I'm going to backtrack through the last few days to try and catch myself, and whoever out there may be inter-ested, up on what's been going on here.
Today we did our music and art co-op. I did a small lesson on Rimsky-Korsokov's Scheherazade. Don't recognize it? Well I could just pretend I'm ever so much more worldly than any of you, but of course I'm not. :) I've never heard of it before this weekend! My friend and I chose to teach following the Artist and Composer schedule from http://www.amblesideonline.org/ We are doing a few weeks of study about the artist Leonardo Da Vinci and Russian nationalist composers. They don't exactly go hand in hand, but I am a stickler for following plans laid out before me, especially within a curriculum that I have chosen. So, there we are. It was amazing to watch Philip today. After the short lesson, we had the kids just let their hands hold pencils or crayons & just doodle over paper while listening to Sheherazade (which is the story of a king from persia who was lulled from anger toward, mistrust of, and killing of all women, to loving Scheherazade for her beautiful storytelling abilities, which include 1001 Arabian Nights.) Well Philip and Tyler really got into that! Tyler was calm, focused and serious, as is usual. He ended up with some stream-of-consciousness art and then a full picture of a king holding a sword, with slain bodies nearby and a castle and trees. Philip was really into the "feelings" of the music, letting his face portray what he thought you should feel at thedifferent parts, drawing lightly and softly across the page for the beautiful parts and bearing down hard and scrunching up his face for the angry horns that were the king's theme. It was awesome to watch that process, to be a part of it. This is why I homeschool. Or at least, one of the many millions of reasons!
After "school," we drove down to a local farmer's market where Philip surprised himself by finding a dollar in his pocket. Ah, more homeschooling. He purchased 3 bananas and was amazed at the .30 he got back! I had never seen this farmer's market before and intend to go back soon. Cucumbers were 3/$1.00 and the tomatoes just looked absolutely scrumptious! Next time I'll have to remember to bring cash, and enough for all 3 kids too. Tyler was not happy at having to eat something Philip bought instead of enjoying his own sweet purchases. Such is the lot of my middle child!
Speaking of farmer's markets, we got to tour a local farm owned by some friend's on Saturday evening. This was something the owners were putting on for their shareholders and others who were interested in how things work on a local, organic farm. http://www.fiveleavesfarm.com/. It was quite interesting. I have always loved the symmetry and seeming perfection of farm fields. This one was particularly beautiful though. The section we toured was done in almost semicircles on a hill. It reminded me of an amphitheatre, except as you travel down the hill, the rows smile upward instead of frowning down. The kids (mine and their friends, who were also there) really enjoyed each others company, and the adults got some good food and music and relaxing down time. It was a rather nice evening. Thanks Kristen and Ben!
Far from relaxing and just hanging out, Friday was our tie-dying day! While we weren't relaxing, we were certainly having a bright and fun-filled day! That is, in between a shout or two every so often to make sure the kids, who were supposed to be actually participating but mostly weren't (they did help with the acutally dyeing of their clothes!), were ok doing whatever they were doing, most likely pokemon card trading and video games; except the littlest one, who was unbeknownst to himself or I, getting into trouble! Ah well, such is the life of an independent 3rd child. The other night, I spent upwards of an hour describing our beautifully designed t-shirts, how they each were different in color and striping or spirals, etc., etc. I'm sorry for you if you don't live near me, because you won't get that description tonight, I just don't have it in me. I lost it when I clicked away from this journal to copy and paste a link in here. You'll have to know me and see us wearing them, or pitch in to help me purchase a new digital camera. Hint, hint. Hehe. :) All said and done, it was a nice day, ending with a very varied dinner and then a dip in the hot tub of my friends Dawn and Chris, who hosted the tie-dyeing event this year. Thanks Dawn! Or at least, the make up one, as we missed the first one that was hosted by Heather and has been hosted by her at least once a year for at least as long as I've lived here. Boy Heather, we had no clue before Friday exactly how much time and energy it took to prepare all the colors and fixer! And never mind prep work, what do you do with all the left over dye and fixer? We ended up trying to pour fixer from a large container through a funnel into small gallon jugs. Hahah! Quite a fun time of cleaning up we had there! I just hope the grass isn't dead. And now we are sure of it, everything needs to be prepared the night before. (Winking at Dawn!) If you're ever interested in getting a group together for tie-dyeing or need lots of plain white clothes (who knows what crazies are reading this, haha!), check out the website of the company we usually order from: www.dharmatrading.com/clothing/ They give really good discounts depending on the quantities of what you order.
Well that's pretty much my last 4 days. I also wanted to let you know that there is a memorial fund set up for Jason and Kelly's baby through their local church. If you'd like to donate, just send it to the information provided below:
BABY DEEN
Contributions may be made out to:
Lake Murray Presbyterian Church
"Baby Deen Trust Fund"
2711 Dutch Fork Road Chapin, SC 29036
Baby Deen is expected to arrive in November!!
That is copied directly from his memorial site, which you can reach at:
http://www.jasondeen.memory-of.com/legacy.aspx
As you can see, I have become a pro at getting links here w/out losing everything!
Well, I am off to relax and watch some t.v. and knit. Enjoy your day or night or whatever it is for you!
Oh, one more link in case I haven't linked you before:
http://www.dropshots.com/TraceeC
Love and Peace and Hugs,
Tracee :)
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