the OTHER mother

Why We Are Home-Schooling

This is a story book that Pearl made when she was six (2010). She made it on her own without any assignment or prodding or suggestion from anyone. It shows the education of the dragon, phase by phase, starting with birth. The last picture is a mural that the group of young dragons have created together at their art school. For me, it explains why we are home schooling. But it would not have to happen at one's home--it could also be a treatise on good schooling. 

Dragon Born

A little dragon finally opens its eyes. She looks out at the world. She is ready to learn.

 

Dragon Nursery

They learn by their selves in the dragon nursery. There are no teachers. It is fun day and night.

 

Art School

Dragons learn how to respect their master and defend for their selves. They paint special dragons before them.

 

Maze

Dragons love mazes. They don't mind being lost. They love a good adventure.

 

In the World

Dragons can see things differently.

 

Dragons (A Mural)

On Thankfulness

Carrie and Pearl made these books over the Thanksgiving weekend. I chose a few pages from each book. The first four are Carrie's, and the last four are Pearl's.

I'm thankful for Ninjas spying.

I'm thankful for friendly dolphins.

 I'm thankful for rocks everywhere.

 I'm thankful for my sister.

 

A few pages from Pearl...

I'm thankful for my loco cats and screw-loose dog.

I'm thankful for amazing climbing trees.

I'm thankful for watermelon.

I'm thankful for homeschooling. 

Pearl Has a Guardian Angel

Transcription: 

I have an Angel

with a song. She has a

butterfly. She trails thunder.

Panthers dart around

her. A velvet mask is

in her hand. Silver breezes

whisper around her. Inchworms

and lemons are swirling

around her too! Her skin is like

the moon shining above her.

Then she fainted! Crash!!!!

 

P.S. She hit the flower pot.

by Pearl, age 7

Cousins, or A Care Package for Sarah

 
Carrie adores all her cousins, but she has an extra special love for her cousin Sarah. Carrie has the same birthday as Sarah which is perhaps why Carrie perceives a heightened connection between them. She oftens tells her stories that are her *memories* (fantasies, actually) of their many adventures together. In reality Sarah is 14 and Carrie, 5. In these tales, however, Carrie is 6 and Sarah is 5. Fancy that! 

This post is a e-care package for Sarah from Carrie. 

Carrie made three drawings for Sarah. They are rolled up like a scroll and tied with a "bow," a pastel tie-dyed string that reminds me of dental floss.

 
Carrie and Pearl did rescue a baby bird last week. Carrie and Marcia took it to an animal rescue center where it is being nursed back to health. In the picture, however, the heroes are Carrie and Sarah. The sign between the girls and the tree has one of those DON'T symbols on it. Nothing pleases Carrie more than doing things she's NOT supposed to do.

 

I was not given any explanation on this picture so I'm not sure what to say. Feel free to take a stab at it. 

Carrie is trying to learn to draw more skillfully so she models pictures after Pearl's. I love that the sky has both a sun and a moon in it.

So, Sarah, I hope you enjoy these. We miss you!

 

 

Pearl's Groove

Pearl is in first grade this year. She's doing well in school and can read chapter books on her own. She likes Junie B. Jones, the A-to-Z mysteries, the Magic Treehouse series, and any true story about animals. Pearl joined a soccer team at the Y this year. Her team is improving, but they still haven't scored a point. She's pretty good though. I've been impressed with her athleticism.

Pearl's very favorite activity is still acting out stories that she makes up. Home is for acts, as far as she's concerned. Her favorite tv show is Avatar: The Last Airbender, and her favorite character is Aang whose job, although he's just a child, is to save the world. She wants to be Aang for Halloween.

In her acts, she combines characters from Avatar with characters from other stories that she and Carrie like--Scooby Doo, The Lion King, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame--with characters from their original stories--a baby named Baby, dog brothers Alex and Johnny, and Pearl and Carrie are always characters in the stories too.

Pearl still loves to draw. Her drawings are like comic books, often done in the format of sequenced squares. She loves to make them funny by placing the characters in unlikely places--kings in cages, cats hanging upside-down from trees. She still loves animals. They love her too. As do we, Mama and Baba, so very very much!

Vision + Quest, Grrrlville Style

Adventure with Dragons and Treasure by Pearl

Fairy Tale by Carrie

Autobiography, the Kid Way

Recently a friend asked me to help him help his daughter write an autobiography. As adults we have fairly set ideas about the format of a biography or autobiography. They are usually chronological and include set details such as birth, milestones, siblings, and so on.  Children, lacking familiarity with the format, often find other more interesting ways to tell about themselves.

For example, a child could tell her life story as a history of her teeth. From toothless baby to tooth fairy, to bobbing for apples (does anyone do that any more?) this might be a fun way to talk about one's life. By focusing the story on a particular slice of ones life, it might make for a more interesting story.

A book that could be used as a model is My Map Book by Sara Fanelli. Each page spread contains an unusual map.  This one (below) is labeled a map of my day, with the toothbrush at the left and the night sky on the right. Each strip contains an activity that make a typical day in the life.

At Writers in the Schools (WITS), the map of my heart is another popular model for creative writing that comes from Fanelli's map book.The young writer sketches a heart and fills it with all the things s/he cherishes most.Modeling the brainstorming phase is important.The child uses the sketch to write a story or poem.

If you try this idea at home, please let us know. Happy writing!

