The start of 40th Birthday Project #3

I saw this link on Muscat Mutterings this week.

Giving workers water and fruit is on my list of RAOK although I feel it would be of more benefit later on in the year in the hotter months. But hey, who am I to knock a great organised caring initiative such as this.

 

So I've registered if anyone wants to join me. I'm waiting to hear back so I can give you more details when I know them. I'll still go out again in the year...and looking at the I-care initiative's calendar, it looks as though they have events through the year. :-)

POSTedit: I read the date wrong...how embarrassing. I was in Abu Dhabi for my Gaelic Football tournament...! However, an independent water drop-off is planned to atone for my impulsive sign-up. Watch this space x

I HeART Books!

O. M. G.

Looks what's finally arrived in the post via al Manahil....gorgeously, lovely art books I ordered back in December!!!

 

Just in time for my drawing club that I've already planned for....sheeeesh.

Pops loves The Dot already. He told hubby that 'it's a special book'. He literally had only just read it. It had obviously hit the spot.

 

I'm loving Ish, that'll be great for the first Drawing Club lesson intro.

 

And this book looks great for photocopying activities for those that finish early maybe?

A Taste of Home :-)

I love getting things from home. It's mostly cards to be honest as I don't trust the postal system and courier is so expensive.

However, this arrived last week, a much missed friend sent this little care package.

You'd think I like campers and London, huh?!

Thankyou, lovely girl ;-) See you for afternoon tea in Harrods in the summer! 

JOINT Lesson of the week

This was an instant favourite last year and became a set lesson in my eyes.

 

Year 6 were down to do Aboriginal art but they already looked at that in year 3. I like to vary it up a bit and so introduced Maori Art (see here). We ran out of time last term to finish these activities so it's a must-do at the start of spring. Last week they made their Moko masks and this week were introduced to charcoal, focussing on light, mid and dark tones.

 

They were to draw their mask concentrating only on the tones, not the outline. I had found a great lesson from Paul Carney which gave me the basis. It was not an easy task and I told them as such. They felt suitably challenged and proud at the end that they had achieved something new.

 

A couple of kids struggled with what to look for, and were still looking for the basic shape of the eye to draw for instance, but they did show progression (see first picture). remember my camer a angle is different to the artist's angle of view...

 

 

JOINT Lesson of the week

Aboriginal Bark Paintings

 

This is a lesson/activity based on the one in the book, Art from Different Cultures. And Year 3 have made it our own every year.

 

So crumpled up rough beige sugar paper became the bark. They sketched their chosen animal one and added some colour with some chalks. This made a nice contrast to the bright earthy paints they'd use next.

 

Then the aboriginal dot style began! It was all too easy for them to hap-hazardly dab the cotton buds randomly so I had to guide them back to the original Aborigine paintings and get them to think why they're different; what technique is different? How?

 

Of course my little 7-8 year olds won't be the aboriginal artists with 30 years plus of practice but we all know and remind ourselves, even me, that we can start practicing at any time!

 



Some children wanted to use the aboriginal dreamtime story symbols to tell a picture story around and about their animal.

Fingertips! The best!

And now for something completely different...

It shouldn't be really. I have written in my strapline at the top of the blog that this is about family and expat life as well as art and friendship. As I've said before, my blog is the epitome of being on a determined and focused pathway, with an awesome to-do list and then....
ooooh, shiiiiiiiiny.......

 

I rest my case.

 

So I thought I'd take this last weekend as a starter and get the ball rolling and blurb about family and expat life. Not controversially. Or politically. I ain't planning to be on any deportation plane outa here, thanks. Just events from the sunny side of life with a few hugs and giggles thrown in, I hope.

 

This weekend, we were in Dubai for the Kids' rugby festival. Another exciting event, such great community and encouraging spirit

(for the most part at least....jeeez, some parents....).

 

Child Number 2 was scheduled to kick off at 1400 on Friday and was likely to play the next day. Wonderful, a leisurely morning.

 

However. Child Number 1 kicked off at 1000 and Coach wanted us to be there at 0800. Agh. Hey ho. It is what it is and that's why we're there. We saw some other games of rugby and caught up with the other parents, kicked back ('scuse the pun) and generally enjoyed the cool winter sunshine.

