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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Project Summaries and The Chronicles of Narnia

I can't claim that we do unit studies around here, but I love the concept. And I love lists. So, I tend to group similar topics together and make lists under "Project Summaries" when I'm collating our learning activities (which I do informally).

For example, I'm a keener for learning about Canada. I don't drill Canadian trivia into my son, however, I do have an on going section in my file for all things Canada. When we read a Canadian author, it goes into that list. When we visit a historical site, it goes into that list. When we watch CG Kids, it goes into that list. My son has several books on Canada that he loves, and those go into that list. Canadian music, stories, articles, dvds, experiences, field trips, etc.

Some "Project Summaries" are shorter than others while some are really in depth. My son's current Project Summary for Star Wars is quite an extensive resource list, lol!

 And some, like this Narnia one, are short and on going.

First off, my son and I listened to the audiobook The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
[I typically only read one chapter book out loud and that one is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the moment.]

My son read the very colourful Step Into Narnia: A Journey Through "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" by E.J. Kirk 

Of course, we had to watch The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the new movie! We're borrowing the older version from the library and will compare the two very soon.

And the inspiration for doing all this right now: the Narnia exhibit at our Telus World of Science. Apparently, photos are not allowed within the exhibit, sorry :(

However, follow this link to the promo video on the official website.
This exhibit ends May 1, 2011! It's the last few weeks, but plenty off time to enjoy it.

We printed out the educational guide pdf from the Narnia Exhibit website. It looked good and my son wants to do most of the activities.

We will listen to the rest of the Narnia books and keep our eyes out for complimentary  books, like the above Step into Narnia book. Plus watch the old and new movies.

Normally I'd be inspired to take out more library resources on England and London, but we've previously delved into London, England before our visit there-- plus our actual visit and all the photos! My son did not ask to learn more and we have several other countries he's interested in learning about right now.