Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: The Old West

2012-01-31T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something associated with a Super Hero. Thank you to all sketchers for making this another successful slideshow.

Here is your slideshow:
Something to do with Super Heroes!

Next assignment due Monday, February 6, 2012:
Sketch something from the Wild West (or pioneer times).

Please remember that I do not include violent sketches- no blood, no guts.

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, February 6, 2012 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You are in for a treat! My daughter over at Hearts and Trees has started a digital magazine! There are all kinds of ideas included in this issue and my daughter even includes links to her very own "how to" videos for several of the projects. This is great stuff! Click over to read about her very first issue with a introductory price of $3.

Notebooking on the Fly - Planning Procrastination

2012-01-26T04:00:00.000-08:00

We use notebook pages for just about every subject.

I appear to be quite organized as far as offering notebooking pages for my high school age son. Do not be deceived! I many times am operating just ahead of my son when it comes to printing and filing his notebook pages in his assignment binder.

Oh I have all the tables of contents printed (just like a suggest in my organizing posts) but I don't always take time to print the needed pages ahead of time. My little secret: This is what has led to a better notebooking experience. Shhh..don't tell my son but it is because he does a much better job at choosing pages than I do.

He will come to me and ask where his pages are for his history study for the week and because I didn't get around to printing them I ask him to check the list of pages available and pick a few on his own. He's done the reading so he has an idea of what he wants to write about so picking them is easy. Or if he sees a topic listed that he is intrigued by he will print those off and do a little research.

So for once, my procrastination actually works in my favor. I do have a stash of generic pages printed that he can grab and go with if he wants to start from scratch but many times he is much more passionate about researching a topic that sparks an interest that is related to his reading for the week.

High school is a glorious time to be a procrastinator.

Now, if I had been able to read Jimmie's new ebook, Notebooking Success when I first started using notebooking pages as a regular part of our homeschooling week...maybe I would have been a much smarter notebooking mom, certainly a much more confident notebooking mom.

So, do you know what the word realia means? You will after you read Jimmie's ebook.

Seriously, this is a great resource for all notebooking families to define or refine your notebooking style. It is full of practical tips for beginners as well as experienced notebookers. You will use this as a reference and as a great tool to remind you of all the possibilities for notebooks for any homeschool style.She also has a bunch of free bonus items that come with your purchase so click over and read about those too.

I am happy to recommend this ebook with a whole-hearted thumbs up and I get to give a copy away to one of my readers! Check the Rafflecopter gadget in this entry (you may need to click to the blog if you are reading in a reader or by email) for the details of this giveaway. Ready set....go enter! I will be picking a winner on Sunday, January 29, 2012 and I will announce the winner on Monday, January 30, 2012.

If you want to purchase your copy right now, click over and do so and if you end up winning my giveaway, Jimmie will refund your money! It is reasonably priced right now at $5.50 and you also get some wonderful freebies, including some bonus notebooking pages.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just so you know: I did receive a free copy of this ebook to review for Jimmie but as always, I only give my honest opinion and in this case I will be using the information in my own homeschool planning. I also receive a small affiliate commission when you purchase the ebook by clicking the links in my blog post.

Sketch Tuesday: Super Hero

2012-01-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something associated with tea time. This was a fun topic and the slideshow is full of creative and beautiful things. (I think this is one of my favorite slideshows ever and certainly a rather large one at over 70 sketches.) I appreciate the time and effort that went into every sketch. Thank you to all the parents who sent in sketches this week...I know it takes extra time to scan and email.

Here is your slideshow:
Something associated with tea time.

Next assignment due Monday, January 30, 2012:
Sketch your favorite Super Hero or something associated with a Super Hero.

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, January 30, 2012 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You are in for a treat! My daughter over at Hearts and Trees has started a digital magazine! There are all kinds of ideas included in this issue and my daughter even includes links to her very own "how to" videos for several of the projects. This is great stuff! Click over to read about her very first issue with a introductory price of $3.

Modern Art Projects: Playing With Acrylics

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

How A Modern Art Project Became a Complete Gallery of Acrylic Paintings

Modern Art Projects Grouping for the Wall - WIP

I do not have a love affair with Modern Art (the kind with the capital letters) and find myself raising an eyebrow when I reach that section of any art museum. I shake my head and hold my chin. I turn my head this way and that way, rarely seeing what others see. It seems quite simplistic and I find myself thinking that anyone with a canvas and brush could do just as well.

Mr. B is studying 20th Century art this year as part of his fine arts credit and because he enjoys art appreciation. I like to credit myself for his enjoyment of art but really I think he comes by it quite naturally and I have just been able to nurture it a bit along the way.

We decided we are going to tackle a few art projects as follow-up to his artist study, helping us to take the study to a higher level. I pulled my Great American Artists for Kids book off the shelf and flipped through several projects before deciding on the Mark Rothko activity. You may remember my thoughts on Rothko from a previous entry on Modern Art. I am not a big fan.

Canvas and paints were from Michaels..very economical.

Since my son is working on adding a few painting projects using acrylics to his portfolio, we chose to adapt the activity from the Great American Artists book to use canvas and acrylics. The activity seemed simple enough and I was even game to give it a try. (The book suggests using cardboard and tempera paints.)

We mixed the acrylics with a bit of water to make it easier to cover the complete palette.

My son started with a black base and I of course chose purple. If I was going to do this project, I was going to really make it mine.

Mr. B painted with blue and green on top of his black base.

Mr. B came up with a way to stencil his blocks of color without making a big splotchy mess. He cut a hole in a piece of cardstock and then used it to paint his rectangular shapes. Smart. I just free-handed my rectangles, giving it a nice Modern Art feel.

Note to self: Make sure the camera strap is around your wrist.

I dropped my camera onto my canvas and punched a nice hole....sigh. I am glad I am not a perfectionist.

We worked on these projects over a week's time so it is nice to have a space to keep the supplies out.

Mr. B always looks so serious when he is working on art. I think he gets into a "zone" and enjoys the process of creating. Isn't that what art is made of? The inspiration, the perspiration, and the exultation of the completed project?

Yes, it is an awful color. I fixed it later on.

After getting started, this project took on a new life. If we used all four of my canvases, we could group them all together for a sort of "modern art" show. We had the idea to do different artists and then show a variety of Modern Art styles. I remembered that my Pinterest art ideas board had a few we could choose from.I was inspired to try this Kandinsky style on my next canvas.

I painted the base this awful pink color (it was supposed to be peach). I measured off the grid for the circles and then filled in with some colorful circles, not worrying too much if they were perfect. In the end, it really honestly didn't matter if they were a little off.

Using a paper plate made this project easy to clean up.

I got serious and ended up using a paper plate for the palette. I kept the colors I chose separate from the box so when I needed to replenish I wasn't confused about shades of colors. I ended up not liking the yellow at all so after it was dry on the canvas I painted it over with white.

Here is a little of us working in progress. I am really not liking the pink background.

I decided I wasn't thrilled with the Rothko project I did so I tried to think of a way to make it more my style...Rothko-With-A-Twist.

This was fun. I ended up using the same colors as the Kandinsky project so the grouping will work together on the wall.

I saw this heart project on Pinterest from KidsArtists and loved the Burton Morris style. I painted a nice little heart over the hole in the canvas and now you cannot see it at all. Thanks acrylic paints for being so versatile and forgiving.

The grouping coming together.

I also decided that I did not like the pink background for the Kandinsky style canvas. I did go back over it with colors that matched the other pieces in the grouping and the last step was to paint the edges black (which I did after taking this photo).

Review for these cards coming soon.

Now there is one canvas left to add but we needed some inspiration. Funny how you get inspired by the simplest of things. I am currently reviewing some products from Birdcage Press (review to come soon) and one of the products is Go Fish for Modern Artists. We were playing around with the cards this weekend and the inspiration for the fourth canvas came to us.

One of the cards from the set.

The cover of the booklet that comes with the cards gave me a great idea. How about a Paul Klee for the last canvas? It would look great on the one that we painted black. Now all we need to do is add the little squares.

Mr. B is going to work on this last Klee-inspired canvas this week and I am going to finish my Burton Morris heart canvas with a few more details. I will of course update this entry with our final product and the grouping on the wall.

So there you have it...our first Modern Art project gone viral. We started with Rothko, added in some Kandinsky, adapted to use some Burton Morris, and ended up with a little Paul Klee.

I have to admit that in the end I have gained a new understanding and appreciation for the Modern Art style. It is all about color and emotion. It is all about breaking a few rules and enjoying the process. I encourage you to also give acrylics a try with your children and not worry too much about the mess. We were able to clean up everything with paper towels and water. If you would like more ideas for art supplies, you can visit my Squidoo lens: Art Supplies for Kids.

This post has been submitted to the Homeschool Showcase.

Build An Imagination - Allow Time for Experiences that Lead to Thoughts

2012-01-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

Learn how to make a photo collage in Hearts and Trees new digital magazine.

Writing is more than words on paper. Where does great writing come from and how do we encourage it in our children? Charlotte Mason gives us a clue....

"They must be left to themselves for a good part of the day to take in their own impressions of nature's beauty. There's nothing worse than children being deprived of every moment to wonder and dream within their own minds because teachers and adults are constantly talking at them, not leaving them a moment's peace. Yet, the mother must not miss this opportunity of being outdoors to train the children to have seeing eyes, hearing ears and seeds of truth deposited into their minds to grow and blossom on their own in the secret chambers of their imaginations."Charlotte Mason, volume one page 45

There needs to be time given to experience things to write about. Writing, especially imaginative writing, does not come easily to many children (or adults). It takes much effort and energy....that spark of energy comes from opportunities to experience, to process, and then to share.

When our children have something to write about, they will write.

Sometimes the words are those from their real-life experiences, sometimes from living ideas they have read about, and sometimes from their imagination. The imagination is fueled by allowing time for our children to have experiences.

The word imagination means "to face"—to visualize an image, to almost make the thought concrete from within.The Parents' Review (edited by Charlotte Mason) on Imagination.

Start with the experiences....

Reading a variety of authors about a variety of topics
Spending time outdoors exploring their own backyards
Viewing great artwork and listening to great composers
Traveling and experiencing new things near and far
Allowing time to think about their experiences

The up-coming edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is all about imagination. Please click over and read more entries from other homeschooling families around the globe.

You may be interested in reading my post: Secret Chambers of Their Imaginations.

I found the following information from GreenHeartsInc.Org to be interesting:

Kids' free time dropped by 38% between 1979 and 1999.
Unstructured outdoor play amounts to only 30 minutes per week or about 4 minutes per day. Yet American 2 year olds average 2.6 hours of television per day.
School children who use playgrounds with trees, fields, shrubs, and vegetated edges show more creative play, better concentration, and more inter-gender play than those with equipment focused playgrounds.

I recommend that you pop over to GreenHeartsInc.Org and download their Parent's Guide to Nature Play which is loaded with great ideas for you to implement in your own backyard.

Sketch Tuesday: Teatime!

2012-01-17T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something with a barcode.This was a pretty wide open topic...lots of great ideas popped into my head when I sat down to sketch. Hope you had fun sketching and you have time to sketch again this week.

Here is your slideshow:
Something with a barcode.

Next assignment due Monday, January 23, 2012:
Sketch something associated with teatime.

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, January 23, 2012 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You are in for a treat! My daughter over at Hearts and Trees has started a digital magazine! There are all kinds of ideas included in this issue and my daughter even includes links to her very own "how to" videos for several of the projects. This is great stuff! Click over to read about her very first issue with a introductory price of $3.

Shakespeare - Something To Think About

2012-01-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love my new mug? I love the scripture, the handle, the little bird that is painted on the inside of the cup, and it keeps my Kona coffee so deliciously warm. I received it as part of my prize package for winning the Homeschool Blog Award for Best Nature Study Blog of 2011. My thanks to my readers for voting for me and to Dayspring for the nice gift.

Now for a little Shakespeare Talk~

When you read some authors you can nibble and taste, but with Shakespeare you need to just dive in and eat the whole thing. Once you start, you need to just keep going....the dialogue at first can seem incomprehensible, your ear doesn't process the sounds and words as part of the English language. It takes a few pages before your brain snaps into focus and you really do start to understand what is going on.

Over the years I have learned that for our family the best way to offer Shakespeare is to listen to audio books read by professional actors (on Naxos.com).
When we tackle a new Shakespeare play, hearing the words read correctly helped us to imagine the play being acted out on a stage like it was originally intended.
At least for the first time through a new play, we fire up the audio version, sit with books open, and follow along.
Mr. B pauses the audio when we need to check the modern version for understanding.
The vocabulary in a Shakespeare play can be quite challenging and we enjoy learning a good new word. We look up words we don't know as we go along.
Shakespeare is also good for a few new phrases. We often recognize a saying we use all the time and we were just not aware that it came from Shakespeare. That makes it fun.

Shakespeare has a way of giving you something to think about in a way you never thought of before. Perhaps it is the reason his works have remained so popular through the years. We just finished reading the Merchant of Venice (Mr. B's turn) and it was full of things to talk about, ponder over, and glean new points of view from. We listened while following along and then we watched scenes on YouTube, my favorites are the ones with Al Pacino as Shylock. (This is a link to YouTube...as always, preview for appropriateness for your family.)

It is my goal to include Shakespeare in our literature study each term.

It is always worth the effort and gives us much to think about.

You may be interested in reading from my archives: Shakespeare for Christians.

Sketch Tuesday: Something With a Barcode

2012-01-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something yellow. Lovely, lovely slideshow this week with all those beautiful yellow things. I am always so impressed with the variety of subjects we get when I assign a color. Thank you to all the participants.

Here is your slideshow:
Something Yellow

Next assignment due Monday, January 16, 2012:
Sketch something with a barcode.

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, January 16, 2012 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You are in for a treat! My daughter over at Hearts and Trees has started a digital magazine! There are all kinds of ideas included in this issue and my daughter even includes links to her very own "how to" videos for several of the projects. This is great stuff! Click over to read about her very first issue with a introductory price of $3. You could get it for free...don't miss your chance!

Artist Study: High School Level with Notebook Pages

2012-01-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

I use notebooking pages as part of my high school art appreciation course, as a record of my sons' learning and as a tool to help them gather information and build a better understanding of how artists fit together. Not only does it help them retain information and make their learning more meaningful, it is enjoyable to look back and see how much we have accomplished in the past four years.

How to Use Notebooking Pages for High School Art Appreciation

1. Pick an overall time period or art movement.
2. Pick three or four artists within that art time period or movement.
3. Pick artwork from each artist to study using picture study methods.
4. Research and write a biography for each artist.
5. Research and write about the art period or movement.
6. Write a few paragraphs with your opinion of the artist or art movement.

Everything gets filed in the Timeline Notebook or in the Art Notebook.

Here are the steps illustrated from our notebooks.
Please note that the plans featured in this post are free for you to download from the Harmony Fine Arts website under the Free Downloads tab at the top (12th Grade Art Appreciation). Of course, you can design your own personalized course using art time periods, art movements, and artists that interest you and your family. Harmony Fine Arts is just one idea...I love simple things and the plans I offer will give you a base to work from if you just don't have the time to build your own plans.

