Pointillism

just a proud new "cubbie"

Austen's is a sand storm in the desert

Jay's is a jungle with a sunset

Today was an incredibly busy day but we accomplished almost everything that was on my list so I feel pretty satisfied. I am beginning a new study on art and the different types of art. This study will take us through the next few months and I hope that kids walk away with a fun, new awareness of art and how to create and look into a painting, sculpture or drawing with new perspective.

To begin with we are studying Impressionist artists, more specifically Monet. I looked and researched who to begin with a I love his artwork so I figured this would be a good starting point. We observed his painting, " Garden at Sainte-Adresse" and I threw out some questions like, what are the people doing, what type of weather is it, what season, is it windy, sunny, how can you tell......? I really enjoyed watching the boys look at the details of the painting and explain where they came up with the answers to their observations.

After looking at the picture and talking about his technique a little bit, we decided to paint "en plein air". The boys picked a habitat that they would like to be standing or sitting in while painting and went to work. They first sketched with lines their surroundings and then, using the pointillism technique they painted. Pointillism is when an artist paints pictures using thousands of tiny dots of color.

At first, Jayden and Austen were not thrilled about being told how to paint. I explained to them that although they were free to decide what to paint, the purpose of this exercise was to explore different techniques therefore, following directions was imperative. After they saw how much fun it was to mix colors, dab their cotton swabs in the paint and create a beautiful scene, they enjoyed the challenge very much.

We listened to colonial music while we painted and now, I just need to hang my corkboard up so I can display their work. Their math and language arts took all morning because we needed to do two lessons each. Also, we read more on Jamestown, the workman vs Cavaliers and colored and discussed who was more suited for life in the colony.

Finally, I read a narrative of the "Starving Time" where colonists ate the leather from their shoes to try and stay alive. The verse, Proverbs 20:4 " The lazy man does not plow in season, so he begs during the harvest and has nothing."- the early colonists pretty much lived out this verse. Since the main goal for many of the Virginia Company was to find gold and other precious metals, they wasted so much of their time searching and not preparing for the cold,harsh winter that was at hand. I am learning so much and probably way more pumped about this topic than they ever will be :)