Big Messy Art: How to Become Megamind

The next Big and Messy project we tried involved powdered tempera and lots of soap bubbles. We tried it on a very warm, clear and sunny day.

Here's how it was supposed to work:

I were to put some powdered tempera into a flour sifter. M would then sift it over a large piece of paper. He then would blow bubbles over that piece of paper. Bubbles would pop, their liquid mixing with tempera to form beautiful circular patterns.

Here's how it really worked:

Most of the tempera fell straight through the sifter into a neat little pile almost in the middle of the paper. We had to use our hands to spread it around more evenly. We had to shake of excess powder (which was most of what I poured into the sifter). Then we learned one simple truth about bubbles - when you blow on them, even on a very calm day, they don't exactly want to float downward. Not right away anyway. First they want to fly up and sideways and this way and that way, anywhere but the tempera-covered paper. Maybe we needed bigger and wetter bubbles...

So as an art experiment it wasn't as much success as I expected. But it's not my expectations that count here, right? M loved it! First, he discovered that he can quickly make his hands blue "just like Megamind's, mama!". If that wasn't exciting enough, there were tons of bubbles to chase all around the yard and pop (being careful not to step into the vegetable beds).

This run-around was done in rainboots ('cause you know, they are simple to clean). This pair of boots, cute as they are, is a bit too big for M. So as he was chasing the bubbles, one of the boots came off and flew in a surprisingly graceful arch through the air. Which, naturally, led to a game of "kick the boot of my foot". Which somehow lead to a not-altogether unrelated game of "toss the boot to the fence".

If you've never played either of these games, try! They are really fun. How do I know? Well, I was wearing my own fancy-shmancy pair that was a bit too big for me.

Big Messy Art: The Decision

I've already mentioned how, thanks to a cold and snowy winter spent almost entirely indoors, I now have way much energy. Well, I haven't run out of steam just yet. The garden is still being worked on. M's room's been painted and awaiting some IKEA furniture. I'm still working out regularly, 3 days a week, at the gym...

Next on my list - doing more art with M or rather having him explore art more. As Maria, a wonderfully mathematical friend of mine, explained to me, there are two types of children (and people in general) - microscopists and giantists. M is clearly a giantist. He shows absolutely no interest in small-scale projects, but is eager to try something really-really-really HUGE or at least LARGE SCALE.

Which might explain why my approach of handing him a small paintbrush and a smallish piece of paper wasn't exactly working out for us. Fortunately, I picked up a library copy of Mary Ann Kohl's "Big Messy Art". Basically, it's familiar "process over product" art ideas, only supersized. Which, by the way, allows to use many exciting new "non-artsy" tools - an important point for a boy who isn't too excited about regular paintbrushes.

Our first project was a while ago. It was called "Flyswatter Painting" because it was just that - dipping a fly swatter into some paint and making prints on a large piece of paper.

M was so delighted with the project that he didn't even mind some paint splatters on his face and hands (this is definitely an outside project). Encouraged by such warm reception, I wanted to continue, setting an ambitious goal of 1 new project each day. Fortunately, the weather interfered; it got cold, windy and rainy. I cooled off a bit and decided to take is slowly, enjoying the process and letting M set the pace.

Weeks 8 and 9 - Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

These two weeks zoomed by so fast that didn't have a chance to update my blog. Things were constantly changing. For example, in the space of 3 days our departure date (from NY) changed 4 times!

As you might know, Chris had to come home earlier than planned because he took a nasty fall (actually, a series of 7 or so nasty falls). As a result, he is on crutches for the next few weeks. What was at first thought to be a nasty sprain is in fact a full-blown fructure. So here ya go - a BIG change.

Then a bit out of a blue I had a pretty big and extremely urgent project for one of my clients. In fact, I was so busy with it that I had to put a few other biz projects on the back burner. And then I had to catch up on those...

But we still managed to have some fun and get some stuff other than work done.

