MFA

We spent the day at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston today. We haven't visited the museum in over a year, and I was struck by the beauty of the works we saw today. I left feeling so very grateful that this museum exists right in our backyard. J and K spent the day looking at sculpture, while D toured the modern art exhibit with the older kids. All 3 kids then worked on projects that tied in to the ideas they discussed while touring the galleries today.

Some of the sculpture we saw today included pieces from Ancient China and Japan.

The girls, hard at work in the clay studio.

Three 3-D masterpieces. 

This week

This week we did some hands on science.

These are simple models of plant and animal cells made with jello and fruit. I think a little finger or two sampled the jello while making the model :)

We did some fun history learning

J made this history pocket, published by Evan Moore. We just discovered them and all agree they are great. They are wonderful for crafty kids who like to draw, cut, and paste, and are looking for a more creative approach to learning history

and started an ancient history time line.

We've been reading our favorite fall books, and making some fall art.

and doing some fall knitting.

My littlest one is a busy bee this year, learning right alongside her sister and brother, making me realize how big she is getting.She insists on doing her own "work" each day.

Happy fall!

Some new art

Some new art from D...

And some new art from J...

We went for a hike last Saturday afternoon and man was it cold! We didn't last too long on the trail but I was able to snap a few good pics of the kiddos.

We've taken some time off from any formal learning to do some spring cleaning and gardening. But we've been reading lots of great books and tending to our little indoor garden. Last weekend we decided to transplant our growing shoots to larger pots. The kids painted the pots and decided that they would like to give some away as Easter gifts this year. By the end of the day they looked like true artists and nature lovers with paint in their hair and dirt in their finger nails.

Winter Days are Art Days

"All children are artists. The challenge is to remain an artist once they grow up." -Pablo Picasso
I love that my children love art. For the past several years D has combined his love of birds with his love of drawing and I now have a house full of lovely bird drawings and paintings. My kids are soooooo lucky to have a wonderful art teacher right here on the south shore. She is gentle and patient and encouraging and all the things a good teacher should be. In her classes the children choose what they would like to work on and the medium they would like to use. They work at their own pace, picking up skills and ideas as they go. It's been truly amazing to watch D's art work evolve over the past two years in her classes. You can check out her website at http://www.bettinalesieur.com/

D's american kestrel drawing

hand trees

I love Modge Podge. I can't knit, sew, crochet, embroider, paint, or draw particularly well, but give me a can of gloopy, gooey glue and I am all over it. I saw this beautiful craft posted first on facebook (thanks Erica!) and decided it was right up our alley. You can find all the details at

http://atsecondstreet.blogspot.com/2010/03/mod-podged-hand-trees.html
I decided to make ours using fall colors to decorate our mantle for Thanksgiving. I love the way they came out, and my three did them all on their own (aside from K who needed help arranging her leaves). We used fabric remnants and inexpensive fabric squares that I bought at a fabric store, and modge-podged them to canvas. I initially thought I would cover the canvas with darker fabric, but liked the contrast of the bright leaves on the white canvas so didn't end up covering it after all. I did all the tracing and cutting. The kids did all the modge-podging. I love that each tree is unique and look forward to decorating our mantle with their trees for years to come. Happy Fall!

fiesta masks

The kids made some paper mache fiesta masks to wrap up our study of South America. This was a fun, messy project that they enjoyed very much - the mixing, smearing, and painting were all very toddler-friendly and K jumped right in. J was a bit grossed out by the slimy paper mache feeling and refused to touch it, but she was able to use a paint stick to spread hers around. D tried to make his mask as ridiculous looking as possible and I love how it turned out. They are a colorful addition to our school/play room!

summer art

This is D's drawing of the Gurnet, complete with blue jays.

a beautiful day for a hike and a new planter

Since I did nothing but complain about the terrible weather and rabid geese we encountered on our previous homeschooling hike, I decided I should post some photos of the absolutely beautiful weather we had during our last hike. I really do not like cold weather. I know, I know, I live in New England and have for most of my life. I'm supposed to love wool sweaters, red noses, chunky mittens, long underwear, skiing, blizzards in April, noreasters in May, but I just don't and never have. I do, however, like soup, hot chocolate and reading a great book by a nice fire. Anyway, since it has lately been nothing but blue skies and warm days I am happy, and happy to post pics of the hike and picnic we shared with friends. Also included is a pic of the new planter D made. I love his choice of fall colors and can't wait to plant a nice mum in it in September, though I must admit that the orange, drippy hue brings to mind velveeta mac and cheese.

clay creations

D and J made some lovely clay creations at the MFA this month. They toured the ancient Egypt exhibit and saw sculptures, jewelry, and objects found in tombs and even saw a mummified head. I'm always amazed that art, jewelry, sculpture, and yes, even heads, can survive for such an incredibly long time. It's amazing. It makes me wonder what we will leave behind for people to discover thousands of years from now. Sadly, I'm guessing it will mostly be plastic. After touring the Egypt galleries and exhibits the children made their own creations. J made a cat, inspired by some of the Egyptian sculptures she had seen, and of course her love of our new kitten, Lewis. D made a . . . tank. What, you didn't know the ancient Egyptians actually invented the tank? It's true. In their spare time, after they were done with those silly pyramids and sphyxes and all that nonsense, they moved on to tank warfare.

I'm actually not sure where the tank idea came from, but at least he had fun, and came up with an original idea.

spring has sprung...almost.

Perhaps it is that Persephone has returned to the land of the living, perhaps it is that spring brings out the creativity in all of us, or perhaps we are just burnt out with 'formal' schoolwork - but whatever it may be, we have had a very laid back, artistic week. We've been baking and cooking up a storm, writing, decorating, and doing lots of art. Yesterday the kids and I cut azaleas and rondodendron blossoms from our plants outside and decorated a wreath for our front door. D and J worked together to decide which colors and pattern to use, and worked patiently with K to help her add her own flowers too. It looks quite lovely hanging on our front door, despite the cold, rainy weather that feels very much like a New England spring and reminds us all that summer is just around the corner.

blue heron

This is D's latest drawing of a blue heron.

Geography Fair

We had a great time at the Geography Fair and Closing Ceremony hosted by our HS co-op. D chose to create a project about the Galapagos Islands. Due to the events of the previous week he had very little time to prepare his project, so I was very pleased to see the dedication with which he applied himself in order to finish it on time. Although we weren't able to do all that we had planned, he did make a clay habitat using FIMO clay, and a poster showing various types of landscapes and vegetation on some of the islands. Watching him create his tiny creatures using FIMO brought me back to my childhood, when I used to spend hours rolling tiny FIMO clay beads to make jewelry.

All of the kids who participated were given a passport and as they traveled to other projects, trying different foods or learning about the culture of that country, they received a stamp for their passport. We enjoyed seeing all the projects that the kids created and learning new things about different places. There are some truly talented artists, poets, cooks, and all-around geography buffs in our group!