Edgar Degas - Artist Study - Impressionism

Our artist rotation this term will be Degas and Manet.  We are beginning Term 2 on Monday when we return from our Christmas break.  I'm going to break the study up into 6 weeks each- weeks 11-16 will be devoted to Degas and weeks 17-22 to Manet.

To begin our study of Edgar Degas (day-GAH) (French, 1834-1917),
I took two of the Degas paintings I located free online and sent them to walmart to be processed as photographs.  I had them each printed in an 8 x 10 and then I inserted them into these great photo magnet sleeves I found for about $2 and placed them on the fridge.  I love this idea, it's inexpensive but everytime my monkeys go into the fridge they will get another look at the artwork.  :)  Cheap yet effective and you can't beat that!

The two we are starting with (I'm planning to use 3 pieces this way- two weeks each piece) are Ballet Rehearsal On Stage and Racehorses in Front of the Grandstand 1866-68.  I downloaded both pieces from Edgar Degas- The Complete Works.   You'll find more than enough paintings to choose from on this website.  Ambleside Online has their recommendations also if you click here.  You will need to scroll down a bit because Degas and Manet were their selected artists for 2002/2003 Term 2. 

I wanted a painting that included dancers because it was a favorite subject of Degas and delights my daughters but also something a bit more masculine for my son.  I'm not sure he could study ballerinas for the entire six weeks!  I haven't decided on the final piece yet.  I'm considering letting my children choose it as they study his other works in our books and through the stickers I've purchased them. 

 We always begin our new artist study with the first piece of art.  I'll present the painting (this term it will be Ballet Rehearsal On Stage) and have them all look at it.  I'll then tell them a bit about the artist, not the full biography, just some basic facts about him.  I'll tell them where he was born and grew up and what years he lived.  We'll then talk about his style and with Degas I'll mention that although he didn't consider himself an Impressionist, he was always grouped with them. 

Purchase from Dover

The book, "Discovering Great Artists" by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga (one of my favorite books that I use again and again) has two very brief introductory paragraphs about Degas on pages 40-41 that I will probably begin with.  I don't purchase all of our homeschool books but this is one I did purchase because we use it again and again- I would have no problem recomending this book as a "purchase book" for anyone using the Charlotte
Mason or even the Classical methods.  You can purchase it through the link from Amazon.  I am an affiliate and I will get credit if you do but that is not why I recommend the book.  I like to add that in when I include these amazon links to be upfront.  :) 

 My next step would be to have the children "narrate" the picture to me.  This was always fun when they were younger but now that they are a little older (2-3rd graders and a 5th grader) and they've been doing this for a couple of years, I enjoy it even more.  They remember so much more and when they begin to compare one artist to another or one painting to another it brings me such true delight.  It's those moments that make me praise God for leading me to homeschooling!   Simply Charlotte Mason has a paragraph explaining how to have children narrate a picture here.

I'll assign them to read a simple biography about Degas during this time.  They will definitely be reading the book, "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists ~ Degas" by Mike Venezia.  When we first began reading this series a few year's ago, it was difficult to find them in our library but now I've noticed my library has many of them.  You could check your local library prior to purchasing.  It's an easy to read picture book but chock full of good information and great cartoon drawings that my children have really enjoyed.  My 5th grader will still be assigned this book to read (in one sitting of course) for our Degas study.   

My plan is to study each picture at least twice a week and narrate each time.  At this stage I'm looking for them to know more about the picture with each study time.  I'll have them all complete a notebooking page about Degas and my 5th grader will also need to complete a page about each picture.  I'm going to have him choose his favorite of the three on the last week of our Degas study and ask him to write a paragraph explaining WHY he chose that picture.  You can find free notebooking pages here from Homeschooling with Index Cards free notebooking forms section.  A HUGE thank you to this mom who's artist biography form I've used for a couple of years!   You can also find artist notebooking page freebies at NotebookingPages.com here.

