A Day for Art!

This week, we decided to devote most of one day to educational pursuits we sometimes neglect or often can't fit in. An art project was one of these.

Inspired by Tricia at Hodgepodge's Mixed Media Valentine project, the girls created their own canvases. Only Tiny Girl's is actually mixed media; Miss Priss opted to stick with paper. Also the girls wanted to make the creations non-holiday specific. While we worked, Bach played in the background.

Just like Tricia, we selected verses from 1 Corinthians 13 (Msg). I copied their verses from BibleGateway into Word, and then the girls played around with different fonts. I printed these out and the girls cut them into strips. You could select different verses to go along with your own collage theme, if you'd like.

We have a large stash of decorative papers. The girls picked a few sheets and then tore pieces for their collages. Then they played around with placement on their canvases. You could also use cardstock, construction paper, cardboard, etc., in place of a canvas. Our Michaels had a sale around Christmas, and I stocked up on some canvases then (70% off!).

Once they found a pleasing arrangement, the girls glued everything in place with Tacky Glue. Tiny Girl also Modge Podged hers.

Miss Priss chose to cover her canvas in paper. When the glue dried, she sprayed it with high-gloss acrylic sealer. She's going to give it to one of her close friends.

Tiny Girl liked the idea of using paint as well. She used a teal paint to go over the bare areas of canvas. When that dried, she spatted a few drops of gold metallic paint over the entire thing.

Aren't they nice? We are very pleased with the way they turned out. And I was happy to carve out some time for such an enjoyable activity. Thanks, Tricia!

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Okay, I can't take credit for this one; I pinned it and then tried it. Yum! And it's easy peasy. Lemon squeezy.

I used Pillsbury canned cinnamon rolls. Spray your iron well with cooking spray.

I cooked them for three minutes.

Then I used the frosting that came in the package. Ta da!

A Charm of Finches

The Great Backyard Bird Count is next month, and we've already begun luring our quarry (to count!) to our feeders.

We've had finches in abundance: goldfinches and house finches, to be precise. Did you know that the most often used collective noun for finches is a charm? I love that. A charm of finches. How perfect.

Here are six female house finches dining at our tray feeder. They love the black oil sunflower seeds and the suet cake. Can you see them? It's a little tricky, but this was the best I could do. I took the photo from my breakfast room window.

They also cluster around the thistle seed feeder alongside the goldfinches, but I couldn't get a decent shot of that. I'll keep trying!

We are still seeing the bluebirds several times a day. But it won't be long before they move along to search out bluebird houses to their family nests. We don't have a bluebird house (nor an ideal place to put one), so we'll bid them adieu til next winter.

Weekly Happenings: It's Showtime!

The last two weeks have been both harried and fun. Miss Priss has been in crunch for her troupe's performance of Willy Wonka, so we've been on a reduced school schedule. She's been at the theater for rehearsals from 4:30 PM until 10:30 PM weeknights and from noon til five last Saturday. Midnight has been our bedtime for several nights now. So we've been sleeping in. And staying in our jammies until we have to get dressed.

I've been involved, too. I worked the green room one evening; I provided the staff meal with another parent; I proofread the program for two evenings; I worked with props, hot gluing bagels and pastries to platters; I ran a couple of errands; and I picked up the staff meal last night and will again tonight before the performance. Oh, and I'm working concessions with another parent.

It's been exhausting and wonderful, all at the same time. The cast members are aged between 12 and 17 years old, and they have worked really hard. So has the backstage crew and the staff. I've had an up-close and personal look at all the work that goes on behind the scenes, and it is considerable!

Thursday night was opening night, and the show was fabulous. Last night was great, too. Two shows today, and then we can all collapse! Until the end of February, when Tiny Girl's production swings into high gear.

As far as school goes, we've stayed on top of our scheduled readings and math. Grammar, spelling, composition, logic, and a few extras fell to the wayside for a couple of weeks. We'll get back to them this coming week.

• Plutarch's "Pericles": Lesson 4, in which Pericles one-ups his political rival by throwing a bunch of parties for the masses
• Augustus Caesar's World: Octavian runs Marc Antony out of Rome, takes a consulship by force, and then joins up with Antony and Lepidus to form a triumvirate. Senseless bloodshed and murder, including the death of Cicero
• Story of the Greeks: athletic games; the birth of the theatre; Draco and his (Draconian) laws; Solon's better laws
• Explore the Holy Land: Iraq
• Animal Farm: Chapter 7
• Archimedes and the Door of Science: Chapter 5, in which Archimedes shouts "Eureka!" and solves the mystery of King Heiro's (or is it Hiero?)  crown
• In math, Tiny Girl worked on dividing decimals, and Miss Priss reviewed fractions

Miss Priss is reading and enjoying Kiss the Dust, a novel about a Kurdish family forced to flee Iraq during Saddam Hussein's regime. Tiny Girl will read it next.

Today, Saturday, we are celebrating Tiny's 12th birthday. The actual date is February 23, but she wanted to take some friends to see her sister's play, so we're partying today. I made cupcakes with a delicious chocolate buttercream frosting. I'll share the recipes later.

Happy weekend!

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