Eating Out Of Our Hands

Last year Shawn made a ghillie suit. It took him about 6 months to make the whole thing. He began with a camouflage jacket and hat and an old pair of corduroys. There were buckets of various colors of green and brown dye in the garage all summer and fall. He visited Walmart's fabric department over and over again buying yardage of burlap which he would then cut into lengths and unweave into piles of separate threads which he would dye and then in turn tie to the mesh he had sewn to the various articles of clothing. The last steps were trimming, sewing heavier material on the front to protect the fabric while crawling, and dyeing the gloves and shoes. It was quite a time consuming process! The suit is really amazing.

So, what does one do with a ghillie suit if one is not a sniper? One feeds the birds of course! Shawn and Julia put his suit to the test during Christmas break.

It was hard to snap pics because the birds landed so quickly and sometimes in such a great multitude. Shawn often had several birds on and around him at one time. The chickadees and the titmice were not shy at all and landed with amazing frequency on his hands, legs, shoes, head, and back. Then, they would hop into his outspread hands to nibble a safflower seed or two. To them he was some tree or bush. The cardinals were a bit more skittish as usual and would fly in and almost land, but at the last minute they would veer away.

Julia gave it a go too. The only way to tell it is her now is that bunch of hair sticking out the bottom of the head covering.


Getting up-close and personal with so many little feathered friends at one time makes a guy hungry!


It was really a special day.

Just in case you're itching to make one, here are some instructions to get you started. You'd better have a lot of time to kill!!

School's In

From my desk. The mural was painted at the end of last year by five high school students.

It looks like a sufficient amount of space until you try to cram 21 little first grade bodies in there at one time!

Looking toward my desk from the doorway.

The supply corner. The box in front of the shelves is a cave in the making. The middle school is studying art of the stone age and is making the cave to hang their "cave art" in. More pics of this project to follow later.

School began last Wednesday. I am enjoying being back in the classroom again. Since the school is on the small side, I teach art to all of the grade levels, k-12. Also, since the school is small and yet growing, other classes besides art are held in the art room certain days and periods throughout the week. On any given day I may share my small space with Spanish III, 8th grade math, Health, or high school Bible. These few breaks during the week afford me the time needed to put up displays of art work in the hallways and work on organizing the yearbook staff.



The upside to working in a small Christian school is definitely the kids and the Christian environment. They are a nice group of students and they have very active parental support. The downside is the lack of space. My room is small and my supply budget is limited. The nearest sink is across the hall in the girls' bathroom. Also, the days are long with 9 periods plus yearbook after school hours. We won't go there with the pay situation...but suffice it to say that I have taken a pay cut from my public school teaching job of twenty years ago. All that said, I am enjoying it and look forward to each new day. My head is full of project ideas and my heart is full of caring for these wonderful kids and their families.



While I am enjoying focusing on art alone, I am finding I miss teaching all of the different subjects a homeschool mom has to cover. Where is literature and science, history and math? I am certainly glad I had the opportunity to learn right along with my kids as they worked their way through our homeschool. Shawn is homeschooling history still this year, but he is doing it independently. I may sit down to watch a lecture or two with him, but he has ownership of the course. It is not "mom lead". I have always loved learning and the homeschooling environment suited me. I will always be a learner, always curious about that which I don't already know. Now I can look back on homeschooling with nostalgia, but forge ahead towards recapturing my true vocation of teaching art. How wonderful to have been blessed with both.



Shawn and Julia are both doing really well in their courses at the community college. I am so proud of them. Julia is working on a transfer application now. She is looking at Cornell as a transfer school and wants to apply early for next year. It's a good thing I went back to work when I did. Although it will be significantly smaller than Earle's paycheck, mine will become quite necessary soon.

First Day of School

Remember when you first went to kindergarten and mom and dad had you smile and pose while you stood at the bus stop in your new school clothes and name tag? For us homeschoolers, sometimes leaving the house for the first day of school comes a little later.

I couldn't help but snap this pic of Shawn this morning as he sat waiting for Julia to finish doing her hair so they could leave together for the first day of classes at the community college. I also couldn't help but be a little anxious for them. It is Shawn's first classroom experience since third grade when we decided to homeschool, and it is Julia's hardest year yet with all upper level classes with scary names like Organic Chemistry and tutor and lab assistant responsibilities. Yikes. It's enough to make a mom's skin crawl.

