I am delighted to share my love of art with my children as we make artistic exploration a priority in our homeschool. Please join me each Friday as I post the latest addition to our art journals. I share easy ideas to incorporate art into your family culture. You don't need to be a homeschooling family to spend time making art together!
This week we learned about Vasily Kandinsky, the Russian abstract artist. First we read a delightful book called The Noisy Paint Box. I love the way picture books gently introduce a topic, so we use them often. This book has gorgeous illustrations and shares Kandinsky's story in a relatable way. It describes so well the reaction of the general public and Kandinsky's instructors to his artwork:
"Is it a house?""Is it a flower?""What's it supposed to BE?", his teachers asked.
We briefly (like 1-2 minutes) discussed the book and the difference in the art Kandinsky was trying to create. He wanted his paintings to make you feel something, not just be a reproduction of something he saw. And then we got to work.
I turned on some music and set out the paint and paintbrushes. We used a small, and probably very old, set of acrylic polymer paints that my husband picked up for me secondhand from our local university. (If you have a university close by you should find out if they have a surplus sale. We've purchased a number of very cheap and high quality art supplies there).
We painted how the music made us feel. While my kids are creating I try to offer very little help or commentary on their work. This is not a time for critique. We did talk about our artwork a little bit as we made it, mostly just pointing out what we liked about the paintings.
I also try to ask the kids questions about the book we read, sort of an informal narration, so I can make sure they understood and absorbed a little bit of what we read. This is not a quiz or a test, by any means. Just a little bit of guided conversation centered around what we read.
All in all this took us about 30 minutes, and if the baby had kept sleeping we'd probably have continued painting for a while. But paint plus a very destructive 16 month old do not mix.
Does your family make art together? What have you created lately?
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.
Elijah: I often put him in the dry bathtub while I get ready in the morning, or tidy up whatever huge mess he's just made in the bathroom. That may not last much longer, since this week he learned how to turn on the water just a little bit. I didn't notice he'd done so until I heard him say, "Mmm...dood (good)." I glanced over to find him patiently waiting to catch drops of water in his mouth. They were apparently very dood.
Ellie: My mini-me and I are very close to the same shoe size. I have mixed feelings about the whole situation: How could I possibly have a daughter with the same size feet as mine?...Yay! Now we can both double our shoe collections without spending more money!...Do I really want to wear a 10 year olds' shoes?...
Ethan: This boy is so glad it's warmer outside. Time for Frisbee with Daddy, soccer season will be ramping up soon and many hours have already been spent outside with friends. Photo taken just as he caught a pass from Jason.
Faith is knowing the sun will rise, lighting each new day.
Faith is knowing the Lord will hear my prayers each time I pray.
Faith is like a little seed:
If planted, it will grow.
Faith is a swelling within my heart.
When I do right, I know.
I love the image of my faith being like a seed: a tiny, seemingly insignificant thing which is packed with limitless power. If we cultivate our faith, it has the potential to grow into a gigantic tree, or even move mountains. Christ said:
If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matt 17:20)
That verse is inspiring and humbling at the same time. Do I really believe that my faith could move mountains? Honestly I'm not sure I do, but I am working on it. And the multitude of miracles I've experienced in my life have helped me to see that trusting in my Heavenly Father is leading to a deep and abiding faith in Him.
I drew this little tree as part of my creative habits challenge and then decided I'd love to put a copy of it in my journal. Which made me think that you might also like a copy.
This free printable would be a fun addition to your scripture journal for a study of faith, or you could print a copy for your kiddos to color during church or the upcoming General Conference.
When I received a review copy of Halo Found Hope, I had no idea what a chord this book would strike with me.
Halo Found Hope is the story of Heloise Matzelle, a young, healthy wife and mother who was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. The book chronicles her diagnosis, treatment and recovery and the powerful faith she developed through this monumental trial.
