We have been studying Mary Cassatt's life and work for the summer and into the school year. We have so enjoyed her life story, especially of her time in Paris, and her friendship with Edgar Degas. As the mom, and the one who was planning the study, I especially enjoyed the novel "Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper" by Harriet Scott Chessman. It provided an enjoyable read with some good information by a well-researched author about the life that Mary and her family enjoyed in Paris during her painting years and Lydia's illness. The children can recognize and name several of Mary's paintings and are looking forward to seeing some of them someday when we visit their cousins in Washington D.C. and visit the National Gallery of Art.
But, now we are moving on in our art studies and have chosen Van Gogh. We enjoyed some of his paintings while in London when we often visited the National Gallery of London. Here are some of the books that I checked out at the library today in preparation for our study:
*My Brother, Vincent Van Gogh
*Vincent Van Gogh, Modern Artist
*Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist
*Vincent's Colors
*Visiting Vincent Van Gogh
*What Makes a Van Gogh a Van Gogh?
*The Yellow House: Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gaugin Side by Side
I am definitely considering how I can gently explain Van Gogh's death if necessary. But mostly, I want to share the wonderful art of amazing artist with my children. Starry Night is my favorite painting of all time and I am hoping that one of my children might love it as much as me!
Showing posts with label Charlotte Mason. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlotte Mason. Show all posts
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Day in the Life of Our Homeschool
Here's a peek into our typical day:
Wake up and do morning routines. This includes bed-making, teeth-brushing, getting dressed and tidying up bedrooms for the children. I assist the youngest with all of the above.
Breakfast. Since Daddy is working remotely from home for the next few weeks until his job is finished, he surprised us with chocolate chip pancakes this morning. When mommy is in charge, much easier fare is prepared!
Next, we do our circle time, which includes going over Bible memory work (Psalm 23 from NIRV, right now), "Windows to the World" for geography (today was Bangladesh) and prayer, reading from "The Story for Kids", and working on patterns. We've been doing a fun thing, where the kids think up patterns to make by clapping, patting, etc. and then we create the pattern using pattern blocks to represent the A,B,C, etc. parts.
Next, individual work begins with the children. While I am working with one child, the others are working independently. (Ideally, of course!). Today, the oldest had to narrate from "Henry and Ribsy". I had him narrate all the chapters from memory and was very impressed with what he had retained, including some interesting phrases and whole portions of dialogue. He also had piano practice and lesson. He worked in his Horizons math book, and worked in his writing journal detailing his football practice last night.
Daughter worked on patterns with pattern blocks, and upper and lower case letters. She and I worked on her scrapbook where she narrated the text to me from the pictures. We played a game with the white board where she had to guess what letter I was making before I finished making it. Then, to keep score, we used tally marks and learned about those. Because it was her first time using tally marks, we talked about and practiced (lots!) counting by 5's. Then, she wanted to go play outside. She is my dig-in-the-dirt girl! She came in with two worms, so then she and I looked up worms in the "Handbook of Nature Study" -- not much there for her, but I will use the questions to formulate some little mini lessons and observation-type projects as we watch the worms. We talked about the importance of only keeping the worms for a short time and then releasing them back into their natural habitat.
The littlest, who is normally with us, was having a playdate with a neighbor. We normally do all the preschool type things with her. Painting and playdough are favorites. And she loves to be read to!
Usually, it's around lunch by this time, so we take a break for that. Then, it's outside for play/nature study. After that, we all do a house project for the next hour or so before rest time. Today we are making cookies for a new neighbor and working in the upstairs bedrooms. All of the children still take a rest each day. The oldest often read or play quietly, while the youngest still naps. This is time for mommy to regroup!