During our last week or so in NY, M got into building with unit blocks. Most of the stuff he built was part of his Space Exploration program - a house for the astronauts (see above), another building where they'd train for the missions (see below), a launch complex, a hangar for the space shuttle, etc.

There was also a huge change in how he built them. He used to ask me for help balancing the blocks or even coming up with design ideas. But lately he's been building completely on his own. Which obviously makes me very happy and proud.

Now the only thing he asks from me is to take his picture next to his latest creation.

The weather cleared up some. Even though it still remained very cold, at least the snow melted. It started to feel like spring! Change in the weather meant that M and Grandpa could finally launch some real rockets. You can imagine the excitement!

No snow meant that we could finally go to a playground. Sure, there was mud all over the place, but that just upped the fun factor. Except on the first day when it was so cold that after about 20 minutes M asked me if we could go home already.

In our last week in NY we spent quite a lot of time in the backyard. M got to sit in Grandpa's new airplane! And check out the first greens in Grandma's veggie garden. We also played soccer with this huge dirty mostly deflated Chuck E. Cheese-themed ball. Even Grandpa got in on the action.

We also built this structure (above) from a playhouse someone junked and Grandpa picked up months ago. Do you know what this is? Nope, it's not a house or a castle. And it's not a rocket or a space station or a space shuttle.

Ok, I'm going to tell you - it's a ship. A regular ocean-going ship. M was the captain and I was both the crew and the passengers. My responsibilities were few and consisted mostly of saying "Ay Ay, Captain!". The captain, on the other hand, stayed very busy making snacks and coffee in the galley, appearing on the deck only to fight sharks.

Back indoors we did a couple of projects. I came up with one after seeing this idea on a couple of blogs. This is an art-science project since it combines painting with pendulum action. The set up is very simple - a funnel suspended from a broomstick and filled with paint. It got pretty messy, but M was really into it (and he still doesn't like messing with paint). In fact, he chose the colors and operated the pendulum. He then got into mixing colors with a stirring stick.

The second project was M's own invention. He actually got so into it that he was at it for almost 2 hours straight and then continued on and off for the next couple of days. The setup was much more elaborate and included a printer paper box, some leftover cardboard (from building our hexbug habitat), a large pot, an old broken tripod, lots of sticks, pinecones, and pieces of wood and a space heater (set on low for safety). So what do you think this whole thing is? Ok, I'm going to tell you right away 'cause you won't guess in a million years. Ready? It's a machine for making rainbow-colored hay from ground lunar stones (which explains the moon on the floor in the backgroud). At least it was that on Day 1. On Day 2 the setup was simplified a bit and became a bonfire so we could all warm ourselves up.

In between all this fun we also managed to make it to Brighton Beach. I promised myself not to get M more Russian books this time (I bought him a ton in the last few weeks). But you know me - I can't resist good books. And the ones I saw at the Kids' World store were fantastic. Plus Grandpa insisted on footing the bill. So M got about 6-7 more books, including an awesome Encyclopedia of Space Exploration, this time - in Russian. Then I went to the bookstore for grownups and bought a few more books, this time - for myself, mostly about Russian history and language.

And then it was time to pack and leave. We had to get a mini-van to fit all the stuff we were taking with us even though I left quite a few books and toys and most our winter clothes in the attic. But in all fairness, we had 3 adults, a child, a cat and a pair of crutches to fit into the car. Why 3 adults? My brother volunteered to help us with the move back (I told ya last year - he is (mostly) an angel). And now we're finally back home! Well, we've actually been back for almost a week already, but that's another story.

Twice the Fair - Continued (Includes Pix of Me)

Amazing how it works, but the first time I went to the Fair this year, with my whole entire family in tow, I didn't get a single picture of myself taken. It's like I wasn't even there. Not to fear, one can almost always rely on the kindness of strangers. And that's exactly what happened when M and I returned on the last day of the Fair.

