Fabric Paintings

Even though we adore art projects here, my boys have only completed one art project so far this school year...but it's a great one!  My boys worked on their "fabric paintings" over two Friday afternoons and a long Friday evening.  They both enjoyed their projects so much they continued to work on them long past the time I had set aside for art class!

As with the vast bulk of our art projects, we followed the instructions for one of the projects in our Atelier Art curriculum.  We are currently working through Level 5.  For a thorough review of the Atelier Art curriculum, you can read my post at Curriculum Choice.


To prepare for the Fabric Painting project, I first gathered up all of the following materials that I already had on hand:

• felt in lots of different colors
• yarn in different colors
• various kinds of fabric trim, pom-poms, and glitter jewels
• fabric scraps in different colors and patterns
• tacky glue
• 3-D fabric paint.

I also made a trip to our local fabric and craft store to purchase burlap for the base of the paintings and some more interesting fabrics.  I purchased 1/8 of a yard of a small pile of fun fabrics with various prints and colors.  Needless to say, my boys were excited about the project just by looking at the large selection of materials they had from which to choose!

After watching the video lesson, my boys first sketched out a design for their project on a large sheet of paper (18" by 24").  As they were sharing their ideas and working on their sketches, I kept reminding them that they would need to recreate their drawing using fabric so they should avoid including a lot of small details.

Duncan's idea was to make a peaceful scene with houses, cars, a body of water, and a bridge.  Mason's idea was to make a fantastical, rather surrealistic scene featuring a Denny's restaurant. 

After much work, both of my boys finished their Fabric Paintings.  I was SO happy with how their projects turned out.  Both of their fabric paintings looked fabulous!  While this was definitely a time-consuming project, I think the results and the positive experience are definitely worth it.

I just love the cupcake sky above Denny's!  Mason's preference for bright colors and surrealistic images are evident in his project.  

Duncan took such a long, careful time with his project.  I really like all of his different colored houses!

I think our new school year is off to a slow, but successful art start! 

Weeks in Review - Easter Chalk Art Project, Finishing Math, and Back To Swimming

Spring has definitely sprung in our part of the country!  Amber and Mason started back to swimming last week after a three week break - the longest break they have ever had since they started swimming.  They are both adjusting well to their Spring practice schedule.  Amber is practicing 8 times a week (17.75 hours per week) and Mason is practicing 6 times a week (15.25 hours per week).  They are VERY quickly getting back into top-notch shape!  Mason moved up to the Gold group last week and we're really proud of him for that accomplishment.

One of the most exciting things that happened this week for me was that Mason decided that he wanted to cut his hair.  He hadn't had a hair cut in about a year (literally)!

He decided that his long locks just didn't go with his goal of making a AAA time so that he can attend the Central Zone swim meet this summer.  So, he opted for a haircut that he could easily cover with his swim cap.

I LOVE his new look!

Mason and Duncan both finished their math programs for the year this week!  Interestingly, neither of them want to take an extended break from math so they'll be starting their new programs next week, though just a few days a week until summer break.

The main highlight of the week was art class.  My children completed an art lesson using pastel chalk, a new art medium for them.  The art lesson was a bonus lesson included on the first DVD of the art curriculum by See the Light.  I am reviewing this item for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew and the art project fit perfectly into our art curriculum given that Easter is right around the corner.

The DVD lesson took my children step by step through the process of creating a chalk art drawing perfect for the Easter season.  I was SO impressed with the results.  I'm going to be looking for inexpensive frames for their finished art as they are truly lovely.

Duncan (9) loved his picture and commented that he is getting better and better at art.

Mason (12) enjoyed working with the pastel chalk and was quite pleased with his final project.

Amber (14) commented that she thought the chalk project was one of her best art projects ever.

That was our Weeks in Review!  To read about what other bloggers have been doing this week, check out the Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Weeks in Review - Carousel Animals, Ancient China, and Team Iceland

The past two weeks have seemed to go by in a lightning-quick flash!  Even my daughter asked me today if it seemed like this week went by super quickly.  I'm not quite sure why it seems that time is speeding past us but I think it's a good sign that we're not mired in the February blahs that so easily settle in at this time of year.

Over the past two weeks we (finally) moved past the history of ancient Israel in Winter Promise's Quest for the Ancient World and are now studying ancient China.  We have all perked up quite a bit during our history reading each day - we were definitely ready to move on to another topic in history.  We've watched two highly recommended videos so far about ancient China:

• Lost Treasures of the Ancient World:  Ancient China 
• Ancient China:  Ancient Civilizations for Children.

I am hoping to do a hands-on project next week to go along with our ancient China study.  We haven't done any hands-on projects to go along with history in quite a while.

All three of my children are progressing well in their respective science courses.  Amber will be finishing Module 10 next week in Apologia Biology.  She is enjoying the course a ton more now that she is studying material that she finds interesting.  She'll be getting together with a friend who is also taking Biology this year to dissect the earthworm and the fish later this month.  I'm so glad I don't have to be her lab partner!

