Summer Highlight #1

One of the things we really focused on this summer was art. I bought a home based art class pdf file online at pineapplepaintbrush.com. We did a lot of it and the kids had a blast painting, learning about colors, lines and textures, and different paintings and artists. Peter is really fascinated with Vincent Van Gough (who isn't?) and loves Starry Night. I also have our rendition of a Jackson Pollock painting on an old sheet of ours hanging downstairs as a makeshift drape. We had a lot of fun and I hope you'll indulge me with all of these pictures.


We read some great books too. While we talked about colors, we read Mouse Paint; Shapes - The Dot and It Looked Like Spilt Milk; and Lines - Harold's Purple Crayon. I also succored into buying several "Touch the Art" books by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo. I loved them. Some better than others, but the kids have really enjoyed looking through them.

This was a lot of fun, and thanks Jeff for letting us use your nice easel!

They're working hard on their masterpieces!




This is our Jackson Pollock masterpiece. It was soo fun to watch the kids just spill the paint out wherever they wanted. I would highly recommend this art project. Plus, it was a great way to get rid of my old paints I didn't want any more.

Okay, and I admit, I even got into it. And it was really fun, okay?

Learning about texture through Bubble Art! The kids loved this one as well. It made me a little nervous though. Those bubbles can still make fairly large puddles of muck, but how could I resist this face?

Oh, I even let Kimball try this art project. Not a good idea. He wasn't sure whether to blow or suck the straw. Needless to say, in 2 minutes there was a blue mouth and a call to poison control. Don't worry, watercolors are non-toxic. Whew.

This was a fun part of our summer, and we look forward to learning more about art and artists. I'm just not sure what to do with the piles of artwork I've got still lingering in my kitchen.