I know they'll do well. They are such good kids. I am proud of them both and wish them well today. This momma can't wait until they come home from the first day of school to tell her all about it.

Chain Maille

What does a crafty teen who has just visited the Renaissance Festival do with her last weeks before college begins? She picks up and masters a new hobby, of course.

Julia and her friends were intrigued by the chain maille for sale at the Renaissance Fair. She bought a small bracelet that drapes over the hand in a "V" and loops around the middle finger. It was an innocent enough purchase at first. Now, she is hooked. Now, there are bags of jump rings littering every horizontal surface in the house and pliers lain askew on place mats and coffee tables. And, there is a young lady, her eyes glued to a laptop monitor in front of her, pliers in both hands, who wrestles these stainless jump rings into all kinds of intricate patterns and beautiful weavings. We have a chain maille junkie on our hands!

Seriously though, the jewelry she is making is quite lovely. When one thinks of chain maille, if they are like me, they think of chunky suits worn by knights to protect them from glancing sword blows. But, this craft has grown to be much more. There are so many different fancy "weaves" and patterns that have crossed over from chain maille's once strictly utilitarian purpose to resemble something of art.

Julia has become so intrigued with this process and so proficient at her new craft that she is even considering selling her work, which I might add goes for a pretty penny online. Bravo to her for teaching herself this wonderful pastime and creative outlet.

My kids' creativity and ability to look up how to do something and then do it and do it well never ceases to amaze me.

Wordless Wednesday

Sibling Ticklefest 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Updates

The deck is ready for summer

The view from the deck overlooking the valley and hills beyond

Some early flowers near the deck

Spinach, radishes, sunflowers, and lettuce planted

Did you miss me? I've been outside, a lot. After we cleaned the deck furniture we tilled and planted the garden with the veggie seeds that tolerate cool conditions. I still have to plant herbs in my pots, veggies that we grow from seedlings instead of seeds (tomatoes and peppers), and annuals for the deck planters, but it is a little too early to do that still.

Tomorrow we are expecting visitors from out of state again. This time Earle's sister and her husband are stopping to see us as they travel back to Maine from spending time in Pennsylvania with their daughter and her family. We are excited to see them. It will be their first time visiting our new home!

Shawn has been working a lot of hours at Target. Last week, between his scheduled hours and the extra hours they called him in, he worked 30 hours. He's raking in the bucks! Target is a great store to work for. He really enjoys the environment and the other employees are great. They have an incentive program where managers give out cards to you when they see you doing a good job, then you post your cards on a bulletin board in the back and each week they put them in a pot and draw a name for a free cd. He hasn't won anything yet, but he sure is gathering his share of cards!

Next week he takes the placement test at the local community college and then he'll be able to sign up for courses for the fall. Then, next Saturday is the SAT exam. We have a lot of work to do still before the end of the year and seem to be ramping back up after a winter slowdown. We are contemplating continuing to school over the summer. I would like to cover a short course in British Lit so he doesn't have to double up on English credits in the fall. The courses he will most likely take at the Community College are English and math.


I am putting together and order from The Teaching Company. I received a $30 coupon from them in the mail yesterday along with three new catalogs. I am ordering Early and Late Middle Ages as they are on sale now. I will have to order High Middle Ages when it goes on sale another time. Shawn will be using these as a spine for history study next year along with the recommended text(s). Since I needed to spend just a bit more in order to use the coupon, we are also ordering My Favorite Universe, which we will all enjoy very much! Shawn and I are making our way through Art Across the Ages right now and we think it's great! I am also investigating physics courses for next year. Our faulty start with Chem this year will not deter us from plowing ahead next year with physics. One does not need to precede the other.


Julia is all signed up for her fall courses. On her agenda: Organic Chem I, Creative Writing: Fiction and Drama, Western Civilization, and Ecology. she will be carrying 15 credits, tutoring for bio and chem again, and working as a chem lab assistant. She could be done and ready to move on to a transfer school after next semester if they were offering the programming course she needs for her major, but her professors aren't upset that she's staying the year. They are glad to have her help in the labs!


