Our Week - With New Art Classes

I can't believe this week is over already!  It's flown by!  I guess that's what happens when we're busy.  

This week we began painting our castle blocks.  We've hit the Middle Ages period in history, and this week we learned about Charlemagne, Beowulf, and Augustine.

The boys paint while I read.  We're not done yet, but I'm guessing we'll finish next week.  Shh!  Don't tell Jack and Eli, but I have wooden people and dragons tucked away, too.

I got the instruments out for the girls this week.  I was reminded of them by something I saw.  I've realized we have so many great toys and educational products that I forget about some from time to time.

We might need some sort of bells to add to our collection.  Currently, we have a rainstick, maracas, egg shakers, tambourines, and rhythm sticks (that appear to double as drum sticks!).

Remember how I mentioned they had lost some of their mad Geography skillz from a couple years ago?  Well, I'm making a point to have them work on getting them back.  This week it was our GeoPuzzle of Asia.

Jack likes to draw while I read, and as we're reading about battles and these people conquering those people a lot of the time these days, he made this castle scene.

Paul took this picture.  It's the best smile photo we've gotten in many months.  You like the food boogers on his wheelchair straps?  The church we've been going to doesn't have nursery, and Paul's way of keeping Luke from screaming through the service is to feed him the whole time.  We neglected to bring a bib one week.  I keep meaning to clean the straps, but I usually think of it when I'm buckling him in to get on the bus for school, which is not exactly the best time.

Luke had his dental visit this week.  Every 6 months, we have a flurry of trips to the dentist, and now, I'm the last one left (Tuesday of next week).

Eli got a new airplane puzzle.  Brianna loves puzzles, so she's helping him put it together.

Katie and Hannah started an art class.  Hannah only gets to go for two sessions, since she goes back to "real" school next month, but Katie will get to go to 5.

Today's project is a two part one, so I can't show the completed works yet.

But here's a couple of partially completed shots.  You like the green paint on Katie's face?

I'm really going to miss Hannah when she heads back to school.  6 weeks is a long time to be off.  She doesn't get time off again until May, then has school the whole month of June.  Crazy track system!

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Home Art Studio

I have a super exciting review for you today!

Over Christmas Break, a great big box of materials showed up on our doorstep from Home Art Studio!

We received their Second Grade DVD, and all the supplies to go with it.  Don't be fooled by the level!  My reviewers range from 4 to 13, and the projects were challenging enough to keep my 5th and 8th graders on their toes!

As soon as Christmas break was over, we popped the DVD into the computer to watch the first of 17 lessons.

The theme for this disk is Fairy Tales.

Our first lesson was to create a color wheel, to refer back to in future lessons.

Instead of drawing our own circles, I did a search for a "printable color wheel" and found a site with several varieties.  I chose the basic 6-colors for Hannah and Katie to use.

Eli and Jack have been exposed to the color wheel already, so I printed them the more advanced 12-color wheel.

They did great, blending their own "in between" shades.

When Katie did hers, I left Hannah's completed wheel in front of her as an example, and put a dot of the correct color in each section to guide her.  This was her first time painting, and she did well.

The next lesson was based on the Vietnamese tale, The Watermelon King.  This was our first experience working with watercolors in a tube!  I loved the chance to play with a new medium.  We obviously need to work on consistency of shade, which will come with practice.

You'll notice Eli's watermelon is seedless.  In the video, I noticed that the marker the instructor was using "bled" when she painted over it.  I didn't care for that effect, so I decided I would add my seeds after my painting was dry.  Eli decided he liked his without seeds altogether.  Fortunately, the ink for Jack's seeds did not run.

Our next lesson found us drawing and then painting Blue Dogs.  Katie (who is 4) couldn't keep up/process the instructions, but Hannah, who IS a second grader did just fine.

Inspired by George Rodrigue, we created our own Blue Dogs through guided drawings and then paint.  We took things a step further by looking him up online and seeing a variety of his Blue Dog paintings.

I had Hannah and Jack go back over their paintings with Sharpie to give them more definition through outline once they were fully dried.

Eli chose not to paint his, but used colored pencils, instead.  You get a lot more of the details of the drawing in this view.

There are 7 DVDs available, from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade, plus an extra disk of Holiday Arts and Crafts.  Each one costs $29.99.  There are also some free lessons you can check out online.  You can gather the materials needed to complete the lessons on your own, or you can order them through a convenient link on the Home Art Studio website.

Although my boys are older than Second Grade, I have noticed that younger art programs work much better for them than older ones.  I could easily see us doing the next disc in this series when we have completed this one.  We are loving this program, and I look forward to sharing more projects from this disc in our weekly homeschool posts.

You can connect with Home Art Studio on Facebook and Pinterest.

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Wellness Wednesday

(Yes, I know, it's Thursday.)  2 weeks into the new year.  How are things going?  Well, for me, I'm doing better at getting my water.  I'm drinking a minimum of 4 glasses these days, which I hope to increase.  I'm taking my Calcium and Vitamin C every day.

Still not getting much exercise.  Paul and I did take a walk around the neighborhood one evening.  I've lost 3 pounds overall in the last week, but my daily weigh ins do a bit of up and down.

Tracking my food has been good for me.  I'm seeing patterns.  My days usually start out with a bar of some sort.  Right now, I'm mixing it up with Probar Bites, Slique Bars, and Kind Bars (afflink).  This is my "on the go" breakfast, which I consume while we're homeschooling in the morning.

I like my new phone keeping an eye on how many times I go up and down the stairs in my house, but some days I don't have pockets.  I ended up sewing myself a little pouch so I could wear it around my neck.