Overview of my free Harmony Fine Arts Grade 12 plans

Step 1: We are studying 20th Century history this year so my Grade 12 plans from Harmony Fine Arts are a perfect fit.

Harmony Fine Arts Grade 12 Art Plans - Free download on my website.

Step 2 and 3: Here is an example showing the artists I offer within a specific time period or art movement. My son reads the information in the assigned books, then he researches the artists using online sources. You can see with the handwritten notes that I expected three things as a follow up: summary of expressionism, an example, and a notebook page/biography for Kandinsky.

This is an artist notebook page from one of my Harmony Fine Arts plans.

Step 4: The artist notebook page is used to record artwork viewed as part of his picture study and also some notes in preparation for a more formal written artist biography.

NotebookingPages.com page from their Book of Centuries set

Step 5 and 6: As part of our high school art appreciation, I require a one page summary of the art movement at the end of the four week period. My son records it on a notebook page and then files it in his history timeline notebook. I also require him to write a short opinion piece on notebook page which looks like the one above.

NotebookingPages.com blank page from their Book of Centuries Set

Additional follow-up can include a notebook page with an example of artwork from the timeperiod.

Here is one piece from last year...I allow them to pick the subject and medium to use.

Follow-up can also include an art project or making a copy of an artist's painting.

You may also be interested in reading a few of my older posts on art appreciation:
Great Reproductions
So What Do We Do After Picture Study?
Building on Picture Study

Additional Links About Using Notebook Pages in High School:
History Timeline
How to Write An Essay Using Notebook Pages

Please take advantage of as many of my free downloads from Harmony Fine Arts as you can in your homeschool and then share the love with others by spreading the word with your friends.

If you still haven't taken advantage of Debra's Notebooking Pages Treasury, she is running a Winter Sale on her one year membership. When you purchase a membership between now and January 13, 2012, you will also receive 19 free gifts. One of those gifts is one from me! You also get an extra three months of membership to her site, entry in her monthly prize drawing, AND 25% off if you use the code: NOBUSYWORK.

Just so you know: As an affiliate, if you click the button above I receive a commission.

The Irony of Homeschooling: We Think We Are The Teachers

2012-01-07T07:09:00.000-08:00

Two of My Boys With Their Dad

The Story of Two Boys and Their Charlotte Mason Education
(Click the YouTube video at the bottom to listen to as you read....beautiful.)

Sometimes I close my eyes and try to think back over the days we have spent homeschooling here in our little spot in the universe. This spot where so many things have been learned over the years...it plays like a movie where the soundtrack starts with one person playing a soft melody on a single piano and then a single violin sweetly starts to play along.The image that comes with the music is that of sitting side by side with my little boys, one on each side, as we read and enjoy great stories of heroes and adventures...sometimes it is so vivid that I feel like I could turn around and look and they would really be there with there pockets full of smooth stones and Lego guys. If I try really hard, I can still smell that little boy smell....sort of like Johnson and Johnson mixed with a hint of sandbox, Cheerios, and sweet little boy sweat. It is a good memory.

Those days are gone and have been replaced by grown up things and grown up thoughts. But the threads that weave themselves from those early years until now, the threads that wind along through many seasons are the discussions we have had along the way. My boys really like talking to me. Charlotte Mason called it narration but when you look at it from a mom's point of view it really is just plain old talking, sometimes with great passion about the way a story turned out. Those stories and characters would many times turn into imaginative play in our backyard jungle gym or with Lego pieces on the floor of their bedrooms. I would hear their play and see hints of adventures to come for those boys of mine.

The seeds were planted as we were building a love for reading, reading of great literature and living ideas. Those seeds grew inside them and sprouted into so many interesting things. By our learning from the past, examples of men who did right and who did wrong, they have become better young men. They challenge the things of the world and hold themselves up to a higher standard because they have seen the folly of those that chose a wrong path. There has been no real need for lectures since these lessons that we read touched their hearts. They wanted to be better people. The impact has been real.

The piano plays louder and they grow. Their challenging of the world has made me a better person too. Funny how I have learned and changed along with them. Maybe that is the ultimate irony of homeschooling. I never thought of myself as being a student in this school but perhaps it is the lesson I was meant to learn....we are all students and have something to learn from heroes and villains of the past and little boys who grow in front of our eyes.

Now when I hear the rattle of their key in the door as they come back from being at work or with friends who are sharing their current adventures, I am glad that just for a few more years they still want to talk to me. We don't sit side by side on the couch reading aloud these days but we do sit around the table and talk and take long walks and talk. Our soundtrack isn't over yet but we are starting to learn and enjoy a new tune.

Their pockets are now filled with cell phones, wallets, and iPods. Their fragrance is a little different too but that is okay with me. My boys will always be my boys and the bond we made over living stories and living ideas will last forever. They will be off having the adventures and being the heroes....my heroes until the very last piano note plays.

The theme for the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival this next week is to tell our favorite Charlotte Mason memory or story. This is just part of our story.

To read another entry I wrote featuring our CM Memories, you can click over to:
Charlotte Mason Gave Our Homeschool Wings

Here is what the soundtrack sounds like in my head....Colors of the Wind

Harmony Fine Arts Grade 2 Sample Week

2012-01-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

Harmony Fine Arts Grade 2 plans feature Gothic and Renaissance period art and music. These plans are organized by week and by option. There are three different options for art appreciation and you can do one, two, or all three options depending on your available time and interest. Many families have successfully used these plans with children in grades K-5. I wrote the options so you can pick and choose which activities are appropriate for your particular family.

Please note that this period of art is very oriented towards religious art, including paintings, sculpture, and architecture. I try to give a variety of artwork to look at and I have steered away from nudity in Option 1 but I always suggest previewing any materials for appropriateness for your family.

HFA Grade 2 Sample Week
Week 4: Giotto and Art of the Middle Ages
(Print out the Sample Pages and follow along.)

Option 1: Picture Study

Use the link provided to view the painting of the week: Legend of St. Francis, Sermon to the Birds.
Apply the suggestions to view the painting that are given on page 9 of the plans. (There are also instructions for making this your computer's desktop image. There are additional questions you can use to prompt your child to see more in the painting if you wish to go a little deeper.)

Option 2: Art Appreciation with Follow-Up Activities
(2 short periods or one longer period of time each week)

Read pages 12-13 in Art of the Middle Ages (Art in History/2nd Edition) with your children.
View the suggested YouTube video on cathedrals. This is really long so I suggest watching as long as your child shows interest.
To extend the lesson, complete the cathedral coloring page (included in the plans).
Watch this YouTube slideshow for Giotto. It is suggested to watch for subjects, colors, and symbols in his artwork (follow up to the reading in Art of the Middle Ages).
Add to your artist notebook page for Giotto. (There are notebook pages provided with the plans and links to additional free notebook pages.)

Option 3: Artistic Pursuits with Picture Study Suggestions
(2 short periods or one longer period of time each week)

Read Lesson 3 (pages 12-13) in Artistic Pursuits Grades K-3 Book Two on Giotto.
View the paintings in Option 1 for Giotto (links provided). Use the suggestions for picture study from page 9.
Watch the YouTube slideshow for Giotto. Look for subjects, colors, and symbols.
Note: Next week's plans actually have you starting a scratch art project as a follow up to your study of Giotto.

Your family can choose to do just one option or combine options together to get a richer art appreciation experience. Many families combine Option 1 with either Option 2 or 3. You can choose from week to week how much to include in your lesson.

Week 4 Music Appreciation
Antonio Vivaldi

Listen to Famous Composers CD 1 Track 5 (tells a little about Vivaldi).
Listen to Gloria on YouTube and see the orchestra playing.
Color a portrait of Vivaldi as you listen.
Use Famous Composers CD 2 Interactive section for Vivaldi.

The plans give you specific music to listen to for Vivaldi but you can always substitute any Vivaldi CD you already own if you want to keep your expenses down.

See my Harmony Fine Arts Grade 2 page for more specifics for this plan for art and music appreciation. You can print out the sample for a list of artists and composers included in this ebook, a list of materials and resources needed, supplies list, and four weeks of plans to examine.

If you have older children, there are also middle school level art and music appreciation plans for Medieval and Renaissance art from Harmony Fine Arts and you can read about them here: Harmony Fine Arts Grade 6 Medieval and Renaissance Art. Please note that Grade 2 and Grade 6 have different artists and composers so they will not "match" except in covering the same time period.

If you are interested in studying a different period of art, you can check my Overview Chart for more information about which grade to purchase. There is also a chart for Grades 1-4 listing specific artists and composers included in each year. Please feel free to email me with any questions: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

Simple but Elegant Art Projects and Some Appreciation

2012-01-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

Art Projects to Try With Your Children

From the Archives:

Making Mosaics Together: Mr. B and I both had a great time working on these little mosaics and now they are used as trivets on my stove.

Watercolor Painting Collage: This is a gift quality project that can be done in colors to match anyone's taste. My dear husband and I made these and his is now proudly framed and hanging in our bedroom. Perfect! This is an easy project that delivers excellent results.

From my Pinterest Boards:

Stained Glue Snowflakes: This looks like a beautiful and easy to do art project. Mr. B and I are going to make several and share with friends.
DIY Fabric Votives: I have just the right fabric in my stash for a few of these. Don't you think they will be nice on the dinner table?

December Referral Thank You Links
Thank you to Jimmie at the Notebooking Fairy for being my top blog referral for the month of December. Speaking of which, I want you to make sure to click over and read all about her new ebook, Notebooking Success. You can read my testimonial of this very well done ebook by clicking the button below.

I also want to thank Jamie from See Jamie Blog for being my second highest referral source for the month of December. Click the link and see one an image of two of my favorite bloggers, Jamie with Tricia from Hodgepodge.

Please note that I am an affiliate for Notebooking Success and will receive a small commission if you purchase using my link.

Sketch Tuesday: Something Yellow

2012-01-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

The last assignment from 2011 was to sketch something that started with the letter D. I think a lot of us were taking a sketch break last week but there are still a number of participants to enjoy for this week's slideshow. Thank you to all who sketched and sent in your sketches for us all to see!

Here is your slideshow:
Something that starts with the letter D.

Next assignment due Monday, January 9, 2012:
Sketch something yellow.

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, January 9, 2012 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Don't forget to check out
Hearts and Trees new art, handicraft, and nature study kit.

Homeschooling for High School - FAQ Answered

2011-12-29T11:11:00.000-08:00

I was going through my posts this past week looking for an answer to an email question and remembered this series of posts that I did answering FAQ about high school. I thought it might help to gather them into one post for new readers to my blog. If you have additional questions you would like me to try to answer here on the blog, please feel free to comment or send me an email. I can't guarantee that I will be able to answer them all but I will schedule some of the more popular ones to answer this term.

Homeschooling for High School Series:
How Do You Teach the Hard Stuff?
Finding Time for Nature Study, Art, Music, Poetry, and PE
Narration (Charlotte Mason Style) in High School
Deciding on Resources
Charlotte Mason Method and Grades - you also might like an example of our Term Exam and Resources
Goal Setting - My Process
Friday Discussions- What Do We Talk About?

Charlotte Mason Homeschool - Create the Atmosphere

2011-12-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

Charlotte Mason Atmosphere-Always Room For Improvement

Halfway through the school year is always a great time to make some subtle changes to homeschooling plans. Now the time has come to polish up the plans for next term and making a list is always something that helps me focus my energy.

Where I Would Like to Improve

1. Timeline Project/Book of Centuries - Mr. B has been regularly adding to his timeline notebook each week from his history readings but very hit and miss with his other subjects. I am going to encourage him to be more consistent in drawing in events, people, and ideas from his anatomy study, literature, art, composer study, and government/economics. This will make it an even richer record of his learning.
2. Art History - Mr. B really enjoys learning about artists and art genres as part of his high school plans. This is something he normally spends extra time on each week. I see the need for some extra projects which are not on his plan. I need to be more accountable. Since my HFA Grade 12 plans do not include specific suggestions for art skills work, I will pull from my HFA Grade 8 plans which cover the same time period and are rich in lots of extras that Mr. B can pull ideas from more regularly.
3. Shakespeare and Opera - We did not fit in a single Shakespeare play last term at all. How did that happen? I have Merchant of Venice on the schedule for this term...prominent and on the priority list. B. Opera study is on my list of things to do (read major procrastination). Any suggestions? I know that I mentioned it before and I received some ideas so I will need to go back and look for titles as well.
4. Biographies - Mr. B likes the history "spine" we are using this year but I find it rather monotonous. Adding in some really good biographies last term helped make his study of the 20th century more interesting and living. His favorite was Einstein: His Life and Universe. There is a list on Ambleside Online (Year 11) that contains a lot of possibilities so I will be looking some of these up at our library.

Some additional links to things we are using this year for those interested in taking a look:

1.Nature Study using my More Nature Study ebook plans. Book 2 will be out on January 1, 2012 and will include advanced nature study ideas for high school age students. This was something I included in Book 1 (Autumn 2011) and it has been a great success.
2. Poetry using my plans with a little structured follow-up. I have complete plans and notebook pages on my Squidoo Pages.
3. Music appreciation using my Harmony Fine Arts grade 11 and 12 plans (free on my website).
4. Lots of writing using our IEW methods and notebooking pages.

10 Ideas For Art and Music Appreciation

2011-12-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Real Life Experiences:
1. There is nothing like a visit to an art museum, seeing artwork up close and in its original size within a frame. It is sometimes like visiting an old friend. We enhance our time at the museum by either preparing ahead of time or with follow-up study using artist's biographies and notebooking pages.
2. Attending a local symphony or seeing a performance at a theater or outdoor event is another way to include some art and music appreciation in a very busy homeschool life.
3. Learning to play a musical instrument is also a way to learn more about music history and theory.
4. Art classes and camps are another way to feed the desire of your children to learn more about artistic styles and periods.

Art Books and iPods:
5. Keeping a few quality art books on hand can help moms offer art with little effort. (You can read my Top Five Art Picks on Squidoo.)
6. Quality art masterpiece coloring books offer a fun way to include some art and picture study in your week. You can see how our family uses coloring pages by viewing my Dover Coloring Books page with examples and hints.
7. A library of music to listen to during your daily activities is a quick and simple way to include classical music and develop an ear for it with your young ones. (You can see my Build a Classical Music Library Squidoo page.)

Formal Art and Music Curriculum:
8. Our family has benefited from a more organized approach to art and music appreciation. Of course, this is why I wrote the Harmony Fine Arts curriculum and I highly recommend it for families that want a flexible weekly plan. Check out the sidebar of my blog for each grade available and then click to view samples, read explanations, and see which composers and artists are covered in each year. Many of the year plans include an option to use the Artistic Pursuits books as one of the three options for art.

9. You can also find more on my artist page where I list a number of artist with links and resources for you to use when the desire comes along. These are far less in-depth than my Harmony Fine Arts plans but if you are looking for a quick way to include a little bit more you may find them helpful.

