Nature Prints on Clay

The boys and I used clay to make some nature prints last week.  Rowan and I were doing some gardening (he is really quite helpful and such a hard worker!)  I trimmed and he made a huge stack across the yard of all the clippings.  We had a basket and saved some of our favorite clippings to make prints in clay.  

I made holes in them and hung them by the nature table.

Paint Your Blessings

Last week we read the lesson about Jesus blessing the children in our Bible curriculum.  I like that the lesson focused on what a blessing is and what it means to open oneself to receive a blessing.

It seemed appropriate to bless the boys after the lesson and I decided to do a secret message blessing (a big hit with mystery loving boys.)  I wrote a blessing in white crayon ("May Christ's light Shine in You, Jonah!" and "May you, Rowan, know God's love for you!") on white paper and then let them watercolor over it and discover the message.  When they were finished I blessed each boy with the words they found.

We also enjoy singing Let the Little Children Come by Steve Green when working with this story. 

 Isaac was just given a paintbrush and water with construction paper.  It was his first encounter with painting, so that was fun to watch!  He loves, loves, loves drawing with crayons (and markers if he can find them... and somehow he does manage to find one most days!)

Giotto made Egg Tempera Paint.

So did we.

I purchased the book Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters this year for school and love the idea.  In the book each artist is introduced along with an art project for the child in the style of the master.  I had grand plans of looking at one great artist a week and making a scrapbook with the kids art on one side and small reproductions of the artist's work on the other side.  But, homeschooling is really hard when you lack a home and your own rhythm, so some of these extras have fallen by the wayside.  But, we did do the Giotto activity to make your own paints by smashing chalk pastels and mixing them with egg.  The boys loved the crushing and mixing; they made more colors than they used in their quick paintings.  I'm hopeful we'll discover more great artists soon...

In Advent...

Well, the waiting is getting harder as the days pass by, but we're still doing fine - waiting for whatever is to come.  Advent means to come and my thoughts have been on the advent season the past few days, as well as, our own little one who is coming.   And, these comings have inspired a couple crafts over the past week.

Friday, while the boys went on a fun adventure to the castle and cathedral with Gammy and Papa, I used decorating wax to make a candles for advent.  One is for the Christ Candle for our godly play at church and the other will be our dinner candle through advent.

And for our own 'coming' Jim and I painted our boys symbols onto canvases (sorry, this picture isn't very clear).  Jonah means 'dove' and Rowan is named for the rowan tree.  And yes, we painted a third, but you will have to wait as it is tucked safely away to appear when our third little guy arrives.

New Smocks and Wet on Wet Painting

The main mama-made for Rowan's birthday was painting smocks for both boys.  Rowan loves to paint and is notoriously messy, so it was the perfect gift.  I found the tree fabric when I was home this summer and used old sheets (that had been cut up for another project somewhere along the way) for the sleeves.  Jonah's is from some dino pillow fabric and the sleeves are sheets again.  Jo chose the dino fabric from my stash and loves it, and even though it wasn't my favorite fabric to work with, he is thrilled and, I suppose, that is what matters.  I used the pattern from the Little Things to Sew from Oliver + S, which is such a fun book (you'll be seeing more from it in the future).  I did omit the pockets, because I know my two year old and pockets when he is holding brushes full of paint really aren't a great idea!

Both sets of grandparents sent Rowan wonderful art supplies for his birthday, which we are so excited about!  And this week, in the midst of potty training and with no Daddy around (he's at a conference), it was the perfect time to try out the stockmar wet-on-wet watercolors.  We've only ever used pallet watercolors, so this was a wonderful discovery!  Even Jonah, who isn't typically overly excited about art projects was begging to make picture after picture (note to self: must wishlist lots of watercolor paper!).  Wet-on-wet painting is a true exploration of color and even mama had to make one, because it looked so fun!

Yes, he is using both hands at once, Jonah still hasn't declared handedness and writes and draws equally well with both hands... go figure.  I'm pretty sure Rowan is a lefty as he switches to his left a lot, but we'll have to wait and see. 

"Its like being up high in the sky or down on the ground and looking down or looking up" (at autumn leaves) - Jonah

"A Mangrove Swamp" by Jonah - I was just going to introduce two colors today and make autumn colors (thinking maybe we'll cut leaves and pumpkins from their paintings), but after his first painting Jonah really wanted to use blue to make water.

A Rainbow Sort of Day...

