1st Grade Art Appreciation

I have had the pleasure to teach an art class to E and Kaela this last year. We've dabbled in many areas but none so satisfying as our slow intro into the world of drawing. My guide: Drawing With Children by Mona Brookes.

This has been my teaching bible and given me the confidence to have the ability to impart these foundational skills to these two girls that love to draw. After weeks of drawing duplication and mirror imaging warm-ups, and then abstract designs we were ready to attempt our first lesson. The gals did fabulous, and I felt so inspired to have imparted some grain of knowlege to them, however small.

The girls were instructed to listen silently to each step, complete, and then wait for the next instruction; i.e. draw a dot anywhere on your paper, make a small angled line in front of the eye, etc.

Here is what we got!

by Kaela

by E

Creative Writing & Art Class

Stilts

It's been really fun to see N take a few of the same classes E did when all those years ago. The 1 1/2 hour Fun Factory class with Teacher Tracey has/was great for both. It's basically preschool time with parents. Art, songs, snack, sensory table, parachute play, and large motor play. E especially loved the stilts back then and N is getting the hang of them too.

Papier-mâché - chewed paper

Our Art Appreciation and Geography classes were combined today! We started our papier-mâché globes, and had so much fun. As we talk about each of our continents and land features we will be adding them to our globes, but today was up to our elbows in balloons, torn newspaper & flour/water glue.

Art Appreciation - Day 1

Today was my first co-op class here at our house. It was completely exhausting but so rewarding! I decided to take it down to the real basic level of color for our first class. We spoke about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. I had the girls mix balls of red, yellow, and blue play dough and tell me what they got. We then made up color wheels, it was so much fun to see the light bulbs going off above their little heads. E and Kaela were so proud that they had mixed all 9 (secondary and tertiary) colors independently.

A Detailed Sketch of a Plant

E's Science teacher instructed the children to draw a plant with as much detail as possible, and then label. Here is what she came up with:

I love this. When she was showing me this evening, she pointed out that she knows it's "not 'th' at the end of branch, (she) just made a 't' instead of a 'c' on accident." Makes my heart melt that not one word is spelled correctly, but she took her assignment seriously.

1st Tumbling Class

not really sure about what to think...

I was so excited to get N into a few classes this fall, here's a few shots from our morning class with cousin Inger. All class shots taken by E!

the 4 of us

balance

obstacle course

roll!

rope

stamps!

the starting star

ta-da!

Backstory

So guys, I'm beat. This homeschooling Public School Alternative Learning Experience Program thing is really rewarding, but man, it's so much work! I've been uncharacteristically excited about the beginning of a new year with E, but with the recent State Legislation changes to our program I feel like I've learned and done more work that E ever will this year, and we haven't even started classes yet! Our first real day will be this Monday and we've got a lot of great stuff lined up and some really exciting changes too. For starters, the Hall family and ours have formed a co-op! I'll be handling Visual Art Appreciation and World Geography over here, and my good friend Jen will be working with the gals on Ocean Studies, and Life Skills and we'll trade World History back and forth each month. E and Kaela are such good friends and Jen and I get along famously.

E will also be logging a few hours at our Homeschool Resource Center each week with: Pottery, Spanish, Problem Solving (math), Plants and Earth, Exploring Cultures Through Literature, and her YMCA gym & swim! Whew! Add all that to the basics I'll also be covering with her individually: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic and we've got ourselves one heck of a schedule. Not to mention the 2 classes I singed N up for this Fall...so all of this to say, I may be a bit absent for a while...until I can catch my breath. D's out on the road again, we're planning for E's 7th (can you believe it) birthday, and the garden is just now starting to slow down. I even had an anniversary a few days back, and couldn't stop to give a little shout out about our 12 years! Thanks for all the e-mail's and calls; "we are here, we are here, WE ARE HERE!" (Horton hears a Who)

I'll be back soon, can't stay away too long!

::::::::::

Here is a little something to chew on...Happy Anniversary D.

2003

8/14/2011 *and apparently I'm a terrible speller and forget to use the built-in spell-check...bear with me everyone...

Seattle Tilth's Children's Garden

E's class took their last field trip of the year to the Children's Garden at the Seattle Tilth.  It was very informational, they got their hands dirty, and tasted many different plants, the all around favorite being the silver shield sorrel (tastes like a sour apple).

Art Camp

E's art skills have been sharpened this last week, one of the projects she completed at 'Mini Markers Art Camp' was a self portrait; I love it!

PLEZDO NOTUCH

E's been in an art class this week, where she was permitted to use a Sharpie on more than one occasion...we don't let her use them at home. Well on the way back into the house after playing in the backyard for a bit we noticed she was carrying one of our Sharpie's. D immediately asked where she had used it, "On Mama's Japanese Maple," and she showed me: "PLEZDO NOTOCH" (please do not touch). She might as well had written: 'don't write on the tree'

Di-Di-Di-Dive!

E learned how to dive in her lessons today!

(get into position)

(lean)

(push off)

(splash!)

("Did you see that Mama?")

Feathering the Nest

Just down to 2 weeks and some days until my due date comes around. I've been in clean/prepare mode for a few weeks now; washing and ironing all the curtains and couch cushion covers, synchronizing all our clocks, avoiding sitting on the ground, drinking gallons for raspberry leaf tea, putting fresh batteries in all our smoke alarms, washing loads of tiny little socks and onsies, re-reading baby books, organizing the medicine cabinets, cursing my swelling fingers and feet (thank God for flip-flops), visiting a few shops and filling in the arsenal of baby items that we'll need in the first few weeks, bribing D to get outside and mow the lawn that is almost at this point unbearable for me, counting baby kicks, checking and rechecking my supply list for the birth, and trying to come up with a suitable name for out little guy.

