A TOS Review: Maestro Classics

I have expressed my love for Classical Music. It ranks right up there with chocolate.

I have always loved this particular genre of music. Even as a little girl I would listen to some sweeping epic piece and imagine myself in a wilderness castle surrounded by dragons and orgres…armed only with my wits. I still play it for mood music. There is something about vacuuming to Beethoven’s 5^th. It seems to make even the most mundane chores grand and meaningful. 

It’s my opinion that in our modern day hustle and bustle Music and Art Education gets thrown over. I’ve tried to expose Josiah to those beautiful works. However, it is hard to fit quality Music Appreciation in when you are trying to just get through the basics; let alone with Swim team practice, a reading Club and dinner. 

I was downright giddy when I received the opportunity to two CD’s from Maestro Classics. They are the producers of Stories in Music.  We got to enjoy The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Casey at the Bat.

Maestro Classics is unique in that it takes a poem or story and sets it to music. Not only do we get to enjoy beautiful compositions played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, but there is a delightful and exciting story to appreciate as well. They come in CD or an MP3 format. Each comes with a small book that contains more information about the piece, for example, more about the composer, music terminology, instruments and more.  There is also a small game or activity to enjoy as well.

Because I reviewed 2 CD’s I will talk about one at a time. 

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice begins with the narration of the story along with the music.  It is exciting and well-narrated. Most of us are familiar with Disney’s Fantasia. We grew up with Mickey Mouse casting a spell to assist him with chores. Poor Mickey. I could have told him it wouldn’t work.

In this 7 track CD, we learn that the musical score was written by Dukas. We were fascinated to learn that Dukas was so hard on himself that he burned most of his compositions. The poem itself has a long history and has evolved over the years. 

The Conductor teaches us how to listen for tempo, etc. We are encouraged to really listen to the music. Both Josiah and I learned a lot. This CD is almost 42 minutes long. Not only do we get to listen to the music without narration, but there is a kitchen percussion play-along segment. Josiah is all about the percussion.    This was right up his alley. 

Casey at the Bat is another fun one. I have heard this classic poem a number of times (because I’m old). It is set to an original composition by Stephen Simon (who is also the conductor).  

This CD also gave us background information about the poem (which was written in 1888) and its author. I really had no idea it written by Ernst Lawrence Thayer who was, in fact, a humor columnist at the time. This poem (I won’t give away the ending if you haven’t heard it) has a twist. After listening to it the first time Josiah turned to me and said, “What just happened?!”

We also learn through the course of the lesson how composters use music to tell a story without words. There was also a lesson using In a Cabin in a Wood. Another fun track was when we got to hear the piece played by a young group of violinist in the Suzuki method. I used to sing In a Cabin in a Wood to Josiah when he was a little. He remembered it! 

This CD also comes with an activity booklet. 

Maestro Classics are intended for a variety of ages. On the website The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is recommended for ages 6+.   I am much older than 6 (a-hem) and absolutely loved them. I also think that even the littles in your life will enjoy these. Casey at the Bat is recommended for all ages.

Maestro’s Classics‘ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Casey at the Bat are both available for $16.98 on CD, or $9.99 for MP3. Don’t think that these products are just for homeschoolers. Any music lover, music teacher or parent will enjoy having these in their musical library.

I personally loved watching Josiah enjoy both works. We would listen to them mostly while driving. Whenever we would get in the car Josiah would say, “Don’t forget to put in our CDs!” I knew what he was talking about. Occasionally I would take a peek at his face (when my own imagination wasn’t being caught up in dancing brooms and a summer afternoon at the Ball Park). He was always engaged and captivated. Tapping his hand or foot in time to the music. 

Josiah has appointed Maestro Classics as some of his most favorite review items. And I would have to agree. They are excellently produced and executed. They will be enjoyed time and time again.

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Take a Hike! (a nature hike)

 There is something about the adventure of a nature hike. I think in our fast paced world we have lost the art of the explorer. I know my son is far more interested in battling evil empires on his video game than discovering nature. It is up to me to provide those experiences for him.

It was different in my day (here I go again!) I lived in the country...surrounded by hills and woods and creeks. We had a few rules. Don't go wading in the creek by the road. Don't hurt anything. If you chose to bring home objects for a special "collection" make sure you keep them in your special "collection" box.

So now I live in a 2nd floor apartment. We are surrounded by the sites and sounds of a busy city. Any exploration of nature has to be deliberate on my part. Thankfully, we have some terrific locations here in our town for nature hikes/walks and my parents live on a farm.

How does this nature hike stuff happen?


