I love showing the world to my children. I love having time to sit in the exhibits at the desert museum so they can work on sketches. I love these little memories from our last trip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. In other words, I love how they show the world to me.
We went to the Desert Museum for school on Wednesday. Paige took these photos.
Volcano by Daniel
Desert Sunset by Paige
House by a River by Timothy
We went to an oil pastel class hosted by our homeschool club last Friday. We learned a lot about composition and focal point and some oil pastel techniques. I really like the way these projects turned out.
This is what I have been working on for a long time. I had to put four babies in the little nest because it’s for my bedroom and thus requires some personal touches. I love the daddy bird, looking back at the family as he ponders taking off to look for more food. I asked Mark which bird was the mommy and he knew… it was the one by the babies. He also knew which bird he wanted to be.
We’re all about taking on roles around here. Watch a movie at our house and you have to “be” a character the whole time. For Cars, I am Miss Sally. For Lady and the Tramp, I am Lady. Mark likes to be the monsters in Scooby Doo.
See? It’s not that hard to project yourself into things. This painting is our family… as birds.
Sweet little chickies!
Bird painting inspiration here.
Timothy made a great picture of a pirate battle. As always, this drawing is in miniature and you may not be able to see everything. I am amazed at the detail he creates on such a small scale. There is a sinking ship, several islands, a whirlpool (I think!) and some fires. I feel pretty bad about the guy falling from what is left of his ship amidst some heavy fire and a huge splash.
Dear Paige,
We must not let ourselves get too busy today. I missed painting with you yesterday. I’m getting out the paints today at 2:00. It’s better to paint than to be busy.
Love,
Mom
P.S. You did a good job on these ballet shoes!
I like finding clues around the house showing me what my kids are thinking about. I found this diagram today of one of the telescopes Daniel saw at the Whipple Observatory on Friday. I thought the reflection patterns were pretty good, and it turns out, they are pretty accurate.
Did you know we don’t have street lights here so there is better star gazing for the observatories? Well, now you know. It’s a great place to stargaze. Now Daniel and Paige can say they have been to an observatory, thanks to a good friend who took them. They were up so high on the mountain that they saw Mexico. The whole building which houses the telescopes can rotate. Just thought you’d like to know…
This is a drawing Timothy has made of the birdhouse he wants to get for our backyard. He has a birdcage that he’s filled with birdseed, hoping to catch a new pet. In fact, the whole yard is littered with birdseed to attract future pets. He told me tonight that the bird could live in the birdhouse and then visit the birdcage now and then… it looks like he plans to leave the door open.
So, to wrap this all up in a neat metaphor, I’ll say that I’m grateful live in my own personal observatory and to be an observer of children. I try sift through all the information and words and behaviors and see what my children are trying to communicate. With the help of the Lord, proper focus and care and timing, simple observations of behavior or words can give me greater insight into the needs, hopes, and wishes of my children. A simple piece of paper, a forlorn sigh, a persistent wish or behavior… each a precious clue.
I don’t share everything on this blog. It’s just what comes to mind when I sit down at the computer. I realized I didn’t mention a pretty major development in our lives. We started school last Monday. Yes, Mr/Ms. Reader, we did. I teach 8th grade, 5th grade, and 1st grade. I like all these grades and love all of my students. Here’s a list of some of the things we did during this school week:
Attended an art lesson about Picasso. Learned about his life and styles from a guest artist.
Created Picasso-style paintings and drawings in art class and at home.
Played with playdough. We made igloos, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and other amazing things.# of teachers: 5
# of students: 3
Now, this is a great student-to-teacher ratio.
This is Paige at age 5 posing with the ballerinas from the Nutcracker Ballet in 2001.
Paige danced around the house from the time she could walk. We took Paige at age 5 to the Nutcracker wearing a dress as close to a tutu as we could create. She sat quietly through the show, enchanted by the beautiful dancing. At one point she leaned over to me and said, “I love the ballet so much, I just want to go up on stage and dance with them!”
Paige didn’t like to leave my side when she was young. I worried about that a little when I decided to sign her up for ballet lessons, beginning on her 6th birthday. She still talks about that first day of ballet like it was the day her life began.
Anyone who has seen her dance knows that she has a special gift.
Tonight Paige learned that she has been chosen for the second year in a row to dance the lead role in Oh Holy Night. What I thought was a once in a lifetime experience for her (and for me, too) will be repeated. This time I’ll bring my tissues. I’m sure I’ll need them.
This is a word, a little worse for wear after hanging for an hour. It was the theme from our Cub Scout Pack Meeting tonight. Daniel earned a silver arrow point, the ultimate frisbee belt loop and baseball belt loop.