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Art Series: Get Into Art Places

11/23/2016

Today I would like to introduce you to a neat little art books, "Get Into Art Places", this book is written by Susie Brooks.

At 32 pages it is not a big book by any means, but it's a fun little book.

Each artist is introduced over a two page spread with a lift the flap option. So here we have the artist and a sample of their work.

And under the flap we have a "do it yourself" option.

I'm actually planning to use this book and the next book I am reviewing in a co-op art class. I think it will be fun to let the children experiment with following what the masters have done.

But isn't the set up neat?
Learn something about the painting and artist and then handy dandy you have a art project to do that goes along with it. You get to explore 12 different works, but artists such as Van Gogh, Canaletto, Hokusai and more.

One of the things I really appreciated was at the back of the book a Project Checklist was provided, easily letting me know what supplies I would need to complete each project.

Get into Art Places - discover great art and create your own.

For ages 7-14, 32 pages.
Book is approximately 9 x 11 inches.
This book was generously provided to me by Raincoast Books. Affiliate links are below provided for your ease of finding, any support helps me with my blog. :)

Canadian Link: Get Into Art Places: Discover Great Art And Create Your Own! American link: Get Into Art Places: Discover Great Art And Create Your Own!

Days of November: Family

11/23/2016

Generations Upon Generations

Netherlands Born
Across the oceans did roam
Canada landed.

A Family of Ten
Farmed the land.
Cattle, Pigs, Horses too.
Grain, corn, hay.
All worked hard.
In Home and out.

Netherlands Born
Across the oceans did roam
Canada landed.

Family of six.
Only one left the nest.
Met one of the ten.
A family created.

Canada Born.
Canada stayed.

A Family of eight.
Six youngsters who
On a land well-farmed.
Dairy Cows roamed,
The crops were planted.

The children had goats,
and rabbits and horses.
Chickens abound,
The delight of a daughter.

A daughter she roamed.
A pastor she met.
A home they did make.
A family did take.

Rabbits and mice,
are the crops of this home.
Preaching and teaching
are the ways of the life.

Generations upon Generations.
This is the way that we live.
Family.

Recipe: My Meatloaf

11/22/2016

Ingredients and Directions

Preheat oven 350

Mix together:
2 lbs ground beef
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup panko
1 onion diced finely
salt and pepper to taste
other seasonings if desired. I often add a good couple shakes of montreal spice

Place in a 9 x 5 loaf pan lined with parchment paper

On top to the meatloaf place
About 3 tbsp spaghetti sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar and
lace the top with honey mustard. (maybe a tbsp worth)

Place in oven for 1 hour.

Enjoy.

I served ours with baked potatoes. They can go right into the oven with the meatloaf, depending on size they cook the same length of time, or might need to go an additional 10 minutes.

Days of November: Time

11/21/2016

Time

Do you remember these lyrics?

One day at a time sweet Jesus that's all I'm asking from you
Give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus and tomorrow may never be mine
So for my sake teach me to take one day at a time

When I think of this word Time, this verse pops into my head.

I don't sing it, I used to belt it out, but my poor hubby would cringe. When he worked in prison ministry it was one of the favourite songs of the guys and... well let's just say that overuse does not make friends. :)

But the fact remains... we aren't asked to take on the rest of our lives. We aren't. We are asked to trust God for the grace to day by day live out the lives that he has given us. To love those around us, to share who he is within our sphere of influence, to live our lives in obedience to his will.

Just one day.
No more, no less.
Not living in our yesterdays and tomorrows.
Just one day.

Blue Ribbon Winners 2016 : Homeschool Review Crew

11/19/2016

Look what I received this week:

I'd like to invite you to continue on with the Homeschool Review Crew in 2017!

Isn't that great? Last year I did 23 reviews for the crew most of which I liked, but not all that I continued to use.

I thought you might like to know which reviews we are continuing to use.

Foreign Languages

You will find my review for Middlebury Interactive Languages here. My son continues to be interested in learning German. He is also using Duolingo, both programs teach German but have a different method of teaching it.

I am not convinced that we will finish the course before our time runs out and we've had vacation and some health issues, meaning we've missed a few weeks and therefore will need to do some back tracking.

Science

We have a science program that we like, but my lad has this interest in astronomy, enough so that he was looking information up on youtube. :) Therefore it's a natural thing that Apologia Astronomy is a favourite in this household. Experiments and information, is there anything more a boy could ask for in a science program?

Bible.