Think about where. It can be as simple as exploring the backyard. However, I suggest picking some locations that allow true adventure.

They might see things that they would never run into at a local playground or backyard.

You can see Josiah investigating a hole.

Who lives there?  Are there any signs that can tell us?

Another important part of a Nature Hike is the stuff you bring with you. We pack along drawing materials as well as a digital camera. Our little nature journals are simply scrapbooking books my mom picked up at the Dollar Tree. Josiah can sketch, make observations and glue in pictures he takes.

A magnifying glass is an important part of a nature explorers tool kit. The explorer is allowed to investigate, make deductions and see all items of interest up close and personal.

How about a field guide? I like the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock, but I have dozens of smaller field guides on hand. I've gotten them from our local conservation department as well as used bookstores. They simply help the user identify what they are looking at. For example, Josiah knew from reading in his field guide that this fella is, in fact, a toad.
 

The field guide will also help us learn about the habitat or even the proper name of a critter. This guy is a Red Eared Slider and lives in the glorious pond accommodations on my parents' farm. 

Sometimes I like to create scavenger hunts. This one was one we did for Cousin Camp. You can see that some of the items collected were not necessarily of the nature kind. Having a scavenger hunt allows the hikers to have specific things to keep a look out for.

Think about additional items to carry along in a backpack.  Do you have a water bottle? How about sunscreen and bug repellant? How about a hat for those truly serious hikers. Make sure everyone has sturdy shoes. Flip Flops (though usually my footwear of choice) is just not practical for romping through the woods.

Other items you might consider are small bags or containers to bring home treasurers. We have a small journal that we can use to press wildflowers into. The Dollar Tree always has bug collector boxes and butterfly nets available in the spring and summer. This is also a good time to talk about plants of the poisonous kind. Leaves of 3! Let it be!

And what's a Nature Hike without a picnic? A quilt and an easy lunch makes for a special treat. It doesn't have to be complicated. There is something about enjoying a PB&J in the middle of nature. It makes memories.

Happy Hiking!

I'm linking up this post to The Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog Hop. Check it out...I know you will find some wonderful resources.

A is for Abandon

So I'm trying something new. A fellow homeschool mom and blogger (and wonderfully sweet person) hosts an Blogging Through the Alphabet link up on her blog, Ben and Me, every week. She has done it for a few years now and this not the first time a round has started up and I've thought, "I sure would like to do that."

But then my life happens and before along those who are participating are Blogging about the letter "P" and I've yet to start with "A." This girl needs a few naps. Just sayin'...

So I've taken the proverbial bull by the horn and have decided to jump into the mix. Here it goes!

When most of us think of the word "Abandon" we see derelict houses or rusty cars. Sad shells of something that once was. Whenever I pass a broken down farmhouse in the country I wonder what life had been like for those who had lived there. There is no longer the laughter of children, steady hands put to chores or the humming of a living, breathing household.

The word itself seems to imply hopelessness and decay.

I, however, am choosing to see "Abandon" in a different light.

Have you ever the expression to "dance with abandon?"

As tempted as I am to wear my tutu to the grocery store, I recognize that to completely live without abandon is not responsible. But I also recognize that I have been weighed down by the cares of the world and my own expectations. I want to lift my head, flip my hair, twirl and skip.

What weighs you down? What have you being carrying for far too long?

I can tell you what I need to Abandon.

I need to stop telling myself I will never finish what I started. I need to be more comfortable in my own skin and stop listening to those voices in my head that tell me that who I am is not enough.

I need to Abandon those former things. My past regrets and failures.

I love this verse in Isaiah.

 

Isn't it exciting? I don't have to hold on to my disappointments, bad attitudes and cranky days. 

God is ready to do a NEW thing! It's up to me to Abandon the OLD. 

A TOS Review: ARTistic Pursuits, Construct

My mama is an artist. As a result, I’ve been exposed to some pretty neat art techniques. She used to teach classes when I was younger and I always seem to be one of the participants. Whether I was a willing participant is another matter completely.  My own artistic abilities are not as natural or as finely honed. 

In that respect, I have failed Josiah as a teacher. I know. Homeschool mom guilt. We’ve all had it. Just because Josiah isn’t painting cherubs on the ceiling in the kitchen I think I’ve blown it. Thankfully, I have just enough sense to understand that I don’t have to be the expert. I can utilize the giftings and talents of others to help me. 

This is my first opportunity to review an art instruction book from ARTistic Pursuits. ARTistic Pursuits has just released a few new books. We were fortunate to be able to review one of those books called Sculpture Technique: Construct. 

