quill & ink

we have been studying early America for the past few months

one of the projects we were presented with was making our own ink from berries

and writing with a feather

(just like they did for writing the Declaration of Independence,

they may not have used berries)

it was so cool the kids really got into it

it worked really well

they all loved it

and so did I

Exploration Day::Woodward Park Field Trip

the kids are scoping out the creek that runs through Woodward Park (near the Japanese Garden)

even Karlie go to come

Cohl is mid-jump across the creek

they had a great time IN the creek

we talked about water flow

did a rub of leaves we found

and did a few sketches of what we saw

we followed the creek all the way through the park to the "lake"

{a fun time had by all}

some school projects

with our curriculum we have done some really fun projects so far

we made butter while studying the pioneers from Holland that came to North America

we discovered that adding salt to water can make thing float

we learned about the first explorations of North America and these famous ships

we are having so much fun and look forward to what's next

Off to a GREAT start!!!

{we are starting our third week of school but I wanted to share this funny story

from a few weeks ago}

such a funny story...we are doing homeschool again this year and I threw the idea out that, "wouldn't it be funny to have uniforms..."

...well Kirra though that was a great idea and decided that her "First day of school" outfit was going to be a uniform. So of course Jenna wanted exactly what Kirra had and we just dressed Cohl with what he already had for the cute picture.

{so here is our crew, dog and all}

I guess she is our mascot :)

Margaret Hudson Field Trip

this is Kirra soaking up each word Margaret says when she first steps out

to meet with our group

i organized a field trip to Margaret Hudson's home and studio. it was by far our best field trip yet. I was so impressed that first of all we were at her private residence and were given a two hour tour and art lesson by her. she is about 90 years old and

does an amazing job with the kids.

she explained this painting as one she did when she woke up in a bad mood. she asked the kids what they did when they were in a bad mood, if they thought they would get in trouble for it and then gave them the idea to paint or draw when they feel like that and see what comes of it...instead of, let's say, hit their brother.

what a good alternative

these are her amazing, huge paintings. I never knew she also painted.

these are all amazing in person

here she is showing the kids how to make a print and explained that if she made 30 prints of this and handed one out to each kid that they are all unique so there would be 30 outcomes

even in her old age she is active

here she is explaining something having to do with baseball

a rose was picked from her garden the day before, she sketched it

then each child got to go up and use chalk pastels to add their own color to the flower

Cohl is there in the middle in the dark grey shirt

Kirra is in the purple tank top

Jenna, alone, last because she had a bad fall the day before and scraped her knee so I had to carry her that whole trip

then...Margaret signed it and we got to take it home

[what a treat}

the field trip continued to her gardens and outside amphitheater where each child got a demo from her and then their very own piece of clay to mold

what a great day!