Glass Themed Photography

 

"The theme of these three photos is everyday glass and the beauty that can be found within it. In the first photograph, I used horizontal and vertical lines, as well as the rule of thirds. In the second, I again used both horizontal and vertical lines. In the third photo, I used a horizontal line. In all three photos, I chose to use backlighting with natural light." -Elisabeth

The instructor's feedback on this photography assignment from Module 4 of the FLVS M/J Visual Arts 1 class prompted me to want to see the images for myself. Once I saw them, I understood why the instructor was so blown away.

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Tree of Life - Mixed Media Project

Tree of Life - Mixed Media Final Project @2022 

My 13 year old 8th grader recently took a middle school visual arts class via Florida Virtual School - M/J Visual Art 1 to be exact. With our busy schedule the last few months, she did not have time for art classes at our favorite art studio, Crealdé School of Art. As an alternative, I signed her up for this instead with the intent of providing a positive outlet for her amazing creativity. Elisabeth already exhibits some remarkable talent so I was somewhat concerned the class would be too easy or that she would be bored. While the class is designed for beginners, it does offer good content for avid artists like her in addition to providing unique opportunities to express oneself. Above is a photo of the mixed media project she submitted as her final project in the class. Before submitting the project, students have a discussion with the instructor to talk about their ideas and develop a plan for the final project. The instructor was very impressed with how she had sketched out a plan in a journal down to the detail of what materials she would use. Needless to say she got high praise on both assignments.

When I asked Elisabeth if she learned anything new from this class, the thing that stood out to her was a better understanding of color theory. In the end, we both felt that it was a class well worth her time and effort.

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Florida Virtual School FLEX

A couple of years ago, we started checking out what the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) had to offer as part of their Flex program. I knew that it was a free option for Florida residents, but I heard both positive and negative comments in my homeschool circles. We started with some middle school electives and have slowly added more and more courses to our repertoire. As the guidance counselor for my two homeschoolers, they each have a full course load scheduled for the coming fall. Our experience with FLVS Flex has been superb and we have decided that this will be the primary course curriculum for my two homeschooling High Schoolers. The course selection and quality of the curriculum have been a pleasant surprise and the flexible schedule has allowed for travel as well as space for those unexpected life events.

So what is FLVS Flex? Even if you are familiar with Florida Virtual School, there is often confusion regarding the difference between their Full-Time and Flex programs. FLVS Full-Time is actually a school (albeit virtual) that follows a traditional calendar, has it's own guidance counselors, and graduation requirements. FLVS Flex on the other hand is more strictly the virtual courses offered a la carte so to speak. It is my understanding that the courses themselves are not very different but the courses offered via Flex serve homeschool, private, and public school students. 

Flex classes can start any time throughout the year and there is flexibility on the pace of work submitted. That being said, every class has a standard minimum number of assignments that are expected to be completed each week. A math class may expect 2-3 assignments minimum per week, while an elective will generally expect 1. All the assignments, quizzes and yes even tests are open note. Many parents balk at this, but, from what I have seen, this is a non-issue. If a student works through the assignments and takes notes they really learn the material. Most tests, even those for math courses, have essay questions where essentially they must explain how they got a particular answer which demonstrates their understanding of the concepts. A common complaint is the lack of live instruction, but nearly every class does offer some live lessons and some teachers have set "office hours" where students can just drop in a zoom room for questions and assistance. 

While the course options do vary slightly between Flex and Full-time, I have been very impressed with the course selection for Flex and the quality of the curriculum. They offer interesting electives available both at the the Middle School and High School level. I previously wrote about my daughter's FLVS: Middle School Photography course. My son took Business Keyboarding in Middle School to improve his typing speed and it was very helpful. He is now taking the High School Foundations of Programming class. 

The core classes are thorough and very well done. Both of my kids took the Middle School Pre-Algebra course to prepare for high school Algebra. My son has since completed the High School Algebra I Honors course with a high A and is excited to start Honors Geometry this summer. They both have taken English 1 Honors where they covered speeches of presidents, poetry and Shakespeare in affective thought provoking ways.

FLVS also offers a good selection of Advanced Placement courses and recently added an AP Capstone Program. My sophomore son will be taking his first AP course this fall.

The FLVS Flex option is a great virtual learning solution if you want schedule flexibility, quality curriculum and your students have a high degree of self direction. 

I do not personally have any experience with the elementary program. My experience has been with the Middle and High School Flex program which I highly recommend.