 

What. A. Day.

 

At last, Bear's team finally win their division! Something finally well and truly clicked in the team and some fabulous rugby could be watched with those youngsters. My babe was scrum half :-) and one of the other coaches of the others team joked about who he'd like on his team for the next match, and she was one of the two he mentioned. She's found her niche and she had a super day. She kept saying how happy she was!

 

Pops' team were kicked out on points difference...he was so frustrated as were they all I think. Like MCFL, they played their socks off. But it was soon forgotten and they realised they had a fun day all in all. Especially when they realised the allocated food vouchers covered gobstopper lollipops....

 

It was a wonderful day all round for the Muscat Pirates and many of the teams got through to finals, or semis at least.

 

And I met Lewis Moody and Rory Lawson. Rory lives in Dubai now so we're practically neighbours! I spoke with him for about 5-10 minutes so we are pretty much BFFs.

 

Oh, more importantly these international stars presented the winning Under 10s' development team their trophy.

 

 

 

I often say to friends there is almost too much to do here generating a sense of exhaustion in many parents. But in actual fact I don't think that's the case; it's that the weather allows such events like this to happen with ease and continuity. Everything is therefore accessible. So we feel obliged to do everything and make the most of what we have on offer here. I know we are truly lucky to have tournaments such as this open to us and that our children can experience things like this on a regular basis. I know they can in the UK but it will turn out to be completely different rugby training really...colder climates, frozen fields etc. will lead to a different playing mentality if that child player continues to play rugby at an adult level I wonder.

 

Anyhoo, it's tournament central in the P&P household. I'm off to Abu Dhabi this weekend with my Gaelic Football team. Then it's Hubby's turn for the rugby! And Bear insisted I blinged up my football boots.

I expect the tashes should be lower but I'm kicking a lot and I don't want to spoil the glitter.
Don't you tell me I'm a dull Mum or I'll set my nerf gun on you.

Artist of the moment at school

Well, it's not actually a lesser well known one this time. But maybe a lesser well known piece of his.

It's Vincent van Gogh's Avenue of Poplars in Autumn.

      

I chose it for the colours, and the atmosphere that he has created, a peaceful, calm end to the day. But also, and more importantly because the children have become used to seeing one particular style or the most famous of his paintings; I wanted them to see that there is sometimes more to an artist and their style.

A few of the children's' comments:

 

"It's very quiet"

 

"The gap above the house looks a lot like smoke"

 

"It looks amazing" (a standard response despite the prompt cards I have up!)

"Very shadowed and unique"

"It is very nice, he used dull colours in the picture and the shadows are unique"

"Colourful"

"I like it!"

"I like the shadow"

"I like the sunset"

Pin of the day

This is fundamentally my life! Thank you for being so eloquent about it, Hugh!

A Pin for this week.

OMG, I love this woman. Goddess Cassie...she is fired with passion for art, it runs through her, it IS her. She is my number 1 go-to girl. She's the kind of teacher her pupils will look back on in years to come and reminisce about with giggles and smiles and respect. Plus her Hubs has THE best beard.

After seeing and reading this post, I just have to get hold of some felting stuff! It seems so...cathartic. Until you puncture yourself by the looks :-)

 

http://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/2014/01/diy-felted-light-up-starry-night-dress.html?m=1

Gorgeous.

First week back...

...two days in and I'm toasted!!! My Christmas holidays must have been relaxing!

I've come across some new and super lesson ideas this week, most likely to be tweaked for me and my ways. The art teacher community has helped me build a much more varied and fluid curriculum for the school and I am lucky that I have the freedom to do so. I'm already liking to keep things fresh and new every year, for the kids' benefits as well as mine. And to vary the corridors from term to term, year to year.

 

Today I had my lovely Year 4s, both classes. As it is an incomplete week being the first week back and all, I don't start big projects as kids are still on holidays. Go figure. That'd be nice. Anyway, it's too much hassle and catch-up. 

