Peeking in at our Music & Art
We hit music via piano for an hour a week with just lesson but are closer to 6 hours when we include practicing and our other music activities. Through piano lessons the boys have both covered a healthy portion of music theory. This year Jr. has begun working with different keys and even transposing his pieces to a different key. In actuality his understanding of music theory outstripped mine this year! I am thankful to have found an instructor that gently challenges not only his playing but also his mind. LilB is still well within my own musical understanding but that doesn’t take away from the fact he’s able to read music and knows many musical terms (such as forte, crescendo and allegro etc). Primarily we focus on instrumental music but I’ve also taken some time this year to introduce childhood songs. We learned several this year like Old Dan Tucker and Tisket a Tasket. I’m always looking for new songs to teach them if you have any favorite suggestions!
Art is a weak area in terms of formality yet we crank out craft activities weekly. Our walls are a testament to the experimentation with art mediums. We work mostly with paint and paper crafts. I have yet to find a good resource for clay. Though we have worked with several of the brands available at the local craft store. The formal art history and instruction will come too but for the moment I’m just occasionally pulling out some of our art books to admire the paintings, sculptures and what not.
A couple of our resource books are:
Usborne the Children’s Book of Art: Internet Linked.
Story of Art (admittedly this one is more for me at the moment)
What are some of your favorite Art resources?
11.03.2010
musings
Ah Spring I do love you. I love your green specks that show as the snow melts.
I love the pooling water at the bottom of our small hill.
And the holes that our ducks dig every place where the water pools.
I love the fresh air that we are all breathing deeply.
or the fragrant stench of the spring hen house cleaning brings to our animal yard.
I especially love your hideous amounts of mud that you encourage my boys to play in.
And the wet boots that were drenched in a spring thaw “pond” two days ago that will probably still be drying next week.
Not to mention my jeans that are perpetually soaking wet because I’m short and my cuffs drag on your lovely, damp ground.
Spring how glorious you are in delightful messiness.
How happily we welcome the emerging piles of sticks and other assorted yard trash.
What joy we take in the squishy mud-pit that our yard becomes.
Ah Spring what welcome your untidy blossoming finds in our hearts.
10.03.2010
musings
We’re talking budget. As in homeschool budget for next year. I won’t really tell you the number I work with because to some it will be a pitiful amount to others it will be an astronomically high number. But I’ll say this much it isn’t the $10,000 that I’d have to pay to put them in the local private school.
Budget talks make me look at what I’ve purchased in the last year and evaluate whether it was worth the money spent. Unfortunately there are many times that the answer is Nope Not Worth It!
This next year I am considering adding our Gym membership back. That’s a big chuck of money but this winter was long. Long and cold with nowhere to run (literally). I’m still a little surprised we didn’t have a major meltdown with all the excess energy that was stockpiled during the cold, snowy days of January.
Anyway I’m making my list and so far I have this:
1. Laser Printer ($$ not $$$$$)
2. Gym Membership (maybe)
3. Science Center membership??
4. Piano Lessons
5. Curriculum (duh)
6. Book Budget (support materials)
7. *this space reserved for some really neat and necessary thing that I have yet to think of*
This got me to thinking about what we use and love.
1. Whiteboard also known as a piece of Melamine board from Menards cut to fit our space (6ft by 4ft). We spent $20 three years ago and it’s still working fine. My only addition would be to magically make it magnetic because that is super cool.
2. Chalkboard table. Absolutely the best “stole it from a friend” idea we’ve done. It is great to just be able to write the word or problem right next to the child. Not to mention that the paint is black so it hides a lot of hideous paint splotches. A fresh coat will go on this summer and all the paint splotches from last years craft projects will be “erased”.
3. Stereo Microscope. Okay I didn’t really buy this one. It was a present. Or rather it is really grandpa’s but he’s letting us use it. Unless we don’t take care of it then he’s taking it back. Wouldn’t you know the boys take really, really good care of it. There is really nothing more fun that finding a speck – that moves – looking at the speck and finding another smaller speck on the speck. Did you get that? Well just know it was really neat.
What would you add to the list?
04.03.2010
greenfield academy
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