It looks like Julia will be going back to Kohl's to work over the summer and she may even fit in some riding lessons. That is all after her trip to Germany with Earle in May. She is so excited to finally get to go! They are even planning to catch an air show in Berlin while they are there. She will be the only one of us to go in the warm weather as opposed to Christmas time.


Earle is off to Taiwan and Germany soon. His pics from his last trip to Germany are up at his blog. He got some great shots, as always and ate some very interesting food! Have you ever had veal cheek? Our photo themes are taking longer than expected due to the yucky weather and the fact that the camera travels with Earle. It will be leaving the country for two weeks this time. Flying objects is just about wrapped up though!


A warm welcome to Meridith, another of my nieces, to the blogisphere! It's always good to see another family member join in the fun. I am looking forward to reading about her adventures. I think it's your turn now, Bev. Meridith's sister Vanessa is off on an adventure soon, check out her blog to see where! It is very exciting and I am very jealous!!


Wow, I think I've covered most things. I haven't had time to do much reading or painting, but hope to get back to that soon as things settle down. We took a lovely walk in the woods in back of our property today and discovered a nice slate filled stream and mini gorge. I will post pics of that another day.

Wordless Wednesday

The many faces of Julia

Julia's Art

"The Ice Queen"

"Serenity"

"Wolf in Clouds"

"Valadil"

"Tuck"

My daughter, Julia is an artist in her own right. I thought I'd highlight some of her photomanipulations today. She uses Adobe photoshop and a Wacom drawing tablet. Her finished pieces have so many layers and textures and such fine detail added, I don't know how she keeps track of it all! I think her work is dreamy and thought-provoking. I hope you enjoy it as well.

To see more of Julia's photomanipulations, visit her online gallery here: Ezrill

The Chess Set

One of my blog readers requested more pictures of the polymer clay chess set my son made when was in 7th grade. She would like to delve into polymer clay with her kids. We used to have polymer clay spread across the table for weeks on end, so my son was quite familiar with working with clay when he made this set. Having always been a big history fan, he chose the Greeks and the Barbarians as the theme for the two opposing sides.

The clay he used was Sculpey III. After it was formed and baked, he antiqued the pieces by painting on a thin wash of burnt sienna acrylic paint and then wiping it off while it was still wet. The small amount of paint that remained in the recessed areas gave the pieces an antiqued feel and brought out their dimension. The last step was to load an old scraggly brush with some gold acrylic paint and then wipe the brush off on paper towels. The brush was then rubbed across the pieces to leave a slight golden sheen on the highlighted areas. This technique is called "dry brush" as there is very little paint on the brush after wiping it off on the towels.

Shawn also made the chess board from a piece of wood. He divided up the board into the appropriate grid using a ruler and a pencil. Then he used a wood burning tool to create the detail. Next, he used a small brush and some stain to give the board its distinctive dark and light spaces. Last, he coated the whole board with polyurethane.

Chess anyone?

The Barbarians

Up close on the Barbarian side: The bag of loot represents a knight, the sword and shield represent the rook, the coins represent the bishop, and the fabric with the crown atop represents the queen. The texture on the loot bag came from pressing the clay onto a piece of fabric.

The Greeks

Up close on the Greek side: the column represents the rook, the cup and drapery represents the queen, and the block of stone with a metal band represents the knight.

Shawn had a lot of fun designing and creating this set. We've played with it often and it has held up pretty well. The king, Poseidon, on the Greek side had a laurel wreath around his trident at one time, but it broke off. The other casualty over time has been the shields on the Barbarian side coming loose from their rock supports. A little hot glue fixed them back up in no time.

Set your kids (or yourself) loose with some Sculpey and see what you can create!

The Helper

"Shawn, what are you readin'? Oh, The Scarlett Letter, one of my favorites. What about that little girl, Pearl, isn't she precious? Just like me, little old Daisy Mae, huh? What do you mean by a pearl grows from an irritant?! I hope that insult wasn't intended for me?"

"How much longer do ya think you'll be reading?"

"You know, Shawn, I think there's a real interesting part somewhere back here...where was that now? Are you going to be writing a paper on this, because I would be a big help picking out the quotes to use. That Dimsdale guy is kinda 'dim' don't ya think? Hehe, purrr."

Hey, Shawn, are you almost done cause I'm gettin' a little bored with this book."