As I was reading, I couldn't help but remember my own beautiful Grandmother who faced a strikingly similar health crises. She had a benign brain tumor removed when my mother was very young and then, years later, it returned again. Twice. The final tumor was declared inoperable and our family could only watch as her health declined. This beautiful, brilliant, vibrant woman was in a body that could not function the way she desired but she still managed to spread hope and love and joy to all within her sphere.
I loved reading Helo's story because not only was it inspirational, but it also helped me to understand and appreciate what my sweet grandma faced. It is not the most well-written memoir I've read, but I am grateful for the glimpse she provided into a dark and frightening time for herself and her family.
Helo's real-life examples of serving others in the midst of her trial were a reminder to me to slow down and actively notice those around me. Everyone has a story, everyone needs uplifting at one time or another. She reminded me to focus on how I can share hope through small and simple means with the people I come into contact with.
It's spring time which means General Conference will be here before we know it. Seventeen LDS Bloggers are joining me to share a few of our favorite things. We are so excited to be giving away over $400 in prizes. It's been a treat to work with so many talented women to spoil our readers with products that strengthen the family and make our lives a little easier, too. We as bloggers are so thankful for you - our readers! Thank you for your encouragement, comments, and time that you take out of your busy day to check in with us. We appreciate how you #sharethegood with us and hopefully we can share some with you as well! Meet the bloggers who are taking part in this giveaway:
Now for the giveaway! If you are anything like me, your wish list for Deseret Book is a mile long! We are excited to send two of you some fun money to spend there. We hope you love the recipes from the Six Sisters as much as we do and that Nicole Carpenter's 5-minute messages will make family devotional more manageable! From bulking up your food storage with Thrive to the cutest projects by Fizzy Pops - there are so many wonderful prizes. Check them out and ENTER TO WIN below! There are TWO rafflecopters so be sure to enter each one!
The winner will be announced and e-mailed April 2. We've compiled a few of our favorite General Conference Activities, Recipes, and Ideas. Comment with your favorite traditions or add a link below!
I am delighted to share my love of art with my children as we make artistic exploration a priority in our homeschool. Please join me each Friday as I post the latest addition to our art journals. I share easy ideas to incorporate art into your family culture.
This week we learned about Jackson Pollock and abstract expressionism.
Supplies:
Tempera Paint Muffin Tin Art Journals or Heavy Paper Large Popsicle Sticks
We began by reading Action Jackson. I love using picture books as a gentle introduction to topics and the lives of important people. We briefly discussed how Pollock's artwork made us feel and speculated on what he was feeling as he created it.
We then went outside to do the actual project. Paint-flinging is not an indoor project for us :) We placed our journals on an old towel because the grass was a little wet. I then squirted some tempera paint into a small muffin tin and placed one popsicle stick in each color.
I went first and modeled a few different paint-flinging techniques, and then each of the kids took a turn.
As you can imagine, this experience was quite a hit. We all loved experimenting with the various colors and the splattering shapes we created. Note: these took quite a while to dry since some of the blobs were pretty thick. We left our books outside for most of the day before they were done drying.
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.
These two can be so fun together, and then very suddenly very not fun at all. I'm crossing my fingers for more of the fun this week as we head into Spring Break.
Elijah loves to be outside. I found him one chilly morning watching through the open front door as the big kids played in the yard. He wanted desperately to be with them, but did not want to go out in his insufficient attire.
I have received such a great response from my LDS General Conference Doodle Journal that I decided to offer a mini-version for FREE. This journal is intended for teens and adults who want to take notes as they listen to Conference. It's not a coloring packet intended to keep little hands busy for a few minutes, but a resource to help you record insights and inspiration.
The free version includes:
* 7 pages * Two Favorite Quotes pages * The Doodle Topics page * Doodle boxes for each member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve * Extra doodle boxes for you to fill in additional speakers' names. (color in the pictures as you listen to General Conference
Scripture journaling is a very effective way for me to gain greater insight into the verses I am studying. As a visual learner, I do not grasp information well if I just read it or just listen to it. I understand a concept much better if I can sketch out (whether on paper or in my head) how its various parts are related.