10. Use Child-Size Masterpieces or art postcards to enhance your study of art. Using art cards provides a variety of possibilities that allow the child to explore great art and famous artists. These are a great value since you can use them as references for years to come. You can read more about how we use Child-Size Masterpieces in our home in this review on Curriculum Choice.

Tech-Free Family Night

2011-12-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

We recently took a family trip (all six of us - two teens and four adults) for four glorious days up to the mountains. It became increasing clear to all of us that technology had become a part of everyone's life. We had six cell phones (Smart phones, Blackberry, and various cellular phones), one Kindle Fire, two iPods, two laptops, and a DVD player. As convenient as it was to have so much technology, it was also a little distracting. We decided to gather the electronics, turn them off, and spend time together since we had all made the effort to travel to a beautiful place and enjoy each other's company.

What did we do instead?

Prepared and devoured loads of great food, with every person taking responsibility for planning at least one meal.
Long walks together in the beautiful surroundings.
Board games and card games.
Hobbies of various sorts. Amanda and I worked on a crocheting project. The boys were reading and discussing magazine articles. Mr. B entertained us with his juggling skills. We worked a puzzle together.

Did we spend all our time tech-free? No, but a great portion of our time was spent without the hum, buzz, ring, and screen-time of electronics. No regrets.

We are making tech-free time a new part of our weekly routine now that we are home and back to our regular schedules. I have to admit that even for my husband and I it is difficult to turn it all off. Our teens give us a really hard time about being tied to our electronics. My new Kindle Fire is awesome and it is easy to spend too much time staring at a screen when I still have two interesting fun teens around to enjoy. There is a time and a place for electronics, but there is no replacement for good old family fun for making lasting memories and building up family ties.

Can you go tech-free with your teens for part of the week?

I challenge you.

You are welcome to download and save the printable sign above for your family's use. I post our sign on the refrigerator on our agreed upon day and then everyone remembers to look forward to Tech-Free Family Night.

Sketch Tuesday: Letter D (Last assigment of the year!)

2011-12-20T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something that makes you smile. Lots of smiling here as I look at the slideshow! Thanks everyone for your participation in Sketch Tuesday.

Here is your slideshow: Something that makes you smile.

I appreciate all the sketchers that have been a part of Sketch Tuesday during the year 2011. I look forward with eagerness to another year of creative fun during 2012.

Please note: I will be taking a break for the next two weeks so this week's assignment will be due on Monday, January 2, 2012.

Next assignment due Monday, January 2, 2012:
Sketch something that starts with the Letter D.

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, January 2, 2012 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Don't forget to check out
Hearts and Trees new art, handicraft, and nature study kit.

Homeschool Planning - Procrastination

2011-12-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

Planning Using Homeschool Tracker...

I read something in a book this week that I have been mulling over in my head ever since. (Yes, a real book with pages and not read from a screen....felt really good.) The concept is simple but has become quite powerful in my thinking and has effected the way I have been spending my time since reading it.

Make a list of all the important things in your life. (family, faith, relationships, activities)
Make a list of how you actually spend your time and compare it to your first list.
Make adjustments so that the second list will reflect the first list.

We can say that our family and faith are top priority and then fill our days with activities that show otherwise. We can put homeschooling high up on the first list but then by our actions show something very different. This sort of rocked my thinking...I have been procrastinating doing some homeschooling tasks because I have been busy with my own stuff.

Here is a quote that sums up how I have been procrastinating.

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."
Mark Twain

I seriously did not have a single plan input into Homeschool Tracker for the second term. Not one. I decided that instead of waiting one more week until I might "feel" like doing the schedule that I was going to just DO IT. It has taken me two very long afternoons to get it into the computer but it is done. In the meantime I found some holes in our plans that need to be filled and that meant some time on the computer digging around the internet for resources. As always, I got distracted when I started....fun and interesting but really not getting the job done. Never did find just the right literature study for The Merchant of Venice so I guess we will just read and listen to the audio.

Big Tim is actually quite a great tool...his jaw is hinged so you can make him talk too.

I ordered a few fresh resources for Mr. B's anatomy study and thanks to Amazon Prime shipping we are now the proud owners of Big Tim. Big Tim has been the center of many discussions since he was unveiled. Big Tim is going to be a great tool for Mr. B and all those bone names he wants to memorize.

Big Tim says CHEESE.

Funniest thing this week? When I took the first photo of Big Tim my camera put a box around his head and told me with an icon that he was smiling (I have a smile mode on my camera.). It just made me laugh out loud and even now thinking about it, I am laughing again. Too funny. Thanks Big Tim for smiling for the camera.

Now I can take the next two weeks off and not have school planning hanging over my head. I am the kind of homeschool mama who likes to have a vision and a plan.

"Plan your work and work your plan."

I have listed below the resources we just added to our anatomy study. You may need to click over to the blog to see the images from Amazon.com.

You might like to pop over to Angie's blog (Petra School) and read her entry:
Do the Next Thing.
"Make a list. Add fun. Add a board game each day. Prioritize, then Do the Next Thing. Are you forecasting into the list of 40 items and feel defeated before you start? Write them down. Set them aside. Can you do the first item on the list. Good. Now do the next thing."

And Tricia (HodgePodge Mom) posted on planning today as well.
When Do You Plan For School? How Long Does It Take?
"Not only do I consider academics but life skills, character training. I also take a morning to set goals for myself and my marriage."

Van Gogh, Emotions, and Love

2011-12-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

The Flowering Orchard, 1888. Vincent Van Gogh.

Perhaps it is because I spend lots of time viewing art with my boys and as part of my research for Harmony Fine Arts, but I often find myself thinking about certain artists during my daily activities. Sometimes, when the sun is just right, I look out my window and think of Vincent Van Gogh. I think of the colors he used in his paintings, the feelings they bring up as I gaze on the scenes he viewed in his lifetime.

Maybe it is because although he is famous now, knowing he only sold one painting during his lifetime, I feel a sense of sadness when I think about him as a person with so much color and joy and obvious love for God's creation and no one there to appreciate it. Humans are complicated beings on the inside...art gives us a way to show emotions and for those of us who lack the ability to paint well, we can recognize our own emotions through viewing art. Art touches us somewhere inside and changes us a little and our view of the world that can sometimes be cruel to us.

So this would explain why a purple orchard scene finds a spot in my heart. It reminds me of something or perhaps it just makes me hopeful. Whatever it is, it makes me happy just to look at it. Now when I see an orchard in just the right light, I can think of Vincent's purple orchard and give thanks to our loving Father who created us with the ability not only to be touched by art, to be refreshed by it, but to know that art is just another way to show our love....and to be loved back.

Orchard in Blossom With View of Arles, 1889. Vincent Van Gogh

"These is nothing more truly artistic than to love people."

Vincent Van Gogh

Love you too...

Our Vincent Van Gogh Study

Sketch Tuesday: Something That Makes You Smile

2011-12-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment might have required a little research. My family insisted on taking a field trip to acquire the subject of their Sketch Tuesday drawings. Hope your family had some fun with this one too!

Here is your slideshow: Something in a bakery.

This week's assignment, due Monday, December 19, 2011:
Sketch something that makes you smile.

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, December 19, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Don't forget to check out
Hearts and Trees new art, handicraft, and nature study kit.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Relationships

2011-12-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

Summer Travel - Rainbows and Waterfalls in Idaho

"Children should have relationships with earth and water. They should run, jump, ride, swim, and establish the relationship that a maker has with material resources, and they should do this with as many kinds of material resources as possible. They should have treasured intimate relationships with people, through face to face talking, through reading stories or poems, seeing pictures or sculpture, through finding flinthead arrows and being around cars. They should be familiar with animals, birds, plants and trees. Foreign people and their languages shouldn't be something unknown to them. And, most important of all, they should discover that the most intimate and highest of all relationships--the relationship to God--fulfills their entire being."
Volume 3 page 209

As December is winding down, it is a time for reflection on the past twelve months. I turn the pages in my calendar and remember the family time, the learning time, and the traveling with sweet sweet memories. It is easy to set aside the negative things but not before meditating on how we could handle things to make them better the next time. Even trials, the kind we have no power over, make us stronger if we allow them to shape our hearts, drawing us closer to God. I am trying to learn lessons from both the good and the bad and to embrace the power that comes from giving thanks for it all. Difficult things are a part of life and one of the best things we can teach our children is how to handle those situations with grace.

The Making of a Video - Yosemite National Park

I think this year has been the closest I have come to meeting the goals that Charlotte Mason talked about in the quote above. I have made plans and those plans have gone differently than I expected. I made goals for my boys and they have come to me asking for different goals which means regrouping. I had my heart set on certain books and curricula but they didn't mesh with the learning styles of my boys. What made me feel successful? My boys have developed relationships with their learning, building on their strengths and personal goals. I feel successful because I was willing to let go of my expectations and now I can see how their way was much better.

The little voice of insecurity whispered in my ear many times in the last year....Will they learn what they need to? Am I allowing too much freedom? Do they need to learn to stick to something when it isn't right because that is the "real" world? Should they do what everyone else is doing? Can they learn things on their own and do I trust them?

Do I trust them? That is a big question.

If you have done the groundwork and showed them how to learn, they will learn everything they need to learn in a way that makes sense to them. This may be from a book, Wikipedia, the library, a friend or mentor, or from you. They will come to you when they need you. They ask questions that you do not know the answer to but you can help guide them to finding the answer.

Northern California Coast - Summer Wildflowers

If you have given them a love for learning you will not be able to stop them from learning. It will be like eating and breathing, like an irresistible magnetic force, like the force of gravity. They will have a thirst for the answer to the question.

If you feed them with interesting thoughts and ideas, there is no way they cannot be engaged. An idea comes up and they drop everything to chase that idea until they are satisfied. This can be inside or outside of school hours...it begins to blur and their is no straight line. This sort of learning is messy and hard to record in a logbook. This kind of learning does not happen inside the walls of a public school because it would be chaos. At home we can allow room for chasing ideas, actually encouraging it as a way of life. It is very human to question, think, try, struggle, rethink, and conclude. We were created to be that way.

Observing and sketching shells for literature? Works for me.

So what did we think about and struggle with this week?

Man's Inhumanity to Man - Grapes of Wrath essay....almost finished.
House of Seven Gables - reading and starting a follow-up essay.
Human Anatomy - learning the skeletal system and wondering how he will ever remember all the names of all the bones. I told him learn one at a time and he laughed.
Lord of the Flies - symbolism of the conch. Mr. B drew in a nature study with this one and it made my heart happy.
Flu Epidemic of 1918 - both from historical and scientific perspectives. Fascinating!
Cubism research and Stravinsky listening.
Learning how to change the oil in the car.

Capture it quick! All four children cooking me dinner on a family trip to the mountains.

Go ahead...comment on how grown up they all are. I see it in the image and I still can't believe it. What did they fix? Pasta with meat sauce and freshly grated mizithra, huge green salad, garlic bread, and for the adults Mr. D brought a bottle of fabulous red wine. Sweet times, wishing we could have more of them but soon we will be sharing with others as they form their own relationships and families. What a thought that is! So full of possibilities.

2011 has been a year of changes and growth for all of us. 2012 promises to bring even more change....learning to be flexible and see the relationships build.

If you enjoyed this post, you may like to read this series of posts:
Homeschooling Without Feeling Overwhelmed

Sweet Indulgences for the Harmony Art Mom

2011-12-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

There are few things that I splurge on for myself. I am for the most part a very simple person to make happy. Picnics instead of dress-up fancy, DVDs on the sofa at home instead of at theaters, long walks that count as date night, spending time playing cards and board games with the boys on Saturday nights...but I love live music.

I love to go to the symphony, jazz at the park, country swing at the local fair, and I dream of seeing Andrea Bocelli in person. My friend sent me the link to the new PBS special Andrea Bocelli-One Night in Central Park which aired a few days ago. We don't have broadcast television so I wasn't able to watch. I looked it up on YouTube and here is the trailer...five minutes with glimpses into who all came to make music with Andrea.

Video for Email Subscribers: One Night in Central Park
I let out a little gasp when Chris Botti came on (1:40)...my absolute favorite.

Okay, so now I know where my Swagbucks are going...a few of my Bocelli favorites for the new Kindle Fire (partially purchased with Swagbucks giftcards). So even if I can't see him in person, I'm happy with Bocelli on my Kindle Fire....since I am the simple girl.

If you don't use Swagbucks, I highly recommend it as an easy way to earn giftcards for Amazon.com.

Love my Kindle Fire....posting an entry soon.

Yes, those are affiliate links in my post....just so you know. :)

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Music and Composer Study

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Charlotte Mason: Music and Composer Study

Music to my ears....that is what happens when I see my teen listening to his current composer each week all on his own. I know that many of you are just starting out with composer study or maybe you don't make it a regular part of your homeschooling week yet, but I want to encourage you in your efforts.

My best advice: Every child's taste is different so don't give up if at first they don't like your selected composer. Move on and try again with a different composer. (You can read our family's experience: But I Don't Like Mahler..What to Do Now?)

If you need some inspiration, this is the carnival for you. There are many families just like yours that live in the modern world but still enjoy classical music and composer study as a way to enrich their child's growing up experience. Research has proven that listening to classical music is beneficial to our children, perhaps even helping them learn other subjects more efficiently and easily. If you would like to see my top ten list for beginning classical music composer study, click over to my Build A Classical Music Library For Children page on Squidoo. You may also like to read this entry, Appreciating Great Music: For Children and Moms Too, which includes a free music listening log sheet to download.

Sarah from All That's Goood has put together a wonderfully inspiring post: Composer Study Mozart. This is going to give you some great ideas for your own study. The video above is from their family...love the masks!

Nadene from Practical Pages has written Our Study of Schubert. I loved this entry and the connections it makes between one of my favorite composers and a favorite movie. You can also find her Famous Musician Pages a big help in composer study follow-up.

Nancy from Sage Parnassus shares Longing and Waiting with carnival readers. A visit to her entry will give you some ideas and thoughts about the coming musical season.

Angie from Petra School is a new contributor to the CM Blog Carnival. She shares their Pablo Picasso and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov entry with carnival readers. Here is their follow-up entry Tale of Tsar Saltan. I love glimpsing into their composer study!

Phyllis from All Things Beautiful contributes their family's study of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Love the video she includes for readers. Interesting!

Adventures in Mama-Land has submitted her entry What Do These Men Have In Common? Click over to read the answer.

Jimmie from The Notebooking Fairy has generously made a set of Composer Notebooking Pages for you to use along with your composer study. She also includes some links to her wonderful composer pages. Thanks Jimmie.

Amy from Fisher Academy International is going to make it a Handel for Christmas year in their home, listening to Handel's Messiah each day as they move through the season.

Other Charlotte Mason Topics For This Edition

Annie Kate from Tea Time with Annie Kate has written and submitted a review of a "living" DVD: Katherine's Farm. She writes, "It’s about a real girl who’s helping on the farm. This is one of the best children’s films I’ve ever seen, and many adults will enjoy it as well." I think that sums it up well. You can view some sample clips HERE.

