AFRICA: Serengeti Silhouettes

Here is an awesome art project I found on Pinterest to go with a unit study on Africa, or even grasslands in an ecology unit. I was pleased with how they turned out.

First, with watercolor paper and watercolors, paint a sunset background with warm colors.

After the paper is dry, and using silhouette examples if needed, draw the outlines of your silhouettes with pencil.

Then trace over the pencil with a black Sharpie and fill it in.

CCCW - Renouf Tree Settings

In our biology and botany studies we have been learning about the basics of plants and right now more specifically trees and leaves. While looking for an autumn art project on leaves, I found and fell in love with Eloise Renouf's style of drawing trees as first seen in this sketchbook project. We just had to do something with this!

We used white cardstock and black Sharpie pens. A basic straight-line tree trunk works fine, or you can add a thicker trunk. Choose multiple designs to repeat for the branches. (For inexperienced/unsure artists, practice on scratch paper first.)

Now it's time to paint! Watercolors add both color and additional shape.

Once the kids were done with theirs, they were to use their favorite finished piece as the setting for a new piece of creative writing.

I found creating fall images this way absolutely addicting and made page after page over the course of a few days.

Trees and/or scenes can be as simple or elaborate as each artist wishes, and all skill levels can give this a good go.

Happy Autumn, Happy Homeschooling!

BIO: EYH Ecology - The Genius of Graeme Base #2 and a Refreshing Final Project

At first glance, you probably won't know how the following three items go together.

These three items did come together nicely, however, for a fun lesson. 

Odzala is a national park in the Republic of the Congo. The video we watched centered on a water hole within Odzala, which they call a bai. I had purchased Graeme Base's The Water Hole at the same time I purchased his other books and had been saving it for this unit. With the video using the word bai repeatedly, I wondered if that's where the name for the "new" Bai drinks came from. We'd never had Bai drinks before, so I purchased some to sample as a nice Eat Your Homework addition.

It turns out that bai is the Mandarin Chinese word for "pure" and it's also an acronym for botanical antioxidant infusions. That's what Bai, the company, has to say about it. The drinks are an interesting thing to learn about in and of themselves, and they fit right in with our ecology unit because a main ingredient of Bai drinks is coffeefruit--the part of the plant normally tossed as waste after coffee beans are taken out of the middle of the fruit. 

Anyway, this is how things went:  We watched the video and talked about our thoughts and reactions (because there are some unexpected things you learn relating to some animal's behavior).  A couple of days later we reviewed some things, including the word bai. The bai in Odzala is of course a very important source of nourishment for the animals there, and not just because they need water but because of what is growing in and around that water for food. I pulled out the Bai drinks I'd purchased and told them about my word association and what I'd learned about the drinks. Then, while sipping our nourishing, refreshing Bai drinks, I read aloud The Water Hole.

The Water Hole is, first and foremost, a visually delicious picture book. Base is a wonderful artist and a genius with clues, mysteries, and hidden pictures. The Water Hole is also a counting book, but we of course didn't need to use it for that. I used the book as a little test. We were nearing the end of our unit and in the background of each two-page spread is a geographical clue. My test for the kids was to see if they could name the biome and the location on the planet that each of these pictures represented. It was a fun little activity and they passed with flying colors. (They later examined the book individually, looking for the hidden animals.)

This segued into my assigning them their final project for the unit. Each was to choose a country--any country--and create a PowerPoint on that country from an ecological view. What biome(s) make up that country? What makes up the wildlife? How does it affect agriculture, industry, economy? What are people's lives like as a result? I required a minimum of 10 slides. Later, after each did the research and made their slide shows, they presented them to the family.

Imagination, Creative Freedom, and a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz

I remember the first time I was frustrated with the way one of my children was coloring. We'd been doing a unit study on salmon and I had carefully drawn blank shapes of salmon for my kids to color, fully expecting them to color the picture the way salmon actually are. That isn't the way one of them chose to color. I had one of those split personality moments--the kind where I heard myself speaking in a tone and volume not reflective of the kind of mother or teacher I wanted to be, while simultaneously saying to myself inside my own brain, "Well, you are kind of justified. I mean, salmon are so obviously not yellow and purple," while simultaneously arguing with myself inside my own head that I don't want to stifle my children's creativity or be so rigid that learning isn't fun, while simultaneously counter arguing inside my head that this task was not meant to be especially creative, but demonstrate awareness and learning--it was science, not art. It was an exhausting two minutes. I finally calmed down, made more copies of the salmon drawing, and settled on telling my children they needed to color one the way salmon actually look in real life and then they could color one any way they wanted. 

While cleaning out a file of papers today, I came across this poem I found long ago and had forgotten about. It's definitely food for thought.

                    The Little Boy

                    by Helen E. Buckley

                    Once a little boy went to school.