I will give them the Degas sticker book and split it evenly (very important in my house :)) and let each of them choose thier favorite paintings from the book.  They then put those stickers on a notebooking page and label each of them.  The sticker book I linked does include two photos that are too close to nude for my comfort so I will remove those two from the book before giving the book to my kids.  That leaves 14 pictures so they'll get 4 a piece, still a good deal for $1.50 and it's a great way for them to make the paintings accessible for them to view later (we'll put the notebook page they stick them to and label them on in their art study notebooks.) 

We will complete a coloring page of  one of Degas' paintings.  I normallly let them choose their favorite.  I love the color and paint your own ... paintings!  What an amazing way to get the mental picture in your mind by working on it yourself! 

I have a puzzle that portrays The Dancers I found through Scholastic last year and we'll work on that together throughout the first week or two.  My hopes are that the children will form the mental picture Charlotte Mason speaks about concerning art from the time required of them to look at the painting to complete the puzzle.   I've posted the link to order it through Amazon but it is more expensive.  You'll have to decide it's value to your art study and decide whether or not to purchase it. 

We are going to complete two projects from MaryAnn F. Kohl's "Discovering Great Artists."  One involves showing movement in their art and the other involves working with chalk on a damp fabric piece.  I'm very excited to enjoy these with the kids. 

We will create a final project from the "Usborne Art Treasury."   This book has a short, one page explanation of the picture, Dancers in Blue, drawn by Dega in 1897.  After the informational page there's a project using dark, rough paper and pastels to create their own pastel dancers.  I'm going to use this last fun project during our final week of Degas by then I hope they have a solid feel for his work and will create masterpieces in his style. 

A brief quote from Degas that can be used for copywork or dictation, 
"Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do." ~
Edgar Degas

We'll read other books about Degas from the library.  A few I've planned are:

What Makes a Degas a Degas? by Richard Muhlberger
Marie in fourth position: the story of Degas's "The little dancer" by Amy Littlesugar
Degas and the little dancer: a story about Edgar Degas by Laurence Anholt
Degas and the dance : the painter and the petits rats, perfecting their art by Susan Goldman Rubin

I found all of the above titles at my local library so check your library for books on Degas in the juvenile section.  I do not make these books "difficult reads" in general because I want to introduce them to the artists and their art and teach them to love, enjoy, and remember it. 

For my 5th grader, I've requested the following book from our library:
Meet Edgar Degas / National Gallery of Canada ; [compiled by] Anne Newlands


I have not previewed it yet, I was interested because of the following description:
Presents the life and paintings of Edgar Degas in a first person narrative drawn from letters, notebooks, and people's stories about the artist.
I'm hoping it will be a great opportunity to give my son a taste of using primary resources. 

That is our plan so far for our Edgar Degas artist study.  Have you planned your next artist study?  Is there something fun and engaging you're doing with your children?  I'd love to hear about it!  I'm always looking for new ideas to keep my children interested!

For more information on picture study in general, Higher Up and Further In has an incredibly organized system set up in her homeschool.  You can read more about it here.   Love the idea of having all of her children keep their own copies of each piece in a book of art! 

Here is some basic biographical information about Degas from Wikipedia.com and some additional product links you might find interesting!  Please leave comments and send photos of your own Degas artist studies!  I'll be posting our results as well!

Much love,
Tiff

Edgar Degas (19 July 1834 - 27 September 1917), was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist. A superb draughtsman, he is especially identified with the subject of the dance, and over half his works depict dancers.  ~
Wikipedia.org

Inspiration

Inspiration by definition is the stimulation to do creative work, somebody or something that inspires, creativeness, a good idea, or a divine influence. 

As homeschoolers we are inspired in innumerable, extraordinary ways.  As Christian homeschoolers, we are inspired by "divine influence" through the calling and leadership of our Lord supporting, guiding, and loving us through our journey.  We are blessed by the opportunity to cultivate loving, positive relationships for ourselves and our children.  I've felt particularly rewarded by the inspiring friendships my children and I have acquired through our lifestyle of home educating.

