Some Summer Book Suggestions

Here are some links to Amazon with some summer books you might want to check out. Enjoy!

Watercolor Color Triangle

I haven't had time to put together another watercolor tutorial to share with you all. I expect to have a new one up on July 28th, when I get back from my camping trip. Here is a little watercolor project I came across online that you can do in the meantime: Color Mixing Triangle.

This is a great experiment in color mixing and demonstrates some of the wonderful blending properties of watercolors. I hope you enjoy and would love to see any watercoloring you and your children may complete using these instructions. Feel free to leave me links in the comments section.

Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons- Summer

So, in keeping with my tradition of posting Vivaldi's movement from the Four Seasons for each season, here is Summer- my favorite season and movement from Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

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As you listen you might want to try this idea from my mom's blog: Coloring to Classical Music.

You also might want to brainstorm and record any images of summer that come to mind when you and your children listen to this song and write your own poems.

If you are interested in studying a little more about Vivaldi you can check out the Harmony Fine Arts Free Dowload (Vivaldi is on page 8 of the PDF). It has links to biographical information and online listening.

If you want to purchase a Vivaldi CD from Amazon, here are some to get you started: (We own the first one and highly recommend it.)

And if you haven't seen my summer themed art, handicraft and nature study kit, check it out here!

July 8, 2008 Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival

Welcome to the July 8, 2008 edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival. There are a lot of great entries included in this edition. Be sure to take a few moments to check them all out.

~Nature Study~

Nature Mama presents Nature Project ~ Seashell Music Makers posted at Nature Notes From Above - Homeschool Blogger, saying, "I have a fun nature project to share this month. My kids are always coming home with scads of shells so what better way to make good use of them than to make musical instruments! I've made a little tutorial out of it with lots of photos."

Lisa presents Nature Journaling with Photos posted at House of Many Blessings.

Jamie presents Nature Study: Pollen posted at Life & Love in the Rose Cottage, saying, "Another fun & relaxed summertime nature study right in our own yard."

Cindy West shares her post June's Creation Club from her blog On Our Journey Westward. In this post she shares with us her nature day in a place that at first might seem unusual.

Karen Flores presents The Accidental Nature Study at the Catskills, NY posted at By the word of their testimony - Homeschool Blogger. Here she talks about how she came across a birds nest and the "accidental" nature study that followed.

Amanda shares with us her Summer Nature Walk Worksheet PDF on her blog Hearts and Trees. Be sure to print this out for your next nature walk.

~Art, Music and Handicrafts~

MomToCherubs presents Making Butter With Fresh Cream posted at Adventures On Beck's Bounty. This looks like a really fun project which her children says makes the best butter they've ever had! She also shares with us her post Pickles !! about her family's Pickle Making Day.

Amy Lapain shares with us Hymns for a Kid's Heart outlining her current CM music efforts on her blog The Arts.

Jessica shares with us the results of her Watercolor Lesson #2 posted at Nest of Pleasant Thoughts.

~Writing~

Shez presents The Book Arts Bash - A Summer Writing Program posted at Homeschooled twins, saying, "Two Norfolk homeschool moms bring you the "Book Arts Bash: An exhibition of literary arts". You’ve heard of “Summer Reading Programs”? Now there is a “Summer Writing Program” for homeschooling families. Write your book, create your story, draw your comic, bust out your illustrations! Send us your work, and get your manuscript read by our judges: bestselling authors and industry professionals. Imagine having the opportunity to have your work critiqued by a New York agent or editor. Imagine having one of your favorite writers, or your kids' favorite authors, reading your work! Who knows -- will this be the start of a beautiful career?"

:: Suzanne :: shares with us her post writing & gardening from her blog :: adventures in daily living ::. In this post she compares writing to gardening and helps us to see how we can nurture little writers as we would a garden.

~General Charlotte Mason Education~

Leslie Romano presents With Seven Days a Week We Can Even Include Tea posted at Pockets of the Future Blog. This is a great post about how she discovered a hidden pocket of time on the weekends and how she is using that time to relieve some of the stress from other days of the week.

Tim's Mom presents Unconditional Parenting: The Child's Perspective (and CM) posted at Bona Vita Rusticanda Est, saying, "Drawing parallels between Alfie Kohn's and Charlotte Mason's perspective of the child using Kohn's book "Unconditional Parenting.""

Barb presents What is a Commonplace Book? Or Another Way to Narrate posted at Harmony Art Mom, saying, "If you read the article you will see how the commonplace book is just a form of narration which is encouraged in a CM education."

Elizabeth Foss presents Charlotte Mason Summer Study: Education is a Life posted at Real Learning: Education in the Heart of My Home.

Art Middlekauff a homeschooling dad writes his scriptural views about a Charlotte Mason education in his post For Whose Sake? posted at Le jardin féerique.

