Life Masks

We have been doing Art appreciation since we started implementing the Charlotte Mason method of education last September. I will confess that I never thought my children would enjoy this new subject, but I was pleasantly surprised. They love it, and look forward to it every week.

We just finished studying the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci, using this book that I found at the library.....

A word of warning: there are a couple of photos that, in my opinion, aren't appropriate for children's eyes, so I kept the book out of reach. When it was time for the lesson, I read aloud to them from the book, and I controlled which photos they could see.  Other than that, the book is wonderful, with lots of ideas for crafts, recipes, a short lesson on how to speak Italian, and even drawing lessons.

One of the craft ideas was about making masks. Leonardo made Death Masks for  families whose  loved ones  had passed away. He would decorate the masks with things that reflected that loved one's life.

The idea in the book was called Life Masks, which my children eagerly wanted to make. I drew the outline of the masks, and each child decorated their mask with pictures of their life: what they like to do and what their hobbies are.


So, here are our Life Masks.....

This is Mimi's. She likes to color, swing, have tea parties, sew on buttons, play with our cat, and play football with her brothers. 

This is Natty's. She likes to play the piano, crochet, paint, sew, read her Bible, and play with Barbies.

This is Asher's. He likes to play guitar, do anything that has to do with Art, read his Bible, work with his Dad's tools,  take care of his snapping turtle, do archery, sing, and play badminton.

This is Aaron's. He likes to invent things, collect pocketknives, fish, play with our cat, play his recorder, do school, play football, cook, crochet, and text his oldest sister on his Dad's cell phone.

This is Ian's. He likes to play his sax and clarinet, play football, read his Bible, fly his RC helicopter, throw his boomerang, play with his pet snake, and hunt with his Dad.

I'm going to hang these masks in our schoolroom to help the children remember our study of Leonardo da Vinci.  :)

Happy homeschooling, everyone!










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What I'm Thankful For This Week

Looking back on this week, I have so much to be thankful for.  I could never list everything, but here are some of them...

...lots of quiet time in the Word, early in the morning, when the house was quiet.

...lots of learning on the part of my children, both with school lessons, and life lessons.

 ...a hubby who works hard and diligently to provide for our family not just this week, but every week.  And who drove me into "the city" yesterday to an appointment because the thought of navigating our bus through all that traffic terrifies me. And who sat with me through the entire 3 1/2 hour appointment to help me remember everything that was discussed. And who stopped by the grocery store on the way home and saw to it that I bought only what is healthy for me.  :)


...my mom  (age 77)  who came over to stay with my children from 10:30 am til 7:30 pm  while hubby drove me to said appointment.  What a comfort to know that my children were under her watchful eyes, and being well cared for!

...children who were on their best behavior while Grandma was here,  and who helped her get the meals ready, and clean up afterwards, and even gave her a music "concert", with each child playing a solo on their instrument.   :)
 
 I could go on and on, but that's it in a nutshell.  What about you? What are you thankful for this week?

"in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Have a blessed day, friends!

Portrait of a Godly Woman

1. She handles herself gracefully (Proverbs 11:16)
2. She loves and embraces children (Psalm 113:9, Titus 2:4)
3. She speaks with wisdom (Proverbs 31:26)
4. She has discretion (Proverbs 11:22)
5. She is able to be fully trusted by her husband (Proverbs 31:11)
6. She desires to be her husband’s most faithful companion and closest confidant (Malachi 2:14)
7. She joyfully embraces being a woman and abhors feminism (Psalm 113:9, Romans 12:9)
8. She can manage her home well (Proverbs 31:27, Titus 2:5, 1 Tim 5:14)
9. She is diligent to accomplish anything entrusted to her care (Proverbs 31:13, 1 Tim 5:10)
10. She is firm in her convictions and desires to teach younger women the virtues of godly
womanhood through her example and instruction. (Titus 2:4)
11. She desires for, and encourages men to be leaders in their families, churches and society. (Isaiah 3:12, Eph. 5:23, Titus 1:5-6)
12. She desires to build up and strengthen her home (Proverbs 14:1)
13. She desires to raise and train the next president, not BE the next president (Proverbs 31:1, Isaiah 3:12)
14. She believes children are a blessing from God, not a burden (Deut. 7:14, 33:24,)
15. She has a humble spirit (1 Peter 3:4)
16. She looks up to, follows, and respects her husband as the leader of the home (1 Cor. 14:35, Eph. 5:33)
17. She has a quiet spirit, and influences others through godly conduct (1 Peter 3:1-2, 4, 1 Tim. 2:12)
18. She desires to be a mother of nations, not a leader of nations (Genesis 24:60)
19. She has a heart to open her home to hospitality and service to others (1 Tim. 5:10)
20. She cares for the saints (1 Tim. 5:10)
21. She is capable and skilled to clothe her family and decorate her home (Prov. 31:21-22)
22. She desires to model the examples of holy women in Scripture (1 Peter 3:5)
23. She has skills to prepare meals for her family and bless others through hospitality (Prov. 31:15)
24. She is able to teach her children with practical, life instruction (Proverbs 31:1, 26, 6:20)
25. She desires to please her husband and do him good all his life (Prov. 31:12, 1 Cor. 7:34)
26. She is able to manage a business from her home (Prov. 31:18)
27. She can be trusted with wise discretion in spending (Prov. 31:16)
28. She cares for the poor and the needy (Prov. 31:20)
29. She clothes herself in modesty and good works and does not desire to attract or distract men’s eyes (1 Peter 3:3-4, 1 Tim. 2:9-10)
30. She has a kind and helpful attitude (Prov. 31:26-27)
31. She is prudent: intelligent, productive, skillful, wise and has understanding (Prov. 19:14)