D suggested that we take a few days with each prospective name and just call him that and see how it fits. So far I think it's been a good idea, some names are hard to assign to a little helpless infant but would be a great adult name (which I suppose is the idea as you're an adult for more of your life than a little bundle...)

At the first of the week E took her sibling class with 5 or so other soon-to-be big brother's and sister's. She loved it, and of course had so many things to share with the rest of the class. The children gathered on the floor, while the parents sat in semi-circle behind them. The instructor was Penny Simpkin, a real guru in the field of childbirth and midwifery. She brought posters, books, a slide show, had a 4-week-old visiting newborn that all the children got to practice holding, and also recreated a birth using dolls. E was all eyes and ears and of course full of comments and supplemental information for discussion times. She mentioned learning some new things, mainly "what a placenta was for and what it looked like," and also "the sounds Mama might make" while in labor. It was a great preparation class for her, and I think will provide an excellent communication tool for her and D while I'm pushin' her brother out.

Well, whenever this little guy decides it's the right time, we'll be ready.

I'm ready.

Swim Style

We put E back into swimming lesson's again after a much needed break. She'd been in preschool level 2 for over a year and really showed no interest in progressing. We're now back to it, and I take advantage of her 25 minute time slot and get in some splashing time myself, I am surprised each time I waddle into the water at how absolutely fabulous near weightlessness can feel

Her class is small and one of the little girls that's in her class comes each time with a swim cap, and E just has not stopped talking about it. She's wanted one now for weeks. So we stopped by a sporting goods store yesterday afternoon to see what they had, and immediately she grabbed the pink swirly silicone cap, and before I could even interject a syllable she was already perusing the kids goggles to find a matching pair...oh. "Well," I said, "if we're going to buy these for you today, I'm going to need to see the very best effort you can give at the rest of your lessons, can you promise me that?" "Oh yes, Mama, these will help me swim my best." Before we took the items up for checkout, I had her try them on and, well, as you can see it was hard to keep a strait face.


So we got the matching duo, and headed home. Right away she found her swim bag, placed all the things she'd need for her lesson the following day inside and set it on the stairs ready to go. "Well," I thought, "she's at least giving her best effort in getting ready for her lessons." Usually we're in a slight rush in the mornings gathering up towels, her Crocs for the shower, a comb, etc.

Well, this morning I decided to forgo my own swim time and just watch her lesson from the deck. As luck would have it, she was the only one from her class to show up, so she got a private lesson! Her instructor noted her new cap and goggles, and got down to work. The one thing that has really held E back in her lessons is her comfort level for floating on her back, she's afraid she'll sink and just cannot relax (she's been this way since infancy though, had always hated changing tables, so we'd have to change her on the floor). Today though, she practiced and practiced and by gum she's got it (she even threw in a little backstroke to the surprise of her teacher)! I was so happy to watch on the sidelines this morning and cheer her on. It was the perfect combination of events that came together for an amazing result.

Getting Right Down to It

We've decided on a home birth for our new little babe. E's birth was completely natural with no medical intervention at a small hospital, and I have nothing but wonderful memories of that experience. But as this pregnancy has progressed I really began searching out our options. I've done quite a bit of soul searching about this. There of course with any big decision (and let's face it this is the biggie; human life) are a lot of 'what if's' and I've really had to take time and digest them. I've been seeing the same set of midwives for this pregnancy (versus 2 OB's for E's, one in Poulsbo and one in Seattle), and we are totally convinced that it's the right choice for our family. There is such a difference in the type of care I've received this time around, I would recommend the experience to anyone. Midwifery is, I feel so much less invasive, but so much more whole person (and even family) centered. I was plagued with a severe case of postpartum depression 3 months following E's arrival, and had some real hurdles in breastfeeding her. I was quick to bring these concerns up at my first appointment, and was treated with such dignity and a "that's not going to happen this time, we'll be with you" attitude that I've felt nothing but taken care of and empowerment this entire pregnancy. I've had several friends that have also chosen to do home births, and after watching the riveting, The Business of Being Born I was without a doubt, this is what I want to do. I'm completely dedicated to going through the motions at home, I can clearly see it.



This is a really big deal; welcoming a new member of the family and we've been so proud of E's very thoughtful analysis of how much she'd like to participate. We have daily conversations about how my body is changing, how "Buddy" is growing, and some of the ways in which the dynamic at home is really going to change. She's attended (and helped at) every one of my appointments, we've enrolled her in a Sibling Prep Class taught by Penny Simkin later next month, she's really aware of what this process could be like.

Now that I'm 7 weeks out until my due date, things big and small are starting to happen around here. Today I received the box I ordered of medical supplies that we'll need here for the birth. Last week I sent in our reservation fee for our labor tub, and tonight I finished up painting the dresser drawers for the nursery. D's still 11 days away from returning home from his month and a half of touring, I've started swimming s...l...o...w laps again (to relieve my aching back), and recently was able to enroll E in a co-op preschool for the fall. Whew! All this and we still don't have a name for our little guy.

*Thanks to Tania for recommending The Business of Being Born

this is a great article

Went in a Little Girl, Came out a Ranger

E participated in a program offered at many National and State Parks for the first time this summer; Junior Rangers. She and I joined up with our veteran ranger for a one hour hike in the woods above Lake Chelan and onto the grasslands. No one else showed up, so we got a great one-on-one informational hike with Ranger Dwight. She learned about the topography, and of the native trees, animals and flowers that were growing there. At the end she took the Junior Ranger oath, and received her badge, and i.d. card!

(deer, raccoon, quail, and chipmunk tracks)

(pine cone)

(comparing bark textures)

(ponderosa pine)

(story time)

(snowberry)

(taking the oath)

(decorated)