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Pottery Class Creations at Crealdé

My pre-teen oozes creativity, and as her parents, we endeavor to present her with different outlets to nurture her interests and skills. She recently completed a beginning pottery class at the Crealdé School of Art where she used a pottery wheel for the first time. We were quite impressed with her results, but more importantly we noted how much she enjoyed the creative process with this medium nearly as much as drawing. Previously, I posted that she has also taken a photography class, which gave her yet another creative outlet. These photographs were taken by Elisabeth of her own clay creations from her Crealdé pottery class.

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Learning Photography via FLVS

My 11-year old daughter has been taking a middle school photography elective via Florida Virtual School, a free online learning platform for Florida residents. It is commonly referred to by the acronym FLVS. Families have two options: FLVS Full Time - think of it as a full public school schedule done via computer - and FLVS Flex - where you pick and choose what classes to take as well as your start date. This photography class is our family's first experience with FLVS Flex. It takes time to learn the processes and dashboard, but after completing the first module, Elisabeth no longer needed help from me on submitting assignments. The first couple of modules were not so exciting and more about learning how to interface with other students on message boards and so forth, but now she is happily into the meat of learning photography.

This week, she participated in an online session in which she learned about stop motion photography and the work of Harold "Doc" Edgerton. He combined an interest in science with his in-depth knowledge of photography to capture such famous images of the milk-drop coronet and his work lead to the advancement of the flash photography. She was tasked with submitting a couple of examples of her own and captured a glorious image of a bee in mid-flight approaching our milkweed.

I saw something about it being World Bee day this week. This photo is a perfect way to celebrate.

Personification in Poetry: The Cracked Window

A few months ago, we read a couple of poems in our language curriculum that demonstrated personification: "The Old Bridge" by Hilda Conkling and "The Oak" by George Hill. When I asked Elisabeth to write a poem of her own that demonstrated this concept, I didn't expect the depth of her poetic expression.

Photo credit Ty1eerLeeds on Flickr

The Cracked Window

The cracked window watches 

As its home grows cold and quiet

The children have left

Their laughter no longer echoes.

Its cracks grow larger

As the wind and rain rage against it.

No more eyes stare through it in wonder,

If only it was the great stained windows of the cathedral

Or the sturdy glass guarding way up in the sky

But its not.

And it will surely shatter.

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Building the Periodic Table in Minecraft

As a mom, I love it when my kids choose to spend time together. As a homeschooling mom, I am elated when it also involves learning. The cherry on top is that I had absolutely nothing to do with it! 

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Adverb Inspired Poetry

Slowly 

Slowly the tide creeps up the sand,

Slowly the shadows cross the land.

Slowly the cart-horse pulls his mile,

Slowly the old man mounts his stile.

Slowly the hands move round the clock,

Slowly the dew dries on the dock.

Slow is the snail – but slowest of all

The green moss spreads on the old brick wall.

- James Reeves

In our Language studies, we recently took a look at the poem "Slowly" by James Reeves shown above. We discussed how the adverb slowly accurately describes the action of each line and analyzed the rhyming pattern. I then challenged my students to choose a different adverb and come up with a poem with a similar rhyming pattern. This is what Elisabeth came up with:

Quickly 

Quickly, the car zooms past
“Quickly!” says the cast
Quickly, the years go by
Quickly, they say, "Hi"

Quickly, in the race they run
Quickly, travels the light of the sun
Quick! The small child wishes life would go
But so little do they know.  - Elisabeth Davis (copyright 2019)

Bird Themed Boogie Board Art

An ethereal boogie board drawing by Elisabeth.

BookShark Science

Performing their electricity related experiments with foil wire they made themselves. 

As a homeschooling parent, I have to work around my own weaknesses as a teacher. Historically, I have never been one to plan out a detailed homeschooling schedule as I find it to be a giant waste of time when I know life "stuff" happens and I won't be able to keep up to my good intentions. All this causes particular angst when the subject is something I, as the teacher, don't feel particularly knowledgeable or excited about to begin with. Science has been that subject for me. When the kids were younger, I made up for our lack of science learning at home by taking them to lots of science centers and exhibits, having various science related books about for them to read, and watching lots of NOVA's and other science documentaries that intrigue them. I have been using a Math and history curriculum for years that works well for me, but I have never found a science program or curriculum that would fit my criteria.

