Product Review: Strawz, the Connectible Drinking Straws

These Strawz are so fun! We found them at the Art Gallery of Alberta, but they are available all over online including Amazon and ThinkGeek (just google strawz)!






44 pieces, four different colours, dishwasher safe, coloured connectors are TPE (a food safe plastic), and the straws are polypropylene. Age 6 and up! In fact Vat19 has a more suggestions geared towards the legal age drinking crowd ;-)


Simply fun, they are also great for fine motor skills, creativity, and motivation. Tired of playing with Lego or building blocks? Try these straws and then relax and drink with your creation ;-)



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AGA-- Drawn Outside children's gallery

Brian Jungen

We went to the Art Gallery of Alberta the other day to see Brian Jungen's sculptural installations before it closes on May 8th. It was nice to be able to take photos in an art gallery! Of course, this was the only gallery in which photos were encouraged ;-)

The other galleries we enjoyed were Sherri Chaba: The Silence of Chaos, Walter J Philips: Water and Woods, Nature and Spirit: Emily Carr's Coastal Landscapes, Haida Art: Mapping An Ancient Language, and Lawren Harris Abstractions.

Brian Jungen

My son's favourite was the children's gallery space created for hands on experiences and I don't blame him. While walking through Sherri Chaba's delicate work, I so wanted to touch it! I wish art galleries would bring in  more exhibits that are specifically meant to be interacted with. I've heard art students often have a project to design art for people who are blind-- meaning they are textural... touchable! I'd love to see the AGA use a gallery space for touchable art!

Drawing Outside is the new children's gallery complete with a climbable landscape. Lots of textures, colour, and lines everywhere to explore. Kids can make rubbings of the textures or play with the magnetic table. There are two pieces of art on the walls with moving sections. There is a card with a search and find list and a video that runs constantly (silently).

If you live in the area or are visiting and if you are bringing children, make sure to pick up the "Let's Explore Art" booklet at the front desk. It can be a fun way for them to explore the galleries. It has search and finds, places to answer questions, and sections to draw in. It makes it more interactive!

Also, the AGA website helps to explore art at home too! The newest art projects are print making (to compliment Walter Philips) and abstract forest collage (to compliment Emily Carr).

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Pablo Picasso: A Mini Unit

An introduction. Well, my son already knew of Pablo Picasso, but we watched the above video and a few others on YouTube then proceed to books!

Picasso and Minou by Maltbie is a fun way to learn about Picasso. It's mostly a true story with a bit of fiction thrown in (explained in the end notes) packaged in a lovely illustrated book. For an Amazon look-inside follow the link! Ages 4-8, but I think can go higher.

Getting To Know The World's Greatest Artists: Picasso by Mike Venezia was also a nice introduction but much more factual and chronologically based. This also has an Amazon look-inside and seems to be recommended for Grades 1-3 or ages 9-12 (nice to know Amazon doesn't have conflicting concepts on its pages, lol). Mike Venezia has a whole series of books and videos that introduce famous people: artists, composers, etc.


When Pigasso Met Moostise by Nina Laden was a funny and fiercely colourful story that my son enjoyed. Amazon look-inside. A homage to Picasso and Matisse.






These were two other books we borrowed from the library: What Makes a Picasso a Picasso? and Who Was Pablo Picasso?
They were great ideas but didn't get examined much.





Inspired by the videos, out came the paints and wonderfully large paper!

Here my son creates a colourful Jabba the Hutt  ;-)





And out of the blue, while having fun with the iPhone app Doodle Buddy, my son declared this creation of his...

"The Creative Process of Pablo Picasso!"

lol.

 I first ran across these sticker books over at Almost Unschoolers blog and have since spotted them at the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Basically there is a write up and photo of the artist followed by 6 examples of his or her work.

Along with each example is a partially completed example that you can use the stickers in the book to complete.

Or, as my son prefers, to make your own masterpiece!








For some online fun, go to Picasso Head and create your own Picasso inspired head or just browse the gallery and see what others have done.

For a Picasso Artist Study.

This has been linked with Picasso-An Arty Crafty Party over at Our World Wide Classroom!


