tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273367162024-03-07T15:18:17.119-06:00On the NeedlesKitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.comBlogger584125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-34312738364238376062015-01-28T21:28:00.001-06:002015-01-28T21:36:16.517-06:00January Art: Found Object Sculpture Since I have gotten hopelessly behind in posting Bean's artwork, January is alway a good time for a fresh start. The class she had been taking for 2-1/2 years changed format as of January, from focusing on a different artist each month to focusing on a different media each month. This was my favorite this month:It's three-dimensional, and uses different materials which add some nice visual Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-51904250345344400692013-05-28T15:59:00.000-05:002013-05-28T15:59:29.879-05:00This is WAR!After the various and sundry rabbits and ground squirrels did this:
to my parsley and this:
to my calendula and this:
and this:
to my strawberries and this:
to my kale, I did this:
to my garden. Sadly, I am almost positive that I heard little bunny and ground squirrel snickers behind my back the whole time I was putting it up.Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-85129541409275717682013-05-22T11:46:00.000-05:002013-05-22T11:46:02.259-05:00Bean Dali (January 2013)
Watch out Salvador Dali, there's a new surrealist in town! Surrealism appeals to an eight-year-old and, I have to say, I totally get it. Like many other months, we start with a famous painting: Persistence of Memory
You might need to embiggen it to see the melty clocks. Or if you choose not to, we have a bonus melty clock:
The hands even move, so you can set it Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-85724952354081957082013-05-21T09:43:00.003-05:002013-05-21T09:46:08.280-05:00Bean Picasso (December 2012)
Since Bean had her last art class of the year yesterday, it's definitely past time to be finishing up the fall artists. December was Picasso and, because of the holidays, one of the shorter months. One of the projects was a cubist self-portrait:
This is certainly a memorable project, for all the wrong reasons...Miss Bean has a pair of pink pants that are liberally decorated Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-26561913555633908842013-05-11T15:43:00.000-05:002013-05-11T15:47:33.343-05:00Oh yeah, there are boys in the house, too...Now that I have finally gotten back to blogging, I have been so absorbed in getting Miss Bean's art class posted and up to date, that I haven't said anything about those two boys that live with us! We have all been keeping busy with classes and interests.
I posted earlier about fencing. Miss Bean quit fencing at the end of March, but Bug has been going strong. He loves it and Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-78673835669892906512013-05-11T15:00:00.000-05:002013-05-11T15:00:21.469-05:00Bean Monet (November 2012)Of the artists studied in the fall, I think Monet might be Bean's favorite. In addition to painting a picture of lily pads:
and the famous bridge in Monet's garden in Giverny:
we read several stories about both Monet's garden and his life in France. As a result, she is already making plans to go to France to see his garden, Matisse's chapel, the Mona Lisa, and all the other Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-53044958260338536222013-05-10T13:41:00.001-05:002013-05-10T13:41:58.557-05:00Diva Challenge #117Weekly Challenge #117: "New Official Tangle: Schway"
Schway was a lot of fun, though I bit off more than I can chew with this tangle. First, go look at the Diva's site and see how all the little arrows happen. It's pretty cool. The original plan was to fill in more arrows, but this week has been ridiculously spring-like and lovely out. After the cool/cold and wet Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-85527336303662947482013-05-09T14:48:00.001-05:002013-05-09T14:48:17.026-05:00Bean Warhol (October 2012)
Here I was being such a good girl documenting Miss Bean's art class when--ooo, shiny. Or maybe it was a squirrel. Anyhoo...back to art. October was Pop Artist Andy Warhol.
Quick, what's the first thing you think of when I say Andy Warhol?
Of course: Campbell's Soup Cans! Tomato Soup to be exact.
Another project combined something that Warhol used as Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-6838180571373550542013-04-30T13:34:00.001-05:002013-04-30T13:35:59.151-05:00Bean Van Gogh (September 2012)
Miss Bean's classes started in September with Vincent Van Gogh. I knew the art she made in this class was going to knock my socks off from the first thing they brought home, Starry Night:
Yes, I admit, I may be biased, but this was the best one in the class. Miss Bean wasn't even the oldest in the class at that time (it was much bigger in September than it is now).