For bible we had two reviews that we did, Grapevine which exercises my son's creative talents, and Veritas Press. Although we LOVE both products, the one my son ASKS to do is Veritas Press. this make it the winner in this category. I will often come in from chores and find him already hard at work.

Games

We reviewed two games this year.
Sunya (a math game) and Flipstir (a logic game).

Of the two my son loved Sunya and often plays it with his gramma. He finds it an easy game to play, and likes the gramma enjoys playing it with him. Between Sunya and Chess, math is covered when he goes and visits (and needs to do some school too).

I, on the other hand, had a distinct fondness for Flipstir. I remember getting frustrated by it and having my international student come along and sort it out and even give a hint about solving it. It was an excellent smile for us.

Varied Subjects

We reviewed a number of programs that are great supplementary programs, from doing copywork, to notebooking, to online multi-subject programs. It's hard to make a choice, but I have to go with the one the we continue to use. Homeschool Copywork. A nice program, that is non-complicated to use, has elements that delight my boy, scripture and quotes, all round a good product.

I am not going to comment on the various math programs we tried out. There were elements to each that my lad liked, but until this fall math really wasn't his thing. We have a math program that he likes and at this point he's unwilling to even think about a different math program. :)

Notable Mentions

I do have a couple of notable mentions Carole Roman books. History books written in a story format. HUGE hit with my lad and CrossTimber, who name meaning gifts are so well done and the service so excellent I'd be lax if I didn't mention them.

I hope you have enjoyed this look through the year, and we check out our favourites. Good products and programs that we like in our home.

Books to read with your son

11/18/2016

It's been a while since I've done up a post on the books the lad and I read together at night before he settles to bed. Ergo... this post. :)

My son and I happen to just LOVE reading together. Most of the time I do the reading, but occasionally he'll read to me. Currently we are working through these five books.

Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach
My lad and I are part way into this book and already we are hooked. It was sent to us by Raincoast books to review.

I strongly suspect that it will also intrigue a fair number of girls as well as one boy and one girl make up the main characters. They are at the zoo, wolves are dying, people are around when they are not supposed to be. I have to admit... we're intrigued. "Why would someone want to hurt a wolf mom?" "Wouldn't it be neat if they could find that treehouse mom?" So we are kinda wondering if the two things are linked... Time will tell eh?

Nature's Children. We love this old series. We learn so much about so many different animals it's amazing.

Could my son read them on his own and faster than reading them together? Sure. But they we couldn't be amazed together at how far a butterfly can travel in one day.

We wouldn't be able to howl like coyotes and wonder at why wolves hate them so.

Sometimes our reading gets distracted by "let's go see some armadillos' on youtube" (or whatever animal we are reading about). It's all good. :)

Ancient Greece, this is actually part of the group of books we received for the Carole Roman review. My son thoroughly enjoys these books and likes that we are reading at night together. He asked questions, we looked up information on line, though with this Greece book he's not real keen on learning about the Greek gods.

Well written book that draws you into what it would be like to live in Ancient Greece.

My lad and I like history. :) We read a fair number of history related books. Many of them are living books, but this encyclopedia has us fascinated at it takes us through historical events. Every history book includes different details about historical events.

For instance... Napolean Bonaparte... was he a villain or hero? History books talk about him in different ways.

This variety means that reading different histories provides for a more well-rounded education and gets my little thinker, thinking all the more.

Reading through the Story of the World, and how it jumps around, has really been showing us how actions in one part of the world can influence what happens elsewhere.

Reading it alongside the encyclopedia is giving us some interesting insights, which of course, leads to conversation between mother and son.

I am hoping at some point to find inexpensive copies for the mystery of history series, as I think it will give us yet another perspective.

Anyways, enjoy these books should you pick them up... good reads one and all.

FMF: Enjoy

11/17/2016

Given that I am recovering from pneumonia this week and I am part of a household filled with guys.

When I saw the topic enjoy I thought I would talk about some of the ways my guys have let me know I am loved and cared for.

1. My son coming down and giving me his own cuddle blanket off the bed when I was going through the chills.
2. My son making me tea in an effort to help me get warm.
3. My husband running errands, and taking the boys to their events.
4. My international student helping my son get the garbage out to the curb for pick up in the morning.
5. That same student making himself his own supper.
6. My hubby doing the dishes.
7. A lad caring for my critters...even that over-protective mamma doe who is a tad scary.
8. A quiet house when hubby grabs up the boy and takes him out pokemon going so I can have a nap.
9. MEDICATION!!!   God is good in providing help before I needed it.
10. TV, internet, computers, books...all these things that distract me and help me not feel like a resting lump of nothingness.
11. Community, family that prays, coworkers in the review world who pray, people who call offering support.