 We've been reading through Genesis as a family (starting with creation, which I shared here) and we just finished up Noah's story.  So we've been thinking about God's promises and, of course, rainbows.  The above verse has been the verse we've been sharing and memorizing (and we'll continue with it through Abraham, because this theme of promises just keeps going through Genesis).  I cut the watercolor above into a puzzle for Jonah (but it was frustrating as the watercolor paper didn't want to stay together well - next time perhaps I should back it on poster board before cutting the puzzle)

The boys attend a 0-5s group at our church every Tuesday morning and they spent the past few weeks studying Noah.  We were able to time it so that finishing our reading of Noah and the 'Rainbow Party' at their church group coincided.  Jonah made a card for the leader with wet on wet watercolors and we attempted to make Rainbow cookies.  I just used our normal sugar cookie dough and food coloring to make the colors (I used liquid dyes as I didn't have paste dye available - I'll bet the paste would work better).  I was pretty disappointed with the colors and then they totally faded when we baked the cookies.  But the boys were thrilled with them and very excited to share them at the rainbow party, so they were a success even though mama wasn't thrilled with the finished product.

Thanks Giving: A Link

Jim posted 'Giving Thanks Through Sculpture: Andy Goldsworthy' today on Transpositions.

Check it out Here and the Goldsworthy image credit is on Transpositions.

The Wonderful World of OZ!

Thanks to the Librivox.com free downloads of all 14 of Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz stories, Jonah is in a full on Wizard of Oz craze! We are all enjoying the intensely imaginative books.

After having heard the original book, all three of us were disappointed by the movie. Jim found the movie at the University library and brought it home last week. Jonah, who loves watching films surprised us with being very critical of the film... "Why did they add that? Why did they take the second witch out? Where were the hammerheads and china-land?" Did you know that the whole running away and dream are the movie's creation? I had never read the book when I watched the film as a child and was unimpressed with the story. Why am I so surprised, are not books always better than the movie?

As we listen to audio books over the past couple weeks, Jonah and I have been painting, building, gluing and drawing to create our own oz. And our oz is even visited by planes, trains and cars.

Jonah Paints

Jonah has been painting a lot lately. His paintings are rather abstract, but he does a lot of thinking about them... reminds me of another painter in our house. (If you haven't seen any of Jim's work you can see it here. Unfortunately his more abstract work isn't posted.)

"This painting is Jesus' body. The Red is Jesus' blood. The black line is the sacrifice. Blue is his body. Gold is the invisible. The silver is the impicable." - Jonah

[impicable isn't, as far as I can tell a mispronunciation of something else, but his own word]

A painting theologian... I wonder where that came from.

"This painting is called Venice at Night. [The center of the large area to the left] is carnival." - Jonah (He has a Magic Treehouse book about the Carnival in Venice.)

Research

The magic tree house books have taken over our home. We've been learning so much about, such a variety of things. I never imagined that parenting would teach me so much about rainforests, egyptology, dinosaurs, the ice age...

Yesterday Jonah was running around the house saying "Daddy, we're in the after Life - we're in the After Life!" A box became the pyramid and he packed it with play food, toys and other necessities for the journey to the afterlife.

After reading and rereading and rereading the Amazon research guide this little diorama came to life.

This is a sausage tree, which is a real tree that grows in the amazon rainforest. The flowers (red) come out for one night and then a fruit (that looks like a whitish sausage) appears the next morning in its place.

I love that Jonah is entering this new stage where we are truly learning and creating together. It is such fun!

Musee d'Orsay

Yesterday afternoon we hit our last major museum in Paris.   We had visited the Louvre, the Pompidu, the Picasso, and now we were onto the Orsay.  That isn't to say there aren't other museums around - the Rodin, the Delacroix (Jim went to this one), the Medieval Museum... But, the Orsay was the last on our 'must do' list in Paris.  

Unfortunately our usually very patient and interested three year old has hit his limit of museums (much like mum and dad to be honest).  So we did a quick tour on which Jonah loved trying to imitate the Degas statues and was excited to find some Van Gough paintings that are in his 'Vincent's Colors'.  Mum and Jonah then had a little date at the cafe while Daddy took it a bit slower.  Some juice and a chocolate muffin perked us both up and we went to see a bit more art before heading home to bed.

Everyday creative living in Paris

We've been enjoying seeing the Paris sights, but at 8 1/2 months pregnant I'm having to pace myself, which means while some mornings Jonah and I are out on a big adventure in the morning, we are also at home half the time.  So here is a glimpse into our home mornings.

Jonah woke up a few nights ago crying for his toys.  We brought three small drawstring pouches with us - one with godly play figures, one with a few animals and one with some cars - and his tool set.  Finn and Knuffle Bunny came along as well, but overall the toys are pretty sparse so we've been forced to be creative.  I began a bowl of slips with activities on them (i.e. count to 25, play a montessori ABC game, say "Five little monkeys", look through the Atlas, sing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and toes", play follow the leader, do a work book page, watch a video of Jackson Pollock painting... you get the picture)  This has been hours of fun and a great way to introduce some new concepts to Jonah.  