This is especially true with passages such as The Parable of the Sower. If I just read those words, they are a jumble. But if I can put them down on paper the image is clarified and cemented in my mind.
Because I know it can be difficult to jump into journaling of this type, I want to provide a little boost for those of you who may just be getting started. Download the journal page here.
I have been planning to share this scripture page with you for a couple of weeks now, but how fitting that Elder Oaks talked about this very parable in General Conference over the weekend. I can't wait to go back to my page and add in more inspired insights!
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.
These images come from our annual extended family Easter egg hunt. Ethan was delighted to run around with cousins for hours and the egg hunt was just the icing on the cake.
Eljijah caught on quickly to the concept, he was delighted to find little treats inside, tossed the stickers and/or coins aside and then tried to steal everyone else's candy. (Those eyelashes!)
Life is tough for Ellie when her Daddy is in charge of hiding the eggs. One was placed atop the volleyball net uprights. She asked me for help, which I tried and was unable to give (being not all that much taller than she is myself). A loving uncle came to the rescue and all was well, though I'm told he required a small tax later, payable in candy.
I am delighted to share my love of art with my children as we make artistic exploration a priority in our homeschool. Please join me each Friday as I post the latest addition to our art journals. I share easy ideas to incorporate making art into your family culture.
I have been experimenting with doodling and zentangle as part of my Year of Creative Habits challenge. It's been so addictive for me, and I couldn't wait to share it with my kids.
What is zentangle?
Zentangle is basically the practice of drawing beautiful images through patterns. These pieces of art can be incredibly elaborate or beautifully simple. As my kids and I are just starting out in our practice of "tangling", we started with very simple patterns.
Supplies
Art journals
Sharpies or drawing pens
Round stencil round item to trace
We started by drawing several overlapping circles in our art journals, using a ceramic jar as a guide. We used regular sharpies for these drawings in order to simplify the process. I wanted to eliminate bickering over pens and the need to make decisions about colors, pen sizes, etc. But if I were doing this on my own, I would definitely have used my nicer pens in a variety of sizes.
Each section of the circles was filled with a different pattern. Arches, swirls, dots and lines in different directions. Detailed work like this is a almost a meditative experience for me, and I found that to be true for my kids also.
I began my drawing first so they could understand the project. Then they began their own designs and we worked quietly alongside each other as we filled in the sections.
We talked about what we liked about each of our drawings for a few minutes . Both kids wanted to do something like this again, so we will definitely be experimenting more with zentangle.
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.
Elijah: The boys loves slides. As soon as he gets to the bottom he immediately requests "more". Ellie: My little mini-me. Ethan: He has perfect soccer hair, no? Soccer season started this week and he's more in love with the sport than ever. So fun to watch!
I have been having so much fun creating LDS primary music leader flipcharts! These have been so helpful as I am teaching songs to the children in our congregation and I've heard that many of you love them too. Thank you for your kind words! It's such an encouragement to me to keep designing these to share with you.
These flipcharts would be great coloring pages for your kids, too. and could help them memorize the words to primary songs. I hope you enjoy them! As always, feel free to make requests for songs that are in the LDS Hymnbook, the Children's Songbook or those that have been published in church magazines and I will design and share them asap.
As I've been slowly working my way through the year, doodling and drawing each day, I've noticed a theme emerging: nature and love. One of my best selling embroidery patterns is this very simple tree. I didn't think it would do well because, honestly it's just a bunch of vertical lines. But that is my most-purchased pattern.
One day a couple of months ago I sketched this more elaborate version of a Love Tree and I knew immediately that it would need to be an embroidery pattern. I loved sketching this tree, but embroidering it was even more fun.
I used long and short stitch in 4 different colors of brown to fill in the body of the tree and I loved watching how it came together. Swirls and hearts, I tell you. They make me happy.