Pamela from Blah, Blah, Blog reminds us in her entry to check local resources for ways to supplement our home libraries: Hands On Chaos. Great reminder.

Kelly from The Homeschool Co-Op has submitted an entry showing a glimpse into a nature exchange: A Box of Goodies: Loving and Learning From Our Nature Exchange. Take a look at how a simple idea enriched so many areas of learning. Here is the account of their receiving their exchange with all its nature-goodness: Nature Connections: Inside and Out. Love the puzzle idea!

Michelle from The Holistic Homeschooler has written 5 Tips for Successful Nature Study, a topic near and dear to this mama's heart. Michelle has also submitted her entry Narration, Dictation and Copywork, Oh My! for carnival readers. She suggests some steps to implementing this important aspect of a Charlotte Mason style education.

Amanda from Home Grown and Beeyoutiful shares their entry: Autumn Walks in the Woods. I encourage you to pop over and indulge in a beautiful autumn blaze of glory.

Clara from A Slice of Homeschool Pie shows us My Son's Art Studies Photo Album. Very practical post showing how she implemented this idea.

Tricia from Hodgepodge shares their family's simple and fun pastel tutorial Christmas Tree in Snow. Special tip: Use blue chalk pastel to make snow!

Tiger's Mum from The Tiger Chronicle put together a post sharing their Nature Study in November. She writes, "After attempting different ideas since September, I am now inclined to have a monthly theme as a basis of our nature study. " Great idea!

Lisa from Olive Plants Around My Table has submitted their entry, Interview With My Children. What do your children think of a Charlotte Mason education?

Lanaya from Gore Family News would like to share her entry, Homeschooling is Discipleship for carnival readers. This is a thoughtful entry that will ring true with many of us.

Dana from Epi Kardia has gathered a post about Charlotte Mason and the Bible. She asks us to consider some important aspects of a Charlotte Mason education....are we applying the methodology without the philosophy?

So if you have made it this far down the carnival, you are in for a treat! Debra from NotebookingPages.Com has generously offered to share a set of her Famous Composer Pages with THREE of our carnival readers. You can enter for the giveaway below on the Rafflecopter form. See below for ways to enter. The giveaway will end on 12/12/11 and I will email the winners instructions for receiving your set of notebook pages.

You will need to click over to the blog to see the entry form!

The next Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival will be held on December 20, 2011 at Dewey's Treehouse! The theme is Book of Centuries/Timelines (a form of vitality)
* CM vol.6 p169-180 & vol.4 p.36-38
* Parent's Review articles: The Book of Centuries & The Teaching of Chronology
You can submit your entries HERE.

Sketch Tuesday: Yummy in the Bakery

2011-12-06T04:00:00.001-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something in a science lab. This was a great topic and it generated some very well done sketches. Love the creativity and how many of you depicted a lab scene with your items. Excellent!

Here is your slideshow: Something in a science lab.

This week's assignment due Monday, December 12, 2011:
Sketch something found in a bakery.

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, December 12, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

My latest blog post over on AboutOne is titled, "From Chores to Life Skills-Parenting Teens."
I try to give some sound ideas and reasons for training teens for adult life through everyday chores. I invite you to click over and read my entry.

Arts and Crafts for Winter Break - And A Big Thank You

2011-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Fun Art Projects from my Archives

This is the time of year when our children stay indoors more and there seems to be more time to gather for art projects. I have collected a few of my most popular crafty posts here for your convenience and to spark some creative ideas for those long winter afternoons when there is "nothing to do".

Sculpey Projects...a Harmony Art Mom favorite

Murals from Art Projects for Kids - we have done several of these as a family and they are loads of fun and reasonably priced. This is also a great last minute art project since you can purchase, print, and be enjoying some art therapy in a matter of minutes.

Tiffany Glass Project - really fun glue and paint projects

Frank Lloyd Wright Bubble Window Project - an all-time favorite project of Mr. A. Another window decoration project that looks classy and inviting. I think we may do another one of these soon.

Of course this post would not be complete without a link to my daughter's latest Hearts and Trees Handicraft Kit that she just released last week.
Hearts and Trees Fall/Winter 2011 Kit
Click over to read what is included and how you could use many of the components as single art projects. The crafts, art appreciation, and nature study items are not season related so you could pick up a kit to have on hand to use at any time.

Thank You to My Top Referral Blogs
I also want to take the time to thank the top referral blogs for the month of November....these ladies regularly link to Harmony Art Mom. Pop over and read their latest entries if you don't already subscribe to their blogs.
Weird, Unsocialized Homeshoolers - Thanks Kris...love the Weekly-Wrap Up posts.

Practical Pages - Thanks to Nadene. (Who I know is really busy there on her South African farm!)

The Myth of Accomplishing It All: Homeschool Moms and Online Time

2011-12-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

Last of the Zinnias in the Garden - December 2011

A frequent question I receive from readers:
"How do you accomplish everything online: write for two active blogs, sell ebooks and curriculum, participate in carnivals and link-ups, keep up with email, Twitter, and Facebook?"

My answer always includes the fact that my youngest child is now sixteen and very independent. I have more time now than ever before but it is still easy to get distracted and spend lots of time online. I try to keep in mind that the truly GOOD stuff happens in real life, up-close with my husband and children. My real JOY comes from spending time with them and as a by-product of that time I have things to share online.

Keeping a task list and an overall calendar are a lifesaver

How do I stay on track? I keep a short list of things to do and a calendar near my computer with tasks that need to be accomplished each day and when I complete those tasks I turn the computer off. There is no one answer or one schedule that will allow it all to get done that I can share. We all have the same 24 hours in a day but how we use those 24 hours is unique to our family. I try to stay open to opportunities to spend time with my boys during the day and then in the evenings to be face to face with my husband.

It is easy to be off line if you have hobbies that interest you.

At this point in my life, blogging and writing have become an integral part of who I am but only because I have older children. I write about my passions but passions take TIME, unscheduled unplanned time.

My newest cloth napkins...

Taking a walk with my teen, sketching in the sunshine, throwing the ball for our Kona dog, cutting flowers in the garden, counting birds, baking cookies, sewing a few stitches, calling a friend...SWEET time that makes you feel like you are truly living. These are the things that will give your life texture and not the smooth glassy reflection that you get from a computer screen.

I heard a mom the other day share that she was hoping to become more efficient, better at balancing it all. Being a mother is never efficient. It is a myth that you can do it all. There are far more things that need our attention off-line than online.Tip the balance towards your family and you will not have as many regrets.

Mr. A and I taking some time on the trail....he loves his long board and I love my feet.

Don't trade online tasks for real time spent with your children. Blog readers will wait. Facebook and Twitter followers will wait. Your children will not always be waiting with their adorable little faces wanting your attention. Too soon they sprout a skateboard, a bike, or a car to speed away from you. Spend your time well...it slips away too fast.

Sketch Tuesday: Science Lab

2011-11-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something the color brown. Wonderful job done by everyone....so many great ideas! Thank you very much to all the families that participated during this busy time of year.

Here is your slideshow: Something brown.

This week's assignment due Monday, December 5, 2011:
Sketch something in a science lab.

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, December 5, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

History Timeline with Notebook Pages in High School

2011-11-25T16:00:00.000-08:00

Ready for an update on our timeline? It is really turning into a great "book of centuries" project where Mr. B is pulling from literature, history, art, science, and whatever else strikes his fancy each week.

Book of Centuries Timeline Pages Entry

This is a totally open-ended project where I am leaving the how's and what's up to him. He prefers to pull images from the internet to print out and then attach to the pages. I require three entries per week but there really is no reason to monitor it since he enjoys this project and it is one of the first things he works on each Monday.


Notebook Pages for Elaboration

High school narration can take many forms and the timeline is a great starting point. I take a look at it each week and have him narrate to me why he picked an event or person, what was the significance, and how the items relate to each other (if they do at all). I do not read everything that is assigned to him so having him recap his week in this way makes it simple and interesting for both of us. I love seeing his enthusiasm and leaving the assignment open-ended gives him a measure of control and input into the angle he takes when doing his reading and follow-up.

Notebooking Pages Lead To Formal Writing

From there, he is asked to elaborate on timeline entries in the form of notebooking pages. The notebook pages will build on the topics he chose for the timeline. Now for the great part! The notebook pages can be then used to make a more formal writing piece. High school level timelines now are the spark for oral discussion, informal, and formal writing. It doesn't get much more personalized that this and my son seamlessly ties his reading and written work together using this sequence. If you want to learn more about our notebooking, you can click over to my Notebooking in High School lens on Squidoo.

We are using NotebookingPages.com's Book of Centuries pages for our timeline and history follow-up. This set is part of the Treasury Membership so take a look if you own the Treasury already or download it to your computer so you will have it to pull up as the arises. (I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com.)

Sketch Tuesday: Just the Color Brown

2011-11-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's sketch was something with a logo...excellent sketches this week! So many great ideas and the biggest variety too. Thank you to all who participated and I hope you can make time this week to sketch again.

Here is your slideshow: Something with a logo.

This week's assignment due Monday, November 28, 2011:
Sketch something that is brown.

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, November 28, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

I am now a contributing writer on AboutOne.com. My first piece is "Tips For Frugal Family Travel". I invite you to pop over and take a look at that post and everything else as well. It is full of great tips for moms on all topics.

The Homeschool Journey - It Only Gets Better With Time

2011-11-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

Wonderful week of sunshine and lots of walks.

Sitting at my keyboard this morning, attempting to write a Weekly Wrap-Up post, I got a little nostalgic. In cleaning out some cupboards the other day I had found a photo of my family in 1996. This was the year we actually started homeschooling. I decided to put the photo up on my corkboard right near my computer just so I could gaze on the adorableness of those four cuties from time to time (okay, five cuties).

1996 - Our First Year Homeschooling

That photo made me journey back all those years ago to when we were just stepping onto the homeschool path. I couldn't see far down the trail and was not really equipped like so many of you are today. In fact, I was terrified to even tackle the project. I had little direction or support but I did have the fervent desire to have my children home where we could do some real learning together as a family.

Our homeschool today looks nothing like the homeschool of 1996. I would dare say nothing we do today is like that first year, especially with only one child left homeschooling. Mr. B has adopted a very interest-driven, project based, Charlotte Mason relationship-building style way of educating himself (for the most part). It is as close to unschooling as we have ever been.

Mr. B spends most of his days reading, writing, ranting, and researching....not much can be shown with photos anymore. Writing a summary of our week is sort of hard, unless I show you his notebook pages.

WW1 Notebook Pages

I had him pick a few of these World War 1 pages that are available on Scribed (I think I originally got the link from Jimmie.) These pages made for some really good discussion and a place to jump off for some additional research.

Mr. B started writing a formal essay as a follow-up to his finishing The Grapes of Wrath. I found a quote that I wanted to share in relationship to offering more gritty books to our children. I think it sums up my feelings very well.

"I don't think we allow life and normal circumstances to just naturally occur in children's lives. We control too much, as if we were shielding little lambs from the wind. We shelter them from knowledge about pain, sin, need, suffering, disease, death and other hazards in ordinary life. I'm not saying we should expose children's tender souls to distress with careless abandon, but we should recognize that life has a calling for them, as much as it does for us."
Charlotte Mason, volume 3, page 183

Now the Fun Stuff:

Listened to Stravinsky.
Started a unit on Cubism.
Read and memorized some Robert Frost poetry.
Watched numerous videos from Khan Academy on Python Programming.

My son is loving these videos and my Kindle Fire has been non-stop in the evenings with video after video. I think Mr. B is going to be like his older brother and take to computer programming like a duck to water. If you have not checked out Khan Academy before ..... run, don't walk over to the website and see if there are lessons you can use with your kids. There is a series of basic math videos as well so don't be deceived into thinking this is only for older kids.

We have a full weekend ahead with lots of family stuff planned. The weather may play a part since the forecast is for snow but we will take it as it comes. The leaves are falling down as I type and it makes me want to go make a cup of cocoa and spend some time looking out the window. Perhaps a walk will happen if the we can manage to squeeze it in this afternoon. Hope everyone else has a great weekend!

Displaying Children's Art - Preserve a Memory

2011-11-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon building my new art wall. I had been hung up on purchasing the frames. In my perfectionist heart, I wanted all the frames to match which meant I needed to purchase new ones for the artwork I had chosen. Of course, there is only so much money in the budget and there were more important things on the wishlist (Kindle Fire) so the frames moved lower in priority.

Here are the six pieces I ended up with on the wall. I think I like oil pastels....

So I dug around in my art studio, gleaned a few frames from other parts of the house, and now I have my brand new art wall. The blank wall in our formerly empty room, now turned to family living space, has similar black frames of varying sizes filled with colorful artwork I can see from our workspace.

Doesn't this make you smile?

The process of choosing which pieces to hang up was much harder than I thought. Should I pick pieces that matched in style, art medium, or artist? Did I need to pick artwork from each of the kids? Did I need to make sure they all were portrait or landscape? In the end, I chose pieces that had some sort of memory attached, not paying attention to anything else. The memories of our picture study and the fun times we had learning about each artist were more important than any perfectionist desire.

It is after all MY art wall.

Look quickly....the desk is cleared off but not for long.

Mismatched frame sizes and all.

I love it.

If you want to see more art display ideas, I keep a board on my Pinterest account with an abundance of art display images for you to check out. Have fun!

Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners: A Review and Giveaway

2011-11-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

As homeschoolers, we don't often label our children gifted or advanced but strive to meet them where they are academically. This means a little extra attention to finding great resources that allow for thinking and learning that are on a level with our child's ability and interests. Whether we like it or not, children will let us know when things do not fit right, especially when it comes to academics. With my four children, I learned that each child learns in their own way and each one has special needs.

Cindy West's new book from Prufrock Press titled, Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners, stresses this important fact throughout the book. She answers questions about how to get started and how to pick a homeschooling method. There are many examples, specific explanations, and charts to help a new homeschooler get on the right track with any child whether gifted or not.

Parents of specially gifted children will enjoy the specific techniques she outlines in the later chapters. The question of how to socialize a gifted student when you homeschool is addressed. The parent is given good direction for online sources of learning to meet the gifted student's passions and strengths. Online courses, specific curricula, and suggestions for going a step farther than normal are given in a well organized manner.

Sections I Found Especially Helpful

Advantages to Homeschooling Gifted Children - Table 3, page 7
Why Homeschool a Gifted Child? - starting on page 5
What If Your Child Is Smarter Than You? - starting on page 44
Each of the "For Those Who Excel" sections in Chapter 4
Project Based Learning section starting on page 95, especially Table 6, page 96
What About Socialization? - Chapter 8
Should Gifted Children Consider Early Entrance Into College? - starting on page 123

My experience has shown me that homeschooling gifted children is not an easy road and there is no "one size fits all" curriculum that has been created for us to use. It takes patience and intuition to even attempt to meet the needs of a gifted student. It is not impossible to educate gifted children at home in the 21st Century, especially with great resources and information available to parents. Cindy West has done a good job of pulling a lot of useful information together for parents who find themselves with a gifted or advanced student in their home. This book will give you a direction to aim for and a map to get there.

