At our last visit to the library Kate was disappointed to discover that they didn’t have any ‘Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?’ DVDs on the shelf. (Do you remember that geography-sleuth kids’ gameshow on TV in the late 80s with the catchy intro song by the group, Rockapella? These are the cartoons along the same story lines.) So, I told her that when we got home we would get online and request them via intralibrary loan. While I was online looking for her DVDs, I ran across this book that I thought sounded really promising.  (I’m not really sure why I felt the need to tell you all that, unless I really just wanted to share with the world what a geek I was in the late 80s and still am, apparently, since I can still sing some of that theme song to this day…)

Where in the World? Around the Globe in 13 Works of Art, by Bob Raczka, has turned out to be my newest favorite book for Kate. It’s a collection of 13 works of art from around the world (duh, you probably got all that from the title) with a page describing the geographical location of the piece as well as the artist and the time he/she lived in. It’s written for kids, so the language isn’t a stumbling block but, thankfully, it’s not sing-songy either.

Since I’m planning on using the Charlotte Mason approach for homeschooling, this fits in PERFECTLY with her idea of picture study (which is just studying pieces of artwork). In fact, I can even see us making a color copy of the page with the artwork and hanging it on the fridge for a week or two as we discuss it and enjoy it and describe it to one another before moving on to the next piece of artwork in the book. Oh, and here’s another idea - after studying that piece of artwork hanging on the fridge, move it into the schoolroom and tack it on the giant map on the wall onto the country it represents. One could even put it on a timeline as many of the pieces span centuries of art.

But, the best part has been Kate’s reaction to it. As soon as we sat down and started reading about the first piece of artwork by Katsushika Hokusai from late 1700s Japan, Kate was spellbound. Of course, it helps that one of the things about Hokusai was that he loved art from the age of, you guessed it, FIVE. As soon as I read that, Kate interrupted me and said with a twinkle of excitement in her eye, “Mommy! I’m five. And I like art, too!”

At the end of the reading, the author includes the last words of Hokusai:

“If heaven gives me ten more years, or an extension of even five years, I shall surely become a true artist.”

Kate looked at me and said quite seriously, “But, he IS a true artist.” To which she added, “Mommy, I’m sad that he died. Because I would like to meet him and learn more about art from him.” This. From a five year old. Wow.

Kate is excited to read tomorrow night about Little Bay, Australia and the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. And the next night about Tahiti and Paul Gauguin. And before we finish our ‘world tour’, I may have just learned a few things about art, too!

Oh, and BTW, Bob Razcka has written SEVERAL books around art.  I think I want them all!!

We all know the importance of getting our kids out-of-doors.  We’ve heard the studies about childhood obesity and ’screen time’ in front of tvs and computers.  Of course, in Houston, it’s harder to get outside when temperatures are in high 90s.   But, we try occasionally anyways.

When I started studying Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy a few months ago on my search for a homeschooling model that worked for me, I was surprised at her strong thoughts on nature.  She adamantly encourages children under the age of six to have no formal schooling, but to spend as much time as possible every day OUTSIDE.  And, as they get older, that portion of their ’schooling’ is still important enough to get its own subject - Nature Study.  She promoted Nature Study not only as a way to use up some of that extra energy that all kids seem to have, but also as a way to learn about our world, science, and our creator.  And we all know how a walk in the woods or a beautiful garden can help us regain perspective in life and reconnect us to God.

It seems as though current studies have finally confirmed some of what Charlotte has been saying since the 1800s.  I was just introduced to this site, Children & Nature Network, and have been thoroughly impressed with the information found there.  Check out this video clip from The Today Show about kids and the outdoors.  Makes me wanna go on a hike.  Anybody want to go with me?

So, how do YOU get your kids out-of-doors for free play on a regular basis?  I’m looking for some more creative ideas, especially for our hot, humid city.  Share them in the comments section below.

This was just too funny NOT to share!  Enjoy!!!

Take advantage of the many sales going on in Amazon’s Baby Area for the month of July and beyond! 

OMG, I laughed so hard when I read this post that I just HAD to let you all in on it.  I will warn you ahead of time, though… If you have a problem with ‘off-color’ language associated with a man’s description of public restrooms, then you might want to skip this one.  But, for my ‘potty-humor’ friends (you know who you are, Sandra), you’ll DEFINITELY get a kick out of this one!

Enjoy…  Rite of Passage