Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Meet the Artists

If we're not getting ripped off by our government in these parts, it's the Weather Shamans.

It was dubbed "Snowquestration" as a play on the recent Congressional stab at balancing a budget that has put so many--including our fledged "robin"---on a work diet through forced unpaid days off. The shamans made lots of promises of monumental adverse conditions--icing, downed power lines, bread and toilet paper shortages. But just like Congressional tactics, it didn't work out as planned.

I was stunned though by how many of my friends were pumped by the vision of a foot of snow dumped on us even as our daffodils have emerged. Seems we're so snow-day deprived that we'll accept it at almost any cost. Most of them sounded like what they really wanted was some weather-imposed family time. Funny. And sad. Needless to say, their kids are educated in the Red Brick Building.

Ginevra de' Benci.  The only Da Vinci in North America.

In our Yellow-Sided Homeschool, the weather PRIOR to the non-event was ideal to field trip to the National Gallery of Art on the Mall in Washington. (THE Mall. No "Five Belows" here.) Our goal was to see as many of the paintings that we had discussed in our co-op art appreciation class that uses "Meet The Masters."  It's such a privilege to be able to easily access originals of some of the world's greatest works of art. And it never fails to impress students to stand in front of the very work they have only seen in books or slides. To be able to see the brushstrokes and sometimes--as in the Da Vinci portait "Ginevra de' Benci"--the actual fingerprint of the artist.

Clockwise from top left: Entering the East Building through the "Multiverse" or as C.K. called it "The Tunnel of Awesomeness"; Calder over homeschoolers; Handy art.

Meet the Masters doesn't limit itself to earlier periods, but brings us artists right to the present day. Fortunately, the Gallery does too in its East Wing building which is devoted to modern art. We had fun  acting out some of the works as you can see!

Clockwise from top left: Marilyn by Warhol vs Mei by God; Waltz of the Georgia O'Keeffe Flowers; "La Scienza della fiacca" ("The Science of Laziness") by Frank Stella and kids who are NOT.

We tried to exit the city ahead of the usual rush (which normally starts as early as 3:30), but alas, everyone ELSE was in a hurry to exit the city ahead of the usual rush which meant that we all still stood in traffic. And just to be the first for bread, milk, and toilet paper.

So Winter Storm "Saturn" was all hot air like its namesake, but I still let Mei have a "snow day." I took on some more bread-baking projects and ended up with two fantastic baguettes and a sourdough boule!  On a sloppy night, it went perfectly with the slow-cooked minestrone from 5 Dinners-in-1 Hour.com.

My First Sourdough Bread.Not my last.

Mei jumped into the first week of her new spelling workbook by Evan-Moor Publishing, Building Spelling Skills. While I was afraid the Charlotte Mason police would be after me for using a workbook, I think they might let me off with this one. It encourages creating a visual in the mind of the word, instructs to spell aloud while touching the letters of the word (multi-sensory), and even uses dictation! And it's not twaddley. OK, so Mei only got a 78, but I have confidence!

While I'm having fun helping little girls learn something I've loved my whole adult life, SEWING, Mei spends an hour in her co-op's Learning Through Games class. She's uber-duber disappointed that she's not taking sewing (she didn't know I was a helper),  but God had it all worked out. While I can teach her sewing any old time (and already have), homeschooling an only child leaves us with limited choices for game-playing.    So far she has played Quirkle and Set. I hope I get some leads on winners (haha) that we can invest in for home.

After Father R and I recover from Mei's hyper  lively friend sleeping over, we can look forward to some spring-like weather for riding lessons. It will be a welcome change. And just think: the farm could have been buried in snow. We'll forgive ya' this time, Shamans!

Got Snow, Saturn, Sequestration or Sourdough? Tell Mother All About It!
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Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Why Be Normal? Schooling with Charlotte Mason

Every week I think, "Oh, we haven't really covered anything noteworthy this week." 

And then I scratch out a list of stuff and am, like, WOW!" Which is a good thing cuz I do have to show "regular, thorough instruction in the courses normally taught in schools." (COMAR, the Md. state homeschool law)

meetup.com

Fortunately our law is lenient enough that we can define HOW and WHEN we teach what is "normal." When you use a Charlotte Mason curriculum which depends on "living books", you cover so much more with more retention than the dry textbooks and the "teach to the test" parrot talk.

For instance our 6th-grader's normal history lessons on Elizabethan England and Shakespeare are gleaned from reading a 36-chapter tale, Master Skylark, of a kidnapped boy forced to join a player's guild. I'm not sure if the P.S. middle-schoolers even have any familiarity with The Bard.

