine Arts - Van Gogh and Handel

For more information about the Harmony Fine Arts Mini-Units, you can read this BLOG ENTRY or click over to my Squidoo Lens.

Harmony Fine Arts Grades 1-4 Bundle PRINT Edition - Shipped Priority Mail ($59.95 + $4.75 shipping)

Harmony Fine Arts Grades 1-4 Bundle EBOOKS - All links will be sent within 24 hours to your Paypal email address. ($59.95)

HFA Grade 7 - Late Renaissance to Early Modern Art and Music Plans Are Now Available

HFA Grade7 Middle School
Late Renaissance to Early Modern Art and Music

Harmony Fine Arts Grade 7 plans are now ready for your family. The new Grade 7 plans are available in both ebook and print editions.The ebook version includes everything in the print version plus art prints that you can print for your family.

*36 Weeks of Plans - 6 artists and 6 composers. (See sample for a complete list.)
*Three Options for art and more detailed plans for composer study. (See sample for Weeks 1-6.)
*Ebook format includes links to internet sources for viewing artwork, additional activities, and YouTube listening and viewing. (See sample for more details.)
*Ebook and Print editions include a variety of notebook pages and three coloring pages to use as a follow-up to your study.
*Ebook format includes art prints for each artist to view and/or print out for your personal use.
*Resources can be seen on my Amazon.com store.

Ebook Version $17.44 - Link will be sent within 24 hours to your Paypal email address.

Print Version $19.95 plus postage

Right now the only way to purchase these plans is to click the Paypal button in this entry. I will get the Harmony Fine Arts website updated next week.

The print version has the same content as the ebook version but the internet links will need to be typed in by the user. The print version also includes all the same notebook pages and coloring pages but because of cost the art prints are not provided. All artwork referenced in the plans is available for viewing on the internet with links provided.

Please Note:
If you order from Rainbow Resource, you may get the old plans. If this happens, email me and we can make a switch. Also if you have a Grade 7 plan now and would like to trade it in for a new version, please email me as well.


Harmony Fine Arts has been awarded Practical Homeschool Magazine's Reader's Award - Honorable Mention for both Art and Music Appreciation plans 

If you have any questions, please email me anytime.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Back to School - Making High School Fit Your Student

"The purpose of education isn't to train for a technical skill, it's to develop the whole person. The more fully a person meets his potential, the better his work will be, no matter what that work is."
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 147

"The main challenge is the huge amount of subjects to introduce children to. They have a right to them as human beings, and they need to find out about the things that they're drawn to as people and that they'll spend the rest of their lives pursuing further. The first and the most important is the knowledge of God. This is to be learned most directly from the Bible. "
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 254

Knowledge is that which we know, but a person can only know what he expends the effort to learn. Nobody can learn for him, it's something he has to do for himself."
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 255

"Instead, just let the student read it and tell it back, and he'll know it."
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 262

One huge advantage of homeschooling during the high school years is that you can customize your plans to fit each student. As the child grows and expresses interests and strengths, I think it is our duty to find ways to nurture those interests and strengths (or I might even call them gifts). We are not obligated to complete each year the same way for each of our children. Aren't we glad we can adjust the materials and subjects? Our paths can be as individual and specialized as our growing and developing young men and women.

So what are we doing this year with only one child homeschooling???

• Thinkwell American Government - Online course with biographies and other books to narrate and current events to consider. After he finishes this semester course he will be starting his economics study.
• Tapestry of Grace Year 4 - Used loosely for literature and history with lots of reading and narration both oral and written. I am adding in poetry and Shakespeare AND for the first time an opera! I am open to suggestions for our opera study....considering Carmen or La Traviata. Leave me a comment if you have any ideas!
• Human Anatomy - System by system we will learn about the human body, supplemented with loads of vocabulary and drawing.
• Auto Shop - Dad's required course using the Auto Up-Keep curriculum we used with Mr. A. Mr. B will be driving a lot now that he has his Driver's Permit (my last baby has hit the road).
• Geography - Current events, maps, and notebooking pages
• Writing - IEW's courses: Elegant Essay and Windows to the World. These will be done as they fit our needs and as I see the opportunity to fine-tune Mr. B's writing. 
• Art/Music/Violin - Harmony Fine Arts Grade 12 supplemented with some elements from HFA Grade 8.
• Bible Study - Continuation of our chapter by chapter reading and discussion along with memorization. 