This year though I was motivated to look harder given that I have two middle schoolers literally begging me to do science. Kids this age are naturally curious and I do not want to hamper their curiosity. Who can say no to a kid begging to learn and curiosity is a valuable asset when it comes to learning science. So.... enter BookShark Science. 

BookShark offers boxed curriculum that pulls from many different resources and best of all has a teacher schedule and guide all laid out. All of their curriculum regardless of subject is strongly literature based which my husband and I really appreciate. Homeschoolers can purchase curriculum for an entire grade level or by subject. Looking through the options under science, I chose to start with Science 4 on Electricity, Magnetism and Astronomy. We are three weeks into this curriculum and I have to say I am very pleased. Once again I find myself learning right alongside my children. I don't have to have a full understanding before we dive in and it includes nearly all the materials required for each week's experiment. Therefore any pre-planning on my part takes less than 15 minutes a week.  So it seems that I finally found a good science curriculum fit for our family thanks to BookShark.

Elisabeth learning about current, circuits and cells in a series.

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Art Appreciation: Frida and Friends at the Frist

A self-portrait by Frida Kahlo (@Frist Museum Aug 2019)

While on an impromptu stay in Nashville, we visited the Frist Art Museum where an art exhibition representing Mexican Modernism was on display. The works of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were prominent pieces of this exhibition and through the interpretive displays we learned much about their lives and the context of their work. 

Clothes representing the dress and style of Frida Kahlo (@Frist Art Museum Aug 2019)

A mural by Diego Rivera (@Frist Art Museum Aug 2019)

Another exhibit "Monsters & Myths: Surrealism and War in the 1930s and 1940s," included some rather morbid themes. There were a couple of iconic pieces by Salvador Dali- "Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach" being one of the most recognizable. 

Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach by Dali (@Frist Art Museum Aug 2019)

When asked to point out her favorite work in this exhibit, my aspiring 11-year old artist to selected a piece by Wolfgang Paalen shown below.

"Paysage totémique de mon enfance" by Wolfgang Paalen (In English: Totemic landscape of my childhood) (@Frist Art Museum Aug 2019)

We have had other opportunities to learn about works of art over the years mostly from a historical context. My almost 13 year old son indicated that he is not a fan of surreal and modern art styles and prefers more realistic works like those we have learned about in our European history. My daughter, on the other hand, said that she likes different things about all art genres - spoken like a true artist I suppose.

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Shakespeare: Great Middle School Resources

We are finally finishing up our history curriculum on the Middle Ages (The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: The Middle Ages: (Vol. 2)). History is a subject I really enjoy, so I tend to add lots of supplementals. I was excited when we finally got to the Elizabethan Age and Shakespeare so that we could utilize all the wonderful resources out there on the subject.

The Graphic Version

There are two great books, both can be found at the library, that I really like and recommend:  Shakespeare: His Work and His World and Tales From Shakespeare Student Edition Complete And Unabridged by Charles and Mary Lamb. There is also a graphic version that is particularly good as a first introduction for younger kids also called Tales from Shakespeare and is pictured above.

In our curriculum, the story of Macbeth was used as the introduction to Shakespeare. I chose to also focus on Hamlet as we are fortunate to live in an area with a Shakespeare Theater where Hamlet was performed this last season.  My 10 and 12 year old enjoyed the slightly abridged version of Hamlet at Orlando Shakes though they still thought it was long. (They were not wrong.)

In addition to these book materials, I found several videos that were entertaining and insightful for all of us. I have mentioned videos by Crash Course in the past for history topics, but they also have both a Literature and Theatre video series that include information about Shakespeare and his works. The literature video series has episodes that give an overview and literary importance of Hamlet, The Sonnets, and Romeo and Juliet. The theatre video series includes several episodes expressly about Shakespearean Theatre in a historical context. (Since every parent has different filters for their children, I suggest parents watch these first.)

The English Renaissance and NOT Shakespeare: Crash Course Theater #13

Straight Outta Stratford-Upon-Avon - Shakespeare's Early Days: Crash Course Theater #14

Shakespeare's Tragedies and an Acting Lesson: Crash Course Theater #15

Comedies, Romances, and Shakespeare's Heroines: Crash Course Theater #16

TedEd has some great educational content in general as well as this little gem on Shakespeare's Macbeth:

As you learn about Shakespeare and his works, one can't help but discover the controversy surrounding the identity of the man himself. There is another TedEd talk on that subject called, "Did Shakespeare write his plays? - Natalya St. Clair and Aaron Williams" and a documentary that I personally found fascinating entitled "Last Will & Testament." (Last Will & Testament is currently available on Amazon Prime and I believe PBS Passport.) 

