Swimming

Art History Reports

Yesterday was a wrap up of Art History.  I am so impressed with Luke, Isabel, Ben, and Luke.  They know something about and can recognize paintings from these artists...

Vincent Van Gogh Leonardo da Vinci Jackson Pollock Mary Cassatt Edgar Degas Pablo Picasso M.C. Escher Norman Rockwell Gustav Klimt Andy Warhol Claude Monet Wassily Kandinsky Georgia O'Keeffe

I had them each write anything they can remember about their favorite artist and then write why they like that artist.  They then drew a picture depicting the subject or style of that artist.  Luke V. and Luke S. both liked M.C. Escher the best.  I am wondering if this M.C. Escher in Legos sold them on him.

Luke's report

Here is Luke's M.C. Escher style sketch.  I love how he has signed his name in all different directions so that you can't tell which way the picture is supposed to go. Isabel's report was on Georgia O'Keeffe. Isabel's southwest landscape.

Protect the Earth, Kill a Farting Cockroach

Saturday we went to the Springs Preserve again.  Here is what the kids brought into the Nature Exchange...

Isabel brought in the leaves that she pressed and laminated, Luke brought in the nest and little shell and Sylvia brought in "Patrick, the starfish."  Afterward, Luke and Joey went to the Insect Pinning class there while the girls goofed around.

Here are their practice paper pinned insects.

After the class the boys shared some very interesting facts that they learned from the class, such as, did you know that...

"Insect flatulence may account for one-fifth of all the methane emissions on this planet. (Termites are also prodigious farters; indeed, dogs trained to sniff out termites are actually following their farts.) Cockroaches are among the biggest contributors to global warming, since they break wind every fifteen minutes. Furthermore, they continue to release methane gas for eighteen hours after they die."

I thought for sure Joey and Luke were just being gross boys, but no, I found the same info here on Cockroaches, Gross Facts and Information. (And if you find something on the internet then it must be true right? hehehe.)