Landscape Extensions with Pastel

Our regular monthly trip to the Art Gallery again inspired us to try new things with our Art Supplies.

The children were given a black and white photocopy of one section of a landscape, they were to glue this to thier large sheet of white paper, anywhere they wanted.

With a soft black pastel (charcoal would also work) they were required to 'extend' their landscape image across the page. This really had them looking closely at their picture and how the landscape was 'made up'. Where hills began and ended, were various rock formations were placed and if only parts of these were visible on the photocopy image.

After extending the landscape they were given an array of more black and white photocopies of various pictures, cars, dogs, people, flowers, trees etc. The idea was to place these in the foreground of their 'extended landscape'.

B's extended landscape.

K's extended landscape.

(sorry I just realised these are a little blurry, they didn't look that way on my camera, I need to check my settings)

This was fun, on the way home we discussed the possibility of trying this technique in colour.

Weekly Wonders #6 April 17th & 24th

Catching up with my Weekly Wrap Up Posts for Term 2 and combining two weeks into one post. Sorry not one photo, I'm still not quite back into the swing of the things and if I wait for photo's I'll have to combine three weeks into one!

Weekly Wonders 17th & 24th April

Our first week back in the term was a very slow week as B had quite big injury at the park on his scooter on the Wednesday morning. It was one of those borderline injuries where you are trying to decide do you take them to see the GP or not.

We chose the ‘or not’ option and whilst it has been fine he has taken some time to recover from it. His scooter broke whilst he was going flat out along the path, he took a big chunk from his big toe, several scrapes on the top of his foot and ankle and quite a large scrape on his knee. Hence he has barely been able to walk in nearly a week and has been in quite a bit of pain.

B's Week

Language Arts

Fitzroy Program – Lesson 21
Explode The Code – Lessons 8 & 9
Developing Literacy – Word Activities
Developing Literacy – Sentence Activities

Literature Unit Study – The Story of Ping (ongoing) Story Sequencing, Behold The Duck Poem and Illustration

Mathematics

Targeting Mental Maths – Units 7 & 8
Targeting Maths – Pages 14 – 21
Counting Pings Family (part of literature unit study – Ping)

The Arts

Australian Animals Drawing Workshop with Cameron Stelzer (held at library)
Endangered Animals Drawing/Watercolours Workshop with local Artist (held at library)
Endangered Animals Clay Workshop with local Artist (held at library)
Star Wars Drawing galore
Designed a ‘boat’ (part of literature unit study – Ping)
Salt Dough Map of China (work in progress)

Science

Types of Ducks (part of literature unit study – Ping)
Science Centre Excursion

Geography

Where does Ping live (China, Yangtze River)
Map of China, labelled Beijing, Yangtze River

Social Studies

Flag of China
Ping Egg Toasties
Ping from celery & carrot sticks

Sport

Golf Lesson

Soccer – the season has just started and he has missed his first 2 games due to the leg injury, so not a happy boy about that.

Other

Park & Playground with friends

K's Week

Language Arts

Starfall.com
PBS Kids.org

K also started Level 1 (Alphabet Reading) of the On Track Reading Program put out by Of Primary Importance. It is a Sight Words Reading program and whilst I don’t believe in using a program such as this purely for teaching reading, part of me does feel that not having any Sight Word instruction did delay B a little with his reading (Fitzroy introduces Sight Words slowly throughout the program).

So the plan is for K to complete this first level, which has a reader for each letter of the alphabet. They learn simple sight words and then the focus of the initial sound for each letter. Once she is comfortable with all of her letters (we are still using games and Montessori I Spy) we will start with the Pink Series and work into the Fitzroy Reading Program.

This week she completed the first four Books A – D and each has 2 pages of activities to go along with them.

The Arts

Australian Animals Drawing Workshop with Cameron Stelzer (held at library)
Endangered Animals Clay Workshop with local Artist (held at library)
Designed a ‘boat’ (part of literature unit study – Ping)
Salt Dough Flag of China (work in progress)

Science

Types of Ducks (part of literature unit study – Ping)
Science Centre Excursion

Geography

Where does Ping live (China, Yangtze River)
Map of China

Social Studies

Flag of China
Ping Egg Toasties

Other

Park & Playground with friends

Hopefully I'll be back in full swing for this week's wrap up.