So I had a cool and fun activity from Goddess Patti at Deep Space Sparkle, one of her 45 minute ones. 

http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2011/04/04/robot-line-drawing/

 

Doing this today and following my evaluation I've been inspired to build a block of focused lessons across the key stage on line. Some of year 4's line creation and control was rather dubious and concerning so I thought, across the board, line work should be practised at the start of term, or any time I guess, to get their eye and hand back in after the holidays. A possible block for after Easter so nobody misses out.

Year 4 also learn a little about Wasily Kandinsky and his passion for music and painting. We have fun with music seeing how it motivates us to create shape and line at the end of the summer term but this could be spring, again to keep their hand in.

Originally from http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=698199

Year 3 can have a go at line drawing Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. We do a lesson on mark marking that ties in with Van Gogh so this would work together.

Originally from http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=741877

 I could even make use of this Pin: 

http://pinterest.com/pin/24136547976922989/

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40th Birthday Project #2

Number 2: Write a thank you/appreciation note to my Secret Santa '13.

They gave me a beautiful cross stitched bookmark that had a tag from Syria (hmmm, a clue??), a butterfly ink stamp and an ohm ink stamp and a pack of metallic pencils (someone could have remembered I mislaid my metallic pens last year!)

So they either know me really well or have wonderful taste in gifts!

This isn't the finished card...I forgot to take a picture of the final! I stamped a gold ohm in the sun and reflected it in the water. 

40th Birthday project #1

And so it begins. I'm 39 today so this year is my 40th year and I'm starting The Project!

 

A year of 40 Acts of Random Kindness, wherever I may be.

 

Going through the plethora of ideas and inspiration on the internet, I have realised that we as a family carry out little acts of kindness without labelling it as such. So I am going to have to think higher and harder!

 

1. This is when/where the seed was planted all those years ago:

I remember seeing this book in the studios of Radio Kent years back when I worked there. It got my attention as I thought it was an inspirational, fun, karmic thing to do.

 

Then I got on with my day.

 

That was back when I didn't have children

and I wasn't making the most of the small things in life

and I didn't appreciate how lucky and fortunate I was in so many aspects of my life.

 

But it's not all about me. What a lovely way to pay my good fortune forward to other people in so many different ways. I hope they continue it on.

 

So, I have started a list...17 on it so far. In no particular order but with some, the timing will have to be planned.

 

2. Here's the lady that got me motivated to start my own project:

http://mixmingleglow.com/blog/?p=1358 and also at www.thebdayproject.com

3. And here I am:

 

Number 1:

The staff at school returned today, a day before the children. I turned my hurruuuumphs in to 'you're welcomes' by giving out gift cards for a coffee and a Pinkberry yoghurt, as I couldn't take them all out for my birthday!

Plans afoot...

Another year has passed, nay, flown by. My analogy for the year as far as my blog is concerned is you know when you start to trail off towards the end of a sentence...? Well, that's it. More especially because you keep spotting something shiny whilst you're speaking. That's my blog. I keep wishing I could write like the girls who write the art lesson blogs I follow. But hey. Life has got in the way of regular blogging. But you know what, I really am happy with that. So be it.

This year's plans (remembering a plan is a basis for change ;-)):

:: keep going with Artist of the Month but with focus on the artist I choose for the spotlight board on the KS2 board at school. Lesser well known ones for the kids to comment on.

:: artwork of the moment, again that comes from the KS2 art board.

:: more focus on the children's art work here

:: my sister's wedding. For me beforehand, this encompasses hen do plans and bridesmaids' dresses. Sooooooo excited....

:: my solo trip over the summer :-) for another tick off the bucket list.

:: and continuing to tick, more like enjoy, a few more things from the bucket list

:: this is my 40th year. I will be setting on a 40th Birthday project that I will complete by the time I turn 40 in January 2015. So watch this space for updates through the year :-)

:: each morning, be thankful for another day. And the people who feature in it. And for what they are teaching me, whether they realise it or not!

My 2013 conclusions:

Be peaceful and happy.

Be thankful.

Look for the lessons in the day.
Do not force or push my way through life. Peace will set in when I slow down.
To have real friends I must be a real friend.
I am not afraid to ask for help.

The washing up can wait. Go tickle my children. Or have a Brandy Alexander :-)

Listen to my body.

Happy New Year.

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