"That's right, we could just play for a little. Mrs. Schmuck, your video teacher, won't even notice you're goofin' around in class. See, she's too involved with her 'real' students to even notice you. Come on, poke me again, this time I'm going to get that pencil, you'll see! I knew you couldn't resist my belly spots and come hither look for long!"

I'll fill ya in on the book later, let's play some more!!"

"Man, all that reading was exhausting. You're on your own with the paper."

The Kids

We've had a nice holiday vacation from school and responsibilities. Our days have been filled with chatting online with friends, playing our new highly addictive game Ingenious, playing floor hockey, playing computer games, watching movies, and cleaning the house in preparation for school season to hit once again. Shawn is ready to start his schoolwork on Monday. Julia is on semester break still until the 14th.

When Shawn and I start back up he will be continuing with A Beka English which I am quite pleased with. The teacher fills in all the gaps I would have left. She has such great insight into the authors and brings such depth to the literature selections. I enjoy watching the dvd's right along with Shawn. The thing I would change about the program is the amount of writing it provides. I would like to see more writing assignments. This can be accomplished in other curriculum areas though.

For history, Shawn will continue where he left off with American history using the Boorstin text recommended on the Well Trained Mind boards by Jean. He is so enjoying this text! It has been a good choice and similar to the Spielvogel text he used for world lit last year with its primary source documents and art reproductions. More importantly, the depth of detail is there that wasn't there in the history curriculum we began using at the start of the year in September.

For math I will be ordering the A Beka Consumer Math text and we will also review material from Saxon Algebra II and Advanced Math one day a week as a refresher. Once the kids get to this level at math they are shipped off to the community college to finish up. He will be doing just that next year. My old brain can only handle so much math these days!

Science has been a bit of a struggle this year with this non-sciency kid. After a false start with chemistry, which we decided to drop for now, he has been working through the computer curriculum Earle wrote a few years ago. He is just about done with the completed part of the text. Next, Earle will spend a little time giving him some hands on experience and some instruction in programming, probably using Visual Basic as he did with Julia. I'm not sure what next year holds in store for Shawn in the area of science. Perhaps we'll just skip over chem and head straight for physics, Earle's field of expertise. I did the same thing in school and it wasn't a problem for me. There will be time to deal with that when we come to it. For now, I have to figure out what science we'll use to finish out the second semester of this year. Any thoughts?

Shawn's electives include finishing up drawing I and moving on to art history using the dvd course I asked for, and received, for Christmas from The Teaching Company: Art Across the Ages. I am very much looking forward to delving into this new course! Also for electives he will continue fencing lessons. Floor hockey and time spent at the YMCA lifting weights and jogging the indoor track will round out his physical education requirement. As always, Shawn continues various small woodworking projects of his own design and choosing. German will have to wait until the community college. Progress is too slow and tedious for my liking without an instructor and a class to practice with. The arts school where he takes fencing is offering a class in conversational German, but alas, it is on Tuesday evening, the same night as floor hockey. I may take it though! I'm still considering my options.

Last but not least, Shawn is continuing A Beka American Government. We decided to throw this in as an elective for his 11th grade year instead of saving it for his 12th grade year as A Beka has it laid out. We just couldn't pass up studying this topic while the election season heats up. Since he already completed Economics last year his senior year will be open for studying whatever advanced history elective he chooses. I'm not sure this is something we'll outsource to the community college because of the liberal spin that will be placed on the study of history there. Perhaps we'll try an online course.

Julia will be starting a new semester when the community college starts back up. On her slate this time will be: Biology II, Differential Equations, French II, Psychology, and her wellness component which is something to do with meditation and stress management. She did really well in her courses last semester and looks forward to tutoring in Biology to make some gas money.

After almost a year at Kohl's she gave her notice last week. The managers were all sorry to see her go and insisted she return in the summer if she so chooses. Not many people make the one year mark in a retail store like that. The turnover rate is very high. She is hoping for some sort of a co-op job this summer through Earle's employer, but these are few and far between. Be praying something opens up for her in a science field.

