Art History: Oaxacan Woodcarving

I was excited to introduce the kids to something close to my heart, Alebrejas. I have been collecting these beautiful painted carvings for about 10 years. I took in my collection so they could hold them and touch them rather than look at pictures of them. You would have thought it was Christmas or fireworks were going off, "OOOHHH AHHHHH". They each got to hold their favorite while I read the beautiful book Dream Carver.

I created basic paper shapes for the children to draw their patterns on or they could create their own shape. They had gel pens and markers to draw with... of course the gel pens were the most popular.

Art History: Matisse Paper Cuts

To add variety to our medium, We studied Matisse's Paper Cuts this week. As Matisse aged, he "painted" with the colored paper. The children enjoyed hearing how he adapted his art as his eye site and health decreased. He did not give it up, he just discovered new ways to create. A great lesson in itself. We read and looked through 3 books; A Bird or Two: A Story about Henri Matisse, Henri Matisse: Drawing with Scissors, and Matisse; Cut-Out Fun with Matisse. The children also had fun trying to guess the titles of some of his simpler pieces.

The children had more trouble starting this project than any of the others. It suprised me. I thought it would be the easiest... cut out some shapes and glue them on the base paper. After a few minutes they finally dug in and started creating. We just used scissors, glue, and colored paper.

Art History: Cave Drawings

One of the children's favorite Coop lessons this session was Cave Drawings. They were amazed by the size and wondered as to their creation. Were the drawings a history? Were the drawings their wishes and hopes for the hunt? We looked at Painters of the Caves. I was also going to read Maria De Sautuola: Discoverer of the Bulls in the Cave but ran out of time.

The children created their own drawings on paper grocery sacks with charcoal and pastels. I sprayed them with cheap hairspray when they finished to keep them from smearing.

Art History: John James Audubon

This weeks Coop class was about John James Audubon. We read The Boy Who Drew Birds and learned 2 things. One, John drew everyday and on his birthday every year he would burn all of his work because none, he felt, was good enough to keep. Two, Audubon was the first to tag birds to see if they returned to their nesting grounds. The kids were fascinated. They really enjoyed looking at his work.

Our hands on project was a watercolor pencil painting of a bird. We did a few step by step bird drawings on white boards before taking to the watercolor paper.

Art History: Totems

This semester my Hands on Art History Class focused on pieces that contained animals. This week we looked at Totem Poles.

We discussed how they are often like a family tree and that the animals show characteristics of the family members. I showed them many examples from the web and we glanced through the book Totem Pole.

The children created their own animal to add to our class totem. They were created from soup cans which were covered in brown paper. We then drilled a hole in the bottom and threaded them onto a dowel rod to stabilize them.

Books: Charlie Bone

G & I wanted to share a new favorite series with you: Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo.
Charlie Bone is a Fantasy Series of 8 books which takes place in modern times but is effected by an ancestor, the Red King, from the 12th Century. Many of the main characters are descendants of this magical Red King and have their own magical powers. Charlie, like another British, fatherless, boarding schooler we all know (HP), seems to attract trouble like a magnet and his "endowed" friends are there to help him out, if sometimes reluctantly. But those are the only similarities Charlie and Harry share. I don't even know how to describe them without resorting to plot summaries. We just love them! Magic, mystery, suspense, good vs evil, friendship, family.....

Both G and I find this series gripping and think it would make a great movie... if done right. I even have some casting ideas in my head,if any people in the know would like to hear. giggle

So if you are looking for a new series to dive into we suggest The Children of the Red King Series aka Charlie Bone. pssst Book 8 doesn't come out until May in the US. I am considering buying the British copy. So if you speed through them like we did you will have to wait for the ending.

Here is the author Jenny Nimmo setting up book 5 the Hidden King.

Missing Teen

The family of one of my cousin's friends is missing a 13 year old girl. Because she left on her own, authorities have categorized her as a runaway and would not issue an Amber Alert. And because the police did not call, local TV stations would not cover it. She left with an adult, Hispanic male. Today, 23rd, she was finally upgraded to "endangered".

Magan Adineh-Kharat she is 13 years old and has been missing since Friday 2-19-2010 at 3 or 4 a.m She was last seen wearing a green sweater and bluejeans at the Little Rock Airport. We believe she is with a much older (23-30) year old Hispanic man she met on the internet. Any information rearding her whereabouts can be sent here or to BringMaganHome@yahoo.com
Call above numbers or 501-231-5874, 501-231-1436

TV School- Science

We have watched some amazing science shows this week on TV. I just had to share incase you can catch them on replay.


Raw Anatomy: Inside the Elephant (National Geographic Channel)
We were mesmerized!


Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air (Nature/ PBS)
Slow motion is amazing!


(On DVR) Building Pharaoh's Ship (Nova/ PBS)


ANTS- Nature's Secret Power (The Science Channel)