I think that part of the reason my health has gotten out of control is that I've been feeling rotten about myself as a person, and so "not worthy" of taking care of myself.  Which makes me more miserable, which makes me reach for the chocolate.  It's a vicious cycle.

I'm starting to realize that while I may be a rotten mother to one of my children, I do want to be at my best (or at least better than this) for the rest of them.  It's bound to be a journey.

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Murder In Paradise book review and $25 #giveaway

Deborah Brown is back with another winner!  In Murder in Paradise (afflink) Madison's friend Fab receives a blast from the past visit from her ex, who is fresh out of prison, and Not Happy with her.  Things go from bad to worse when Fab ends up the prime suspect in a double homicide.

While Madison is trying to help her friend clear her name, hilarious hijinks ensue, of course.

The book ends with Madison reeling from a stunning revelation, and the loss of one of the two men who have been competing for her attentions since the very first book.  I was left anxious to find out what happens next in book 5, Greed in Paradise (afflink).  I love this series!

Welcome to the Florida Keys! Get ready to go on vacation and lose yourself in this action packed read.

Overlooking the waters of the Biscayne Bay sits a mansion where all hell has broken loose.

Madison Westin has found herself and her bombshell best friend, Fabiana Merceau, caught up in deep trouble—yet again. This time, Fab is implicated as the only suspect in a high-profile double homicide on a beautiful private island. The girls have to act quickly and quietly, searching for a way to set the record straight and secure Fab’s freedom. Along the way, Madison must choose between two men, evade an ever-watchful mother, and dodge shady criminals as they try to solve a Murder in Paradise.

Murder in Paradise, is the fourth novel in Deborah Brown's Paradise series, can be read as a stand alone book.

Available to buy from.....

Amazon.com    Amazon.co.uk    Barnes and Noble

""The series is addictive, hot, fun, can't-put-em-down reads." 

"Great as stand-alone reads, but they're like chips...you won't be able to devour just one!" 

 "Reminds me of Sin City: everyone leads a double life, women pack handguns, all have secrets, and nothing is wholesome."

Read an Excerpt here

About the Author

I've been writing, in one way or another for as long as I can remember; writing poetry, short stories, a romance novel secretly stashed under the bed and sappy love letters. Fiction should be fun. I wanted to create the perfect beach book, to make the reader laugh, cry and cheer... and then run out and tell their friends about it.

My love of reading began when I was seven, the day I opened the cover of my first Mrs. Piggle Wiggle book. Mrs. P gave lessons to other children in how to behave and to me I learned to love the written word. I live with my family and demon children aka rescue cats in South Florida.

Find Deborah on the following sites.....
 Website   Facebook   Twitter   Pinterest   Google+   Goodreads

Also available in the Paradise Series

Follow the Book Tour

I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.

NOW FOR THE AUTHOR'S GIVEAWAY

Win a $25 Amazon.com Giftcard or Paypal Cash
(winners choice)
Open Worldwide

Ending on Sunday 8th February at 11.59pm EST

Enter Below and Good Luck !!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Pre-K with Katie - January

This is the last several months I'll have Katie home all day with me.  Hard to believe that in August she'll head off to kindergarten.  

This month, much time was spent playing with new Christmas toys.  The "animal bucket" got a new infusion of creatures.  She's starting to get the names of various animals.  Yesterday, she was showing me a puzzle, and knew giraffe and elephant on her own.

Both girls have been playing with their Leap Pads (Katie got Hannah's old one, which was originally Jack's, and Hannah got a new one).  I'm surprised (and a little concerned!) how fast they've picked it up and how completely absorbed in their screens they can get.

These wooden disks are good for matching.  Josiah and I played memory with them while they were out.  Katie is working on identifying these animals.

The girls got baby animals from family in Nevada.  It's good to see them nurturing.  They don't play with dolls very often, and it occurs to me that they don't have the life experience of watching a Mommy care for a newborn.  What kid wants to play "nanny"?

I've been having Katie work on a lot of tracing projects, both letters and shapes.

I'm really liking the magnetic Tugu blocks Katie got for Christmas.  The girls have made various creations from them, including spinning propellers, and these lovely triangles.

Katie recognizes "K for Katie!" everywhere, including the end of the word "duck" recently, but we're still working on the other letters.  I'm trying to create a letter rich environment for her, to help her pick up some of the other ones.  This activity was matching capitol letters and lowercase letters to each other.

I recently bought letter cookies at Trader Joe's for the girls' lunches--but the big kids ate the rest after the little girls got one serving!

I try to be pretty selective about what I print off the 'net, because I don't want to end up with a bunch of stuff we don't use, but I stumbled across a winner recently.  I've got AB pattern dots on one side, and ABC pattern dots on the other side in a page protector.  She can use these with bears, buttons, mini blocks, and pouch lids.  We're working, not only on matching colors, but also on what comes next in the pattern.

Using up more Kumon pages left over from Jack's preschool years.

Honestly, I really like having Hannah home from school, and it's nice to have her around for a whole 6 weeks, but sometimes Katie has a hard time sharing or not being The Boss, so I need to separate the two of them for a little while.  Often, I'll call Katie into the school room to read books or do puzzles until she's ready to try again.

We're working on a new art program for review, and one of the tasks was to paint a color wheel.  Katie and Hannah joined us for this.  This was the first time I had Katie paint, and she did great.

Shortly after Katie came home from China, we reviewed for Fundanoodle.  Some of the pages, Katie wasn't ready for at the time, but they're just right for her now.  She especially likes putting the sticker on at the end of each page.

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