The most important new adjustment for Julia is finding ways to keep busy so she doesn't miss Derek so much. He returned to school on January second and will be there for about a year until he is done with the program. There is a summer component he needs to stay for. He will be home for breaks, but this will be a long stretch. His school is about four hours away and leaving on weekends isn't an option in the winter as he has counselling duties at the snow camp they put on for Christian teens. After being home a semester and working he decided to finish at the two year program he had started. Then, he will move on to a Christian four-year school to complete a degree in math education and also in preaching, two areas he definately has been gifted in.


I think we are all ready for the work to begin. Before I know it my youngest will be completing his last year as a full-time homeschooler. He will be ready to launch off into community college courses without me. He is almost ready to take his driver's test and has been looking for his first job. How did all this growing up happen right before my eyes? All of a sudden I am mother to two fine young adults whom I am very, very proud of for many reasons. I will surely miss this homeschooling adventure when it is at a close, but it will also usher in a new era of my life and I must admit I am equally looking forward to what lies ahead.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Julia!

Today, our daughter is 19. This is her last year as a teenager. Really, she is already a young lady. How fast time flies. Just yesterday she was the energetic little girl racing through the house on all fours and roaring like a wild animal! Now, she is a successful college student who the professors fight over as a lab assistant.

Earle and I are so proud of the young woman she is becoming. We are blessed to call her daughter and friend.



If you see this smart, adorable, caring, creative, talented, faithful, unique, scientific, animal-loving, lovely young lady today, be sure to wish her a Happy Birthday!

We love you, Julia!

Happy Birthday Shawn

If you see this artistic, witty, energetic, patient, caring, faithful, handsome, respectful, honest, hard-working, young man today, please feel free to wish him a Happy 17th Birthday!

You are a blessing to your family, Shawn.

We love you.

Updates of All Sorts

I have been sick the last couple of days with a sore throat and slight fever which has now turned into a nasty cold. Having been couch/bed bound a good deal of the time I have managed to do a little reading but that is about all. I had to miss our neighbor's baby shower on Saturday, but I was able to drag myself out last night for a few hours to hear Julia's boyfriend Derek preach a sermon at the evening service at his church. He did a great job. I was glad I was able to go, but by the end of the evening I was "done in".

I've finished That hideous Strength, the third book of Lewis's space trilogy. While distinct from the other two in the series, it ties everything together in the end. A good read. I am also finishing a book on church history that I started years ago. Since I've pulled it back out Earle has shown an interest in reading it too. We're sharing the book. We are also reading Shepherds Abiding aloud to each other. We've read pretty much Jan Karon's whole Mitford series of Father Tim aloud to each other over the years. They are like old friends and although it has been a few years since we read the last one, now that we are into the story it seems like just yesterday. The characters have become fresh again in our minds and the warm feelings of becoming a part of that sleepy North Carolina town have begun to transform our little world once again. I've also ordered some Christmas books from Amazon and have some others requested at the library. On those lists are: Christmas at Fairacre, Letters from Father Christmas, Starlight in Tourrone, and Two from Galilee; a Love Story. Then, when the holiday books have been read I will finally make my way through Sophie's World.

Earle's domestic side has been showing lately and it has been refreshing! After coming back from Maine with a recipe from his brother-in-law he whipped us up a fabulous batch of Paula Deen's Chipotle Chicken Chowder. I may have to request this again soon. Then, on Saturday he filled our big, orange Tupperware bowl to the rim with homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. They have been disappearing fast. Hey, oatmeal is a breakfast food. I think i need to get sick and stay out of the kitchen more often!

On Sunday afternoon Shawn participated in a fencing demonstration at a local high school. Guess what's on his Christmas list this year? Yeah, fencing equipment. I think his instructor looks a tad like Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Starship Enterprise in The Next Generation, don't you? Picard was also a fencing aficionado as well as an avid consumer of Earle Gray tea. A Renaissance captain indeed.

I feel an art update is needed soon. Look for Shawn's continuing progress with Artistic Pursuits, some examples of his walking sticks, and a drawing lesson using pastel that I have been meaning to share for some time now. My next project will be a painting. The canvas is ready and the photo I am using for reference has been selected. Also, each year I have made it a tradition to give each of my relatives a handmade Christmas ornament. That project will have to be underway soon as well. I just have to decide what medium to make them with this year. Past ornaments have been either painted wood or polymer clay. Maybe felt will be playing a role this season.