A popular remark among homeschooling parents is the consummate relationships between children of varying age groups.  It is not unusual to witness 9th graders tending to preschoolers or 7th and 4th graders playing games together.  Each of the children gaining enjoyment and education from each other, even in their time of play.  The benefits reaching the younger children and the older children in life lessons and encouragement. 

As a homeschooling mom, I've had the opportunity to gain insights, support, and wisdom from countless other moms I've grown to know and love.  We all realize the staggering importance a support system of like-minded and caring families are to the modern homeschooling family. 

In the past year my family and I have been particularly fortunate to know and love another homeschooling family that moved to our area.  We have become like 2nd family to each other with amazing impact for the kids and parents alike.  Just as I mentioned the older children learn from the younger children, adults can benefit from and be educated by the children and young adults the Lord brings into our lives.  Our "2nd family" has blessed me with just that situation.  A is the daughter of my dear friend and her maturity and compassion for the world at just 13 years old astounds me.  I joyously catch glimpses of the world and its abounding opportunities through her young eyes.   She is creative, caring, and artistic.  A delights me and reminds me a bit of myself at her age - the world still my oyster!

Recently, A wrote an article meant to "inspire" others.  I was incredibly moved and inspired by her article.  I thought,  "If even 1/4 of the 12 thousand viewers who frequent this blog are inspired and sparked by her words... well, then the world is already a better place!"  So, A, thank you for the motivation and INSPIRATION!  YOU will change this world in astonishing ways! 

Now, dear readers, A's article:

Do you think, that when we're old and dying, we'll look back at life and laugh and say, "I got all A's in my senior year?" Or that our only regret will be, "Why didn't I try harder to get into Harvard? Yale? Stanford? Why didn't I become CEO of my company? Why?

No.

When we're old and dying, we'll look back at the memories we made, laugh at them, remembering the good old days. Childhood summers. First loves. True love.

And we'll regret those things we failed to do. Not coming home from work on time. Not being there for our children's big moments. Not taking that trip to Europe. Not asking that big question. Not taking risks. Not coloring outside the lines.

It's the memories that matter. Not the merits. Go out there, and live. Live a life you'll want to look back on. Do crazy things. Risk it all. And love like there's no tomorrow. The possibilities are limitless.

You are limitless.

It's your turn. So go out there. And live.

Author: A. E.

Love,

Tiff

World History- The Middle Ages, Medieval/Early Renaissance, 400-1600 A.D.

Some great FREE history resources

Middle Ages History-

TWTM Year 2 History

Story of the World Volume 2 Free Resources

Free Lapbook Pages for SOTW Volume 2 created by a homeschooling mom as she teaches her children using the curriculum.  

Fantastic Memorization Cards - created by the same mom above.  The cards are perfectly aligned to the memory reomendations in TWTM for Year 2 History

Resources from Paula's Archives- an abundance of lists to help plan and use SOTW

List of living books from Penny Gardner to use along with your SOTW reading.

Some other links to free Middle Ages resources

Make Your Own Coat of Arms ~  Not only does this site have amazing (FREE) maps that you can print as large as 7 feet, but it also contains a great software program that allows you to create your own coat of arms and then print it out.  You can print it as a single page (8.5 x 11 size) or choose to make it large enough to glue to cardboard and play with by printing it on 4 pages.

They've also included a web page entitled, How to Make an Authentic Medieval Coat of Arms that details the history and use of the medieval coat of arms.  Here you will find educational software to create and print an authentic coat of arms and traditional medieval devices for them.  There's information on blazonry, or description of one's coat of arms, and simple explanations concerning emblazoning.   I'm very excited to work on this project with my kids, especially my son.  Learning history while enjoying the opportunity to create his own "identity" is perfect for him.

Make a Paper and Cardboard Medieval Castle

Another model castle, this one is suppose to be from the 13th century located somewhere in the south-west part of France.