Mason is adjusting well to taking his first textbook science course.  I LOVE Apologia General Science.  Mason is still adjusting to the work but seems to find it interesting overall.  I was so proud of him for getting a B on his first-ever science test!

Duncan and I are enjoying Bob Jones Science 3.  This week, we finished the chapter on minerals.  As part of the  chapter, we conducted a hands-on activity to determine which fruit juices had iron in them.

If the fruit juice had iron in it, the tea was supposed to become cloudy when we added the fruit juice.  Duncan and I had trouble determining if the tea looked "cloudy" or not, though.  Not every hands-on science experiment goes well here!

We finished our read-aloud this week - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.  We all ADORED this book.  I highly, highly recommend this book if you haven't shared it with your children yet!  It actually made me sad that I didn't discover this great book when I was younger.  We'll start reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Monday.  After several read-aloud bombs tied in with our history program this year, I've just chucked the suggested history read-alouds and we're just enjoying great children's literature instead during our read-aloud time.  Thankfully, ALL of my kids (even my 14 year old) are enjoying read-aloud time again.

Since my kids tend to keep busy hands during our read-alouds, they all manage to make some pretty great handicrafts in that trapped time.  Duncan completed his largest Perler bead project this week.  He was so proud of his creation!

My children worked on their latest art lesson over the past two weeks.  The focus of this art lesson was on designing, drawing, and painting their own carousel animal.  After watching the lesson on video, my children spent quite a bit of time looking through the library books about carousel art that I checked out from the library.  After looking at many carousel animals, they began sketching out their projects.

Today, they finished their projects by painting them and adding sparkly jewels at the end.  Interestingly, for the carousel animals project none of my children chose to draw a traditional carousel horse!

Mason chose to do a carousel pig.  He said that he wanted to draw a pig from the very beginning but I told him he had to find an example in one of the carousel animals books.  He did and he got to draw his carousel pig!

Duncan found a carousel llama that he really liked.  I was able to find a llama in one of our "how to draw" books to help him with his project.  Duncan's project turned out SO well - he was so proud of his project!

Amber chose a sea dragon for her carousel animal - she liked the imaginary creature immediately when she saw it an antique carousel animals book.  She chose to work with acrylics for her painting.  I thought she did a wonderful job of blending one color into another.

Amber and Mason were so excited for tonight.  Tonight was the second of the three Friday nights of the Edge Games.  The Edge Games are a mini-Olympics for the junior high youth groups and friends held at our main church campus.  Last week, there were about 340 young people at the games!  It's a fabulous time for all of the kids in a safe atmosphere with a great message.  Amber, Mason, and all of their youth group from our smaller church campus are on Team Iceland.  They were encouraged to wear as much white as possible to the games.  This week, Amber made Iceland t-shirts for her youth group.

Mason really got into the spirit with a white duck tape hat!  I'm sure they're having a great time while I'm writing this post!

That was our Weeks in Review!  To read about what other homeschoolers were doing this past week, visit The Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Art Show

Mason (6th) and Duncan (4th) took an art class at a local university last semester.  At the end of the semester, the teachers put on an art show for the students and the parents.  I didn't get to see any of their artwork all semester until the art show so I really enjoyed seeing all of the art projects that my boys had told me about throughout the semester.

When we first walked in, we were met with their multimedia art journals.  Duncan's theme was "Home Sweet Home."

Mason's theme for his multimedia art journal was a song by the Black-Eyed Peas.  I particularly liked the incorporation of beads into both of the art journals.

My very favorite project, though, was the three-dimensional layered drawing project.  Mason's theme was Baking a Cake.

Duncan and Mason both completed paintings using acrylics.  They were allowed only one color which they could make lighter or darker by adding white or black paint and black paint.  Both of them found this project challenging.  The theme was "A Time When You Were a Hero."

One of the most interesting projects they completed in the course was printing with easy-to-cut blocks that they carved themselves.  Mason carved a graffiti image into his block.

Duncan carved an image of Dave and Buster's into his block.

Lastly, they made really cool kaleidoscopes.  Duncan, in particular, loved this project.  I found this project to be very interesting because of the interactive aspect of it.

The inside of the kaleidoscope was lined with reflective paper.

I am pretty sure that Pringles can lids were used to make the viewer end of the kaleidoscope.  The plastic lid was secured with a T-pin which allowed for gentle turning of the lid.

While both of my boys enjoyed the class, they have no desire to take the class again next semester.  While they enjoyed the projects, they often felt that the teachers treated them as much younger than they actually are, particularly Mason.  They also didn't think they did any better art projects than we do at home using Atelier Art.  I liked the variety of art materials they worked with in the class and will consider doing our own printing projects in the future at home using the Easy-to-Cut blocks.

Have your children taken art classes outside your home?  Has your experience been positive, negative or a mix of both?  

Organizing Pictures of Art Projects for End-of-the-Year Portfolio Reviews

According to Ohio state law, to homeschool legally, each year I must prepare a portfolio of each of my children's schoolwork for review by a certified teacher or have my students take a standardized test.  Even on the years that I choose to have my children do standardized testing, I still do portfolio reviews.  I like to turn in the exact same information to my local school board each year and I LOVE having a keepsake of each child's schoolwork for a particular grade level.