As part of this review, I was given one copy of the book to share with another family. If you think this book would be helpful in your homeschooling, please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter your name in my random drawing to be held 11/21/11.

Sketch Tuesday: Something with a Logo

2011-11-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something made of fabric. Lots of great ideas and I love when whole families sketch together...what a great family activity! Thank you to all who participated.

Here is your slideshow: Something made of fabric.

This week's assignment, due Monday, November 21, 2011:
Sketch something with a logo.

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, November 21, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Encourage, Guide, and Direct

2011-11-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

"What the student needs from his teachers is moral and mental discipline, encouragement, and direction. "

Charlotte Mason, volume 3, page 170

This quote is going in my planning binder. It should be at the top of every page in my planner. It should roll off my tongue whenever I tell people what homeschooling is about. It should be the focus of my life as a parent.

Isn't homeschooling just an extension of our role as a parent? Who knows our children better then we do or has as much interest and influence? Really it is a privilege to be the moral and mental guide, the encourager, the direction-giver. Charlotte Mason could explain the role of a good teacher, understanding it was more than handing a child a text and hoping that they could pass a test at the end. She wrote, "When I say that life should be full of living, I mean that we should be in touch and able to relate with some genuine interest no matter where we are, what we hear, or what we see. This kind of interest isn't something we give to children."

I have seen how this sort of living of life, done in our home, has led to children who are eager and excited about learning. When you take the boring textbooks and worksheets and fear of multiple choice exams out of the environment, filling the home with interesting books with living ideas and having face to face discussions, there is an eagerness to learn. There are no boundaries. They don't have to wait until next year to learn about geometry because we are too busy trudging through the algebra book. We have room in our day to answer questions to satisfaction, even to encourage more questions. Things become so intertwined that we don't see where our school day begins or ends. It is just parents and kids, books and ideas, learning and living.

So this wrap-up is not filled with practical ideas from our week this time. It is more about an idea that keeps returning again and again to my heart as my son and I work through our year. This idea keeps me going when I am having a bad day. My job (privilege)? Keep the ideas flowing. Keep making connections. Offer him something to think about, to be interested in, and to stand up for. Correct wrong thinking when needed by conversation and example. Don't just give him an education....encourage, guide, and direct.

Next week I promise a normal wrap-up post.

Four Fabulous Fauvist Paintings to Study

2011-11-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

Too much of a mess!
Don't know where to start.
I'm not talented in art.
My kids are not interested.

We can make lots of excuses for neglecting art appreciation. But why would we skip art when for children it can be such fun and bring joy to the whole family? The key is to have something interesting to share with them and then to have an easy follow-up activity to help build a memory of the picture study in their minds. Do you want to give it a try?

Have you heard of the Fauvist painters? Here are some basic facts about the Fauvists, four paintings to view, and some simple to understand instructions to guide you in your art appreciation. Printable instructions are included at the end of this blog entry.

The Fauvists were a small group of painters that were colorful and adventuresome.
Many people did not like this style of painting from the early 20th Century. In fact, that is where the word fauvism comes from. It means "wild beasts" in French. It is pronounced FOE - vi - zim or you can listen HERE.
Henri Matisse and Andre Derain were the leading Fauvist painters and I would love to share four of their paintings with you and your children.

I invite you to enjoy this mini art show:
Four Fabulous Fauvist Paintings.

1. Woman with a Hat by Henri Matisse. 1905. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

View this wonderfully colorful portrait of a woman in a hat with your children. Have them describe the painting with as much detail as possible.
Ask them if they think it is realistic (like real life or did Matisse change things).
Can they make up a story to go with the painting? Give the woman a name. What is she thinking or feeling?
Use colored pencils or oil pastels to recreate your own woman in a hat.

2. Open Window by Henri Matisse. 1905. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

This painting is such a great way for even the youngest artist to express himself. The easy to identify objects, the colors, and the feeling of this painting make it easy to talk about.
View the painting and then give your child a sheet of paper. Have them draw a big rectangle in the middle of the paper just like the window in the painting.
Spend a few minutes looking at the view from inside looking out a window in your house. Now have them draw something inside the rectangle, showing what is outside.
Finally they can draw the walls, curtains, or furniture that would be on the inside of the window. Remind them to use some Fauvist style by using colors as freely as they wish to express feeling and emotion.

3. Self Portrait by Andre Derain. 1903. National Gallery of Australia, Sydney.

Children love to draw portraits and a self portrait is always fun, especially when you can pick crazy colors and your own setting. Explain what a self portrait is if needed.
Spend a few minutes viewing this painting, observing the way that the artist used color to give a certain feel to the painting. How does the artist view himself? Why do you think he painted himself in this setting? Is it realistic? Did he use lots of detail (look at the face and hands)? How did he use black in this painting? If you could title this painting, what would it be?
After a period of viewing and narrating, use oil pastels or tempera paints to create a self portrait. Make sure to title your painting!

4. Charing Cross Bridge, London by Andre Derain. 1906. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Allow time for your children to enjoy this painting by viewing it large online. First have them list colors and then have them list objects. Don’t tell them the name of the painting and have them give it a name.
This looks like a marker project so get out all your markers and have your children pull out the colors that they see in this painting and set the rest aside.
Give them a large sheet of paper and turn it landscape.
If you would like to direct them in this project you can have them use the following sequence: Draw the bridge (horizon), fill in the top with a city-scape, add the water (make sure to use dashes and dabs), and then add a few boats. Don’t forget to fill in the sky.

I have created a printable file for you that includes links to the paintings and instructions for this mini art show:
Four Fabulous Fauvist Paintings Study
Download the pdf and have it on-hand for an afternoon of art and fun!
(If you have trouble opening the file, try right clicking, saving the file, and then opening it on your desktop.)

Each project will be unique and colorful just like a Fauvist!

If you like this study, you may wish to check out the Harmony Fine Arts Mini-Units on my blog sidebar. There are currently three available and they include artist and composer study along with fun follow-up activities. Each mini-unit is no more than $3.95 and is appropriate for children of all ages.

Sketch Tuesday: The Fabric of Life

2011-11-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something from a bike shop...which I thought was a little difficult. But, as always, all the sketchers had creative ideas and showed that this was indeed a good topic. Thank you so much to everyone who sent in sketches, especially one young sketcher that just happened to sketch my favorite bike from my own childhood.

Take a look!

Fantastic job!

Here is the rest of the slideshow: Something in a bike shop

Next week's assignment, due Monday, November 14, 2011:

Sketch something made of fabric.

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, November 14, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You may be interested in my Squidoo Lenses:
Art Supplies For Kids - my suggestions for your art materials
Harmony Art Mom's Top Five Art Reviews
Drawing and Painting With Children - ideas and resources

Habit: Remembering The Thoughts Of God

2011-11-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

"To keep a child in this habit of the thought of God––so that to lose it, for even a little while, is like coming home after an absence and finding his mother out––is a very delicate part of a parent's work."
CM volume 3 page 141

"The habit of hearing, and later, of reading the Bible, is one to establish at an early age."
CM volume 3 page 142

I didn't realize it at the time but when I became a Christian I had some good habits to establish. There were habits I needed to learn for myself and then pass on to my children. I had the desire for my children to have a close personal relationship with their Creator and not the sort of "just go to church on Sunday" up-bringing that I experienced. Crucial to our relationship with God is having knowledge (John 17:3) and if we are really going to get to know him and be pleasing to him we need to look into his Word regularly. I also yearned for my children to feel the joy that comes with reading the "letter" that their Creator wrote to them, hoping they would listen and live a long time (Eph. 6:1-4).

Introducing the Bible to my children at an early age, we established the habit of Bible reading as a family. First thing each day we gather for our Bible time and over the years we have read both children's versions of the Bible and straight from the Bible itself. We use a modern translation as well as an Interlinear Bible.

"The field of the habits of the religious life should afford many valuable matters for reflection and teaching; as, for example, the habitual thought of God in a family; the habit of reverence in thought, attitude, act, and speech; the habit of prayer as regards time, place, manner, matter; the habit of praise and thanksgiving; the habits of attention and devotion during a service; aids to devout habits; the habit of devotional reading."
CM volume 3 page 144

In my experience, the most valuable part of raising a family of Bible readers is that we learn Bible principles, applying and connecting the accounts and counsel we study to our everyday lives. This habit over time builds up a firm foundation and leads to behavior that is governed by the principles rather than a long list of rules. What was learned as a young one can grow with them and inside them, affecting how they react as teens. They allow themselves to be molded by the words they trust and not by outside peer pressure or even adult pressure. They can stand up for their beliefs because those principles are solidly a part of who they are and what they stand for as a young Christian.

"You will cause me to know the path of life.
Rejoicing to satisfaction is with your face;
There is pleasantness at your right hand forever."
Psalms 16:11

Memorizing scripture is important and allows the holy spirit to recall verses to mind when needed but having the ideas and principles in their hearts is the tricky part. In our family, we don't just read scriptures. I have learned to ask them questions as a follow-up.

What do they think about a verse or account?
How does it apply to them?
What did they learn from reading the account?
And the biggest one of all....do they believe what they read?

Sometimes I assume my children get the point of a scripture but when asked a probing question, they crumble and waver. I look at it as just another opportunity to help them learn to rely on God's spirit and direction. We do some more research, perhaps looking up cross references, hopefully finding a way to reach the heart. It takes time and you really need to pray for guidance. My goal has always been to encourage my children to look to the Bible FIRST for advice and direction. Isn't that something we can all work on?

"When wisdom enters into your heart and knowledge itself becomes pleasant to your very soul, thinking ability itself will keep guard over you, discernment itself will safeguard you.." Prov. 2:10

Charlotte Mason gives us some good direction in using the Bible to train our child's thinking in Volume 3 of her series. Like all habits, they can be started at any time and it is never too late to establish this important habit of remembering the thoughts of God. You may be interested in reading about our progressive Bible study in this post: Knowledge that is Better Than Silver and Gold.

This post is part of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2011.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Update on Mr. A's Gap Year

2011-11-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

Mr. A graduated last year but is still a big part of our day, especially our morning "circle" time where we discuss the day and have our family Bible reading. He likes being a part of our morning routine although I know at some point he will be too busy to join so I am savoring the time while I have it. In the meantime, he enjoys sneaking photos of me on my camera...found the above photo this week. After our family time, most mornings he is doing volunteer work and that is teaching him some valuable life lessons.

Mr. A has started riding his longboard to his afternoon job at a local tool shop....it is a big skateboard but better (he tells me). When the weather is nice, I drive him the few blocks to our walking trail (which really is a multi-purpose trail including bikes, skates, and horses too) and drop him off. The trail comes out about two blocks from his workplace so he walks that last bit. It cracks me up to see him with his backpack and helmet riding off to work.

He has several projects going in the shop and has started doing custom lathe work. He also has a partnership with a guy selling things at an auction...they purchase pallets of items from a company that deals in damaged goods (tools, hardware, toolboxes). They pull out anything they can fix or sell and then they take it to the auction house where it is sold and they receive a portion of the proceeds.

Much to my surprise, Mr. A is learning to play the drums. He has joined a local garage band and they get together every week to play music. Mr. A is very musical and plays the trumpet expertly but he has never picked up a drumstick before this in his life. He amazes me when I hear him play in his room downstairs on the drum set that his friend handed down to him. It is interesting to watch him self-teach this new instrument using YouTube and his own sense of rhythm.

He has found an instructor to finish his flight training. It took awhile to find a person whose personality fit my son's and he thought he could learn from so that is in the works now too. Oh yeah, he is planning on taking a couple of courses at the college next semester. He told me that the other day and I asked him how he was going to fit it in around all the rest of his life. He has that figured out already too. I am just sitting back and watching him be busier and happier than he ever has been before.

One last quick thing for my wrap-up post this week. This is another huge lesson from my experience with my boys. I should have figured this out by now but Mr. B reminded me this week of something important. He was working on a chapter test for his Auto Shop course. The lesson was on safety in the shop and the last essay question was about different automotive lifts. He wrote out a short rather over-simplified answer to "name the three types of lifts and how they work". I asked him to elaborate and he balked a little. I decided that if he could draw the lifts and name them that I would be okay with that. He promptly turned the paper over and drew the sketches above.Why do I always forget that these boys are visual/spatial learners? I homeschool. I can adapt the test to fit their strengths. There is a time and place for a written answer and there are times that another way of accessing mastery is totally appropriate.

Here ends another weekly wrap-up. Are the weeks going by fast for the rest of you? They seem to be speeding by for us this year. I guess that is a good thing.

Sketch Tuesday: Bike Shop

2011-11-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

The last sketch idea was to draw something you put into a stew. What a great group of sketches! It is so nice to see so much effort in your artwork and it looks like your families are having a good time sketching together...even moms are participating with more regularity and that makes me smile.

Here is the slideshow: Something you put into a stew.

This week's assignment, due Monday, November 7, 2011:
Sketch something you find at a bike shop.

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, November 7, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You may be interested in my Squidoo Lenses:
Art Supplies For Kids - my suggestions for your art materials
Harmony Art Mom's Top Five Art Reviews
Drawing and Painting With Children - ideas and resources

Weekly Wrap-Up : Free Week Thoughts

2011-10-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

This was a week off from school for Mr. B and I. We both are really enjoying the freedom of a three weeks on and then one week off schedule. I see his relaxed disposition fitting right into this pattern, taking advantage of his time to explore a few fun activities, a bit of reading, and some volunteer work as well.

Mr. B read this book during his off week...preparation for a writing project.

Can we do any better than that?

I think I am going to start something new with our weeks off and have a theme to pursue. I was thinking about using the theme of the week to give Mr. B an opportunity to try a few new things if he is interested.

Some ideas I have been kicking around:
New recipes - perhaps in one category like yeast breads, soups, Italian recipes, or bbq.
Art - choose an artist that we can view locally and explore their work.
Sport - Mr. B wants to learn to sail so we may do some research and reading about sailing, eventually taking some sailing lessons.
Video - work on a video project together.
Service to others - find a way to serve others, perhaps a random act of kindness.
Explore - seek out new places to visit in our own local area, play tourist. Mr. B could practice his driving too!

I could see this as a great way to offer new opportunities for Mr. B in a way that is fun and relaxed. He would still feel like we are having the week off but it would give us something enriching to do together at least part of the week.

High school is all about exploring, discovering things and ideas that stimulate more real learning.

We will be back at the books next week so we will have a more traditional Weekly Wrap-Up post then.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Art Ideas: Trees!

2011-10-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

Scan some leaves and then put the scan in your nature journal. Easy!

I am really enjoying putting together this series of art idea posts....gives me something to do with all those wonderful Pinterest projects I am finding and pinning to my boards.