Homeschool Hop #8 Problems

I am having problems getting the Hop Code sorted over at McLinky......I haven't done one since they have updated their site and all I keep get is an error message. I have emailed them about it, but just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten.

Fingers crossed it gets sorted soon.

I AM ALIVE!!!!!

Really I Am!!! Even though I have been MIA for a tad longer than what I said I would be.

I had an urgent family matter that cropped up during my blogging holiday that I had to attend to, these past couple of weeks have been very trying and draining but I am getting back on top of it all now.

I am so so sorry about the Blog Hop, I know I said I would continue to post them but I just wasn't even able to do that. In fact this is the first time I have even looked at my blog in nearly 4 weeks, I haven't even looked at another blog in all that time either!!

Nothing got done, like I had hoped but really in the scheme of things it doesn't matter at all. All that matters is that ALL of my family are ok.

Too be honest I barely even missed my blog, which I really thought I would before going on the break but I haven't. So like so many other bloggers have done before me after coming back from a break I am rethinking my blogging and how much time and effort I want to put into it.

I love my blog and love the home schooling blog community it is fabulous but I'm not sure I will continue the pace of blogging that I have kept up during the earlier parts of this year. I really want to keep going with my Weekly Wonders because I was blown away when I went throught the posts and compiled everything we had done. I will also continue with the Blog Hops (starting back next Monday) but that's about all I am prepared to commit to at the moment.

No doubt once I get into the swing of the things the blog will have its way of drawing me back in, but I am determined to continue with my blogging holidays at the end of every term. I'm actually not looking forward to the end of this term. I had drama's last blogging break and now again during this one.

Anyway, sorry again and thanks for your well wishes I do appreciate it them very much.

Term 1 2010 Wrap Up's

More for me than anything, following are our wrap ups from Term 1. I have not linked to any posts or included any photo's but I have my Weekly Wonders all linked seperately if I need to find something.

B (8) Term 1 Wrap Up 2010

Language Arts

Fitzroy Reading – completed Level 11 – 20, along with the workbook of weekly lessons. Includes phonics instruction, sight words, comprehension and grammar work.

Explode The Code – completed Lessons 1 – 6 of Book 2 (blends)

Book Journal – George’s Secret Key

Montessori Language:

Blue Series Work (blends)
Moveable Alphabet
Story Writing Cards – Theme ‘The Garden’
Metal Insets – Improving Handwriting

Read Alouds – Minimum of 4 Readers per day with a mixture of books at his level, just below his level (to build confidence & fluency) and just above his level. This includes children’s picture books.

Quiz Tree Software for Sight Words Practice and Sentence Construction Practice

Mathematics

Qld Targeting Maths Year 3 - Completed Pages 2 – 12. Topics Covered:

Numbers to 100
Counting by 5s and 10s
O’clock, half past and digital time
2 digit numbers
Hundred Square
Naming 3D Objects, Faces
Bridging Ten, Making 20
Comparing Mass & Measuring Mass

Targeting Mental Maths Year 2 (3 for Qld) – Completed Units 1 – 6.
Topics Covered:

Addition Using Number Line
Number Words
Addition Using Counting On
Space and Shapes
Word Problems
Less Than More Than
Money Addition
Subtraction Using Counting Back
Length
Estimation
Making Ten
Time – O’clock, half past
Counting in 10’s & 2’s
Addition in 10’s
Space and Symmetry
Patterning
Looking for tens
Mass
Fractions – halves & quarters
Multiplication – groups of
Doubles

Math U See Alpha – Completed Lessons 8 – 11.
Topics Covered:

Addition
Skip Counting 10’s & 2’s
Solve for the Unknown Addition
Shapes
Word Problems
Decimal Numbers to the hundred
Unit Test for Lessons 1 – 10 completed with100% accuracy

