Sunday Art Study: Mood

Today we talked about the mood of a painting. We looked at a selection of Van Gogh's paintings and discussed color, texture, and the mood that the pieces project. We also took a brief look at some of the work of Jackson Pollock. We then experimented with paint, using our fingers as tools. After the kids got the hang of the textured looks they could create with their fingers we talked about color and mood. We decided to make landscapes that would capture a certain mood. The kids each chose a different landscape and then I picked something that they weren't doing, just to show them how it could be done, (and because mom like to paint, too.) It has been a fun evening of paint and conversation. I will post pictures soon.

Books We Read

We read a lot here. We used to keep track of the books that we read on a poster, but we ran out of room and we just fell out of the habit. In looking back at that old poster, though I began to realize just how much we read in this house. We have a library with close to 4,000 books in our house (that is in great need of organization). I loved going to the library as a child and was always heartbroken when I had overdue fees that prevented me from checking out books. I started our home library 10 years ago and it has grown and grown. We read together and independently. We read all kinds of books. We have a very long list of books that we want to read and not enough time in the day to get to them all. I remember working 45 hours a week and wishing I had more time to read. I have more time now, but it never seems like enough. I want to read more.

I personally read a lot of young adult fiction and non fiction. I read a lot of books on teaching and learning. I read a lot of cook books and books of poetry. I read a lot of everything, with the exception being parenting books. I don't like them. There are so many parenting books out there. Many of them contradict each other and none of them know my children. The make many generalizations that have nothing to do with my family. With so many books and so little time, I just skip them.

Meredith likes to read nonfiction. She also likes the Redwall books. She tends to read many books all at the same time. I don't know how she keeps them all straight.

Matthew likes books that are funny and adventurous. He really enjoyed the Percy Jackson book series.

Margaret is just learning to read. She still claims that she can't read, but she has read several readers to me. She is still learning and growing. Then again, aren't we all?

James loves our story times. He has his favorite board books, but will listen to anything.

I will be posting book reviews by the kids and myself later on, but for now, I'm off to read with Margaret.

The S word

1)I want a natural approach to socialization for my kids. I don't want to seek out friends for my children. I want them to find them on their own.

2)I don't want to limit my children to playing with kids the same age and gender as my kids. That doesn't seem natural to me. My friends aren't all the same age as me, or gender. As adults we don't limit ourselves to only having friends that are exactly like us.

3)Diversity is a beautiful thing. It makes life interesting and it keeps a relationship exciting.

4)Kids need to learn how to not get along for a while and then how to work things out. It is a life skill. I'm not talking about a bully/victim situation here. Sometimes you do need to just walk away from a relationship, but you will never know how to identify a toxic relationship if all relationships are viewed as toxic.

5)I have a friend. We don't agree on everything. We are not the same age. We do not have the same number of children and our children are not the same ages. We get along and our kids do, too. They don't get along perfectly. I enjoy watching them navigate the bumps that they encounter, though. It helps them all to grow as people. It helps them to learn how to be tolerant of others, a lesson that many adults could use.

What is Stone Milk?

I was reading Stone Soup to my youngest child. He was amazed by the people coming together to create something that they could all share. He has since, started asking for "stone milk" when he wants to breastfeed. When you think about it, stone milk is much like stone soup. Farmers, owners of markets, neighbors, friends, and family come together with us to provide, prepare, and enjoy a meal. My body turns that meal into the milk that I provide my son to help him grow.

In the same way that others help me to provide my youngest with this stone milk, they also help me to teach my children what they need to learn in life. My children do not learn only from books. They do not attend a public school. They learn from life, experience, and those around them. They learn from their grandparents, from animals, from the nice old man next door, and the not so nice one on the other side. Every person my children have contact with has an opportunity to contribute to the growth and nurturing of another human being. We all have that opportunity when we walk out our doors. Humans never stop learning. We all have a chance to contribute to the lives of others, to help them grow, to be a part of their stone milk.