Day Two: Creative Arts

After yesterday's time logging  challenge, today seemed to be a breeze. Yesterday felt frenetic, trying to keep times inhibited me from really getting into the swing of the day, nonetheless, I am glad I did it.

Today was different. Our focus was better fit to our families needs and enjoyment. We started today like everyday. Cajoling,coffee infusion, morning walk, etc.

We started our school day with Bible( like everyday). Today we were reading from Genesis 9. We discussed what a covenant was and the details of God's covenant. At the end of the story we see God provide a symbol for his covenant- the rainbow.

I decided that I would tie in Bible with Art / Art history today and make a craft that would go along with both. The result was a craft on Rainbow Mosaics( rainbow being abstract- simply multi-color mosaics)
We discussed the known history of mosaics and our first records of them, the assorted materials that were used to make them along with the class/ status of people who originally would have had them done. We then took a brief look at expanding the idea of a mosaic and the materials that could be used. For example a mosaic that had been made out of apples and weighed almost 9,000 pounds.

This is what the kids created today:

An under the sea mosaic using construction paper

A horse and her foal using stickers

An alien robot woman using beads for the woman and stickers for the background.

These take quite a bit of time. The kids were initially given an hour to work on them and were able to continue their work during free time.We played classical music in the background and the running joke with the kids today was that they were making mosaics while listening to Mozart.  Of course the kids also had Math, Reading, and Grammar today but those pictures aren't much fun LOL! 

We do a lot of crafting in the house and sometimes we run out of supplies faster than I anticipate or notice. That happened today. We were out of glue halfway through the project. No worries! You can make your own glue at home with 4 basic ingredients from your kitchen ( 3 if you don't count water).

Here is a link just in case it ever happens to you:  http://sustainableecho.com/homemade-natural-glue/

This is by far the best recipe for homemade glue I have found and the kids thought it worked better than Elmers. The only thing, is that it does not dry clear, so it would not be a good choice if you are looking to finish a project with a top coat of glue. Otherwise it works great! Plus the kids think it is awesome that it is edible- yuck!

In addition my oldest had her first Calligraphy lesson, something she has been asking to do for quite a while. 

I found a great Calligraphy book for kids that we are enjoying. I appreciate that it gives a brief history of calligraphy and different alphabets as well as instructions on how to sit , hold your pen, etc.

The author is Eleanor Winters

One of the kids favorite classes is Music. The kids all worked on learning how to read sheet music with my husband today.  

So that was our school day! 

 I like to share a recipe when I can. We made pizza's tonight and this is the recipe we use. BTW it's my own recipe so no need to site this one.

 

2 packets active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water- 110 degrees

2 tsp. sugar

1 cup cold water

4 Tbsp. olive oil

3.5-4 cups flour (you can use white, wheat or a combo of the two) 

1 tsp. salt

Before rise

After 1 hour

Mix the first 3 ingredients and let proof for 10 minutes.Add the remaining ingredients. Knead by hand- or Kitchen Aid if you have a hook attachment for 8-10 minutes until smooth. This dough is a bit sticky so be prepared for that part. Spray a large bowl with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil and place dough inside. Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm spot for 15 minutes. Punch down, re-shape, and cover. Let rise for 1 hour. Your dough is now ready to be used and topped with whatever you like. We use a pizza stone and set our oven to 500 degree's. It takes about 8 minutes for individual pizza's. As a note this will make 5 relatively well sized personal pizza's. If you do not have a pizza stone you can always use a sheet pan 

Well that's it for today! See you tomorrow!.