Our geography study of South America and Australia utilizes a lengthy true story, Stowaway, accounting the three-year voyage of  Captain Cook's circumnavigation of the globe as told by a 10-year-old crewmate.

Science, art, music--they're all covered. But OUR way, not the "normal" way.

So what happened this week?

We concluded our nature study-- a subject NOT normally taught in schools-- with the Outdoor Hour Challenge's January focus on rocks. It culminated with a visit to a local quarry. We pass it every week on the way to jazz class so it was great to make friends with our neighbor. You can read about it in detail here.

February's study will be birds, timed with the Great Backyard Bird Count. Our existing feeders are filled, and replacements are in the mail. Can't wait to do MY favorite subject! (The link will tell you how you can participate. And they are homeschool friendly! )

We're really getting into our other history novel, Strangers in the Land, about the persecution of the Huguenots as experienced by one family. Through it, we are becoming familiar with important events in 18th c. Europe like the Treaty of Nantes. And what an inspiring character study of faith and fortitude.

For Math, Life of Fred-Fractions continues to delight. If a math program makes Mei WANT to do her work, I'll stand on my head for it. 

Her co-op composition class is developing a report on an animal of their choosing. I drew the line at the two she knows most about, dogs and horses. I wanted her to experience the rigors of researching a new topic. It didn't go over well, but she settled on clownfish, natives of the Great Barrier Reef, which will help lead us into the broader study of Australia. And they're so cute. And famous. But finding info (chuckle, haha) was as difficult as finding the Disney character.

"Breezing Up" by Winslow Homer. View it in D.C.!

"Snap the Whip" by Winslow Homer. At the Met in NYC!

Finally the art co-op I teach began their study of Winslow Homer using the Meet the Masters curriculum. This artist will introduce the kids to the concepts of value and focal point in a composition. Homer's subject range is so broad there is something to appeal to anyone, but kids especially can relate to his famous works of "Breezing Up" and "Snap the Whip." I had to explain that game, and now they want to enjoy it, of course! We're hoping next Thursday might not be so muddy. The kids won't care, but the moms might!

For ME, the big thrill was getting a  BREAD MACHINE!!  Naturally, like the good excellent homeschooling parent I am, I will find teachable moments. Chemical reactions and the study of fungi immediately come to mind. Bread-baking. Another way our school is NOT "normal."
   I'm posting my review of my little kitchen workhorse here along with our first successes and their recipes! Keep watching. Can you tell I'm excited?

That's the view from the perch this week. How about you? Do anything "normal?"  Tell Mother All About It!

Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Inauguration!

     Now how many posts are you going to read this week about a blogger's family member who marched in the Inaugural Parade? Well you can say at least one. 

   Our 17-year-old nephew, my middle brother's oldest, made history marching with the Black Horse Troop of Culver Academies last Monday. While we couldn't be at the parade itself--broken feet are excluded from standing in the cold for eight hours--we watched anxiously on C-SPAN for about 2 hours until near the end they arrived, all 90+ black stallions and riders, all carrying American flags on the 100th anniversary of their first appearance at Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. It was a thrilling sight. Or as my brother put it, Nephew will always have the mental image of the President saluting him! 


   We did get to visit the troop at the Prince George's Show Place Arena while they groomed the pampered mules hard-working steeds for their Big Day. Middle Brother wasn't sure if we'd be interested, but Mei's addiction to all things equestrian made the opportunity a must for us. That it was a cloudless, balmy day in January helped.

The Black Horse Troop horses are Friesians, notable for their wavy manes and tails.

  

 Late on the night of the 21st, while still watching C-SPAN (simply to see what the First and Vice-First Ladies were wearing to the Balls), the network opened the mikes to callers. One rambled on about how we have "checks and balances" of Republicans and Democrats in office. WHAT??? 

No mention of political parties.

    The next day I was still raving over this woman's ignorance (and C-SPAN's duplicity by not screening their callers). But of course as a dutiful homeschooling parent, I left no teachable moment unturned. So ensued a discussion of the REAL Checks and Balances . Thanks to a handy workbook, The Complete Book of Presidents and States,  lying around, we were able to cover that ground fairly easily and in a lively fashion.

    The rest of the week was less dramatic. Mei got sick which in fact counts as drama around here because of its rarity. And she's the most fun-loving sick person I've ever met! Her illness combined with my healing heel and instep, topped off with just enough snow to cancel extracurriculars, made for a quiet week. We learned to team-tackle fire-building to keep the living room toasty where I have been propping up the injured appendage. And we have our birdfeeders up and running again after a whole year off. We're gearing up for February's Great Backyard Bird Count and Handbook of Nature Study's February Outdoor Hour Challenges. 