We went very early in the morning to avoid the stampede and getting stuck in the dreadful traffic. Think Raleigh can't get big, busy and uncomfortable even if it tried? Well, 1,091,887 people attended NC State Fair this year (the new all-time record) and 110,567 of these people showed up on that last Sunday of the Fair (another record set to which we contributed so now I feel like I've played my part in making history. Maybe I can write a memoir. Wait... I already have this blog!)

Back to the Fair. This time around it was just M and I since grandparents went back to NY and Chris was away for the weekend. With nothing better to do, we spent about 5 hrs roaming the Fair.

Here's the cool part. One of the books I bought for M recently was Russian translation of Paddington Bear stories (BTW, adorable and highly recommended). And one of the stories in the book was about Paddington going to a fair, riding different rides, winning a little toy fish and enjoying himself immensely. So our second time at the Fair was very much Paddington Bear-like.

We walked all around the Fair, looking at pretty much everything. Just like the Bear, we went on a few rides (yeah, I had to go on the horrible spinning cups ride, grhh, yuck). Then M played a little fishing game and won a prize. Guess what the prize was? A little stuffed yellow toy fish, just like the one Paddington'd won in the book!

Here's the funny part (in retrospect). I think I read the Paddington Bear story one too many times 'cause I started believing it just like my not-quite-4-year old did. At the end of the story, Paddington feels very sleepy. Well, that was my secret plan - to stay at the Fair long enough and do enough to get M good and tired so he'd nap for a couple of hours. Wishful thinking! As a matter of fact, he went on a no-nap strike that whole week. So the only thing I accomplished walking around the Fair for 5 hours was getting myself VERY tired for the rest of the day.

A Drummer and a Colonial Chef

That's what M wanted to be "when he grows up" as of last week. The drummer is an old one, although I'm surprised that it's still making the list since he hasn't been obsessed with drums for quite some time now. The colonial chef needs some explanation (very little, so bear with me here).

Ok, so a few months ago we went to all those Lower Hudson Valley historic places and M paid particular attention to a gristmill and the kitchens and gardens. So I bought him a book at the souvenir shop, called "Colonial Cook". At first we read it every day, sometimes several times a day. Then things calmed down a bit and we moved on.

Except last week we went to the Historic Oak View Plantation. It's a great place to visit any day (and it's free to boot). But on weekday mornings they have lots of school groups and, consequently, ongoing presentations from 10am to 12pm. Fun!

On the days we went there (yes, we ended up going two days in a row), M collected the eggs from the chickens, milked a cow, drove a tractor (ok, that's not quite Colonial, but it's a real tractor!), washed laundry using a washboard and soap made of pig fat and lye, picked and cleaned cotton, churned butter, and cooked in a real Colonial-era kitchen! Ok, so all of this was pretend stuff, except for the washing.

But the kitchen is a real kitchen with all the real implements. So M sat through the entire presentation (he just made his way into the room and sat down on the floor amongst the elementary school students; he even raised his hand once or twice as the presenter was asking questions). And then, after the school group left, he walked around the kitchen and pretended how and what he was cooking. Needless to say, we're reading "Colonial Cook" again now.

From 2 Weeks Ago

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth right after turning 32. It's just now that I'm older and wiser and more responsible, I decided to devote more time to work and less time to frivolous activities such as blogging. Wait 'til next year, when I turn 33 (although I just might win lottery by then and get filthy rich).

So anyway, where was I? Ah, right, 2 weeks ago, right after turning 32, I decided to be a bit more diligent in homeschooling M (you see, I get these moods now and again). So I drew up a very flexible plan for the following week that included all sorts of activities for gross and fine motor development, arts and crafts, pre-reading and pre-math, etc. The theme was supposed to be SPACE. Yes, we were even going to build a rocket out of cardboard boxes. And I was going to finally make use of my land-water globe that I recently made.

Except, of course, M didn't care for any such thing. We still ended up doing lots of stuff, but if I was to try to pull it together under one theme, it'd be something like Farm-Kitchen-Anatomy (which, come to think of it, is weirdly logical).