Home Is Where the Art Is

New house, blank walls. You know the story. So yesterday, while Marcia was completing a work project, Pearl, Carrie, and I whipped up an art project.

I read about this project here and was planning to do it on my own, but the grrrls were interested in helping. The white lines are made with painter's tape, and each field is a different color, so it really is easy enough for children.

I like the way they turned out. Pearl's comment = they look like they were painted by real artists! Carrie's comment = don't worry Baba, I'll finish them tomorrow while you're at work.

This Is Me, Bald

I'm sure that Carrie (age 4) is not the only one out there who wonders, on occasion, "What would Baba look like if she were bald?" Motivated by generosity, no doubt, Carrie has provided us with this artistic rendering that answers the (above) question. Grrrls with crazy hair find this picture particularly hilarious, by the way. So now you know.

This is a picture of me when I was six, which is Pearl's age now. For some reason, it seems to me the photograph of a writer. In retrospect, of course.

A Stallion Gallops Beneath the Waterfall

watercolor by Pearl (Aug. 2009)

I think it might be a scene from a movie she likes.

Two Rainbows

Art by Carrie (age 3.5)

and art by Pearl (age 5.5)

And the Other Little Fishies

This is Carrie's version. As in the past, Carrie chooses watercolor, and Pearl prefers colored pencils.

All the Little Fishies

Art by Pearl

It's a Dog Walk Dog World

drawing by Pearl, age 5

Carrie Can Represent

Carrie (age 3.5) has been a little slow to do representational art. I think that she feels like she can't do it as well as Pearl so she often doesn't try. But check this out! She seems to be suddenly drawing things with a vengeance!

Doodling 101 (Oh to be a Kid Again!)

Are you familiar with the Taro Gomi coloring books?

There's a series of them. This one, Doodles, is Pearl's first. Each page spread has an unfinished picture and the sentence at the top contains a suggestion of how the child might complete it. For example, the picture (below) asks that you give the girl a fabulous dress. The second one asks you to fill in the boy's talk bubble with the saddest possible sentiment. (Pearl has written, "I lost my puppy.") The third picture asks that you fill the tree with birds. I would have LOVED this kind of book when I was a kid. 

We "R" Beadniks

Our friend Shannon's bead store is always a fun stop in Santa Monica. Beadniks is a half-block off the 3rd Street Promenade at Arizona and 2nd. If you see Shannon, please tell her that Grrrlville sent you!

Question of the Day: Museums

What's your favorite museum?  And why?

The Art of Cars in Houston

The Art of Being Artists

Young children are natural artists. Lots of people have said that before me, but I agree. Lacking the preconceptions that we attribute to knowledge and experience, children are able to create and innovate more freely.

In the famous words of Pablo Picasso: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

Pearl and Carrie have been sick this week and have been spending a lot more time indoors than usual. You can see Carrie's work on the left, and Pearl's is on the right.

The Other Mother Recommends: Art Projects for Kids Blog

Pearl and Carrie are now old enough and occasionally even willing (!) to do an art project with me.  The way it works is: I ask if they'd like to do a project. Both say NO with great conviction. Then I say that's okay, and I start working on the project myself. At some point they begin to get interested and usually they join in.

Sunday we made bead necklaces.  I have been admiring (and waiting patiently until I could utilize) Kathy Barbro's blog Art Projects for Kids. It's dreamy! Kathy often derives her projects from real artists or from real artistic techniques. My sense is that these projects bring out the best and most creative from the child, and the end products are often very beautiful.

Dinosaurs, Dancing, and Rainbows

Art by Carrie at 3 years, 4 months

Question of the Day: E Window Shopping

Do you love Etsy? Here are four pieces by artist Amy Giacomelli. I'd never heard of her before tonight. I simply typed the phrase "leaves of grass" into Etsy, and she popped right up.  If you could have one of these, which one would you choose?

Blown Away

Kissing Tree

Constant Dreamer

Happy Together

Pearl Makes a Kite

For our blustery "spring" days, Pearl made her own kite. Whether or not it flies remains to be seen.

Carrie, The Art of

I'm not sure why, but I just love the abstract art of toddlers. Carrie made this piece recently. Feel free to caption if you'd like.

You Are Here: Puppytown USA

The first drawing is a map of Puppytown, although there are other creatures included as well: a bat, a hawk, even the tail of a fox.  There's a park along the bottom of the page, a beach on the top right corner, and a grocery on the right side center.  The second drawing is of dogs playing together, having fun, although the clouds suggest it may rain soon.

Pearl makes a least a dozen of these every day. She talks and sings to herself as she works.  She has little to no interest in the pictures once she finishes them. 

Art is at the Heart of It

People on the Beach by Pearl
Weather by Carrie 

 

Top Posts at The Other Mother in 2008

10. She Is - Pearl's Birth Announcement (March 2004) includes a recipe for smothered okra!

9. Birthday Rap - Marcia's Song for Robin's Birthday (September 2008)

8. Question of the Day: Politics and the English Language (October 2008) your thoughts on the BIden/Palin debate

7. Artful Summer (July 2008)

6. Meet the Blogger: Polly Pagenhart of LesbianDad

5. A Costume Question (October 2004)

4. Reader Appreciation Day (April 2008) introducing a meme for bloggers to thank the readers

3. Happy Haircut! 

2. What to Call 2 Moms

1. She Was Really Saying Something (Feb. 2008) introducing a meme to celebrate Freedom to Marry week

Happy New Year from Pearl

A Merry Christmas to All Y'all