Day 22 / 105 - Abstract Art

In Classical Conversations' Fine Arts schedule, abstract art always falls on Week 4.  For the several years that I was a Foundations tutor, I loved completing an abstract piece of art with stencils.  (I posted in depth about it here.)

Since this is my daughter's last year in the Foundations program, I made sure her new-to-CC Foundations tutor was armed with many stencils, so that she could enjoy this in-class activity one more time.  As you can see, her artwork was quite detailed, and she needed to finish the piece at home.

If you are a CC parent, and you still have little ones in the Foundations program, I would recommend saving one piece of artwork each week for the length of time they are in the program -- i.e. one abstract piece, one perspective piece, etc. for six years.  (If you are not impressed with what they produced in class, create a new piece at home.  The overview for each week's assignment is listed in the Fine Arts section of your Foundations Guide.)  That way, at the end of their many years in the program, you and your children can compare their very first drawing with their very last.

Disclaimer:  I feel that I should add that I never did this, but I wish that I would have, which is why I'm suggesting it to you!!

Day 21 / 105 - "Skittles and Toady"

Retelling Narrative Stories is one of our favorite IEW units.  A student is given a story that s/he is already familiar with.  The assignment is to 'retell' the story using many of the writing skills and techniques the child has learned.  My children and I have completed this assignment with many familiar short stories over the years.

Last week, my daughter penned this tale.  It is originally Aesop's fable, The Lion and the Mouse.  The animals were changed to reflect an Ancient Egypt setting.  You will see that the conflict and resolution of the story remain the same.

Long, long ago on a scorching, muggy afternoon in Ancient Egypt, the land surrounding the Nile River was buzzing with activity. However, in the water was a lone, horrifying, dangerous crocodile who was named Skittles. No creature dared enter the water because of vicious Skittles.

On the bank, hopping along, hunting for flies and minding his own business was a sweet, helpful toad named Toady. Eyeing the juicy toad, Skittles feriously snatched him off the bank. “Please spare me,” Toady beggingly pleaded with the savage beast. “I promise. If you let me live, I will help you one day.”

Skittles chuckled at Toady's absurdity. “How could you, a tiny, tempting toad, possibly assist the King of the Reptiles?' But at that moment, Skittles became distracted by a larger meal, so Toady hurriedly escaped.

Sure enough, several days later, Toady heard the most deafening moaning and groaning. “Aaaaaahhhhhh!” wailed Skittles. “My tooth! I'm in agony. And, my insurance doesn't offer a dental plan.”

Frightened yet fearless, the tiny toad confidently hopped toward the crocodile. In a trembling voice, Toady asked Skittles to open wide. Praying to the amphibian gods of the ancient Nile, Toady lassoed his tongue around Skittles cracked tooth, and quickly extracted it.

Skittles heaved a sigh of relief and gratefully remarked, “I am so glad you kept your promise. Now we can be BFFs.”

As Toady hopped away into the Nile reeds, Skittles yelled, “See you later, Toad.”

Toady cheerfully replied, “After while, Crocodile.”

Day 20 / 105 - Linnaeus' Binomial Nomenclature

Before Carl Linnaeus, the scientific name for the tomato plant was Solanum caule inerme herbaceo, foliis pinnatis incisis, racemis simplicibus.  Now it's simply Solanum lycopersicum.

Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist in the 1700's that developed the first classification system of living things. Today, we use an expanded and modified system.  This system includes a hierarchy of categories based on similarities and differences between organisms.  Linnaeus also simplified the naming system.  Organisms now have a two-part name (binomial nomenclature) using the the Latin form of their generic group (genus) and their specific group (species).

After studying Linnaeus, my son's Science assignment for Week 6 was to make a chart representing and showing Linnaeus' classification system.  With two living organisms, we began classifying them with their Kingdom and worked our way down to their Species.  This was a great assignment!

For her Foundations memory work, my daughter is memorizing simple Biological lists, many which are a part of the classification system.  Naturally, she joined in on the fun and did a project of her own for her weekly presentation.

Day 19 / 105 - Essentials Review Scavenger Hunt

On Thursday, my Essentials class had much fun completing this review Scavenger Hunt.  It took about 15 minutes total, plus it had them out and about enjoying the fall weather.

I split them into teams.  Each team had the same review list but I jumbled the order so that 16 students weren't skipping backwards down the hall at the same time!  (The pine needles and staying off the stage are rules within our community.)

