What exites my children

I just did the weekly shopping, and I came home laden with craft projects for the week. We will be starting Egypt, so I have tons of makeup, beads and pipe cleaners (collars/necklaces), and black yarn and coffee filters (wigs). I am really excited!!! The girls barely raised their prissy eyebrows as I unloaded the plastic bags full of fun. But when I got out a new dry erase board and marker set for the fridge, they were jumping up and down!!! They would choose markers over pipecleaners, beads and yarn? Are these my children?

Here and There. This and That

The girls had their first music class last week. Buttercup was extremely excited to be back. One of the many things I love about this program is the ensemble activities. They play rhythm and coordination games, getting opportunities to try all the crazy-looking instruments around the room.

Friday, we had Museum Day. We went to my favorite museum. It is cool and quiet and has wonderful collections of antiquities. The girls brought their sketching supplies and sketched happily, only interrupted by museum workers who stuck their heads around corners saying, "Did you just take a picture with flash?" No, I did not. I am not an idiot. Jerry adjusted the camera to take this picture.

Last week, we studied prehistoric art. We also explored the meaining of the term "prehistoric." We made cave paintings to hang in the school room. Nutmeg was less than excited about the mucky colors we mixed up. It is safe to say that Nutmeg is not an "earth tone" kind of girl! She made two paintings, one just had to include a "princess."

I have completed a few small autumn cross stitches in the past few days. I need to get a few tiny buttons to attach before I can finish them as pinkeeps.

Fine Arts Academy

This week is the first week back to both piano and dance. Sometimes I like to think of our little homeschool as a fine arts academy: piano and voice lessons, ballet and tap, museum visits and plenty of arts and crafts! If the girls were in public school, there would be no way I could get them to the music and dance lessons they currently enjoy. And I carefully picked THOSE PARTICULAR studios. Yes, I am sure they would be just fine without those lessons, but "just fine" has never been my goal for my children. (Now for house work, "just fine" is a high mark!)

This week we have been studying color values and tints. The girls initially were uninspired by the grays, but got excited after a few tries.

Today we mixed colors with water and with white to get various tints. This was a big hit! Both girls painted several pictures using their new colors. I bought the white plastic paint pans at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents. They come with a clear plastic cover to save the leftover paint! The worksheets came from How to Teach Art to Children. I really like this book. The next lesson block is about texture.

Now if I could just find some clean ballet tights! I plan on stitching a bit during their lessons. I'm sure I can find some small project...

Weekend Stitching

I got a bit of stitching done between doctor and emergency room visits this weekend. Both girls are just fine, but what would childhood be without scaring your parents half to death?
As the melons and pumpkins in my garden grow, I can't help thinking about autumn. I want to make sure I have a healthy harvest of autumn pinkeeps! So this weekend I started and finished a Prairie Schooler design from "A Prairie Year II." I also started a Prairie Schooler design from last year's Gift of Stitching Magazine, "Autumn Pinkeep." I was missing a few DMC threads, so I will have to wait a bit to finish it. I also started a Shepherd's Bush design from "A Year in Stitches" collection. I hope to be able to find some fun fall fabrics this week, and finish up the pinkeeps. I cannot wait!

Frederick, A Lady, and a Fuzzy Baby

I don't know why I cannot get going on Frederick this go round. I have done the heart and the pears. Last time, I did everything else and could hardly put it down. Oh, well. Better luck next rotation! I have half a dozen stitches left on A Lady's Dream. You would think I would just finish it already! But I have a disorder that impairs my ability to finish. I wonder what the treatment options are?

And here is the cutest little baby watermelon. It makes me think of a baby monkey!