A woman such as this is priceless: her value is far above rubies. Her husband will exalt her, praise her, love her, give up his life for her, and her children will call her blessed.   May we all strive to be a godly woman such as this.

 Have a blessed day, friends!

 

Weekly Wrap-Up

We had a busy week this week, in -and out of - school.

Here's what we were up to...

Monday: our typical day with the usual lessons. We started studying the life of William Shakespeare and the children loved it!  :)

Tuesday:  our "fun"day with Nature journaling, music study, composer study, and Art appreciation (we are studying Michelangelo). We also went to chess club with our local homeschool group..

After the chess matches were  finished, we made some oobleck to demonstrate how  this substance has the properties of a solid and a liquid.  All the children loved this - even if it was  messy!  Come to think of it,  maybe that's why they liked it!  :)
If you've never  made oobleck, here's the recipe:  1 1/2 c. cornstarch, 1 c. water, food coloring (optional).
Here's how Asher's turned out..nice and very green!

On Wednesday,  we had our lessons, then we ate lunch. After lunch, we headed outside to prep the garden for planting peas.  We finished just in time because it rained on Thursday.

Since it  rained most of the day on Thursday, so we did our lessons at a leisurely pace. Mimi was very excited to realize that she only has one more week of reading lessons!  :)

Friday:  We had a "condensed" day of school today so that the boys could go with hubby to cut firewood and the girls and I could run errands and do grocery shopping.

I hope your week was blessed!








linking up @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Wordless Wednesday

Asher and Mimi enjoying some fellowship on the front porch.......

Have a blessed day, friends!

The ABC's of Marriage

ABC's of Marriage

Accept one another as she or he is

Be sensitive to each other's needs

Compliment each other regularly

Don't go to bed angry or with an argument unsettled

Express your love and appreciation for each other daily

Forgive one another totally and unconditionally

Give 100% of yourself to the marriage relationship

Honor one another

Identify areas of conflict and work on resolutions

Judge not

Keep on courting

Listen to one another

Measure up to your God-ordained role in the marriage

Never bring up past mistakes

Open your heart to one another in honesty and understanding

Pray together

Quit nagging

Renew your commitment to God and one another

Speak the truth in love

Treat each other as friends and lovers

Undergird one another in child-rearing, work, and responsibilities

View your marriage as a covenant before God

Worship together

X-ray your heart with the prayer, “Search me O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting..” (Psalm 139:23-24)

Yield yourselves daily to the will of God

Zero in on common goals and interests and enjoy each other for life

Have a blessed day, friends!

DIY Hair Sticks

If you missed it, my first post about making my own hair jewelry is here.   My latest project has been attempting to make hair sticks.

Here are the needed supplies (all from Wal Mart)...

a bag of corn skewers,

not sure what these little do-hickeys are called, but I found them in the beads/crafts section..

assorted beads and charms.....


and some craft paint and glue.

First, I asked my hubby to drill a small hole through the end of the corn skewer, like this...

...and he also drilled a hole directly into the end of some of the skewers (sorry, no photo for that one).


Then I painted the skewers different colors - 2 of every color. It will probably take 2 coats of paint.

Next, I  chose color co-ordinating beads for each pair of sticks.

For the black sticks, I put the beads on the do-hickey and put them into the holes drilled into the ends of the sticks  (I used a few drops of contact cement to hold them in place), like this..

I did the red ones the same way..

The pink, purple, and silver ones had the holes in the side of the stick, so I threaded the beads onto the do-hickey, put it through the hole, and wrapped the excess wire around the stick and secured it with a drop of glue, like this..

Here are some close-ups so you see more detail...

As you can see in the above photo, I threaded more beads on the excess wire before wrapping it around the stick. Then I secured it with a drop of glue.

And I made a red pair of sticks, too...

These were made with beads strung on wire, wrapped a couple of time around the stick, and secured with glue.

These hair sticks were made at a fraction of the cost of the ones I have seen online. And there were so much fun to make!  As you can see, my girls love wearing them...

I hope this gives you some ideas for making your own hair jewelry.

Have a blessed day, friends!











linking up this week @ http://time-warp-wife.blogspot.com
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                                         www.raisingmightyarrows.com
                                        www.theimperfecthousewife.com
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