These are things that I am grateful for.   Things that I have "enjoyed" while recuperating.
Why don't you help me to continue enjoy the community that surrounds us.   Take part in this five minute Friday post. Let me know. let me see what this word enjoy means to you.

You can find the linky over at Kate's blog.

Cities, Cities Everywhere

11/17/2016

Cities are huge places, busy and so full of everything. Government workers, hospitals, emergency vehicles, transportation of all sorts. Families living, people working, running about their daily lives.

It can be a jumble of noise and confusion.

Now imagine that you have NEVER lived in a city and you have just moved there? Wouldn't you like to know more? Wouldn't you want to understand just what you have gotten yourself into? These books reviewed, should help.

I’m currently reading a book about a lad facing that exact scenario. He’s moved off a military base, a sheltered environment, with a smaller scope of people to interact with. He’s now living in New York city and he’s stunned by everything going around him. Would have been nice if he could have had The Cities Book (Lonely Planet Kids) and How Cities Work (Lonely Planet Kids). These two books, work together, to show how cities work and the beauty that can be found with them.

How Cities Work has been put together by James Gulliver Hancock.

It is a really well done lift the flap book.

Embark on a journey from the start of a city, a small gathering of buildings in the country with farms and wildlife all around. Through construction and work and organization gradually a city develops. Led through the building of roads and industry, superhighways, trains and parking lots.

We get to see people at work, people with families, shopping, moving, living. Tunnels being dug with large machines. Skyscrapers, parks, subways and more. If it's in a city, you'll find it in this book.

Every page with flaps to lift and/or pages to fold out

The Cities Book (Lonely Planet Kids) is a gorgeous book filled with a mixture of real life pictures and graphics to portray the beauty of cities from around the world. There are cities in this book from all over the world, every continent. Be amazed at the differences, similarities and all the amazing discoveries you can make.

Each page delineates clearly where it is located in the world, and gives the highlights of each city. For instance, Hong Kong is the Hollywood of the East, Montreal hosts the biggest bell in North America, in Addis Ababa Easter is celebrated with a meat feast and Seoul has taxis specially marked for those who don't speak Korean. Interesting facts from around the world.

Now don't you agree with me?

Wouldn't these be great books to introduce children (and others) to the wonders that make up cities... both in operation and what makes each one special. 86 Cities explored, countries from around this entire world.

This later book, the Cities Book, will be staying as part of our resource collection. As we travel around the world in our studies it will add a great dimension don't you agree?

Raincoast books has generously provided me with these books.
The Cities book is published by Lonely Planet Kids, is 212 pages long and is approximately 10 x 12. Good images and graphics, great text, good overview of 86 cities from around our planet.
How Cities Work is written by James Gulliver Hancock and also published by Lonely Planet Kids. 24 pages (feels like more) and 11 x 10 inches approximately. Lift the flap or open the page and discover all about how cities work.

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Art Series: Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists

11/17/2016

My dear Miss Carol, from Home Sweet Life, has come to my rescue...isn't it great? She sent me an art book post on the very day I've come down with Pneumonia. Isn't that all God at work? Anyways, you will need to read this post she has guest posted for me. All the about the World's Greatest Artists, in particular Monet.

My love of art began at an early age. My father was an artist who chose to work as an illustrator for technical books to make sure his family was provided for. I've never particularly liked the term starving artist, and apparently, neither did my Dad. On the weekends my parents would often take us to the Art Museum, or some equally interesting and inexpensive place. Or my Dad would work with my brother and me on improving our art skills. Having grown up with art being a necessary and vital part of everyday life, I knew I wanted to pass the love of quality art on to our daughters. However, there was one drawback. As I had grown up I had learned more about the personal lives, and sometimes failings, of the several of the World's great artists. I knew I needed a tempered approach to introduce our young girls to art, while still shielding them from some of the personal choices the artists had made.

When Annette mentioned that she was looking for guest posts for her Art Book Series, I knew it was time to head back to the children's section at our local library and share with you about some gems I had found there when they were still little. Today our girls are 16 & 18.

My favorite series of books to use for artist study with the girls when they were little were Mike Venezia's Getting to Know the World's Great Artists books. While I knew some families would purchase a year-long calendar and study the 12 paintings with their children, I needed a method to study more than the 12-14 artists we would cover in the amount of time before the girls graduated.

