"Jocelyn's blog - Homeschool Blogger" - 5 new articles
Geography Night ~ 20 JuneBack in June, we had another Geography Night with one of the homeschooling groups here. Each family chooses a country, does some research and brings things along on the night. Each country has a designated space and we set up a display to showcase them up the back. We had fun finding things on Belgium and even went to the Embassy to get some brochures and information guides. I think our display was frequented more than the others because of the Belgian chocolate but hey, why not make the experience more enjoyable? We had a fantastic dinner with traditional cuisine of all the countries available to sample... I made "Water Zooi" for the main course. Literally, it means "watery mess" and it's a rich Belgian chicken stew. I found a recipe online so if you want to try it, go ahead and look it up. It's REALLY nice. Our dessert contribution was chocolate and of course, Belgian waffles. After dinner, the children presented a short talk on their chosen country. Unfortunately some went a bit long, but the talks were informative. It was Adam's first time up the front and he did well with his part, despite being nervous. It was good practice anyway. ...and of course, the reason WHY we chose to do Belgium? We did learn a lot more about Belgium than just comics... Fleet Air Arm and Nowra Fun - May 2009I know that I have not blogged in a while and have about six month's worth of entries to put in. It's been hard to be motivated, then technology has let me down a few times and the moments I could have used are gone. Anyway, I do want to try and catch up as I can. Back in May, my mum invited us to join her and Bill in Nowra. Having never explored this area before, it sounded like a great idea. One of the first places we went was a small, historical craft village called Jindi Andi. There were some things left over from convict days and it was a nice afternoon spent in the sun, poking around the old fashioned "lolly shop", craft store and souvenir shop. Here's some photos: This grain mill was built with convict labour in the 1830s. Interesting tree in the gardens... and other "interesting amenities... On the next day, I took the boys to the "Fleet Air Arm" museum. Though it sounds strange, I think the boys quickly caught on to the idea that the Air Force doesn't have all the planes - the Navy needs to have its own complementary force. It did take us a while to get into the building because a helicopter was just getting readying for take-off and we HAD to stop and watch that. The favourite exhibit was the helicopter simulator - the boys had to try and make it land on a carrier out at sea. No prizes for guessing what happened if they didn't quite make their landing :) The museum had a great collection of planes and the boys learned about the sinking of the HMAS Sydney, World War 2 bombing raids launched from the sea, and how a plane can be collapsed to fit in storage on a ship. We were there for most of the day and had a great time. On the final day, we had to pack up and leave - but not without seeing the beach! Those of you who know Nowra, it's just inland from the coast. So we, traveled out to Shoalhaven Heads, had a run around on the beach, morning tea and then headed home. Shelfari!!Well, after mucking around for over half an hour, I've updated my bookshelf on Facebook and here on the blog. Facebook has more of the books I'm reading for pleasure and the blog has the ones that either I'm reading or the boys are reading. We love books here and always have one on hand. I bought a Roy & Matilda book today but forgot to add it to the shelf. These books, as well as the Katie ones, are great for Art appreciation. I like it that there's some Aussie ones too. Unfortunately, it's harder to get the Roy & Matilda ones but The Gallery Mice, pictured below is still available. I got mine through the National Library bookshop. Roy & Matilda have adventures in three Australian Art Galleries. The Gallery Mice is set in Melbourne, The Mysterious Music is from the Queensland Art Gallery and The Golden Locket features the NSW Art Gallery. They are worth looking at with younger ones, though check and see if your library has them. Our library has The Golden Locket and The Mysterious Music. You can investigate further at: http://www.edwinapublishing.com/titles.html Music at Midday - Irish StyleCanberra Theatre Centre in association with the Royal Military College host the Music at Midday Concerts six times a year, with proceeds supporting many local charities. This celebration of the Big Band sound has grown from its humble beginnings and now attracts hundreds of Canberra residents at each performance. The lunchtime concerts, held at 11am and 12.30pm showcase the talents of the RMC Band and presented with Canberra Theatre Centre provides an opportunity to give something back to the community. Entry to the concerts is by gold coin donation, with all proceeds going to a local charity. (Taken from the Canberra Theatre website) What do Guinness, Waterford Crystal, Robert Boyle and the Irish Ambassador have to do with Music at Midday? Well, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Guinness, the band decided to hold an Irish style concert and invite the Ambassador along. They talked about all things Irish, and many things that were not, as they joked, laughed and played their way through the concert. The band played two national anthems, not one and some great pieces: An Irish Rhapsody, St Patrick's Day March, Finnegan's Wake and Riverdance. Joined by a male soloist, some ballads were sung: "What would I be?" "What's in a Kiss?" and "Danny Boy", all adding to the Irish flavour. Toward the end of the program was a surprising number : "The Irish Blessing". This sort of item should be expected but I'll explain why it touched me. During the concert, the versatility of this group easily became apparent and several musicians changed instruments and positions within the ensemble. When they reached the blessing, they stood as one, instruments down and sang accapella, with some nice harmonies. I wasn't prepared for that and it was just lovely. We enjoy going to these concerts as the conductor has a great rapport with the audience and the band shows how much they love their music and performing it for us. Mesmerizing Moods of McCubbinYesterday, I took the boys to see the McCubbin exhibition on the the National Art Gallery. Though Frederick McCubbin is most well known for his earlier works depicting the Australian Bush (see picture below), this exhibition was more about his later works. "The Pioneer" McCubbin went on a trip to Europe and England in the early 1900s, saw many of the Impressionist and Pointillist paintings on display there and came back with a new vision for his painting. His work became less about telling a story, such a in "The Pioneer" and "Down on His Luck" and more about the scene, the landscape, being the focus. The guide who took us through the tour was just wonderful. She spent time teaching the children how to study a painting - the foreground, middle ground, background, the underpainting that would have been done on canvasses, and tools used to paint and create certain techniques. She also got them to examine colour, especially the use of complementary colours throughout his later work. One painting "Violet and Gold" even has those aspects highlighted in the name. "Violet and Gold" 1911 Our guide was enthusiastic, focusing on the atmosphere, light, the reflections and moods of each picture. One, showing two men using a double saw to cut down a fallen tree, she described as "mesmerizing". The absorption of the men, the rhythm of the work was instantly evoked in this painting. I loved the fact that our guide didn't talk down to the children but rather explained terms and descriptions as she went along. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the art work. My younger two, with me in this group, found it interesting as well and they want to see McCubbin's earlier work. We'll have to schedule that in when we next visit Melbourne, which houses the best collection of Australian Impressionists in Federation Sq. For those who can, go to the exhibition, it is a wonderful collection, set out beautifully in the temporary exhibition hall. You have until 1 November but I would suggest NOT leaving it until the last minute! 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