What I Received

I had heard of ARTistic Pursuits before, but had never used one of their books. If you aren’t familiar with them yourself, I will start by telling you that it is an art instruction program designed for homeschools. The developers and teachers, Daniel and Brenda Ellis have oddles (I am so sophisticated) of teaching experience and are homeschool parents themselves. 

The Sculpture Technique: Construct joins its cousin, Sculpture Technique: Model as brand new titles in the ARTistic Pursuits series of art instructions. Construct focuses on all things “construction.” The chapters in the book are:

1.     Creating Form in Papermaking

2.     Creating Planes in Cardboard

3.     Creating Motion with Papier-mache

4.     Creating Volume with Wire

There is also a course description, templates, evaluation answer sheets and a recommended classroom schedule. If you chose to follow the classroom schedule the course will last 36 weeks. 

The book itself is a soft cover comb bound book. It uses detailed project instructions with visuals (for us visual folks) as well as teaches elements of art and technique. Construct costs $47.95 and is intended for ages 11-18.  

How We Used It

I think my mama has every art supply known to man. I knew right away that one of the Units we would jump into was the paper-making unit. Simply because I had made paper before and I knew Mom had all the supplies I would need. I did purchase a few things from our local Arts and Crafts Store, but more on that in a minute. 

Josiah also wanted to try his hand at cardboard sculpture. 

Josiah started by making paper. A Boy and a Blender.

If you will please avert your eyes away from my sin of dirty dishes I would appreciate it. The Boy is having a good time.

Now just a word of wisdom. Handmade paper takes a long time to dry. Don’t except to have instant gratification. Thankfully, papermaking is fun stuff. 

This is one of Josiah's more (hmmm) interesting sheets of paper. 

But very pretty. No problem. It still worked just fine for Josiah's project.

The first project in Creating Form in Papermaking is a Low-relief Handmade Paper Form. The example given in the book of a wolf is gorgeous, but I felt probably a bit complicated for the first time out. The folks at ARTistic Pursuits encourage creativity and making a project one’s own. 

This is what Josiah came up with. Simple, but very Artsy…don’t you think? 

The 2^nd project in this Unit is Methods of Forming Handmade Paper. This was all about flower making. 

Remember how I told you that the handmade paper takes forever to dry? For this project we used a few sheets of premade handmade paper. The nature of handmade paper allows it to hold shape. 

 Josiah was instructed to use the supplied templates to make some really pretty flowers. 

So not only did Josiah get to play with the blender. He got to spray a water bottle....inside!

He formed the petals as instructed.

Just lovely!

I see some more flower making in my future.

The other projects in the Papermaking Unit are more complicated.  They also involve armatures. Very exciting. However, I felt that we would save them for another day and for the purpose of this review move on to Josiah’s choice of Unit 2: Creating planes in Cardboard. 

I don’t know about how it is at your house, but here Cardboard is a valuable commodity. Josiah has had many great adventures with a simple cardboard box. 

The first project Josiah tried was to make 3D forms. 

This next project was Josiah’s  piece de resistance.  The assignment was to use all you had learned in making 3D shapes to Construct an Architectural Model. He decided he wanted to recreate his grandparents’ farm. 

I have to tell you that my finished picture is not as complete. I think the greenhouse and part of the barn Josiah created are now on a space craft heading for the Death Star. I don’t know what Darth Vader is going to do with Papa’s greenhouse…We probably should all be a little worried.

My Thoughts

These projects would have been too complicated for Josiah to complete on his own. He is 12. He is also dyslexic and dysgraphic and for some reason has always had issues with spatial concepts. But I have to say that the projects in Construct have been good for helping him develop and work on those very things. This being said, I think that the book has a great variety of challenging and easy projects.  I had fun learning about these sculpting techniques right along with Josiah. 

Another benefit of Construct is that many of the items for the projects needed can be found around the house. For example, the cardboard needed for Unit 2 can be found anywhere. The projects call for corrugated cardboard which can be found in the guts of many larger cardboard boxes. Strangely, the corrugated cardboard had disappeared into the night at our house and I had to purchase a few sheets at the Arts and Crafts Store.

On the ARTistic Pursuits website there is information about ordering supplies from Blick Art Supplies. This is helpful for those who can’t go shopping in their mother’s Art Closet.

Josiah had a lot of fun. I felt like he was learning not only about the elements of Sculpture, but he was encouraged to be creative and inspired. Construct didn’t leave anything out. We didn’t have to go search for further or more complete instructions. 

You can connect with ARTistic Pursuits on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ArtisticPursuitsInc
 

Brenda Ellis also has a Pinterest board for more sculpture ideas. There are some wonderful and inspiring projects to get your creative juices going.

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