Hands On Art

This summer I went back to my art teaching roots. Thanks to the connection of a friend a nearby church allowed me to use one of their classrooms to teach art classes. The classes are titled "Hands On Art" to convey that the kids would be taking charge of their art and it would be an all hands on deck process.

(I think this sweet girl got the message loud and clear!)
Hands On Art is for the littlest artists, 2- 5 year olds. We meet nearly every Monday morning all summer long. And three 4 day long themed "mini-camps" were held as well.
A great time was had by all. I'm so glad I set out this journey, a reconnection to my vocational love. Brady attended with me, missing only the first mini-camp. That had it's own set of issues a time or two, but went well for the most part and she's been playing "art class" all summer. Over the next week(s)? I'll be posting about what went on during our Hands On Art summer session.

Attitude

We're getting a lot of this around here these days.

Constant Chatter #7

Conversation at dinner tonight: Me: "These are fajitas. Fajita is a Spanish word.... not sure what it's Spanish for..." Brady: "burritos"

A Dozen Years

Twelve years (crazy, right?) ago today I married my high school sweetheart.  They say life is a roller coaster. We've certainly had our share of ups and downs and there will be more. Through it all I am ever so grateful that he is the one by my side for the ride.   

*FYI   This picture from New Year's Eve 2005 is the only one of just the two of us on this computer!  Goal for this 12th year: have a few pics taken of just us.*

Constant Chatter #6

Last night Brady was talking herself out of being fearful before bedtime, when in walks Duke (our dog). Brady: "Duke will protect me." Me: "Yes and Daddy will protect you" B: "Yes"Me:  "...and God will protect you." B: "No, he went out shopping." Shortly thereafter laughter ensued and her story got sillier and sillier (I believe there was a God store mentioned among other things). Good news is the momentary fear was gone.

Painting on a LARGE scale

Several months ago Brady made the switch from crib to "big girl bed" (a toddler bed). I know, I know we waited a little late to move her. We tend to believe in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philisophy. So, we decided to make the transition when she turned 3; then she was so close to using the potty all the time that we added that to the prerequisites. Well, once both of those milestones hit it still took us awhile to have the bed purchased and assembled.

It's gone really well. And I've loved having a toddler bed despite once thinking they were kinda dumb. She can easily manuever her bed and it has added a good bit of space to her room. Also, since we knew we'd only be in this house for a year or so after the switch, it made sense to not have to purchase a pricier bed, new mattress ,and new bedding. She's using her crib mattress, crib sheets, and quilt. A new pillow and case and we were down. (Stay tuned for pics of her big girl room soon after I finish up a few more things.) Anyhow, this post is really supposed to be about large scale painting. Once the bed was up and in use, we had this large box, actually a top and bottom to contend with. I plopped them in the carport until I could take them to a nearby recycling center. There they sat for days, weeks, perhaps. Finally, I was ready to be rid of them and then it struck me that this was the perfect oppurtunity for large scale painting.
It's rare that a kid is encouraged to paint on something this large. What fun! I asked Brady what colors she'd like, got them ready, grabbed some brushes, smocked her up, and let her go to town. In hindsight, I would've protected the carport driveway. Or at least quickly tended to scrubbing up the paint spills that were left behind. The paint is washable, but has soaked in for quite awhile and I've yet to face it. As you can tell from this post, I'm quite the procrastinator.

Constant Chatter #5

Brady's first words upon entering my bed for a little more snoozing yesterday morning: "Mom, it's already morning. When I first woke up, I didn't realize it, but then I saw the light and then I knew."

Today while shopping Brady was pretending the mall was her house, a new constant anywhere we go.  "This is my house.  Did you recognize it?"

What's funny about that? What three (and a half, it's important, mind you) year old says realize or recognize completely out of the blue. Brady Lane, that's who.

Playing Store

One of Brady's latest obsessions is playing store. Recently during rest time she turned her room into a store, complete with all the hanging clothes she could get her hands on hung onto the foot board of her bed. She will pretty much take any opportunity to play store.



One afternoon in June we had a grocery store out on the deck. She choose some food items from her play kitchen, basically grabbing whatever she first got her hands on because she was anxious to set up shop. Then she told me the name and price for each item. My favorite product was the hamburger top (one half of a bun). I still crack up thinking of that. We displayed the signs and food stuff on her picnic table. And then we took turns playing the roles of customer and cashier.
This was a great way to review number skills. She can count with the best of 'em, but doesn't always recognize numbers after 10. So, when I was the customer I would ask questions to prompt her such as, "How much are the cookies? What does that say... twenty....?" And when I was the grocer I would say things like, "The drinks are fifteen cents (while pointing to the price tag), is that okay with you?" She loved this. And got better and better at recognizing the numbers and grasping the concept of twenty-nine being a 2 with a 9 on it's right side and forty-three being 4 and then 3,etc. (I have no idea of the technical name for this.) I love when I can sneak a little learning into our playtime. She also used her imagination to the fullest adding a doll to be the customer's baby and such. It was a fun, long-lasting activity for a not-too-hot summer day.

Constant Chatter #4

The other day I made some lemonade popsicles. Brady had one as her after dinner treat. As I walked out on the deck after cleaning up I hear, "Mmmmm... ummm...mmmmm....it doesn't get any better than this." She continued to sing it's praises as she pranced around the deck in her little mini skirt one hand upon her hip, the other holding her popsicle. "Nothing ever, ever, never was as good as this." Offering me a taste, "Here mama, suck on the straw, slurp it, now lick it." Oh, boy is this girl dramatic!

Fancy Nancy Parade

One day in the early Summer the Little Miss came out of rest time declaring a Fancy Nancy Parade was in order. She fancied up a few stuffed dogs and pulled them in a little wagon. She gave me the boa to wear and I twirled a rhythm ribbon as we walked up and down our street a half dozen times. Thankfully for me nary a neighbor saw us.


I'm grateful for my girl's imagination and sense of adventure. It was a wonderful spontaneous afternoon.