How to build a Tatebanko Castle

5 weeks into our school year and Weekly Schedules

A & Z at the pool

After a FUN summer with friends and family, we're beginning our 5th week of being "back to school."   While I love having time to relax and hang out with my sweet children, starting school back is always a welcome back to a more organized schedule.

C at a Global MMA Kickboxing Exhibition

Fall is my favorite season (unless we are at the beach, of course!)  The weather is perfect and the colors sing in delight with God's glory here in Virginia.  I can't wait for the leaves to begin changing their colors so we can take our annual family vacation to the mountains.

A,B, & C downtown on the 4th of July

It's been exciting starting this year with the kids but as with most years, there are "bugs" to be worked out.  C is in 5th grade so it will be his first year (and mine) in the Logic Stage of the Trivium.

A and her doll downtown

After looking at and praying over the past year using the Classical Christian style of education, I find myself yearning again for a more Charlotte Mason style approach.  I miss the poetry, the nature study, the art and composer studies.  Although all of these CAN be a part of (and some say SHOULD be a part of) the Classical style, it's not the CORE and much more difficult to implement than it was when we were a more strictly CM homeschool. 

C at Tae Kwon Do Practice

My goal this year will be to balance those two styles and combine them to make a fit that is right for OUR family.  One of the blessings of home education is the flexibility of a mother to make that perfect fit. 

A & B at Tea house birthday party.

C at Sheriff's Dept. football camp

I believe it begins with prayer and then meditation on the direction the Lord has for our family.  I'm learning (slowly but surely as I can be hard-headed) to be more patient.  Things don't have to be decided here and now and not every decision is life or death. :)  It's our fourth year home schooling and YES, I just figured this out!  Did I mention I was hard headed?  I only want what's best for my children's future- as we all do or we wouldn't be homeschooling- but the stress and RUSH of trying to squeeze EVERY single topiI and minute out of our day to accomplish that "perfect" classical christian education has caused me to miss the most important things- those splendid moments of learning and bonding with my sweet children!

C & B at the pool with Friends

 I began the year with a schedule that included all that I wanted to cover- not what we NEEDED to cover but everything I WANTED to cover.  We began slowly, and I was able to get a feel for how things would work.  I found, however, that I have been pushing my 3rd grade dd's as much as my 5th grade son.  I had to pray and step back and look again.  The girls were becoming frustrated and stressed and that's never a great way to have school! <3  I've been so accustomed to handling so much of the grammar stage together- memory work, history, and science that I had to change my thinking a bit.  

A, B, & C at KD with friends.

Five weeks in and I took this weekend (with having Monday off because when my dear husband is home from work for a holiday we take a holiday) and sat down to read parts of , "The Well Trained Mind" yet again.  I must have read certain chapters in this book 40+ times each!  Yet I find myself going back to it again and again!  This year, however, I am also pulling back out my "Charlotte Mason Companion" that I read as many times during our first couple of years of homeschooling.  My prayers are that I will glean wisdom from these authors, mothers, homeschooling veterans, and educators those things that will work for our family and create a model which provides solid education, a great love for and desier to better know the Lord, senses of value and kind but strong character, and many joyful memories for my amazing children. 

New Nephew, J born on July 4th!

I'm adding the weekly schedules I created for my 3rd graders and 5th grader.

It's a tweak on the schedules we've been using the past couple of weeks.  I've rearranged things and split certain things up based on how our days and weeks have resulted thus far after 4 weeks into our school year.  I'm certain to continue tweaking and praying over it.  I'm just as certain I will do this throughout the rest of our homeschooling careers!  <3  As homeschool moms we have to be flexible in order to meet the needs of our households and our children.  It is a great joy to be able to spend my life caring for my family!  It is also a difficult and time consuming job- one that I wouldn't change!  Feel free to use these schedules to assist you in your homeschooling journey. 

