A Bit of Fine Arts--Chalk Pastels

 Many months ago I pinned this great blog called Hodgepodge.  I pinned it because it had wonderful art lessons in acrylics and chalk pastels.  The chalk pastels really struck a cord with me and we have been able to focus a few of our lessons on this creative pursuit.  All you need to do is look at this blog post, pick your lessons, get some chalk pastels and some drawing paper.

We have had such a great time drawing and blending. I am amazed at what is possible with some easy lessons and a few good supplies.  We started with Angry Birds, I thought that would grab their attention right away.

B is 4 years old, I drew the bird and he did the coloring and finger smearing.

We also tried our hand at blueberries.

And a slice of watermelon.

Next we are going to try our hand at nature drawings with Thoreau in the woods.

It's Montessori Monday and I'm linking up.

I Took the Day Off!!

 I woke up when the alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. and thought "I need a day off."  You know your in bad shape when the first thought you have upon rising is "I need some rest." It was tough to get through my workout and hard to look forward to a hike with friends when my body and brain were tired.

 I made it through the workout, giving it all I could and then the friends canceled our hiking plan and I thought "today's the day, I'm taking it off."  I don't mean off in the normal since of farming the children out to my husband or leaving the house to go grocery shopping.  What mean is I took the day off from my To Do List.  It dosen't mean I didn't do anything on my list, it just means that the list was not the priority and what a difference it made.  I baked muffins for lunch and brownies for dinner.  I played board games with my children, 3 times.

 I journaled for Project Life. I even read a fun book in the morning and attempted a nap at 10 a.m. I say attempted because when the children are about, a nap is almost impossible. They always need something no matter how many times you say "if the door is closed don't open it unless I am screaming."  I did a bit of homeschool planning. And look, I am even writing a blog post. Taking a day off meant I made myself available to my children, not my list and I did whatever struck my fancy, like the baking and reading instead of running from one to do to another.  I think a day off did me some good.

Why don't you try it?