Day 18 / 105 - Orlando, 2015

Last week my husband needed to be in Orlando for his company's Finance Professionals conference.  Of course, we joined in for the fun.

We stayed in the Villas of the Omni Resort at Championsgate.  Our hotel room was larger than our first several apartments.  Each child had their own bedroom.  We even had a laundry room.  My husband changed jobs this year which led to a move, much transition, and (naturally!) added stress.  This hotel room, however, made up for some of that!

We visited Gatorland, a local wildlife preserve filled with thousands of alligators and crocodiles, as well as other swamp and tropical animals.  Irony struck at the end of the week when my children claimed this was their favorite part of our trip.  It cost a fraction of what we paid elsewhere.

A highlight was visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, something I've wanted to do since we first read the books.  Universal Studios has quite the set up as you have to visit two different parks to travel through both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley via the Hogwarts Express.   The entire day was quite magical.  I think we all will be revisiting the books again this fall.

Thanks to the conference, we had discounted admission to a Disney park one afternoon, so we opted for Epcot.  It had been five years since our last visit to Epcot (I know this because it was before I kept this blog).  Epcot, I think, is the 'most educational' of all the Disney parks and often the least crowded. Traveling through the World Showcase is always a blast!

This week, we've been diligently working to readjust back to life after a mid-September vacation!

Day 17 / 105 - Kepler's Three Laws

Two weeks ago my son's assignment for Science was to explain (in layman's terms) Johannes Kepler's Three Laws of Planetary Motion to his Challenge B class.  Naturally, our first step was to gain an understanding of these astronomical laws ourselves.

I'm pretty convinced that homeschooling higher level Science is more than possible today because of the Internet.  We watched a few Physics videos that explained the astronomy and the mathematics behind the laws.  We read a few articles about Kepler.  For his project, my son opted to illustrate each law because it was easier for him to explain each law from a picture.

Learning right alongside him, I am simply loving his Challenge B Science strand this fall.

Day 16 / 105 - Crocheted Creeper

My daughter combined her love of Minecraft with her love for crafts and spent part of Labor Day weekend crocheting this Creeper.  She had to crochet 30 separate pieces before stitching them together and filling it with stuffing.  News to me was that she even knew how to crochet. I'm guessing she learned from a youTube video.  Once upon a time, I think I purchased her a hook.

Day 15 / 105 - Motown: The Musical

Sunday night, we headed to uptown Charlotte to view the Broadway tour of Motown: The Musical.  Hands down, this was one of the most engaging and exciting musicals I've witnessed.  We traveled through time as this jukebox musical shared the story of Berry Gordy's founding and running of the Motown record label.  The musical contained 66 song selection from the Motown catalog.  It was a great line-up!

The Jackson 5 performers were a huge hit for myself and my children.  Since then, I've located the Jacksons' Ed Sullivan performances more than once so my children can experience the classical choreography along with the bell-bottoms, fringe-suede vests, platform shoes, and Michael's renowned purple hat.

Day 14 / 105 - August Happens At The Table

August was the month to transform our catch-all-for-moving-boxes dining room into something that resembles a room hospitable for eating and learning.  Fortunately, we headed in that direction.

Intentionally, I scheduled two meetings in our home during the month of August, so that I would remain motivated in our unpacking.  We are not completely finished unpacking yet, but I'm pleased to report that in two months time we are further along in the process that we ever have been before.

We had an early start to Classical Conversations this year.  This will allow us to take a sizable fall break in October.  My son has added Logic into his coursework.  

I mentioned in an earlier post that my son is researching historical scientists this semester.  My daughter has enjoyed researching nature (including bugs that have welcomed themselves into our southern home) for her Science work this fall.

Follow along on Instagram and join in on the fun, #LifeHappensAtTheTable.  Now that we're somewhat unpacked and faintly organized, perhaps we'll eat dinner at the table once or twice come September.

Day 13 / 105 - The Merry Wives of Windsor

I was thrilled to discover that the Charlotte area has a Shakespeare ensemble.  Shakespeare Carolina's mission is to maintain the vitality of the classical canon with imagination.  We witnessed this first hand on Saturday night as we enjoyed The Merry Wives of Windsor as told from the trailer park.

I've mentioned before that Shakespeare is meant to be seen to in order to connect the text with modern audiences.  The Merry Wives of Windsor is one of Shakespeare's comedies.  The actors did an outstanding job at helping us to see the humor of the play while also understanding the story line.