Swylv presents The Daily Three for Children posted at Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life., saying, "just my musings while re-reading A Charlotte Mason Companion"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags: the charlotte mason blog carnival, blog carnival.

Outdoor Hour CafePress Store

~Outdoor Hour Tote Bag~

I just put together a small CafePress Store using the graphic logo I designed for my Mom's weekly nature study challenges she hosts over on her blog The Handbook of Nature Study. Our favorite item is the Outdoor Hour Tote Bag. It is a great size and very sturdily made. The graphic looks very cute and would be perfect to take along on your next nature study adventure.

~Outdoor Hour Magnet~

We wanted to check for quality before we advertised these items on our blogs. I purchased the tote bag, a magnet and the nature journal. The magnet is totally great. It would be perfect to hang on your refrigerator as a little reminder to participate in her nature challenges each week. We even designed it with the web address of my mom's blog!

~Outdoor Hour Unlined Nature Journal~

The Outdoor Hour Unlined Nature Journal would be a perfect to record all of you nature journal entries as you complete each challenge. The paper inside this journal is a nice weight and it is the perfect size to carry in your backpack. The only thing is the back cover is made of flexible plastic, which will surely withstand some wear and tear, but it does not make for a sturdy surface if you are not working at a table or on a clipboard or something. You can also purchase an Outdoor Hour Sticker and stick it on your own nature journal or binder.

I would love to hear what you have to say about these items, so be sure to leave me a comment. :)

Watercolor Tecniques #4 Wet-on-Wet

This week's watercolor technique explores one of the wonderful properties of watercolors: the ability to run together and blend on a wet page. Make a color wet-on-wet rainbow as you and your little ones discover how stripes of color can blend on a wet paper.

For tutorial #3 you will need:

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolors (tube or cake)
• Assorted brushes (a large sized one will work best)
• Cup of water
• Paper towel or sponge

Since my last video tutorial was such a hit, I made another one for this week's technique. Enjoy!

Feel free to leave me comments or links to any projects you complete using this tutorial. You can find the other watercolor technique posts listed in my sidebar.

Summer Kit Book Links

Here are the Amazon links to the books suggested to help with your Garden Nature Study Lapbook cover collage from your summer kit.

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And these books are great if you are intersted in learning more about the summer kit's featured artist, Claude Monet, and his garden.

Summer Nature Walk Worksheet

So I have put together a Summer Nature Walk Worksheet similar to the fall, winter and spring ones listed in my sidebar.

This worksheet is what I like to call a senses scavenger hunt. One way to get your children involved in your nature walk is to give them a task to find a specific object. You will be amazed what you find once you start looking.

My worksheet is designed to get you and your kids outside, looking for specific things and spending time exploring nature using your different senses. On this worksheet I have included a space to sketch something you find during your nature walk if you have not yet started your own nature journal.
When you click on the link it will take you to a savefile.com page. Scroll to the bottom and click on the Download File button. The download should start automatically. If it doesn't start, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Download File Now. I will be listing the worksheet link on my sidebar as well.

If you have not checked out the Hearts and Trees Summer Themed Art, Nature Study and Handicraft Kit, be sure to check it out. I have some great projects which would be perfect for keeping little hands busy during the hot summer months.

Watercolor Techniques #3 Thick and Thin Lines

This tutorial builds on technique #2 and is again to help increase brush control. The object of this project is to focus on making your brush lines thicker and thinner as you increase and decrease pressure with your brush.

For tutorial #3 you will need:

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolors (tube or cake)
• Assorted brushes (a medium sized one will work best)
• Cup of water

I had a hard time taking photos of each step so we made a video instead. Hope you enjoy.

Feel free to leave me comments or links to any projects you complete using this tutorial. You can also find techniques 1 and 2 in my sidebar.

Watercolor Techniques #2 Stripes of White

This tutorial is to help increase brush control. The object is to concentrate on the white line you are forming between each stripe. Try not to touch any previous strokes, keep the white lines of unpainted paper unbroken.

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For tutorial #2 you will need:

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolors (tube or cake)
• Assorted brushes (a medium sized one will work best)
• Cup of water

Stripes of White Technique:

1. Make a squiggly stripe across the width of your paper.

2. Rinse off your brush. Swish it in the water. Look my water turned pink!

3. Make another stripe just above or below your first stripe. Try to make it really close to your first stripe, but leave a little stripe of white between. You are really working on making your stripes close to each other without running together.

4. Rinse your brush in the water. Look now my water is purple! What color is your water?

5. Keep adding stripes above and below your first stripe until your whole paper is filled. How close can you get your lines without them touching? Really work on keeping a small stripe of white between each color. Can you keep the white stripe even?

6. It's okay if some of them run together. I had that happen a few times on mine.

Have fun. You can check out my Watercolor Technique #1 here. I would love to hear about your experience sharing this tutorial with your children.