Monday, August 11, 2008

Charter School Learning-Getting Unplugged Again

Did you know Cori and Cassi attend a charter school? Its curriculum is based on art and science. Everything they do is interconnected with art especially, as well as science.

It is a wonderful place and I believe it is the right place for my girls. Several times a year an 'Artist in Residence' comes to visit. Two years ago the school did a study on creating art from all things natural that can be washed away back into nature safely.

I loved the lessons and they obviously made a huge difference in the girls' lives.

As I mentioned before, we have just this summer, joined the unplugged train. It has been really fun and has really given me reason to think about things and the kids too. I tell them the theme of the week and ideas generally flow like a geyser. In fact there is not a chance we could ever do all they think of.

I hope you all don't get discouraged by my many beach pictures however I had to share these.
It was an unusually warm day on Thursday so I packed up the kids and took the long trek out to the end of the road for an evening at the beach.

It was evident how warm (I mean hot) it was because it was actually crowded. I should have though to take a wide angle shot of all the folks milling about but...well, next time. And for those of you who haven't a clue what the weather is like here in Alaska, it's often cold. Ha. Actually summers can be wonderful but this summer has been a cold one. The weather has been cool and wet so, on hot days we are out of here!

I packed a bit of firewood, some hot dogs, grapes and chips, told the kids to grab their own drink and away we went. Grandpa met us out there for our lazy dinner. It was very relaxing and the kids all spread out to do their own thing. At times they were collecting, then working on "Big Momma's House' and then to my delight, I noticed Cori quietly off away from the other working diligently on something,

I snuck up on her and this is what I found. I want to make a photo collage out of these photos. Maybe she will find a career in her creativity. (OK, maybe my dream for her.) I know the image is simple but her process was wonderful.

She explained that she first made her canvas with the mud. She was certain it had to be smooth.

When I started taking closer photos she quickly urged me to be careful so as not to break her "tools".

Being the best friend that she is, Alli came over and gave her the grape stems and told her she was contributing to her 'masterpiece'.



Lastly, Cori explained that she hadn't forgotten to sign her work.

So, our contribution to getting unplugged was to get away, way away (The end of the road is a good 30 miles out for us) for a quick jaunt that turned into an art filled evening.

Now the other two were unplugged too, lest you be worried. Cassi had Grandpa feeding her grapes like she was a Queen



and Cali, well she stays unplugged most of the time.

10 comments:

MrsMomma said...

Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
-Heather

Annie Scarlett said...

Looks like ya'll had fun and the artwork was beautiful.

Gottfredsen said...

What a fun day. She made a beautiful masterpiece.

Michie said...

Looks like a lot of fun - beautiful artwork pictures!

Melissa Goodsell said...

I LOVE the mud canvas...she's so clever and it's a beautiful idea.
Melx

So Smrt said...

It looks like such a joyous life. Thank you for sharing the beauty of your family.

:)

shawn said...

That school sounds amazing! My daughter would thrive in that type of school as well. (She is currently home schooled, through a virtual academy, which has lots of art incorporated into the curriculum, and corrolates to the history lessons too.) It is just so neat to see how each child is made, and how they learn, and what they love! I love that you are embracing that in your children. Great mud sculpture she did! (And thanks for the sweet comment!)

Julie K in Taiwan said...

Happy Belated Birthday! Your children's school sounds wonderful, very hands on. It's had good results too as we can see from her project. Very creative, thanks for sharing.

Christie said...

Thank you Julie for the belated birthday wishes and for stopping by. I love your blog.
Shawn, I think the school is amazing. It is fairly early in its establishment. We have been there since the beginning but each year there are still many changes. One thing that doesn't change is the emphasis on the original charter which was to teach through art and science primarily. I love that! But, as much as I do I often contemplate home school because I would like to spend more time with the girls. I know we could accomplish so much more schoolwork in less time and leave so much more time for other fun things. And I meant what I said about your post and your night/morning under the stars. It is exactly the kind of thing I love doing with my children and love to hear about others doing the same. I am so grateful for those moments.
To all of you that left the nice comments; thank you. I love reading comments and often read comments on other blogs too. I enjoy the idea of getting to know other people even if they aren't in my back yard. It makes the world so much smaller, doesn't it? I am new to blogging regularly and started solely to keep my extended family in touch with the girls' lives. It has turned into so much more and I love it! Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful "hot" unplugged time you had. That is beautiful artwork!