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Peter Kent's Engaging Historical Books

One thing lead to another and we ended up with four of Peter Kent's books (borrowed from the library). Peter Kent is the author and illustrator of these great books that are engaging my son so thoroughly. They are a great way to provide simple historical overviews as a supplement or introduction.


















Hidden Under the Ground: The World Beneath Your Feet
Complete with a table of contents, this fascinating book takes the reader on a journey through time and into underground spaces. Lots of trivia is interspersed with his detailed drawings. The usual and obvious under worlds are covered: caves, caverns, a tomb, and animal habitats. However, he gets creative and includes afterlife underworlds (middle ages perspective), cliff dwellings, hidden rockets, power plants, the street beneath our feet, and dungeons. Throughout the pages are questions to engage the reader into the pictures. The questions are mostly searching for 'how many' of something.
This book has a table of contents, introduction, a glossary, and an answers section.



Great Buildings: Stories of the Past
After the introduction, Kent takes the reader to the great pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Beauvais Cathedral, the Eddystone Lighthouse, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Panama Canal, the Woolworth building, the Chek Lap Kok airport, and finishes off with a summary of seven more great buildings of the world. The buildings that are focused on are covered over two double page layouts with lots of pictures and interesting facts.
 This book has a table of contents, introduction, and an index.























Peter Kent's City Across Time: From the Stone Age to the Distant Future

This was one of my son's favourites. He enjoyed seeing the progression of cities from the old stone age through the ages to modern times and into the distant future. The detailed illustrations are what really brings this book to life as this book has the least amount of text out of the four books. However, what is said is still interesting.
This book has a table of contents, introduction, a glossary, an index, and further information. The further info are online sources of information that complement what was covered in the book.



Peter Kent's Big Book of Armor: From Armadillos to Armored Cars
This was my son's favourite and he even wants to buy his own copy. Again, this is where Kent gets creative and really investigates what can be included as armor. The usual armor, throughout the ages, is discussed and illustrated in detail, but he also goes into safety suits, armored vehicles, forts, athletic gear, and animal armor.
This book has a table of contents, introduction, a glossary, an index, and further information. The added information here are lists of where to see the various armor, tanks, ships, trains, and forts in their museums around the world.


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Books: Diary of...

Diary of what?

Diary of a Worm (2003)
Diary of a Spider (2005)
Diary of a Fly (2007)

All by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Harry Bliss.

This is a fun trio of books that were an old favourite and which have made a recent come back in our home. Although not a challenging read, my son finds something in them that still appeals. perhaps it's the fun and quirky sense of humour.

And if you're trying to encourage or inspire journal writing, these certainly won't harm. However, they do take the traditional route of dairy = daily activities and thoughts. Click on the pics for a closer and clearer picture.

From Diary of a Worm

From Diary of a Spider

From Diary of a Fly

This is linked up with...


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Cooking in the Kitchen

It almost seems to be a creed among home schoolers that cooking in the kitchen, at a young age, is essential. That it's a great way to learn math. It's a basic!

Well, it certainly is a useful life skill, but for whatever reason, we've been a bit negligent in this area. And now, at the age of 8, my son has little interest in this endeavour. And while we do have time on our side-- I mean, he is only 8-- I still have doubts creeping in. lol. Perhaps it's a stage, but that doesn't mean I don't take certain measures! I can not stand the idea of my son being 18 and not able to cook an egg...or something vegetarian... or vegan...whatever  ;-)
Besides, it would be lovely to have help in the kitchen and sharing the cooking duties when he's a bit older. It's all about being equal members of the household.

But we're Natural Learners and I don't force him to learn specific things. So what to do?

First, I continuously borrow children's cookbooks out from the library and leave them on his library bookshelf. I suggest he check them for something he'd like to make. Although he'd often flip through things, nothing came of it.

Second, I have to restructure my thinking. We're fairly healthy eaters over here and seldom eat junk food. Ah, this means we've done very little baking. Duh! There's my problem. How hard is it to entice a young chef into the kitchen to bake? Well.... it can be, but I won't go there.

The latest round of cookbooks included new finds in the areas of my son's current interests: Star Wars and Garfield. The Star Wars Cook Book: Wookiee Cookies and Other Galactic Recipes by Robin Davis. The Star Wars Cook Book II: Darth Malt and Other Galactic Recipes by Frankeny. I'm in the Mood for Food: In the Kitchen with Garfield. 

