Have Fun with Art! - a new card game for kids

I've always loved school, books, learning.
Math and English came the easiest for me,
but the hands-on fun of science and art is just fabulous!
I can't even say the word, "art" without smiling. :-)
See?

A friend of mine purchased a cute little art game from a local artist. There are cards for eyes, noses, mouths. Children take turns picking a card from each category, and then everyone draws those features.

We decided to make our own.

Eyes (for some reason my pictures will not turn. Phooey. Turn your head.)

Some of our Nose collection

Mouths

We also did Face Shape.
(and then added Hair, Ears, and Accessories cards after these pictures were taken.)
The key is to make it simple enough for the kids to easily copy.
My players are 10-, 8-, and 4-years old, so I kept that in mind.

Go around in the circle, with each child picking a card. First child randomly selects a face shape card from the baggie, and everyone draws the face shape on their paper. Next child chooses an eye card, and everyone draws the eyes on .... and so forth.

These are the cards we ended up with on our first round.

Ah, what sad pictures to start off with.
Maybe we'll get a happier face next time...

well, kinda...

Then we did some half-pictures. I drew simple bodies or heads on sheets of paper, and the kids had to complete the pictures.

Here is Nature Man's first one.
Stinker. ;-)

The best kind of art is FUN art! Enjoy it! Get into it. Interact, Smile, Create, Imagine!
Make it meaningful.

A New Direction for Art

My parents with The Artist and Nature Man

I was spinning around in my last post, with too many directions, plans, interests and thoughts about the past and future.

Now, in at least one area, I'm focusing on a specific direction. You know me... I sew for awhile, then scrapbook, then garden... and then I paint or do photography. Each "phase" lasts until I'm inspired to push forward to the next venture.

This venture can be called Thinking Outside the Box: An Artistic Adventure with Kids. :-)

I came upon my new inspiration while visiting Philbrook with the kids yesterday.

Let me just say:

I. Love. Art.
Lucky for me, my entire family does.(My mom took this picture of me, The Artist, Nature Man, and my Dad.)

Our Philbrook field trip featured on About.com's Homeschool Links, here.

Today we had a royal family day, complete with games, crafts, a Natural Falls hike
(on every one of the trails!)
and then we came home to play with side walk chalk.

Dash, don't let go! That wind is blowing hard!

Nature Man, make sure that parachute is strapped on properly next time!!

The Artist blows out the candles... on Dash's cake. He didn't mind the help. :-)

Below, Dash in the car that he drew by himself.

Quite the 4-year old artist!

We've also been working on lapbooks and more folder games during our "free time." More about those coming up!

Spinning

Do you ever have those "spinning moments?" You know, when so much is going on, and there are seriously SO MANY things to do, create, fix, clean, and cook that you don't even know which direction to turn? Sometimes this is a bad thing. No one likes to feel dizzy and nauseous, right? However, the spinning is occasionally fun. I might just close my eyes and suddenly stop and point. Okay, I landed on the stove. What should I cook now? ;-)

But, really, boredom is a foreign term for my family. How can anyone ever be bored when there is still so much left to learn, read, do?? Think about? Pray about?

Although I've been very busy lately with school and extracurricular activities, interests and hobbies, I continue to find myself lost in thoughts and memories while I watch the kids play. I suppose when a family is hit by disease, it's natural to reflect on life, goals, decisions, the past and future. (Yes, I sit here "spinning" again...)

My grandmother just had surgery. It was nothing like her last Whipple surgery, but difficult nonetheless.

Papaw wrote,

"this should take care of that terrible nausea and vomiting she has been experiencing for the last two months. But you must realize that it solves nothing in relationship to the tumor--pancreatic cancer. Dr. MacFarlane told us, though, that he saw the tumor and felt it and that it is localized in one spot which is good news because sometimes it just spreads rapidly throughout the whole area. I remind you that the doctor, with our consent, is discontinuing chemo treatments and is ordering hospice care after she goes home.

What you should be aware of, though, is that without chemo and without bowel blockage perhaps, probably, she will have a much better quality of life for whatever time the Lord gives her on this earth."

She has been fighting this cancer for years. Right there, that defeats the odds. Do you realize that pancreatic cancer's 99% mortality rate is the highest of any cancer, and the average life expectancy after diagnosis with metastatic disease is just three to six months?? Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. for men and women, and only 4% of patients survive beyond five years. Because there is no cure or early detection methods, effective treatment options are extremely limited. It was a miracle that she could even have the Whipple surgery.