I was already convinced of the importance of Shakespeare's works when at a recent homeschool convention I learned that the works of Shakespeare are considered Honorary Classics. There is The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer, The Aeneid by Virgil, The Divine Comedy by Dante, The King James Bible and then the works of Shakespeare, considered by many to be the "Western Canon." I look forward to delving more into the works of Shakespeare in the coming months and years. Once again, I find myself learning along side my children and finding new interests and amazement in things that I would have never before imagined and I am grateful.

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Nerf Battle Playdate

Some days were made for a friendly Nerf Attack! Thankful for good friends, kids and adults alike, who know how to have fun. 

Girls Nerf too!

Team Strategy.

Hydrate and eat Cheetos or else!

Mid-game action.

Elisabeth’s 1st Spelling Bee

There were 13 other contestants 4th - 8th grade in this Spelling Bee put on by a local homeschool group. Elisabeth was very nervous about being in front of a crowd. Overcoming her anxiousness, she made it through five rounds before misspelling the word "pennant."  Her consolation was the relief of being done with the experience and a newfound confidence for her next competitive exercise. 

It was a great opportunity and one in which we will look for again in the future.

Furniture Assembly by Middle Schoolers

The start of every year usually finds me sorting and reorganizing something somewhere in the house. Having moved in the last few months, my husband and I both had a long list of tasks to accomplish in those free days between Christmas and New Years Eve. This year, my goal was to make our homeschool/project space more usable, which required a trip to IKEA.

 Elisabeth picked out a desk and chair and Jonah also picked out a desk chair. I was pleasantly surprised that they were able to assemble their desk chairs all by themselves. Elisabeth had some very minimal help from me involving tightening a couple of screws, while Jonah had none, giving me exasperated looks if I even came near. Elisabeth's desk was a bit too complex a project for her to accomplish on her own, but she did give me a lot of help and even assisted me in putting together my desk.

Lately, I have been particularly struck with how grownup these two are and somewhat nostalgic about those days when they were younger and supremely adorable. One forgets how tiring those days are and just remembers how stinking cute they were. The joy of their sweetness overwhelms the weariness of it all. This experience has reminded me that there are advantages to their independence and this phase of their development. I still look at them in adoration and wonder these days, but less due to raw cuteness and more for the amazing persons they are becoming.

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Renaissance: Classical Architecture

Elisabeths clay reproduction of a Doric Column and drawing of an Ionic column.

While studying the Renaissance as part of our Story of the World history curriculum, we watched several videos on Greek and Roman columns including this one by Khan Academy on The Classical Orders. 

After studying the different column types especially Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, we reviewed photos of places we have visited such as the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London to practice identifying the different column types. When asked to draw or sculpt an example, Elisabeth fully embraced the idea (pictured above), while Jonah's sculpture of a column quickly morphed into a an unrelated, worm-like creature. He did, at least, enjoy the identification phase of our study. I was glad to find activities that allow both kids with their differing interests to engage with the curriculum. In this case, the art component added interest to the subject matter for Elisabeth, who generally speaking does not get quite as excited about learning history as Jonah does.  

Emerald Village Museum and Gem Mine

In August 2017, we visited the mountains of North Carolina to see friends, be closer to the path of totality for the eclipse and to get a break from the Florida heat. 

When traveling, I am always on the lookout for unique learning experiences. The kids were very interested in gem mining so I researched a couple of places and decided on Emerald Village. It was a longer drive for us but I was intrigued by the history of the site as well as the gem mining opportunity. 

The mines at Emerald Village were started during the depression as a source for feldspar as the main ingredient in the Bon Ami cleaning product. Ironically, any other items found including gemstones were tossed away as worthless tailings. Today, customers can pay for a pass to glean precious metals and stones from those tailing piles. I would imagine that you really need to know what to look for. 

We toured the lovely grounds and museum for a fee and payed to sift through a medium sized bucket.

One of the mines with old equipment about.

Visitors can walk back in the shallow cave and feed the trout in the pond

The Bon Ami Museum and Mine tour entrance at Emerald Village

Inside the mine museum at Emerald Village

An old post office on site at Emerald Village

The Discovery Mill at Emerald Village

Antiques in the Discovery Mill building at Emerald Village are numerous and diverse

Gem mining flume at Emerald Village