                    He was quite a little boy.

                    And it was quite a big school.

                    But when the little boy

                    Found that he could to go his room

                    By walking right in from the door outside,

                    He was happy.

                    And the school did not seem 

                    Quite so big anymore.

                    One morning,

                    When the little boy had been in school awhile,

                    The teacher said:

                    "Today we are going to make a picture."

                    "Good," thought the little boy.

                    He liked to make pictures.

                    Lions and tigers,

                    Chickens and cows,

                    Trains and boats--

                    And he took out his box of crayons and he began to draw.

                    But the teacher said, "Wait!

                    "It's not the time to begin!"

                    And she waited until everyone looked ready.

                    

                    "Now," said the teacher,

                    "We are going to make flowers."

                    "Good," thought the little boy. He liked to make flowers.

                    And he began to make beautiful ones

                    With his pink and orange and blue crayons.

                     But the teacher said, "Wait!

                     "And I will show you how."

                     And it was a red flower with a green stem.

                     "There," said the teacher.

                     "Now you may begin."

                     The little boy looked at the teacher's flower.

                     Then he looked at his own flower.

                     He liked his flower better than the teacher's.

                     But he did not say this.

                     He just turned his paper over.

                     And made a flower like the teacher's.

                     It was red with a green stem.

                     On another day,

                     When the little boy had opened

                     The door from the outside all by himself,

                     The teacher said:

                     "Today we are going to make something with clay."

                     "Good," thought the little boy. 

                     He liked clay.

                     He could make all kinds of things with clay:

                     Snakes and snowmen,

                     Elephants and mice,

                     Cars and trucks--

                     And he began to pull and pinch

                     His ball of clay.

                     But the teacher said: 

                     "Wait! It's not time to begin!"

                     And she waited until everyone looked ready.

                    "Now," said the teacher.

                    "We are going to make a dish."

                    "Good," thought the little boy.

                    He liked to make dishes,

                    And he began to make some

                    That were all shapes and sizes.

                    But the teacher said, "Wait!

                    "And I will show you how."

                    And she showed everyone how to make

                    One deep dish.

                   "There," said the teacher.

                   "Now you may begin."

                   The little boy looked at the teacher's dish.

                   Then he looked at his own.

                   He liked his dishes better than the teacher's.

                   But he did not say this.

                   He just rolled his clay into a big ball again.

                   And made a dish like the teacher's.

                   It was a deep dish.

                   And pretty soon

                  The little boy learned to wait.

                   And to watch.

                   And to make things just like the teacher.

                   And pretty soon

                  He didn't make things of his own anymore.

                  Then it happened

                  That the little boy and his family

                  Moved to another house

                  In another city.

                  And the little boy

                  Had to go to another school.

                  This school was even bigger

                  Than the other.

                  And there was no door from the outside

                  Into his room.

                  He had to go up some big steps

                  To get to his room.

                  And the first day

                  He was there,

                  The teacher said:

                  "Today we are going to make a picture."

                  "Good," thought the little boy.

                  And he waited for the teacher

                  To tell him what to do.

                  But the teacher didn't say anything.

                  She just walked around the room.

                  When she came to the little boy,

                  She said, "Don't you want to make a picture?"

                  "Yes" said the little boy.

                  "What are we going to make?"

                  "I don't know until you make it," said the teacher.

                  "How shall I make it?" asked the little boy.

                  "Why, any way you like," said the teacher.

                  "And any color?" asked the little boy.

                  "Any color," said the teacher.

                  "If everyone made the same picture, 

                  And used the same colors,

                  How would I know who made what,

                  And which was which?"

                 "I don't know," said the little boy.

                 And he began to make a red flower with a green stem.

Obviously, there are times in life when precision or exactness or sameness are what is called for. Art isn't one of them. Neither is writing. Sometimes teachers think the only way to properly teach is to have children merely copy them. Because we're trying to teach, help, better, challenge, grow children into educated, capable people and, because it's our job to show them and be examples, we think our example is THE way to do it. But there is a difference between teaching technique, form, rules, etc. and dominating a mind or an outcome. We can teach that flowers have petals, pistils, stems, and leaves and let children draw their own based on a live flower. We can give guided assignments/challenges without dictating. We can demonstrate watercolors or shading or any other medium or technique and let children practice and experiment. We can observe great art and artists or great writing and writers and point out what makes it so. And we can still give children creative freedom.

Just think--what would the world be like if someone had stifled Dr. Seuss and he never created pink trees or a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz because they just don't exist?  What would the world be like if no one ever thought outside the box? We'd have no Mary Poppins, no Star Wars, no Narnia. We'd all be huddled around campfires--not because we want to be but because we have to be. No one would be reading this blog (though maybe they aren't anyway!). We'd live dark, bleak, hard lives. It's the purple-and-yellow-salmon-colorers and the wiggly-can't-sit-still-botherers and the "I-like-mine-betterers" that do most of the inventing and problem solving in this world. 