The Garfield one was thoroughly flipped through and all comics read, but no interesting recipes caught the attention of my boy.

The two Star Wars Cook Books were a hit though as several desserts and drinks have been highlighted and put on the agenda. Now, I must say *I* am not impressed with the recipes, but it's a cute set of books that my son enjoys.

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Book: Palazzo Inverso

The above video takes you through the first half of this MC Escher-esque book, it's a teaser. But not enough of a teaser if you ask me; the book itself is much more exciting to look at and read. I love the way the text wraps the pages and sends you back to the beginning.

Palazzo Inverso is by DB Johnson.
Amazon's summary: "Mauk's master is drawing up plans for a grand palazzo, and Mauk is NOT allowed to help. Mauk only sharpens the master's pencils--he doesn't actually use them.
...Or does he? One morning, Mauk's master is horrified to discover that his plans have run amok, and the construction of the grand palazzo has, too! Is Mauk really to blame? Or is that just the master's point of view?"

This is a cute book to read on it's own, but would make a great addition to a study about MC Escher or drawing.

Although I recommend getting the book itself, you can read it online here. Problem is, you just don't get the whole tactile experience of reading the text, getting to the end, and flipping the book upside down and reading the wrapped text back to the beginning. It's much more fun to explore the actual book!

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Barefoot Book of Classic Poems and Poem Music

The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems, compiled and illustrated by Jackie Morris, is a very lovely collection. The 74 poems are beautifully illustrated adding to the experience.

After reading "The Highwayman" out loud to my son (we've read this poem before), he promptly demanded we listen to Loreena McKennitt's version-- on her The Book of Secrets Cd. And I do mean demand... he was impatient and wouldn't let me read another poem just yet. [she also does "The Lady of Shallot" on her CD, The Visit.]

This reminded me just how important it is to listen to poetry, not just read it. And there are several poetry CDs out there, especially for children. Some are done to music and some are just read poems. I hope to blog a few in the near future as we have them on hold at the library.

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Professor Noggin Card Games!

Here are a few of our decks

The Professor Noggin card games are wonderful. With so many topics covered and more added all the time, they are a fun and stimulating way to learn about history, science, geography, nature, and even hockey. Age level? They say 7 and up, but my son started off with them around the age of 4 and 5-- as you'll see there are more than one way to use them ;-)

How do they work? Basically they are a Q&A card game. One side of the cards has a picture and the other side has 2 sets of questions, one easy set of three questions and one set of hard questions. The included dice is rolled to determine which question (1, 2, or 3) will be asked and the card is won by a correct answer; an incorrect answer sends the card to the bottom of the card pile. The goal is to collect as many cards as possible. Before the game commences, players decide who answers the easy questions (maybe the kids) and who answers the hard questions (maybe the adults). 

My son was never into playing them that way though. He preferred to read them on his own and create time lines or use them in story creation. Sometimes he would quiz me or ask me to quiz him, but we've never actually sat down and played them competitively or ever used the dice. So, these cards can be fun for all kinds of imaginative play!

The Professor Noggin series began with "Life in the Ocean" which was quickly followed by "Insects and Spiders" and "Wildlife of North America." Now there are 37 titles with "Hockey" and "Baseball" being the most recent. For a list of their titles click here. If there is a topic you'd love that they don't have, you can always suggest a title (on their website)!

This is a made in Canada product and definitely has a strong North American focus, but has several international titles. And while it does have a few Canadian focused titles ("Geography of Canada" and "History of Canada") it seems like there are even more American titles (from civil war to presidents, plus geography and history). And, if it matters to you, these card games have won several awards.

Click here to check out "Wonders of the World" card game: it's complete list of topics, their game instructions, and a sample card with questions and answers.

This post has been linked up with...

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Book: The Picture History of Great Explorers

The Picture History of Great Explorers by Gillian Clements is a very fun and colourful way to explore history's famous explorers and get a nice over view with time lines. This was a library find that my son was very enthusiastic about for a while. Now he gives it 3.5 out of 5 (=Good).

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