I had never read this book before reading it with my kids for our parent/child book club. I must say that it was not at all what I was expecting. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I felt like I didn't love the book as much as I was planning to. It's a modern classic, after all. My kids loved it and I enjoyed it because they did, but overall I was not all that impressed. One of our favorite lines of any read aloud came from this book,
“If you have some liniment I’ll put it on my dignity,” Mrs Whatsit said, still supine. “I think it’s sprained...Have you ever tried to get to your feet with a sprained dignity?”
After we read this aloud, I found the graphic novel at our library. My 10 year old loved it! She usually doesn't share my affinity for graphic novels.
I heard this book described as a mixture of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, for adults. It's a pretty fitting description. Atticus O'Sullivan, a 2100 year old Druid (who looks like he's in his early twenties), is try to live a simple life and run an occult bookshop. He becomes entangled in some messy business involving a magical sword, Celtic Gods, a Hindu witch, a team of werewolf and vampire attorneys, a goddess and a coven of witches. The book is witty and fun. It also includes a few steamy scenes and some language, if you were wondering. I listened to the audiobook version read by Luke Daniels who is an incredible narrator. His voice for Atticus's dog is reason alone to listen to this book.
This is outside my normal reading niche, but I still found in enjoyable. I'm not rushing out to get a hold of the other 8 books in the series, though.
This book resonated with me from beginning to end. I appreciated the reminder that I am loved, just as I am by my Heavenly Father with no need to win his approval or acceptance. Jennifer Dukes Lee writes in a personal and personable manner and shares insights gained on her own journey to feel God's love and acceptance and not dwell on pleasing others or comparing herself to the successes (and failures) of those around her. It reminded me of this quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
Do you suppose it matters to our Heavenly Father whether your makeup, clothes, hair, and nails are perfect? Do you think your value to Him changes based on how many followers you have on Instagram or Pinterest? Do you think He wants you to worry or get depressed if some un-friend or un-follow you on Facebook or Twitter? Do you think outward attractiveness, your dress size, or popularity make the slightest difference in your worth to the One who created the universe?
He loves you not only for who you are this very day but also for the person of glory and light you have the potential and the desire to become.
This is a journey I have been on for my whole life, and one I hope to be able to leave behind me, at least to some extent. Reading Love Idol was about 50 steps in the right direction.
This gripping memoir was dictated letter by letter by Jean-Dominique Bauby after he suffered a stroke which left his entire body paralyzed, except for his left eye. He blinked this eye in order to communicate. He tells his story in a beautifully frank voice and inspired me with his spirit and perseverance.
This tome has been on my to-read list for years. I finally listened to it this month for one of my book clubs. It's a wonderful Victorian-era detective story and one of the very first novels told from the perspective of multiple narrators. Characters were well-developed and though the book is long and includes much detail, all the moving parts and pieces made it very interesting all the way through. Though I still wish the love story had ended differently (I suppose that's my non-Victorian woman side coming through) I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.
Elijah: Adores his Daddy and greets him enthusiastically at the door when Jason returns from work, shrieking, "Daddy! Daddy!". Cutest thing ever.
Ellie: Went on her first full-day choir tour this week. She was in heaven.
Ethan: Works out with me most mornings and joins me for a smoothie afterward. This particular morning we also played a variation of Chutes and Ladders of his own design, using bits and pieces from three different games.
I recently finished reading You Learn By Living by Eleanor Roosevelt. I worried I would run out of sticky notes as I was reading this book. It was jam-packed with wisdom that I felt was meant just for me, just for this time of my life. She wrote about everything from educating children to treating others with kindness to following our own path in life.
Gems like:
"Do the things that interest you and do them with all your heart. Don't be concerned about whether people are watching you or criticizing you. The chances are that they aren't paying any attention to you."
"The most unhappy people in the world are those who face the days without knowing what to do with their time. But if you have more projects that you have time for, you are not going to be an unhappy person. This is as much a question of having imagination and curiosity as it is of actually making plans. Things will come to you if you have the interest in the first place."