Here is M playing with the shaving cream "snow" and making a fine mess out of it. The nice thing is he actually helped me to clean up by washing all the toys and utensils he used in the process (and that was lots and lots of stuff).

We also drew this cheerful dude. Yeah, body tracing seems to be catching on since M also did lots of chalk drawing and hand- and foot-tracing. You see, I was thinking that we'd do body tracing and then M would draw an astronaut (remember - SPACE). Instead, he wanted me to draw all the internal organs and various body parts. We split the work with me taking care of the heart, veins, lungs and digestive system and M drawing the brain (most important), facial features, arteries, hair, and muscles.

In case you don't know - ever since last winter M's been fascinated with various body parts and internal organs. It started of right after the Halloween (think - skeletons) and blossomed after we got him "Uncover the Human Body" book (he really-really wanted it). Since then we've read it to him countless times (we have to skip some of the longer explanations since the book is for ages 9-12). So he knows all his organs and "systems" by now with digestive system being his favorite (poop - funny).

Moving on now... After the body trace was thus decorated and labeled, including the content of the stomach, it was time for the kitchen play. Yes, he still plays with his toy kitchen that Chris made a while ago (truth be told, the blasted thing has never been finished which doesn't seem to deter M). He also did some art work, finger painting and using different size bottle caps to make prints.

I also gave him a new open-ended activity that I read about in one of the Mary Ann Khol's books. Mine consisted of a large piece of florist foam, 3 wooden BBQ sticks, a bunch of wooden spools, and a handful of fuzzy sticks (have no idea of what they are really called). I put the BBQ sticks into the foam and then let M invent. He came up with a structure that he called a Big Birthday Cake for Eeyor. And we had to sing the birthday song too.

Oh, and we've been reading tons and tons of books - Tales from Fern Hollow, Жили-были кролики, Именинный пирог Финдуса, The Big Pumpkin, Cloudy with Chance of Meatballs, the already-mentioned Uncover the Human Body book, Кит и Кот, and a couple of others.

My Search for Preschool Curriculum

I have a problem with the teacher supply stores, you know the type that sell everything from huge bundles of #2 pencils to classroom furniture and charts. We have a store like that not far from the house. It's an "education super-store" for sure. And I get totally overwhelmed every time I go there.

I can browse this store for hours and end up buying nothing or, worse, things I don't need. So to save time, I now put together a list first, which I (mostly) follow.

Today I got my list and with Mr. M and the hubby in tow drove to the teacher supply store. I really meant to strictly follow my list, but got a bit side-tracked by curriculum books. This place has dozens of preschool curriculum books - general, arts, science, math, nature, multiple intelligences, literacy, seasons, you name it.

I really tried to stay cool, but couldn't help but think that Mr. M, being homeschooled, is missing out on much of the education he's supposed to be getting. Panicking, I grabbed a couple of the thickest books, but willed myself to put them down once I saw their price tags. Instead, I got back to my list - letter stamps, red poster paint, blunt-end scissors - alternating between anxiety and sticker shock.

This is not the first time I ask myself this question - is Mr. M learning what he's supposed to learn age-wise? I tried searching for homeschooling curriculums for 2-3 year-olds and found quite a few, but none fit our needs. Turns out, secular bilingual preschool homeschooling curriculum is a sort of white unicorn (if you sight it, let me know).

Fortunately, some time ago I bought a wonderful book by Rebecca Rupp, Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School.

Here's what Rebecca has to say on the subject of preschool curriculum:

... preschoolers should be given the freedom to explore. Chances are, they'll learn more in an afternoon spent making mud in the sandbox than they will from even the best-designed curriculum.

Ahh, I'm breathing the sigh of relief every time I re-read these words. I think I might make a wallet-size copy of the above paragraph and carry it with me.

My Giant Book Tower

I love library book sales! Ever since moving to Raleigh, we've gone to the annual Wake County Public Libraries Booksale. It's a giant thing - this year there was 300,000 books for sale (some were brand new, from public donations).

