Sewing with G#2

I didn't best learn to sew from my mom.  We are very much alike.  I did value the time I spent with Dad's Aunt Ruth who patiently guided me through many of the 4H sewing projects I tried. When I waited too late and the county fair approached too soon, then I had to sew with my mom's supervision. That wasn't much fun for either of us. 

So, when our junior me decided she wanted to wear an outfit that resembled Ahsoka Tano from the Clone War episodes which occur somewhere in the Star Wars continuum before Anakin Skywalker turns rotten.  I offered her the opportunity to buy the costume on-line, but she asked if she could make it. Well, she picked out the fabric, the shirt, stockings and tapes. I found the face paint that helped finish it off. The one thing that didn't go as well as I'd tried was my first attempt at paper mache for the head piece. 

The paper mache head piece was pitched into oblivion on Monday the 31st at 3pm, and the muslin do-rag with blue paint tape and shiny beads was found an acceptable substitute.  After the face paint was applied, she was satisfied with the production and we commenced to visit the neighbors for treats. 

This will always be her first sewing project, and it was a memory for me of a cooperative, patient mommy. I hope she wants to sew again soon and that it becomes something she does with all her creativity and independence. 

I Love National Park Educators!

Volcanoes National Park at Kiluea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii was PRICELESS!

G#1 and Gilgamesh the Hero

Our oldest is a fifth grade student who is studying Logic Stage History along with his brother and sister, but to a different degree by reading materials and discussing questions that are aimed at his older capabilities.  Gilgamesh the Hero is one of those pieces that he studied.  Because we are covering the time before the Minoans and the Greeks, Gilgamesh was a wonderful story that he devoured.  The questions from Laura at Classical House of Learning covered vocabulary and literature aspects of the story.  He gladly completed a notebook page for this book and a sketch (best of all to me) and promised to compare this story aloud while reading Zeman's Gilgamesh the King Trilogy aloud with his siblings so they wouldn't miss out on the character's adventures.

Medieval Archery Birthday Party

Both boys thoroughly enjoyed a friend's birthday party because it involved sword play and archery with friends and the DuPage County Forest Preserve archery experts. Hereare pictures of each boy after only a few hours of rest and 5 days in Hawaii because Papa needed to see molten lava. What an ADVENTURE!

More about Hawaii soon.

Kilauea Iki trailhead view of mauna loa in distance

Excellent Opportunities

 

 We accepted an invitation to preview this movie with two of our Gs and were completely satisfied with its content and storyline.  The humor was appreciated by the audience of close to 300 home educated children and their parents. A true story is valuable, and this presentation was well done.

Egypt in Ancient History

Ok, I tried to encourage the children to read this book by Mrs. McGraw, but the language wasn't very easy to get past.  It's not King James Version, but it is different from their normal historical fiction reading.  So, I've been reading it and narrating the story to the kids. They are listening to the Cat of Bubastes by Henty and are enjoying the tale, but they also like my telling the what is happening to Ranofer too.

We've read about the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone also. There are many notebook pages with photographs from our field trips to the British Museum to see the ancient relics up close and personal. But more about their notebook pages later (mommy does the happy dance).  I've not built the Nile River suggested activity from Story of the World, but it may still happen over the long weekend.

Everyone is getting along better with brief sentences about our history sources.  On the Shores of the Great Sea is a favorite.  Story of Mankind is ok for them.  Of course, SOTW is a repeat, but they still are getting a well rounded perspective. A Little History of the World may be lagging behind, but it may be because I scheduled the chapters in the wrong order. Mine is not an exact science, but I did try to keep everything coordinated.

The book called Prehistoric Art by Susie Hodges was a good add for us and we look forward to a later one of her books, but the Eyewitness book on Ancient Egypt is scheduled by the Harmony Fine Arts plans and that's what we use to discuss the next phase of ancient art.

Trying to get to the end of http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html and the challenges involved.

Ok, time to read more about the Golden Goblet.