After rest time, there is usually snack and more outside play until supper. On Tuesdays, though, we have "Tuesday Teatime" where we do art study and poetry and manners. We are getting ready to study a new artist after spending several months with Mary Cassatt. We have so enjoyed her art! We'll be moving on to Van Gogh next week. Often, our poetry comes from Favorite Poems Old and New. Our favorite manners game is from EBoo and they are funny flash cards with pigs using nice manners. A book we use for manners is "Everyday Graces" by Karen Santorum. It is a truly beautiful book that we will use for years to come!
That's the short version of a day in the life of our very busy little homeschool!
Wake up and do morning routines. This includes bed-making, teeth-brushing, getting dressed and tidying up bedrooms for the children. I assist the youngest with all of the above.
Breakfast. Since Daddy is working remotely from home for the next few weeks until his job is finished, he surprised us with chocolate chip pancakes this morning. When mommy is in charge, much easier fare is prepared!
Next, we do our circle time, which includes going over Bible memory work (Psalm 23 from NIRV, right now), "Windows to the World" for geography (today was Bangladesh) and prayer, reading from "The Story for Kids", and working on patterns. We've been doing a fun thing, where the kids think up patterns to make by clapping, patting, etc. and then we create the pattern using pattern blocks to represent the A,B,C, etc. parts.
Next, individual work begins with the children. While I am working with one child, the others are working independently. (Ideally, of course!). Today, the oldest had to narrate from "Henry and Ribsy". I had him narrate all the chapters from memory and was very impressed with what he had retained, including some interesting phrases and whole portions of dialogue. He also had piano practice and lesson. He worked in his Horizons math book, and worked in his writing journal detailing his football practice last night.
Daughter worked on patterns with pattern blocks, and upper and lower case letters. She and I worked on her scrapbook where she narrated the text to me from the pictures. We played a game with the white board where she had to guess what letter I was making before I finished making it. Then, to keep score, we used tally marks and learned about those. Because it was her first time using tally marks, we talked about and practiced (lots!) counting by 5's. Then, she wanted to go play outside. She is my dig-in-the-dirt girl! She came in with two worms, so then she and I looked up worms in the "Handbook of Nature Study" -- not much there for her, but I will use the questions to formulate some little mini lessons and observation-type projects as we watch the worms. We talked about the importance of only keeping the worms for a short time and then releasing them back into their natural habitat.
The littlest, who is normally with us, was having a playdate with a neighbor. We normally do all the preschool type things with her. Painting and playdough are favorites. And she loves to be read to!
Usually, it's around lunch by this time, so we take a break for that. Then, it's outside for play/nature study. After that, we all do a house project for the next hour or so before rest time. Today we are making cookies for a new neighbor and working in the upstairs bedrooms. All of the children still take a rest each day. The oldest often read or play quietly, while the youngest still naps. This is time for mommy to regroup!
After rest time, there is usually snack and more outside play until supper. On Tuesdays, though, we have "Tuesday Teatime" where we do art study and poetry and manners. We are getting ready to study a new artist after spending several months with Mary Cassatt. We have so enjoyed her art! We'll be moving on to Van Gogh next week. Often, our poetry comes from Favorite Poems Old and New. Our favorite manners game is from EBoo and they are funny flash cards with pigs using nice manners. A book we use for manners is "Everyday Graces" by Karen Santorum. It is a truly beautiful book that we will use for years to come!
That's the short version of a day in the life of our very busy little homeschool!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Little House on the Prairie Narration - Ch 1; Pages 1-5
The boy is reading "Little House on the Prairie". Here is his first narration.
"Pa wanted to move West, because he liked to see the deer and the fawns. Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary and baby Carrie moved West. Their cousins waved and kissed them goodbye. And their grandmas and aunts too."
Please humor me as I use this as a place to record little things about our homeschool day so that I can keep track! ;)
"Pa wanted to move West, because he liked to see the deer and the fawns. Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary and baby Carrie moved West. Their cousins waved and kissed them goodbye. And their grandmas and aunts too."
Please humor me as I use this as a place to record little things about our homeschool day so that I can keep track! ;)
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