But you know what is the best day for a library book sale? It's the last day, the $5 per box or $2 per bag all-you-can-carry day. It's so awesome!

This year I went twice - on the opening day (stood in line for over an hour) and on the closing day (stood in line for about 20 mins). And it was a blast. On the last day, hubby and I filled a giant box full of books (including a brand-new non-library copy of the Da Vinci Code), paid our $5, and got out with enough reading material for the entire 2010 (plus some gifts).

That evening I couldn't wait for Mr. M to go to bed since I wanted to build a tower of all the books we bought. Call me a dork, I dare you.

What do we do when we finish reading these books? Well, we'll keep some. We'll put others on PaperBackSwap.com, my hubby leans towards releasing a few into the wild via BookCrossing.com, and the rest will be donated back to the library so that they can be sold in 2010.

Change of Tunes

Hooray, we're switching our musical gears away from the Putumayo Presents: Gypsy Groove and toward some classical music. Don't get me wrong, Gypsy Groove is a wonderful CD (as all the other Putumayo CDs we've bought so far). But when your little one listens ONLY to this one CD over and over and over and over and... well, you get the picture.

And so, I'm very happy to present Mr. M's new favorite CD (and book) - My First Classical Music Book. It was love at first sight for both of us. The illustrations are awesome and the text is easy for the little one to understand and for me to translate. And then there were all those musical instruments! Oh, and of course, an hour-long CD (69 minutes, to be exact) was an instant hit with both of us.

Here's how it's going so far:

• Day 1 - read the book 3 times at the store and 4 times after returning home. Listened to the CD in the car and at home.
• Day 2 - looking at pictures of and naming all the instruments. This led to an impromptu parade around the family room with Mr. M alternating between his toy drum and a pretend trombone.
• Day 3 - have you ever heard Offenbach's Can-Can? Of course you did. But what about Can-Can accompanied by a not-quite-3-year-old on toy drums? Well, I did and it wasn't nearly as bad as my dancing to it.
• Day 4 - after reading about Bach and listening to the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Mr. M asked for paper and pencil. When I asked what for, I was informed that it was needed to "write down music". Ok, makes sense. After much scribbling, Mr. M told me that he wrote "loud organ music" which I thought was pretty cool.

Now I'm looking for more activities to add to the mix (other than dancing and drumming). It'd be cool to do some kind of "meet the orchestra" or "instruments zoo", where kids can see each instrument up close (and even try them). Will look for local events!

Choosing Books for Mr. M

I'm very proud to report that we've just finished the first book in the Tales from Moominvalley series by Tove Jansson! Moominvalley is one of my absolutely most favorite books and fortunately I have a Russian version of it. Still, I'm very surprised that Mr. M liked it - the story is pretty complicated (more of a 8-10 year old set) and there are only a few black-and-white sketches in the book.

We've been on a book-reading spree since summer. By now I know exactly what Mr. M will and will not enjoy. But the problem is, I also have to find books that are easy to sight-translate into Russian (remember, we're doing the whole bilingual one-parent one-language thing and for some reason finding a good Russian language preschool-level book is so very hard).

So here's our joint checklist for choosing books (whether at a bookstore or at a library):

• Must have trains or musical instruments (drums or brass) or food (think pies, cakes, doughnuts) or ALL of the above.
• Must be in prose (sight-translating poems is a bit much for me)
• Must not be about alphabet or use alphabet as the basis for a story (again, has to do with translations)
• Must be short
• Must have high illustrations-to-text ratio.

Now, this last one is actually for me, not for Mr. M. Of course, he loves lots of great pictures. But he will listen to a very good story even if it has almost no pictures or just a few black-and-white ones.

But if I have to translate, having lots of images really helps me tell the story the same way each time we read it. Plus it gives me a bit of a break before we move to the next page. Plus this way Mr. M can flip through the book and "read" the story on his own.

With all this in mind, I'm now looking through the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009. And I have my Amazon account open and Mr. M's wishlist ready to be updated.