(Yay! Justification for having WAY more projects than I have time for!)
"A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world all of us need both love and charity."
"It is a major part of maturity to accept not only your own shortcomings but those of people you love, and help them not to fail when you can."
"Because it is easier to say, "I can't" than "I can" or at least "I can try," many people go through life unaware of untapped strength, even untapped ability. They haven't explored their own capabilities. They really don't know where their strength lies."
"If you approach each new person you meet in a spirit of adventure you will find that you become increasingly interested in them and endlessly fascinated by the new channels of thought and experience and personality that you encounter. I do not mean simply the famous people of the world, but people from every walk and condition of life. You will find them a source of inexhaustible surprise because of the unexpected qualities and interests which you will unearth in your search for treasure. But the treasure is there if you will mine for it."
This image of mining for treasure in each person with whom we come into contact is powerful. I certainly don't look at every single person I meet as an "inexhaustible surprise", but Mrs. Roosevelt is right. Every person has a story, every person has something to share if we care to take the time to listen and learn.
These are just my selected favorite quotes, I marked many, many more pages. I finished the book in the way that I do so many new favorites, with a mixture of sadness at reading the last page and the feeling of being buoyed up with enthusiasm to let the words I've read change me. I am inspired to implement Eleanor Roosevelt's words into my life.
What is the most inspiring book you've read lately?
I have been wanting to change up our living room for the past several months. But because that's an intimidating and potentially stressful process, I've been putting it off. I've just received the kick in the pants that I needed in order to get started, thanks to Modify Ink.
Modify Ink is a revolutionary idea for the home decor market. The idea is that you can easily alter artwork to fit your style and color scheme. They have a ton of options available, with more being added all the time. The ability to customize artwork based on your taste is such a fantastic idea. I really wish I'd thought of it. Watch their tutorial here.
I spent a happy afternoon perusing the Modify Ink website, looking for just the right art to base our living room redo on. I finally settled on the Love is a Verb poster. (I'm hoping it will serve as a strong reminder to stop my children from bickering...what do you think?) I changed the colors around until they were exactly what I wanted and anxiously awaited the arrival of the print.
I did have a small glitch in my order, but the customer service at Modify Ink was impeccable. They responded quickly and happily fixed the problem. It was clear that their goal is to give their customers the best experience possible.
I was delighted with the quality of the print when it arrived. As someone who has spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to reproduce artwork, I was incredibly impressed with the results.
I bought a frame on sale at Hobby Lobby and placed the print on our Ikea photo shelves. I now have the starting point on which to base our living room decor, so expect to see some more updates in this space.
By the way, I have a secret dream of submitting some of my own artwork to Modify Ink in the near future. I'll let you know if that happens. :) In the meantime I'll enjoy this customized artwork every time I walk by.
I am delighted to share my love of art with my children as we make artistic exploration a priority in our homeschool. Please join me each Friday as I post the latest addition to our art journals. I share easy ideas to incorporate art into your family culture.
You don't need to be a homeschooling family to spend time making art together!
Supplies:
Art journal
Pencil
Pens/Markers
We began by drawing several simple frames on the page. We then filled each frame with a drawing of something we love. Ideas included: family, friends, books, legos, mashed potatoes and gravy, Christmas, soccer, swimming, art, etc.
I love simple pages like this because it allows me to get a small glimpse into my children's minds. I wasn't surprised by most of their entries, though I'll admit that mashed potatoes and gravy caught me off guard a little bit. Seeing what is truly important to my kids and watching them take the time to document them is a pretty sweet experience.
After we took a few minutes to fill in the frames, we added details and more intricate work. Ellie was really into this page, and spent much longer on hers than Ethan, which is not unusual for a project of this type. I try to encourage them to make their pages the very best they can do, and sometimes a very simple drawing is all they have the interest for. As always, this is not the place for critique, it's a time to experiment and to allow your kids the freedom to create the project they want to create.
A few minutes talking about the details of the pieces is always fun, but of course not required.
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