When our girls were still pretty little, and my Dad was still alive, he and my Mom gave the girls the book Philippe in Monet's Garden by Lisa Carmack. In the story, Philippe is a Parisian frog who is being hunted by local chefs who want to serve his frog legs for dinner. In the story Philippe finds safety in Monet's garden and the reader is introduced to Monet's impressionistic style. After reading the book to the girls several times, I went to the children's section at the library to find more about Monet. For my little girls who were about 4 and 6 at the time, Venezia's book from the Juvenile Biography section was just about right. It is a 22 page picture book, that gives an overview of several of Monet's paintings, interspersed with Venezia's cartoons that help explain Monet's life.

Venezia has a large list of 40 artists in this series. Ones like: Warhol, Velazquez, Kahlo, Goya, Hopper, Wood, Pollock, Renoir, Vermeer, Rockwell, Cassatt, and Rembrandt which are all written for your 5-10 year old to enjoy. Venezia also had biographies about American Presidents ... but that is for another post!

Because I know the availability of books can change over the years, I looked around to see what other good books I could find at our library that you might want to consider that were about Monet. I found Monet's Impressions, copyright 2009 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and The Impressionists by David Spence. Monet's Impressions is a picture book found in the non-fiction section (759.4 Monet) that pairs Monet's paintings with phrases taken from his personal letters. The phrases are short and the artwork is - well -stunning! It is Monet after all! Spencer's book (759.05 Spence) covers Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Cézanne. The section on Monet is about 25 pages and covers his works, methods, family and friends. This book, which would probably best fit ages 10 and up also has a two-page spread about the paints available to Monet during his lifetime and background on how they were made.

If your local library does not have copies of Mike Venezia's greta books, many of them can be found used on amazon.

I hope you'll have a wonderful time exploring the works of great artists with your children!

Carol is a wife of more than 20 years, Mama to two teenaged daughters, and avid gardener. She blogs at Home Sweet Life where her family shares its unique experience-based educational life, Road Trip ideas, book reviews, and encouragement for healthy families. Carol spends time volunteering as a local 4-H Leader, and at Conner Prairie in Fishers, IN. You can often find Carol outdoors with her family, and her camera. One of their favorite family pastimes includes long hikes in the woods where she photographs the wildlife they see.

Review: Fun Science

11/17/2016

I have to admit, I love science. I love science that takes an unconventional approach as well as science that follow a more conventional route. This book, Fun Science, by Charlie McDonnell is a mixture of both.

So just who is this Charlie McDonnell? He is an English Vlogger, musician, author. He is not scientist, but can talk about science, hence this book. :) I found it fascinating (having watched some of his videos with my lad) that he writes just like he talks. The first few pages of the book I wanted to read them as fast as he talks in real life. :)

Here's what you get:

Fun Science: A guide to life, the universe and why science is so awesome.
Quadrille Publishing c/o Chronicle Books
8.88 x 9.33
224 pages

10 chapters.
Mostly black and white with some illustrations and coloured pages.

I like the coming up with ways to help children understand, like the layers of the atmosphere

Those kinds of things grab my son's attention. They help him want to learn. Toss in a few experiments that are easy to do... and you have an additional hook. Toss in the little mouse quip and you have laughter and an easy way to remember information.

Is there anything that raised concerns?
The first forty pages are dedicated to the big bang theory or other theories as to how the universe could have come into being. I admittedly believe that God brought everything into being by his word and touch, but that in the midst of theories there are often grains of truth that can help explain the science so I approach these theories with skepticism. I have learned over the years tho science behind God's actions, like how point a makes point b possible. So I wouldn't completely toss these pages, but my advice is to read and weed out the interesting nuggets. :)

Also, he uses words at times that I wouldn't use. Some folks might see it as inappropriate language, but I struggle a bit, for a learned in my college years, that people have different sensibilities about words depending on their culture. For instance, just as I grew up saying "S__T" without it being a BAD word and don't bat an eye when someone says it, but others mindsets are different.

I would suggest that you read through the whole reproduction chapters with your children, especially if you are bible based in your teaching. Charlie has failed to realize that people and nature are distinct from each other. :)

This is clearly a science book, written by a guy who likes science, but isn't a scientist who is not a believer, who is able to do research and formulate thoughts and ideas and interesting connections. It is worth looking at, seriously.

I say this because it's fascinating how he weaves different snippets of information together. Seriously...just fascinating. Science is fascinating and fun, and this book helps point that out.