Note: Some of these are year-long courses and some will be completed over two year's time. Remember Mr. B is taking two years to complete his senior year because of his age...he's only fifteen. 

Mr. B will continue with some of his activities from last year including his baking course and his astronomy course. These both will be very self-driven and will be recorded in Homeschool Tracker as he completes projects. These will be added to his work from last year to finish complete credits in both by the end of the two years. This is something I learned from working with Mr. A and his Aviation course. We kept track of all his activities related to this study, both formal and informal and were able to combine them into one course with a full credit at the end. Nothing says that all the work for a high school course needs to be completed within one school year.

In the end, I have tried to stick to my CM convictions with lots of interesting subjects and ideas to learn about, focusing on the whole person and not filling a transcript. I will be organizing the books and sequence but Mr. B will be doing the actual work of learning without much interference from me. I will still be here available and willing to guide him if he needs it.

Part of me wishes he needed more help....

Inspiration for Your Morning Coffee.....Ahhhhh

I have been a huge fan of Danny Gregory for a long time and I found this in my Google Reader this morning and I wanted to share the video with you. Some of us are so very visual and watching him work gets the creative juices flowing. I am making time this morning to pull out my pens and watercolors and getting some color down on paper.

The Art of Breakfast

This video is worth the four and a half minutes.....be inspired!


The Art of Breakfast from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

Have fun with your paints and paper soon....

Not Back To School Yet

August....delicious August...stretching out in front of us. We made the family decision to hold off starting school again until the first week in September. This is the latest start to school we have allowed ourselves ever. Mr. B and I are working as a team to fill his year with interesting things to explore and learn together since he is the last of the M family homeschooling.

High school has shaped up to be the greatest adventure ever for our family and with the decision to stretch Mr. B's senior year into two years, we have allowed ourselves some freedom to fill the days with a nice balance of academics and creativity.

For now, August will be filled with unschooling....Mr. B is really good at that. :)


Mom's August Plans

• Finish HFA Grade 7 and work on Grade 8.
• Complete all four August Newsletter nature study challenges with Mr. B at Grandpa's pond.
• Clean shelves and plan the first nine to twelve weeks of school.
• Work and paint in the garden.
• Make blackberry jam.
• Start working on my new counted cross-stitch from the Grand Tetons.
• Scrapbook the first part of 2011 (probably will only get the photos printed and organized)

Mr. B's August Plans

• Day with his brothers at the mini golf/go-cart/water slide.
• Read the rest of his stack of summer books. Pick up a few more at the library.
• Skim through several of his anatomy books for next year to get a general understanding of where we are headed. 
• Wakeboarding with his Dad and brothers.
• Drive with Dad - driver's permit in his pocket.
• Play chess and Risk with friends.
• Pick the blackberries for Mom's jam.
• Swim, ride bikes, play basketball, and build with Legos when it is too hot.
• Convince Mom and Dad to let him take sailing lessons in the fall. (Working on getting this to happen...$$$)

We have a couple of hikes planned too so those will fill in our weekends when Dad is not working or out of town. We have one hike planned at Yosemite with friends so that will be something to look forward to as the time draws near.

As much as I miss the busy homeschool days with lots of ages and faces around the house, I am finding it sweet to have plans outlined in my head for just one student who is an independent learner and is capable of handling just about anything. It is far less stressful and makes me so glad that we worked hard all those early years to set good habits and skills in place.

There may be one wrinkle in my plans next week.....I have a jury duty summons that I hope will get cancelled. What a waste of an August if I have to sit indoors in a jury trial! I guess I could look at it as research for our government course.....not exactly how I want to spend the last few days of my summer break.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom


I don't want you to miss out on this event! Her prices are going to increase on 9/1/11 so this is the best time ever to check out the Treasury Membership.

Join the Notebooking Pages Treasury now during their Back-to-School Sale Event and receive an extended membership, bonus e-gift package, and chance to win some great prizes!

Life in a Day - Looks Interesting

Stumbled over this early today and it looks interesting.....going to need to see it when I have the opportunity.

Life in a Day
Totally worth the 1:48 to watch this one....have a great day everyone!
More on YouTube.com

Waltzing With a Beautiful Dress

I am in the middle of revising Harmony Fine Arts Grade 7 and one of the featured composers is Johann Strauss.....and man can he write the waltzes!

Here is one of my favorites so far...I want to waltz in a beautiful dress someday. I guess I am a true romantic at heart. :)

Emperor Waltz

Enjoy!