Nadene submitted this to the last Sketch Tuesday slideshow. Isn't it wonderful?

This week how about some trees!

Graphic Tree With Swirls: I can see this as a multi-media project with watercolors and pens but also you could add glitter, gel pens, or markers.

Tree Reflections Pastel Tutorial: Another great pastels project featuring fall trees from Nana and Tricia's family.

Dot Trees: Tricia (from above) shared on Twitter this week that her daughter drew some blue leaves....how about a blue tree? Or you could go with a more traditional green, orange, or red tree with fall leaves.

Trees with birds and flowers: I could see some little girls somewhere making these trees with all their color and decoration. This looks like a marker project if ever I saw one.

Graphic Trees with Pen: To balance out all that color and cuteness of the last link, take a look at the trees in this artwork. Perfect for a pen project.

Copywork and Dictation in High School? Simply Charlotte Mason Giveaway

2011-10-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there comes along a product that has all the great attributes that I am looking for right from the start. There is no need to tweak or alter the plans at all because they are high quality, well organized, and in line with our family's values.

Spelling Wisdom from Simply Charlotte Mason is just such a program and I am so glad that I can use it with my boys in high school. This program uses quotes from famous authors, Bible scriptures, speeches, poems, and letters incorporating the 6,000 most commonly used words in English. These selections are the basis for copywork or prepared dictation as outlined by Charlotte Mason. What an interesting way to work on spelling, punctuation, and capitalization!

I have found the Spelling Wisdom program to be a great tool that helps me hone my son's skills as part of a Charlotte Mason style high school. We used Book Four starting when my boys were in 8th and 9th grades and it was a perfect fit. Mr. B will soon be using Book Five.

For younger students, you can click over to the Simply Charlotte Mason website to view all the levels of Spelling Wisdom available. The author of the program, Sonya Shafer, suggests waiting until your student is age 10 before starting work with spelling as outlined in the Charlotte Mason volumes. Our family was not introduced to Charlotte Mason's methods until middle school so we jumped in with Spelling Wisdom at a level that fit our ages.

Spelling Wisdom in Our High School Plans

Basis for Copywork: Using Spelling Wisdom, the selections were all gathered together so I could pick one and assign it for the week. At this level, the quotes are sometimes quite long and for my sons it might take a couple of sessions to get the selection written carefully and neatly into their notebook. Each selection using wonderful examples served as a model to imprint proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. (We were sometimes introduced to a new author or poet and this led to further reading...added bonus.)

Dictation as a Tool: I learned from using the selections as the basis of our dictation work that there were areas that we needed to refresh and to make more solid as far as punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. Using the selections from Spelling Wisdom gave me a way to see how my high school age sons were applying the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation in a more natural setting. No more workbooks.

Composition Built on Great Quotes: This is where I took the selections from Spelling Wisdom and made them really shine. I loved using them as the jumping off point or story starter for Mr. B's creative writing assignments last year. I would find a quote that I liked and then have him continue the story or rewrite the quote in a different style. For instance, perhaps the quote was a conversation. I would have Mr. B continue the conversation giving him more practice using proper punctuation and giving him a tickler to start a creative writing assignment. Another assignment I gave was to take a selection from Spelling Wisdom and have him rewrite it in the style of a different author like Poe, Twain, or Dickins. There is no end to the ways you could use all the wonderful selections that are included in Spelling Wisdom.

Each book in the series has 140 quotes and it is suggested that you cover two quotes a week, making each volume last about two years. In our family, we use one quote a week as part of copywork and dictation. I assign the quote, they copy it over the course of the week into a composition notebook, and then on Friday at our weekly meeting I give the quote as dictation, either in full or in part.

I highly recommend the Spelling Wisdom program for all ages of children but I especially found it helpful in providing quality dictation selections for my high school age sons. It has been a staple of our high school English plans and I love that I can pull it up on the computer in a matter of seconds, pick the quote I want to work on, print it out, and hand it to Mr. B. It can't get any simpler than that.

Sonya Shafer has generously offered to give two copies of Spelling Wisdom (your choice of levels) to my readers! This is the perfect opportunity to See the details below to enter. (First time I am using Rafflecopter so bear with me if there are issues.) I will pick two winners who will each receive one copy of their choice of Spelling Wisdom.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Employment Opportunities and More

2011-10-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

This was the week that Mr. B got his first official job requiring a work permit. He will be working part-time at a local retail store as a clerk and stocker of shelves. He is excited to finally be able to make some real money to put away for his up-coming car insurance expenses. I think it is going to be a great experience for him although I know it means even more time around here where there are no children in the house. It is quiet so much of the time now. Adapting my activities is a slow filling of quiet time with things that I haven't had room for in many years.

We are still whizzing through The Elegant Essay Writing Lessons from IEW. This is a fine tuning of skills Mr. B has gained over the years using their system of writing. We are not dwelling on the lessons and many times I cut the practice parts in half if I know he has a grasp on the concepts. I would love to have him do all the exercises just for my own enjoyment in reading them but that would be selfish wouldn't it? He has a flair for writing that I really connect with.

He is in the second unit of his Anatomy course from The Simple Homeschool. He many times thinks the text is lacking but I remind him this is a perfect time to employ his research skills. This he enjoys. I think this makes him own the information more as he debates with the author and questions things further. I got to hear all about homeostasis last week and this week it was epithelial tissues (which led to a discussion of our word roots study).

Still listening to Bartok and viewing Expressionist art....love the conversations this has led to about views of valuing art and musical styles. High school kids are so much fun because they ALWAYS have an opinion.

I know that many of my readers have commented in the past about reading Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, dreading the time they had to do so with their own children. It is a difficult book and not one that many people particularly like or enjoy but let's face it...the book allows us the opportunity to discuss difficult topics and issues. I think it is a perfect time in our history to be digging into economy issues, morality issues, and looking at the role family relationships have in helping and supporting one another. I identified deeply with the mother in this story and could only imagine her feelings of dread upon leaving all behind to move to an unknown world. This is the sort of reading that connects with our humanness.

There ends my wrap-up for this week. Still relishing the fall warm weather and sunshine in our part of the country. The shorter days sort of bum us all out but it is the season for that.

On a lighter note...found this little sketch in my desk when I was cleaning up a drawer. I loved it when the boys were younger and they would draw me little notes to find. This must be from probably six or seven years ago. Made me smile. Thanks Mr. B!

Sketch Tuesday: On the Menu: Stew

2011-10-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last week's sketch idea was to draw something that lives a long time and I am really impressed with not only the creativity but the quality of this week's sketches. Thank you all for sharing your artwork and making this such a special slideshow. Give all the kids hugs for me and tell them thank you for their hard work.

Here is the slideshow: Something that lives a long time.

Please note that I will be unable to host Sketch Tuesday next week so the next slideshow will be in two weeks. You can still send in your sketches as you finish them but I have a deadline for another project that keeps me from putting the slideshow together.

This week's assignment, due Monday, October 31, 2011:
Sketch something you put into a stew.

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, October 31, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

More Autumn Art Ideas - This Time Leaves!

2011-10-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

Last week we worked on our pumpkin art which was fun from start to finish. It started with our trip to take photos of pumpkins, continued as we purchased a few of the interesting colored gourds, decided which one to use as the subject of our artwork, and then the actual time spent together making our pieces.

Learning to give the opportunity for projects like this is a key to keeping your high school age students balanced AND it gives you time to spend together doing something of interest to both of you. I can't tell you how much it delights me to have time with my son as he is growing in age and in skill as an artist.

This week we are going to again spend time with some art projects and this time we will focus on art that features fall leaves. We are beginning to see more and more color each day as we work our way through the month of October. What a perfect way to bring our nature study time inside to follow up with really getting to note and record the colors of our leaves.

Here are some links to get you started:

Georgia O'Keeffe Leaves on Artsonia. This one doesn't have instructions but it looks simple enough to figure our on our own. Looks like construction paper, black marker, and crayons or you could use pastel paper and soft pastels too if you wanted.

That Artist Woman: Plaster Leaf Prints - Love this for my high school age students since it will seem like a "grown up" project.

Martha Stewart to the rescue with her Hanging Leaves dipped in wax project. This is definitely going to be an easy project for my son and I to do together.

Here's a project children of all ages can do and it will be uniquely theirs: Fall Leaf Contour Project.
We did this a few years ago and it is still a favorite.

You might not know about my YouTube Channel where I share tips and tricks for using different art supplies. You can subscribe to my YouTube Channel so you won't miss any of the upcoming videos I have planned to share in the near future. I made a short video showing how to use watercolor crayons to make a beautiful fall leaf. You can see the video on YouTube.com: Watercolor Crayon Demonstration. The idea works well with watercolor pencils as well.

I love to see your artwork so leave me a comment and a link and I will pop over and take a look!

Five Ways Homeschooling for High School is Unique

2011-10-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Let's face it. Homeschooling for high school is so very different than any other phase, especially when you get into the junior and senior years where your child is very capable of handling so many things.
1. They read well and you can offer just about any book for them to read without worrying that it is going to be above their reading ability.
2. They prefer to do most of their work on their own as long as you are available to help them if needed or to talk about something that interests them.
3. They can use just about any device you have with skill: computer, word processing program, scanner, copier, and the internet.
4. They know where to go to research an answer to a question and at some point can even drive themselves to the library to pick up additional books and resources.
5. They reverse roles and start to teach you things and you become fellow learners.

I wouldn't miss this part of our homeschooling experience for the world.

Mr. B has been preparing for the CHSPE (California High School Proficiency Exam) which he will take tomorrow morning. He is hoping to pass the test even though he will still remain in our homeschool. Passing this test is the equivalent of a high school diploma and will allow him a little freedom in various areas (getting a part time job, community college courses, etc.) My other two sons took it when they were in high school and it is a great practice. I loathe standardized testing but they are a real part of every adult experience whether it is for a job application or as part of further education.

Now to our week-
I had the joy to read two essays Mr. B wrote and polished, one on Benjamin Franklin as part of his IEW American Literature course and another on Nazi propaganda which was fascinating and enlightening. Can I just say thank you to Andrew Pudewa and the IEW materials for allowing me to teach my children to write and to become accomplished at expressing themselves in words on paper? Thank you!

I found a fabulous resource for high school government to supplement our Thinkwell course. I was actually going to put together a set of notebooking pages for Mr. B to follow the presidential campaigns and elections over the next year. I found a set already done and although they were made for the 2008 elections, there are blank versions of each of the pages so Mr. B can fill them for the 2012 elections. What a great find! I am so grateful for the internet and the materials that so many homeschooling moms share with the internet community. Here is the website: Mom and Pop Homeschool.

There are three sets to download for free and we have saved them to use when the need arises. This website has lots of relevant links to use in your study of the election process and would be a great supplement to your government study.
EDIT 2/1/12: It looks like this link does not work anymore. I suggest this alternate:
Presidents and Elections Unit.

This week Mr. B continued his listening with Bela Bartok, choosing to listen to Romanian Dances which were much easier to listen to and we actually would say that we enjoyed them.

Don't forget to link up to share your composer study.

We are off to enjoy a nice Friday. This has been the week to visit and encourage friends....taking flowers, little notes, and now today a DVD to share with someone. Sometimes I forget to include time for these service related activities that build us up as much as they do the person we are actually trying to encourage. It is a gorgeous fall day and we intend to enjoy it!

Don't forget to write your own Wrap-Up post and share over at Kris' blog by clicking the link at the top of this post!

Sketch Tuesday: Long Live The....

2011-10-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

A little blog business before you enjoy this week's slideshow: If you would like to receive a reminder to submit your Sketch Tuesday drawings via Twitter on Sunday or Monday, you need to become one of my followers on @HarmonyFineArts. You can click the link below to go to my Twitter account and then click to follow me.

Last week's sketch idea was to sketch something you measure with. There are some very creative ideas in this week's slideshow and I think you are going to enjoy seeing how everyone interpreted this assignment. What a great group of sketches!

Here is the slideshow: Something you measure with.

This week's assignment, due Monday, October 17, 2011:
Sketch something that lives a long time.

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, October 17, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You may be interested in my Squidoo Lenses:
Art Supplies For Kids - my suggestions for your art materials
Harmony Art Mom's Top Five Art Reviews
Drawing and Painting With Children - ideas and resources

Can You Still Have Fun in High School? A Little Art Encouragement

2011-10-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Look at all those little pumpkins just waiting to be sketched!

There are many preconceived notions about homeschooling in high school that our family has found to be untrue.

Myth: You must spend longs days at the books in order to cover everything, leaving no time for fun.
Myth: The high school years are a stressful period leading up to "big" tests and you must take advantage of every minute to cram in a wide range of courses.
Myth: There is no time or interest in art, music, poetry, or nature study.

We have busted ALL these myths.

I am all about encouraging on this blog so here is a post that will encourage you to think about the high school years as an opportunity to have some fun with your children and still provide a great education. Why not make some time for art?

Pumpkins and Gourds - equally interesting to sketch and paint

Autumn Art - Focus on Pumpkins

What will we be doing this week? Carving out some time and do some fall art projects! (Yes, the pun is intended.) We were at the apple orchard today and along with apples, there were pumpkins and gourds too.

Pumpkins are a wonderful subject for an autumn art project this week - wonderful shape, great vibrant color, perfect part of a still life, and great to actually eat when you are done in a pie! Don't limit yourself to drawing Halloween pumpkins....you could make the pumpkin the focus of a nature study lesson instead and then use the pumpkin as the subject of your art lesson. (You can find a complete Outdoor Hour Challenge on pumpkins on my nature study blog.)

Need some ideas to get you going? Here you go!

Art Projects for Kids: Watercolor Pumpkins -Kathy does a great job of stepping us through the process of sketching and then painting a great fall pumpkin.

Hodgepodge: Apple or Pumpkin: A Pastels Tutorial -Tricia and her Nana give readers a visual tutorial to draw some apples and pumpkins for a fall artwork display. This is from their excellent series of tutorials you will want to bookmark for a reference.

A Faithful Attempt: Glue Lines Pumpkins - This one is glue and watercolors but she also has one that is glue and pastels too.

Don't miss reading my post Morning Circle Time - Nature Study over on my nature study blog AND entering for the free giveaway of Kendra's Circle Time - Plan The Best Part of Your Day ebook giveaway!

Leave me a link in the comments if you use any of the pumpkin art ideas and I will hop over and take a look! Happy sketching and painting!

Here Is The Next In His Series!

2011-10-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

To El and Back: a film about Butch Belair from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

To El and Back....lovely.

Weekly Wrap-Up: First Week in October and a new Link-Up

2011-10-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

It seems almost surreal to finish another week of school and have it be so relaxed and enjoyable. Where is the stress? I think we have left it behind and have reached the point in Mr. B's academic life where things are sort of on auto-pilot for me. The system is in place and the routine is manageable. This was a "B" week for us so that means we had a meeting to go over the last two week's worth of work.

