It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

We met with Discussion Group yesterday and a good time was had by all. The kids watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and then discussed. They talked about what they found funny in the movie. We were able to dabble a bit into the feminist movement with a comment that Sally made. They discussed how Lucy was actually thoughtful of her brother twice in the movie. They talked about how funny it was that Charlie Brown always gets a rock. They speculated on why Snoopy is a World War 1 Flying Ace instead of being involved in WW II since peanuts takes place after that war.

When we came home it was time to carve the pumpkins!

B is taking this carving business seriously.

M is having a good time.

Pumpkin Heads!

Outside, the finished product.

A New Week

We did not accomplish as much as I hoped last week due to me not being well. Some kind of virus that I am still trying to shake off. The kids were enjoying my bout with laryngitis. It is no fun not being able to talk. That said, I am on the mend and ready to tackle a new week.

We started off the day with math and grammar. B is working on dividing fractions. He is not enjoying this at all. Shades of learning long division but he is improving every day. For grammar he is doing chapter review: Predicates, compound predicates, how to diagram a sentence and a question, statement, exclamation, question, and so on. M continues with multiple digit multiplication. Today we started on triple digits. Grammar she worked on identifying a question vs. a statement and the proper pronunciation. After that they did a little independent reading before heading off for swim and gym class.

On the way home we picked up a couple of pumpkins for Halloween. We won't be carving them until Wednesday, though. The squirrels really like pumpkins.

Montclair Art Museum 10/21/09

We headed off to our favorite art class at the Montclair Art Museum today. They learned about drawing with charcoal. In the gallery she took us on a tour of various still lives. Discussed perspective, shadows, etc. Mr. B definitely is drawn to Modern Art. Miss M seems to be leaning towards cubism but no definite forerunner. After the gallery we went down to the studio. Miss Peg has a variety of still lives (assortments of fruit in bowls, draped in fabric, in a bowl on fabric) set up on different tables. She then walked the kids through the different types of charcoal pencils and sticks and how to use them. My two loved the smudge effect. We all had a lot of fun making our drawings. Yes, I made one too. It has been over 20 years since I held a piece of charcoal in my hands to make a drawing. The kids liked my drawing so I guess I still have some talent.

Thomas Edison's Lab Complex

Today we took a tour of the newly restored Lab Complex of Thomas Edison (http://www.nps.gov/edis/planyourvisit/grand-opening.htm). We have toured his house (http://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm) in the past and learned a lot about the man. We were very excited that the lab opened to the public. It never ceases to amaze me how much he achieved. He employed thousands of people. His lab had state of the art equipment, precision power tools, a recording studio for making records, a photo lab. Walking through some of the rooms I had a sense of the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The scene when the Ark is sealed in a box and put into that giant warehouse. I wondered at what secrets were sitting in those boxes on the shelves behind the gates that kept me from them. At the time of his death he was working on a way to produce rubber without using a rubber tree. He had some success with Goldenrod. The kids love the fact that he was homeschooled. When I asked the kids what they thought of the lab their one word answer was cool.

All in all, a great way to end the week.

Arizona Pics!

A good time had by all.

Our trip is almost over

Today is our last day in Arizona. We will be going to a local residents house today who is supposed to have an amazing train set up going through his gardens.

Yesterday we went to the home and art gallery of a deceased local artist, Ted DeGrazia (http://degrazia.org/Biography.aspx). The kids fell in love with his artwork. He built his little adobe home. He was a talented man who worked in many mediums-oils, pastels, jewelry, pottery. We got to watch an old interview where he talked about how he did not like to use oil pastels because they were too easy but when someone wanted something quick it was the way to go. He also discussed how he painted children frequently because everyone likes children and that is what people wanted but he really loved painting horses. His style is very interesting. He said in the interview that all his paintings are complete but not finished. It is up to the viewer to finish it. He was an interesting man.

After an afternoon of swimming in the pool we headed off the Gaslight Theatre (http://www.thegaslighttheatre.com/currentshow.htm) to see Cronan the Barbarian. It was a very funny spoof with lots of singing and audience participation. I wished my friend Kim was with me because she loves to burst into song with me. Mom-not so much. The kids thought I was nuts. How can you not sing when they used songs such as Eye of the Tiger. I Will Survive, I need a Hero. Well, you get the idea.

Tomorrow we head home, back to our regularly scheduled curriculum of math, language arts, history, science, music appreciation, art appreciation, etc.

Tombstone

Today we took a drive to Historic Tombstone. It was a great day. We saw a short film about the the famous shoot out at the OK Corral. It seems Hollywood has been getting it wrong for decades. The film was narrated by Vincent Price-which I thought was really cool and it meant nothing to my children. We also saw a reenactment of the shooting at the OK Corral. We took a stagecoach tour around the town. I think the most interesting thing we did was take a tour of the Good Enough Mine (http://www.tombstone.org/attractions/goodenoughatt.htm) It was absolutely amazing. I have to say, the founder of Tombstone had a great sense of humour. He named the town Tombstone because when he set off to find his fortune his friends told him all he would find is his tombstone. When he and his brother sold the mine they felt the deal they struck was "Good Enough". When he found the next mine his brother said "It would be a tough nut to crack after the success of the first one" The next mine is named "Tough Nut". Then he had another strike and due to the legal battles he named it "Contention" and the 4th mine was called "Lucky Cuss" because really-who finds 4 successful strikes.

The kids really enjoyed the day but there is still so much we did not see. I guess we will have to return another time.