Just think about that.

Aiming at Love - New Meaning for an Old Symbol

Everyone is familiar with the Valentine image of Cupid or a heart with an arrow shot through it. I've never thought too much of it before, but as I've planned out our Love at Home devotionals and activities, I came across  Dieter F. Uchtdorf's "Aiming at the Center" article and it has given real purpose and meaning to this symbol for me (and I hope now, my family). 

While I read the entire article to my children (and please do read the entire thing) the point I emphasized was that Christ taught us to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Mattew 22:37-40) This means that every other commandment, every other thing we are supposed to do or not do, come back to being categorized under these two commandments. (I  had the kids name off commandments off the top of their heads and we tested each one to see if these two great commandments were at the "heart" of every other we could think of. They are!) Then I asked the kids who their closest "neighbors" were. Each other, of course! 

Elder Uchtdorf had begun his article with the example of archery, and how you shoot at a target that already exists, not that you shoot the arrow at a blank wall and then draw the target around it. Using this powerful archery example and the scripture, I wanted to turn the Valentine symbol into something with more meaning, to remind us of what we're aiming for:  LOVE. Loving God and loving each other.

Here is the end product:

We followed this up with...

This would make a great Family Home Evening lesson and treat!

And if you're wondering what I'm doing with things like this little project...

Love From Home Art

Our second day of Love at Home Month we made color-diffused, snowflake-style hearts to send as Love FROM Home Valentines to our missionary. If you like how these look, here's how to do it.

Get a stack of coffee filters. (So cheap! I bought a bulk package at Sam's Club years ago and it's still going strong.)

Fold the filter in half and cut a heart shape like you would with a folded rectangle.

Now fold it back in half, then fold into thirds.

Cut shapes out just like you would when cutting a paper snowflake.

Open it up and, VOILA!

Now for the color! Using Crayola washable markers, color the heart. You can use just a little bit of color here and there, or you can fill it in a little more, depending on the look you want. You do not need to color the entire piece. In fact, don't! The colors will spread in the next step, when you spray the entire thing with water. (And too much of too many colors will just make everything brown.)

Here is a lightly colored example:

Here is a more heavily colored example (don't color more than this):

The colors WILL drip, so either place your creations in a shallow baking pan to spray them or, weather permitting, spray them outside. Use just a spray bottle filled with water. (We just used an old hairspray bottle refilled with water.) Have a towel very nearby to quickly remove the wet hearts to and allow them to dry.

Once dry, you can either tape them to a window for a lovely display or, as we did, affix them to some colored cardstock to make cards and write our Valentine messages.

This is the dried version of the
more heavily colored one above.

Yep, even Dad got in on the action!

Love at Home Art Project

Today I declared February Love at Home Month. I love doing Valentine-y Love things all month long in February but I really believe it's important to explore real love, especially inside the home with family. Sometimes it's hardest to be your best loving self at home; we tend to think of charity as what we do and give others outside of our families. But if you can't make love work at home, what's the point?

I created a little art project today to kick off the month. It begins with the template I made below. Print this on 8.5x11-inch cardstock and grab a black Sharpie marker.

The first step is to draw sections of "rays" or diagonal lines behind the house.

Next draw stripes inside the house. You can make them uniform or not, any width you'd like.

Doodle a different design in each section.

When you have designed each section, cut a heart out of tissue paper and fix it to your cardstock with double-sided tape. Doodles can be simple or complex, but give each person the freedom to create in his or her own way.

Why Art?

The next time you hear that the arts are being cut in your local schools, think of this quote. 

If you're a homeschool mom who is tempted to not make time for art or who gets frustrated with the mess of art, think of this quote.

2017 Word Cloud Follow Up

Earlier this month I shared my 2017 positive word cloud. As a follow up, I wanted to share a couple made by my children. I loved their visions!

CCCW - Roget and The Right Word

As an unapologetic logophile and someone who owns and frequently uses 10 different thesauruses, I was delighted to find the awesome biographical picture book The Right Word - Roget and His Thesaurus. Not only does this book give an astounding amount of information about a remarkable person, Peter Roget, it is also a visual delight in its illustrations (hence the Caldecott honor). 

I used this book both for Biography Club and creative writing. Inspired by the story and illustrations, and my newfound knowledge that thesaurus is Greek for "treasure house," I created this to show at Biography Club as I shared the story of Roget.

The next day I talked more about the book with my own children and asked them to each re-read it on their own, slowly drinking in the pictures. I then tasked them with making their own synonymous, listed creation as an artistic approach to playing with words.  Here are a couple of their creations.