The best new activity has been treasure hunts.  Jim remembered that we did this with the three year old we babysat in Vancouver.  So, we drew pictures of different things around the house and then hid them and Jonah goes clue to clue by looking at the pictures.  He uses his godly play bag as his treasure - rather appropriate!

And even when we aren't out on an adventure we tend to get to a park nearby for at least part of the morning.  Jonah loves to play in the sand and I love the chance it gives me to knit.  I am missing our yard and the freedom it gives Jonah to be outside as much as he wants.  We've made sure to have some unstructured play in a park most every day.  I've just been reading some Charlott Mason educational theory and it claims that a child under 12 should be outside at least 5 hours a day.  I agree that being outside as much as possible is great, but I'm not sure how five hours are possible for city kids or kids who live in Scotland with only four hours of daylight in the winter (which happen to be the same time most tots nap).  

Jonah's watercolors in Scotland are falling apart, so we went up the street one day and found some new ones and some watercolor paper.  He has spent lots of time painting.  The picture above is 'An Imaginary City' by Jonah and Daddy.

I brought my embroidery, but didn't bring Jonah's.  He was rather distraught when he realized this, but we quickly found that by using the new hole punch we bought daddy to organize his french notes we could sew around Jonah's paintings.  Jonah loves punching the holes and gave a couple of these little masterpieces away as cards.

And that inspired me to help him make some lacing cards.  We used a cereal box, his crayons, some yarn and a bit of tape to make a couple cards and he is very proud of them.

So overall we are living much as we do at home - trying to create something most days and learn something new together.  Jonah is thriving, though he still misses home - as we all do.  We have one more week to go in Paris and while we aren't wishing it away, we will all be glad to be home next weekend to settle in for a Scottish fall and welcome little brother.

Mass on Sunday

We went to mass at Le Madeline on Sunday.  Napoleon originally intended it to be a temple to the glory of his soldiers.  Now it is an interesting church filled with the original art and lots of modern art.  It feels a bit odd to be honest.  The plastic bottle sculpture of the church didn't quite fit in with the original artwork.

The church is surrounded by modern art pieces and we loved running around the church and exploring them all.  Jim and I had a lovely moment when Jonah saw a large purple statue and said "That looks like 'Standing Woman'" (which is a piece by Giacometti we saw at the Pompidou)  Aside from the fact that this one was enormous and purple and Giacometti's is small and metal, they do resemble each other and it was so fun to see him making connections between art pieces.  

We also walked by the Opera.  This is the opera that was used in writing 'Phantom of the Opera.' 

Please listen to this...

Mo Willems is one of our favorite children's book writers and illustrators.  We love his knuffle bunny stories and Jonah loves his knuffle bunny! (Remember this?)

Today I came across this five minute NPR clip of Mo Willems talking about 'Getting Adults to Draw.'  You can find it here.  His words are so true and something we believe in so deeply.  Perhaps we'll have a family draw soon!

Making Special

I've been thinking about creativity a lot lately.  It doesn't hurt that I live with someone who is writing a dissertation on human and divine creativity.  But, what has spurred a lot of my recent thought is the 'sacred circle' that I have recently joined.  The group, composed of six women, was inspired by "The Artist's Way" (which I haven't read yet).  All six of us are interested in writing in some form and living artistically in general (this obviously looks different for each of us).  I think the idea is that creativity is part of the spiritual journey and it is a way that we learn about ourselves and God.   I've been asking myself what this means for all people.  It is easy to think about creativity in terms of art, music, theater... but I think in the end creativity is much more basic to our humanness and perhaps comes down to 'making special'.  There is no need for paint brushes and knitting needles (thought these can be great options), but simply a need to see creation, love it, name it, and remember it... making special.

I think it is in story that we so often learn to 'make special'.  The importance of putting words to thoughts and images and naming the world around us (whether it be kids of trucks or complex emotions and drama) is at the heart of creativity.  Perhaps, this, more than any other reason, is why we should read to our children.  We teach them what it means to be human and in doing so give them the tools to know God and his good creation.

Jonah and I did a little 'making special' yesterday as we hosted a literary tea for several friends.  Each child brought a favorite picture book and we read them while sharing yummy scones, muffins, fruit and tea sandwiches.  Jonah served his friends tea with his curious George tea set.  I loved hearing him say "Would you like some tea?"  

The kids picked great books.  Jonah helped me read 'Train Song' which he can recite pretty much verbatim.  Henry brought "Spot's Garden"; his older sister Bea brought along "Henry goes to Fitchburg"; Sophia brought "Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom";  and Theo brought "Piggety-Wiggity-Jiggity-Jig" (I think that is the title).  We certainly read some other great books too.

 Picking flowers, making finger sized sandwiches, serving tea from our favorite tea pots, putting out homemade table clothes... making special.

And afterward, while Jonah napped I left the mess and finished knitting the back of the baby's sweater while wondering why having a lemon on your glass makes water taste so much better.