Highlights:
Grapes of Wrath: Mr. B said he had to finish the book early regardless of my "slow reading" schedule. Okay, so I will be flexible with that and start him on the writing assignment a little early. He wants to read it over again according to my schedule...sigh. I can't blame him for reading ahead but I am trying to encourage careful reading the first time through. Always something to hone as you work with high schoolers.

Anatomy: Have I said before that Mr. B is sharp? Sharp in the sense that he can discern when the text he is reading does not give him enough detail. In a way, this is a good thing....it may not be the perfect text but if Mr. B is encouraged to dig a little deeper using the internet and another college text I have as a reference on the shelf, that is a good thing in my book. His sketching skills are coming in handy as he makes his own diagrams for his notebook pages.

History Timeline: His timeline is filling in with all kinds of interesting things. Using the Book of Centuries pages from NotebookingPages.com has been a simple way to tie the timeline work in with his regular notebook pages.

Government: Mr. B has started really paying attention to the presidential campaigns as part of his government and current event studies. This is such a great time to be working on a government course since he is able to see the actual process and make connections to his online course. I am thinking we may use notebook pages to record a sort of campaign timeline...need to take advantage of his interest.

IEW American Literature: Mr. B finished reading his first book as part of this course, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. He completed all the context work from the introductory pages and next week he will be writing the follow-up essay. The plans give a choice of writing topics and he will be using the IEW model to write his essay. I love that this book builds on all the skills we have accumulated using IEW over the last few years. This is a great way to bring his literature study up a notch but still keep it very self-directed and within my interpretation of a Charlotte Mason model. More on that as the year goes by...

There is a new link-up over A Teaching Hearts! Angie from Petra School clued me into this group with her post this week and I think we will share our weekly study music appreciation with the link-up from now on.

Our current composer is Bela Bartok...a Hungarian composer. Mr. B has been listening with headphones lately so I don't get to listen as often as I would like. He did pull them off this week to share a bit of what he was focusing on and to tell me he thinks it sounds like everyone is just playing whatever they want however they want....he was right. You can see for your self: String Quartet.

Did you make it through that? I had to turn it off after about four minutes....hard on the ears.

I will end my wrap-up on that note....

Poetry for High Schoolers - Organized With Free Notebook Pages

2011-10-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

Last year I shared Mr. A's poetry study as we went along in a series I called Poetry for High Schoolers, sharing every six weeks how we had enjoyed each poet and then outlining our simple poetry analysis for each one. I was busy organizing this study again for Mr. B and decided that a new Squidoo page was in order to make my life easier. It really made sense for me to put the lesson ideas, videos, and other links into one spot for Mr. B to pull up each week and use on his own. (These are the same plans just all pulled into one spot.)

Along the way, I decided to make a fresh set of notebooking pages for him to use with the lesson ideas. Nothing fancy or complicated (remember this series was Poetry for High School Boys) but still nice enough to merit being called "poetry notebooking pages".

I share those pages with you now.

Poetry Lesson Plans and Ideas

Simple ideas for studying six different poets (including YouTube videos for each)

Poetry Notebooking Pages

Includes 6 notebook pages and one additional page explaining how to get started with poetry analysis and a list of question. I probably will make a few more pages and add them to this page before our year is over so make sure to bookmark and save this page for future reference.You can see images of each page over on Squidoo as well.

You may also be interested in these pages:

Notebooking for High Schoolers

Charlotte Mason High School

Sketch Tuesday: Measure Up

2011-10-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something from the laundry room. What a great topic and so many things to sketch! We had fun with this one and I hope you did too.

Here is the slideshow: Something from the laundry room.

This week's assignment, due Monday, October 10, 2011:
Sketch something you can measure with.

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, October 10, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You may be interested in my Squidoo Lenses:
Art Supplies For Kids - my suggestions for your art materials
Harmony Art Mom's Top Five Art Reviews
Drawing and Painting With Children - ideas and resources

Awesome Art Websites - Just Have To Share

2011-10-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

I have been researching and collecting new ideas for a project I have in the works. As I cruise the internet to find resources, I stumble upon websites that are so fantastic that I just have to share.

Here are a few from today's research:

Awesome Artists:
I love the "I Can't Draw Until I Practice" downloads listed. What a great resource!

TeachKidsArt: Middle School Grading Rubric
This is a great system using a rubric to grade art for those that need to record a letter grade. I get asked this all the time in reference to my Harmony Fine Arts plans. This is a great way to clearly show what is expected from a project. I may even use it with my high schooler.

Mrs. Picasso's Art Room: Sparkly Fall Trees

This is such a great project! I am going to be doing this with a canvas I have sitting right by my art table. I have been following her blog for awhile now and she is always inspiring me with her projects.

Artsyville: Kaleidoscope Candles
If you ever want to be inspired over and over, subscribe to this blog. I especially love this project because it is a twist on an old favorite. What a great idea to use these candles....I have seen them at the Dollar Store.

Hearts and Trees: Advanced Fall Color Activity

This is from my daughter's blog and she is offering this free download. Get out your big box of Crayolas!

Watercolors and Inspiration

2011-09-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

I have been busy organizing our art desk (in the former empty room). I converted the desk the boys used for Legos into an art area for all of us. I purchased a few colorful organizers at Target and then I found this photo of the kids when they were much younger to put right there front and center. It makes me happy to see their cute shining faces looking out at me as I work.

I shared my thoughts on this small set of watercolors on my Handbook of Nature Study blog last spring but I realized as I was working last night that I didn't share on this blog. I use this set of Sakura Koi Pocket Field Sketch Box watercolors all the time because of the vivid color you can achieve. They are also very convenient when you are outside working in the garden or on the trail and want to capture a quick sketch in your nature journal.

See the brush there on the right? It is in sections so it will fit in the box. The one piece is actually a tiny vial for water if you want to carry it right in the set as well.

Here is the brush all screwed together. I use it a lot when I am painting unless I need a really fine line and then I need a different size brush. This one is very versatile though so if you want convenience...this works. I was pleasantly surprised when I watch the last Danny Gregory video to see that Tommy Kane uses the larger set of these in his artwork.

So there you go...my finished Sketch Tuesday project this week from the laundry room. I decided to do a little watercolor graphic style piece for the slideshow instead of my usual pencil drawing. You can see my art space fairly well in this photo too. The other item that I am really happy with that is new and showing in this photo is the Prismacolor pencil sharpener (the bright green object there on the desk). It does a really great job of sharpening my colored pencils without making the lead wobbly.

Hopefully you find something that inspires you to get out your art supplies....mine is a cheerful photo, an inviting work space, really great supplies, and some time!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Laundry Room

2011-09-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

Last week's sketch idea was to capture something from Ancient Rome. This was a little different assignment and I know a bit harder for younger children. I appreciate all the extra effort to make this sketch happen and I think you will enjoy seeing the results.

I also appreciate all of the families that sketched early in the week and sent in their sketches over the weekend....perfect!

Here is the slideshow: Something From Ancient Rome.

This week's assignment, due Monday, October 3, 2011:
Sketch something from the laundry room.

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, October 3, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You may be interested in my Squidoo Lenses:
Art Supplies For Kids - my suggestions for your art materials
Harmony Art Mom's Top Five Art Reviews
Drawing and Painting With Children - ideas and resources

Homeschool Planners and Calendars - Starting Mine A Little Late This Year

2011-09-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

Lack of time is the major reason I have not completed my school calendar for the year but now that things have slowed down a bit for Harmony Fine Arts and the "back to school" week for our home is behind us, I am ready to get my planner filled. I don't know why I procrastinated. I started using Mom's Tool Belt last year for my calendar/planner needs and it worked great. After using it for a year, I am in a better position to share the pages I used and how I used them.

My 2010 Planner - Spiral Bound

I thought I could just take photos as I put this year's planner together....some of us are very visual. I know many of you purchased a subscription and maybe you have procrastinated like I did in actually sitting down and printing out the pretty pages.

2011 Planner - Trying Out A Three-Ring Binder

I like pretty planners....I opted to spiral bind my calendar last year but this year I am going to use a three-ring binder- partly for convenience, partly for the ability to change or add more easily, and partly because I want to use the pretty spines and covers. :)

The first thing I did was sit down and decide which style of pages worked well last year.

At-A-Glance Pages - I used the year page at the front of the planner as a reference. I am going to use it this year to highlight our school days.

Calendar Pages - I decided that the style that works for me the best is the portrait style page with the BIG boxes. Edit to add: When I was printing I decided to go with the two page spread calendar pages and put them in my binder face to face....Why didn't I think of that last year?

Homeschool Pages - I use Homeschool Tracker so many of the pages Debra offers I can print easily from Homeschool Tracker. There are a few pages that I found helpful and now that you can edit the form before printing to customize them I will be using more of them this year. I like the Books To Be Read Page (going to fill in Mr. B's free reading books), Books Loaned Out Page (I lose track of so many resources by not keeping a record of who I lend things to), and the Subject and Planning Dividers. There are so many great editable forms in this section that many of you might find helpful.

Household Planning Pages - I LOVED having the Meal Planning pages in my calendar. Even if I didn't plan in advance, I went back and filled it in afterwards as a record of meals we enjoyed or as a tickler for meal planning. These are definitely going back in my new calendar.

Journaling Pages - I used these when I was talking on the phone to write down messages. I stuck a few sticky notes where the boxes are and then pulled them off as I need or moved them to the next page if I still had some left at the end of the month. I think the design of these pages is so very happy and I end up doodling on the pages as I talk on the phone. Are you a doodler?

Lists - I print two pages of shopping lists and one goal page for each month. This has been a great efficiency tool for me and I will continue using these pages in my new calendar.

Cover Pages and Spines - These can be edited to add your own titles! Love the graphics and I will pick one to slip in my binder cover.There are even covers and spines for a recipe binder....love mine! Edit to add: I decided to go with the summer theme cover and spine.

To Do Lists - I wasn't very good at using these last year...perhaps because they were too pretty to write on. I also bound them inside the planner which was a bad idea. This year by putting them in the 3-ring binder I think I will be more apt to use them. I am going to print a few out and slip them in the front pocket of the binder for easy of use.

Those are the specific pages I am using from the Mom's Tool Belt collection of pages. There are many, many more pages to choose from and I highly recommend that you pop over and check them out for yourself. You can download samples to view and play with by clicking right at the top of her website.

There is also a Freebie Section that you might want to check out as well.

I like simple things and frugal things and using Mom's Tool Belt is part of my overall plan for simplicity. Thanks Debra for a great product.

Just so you know: I am an affiliate for Mom's Tool Belt so if you do click the button above and purchase a membership I receive a small commission. I have actually used this planner for 2010 and will be using it again for 2011.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Better to Think or to Know?

2011-09-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Don't look now but he is using his planner and checklist. I am trying to contain my joy at this new stage in Mr. B's homeschooling and life. He is getting organized. As the youngest child, he seems to have cruised through school so far coasting on behind his older brothers. He hasn't had too many times where he is the only child at home or had me all to himself. Our school has a whole new feel to it and he seems to be thriving. It isn't like I haven't paid attention to him but things just have always gone smoothly for Mr. B. He grew into homeschooling as I worked with his older three siblings. He blended in well.

Now the two of us are really getting to know each other and to learn how much I need to interact with him to keep him moving along with his studies. Homeschooling is now more like unschooling and it feels right for us. Yes, there is a checklist but it was mutually agreed upon to include subjects and materials we thought would work for Mr. B. He is really owning his learning.

"In other words, they think that it's more important for a child to think than it is for him to know. But I say that a child can't know without having thought, and that he can't think if he doesn't have a regular, abundant supply of various materials of knowledge. All of us know how reading a passage can stimulate us to think, wonder, and make inferences, which all result in getting us some additional knowledge."
Charlotte Mason, volume 3 page 242

He is in taking more control of his learning but he still has a great amount of reading and narration that he is expected to accomplish. Yesterday he told me at the end of the day that he did "a whole lot of writing". He was working on some written narrations from this week's reading assignments, including a five paragraph story summary for Tell-Tale Heart (using IEW Unit 3). He was not complaining because he really does enjoy writing his thoughts out after reading and digesting. I think that his love of writing is because a Charlotte Mason style education gives a certain amount of freedom to the student to show what he took away from their reading, placing emphasis where they focused and making those connections between subjects as they arise. There are no real "right" and "wrong" answers.

Here are some additional highlights from the week.

We took an afternoon bike ride at the river (photo above.)
We shared some Edna St. Vincent Millay poetry: Recuerdo (read by the poet herself).
We enjoyed some Matisse paintings and I found a new favorite. Luxembourg Gardens.

Mr. B completed notebooking pages for William Taft, the Triple Alliance, and the Titanic. He also added to his timeline, opting to print images instead of sketch this week. (All pages from NotebookingPages.com.)

Week three is done and we will be taking next week off for some volunteer work and for some real unschooling time. This is part of our three weeks of school and one week off routine (taking two years to complete his senior year of high school). He will be doing some reading and a few other small tasks all at his leisure as the week goes by but it will be very informal.

We will be getting outdoors while the weather is still good and working on our Outdoor Hour Challenges from the newsletter. Join us!

Sketch Tuesday: When In Rome

2011-09-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last week's assignment was to sketch something made in the USA. Great job on this assignment...our family had fun with it since there were so many things you could sketch. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Here is your slideshow: Made in the USA

This week's assignment due Monday, September 26, 2011:
Sketch something from Ancient Rome.
(Remember my "no violence" for the slideshow rule...it will be strictly enforced this week. For example: Sketches of swords are fine but sketches with people battling with swords will not be put in the slideshow. I don't want to censor what your child decides to draw. They can sketch whatever they want but you need to explain to your child that it will not go into the slideshow if it does not meet my guidelines.)

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, September 26, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

The majority of the sketches are coming in on Monday afternoon again and it is so hard on me to try to get them all added at the last minute. Please try to get your sketches in before Monday, over the weekend would be fantastic and much appreciated. Thanks to all who have been sending in sketches early....you are the best.

You may be interested in my Squidoo Lenses:
Art Supplies For Kids - my suggestions for your art materials
Harmony Art Mom's Top Five Art Reviews
Drawing and Painting With Children - ideas and resources

Harmony Fine Arts Grades 5-8 Bundle - Blog Special

2011-09-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a very long time to get these plans written and put into ebook format but the revised Harmony Fine Arts Grades 5-8 Bundle is now available. All four grades are updated and now available and the bundle is available in ebook format only. I have to say that these plans are going to make offering art and music appreciation so easy and smooth....I truly wish I had them when I was going through these grades with my sons. They are exactly what I was looking for when I started writing the original Harmony Fine Arts plans. With internet access and so many great free resources available online, you are going to be able to offer rich and exciting study of art and music appreciation.

From now until October 31, 2011, I am offering a blog special for all customers who purchase my
Harmony Fine Arts Grades 5-8 Bundle.

Order my Harmony Fine Arts Grades 5-8 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.
The Harmony Fine Arts Grades 5-8 Bundle is only available in ebook version at this time.
For descriptions of each Harmony Fine Arts grade level, you can click the buttons on the sidebar of my blog for more information.