My goal is to create history schedules and POSSIBLY some literature schedules that will include quality literature from the history time period we are studying.  We're focusing on the Middle Ages this year.  I've been pulling together resources and looking over different curriculum.  I have an eclectic bug that requires I do this!  I'm very happy to find some time to blog once again and I will prayerfully be adding many new posts, resource links, notebook pages, photos, and free materials and/or quality materials I come across in our journey.  I have missed my dear readers and I look forward to more as we continue on our journey!

Love,
Tiff

Yummy way to stay cool

PRE heat wave heat

We are in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave here and it's been difficult to stay cool even in the house with air conditioning!   I decided it would be an ideal time to complete some of this coming school year's plan while we are cooped up indoors.   I'm a bit of a procrastinator! :) 

I was reading through the homeschooling blogs and websites I'd tagged here and there that contained information I planned on using when I stumbled upon this great little recipe for a Caramel frappe. 

 The recipe was put together by the mom from Domessticated.  I froze my coffee when I found the recipe about 2 weeks ago.  Life happened and I have put off taking the time to make this treat for myself.

 With the heat and the fatigue from just being inside for a week, I decided to pull out those frozen bits of energy and give the recipe a try.  I hoped they would still be fresh enough to make it a hit. 
 
IT WAS-it is SO heavenly, delicious, gratifying, appetizing, tasteful, scrumptious, sweet, palatable (I'm starting to sound like a grammar student's IEW paper!  Just a joke! :) :) No one get upset :))), and COLD that I absolutely HAD to share it!! <3  Thanks and much love to Domessticated and her faithful taste testers because this frappe is beyond "spot on" as she'd hoped!  Its perfection in this HOT, HOT southeast mom's kitchen!  Muchas gracias amiga!

Love,
Tiff

Friday Photo Bliss

Inspired by Rita at the CoffeeShop Blog , I'm posting a photo for "Friday Photo Bliss." The goal is to post a photo that makes you smile, makes you happy, the photo from your week that just puts that big, cheesey grin on your face! You know the one! The goofy grin that you get without even realizing it and then when you DO realize it's spread across your face- you look around to see if anyone else sees you sitting there, alone, with that big, funny smile! :) I LOVE that kind of happiness!

So, thank you Rita for such an inspirational idea! My photo this week is of a dear, sweet friend of mine nursing her gorgeous baby. You only see the baby's feet ;) because I noticed her feet first. They were rubbing together :) so comfortably as if she was the most peaceful, happy, and secure infant in the world! Just an amazing moment - a blessing from God that we dont' always take time to notice. I didn't interrupt, I just snapped those sweet, soft little feet from across the way and smiled.

So, that's my Friday Photo Bliss... and here she is... I hope it gives you a big, silly, happy grin! Or at least warms your heart!

Sketch Tuesday - Something that lives in the ocean.

Sketch Tuesday- Something That Lives at the Beach

Thanks again to Barb (Harmony Art Mom) for another fun week of sketching!  This week's Sketch Tuesday was to draw somethig that lives at the beach.  Below are the drawings my three children completed for this past week's challenge.

BOLD- Home is where you start from photo contest

BOLD-

Jenny at Home is where you start from - posted BOLD as her L.E.N.S photo challenge of the week.  This photo reminds me of BOLD because my son, C., reminded me of just how BOLD he is when he began body surfing with his uncle this past summer.  Thanks Jenny for putting this out and allowing me to participate!  If you'd like to enter a photo, visit her blog Home is Where You Start From.

Online Flashcards for Latin Practice

Online Latin Flashcards

I created some basic flashcards online for Latin lessons 1 & 2 in Prima Latina by Leigh Lowe that I wanted to share.   The kids enjoy them for something a little different so I assign them once or twice a week.  We are on Lesson 11 now but it's always important to go back and review. 

Tweet & See- March (late)

Tweet & See List for March

Heather at Kingdom Arrows had a great idea she calls, "Tweet & See."  We keep a running list of all of the birds we see throughout the month and then submit the list to her blog at the end of each month.  It's simple, fun idea and a great way to share our hobby of bird watching.  I created a simple, free notebook page to keep track of the birds we see each month.  It's easy to pin it to the refrigerator or I make copies for each of us and keep them in the front of our daily notebooks.   This month's photos are blurry to say the least.  I apologize, I was shooting through the glass doors.