Next up Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-84252170713135276692013-04-30T13:12:00.001-05:002013-04-30T13:38:57.118-05:00Diva's Weekly Challenge #116
This week's challenge is called "Blind Sighted" and challenges us to use a blind string...just what it sounds like. Put the pencil on a border, close eyes, and draw a string. Once of the advantages of using my little sketchbook instead of a regular tile is that it was pretty obvious when I just about to run into the spiral binding or when I went lurching over the edge of the Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-26027157280995942562013-04-24T17:10:00.001-05:002013-04-24T17:10:38.711-05:00Artist GirlBean has been the resident artist for a long time now (this picture still cracks me up). This year, she has been taking a homeschool art class at the Monroe Street Arts Center up in Madison. In the class, they focus on one artist each month. They learn a little art history, see some famous examples of their art, and do art projects either copying famous pictures or doing Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-29441064491258337522013-04-22T17:15:00.001-05:002013-04-24T09:53:20.047-05:00Happy Earth DayKitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-8744048048728784802013-03-28T17:05:00.001-05:002013-03-28T18:32:48.955-05:00"Spring" BreakAlternate title: Denial Runs Deep
Although we don't give a fig for the school calendar most of the time, we have really noticed Spring Break this year. For one, we are having a week with no art class, no fencing, no piano lessons, and no tumbling. Further, Spring weather has been unusually conspicuous in its absence. At a certain point all you can do is throw up your hands and say "To heck with Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-43296674103757970082013-03-01T14:00:00.001-06:002013-03-01T14:10:44.570-06:00And still more crystalsOur sudden interest in crystals turned out to be extremely timely, as last Saturday was the Friends of the Geology Museum's Winter Workshop. The topic was "Bubbles of gas in lava that solidified as they cooled and then are gradually filled by the crystallization of impurities in ground water seeping through." If that's too complicated for you, you can go with the museum's title: Geodes.We Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-72094001955358334882013-02-28T20:18:00.001-06:002013-03-01T14:10:08.616-06:00More Crystals!Our rock candy ended up in the win column. Mom learned a few things to make the process go more smoothly next time and the kids got a tasty examples of crystals to admire. I'm a bit behind the times as these pictures were taken several days before Valentine's Day. We have even been continuing the crystally fun...more on that soon!Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-63828743108146865992013-02-02T13:04:00.001-06:002013-02-02T13:06:25.223-06:00En Garde!Bug and Bean both joined a local fencing club just after the first of the year.  Bug adored it from day one, practicing advances and retreats and lunges as he moves around the house.  Bean was a bit more skeptical.  She is at the young end of the club and things weren’t falling in place as easily for her as they were for Bug, who is both older and more agile.  But we have beenKitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-87826646001000476422013-01-31T13:22:00.001-06:002013-01-31T13:23:32.865-06:00Game DayWe are loving going to game day with our local homeschool group. We meet at a library meeting room or a cafe and bring our favorite games to share with our friends and hang out for a couple of hours. It isn't as effective as park day in getting the wiggles out, but we sure wouldn't pass up an opportunity to hang out with friends. Even if we have to remember to share the space with others and keepKitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-38834518916796787752013-01-22T15:58:00.002-06:002013-01-22T15:58:52.857-06:00Crystals
With temperatures yesterday topping out at a balmy 11°F (and that was at midnight, it just fell from there), we've been thinking about snow and ice. We had tried making ice marbles once earlier this winter, but it didn't go well. We got our water balloons food colored and set out and two of the four froze overnight, but by the time we went out to take the balloons off, it had warmed Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-84761950295895468272012-09-14T15:40:00.001-05:002013-04-24T17:10:59.228-05:00Taking advantageOne of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is having the flexibility to take advantage of gorgeous weather when it comes. Today is sunny and clear. It's warm in the sun and cool in the shade. Just about perfect. So we started with the library after lunch, where Mr. Beeb got a shiny new library card (in our family, the magic age is five though the library will issue cards earlier). Next, we Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-10794840166870113352012-09-13T17:25:00.001-05:002012-09-13T17:28:35.083-05:00New...residents? employees? pets?Last night, I scurried up to Madison for a class at Olbrich Botanical Garden about Vermicomposting. It was an interesting class. She demonstrated setting up a worm bin using a small storage container and talked about caring for and maintaining the worms and bin, as well as finding supplies around town. With her description, it would have been quite straightforward to get the parts together andKitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-82947251138312986922012-05-25T18:12:00.001-05:002012-05-25T18:12:54.733-05:00Chaos and Mayhem on a BudgetThe kids have long been fond of swinging any sorts of sticks at each other for, well, pretty much as long as they could hold them in their tiny little hands.  The most recent incarnation has been pseudo-martial arts and fencing using broom and mop sticks.  After a few too many stray whacks and the resulting dramas, I decided we needed something softer.  I had seen swords and such Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-52446878953006837582012-05-06T19:21:00.001-05:002013-04-24T17:11:46.368-05:00Homeschooling ConferenceThe beginning of May brings the WPA Homeschooling Conference.  This has become an annual trek to Oshkosh for our family.  I think that this was our fifth year going.  They have hands-on workshops that the kids enjoy and sit-and-listen talks for the grown ups.  There is a wide variety of people ranging from people just starting to think about homeschooling to folks that have Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-45861750802636475162012-04-18T06:13:00.000-05:002012-04-18T06:13:00.028-05:00Tempus fugit!One of the fun things about unschooling is that we don’t have a set schedule or a list of tasks that need to be done at any given place or time.  If something comes up, we can run with it.  Last weekend Miss Bean and I were reading a book that was talking about a park with a sundial.  She asked what a sundial is and we looked it up on Wikipedia and found some pictures of sundials.&Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-30321535896271066712012-04-17T14:50:00.001-05:002012-04-17T14:50:51.668-05:00Wildlife, Part Two: Ants in our PantsMr. Beeb is our resident bug boy.  Last summer, when we would go pick up our CSA veggies, Beeb would be on his belly on the slab of concrete in front of the barn.  There were some anthills in the cracks and Beeb would put his hands in front of the ants so they could climb up on his arms.  By the time I was done collecting veggies, he would be covered in ants and transfixed watchingKitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27336716.post-36660903370662829392012-03-30T16:13:00.001-05:002012-03-30T16:15:03.073-05:00Wildlife, Part One: Neigh, I sayMiss Bean has been obsessing about horses for about as long as she has been able to obsess.  I have to admit, that I didn’t quite understand the whole concept.  My entire history with horses goes something like this.  Hmmm, horses are kinda pretty.  Yeah, I guess it looks like fun riding them.  And that was pretty much the extent of it until I went to a week long camp in Kitty Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15317748778908267428noreply@blogger.com1