It's easy to NOT think about hard things, right? Until it hits too close to home. For me, death has never really hit close. I've only been to one funeral in my life, and it was for a co-worker of Fred's, a young man I had not met. I grieved for his family, and prayed for them... but the crisis didn't touch my heart like it would have for someone I loved dearly. Do you understand?This is my Mimi, in Monterey, CA in 1998

I have not lost my Mimi yet, and I know I will only be "losing" her here on earth when her time comes. But these times on earth have been so GOOD, and it's hard to let go.
We've been great friends for as long as I can remember.(Mimi and Papaw with 8 great-grandchildren, at my house in 2008)

I used to sit on the edge of her bed while she french-braided my hair and dressed me up.(This was taken at their house in Arkansas, riding on my pony in the screened-in porch,
after Mimi had braided my hair and then my doll's.)

She always let us help her cook, roll out the cinnamon rolls, decorate cookies,

from the time we were very little.(Yep, that picture above is me. Yes, I was a blond. And I wore boy clothes.
And the picture below shows two of my little boys baking with Mimi last year.)

I remember watching her sew, grade papers, host parties, decorate her home... all of the things that I do now as an adult. There were walks by the beach, afternoons for tea parties.(It was a bad-hair-year. I don't know what my Mom was thinking!)

Mimi and Papaw made every birthday and accomplishment a special occasion.

Fine dining for an 8th birthday.

They've never been "too old" for anything! I remember vacations upon vacations, walks and bike rides, swimming and wind-surfing (okay, they just watched me do that!)

Above, a family vacation to Denver, CO. Papaw in a hotel pool with five little granddaughters.
Below, a bike ride while on vacation in Monterey, California (one of the most beautiful places on earth.)
(From left to right: me, Julie, and Amy in front)

So many amazing memories...

Here we're in Mimi and Papaw's backyard. Notice the huge garden & the bike next to our wagon.
We had so much fun there!

This was taken last year. Mimi shows my little ones what she has made for them.

Earlier this year, going to visit Mimi and Papaw in Washington.
I guess it's good to end the post with a sunset.
When her time is over here,
her new dawn will be more glorious than we can imagine.

Making Fossils

Continuing on our study of the earth, we're now looking at rocks and minerals. One of my Nature Man's favorites, below, is an example of an igneous rock (intrusive, crystalline, quartz, etc.)

Here's a smaller one, that he just bought at the "Rock Shop," as we call it.

Then we studied about extrusive igneous rocks, which is magma (now lava) that cools on the surface of the earth. Two types of extrusive igneous are obsidian and pumice. To demonstrate how these are chemically the same, yet look so different, we used an egg white.

Yes, yes, more egg demonstrations!! ;-)

At this point, I put down the camera and neglected to pick it back up. oops
Put an egg white in a bowl and show the kids.
This represents Obsidian, rock without gas bubbles.
Then whip or beat it into a thick meringue.
The meringue represent pumice rock, full of gas bubbles.
They loved it and they "got it."

The following day we studied Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rock.

Short version for the web:

Sedimentary is the only kind of rock that contains fossils. To make your own fossils, combine 1 cup salt with 1 cup flour and enough water to make a dough. This should be about the consistency of play dough. If it's too wet, your objects will stick to it. If it's too dry, they won't imprint. Experiment with small batches of salt/ flour mixture and a little water at a time.
Then bake until hard! We baked ours at 350 degrees for awhile. Maybe 20 or so minutes. Then put them up on a shelf. I had mine sitting out on the table and my Mom stopped by and nearly ate one.

Another suggestion for book lovers out there: Shakespeare for Kids. I recently discovered it, and we've finished two now. The kids love it and so do I!! It's a fabulous introduction, for young children, to great literature. Best of all, it encourages narration through retelling, acting, letter-writing, and pictures.
The Artist's rendition of Lysander and Hermia (with Puck hovering nearby.)

Happy Schooling!

Prayer Request for Mimi

My Mimi will be having surgery today. Please keep her in your prayers.

Thank you.

Update from my aunt:

Dad met with the surgeon who said that the surgery was a great success and she still has 95% of the bowel intact. Another piece of good news is that the tumor is localized. Mom will be in the hospital at least 4-5 more days but should have the NG tube out in 2-3 days. Dr. McFarland said that this has made her very sick and that once she recovers from the surgery she should feel much better.

Dad also met with the oncologist, Dr. Ward. They are going to discontinue the chemotherapy, as she is not strong enough to combat the effects, and it cannot kill the tumor or reduce it much and it is not helping. Dr. Ward said that when she is released from the hospital, they will put us in contact with hospice.

Dad said to remind everyone that the last 2 months have been horrible for her, and she should feel much better for awhile and have some good times ahead, and that God is gracious to give us more time with her.

I will pass on to Dad and Mom all the messages of love and prayer that you all have been sending.

Love,

Jeannine