Here is our March list (better late than never this month!)

Apologies for the blurry photo,
it was shot through the sliding glass door.

1. Northern Cardinals (male & female)

2. Blue Jay

3. American Robin (our trusted, constant compaions)

4. Tufted Titmouse

5. Carolina Chickadee

6. House Sparrow

7. Northern Mockingbird (we think!)

8. Slate Colored Junco? (on the ground in the photo below

9. White-breasted Nuthatch? (the bird on the feeder below)

This bird (to the left) is not on our list because we were unsure as to its identity.  Comments are welcome if you could provide its name!  I'm tempted to identify the bird on the ground as a "slate-colored" junco. 

We just moved to our new home in November so we're curious to see how our birding goes this year.  We've finally put out our feeders and our bird bath.  We've been pleased so far.  Although it's a short list, for the amount of time the feeders were out in March, it's a good list and we've developed some "frequent flyers" that are visiting regularly already! 

We're so blessed that in the new house, we have sliding glass doors beside the kitchen/school table with a clear view to our "birding area."  :) It's so refreshing to have our feathered visitors in view all day! 

If you need assistance identifying birds during your birding time, we love the All About Birds website from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Thanks, Heather, for putting this idea together.  I know we are going to love it!!

Blessings!

Tiff

Keepers of the Faith & Contenders for the Faith



A learning to bake a lasagna

Cooking & Baking with my girls...

For several reasons, I have been focusing on reducing the amount of processed foods and chemicals that my family is exposed to.  In doing so, I'm so blessed to enjoy such lovely time cooking and baking with my girls.  We're having fun with the trials and errors (Dad isn't enjoying the errors so much :)) and most importantly loving each other and the extra time together.

I've had "Keepers of the Home" from Keepers of the Faith for my daughters for about a year but with homeschooling, our hectic schedules, and life in general, we've been a bit "hit or miss" about it. Our new focus on natural and organic foods and cleaners is giving me the opportunity to involve them and work through the KOH program as an added bonus.



B enjoying our lasagna



I thought I'd share our HITS with you :) maybe laugh over some of the misses and blog about how we are accomplishing or failing at using our KOH series! :)  If you've not heard of KOH or KOF, you may want to hop over to their website.  I also purchased the "Contenders for the Faith" book for my son.  It's such a blessing!  



The Keepers of the Faith series provides an organized collection of  life skills and habits that are important to the spiritual growth of our kids and providing much needed life skills at the same time.  Too many children miss out on these things and this a fun and productive way to pass on knowledge to our children.

To have a clearer picture of what skills are taught through these two books, the company has a skills index you might want to peruse. 

One of the first skills the girls and I are working on is baking and cooking.  What a blessing to be working towards a new, healthier eating style for our family together with my daughters!  We have what I considered healthy habits in general but after my daughter, B , recently had a seizure, I have become more focused on cooking and baking from whole foods and purchasing less processed and "put together" grocery items. 

Cake we made for C's birthday

It is more time consuming but it's time consumed with my girls!  We are spending time in each others company; I'm providing training on necessary skills for them at an early age; they're learning a life long skill to enjoy and use to provide for others; and of course, working towards thier Baking Pin. :)   By the way, these motivating little pins cost a whopping $2.50! :)  It's an economical way to reward them for hard work! 

Two of our first very succesful baking attempts were Fresh Zucchini Muffins and a Whole Wheat Bread.  Not only did the girls and I find them delicious, but Dad and brother did as well!  A & B were blushing with pride and excitement as they watched the "boys" devour thier hard work!  Instilling this godly confidence in them was a rewarding and touching experience! 

Here are the two recipes we used.  I'm hoping to continue blogging about our amazing experiences and sharing recipes, craft ideas, and what does and doesn't work! 

Love,
Tiff