Music and Art Project

The kids and I did a great projects the other day that I found on LessonPlansPage. The kids like music a lot (Collin really loves it...especially rock and roll) and we have not been doing nearly enough with music. So we started to talk about how music can make you feel differently. I said that sometimes people will express these different emotions through art.

The lesson was to play 2 songs (with no words) and to produce 2 different pictures. The songs were Brick in the Wall Part 2 and Money by Pink Floyd....great songs. Here is the website where the lesson is...

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MusicFeelingsMood.htm

The results were great.

Brick in the Wall Part 2
Shannen: "Just craziness"


Money
Shannen: "A thief sneaking through the neighborhood"


Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
Collin: "A boat and fisherman with sharks chasing them."

Money
Collin: "A man at a wishing well"


Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
Morgan: "An electric guitar"

Money
Morgan: "I like the ringing bells in the beginning."

Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
Tristan is having fun.


Money
Tristan really went crazy.

I thought it was great that they all had such different views of the songs and that the pictures between one song and another were so unique. The kids liked listening to the songs with the words after we were done.

So Close to Being Done!

The girls have been working hard on their American Flag Quilt....and we are almost there. They have done almost all the work on it themselves. My mom and I have helped with cutting (not ready for them to have a rotary cutter) and some of the ironing but they have done all the sewing...and cut out the starts. It has been a big project for them. Here are some pictures to update that project.

Putting the quilt together.

Shannen quilting her stripes.


Morgan quilting her stripes.


Paying such attention.


Not as easy as this looks.

Well the girls only have to sew the stars on and finish the binding....I think I am just as (more) anxious to see this done as the girls....one more solid day and we should have it.

Modigliani Portrait

Today the girls and I worked on Modigliani Portraits. I found this project on a great blog:


http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/2008/09/modigliana-portraits.html


Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (July 12, 1884 – January 24, 1920) was an Italian artist who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form. He died in Paris of tubercular meningitis, exacerbated by poverty, overwork, and addiction to alcohol and narcotics.

Morgan keeps calling him spaghetti (she says his name sounds like it) but other than that they seem to remember a bit about him. Here are their self portrait attempts:


Step 1: Measure the Paper

Step 2: Draw the Face

Step 3: Use Oil Pastel to Fill in Picture




Final Product:



The girls really had a blast with this project...and we had another art project hat worked out!

Hating the Flu

Well it finally hit us. I was really hoping that with lots of hand washing we could avoid the flu but it seems to have come this way anyway. It started with Collin on Monday. He came home from school with a fever (102.8) and he spent Tuesday in bed. For those of you who know Collin this is really an odd occurrence (for those who don't Todd calls him Captain Dangerous because of all the crazy things he seems to do). His fever has only been really high at night (yes truly helpful for mom's sleeping) but he has started with the cough.

I started yesterday and spent most of today on the couch. Tristan has been teetering on the edge of some sort of cold. I don't want to admit it but I think the ear tubes may not have been the godsend I was hoping for because it looks like he has an ear infection. On top of it today I think Tristan spent 15 min. NOT coughing....my plate and face got much of the abuse....no no cough into your elbow!

The only people who have not gotten the ick (knock on wood) are Todd who is gone at work most of the time (and he has buffered himself in hand sanitizer when at home) and the girls. I am feeling a bit guilty that they have been on the computer or reading most of the last two days. I am just not super-mom enough to be sick, deal with two sick kids, keep enough clean dishes in the house so we can eat, and homeschool the girls....(and for full disclosure the girls have been doing most of the dishes and no one has been doing the laundry...that will be a problem soon). So the girls are getting a few days of relaxed homeschooling....and I WILL NOT FEEL GUILTY....if I say it loud enough maybe I will even believe it :)

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.