View & Do Maths Investigations Level 1 Completed Investigations 1 and 2

Science

Mini Plant Study using Montessori:

Parts of a Plant, including labelling
Coloured Flowers Experiment
Several books

Documentaries:

Tornadoes
Whales
Magic School Bus Dinosaurs & Reptiles
Magic School Body Basics

Living/Non Living/Never Living/Once Living Work using Montessori

Read Aloud: George’s Secret Key To The Universe (Space)

Bubble Science Experiments:

How to prepare bubble solution
Bubble Structures & Principles of Bubbles
Bubble Harmonica’s
Bubble Chains
Giant Bubbles
Coloured Bubbles
Bubble Prints

Social Studies:

James May Toy Stories, weekly series about Toys of yesteryear:

Plasticine
Meccano
Scalextric
Airfix
Model Train
Lego

St Patrick’s Day Mini Study:

Where is Ireland
Map Work
History of St Patrick’s Day & St Patrick
Symbols of St Patrick’s Day & Ireland
Story Writing
St Patrick’s Spelling Words
Craft

History

Through Picture Books:

Born With A Bang – Full Narration completed along with watercolour illustrations
From Lava To Life

Geography

Land/Water/Air Montessori Presentation

Art

8 Week Program with Art Teacher.

Topics Covered:

Week 1: Colour landscapes. Students practised primary and secondary colour mixing. While creating a landscape city at dusk. Students mixed blue to purple to red to orange to yellow.

Week 2: Artists and colour: Piet mondrian: Students looked at shape and colour and how it is used in art. We designed an abstract city after looking a Mondrian work, using cut outs shapes and lines.

Week 3: Fantasy Fish. Elements of design line, shape, colour, texture were used to create a finished fish drawing. We then used colour theory to complete the fish.

Week 4: Start of portraits. Students discussed the shape of faces, proportions and position of eyes, nose, mouth and ears. We used cartooning discoveries to find out how to create emotions and feelings in faces.

Week 5: Students made mixed media Picasso portraits. This incorporates elements of design such as shape line and proportion. Allows students scope to create using different mediums.

Week 6: Portraits. Drawing and Gauche. Over 2 art lessons the students will compose their own self portraits.

Week 7: As above.

Week 8: Clay faces. Relief sculpture. Students learnt about clay and design, how to join clay and they used additive and subtractive methods to make an expressive face

Bunnings Hardware Workshop:
Wooden and Wire Bird Feeders

At home Art:

Sydney Harbour (Opera House & Bridge) Drawing and Painting in Acrylics
Playdough Sculptures
Bubble Prints
Shape Game Drawings
Toot Toot Beep Beep Paintings
Annual Canvas Painting (landscape)
Various Drawings in pencil and felt pen

Nature

Paperbark Trail Nature Walk (Daisy Hill Forest)
Creek Exploring (Cedar Creek)
Taronga Zoo Sydney
Percy The Platypus Read Aloud and Sketch Book Entry

Sport

Swimming:

5 days of intensive training with swim teacher
Free swimming on holidays and in our backyard pool

Mixed Sports – 8 week program covering various sports & skills:

AFL Auskick
Ball Handling and General Sports Skills

Gymnastics – 8 week program covering basic gymnastics skills and use of various apparatus. Mini Balance Beam Competition on last day of term was won by Brayden.

At Home:

Indoor Obstacle Courses
Scooters, Bikes, Kicking Ball, Swings, Trampoline

Technology/Construction

Lego
Box Construction

K (5) Term 1 Wrap Up 2010

Language Arts

Focus on initial sounds, working through Alpha Tales Picture Book Series, playdough mats, various printable worksheets

Montessori Language

Eye Spy using Montessori Methods and miniatures for use with initial sound work
Metal Insets (Montessori) Aids in pencil control & handwriting skills
Story Writing Cards – Theme ‘The Garden’

Read Aloud

Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales

Software

Reading Eggs Software Level 1 discs 1 and 2
PBS Kids Website
Starfall.com

Mathematics

Singapore Early Bird Maths Book 1B
Lessons 1 - 18 Topics Covered:

Solid Shapes
Reading & Writing of Numerals
Cardinal Numbers
Counting
Arranging Numbers in sequence
Zero
Counting backwards from 10
One to One Matching
Picture Graphs
Even & Odd
Counting in Two’s
Time Sequence
Ordinal Numbers
Shapes & Patterns

Singapore Early Bird Maths Book 2A
Lessons 1 – 5 Topics Covered:

Reading & Writing of Numerals
Counting Orally
Arranging numbers in sequence
Equal Numbers
Greater Than/Less Than
Comparison of Numbers

Telling Time to the Hour
Days of the Week
Months of the Year

Montessori:

Number Rods
Number Cards & Counters
Spindle Boxes
Bead Stair 1 - 10
Introduction to Decimal System with Golden Beads

The Arts

Sleeping Beauty Play for family

8 Week Program with Art Teacher.
Topics Covered:

Week 1: Colour landscapes. Students practised primary and secondary colour mixing. While creating a landscape city at dusk. Students mixed blue to purple to red to orange to yellow.

Week 2: Clown colour wheels. Introduced the colour wheel and warm and cool colours. Colour wheel discovery through making a clown in a circus background.

Week 3: Artists and colour: Piet Mondrian: Students looked at shape and colour and how it is used in art. We designed an abstract city after looking a Mondrian work, using cut outs shapes and lines.

Week 4: Start of portraits. Students discussed the shape of faces, proportions and position of eyes, nose, mouth and ears. We used cartooning discoveries to find out how to create emotions and feelings in faces.

Week 5: Students made mixed media Picasso portraits. This incorporates elements of design such as shape line and proportion. Allows students scope to create using different mediums.

Week 6: Portraits. Drawing and Gauche. Over 2 art lessons the students will compose their own self portraits. What I want to be when I grow up.

Week 7: Students continued portraits and the started mixed media Collograph collage (portrait)

Week 8: Students saw printing process and experienced print making of there people Collographs

Bunnings Hardware Workshop:
Wooden and Wire Bird Feeders

At home Art:

Mixed Media Collages
Playdough Sculptures
Bubble Prints
Shape Game Drawings
Toot Toot Beep Beep Paintings
Annual Canvas Painting (landscape)
Various Drawings in pencil and felt pen

Sensorial Activities (Montessori)

Colour Sorting Tasks
Knobbed Cylinders
Fabric Sorting (textures)
Knobless Cylinders

Science

Documentaries:

Tornadoes
Whales
Magic School Bus Dinosaurs & Reptiles
Magic School Body Basics

Living/Non Living Work using Montessori Principles & Materials

Bubble Science Experiments:

How to prepare bubble solution
Bubble Structures & Principles of Bubbles
Bubble Harmonica’s
Bubble Chains
Giant Bubbles
Coloured Bubbles
Bubble Prints

Mini Plant Study using Montessori:

Parts of a Plant
Coloured Flowers Experiment
Several books

Nature

Paperbark Trail Nature Walk (Daisy Hill Forest)
Creek Exploring (Cedar Creek)
Taronga Zoo Sydney
Percy The Platypus Read Aloud

History

Through Picture Books:

Born With A Bang – Full Narration completed along with watercolour illustrations
From Lava To Life

Geography

Land/Water/Air Montessori Presentation

Social Studies

James May Toy Stories, weekly series about Toys of yesteryear:

Plasticine
Meccano
Scalextric
Airfix
Model Train
Lego

St Patrick’s Day Mini Study:

Where is Ireland
Map Work
History of St Patrick’s Day & St Patrick
Symbols of St Patrick’s Day & Ireland
Story Writing
Crafts

Sport

Swimming:

5 days of intensive training with swim teacher
Free swimming on holidays and in our backyard pool

Gymnastics – 8 week program covering basic gymnastics skills and use of various apparatus. Mini Balance Beam Competition on last day of term was won by Brayden.

At Home:

Indoor Obstacle Courses
Scooters, Bikes, Kicking Ball, Swings, Trampoline

Technology/Computer

PBS Kids Site
Starfall
Box Construction
Lego