Day of The Dead Art Project

I have been looking for some art projects for the kids that would work out better than our attempts so far. As the people who know me are aware art is not my strong suite (this would actually be a huge understatement)....so I need all the help I can get to create art lessons that do not turn into a huge pile of goo.

I have found a great art blog through a homeschool friend and I am shamelessly stealing her ideas. I decided since it was Halloween time (and the project looked so cool) that we would do her Day of the Dead drawings. I had to do some changing to the project (because I didn't have all the supplies) but even with my tinkering they managed to turn into a really cool project. I helped draw the faces for the boys but the girls did all the work themselves. If you are interested in trying this project (or any number of other cool art projects) from little kids through middle school age the website is :

http://deepspacesparkle.blogspot.com


Here are our best art efforts!

Oops I covered my whole face in chalk.

I like the black light paints the best.

Shannen went with the whole body.

Collin wanted a really scary picture.

Tristan's face.

Didn't these come out cool!

I like the hair on the skeleton.

Nice clothes.

We are all very proud that we finally have a finished product that did not wash away or mold....yeah us!

Homeschooling With The Boys

Homeschooling with my two little boys (5 and 3) is not always easy (they go to school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays....those days can feel really far apart at times). They like to be very active and they don't always have patience for what we are doing.

Just when I thought that homeschooling with them around was feeling impossible I went through these pictures and felt a little bit better. Here are the snip-its of good moments....glad you can not hear (or see) the fighting in between :)

Tristan in a rare moment of stillness.

Not often do I find something that really holds all their attention for a sustained period of time (so when I do I share). Here the kids are going on a "virtual field trip"....they loved it that they could do it in their pjs. The field trips are put out by Colonial Williamsburg (great programs). The first topic for the year was Emissaries of Peace. We learned all about the Native American and British negotiations pre-American Revolution. During the field trip they showed a live action story, had a panel of historians answering questions, had kids doing little skits (including other homeschoolers), and had historians available via phone for questions. The historians were great and very patient (even with Collin's questions....why are 5-year-old boys so interested in swords?). I made kettle corn (on the stove...yeah me) and all the kids were engaged (whew...finally).

What mom I am trying to watch!

The girl have begun to get into "homeschooling" the boys when they are not in preschool, which seems to make the day go smoother.

Science class: mixing colors.

We also seem to be doing a lot of building on these days:

So proud!

Me too!

The after photo.

Not to be out-done by her little brothers.

Even with the good moments you can find the girls retreating to their rooms when the boys get a bit out of hand:

Finally I can concentrate!

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh

Shannen so proud of her
book review.

I guess it is a work in progress but my hope is I am less scared of Collin graduating from preschool in the spring then I am now :)

Halloween Time

So Halloween at our house is a very big deal. I mean we really like to get into the dressing up, reading stories, decorating the house....the whole thing. So we were all really excited when we were able to pull out the Halloween boxes....

Making Decorations.

My little witch.

Hey I can't see!

So the kids spent a good amount of time making chain decorations for their rooms. The decorations came out great. The boys got to practice their cutting and pattern matching (although those patterns fell apart a bit at he end :)

Very serious work...

Collin showing off his chain.

Collin's finished product.

I want to make it go all the
way around my room.

Working together.

Shannen's room decorations.

Tristan so happy.

She made it around the whole room.

After all the decorations went up we baked all things pumpkin...We made pumpkin cookies and a pumpkin pie. The girls took the lead on the receipt and helped Collin bake.

Collin paying attention.

Morgan helping out.

We have had a chance to make a few Jack-o Lanterns....

Cut and carve away.

Ummmm pumpkin guts.

Field Trip!

Last week the girls and I went on a great field trip to Boston organized by some wonderful homeschool families in RI and MA. The trip was divided into two parts and had maybe 60 people total (the kids ranged from 8 to 15 ish....mostly in the 10-12 age I would guess). In the morning after a looooong drive into the south station area (we love the HOV lane). We went into the Federal Reserve Building for a presentation. Fun for me because I spent much of my first 2 years as a mommy in this general area...what with Todd working 2 blocks away and the children's museum there...we never seemed to leave.

Well the presentation at the Fed. was really interesting (well for me...the girls were a little bored at times). The man who gave the presentation knew so much about the Fed...and banking...and ancient money trivia that he was not stumped by even the hardest questions thrown at him. The girls liked the Fed Bingo better than the movie...and they liked the presents best of all (really shredded money and a whistle/compass/any gadget you can think of).

This is a REALLY big bank.

Can I glue the money back together??

After the Fed we had several hours to wander on our own. I took this time to introduce the girls to the T system. They had been on before a bunch of times but this time I handed them a map and said get us from here to there....amusement (for me) occurred but we made it to Fenway on time for our next adventure.

Part two was a 45 min. ancient Egypt adventure called Tomb...that well rocked. The kids had so much fun although the girls were probably the youngest I would take in because there were many creepy moments in the dark. The adventure took place inside a "tomb" we all got locked into and in order to get out of each chamber the kids had to work together to solve puzzles...add in the dark and ceilings lowering to crush us all if we did not finish in time...and you have the makings for a fun afternoon :) Really they did a great job and it reminded me of a Disney like ride in quality of production and staff...two thumbs up!

If you are interested (and I would definitely advise going) google Boston Tomb 5 w!ts production and you will find it (sorry tried to link their site and it wouldn't work). All in all we had a great time and the girls are still talking about it!

Spooky...

We had so much fun!!!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Oh, Oh, Oh!
Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let's go fly a kite
And send it soaring
Up to the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite....



Ok a little corny but it was a sunny very windy day this past Sunday so after church we took the kids out to the point (where there is always great flying weather) for some kite flying. The kids had a great time even when (especially when?) Collin almost got lifted off the ground while flying a big kite. The day was great...we might have headed out 30 mins earlier and avoid a slight we are all tired meltdown....next time. Enjoy the pics:

I can't believe the kite stays up there.

I can get it.

So fun!

ahhhh relaxing....

They look so pretty up there.


Working together.

Shannen helping to get the kite in the air.

Art Time.

Todd was hanging out with the kids a few days ago and decided to hold painting hour:

Tristan working hard.

We love painting.

Hmmm...what do I want to do next??

The finished product.

The kids loved the rocks and were very excited about the whole project....unfortunately they were left out in the rain and alas this is the only proof of the fun day...oh well :)

After the painting hour Todd built a fire for marshmallows roasting...

I love melted sugary goodness.

Collin gathering fire wood.

We have been doing a tree unit for homeschool and I found an art project for the kids. We made these great tree masks out of: water, flour, sugar, and sawdust...they came out great but they didn't dry well (too many rainy days) and got a little mouldy...again only photo proof...I am sensing a theme in our art projects :)

Mixing up the goop.

The boys loved the mess.

So serious...

Morgan's mask: the puppy dog.

Tristan's mask: the abstract.

Collin's mask: the moaning mask.

Shannen's mask: the flower child.