As part of each child's portfolio, I include pictures of all of the art projects that were completed in our weekly art class.  For example, each child completed a cave painting after learning about ancient cave paintings.

I also include pictures of any knitting or sewing projects that are completed during the school year.  For example, this year, Amber is taking a sewing course and completing many adorable sewing projects like this ski hat.

I also include pictures of any art projects that are completed independently and demonstrate that time and effort were taken in their completion.  Of all of my children, Mason tends to create the most artwork in his free time.  For example, I am including a picture of this Picasso reproduction he did on his own in his portfolio.

I'm also including a picture of this cute little cheeseburger Mason made out of Sculpey clay.

Lastly, I include pictures of any great art projects that are completed as part of our history course or are completed for other reasons, like this impressive painted cardboard panel that Amber and Mason designed and painted for their Youth Group's trunk or treat car.

To make putting together the portfolios easier at the end of the school year, I keep a separate photo album on Shutterfly for each of my children's art projects for the school year.  Then, when I am working on putting together their portfolios, I have pictures of all of their art projects already organized into albums by child.  In the past, I've always simply printed the pictures and put them into a small album.  Another option, though, is to have Shutterfly quickly make a photo book for me of each child's artwork.  After the photo book is completed, I can easily add captions to the photos if I wish.  I'll probably just print the pictures and put them in an album but I do also like the idea of the photo books.

If you'd like to read more about how I prepare for end-of-the-year portfolio reviews, you can read an article I wrote for Homeschool Classroom:

• Homeschool Portfolios

If you'd like to read more Helpful Homeschool Hints, visit Angie at Many Little Blessings for this week's Helpful Homeschool Hints edition.

Week In Review - A Chariot, Bible Times, and Amber's #1!

What a fun and exciting week!  Most exciting, the USA Swimming rankings were updated this week, and right now, Amber has the #1 fastest time in the United States for 13 year old girls in the 50 Freestyle!  She is super-excited and is feeling more hopeful than ever that her Junior National cut in the 50 Free is within her reach!  The Junior National cut is 23.79 and Amber's best time is 24.22 so she's getting closer and closer.  For those who don't spend endless hours at pools with competitive swimmers (like me), Junior Nationals is a national level swim meet (for the WHOLE United States) held twice a year, for those swimmers 18 and under who make the time cuts.

Needless to say, my teenage daughter has been in really good spirits this week!  In between dreaming about Junior Nationals, she still had to do her schoolwork!  Amber finished "The Scarlet Letter" and absolutely adored it.  I was so, so happy the other night when she actually said to me, "I'm so glad you're having me read all of these classic books."  She started reading "Treasure Island" this week and is enjoying that book as well.  She is a huge "Pirates of the Caribbean" fan and she's been having so much fun drawing connections between those movies and "Treasure Island."

She also seems to be back on track with Algebra and has been doing well in her lessons.  In Biology, she is looking forward to getting past the next few chapters because she thinks the book looks much more interesting (and a bit easier) once she gets past all the microscopic stuff.

Mason finished "James and the Giant Peach" this week and liked the book quite a bit.  We plan to watch the movie soon and discuss any differences we see between the book and the movie.  He started reading "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" this week.

Duncan and Mason started a new section in their Ancient History Writing Lessons this week on narrative stories.  Basically, they are applying the key-word outline idea to a narrative story without pulling key words from each sentence.  We are working on the first paragraph together as it is a bit different than what they have done so far in the course.

We took one day this week just to work on projects which was such a blessing.  Amber and Mason spent most of the day designing and painting the front of the chariot their youth group is making for our church's annual Trunk or Treat this coming Saturday.  Their youth group is sponsoring a car for the event with an ancient Roman theme.  They are tranforming the back of the truck into a Roman chariot.  I was so impressed with Amber and Mason's finished chariot front!

During our "working on projects day" Amber also helped Duncan tie-dye a t-shirt for his Halloween costume.  She also tie-dyed another shirt for herself at the same time.

While all of this creative activity was going on, I spent most of the day in the kitchen baking cookies for our church's Trunk or Treat event on Saturday.  I made almost 5 dozen in all!

Mason worked throughout the week on making more ornaments for the mini-tree he is donating to our local library for their annual silent auction.  I think my favorite ornament from this week is the mini Hostess cupcake.  He used Sculpey III to craft the ornaments. 

In history this week, we moved out of ancient Egypt into a study of the ancient Israelites.  We started reading two great books, Lamps, Scrolls & Goatskin Bottles and Kings and Carpenters: 100 Bible Land Jobs You Might Have Praised or Panned.  Since so much of ancient Israelite history is biblical history, I have heard many times this week - "I remember that from Veggie Tales."  Duncan used our "work on projects day" to watch a few of our Veggie Tales VHS tapes while doing Perler beads.

That was our Week in Review!  If you would like to read about what other homeschoolers have been doing this week, check out the Weekly Wrap Up over at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.