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 5-8 Bundle EBOOKS - All links will be sent within 24 hours to your Paypal email address. ($59.95)

Time for A Piano Break....Enjoy a Little Pirates!

2011-09-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a few days since I shared some music with you. How about piano this time...contemporary?

Pirates of the Caribbean

Love the big finish.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Lack of Busywork...

2011-09-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Learning about Fauvism and Henri Matisse

I want to piggy-back on Sonya's blog entry this week titled, "Is Charlotte Mason a Gentle Approach? Part 1". I was interested to read her thoughts on whether Charlotte Mason ever used the words "gentle" or "gentle art of learning" in her writings. I have often wondered why these terms were applied to Charlotte Mason and how we got the idea that learning in the Charlotte Mason style was somehow "gentle". (I encourage you to click over and read the whole entry but if you want Sonya's short answer....Miss Mason never said those words.)

This wrap-up post follows last week's Homeschool The Easy Way post. I did not mean that the work was easy but rather from my side of the desk implementing Charlotte Mason's ideas are easier on me. It may be that homeschooling using these ideas are "gentle" on me and allow me to feel less stress and more satisfaction.

As we have applied this style of learning and shaping our homeschool days in high school, I have grown in my awareness that the Charlotte Mason approach to school is a rigorous way to learn. It puts much emphasis on the student taking responsibility for their own learning. I have watched my sons do heaps of reading and we have expected them to read once and narrate it back in their own words or in some other way that shows that they have made it their own. There is no busywork.

This is exactly how I would define our high school year so far in relation to how Charlotte Mason's ideas work in high school. Real learning and no busywork. It is the kind of learning that goes on after the school day is over and your children have graduated from high school.

Appreciating the conciseness of this book lately.

Mr. A who graduated last year from high school and has decided to take a "gap semester" this fall demonstrated to me that learning the CM way goes on after high school. It is real life learning. Here are some of things that I saw this week that he accomplished and if I were keeping track of learning these would be on his list:

Read a book about Alaska and narrated it back to me as I cooked dinner.
Completed Sketch Tuesday with his new set of Sharpies.
Helped me in the garden and took time to observe the different seeds we found as we cleaned up the garden beds.
Read an article about how traditional warm-up exercises actually decrease muscle strength by 5% and then told me about it....leading to a discussion about anatomy with his brother.
Researched a Bible question using a concordance and shared the answer with the whole family.
Wrote a resume and went and talked to the owner of an aviation restoration company at the airport.

You get the idea.....he did all this in addition to his part-time job and his volunteer work (using construction skills). In real life, there is no busy work.

Totally loving this curriculum...highly recommend this course.

For Mr. B who is still in high school, he is also benefiting from the Charlotte Mason influenced style of schooling. He is working on some good habits and that at times is not gentle but hard work. Since he is the only one doing any formal schooling, it is easier for me to keep on top of the bad habits that seem to creep in when I can be distracted by other things going on. His reminders are coming in the form of a daily task list from Homeschool Tracker. His job is to actually look at the list and check things off as he finishes....something he needs to work on. Being thorough is a good habit that Charlotte Mason encouraged and I am making sure that every assignment is done with diligence and to the best of his ability.

This is tough...going to like though.

We are on our "B" week which means he has geography instead of history, formal writing instead of literature, and a meeting with me to cover two week's worth of work. I had some email about the idea of an A and a B week. It works for us since we are stretching one year's work out over two years, filling in with lots of nature study, extra artwork, informal videography, travel, and volunteer work.

Our school week is done and we are going to be heading to the apple orchard to pick up some apples for pies and to eat apple doughnuts. Mr. B is going to drive me....sigh. He is off this afternoon to spend the weekend with his older brother. Tomorrow I have a double baby shower to attend.....two nieces having babies at around the same time. I have my gifts all ready to go and I just need to make some cards to go along with them.

Great week, especially since I finished my writing project! Oh, I also had my Handbook of Nature Study blog totally redesigned....pop over and take a look. I am very impressed with Emily who did all the beautiful work. Check out her business at PolkaDotPixels.com

HFA Grade Eight - Modern Era Art and Music Plans Now Available

2011-09-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Harmony Fine Arts Grade 8 Middle School
Modern Era Art and Music Plans

Harmony Fine Arts Grade 8 plans are completed and ready for purchase. The new Grade 8 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 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 14 coloring pages to use as a follow-up to your study. These plans have more custom notebook pages than any other HFA plans- 19 notebook pages!
*Ebook format includes art prints for five of the six artists to view and/or print out for your personal use.
*Resources can be seen on my Amazon Listmania List for Grade 8.
* 83 pages

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 8 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

Sketch Tuesday 2011: Made in the USA

2011-09-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our first official slideshow of the school year! There are many new sketchers and some alumni as well which makes for a great slideshow. I hope you have a great week and have fun sketching!

Here is the slideshow: Something That Glows!

Next week's assignment due Monday, September 19, 2011:
Sketch something made in the USA.

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, September 19, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You may be interested in my Squidoo Lenses:
Art Supplies For Kids - my suggestions for your art materials
Harmony Art Mom's Top Five Art Reviews
Drawing and Painting With Children - ideas and resources

Living Books For High School Science

2011-09-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

"A book may be long or short, old or new, easy or hard, written by a great man or a lesser man, and yet be the living book which finds its way to the mind of a young reader."
Charlotte Mason, Volume 3

Science in high school is one of those topics that can put fear into a homeschooling mom's heart. We can fear we have a lack of expertise or we perhaps fear we can't offer what public schools can offer. In addition, many of us fear we will not be able to offer a science text in a way that will be meaningful. We may have worked through the years to keep science a living subject with hands-on learning and real life experiences. What happens now that we hit the high school years?

Keeping It Alive
As a science oriented family, I wanted to keep my sons' interests fed even though we decided that the foundation of our study would be a textbook. I was determined to include living books as part of our weekly plans as well. I didn't want to abandon our Charlotte Mason feel to our homeschool even in high school. Looking back, I think it was one of the most important decisions we made.

Inspiration Vs. Information
I was trying to inspire in my children a love of learning and not just feed them dry facts. Living books inspire thinking and do not just provide information. Think back to when you were in school and you had a true learning experience, one that impressed you and has stuck with you all these years later. In my experience, those times were inspired either by passionate people fired up about a topic, a book that was written to give you a window into another time or person's life, or when you made a connection from the written page and related to your real life in some way.

It takes less energy to learn something from a living book than it does from a text. Learning takes place without all the effort to memorize and drill the facts. Learning takes place because it is meaningful and you own it right from the first reading.

Text Plus Something More
I can remember hours and hours of research going into our biology course, trying to find a way to make the text come alive for my boys. I only had to look as far as my own bookshelf and pull the Handbook of Nature Study and some field guides down to supplement our learning. Using those books in addition to a text was what took us outdoors exploring in our own neighborhood and then beyond. They also led us back to our microscope to look at the amazing design and creation right there in the details. We could tackle the topics of high school biology and still keep it real and meaningful.

Applying the Principle to Other Science Courses
The same is true for every high school science course we have completed in our family. There are ways to draw in living books to every topic if you search hard enough. Our study of chemistry, physics, marine biology, and human anatomy have all been enhanced by selected living books offered every week for narration of some sort. Some of the books we stumbled upon, some were recommended by blog readers and friends, and some we had on our shelves already and we just needed to get them down off the shelf and read them one at a time. A few of the books ended up becoming "texts" all on their own like The Elements: An Exploration. This particular book saved our rather dry chemistry course. It brought a spark back to my sons' learning, leading them down their own road to discovery about the elements.We had discovered it was possible to keep a living books focus in our high school science.

Would you like to see our living books selections from our high school science courses?

I have gathered many living books into one list over on Squidoo. Please visit my lens:
Living Books for High School Science.

You may also be interested in reading Charlotte Mason High School and Notebooking in High School.
Or by Science Course:

Homeschool Chemistry

Biology

Marine Biology

Astronomy

This post will be part of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival.

Get Inspired! Another Danny Gregory Video!

2011-09-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

This series of videos that Danny Gregory is producing is amazing! I am so inspired by his work and the process he is portraying in his videos. I love everyday objects and moments and this second video featuring Tommy Kane is perfect for beginning artists to see and try to imitate as they gain skills.

It is so worth the five minutes.
Watch on Vimeo: Red Hook.
I agree with the hint to click over to Vimeo and watch it full screen.

Red Hook - a film about Tommy Kane from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

Off to get out my sketchbook.....my watercolors, my pens, my colored pencils, my pencil sharpener and digital camera.

Then.......some inspiration outside!

Weekly Wrap-Up: High School The Easy Way

2011-09-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

I wrote a few weeks back about having a touchstone, something to keep me focused on our goals. After the first week, I can tell this is going to be the most relaxed and easy to keep schedule we have ever had. It makes me wonder why it took me so long to see the way to making Charlotte Mason's ideas really stick...the key is the planning, planning with a prayerful attitude.

Mr. B is loving his new courses and the notebook set-up we have using the Notebooking Treasury from NotebookingPages.com. I shared how I set up his timeline in an earlier post and he loves the freedom that we built into the daily work to pick and choose his topics for the timeline and the follow-up notebook pages. The key again is planning, having a supply of notebook pages that will work for a high schooler. The Book of Centuries pages are so flexible that I just printed out a few of each style and he is working on them as he does his reading in history, literature, art, composer study, and poetry. They then are filed in his timeline binder behind the appropriate tabs.

He is really enjoying the Thinkwell American Government course so far and he has asked me to come over and watch a few of the segments with him so we can talk about them together. I think that means it is a success., oral narration without being asked to do so! The segment we talked about yesterday was a video poll of average people being asked questions about government: What is government? Why do we need government? These thoughts tied in nicely with our Bible reading this week and I was pleased to hear Mr. B talk about those connections as he narrated back his assignments.

Back to our week....

We had pie this week...scrumptious apple pie that Mr. B baked from apples we got at the apple orchard. His sister said that she thought it was the best apple pie she had ever eaten. It was good, very good.

We listened to Carl Orff's Carmen Burana and the YouTube version.

We read some Edna St. Vincent Millay.

City Trees
The trees along this city street,
Save for the traffic and the trains,
Would make a sound as thin and sweet
As trees in country lanes.
(excerpt)

Mr. B has been itching to start his human anatomy course so we did a little vocabulary work over the summer but now we are really getting into the meat of it. There is so much vocabulary...we have used Flashcard Machine in the past and I think it is time to start again. I highly recommend this website to adapt to your needs. Here is the set we are adding to as we go along: Human Anatomy Word Roots/Prefixes/Suffixes.

Literature this week included reading some chapters in The Grapes of Wrath and a short story by Edgar Allen Poe. Mr. B is keeping an on-going list of points for an essay on The Grapes of Wrath and writing a character analysis of Tom Joad. I wrote a Squidoo lens on John Steinbeck and the Grapes of Wrath if you are interested in reading that for your own study of the book.

That about wraps up our week as far as academics go. We are keeping an A and a B week schedule so next week he will be adding in a few new courses ....can't wait to share those!

Week 1 is complete!

Use discount code = discount5 to save $5 on your $10+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com
Use discount code = discount10 to save $10 on your $20+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com

Our Empty Room - Making Changes Slowly

2011-09-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

I love that so many of you have asked about my empty room. :)

We have been so busy this summer that we really didn't do much with the space until just recently. We did trek down to IKEA and purchase the futon...ended up with the brown textured cover which is glorious. The futon itself is a little hard so I haven't slept on it yet. I like the way we positioned it so we can see out the window. People who know me in real life can't believe I have been able to leave the futon askew...I am usually someone who needs things to be "straight". We scooted the rug to be askew as well so it actually doesn't bother me at all.

We decided to not move the television out to this area since so many of us really are enjoying it as a "reading nook" sort of area. I did separate the two bookshelves to sort of balance the space out. The walls under the lights are sort of bare.....but keep reading to find out what is going there soon!

The desk was already built in when the boys used this as a bedroom so I cleaned it up and arranged the majority of our art supplies on the shelves and in the red rolling cart (under the desk). The only things I purchased were the three striped plastic bins on the bottom shelf and the light that is hanging under the bottom shelf. The new bins are filled with Mr. A's Sharpies and paints. I hung a watercolor drawing of the boys that we had done at Disneyland in 2000. I have never had a spot for it but I love it right next to our art desk.....perfect! Underneath the painting is Mr. B's Lego bins (an IKEA purchase from years ago). The desk was made with a door that we cut down to size and legs we purchased at IKEA.

I had this collage frame in the closet and I decided to use it to display some of the Charley Harper postcards that came from my Charley Harper Postcard Calendar. This is hung on the wall next to the french doors. I put a small table underneath (from the garage storage) with a few nature related items on it. I forgot to take a photo but I will share that another time.

This is the other side of the french door where I put one of the bookshelves. I am slowly moving a few of my art and nature related books out here to use as references. The stitchery on the wall was made by my dear aunt and is a woods scene with a cabin. This is how she envisioned our area when she first learned we had moved up into the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is all hand embroidered so it gets a place of honor. :)

I did purchase the two blue fabric bins for the bottom shelf and those will hold all those various items that end up looking messy on a shelf like headphones for the stereo and magazines.

Last but not least, these are my two art prints that I purchased last weekend at a craft booth at the local apple orchard. We happened upon this artist who does colored pencil work and he had this sleeping bear framed on the front of his tent. I fell in love with it immediately. My husband really liked the artist's work too and he chose the raccoon print to go along with the bear. One will be hung under each light at the end of the room. My dear husband is going to make frames for them out of some wood he has had stashed for a "special" project. Love that man!

In real life, the colors are much more vibrant than in the photo....I love it when you stumble upon something that is just right and these are perfect for the space we are creating.

I know that I had a totally different vision for the room when we started but after watching to see how the family used the space this summer I changed my mind. I also had to take into account that the original colors I wanted were not very "manly" and I need to face the fact that my husband spends just as much time in the room as I do so I wanted to respect his tastes as well.

I think it is turning out great! I am still looking for a quilt or blanket to put on the back of the futon. I may need to make a few pillows too once I find the blanket (perhaps in the box of things I have stored away from my grandma's things). I also need to frame and hang the baby portraits that I printed for each of the children. Mr. B is going to paint two little shelves I have on hand to display a few of my stitchery projects. We are getting close to being done with making the space more like home.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Light Bright

2011-09-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Sketch Tuesday! I hope that this year gives your families lots of opportunities to sketch, draw, and paint along with the group. Please participate as often as you can and jump in at any time....everyone is welcome as long as you draw on topic and keep it G rated.

Here is the Welcome Back - Slideshow of Art from Summer 2011.

This week's assignment: Sketch something that glows.

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, September 12, 2011 and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

You may be interested in my Squidoo Lenses:
Art Supplies For Kids - my suggestions for your art materials
Harmony Art Mom's Top Five Art Reviews
Drawing and Painting With Children - ideas and resources

Sketch Tuesday Will Be Back 9/6/11

2011-08-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-22T04:20:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

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