   Speaking of the Outdoor Challenges, we are wrapping up our January studies of rocks this week. Just the word ROCKS sounds dull. But the challenges have created lots of appeal. More about our geological adventures here.

     We completed our first track of artists in the Meet the Masters program at the co-op where I teach art. The final artist was Andy Warhol. I don't care who you are or where you come from, this guy is going to elicit a response. Kids are no different. I'll have more to tell about them soon.

    In the days ahead, the weather forecast is for sleet and snow for the first morning rush hour of the new work week, never a good thing around the Washington Beltway.  I've already cancelled the follow-up x-ray of the snapped metatarsal. However I "feel the heal" and we can look forward to our long walks at the Conservancy again soon.  The dog is elated.

   That was our Inaugural Week. What was yours? Tell Mother All About It! 
    Hook up with others at Weekly Wrap-up!

Bird's -Eye View of the Week: Putting Some Spring In It!

   Oh, I'm SO trying to use anything to develop habits, habits, habits. This was an especial love of Charlotte Mason. If things are habits, everything is smooth and easy.   
   But, if I am not disciplined enough to do things habitually, how can I expect my DD to be habitual. (Note: this is not the same thing as being obsessive, compulsive or under some sort of legalistic pressure to be perfect.)
    So, this Weekly Wrap-up thing is a good example of a habit. It makes me focus, makes me feel accountable, and encourages me when I see that we have accomplished stuff this week. I might just shove this blog in front of my reveiwer at year's end!
    I have loosened up a good deal this term, maybe a little too much. Once you get out of a groove--in this case that dastardly winter--it's hard to get it back. Wasn't I talking about the need for habits?
     Now on to the Week That Was. I'll relate what might be the most interesting first for you homeschoolers out there. (Lots of links for books. Please don't think I'm making money off them. OK, about 2 cents. I'm just trying to make your life easier.)
     I have thought up an addition to the notebook pages designed for Pagoo at Homeschool Share . (If you want to try unit studies, lapbooking, or notebooking, this is a fantastic FREE resource!)
                           Mei will create a pull-out "paper tide pool" to extend out of her  Pagoo notebook. It will be along the lines of a lapbook with a long accordian section that will be made with blue folders and edged at the bottom with tan and rock pictures. Then she will color copies of the different tidepool creatures she learns about and giving information about them on the backs. They will be cut out, leaving a hinge to attach to the tide pool. When the reader looks at it, he can lift the flapped animal and learn more about it. MeiWei seems excited about this idea. I've begun making copies of the animals from the Peterson Coloring Book of Seashores. Can't wait to see how it turns out. If it's a success I will share it at Homeschool Share.


    This week we read from An Island Storyabout Henry IV. There were so many charcters, and such a complicated lineage thing going on that we had to draw family trees to keep track of who was the "real" heir to the throne. I learn a lot from this; it certainly wasn't covered in MY PS high school. And to think MeiWei is getting exposed in third grade. And she always remembers more than me!

     Mei completed Unit 28 in Math-U-See. This brings us to within TWO units of completing the Beta book. That alone excites me with evidence that we are getting near the end of the year! Because she struggles with word problems, I've been printing out extras from EdHelper.com . They have an awesome array of teacher helps like this, especially for math.  I've been using the Daily Word Problems for 3rd Grade and giving her just three or four a day since MUS already has her doing some. Some of the stuff she hasn't covered in MUS--multiplication--but we apply skip-counting which MUS HAS introduced and manage to arrive at the answer.
    We began Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley. Mei actually BEGGED to read it. I get so surprised and EXCITED when she shows such enthusiasm for subject matter that would be thought "too hard" or "uninteresting" to a third grader. Just goes to show what the kids ARE capable of!!
   We also finished The Wind in the Willows. What a lot of character study could go on with THAT book. It also paid off that we had read in The Burgess Animal Book about a lot of the animals depicted in that story.  We really understood what Ratty was thinking when he met the Norway Rat, for instance (dreaming of a life across the seas as told by a member of the rat family that has infested every continent habitated by man).  
     Finally we wrapped up our long-term appreciation of John Singer Sargent. (Read more about him here . ) Mei did a brief report on him, and surprised me a little by choosing "An Artist in His Studio" as one of her three favorite paintings by him. It's not particularly "pretty". When I inquired, she said it reminded her of her mommy. Awww. If only I HAD a studio!

Next week, I plan to move things around a bit in our schedule to get to the things that have been slipping by, like nature study. It's so beautiful this week that I'd be a fool to miss the opportunity.
     Hope it's nice where YOU are. Have a great next week!
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