Sunday August 10, 2014

This school year we will be focusing on one of Cannon’s favorite activities – PAINTING!

Each session we will focus on some aspect of the natural world, examining specimens from our Indianapolis environs whenever possible and sometimes adding a bit of research to answer questions or get more information.  Cannon will use his favorite medium, acrylic paints. Last year he explored color mixing using the primary and secondary colors.  This year he will make his selections from his new set of paints that offer samples of 36 colors that will really expand his palette. 

 

 

 

 

This session he focused on a botanical.  A composition made up of the Surprise Lilies that make their appearance in late summer.  In spring this plant sends out large, dark green, elongated leaves that eventually wither away like the leaves from daffodils and tulips.  August is the time when the pink composite blossoms pop out of the ground almost overnight on long stems and bloom for just a few weeks.  The composition also includes a stem from a pink hydrangea and a couple of stems of pale green hydrangeas.

 

Cannon studied the flowers comparing their petals, forms and details. Then he selected a palette of pinks, a couple of greens and a violet along with white to mix tints of the colors and began painting. 

 

 

 

He used three sizes of flat brushes and independently selected his colors, loaded his brush and applied the colors with a variety of strokes.  He indicated when he wanted the heavy water color paper to be moved, additional color to be added to the palette and cleaned and blotted his brush when he changed colors.

 

 

 

Periodically he took a break to let the paint dry before adding additional layers of color.  When he was finished we sat back and reflected on the results of his efforts – an energetic impression of the flowers he studied.

It is difficult to tell where flowers end and paint begins.

 

After we cleaned up we enjoyed adding some parts to the new Captain Underpants game and putting the USA puzzle together.

 

 

Good Morning Cannon,

Kaeru and I have been very busy enjoying the beautiful spring weather here.  There are flowers blooming every where.  There are lots of cherry blossoms falling; they call it “cherry blossom snow storm”.  They have many of the same flowers we have, tulips, daffodils and bachelor buttons.

 

Cherry Trees in Front of My School

Two Castles in Two Days

Last weekend I visited two castles.  Maybe you visited these same castles when you were in Japan.  While we were at Nagoya Castle there was a traditional processional.  Everyone was dressed in traditional costumes and there was a big drum.

  

 

 

Mail and McDonald's

Yesterday Kaeru and I took an envelope to the post office.  It is addressed to you.  I wonder when you will receive it.  You can start looking for it three weeks from today. When will that be?  Inside you will find something to help celebrate Children’s Day in Japan. Children’s day is coming in May.  It is the fifth day of the fifth month. It is a national holiday.  It is a day set aside to “respect children’s personalities and to celebrate their happiness”.  I am afraid your envelope will be late but you can celebrate any day.  Children should be celebrated everyday. 

 

Kaeru was very popular at the post office.  Everyone wanted to see him. His cousin is the mascot for this Ward.  So I see pictures of him everywhere. After we went to the post office Kaeru and I stopped for a special treat at McDonald’s. 

In the spring they celebrate the Sakura (cherry blossoms).  The trees are full of soft pink flowers, they look like pink clouds. Kaeru liked them very much.  At McDonald's they have a special cherry flavored sparkling drink with ice cream floating on top.  Kaeru really liked it.

 

Today I am going to Toyota City.  There is a nice park there and we will eat at a Thai restaurant. It should be interesting. Kaeru will come with me.  What have you been doing this spring?

Kaeru wanted me to include both of the McDonald's
Pictures

 Kaeru and I say hello to Frog and Toad.  I miss them.

 

 

 

March 2014

Greetings from Japan!
I have at last found the right person to help me get to our Mish Mash Splash!
Here is the lesson I have learned from this frustration of not being able to sign into our Mish Mash Splash blog that I want to share with Cannon. 

If you don't get an answer or an answer that works, keep asking. This is good advice for both of us.

I am so excited that I don't know what to ask or share first.

First - Time!
Adjusting to the time difference between here and Indianapolis has been another big challenge.  Finally my daughter figured out an easy way for both of us to know what time it was for the other one. So are you ready....

1.  Whatever time it is in Indianapolis change am to pm
2.  Then you add two hours to that and you will have my time in Japan.
3.   I will subtract or go back two hours to know what time it is in Indianapolis.

There are only a few hours a day when we are on the same day.  How can I be on one day ahead of you and you on a day behind me?   Take a look at the globe and see if you can find a line between Japan and California that tells you the answer.  Hint.  It is on the Pacific Ocean.

 So here is challenge question.  If it is 3:30 pm on Tuesday here in Nagoya.  What time and day is it in Indianapolis?

Meeting Kaeru
Kaeru came to school with me and met some of my students.  The students made a diagram of Kaeru's name that would help me pronounce it better.  You can see that they didn't know how to spell Cannon but they tried and came close.

Kaeru is getting a big salad for lunch!

Kaeru likes to sit in the spring plants that are in the corner of my apartment.

Kaeru met Chef Steve, and visited the computer lab.
It was Valentines day so he bought a
heart shapped cookie from the first graders.





 

YES!  We have snow too.
But no snow day for us.  The children really enjoyed playing in this "big" snow fall.
Many of the children had never seen snow before and were very excited to play in it.

 

The view of the city from my art room window. Usually I can see big buildings and the snow capped mountains in the distance.  They call them the Japanese Alps.

It has been nice to visit with you on MISH MASH SPLASH!  I will see you next week -maybe.

 

 

November 10, 2013

More Fall Curiosities from Gardening Pat

 

Our friend, Pat, collected two interesting specimens for us to investigate this week.  One was a very long “bean” from a Catalpa tree.  It had started to split open and we could see the seeds packed inside. We pulled the bean open and examined the seeds. Then Cannon put his finger inside the empty seed pod and followed the groove up and down the length of the bean.  Next we looked at the milkweed seed pods still clinging unopened to their vine.  We carefully pried one open and could see the silky white threads and seeds packed tightly inside. When we pried the seed pod all the way open the seeds fluffed out everywhere.  We dropped some from high up and watched them drift slowly down to the table.  Cannon blew puffs of air to send them flying. The monarch larva will only eat the leaves of the milkweed plant.  Save the milkweed = save the monarch.

 

Next on the List

Cannon wanted to set the Frog and Toad game up right away.  We are getting so many parts to the game it is getting to be a challenge just to spread it all out. New components this week included some reading comprehension cards.  The short story we read was titled Roy G. Biv.  It was all about the colors in the rainbow and how to remember the order in which they always appear.  Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.  Later we read a longer story about a boy whose wish to have a rainbow to carry in his pocket was granted.  He shares slices of the magical rainbow with those in need until there is just one last slice.  The title of the story is The Last Slice of the Rainbow.   

Cannon painted a rainbow using the Roy G. Biv clues to paint the colors in the right order. I wonder how he will share his rainbow.

 

Frog and Toad and Cinnamon Rolls

We enjoyed a few turns of the game while we enjoyed a coffee and cinnamon roll break.

Then we decided we should make some miniature cinnamon rolls for Frog and Toad.

We got out the pasta machine from our friend John and the sculpy clay.  Cannon used his big muscles to turn the arm of the machine and make flat sheets of cinnamon looking dough.  We made long strips and rolled them up.  Yum!  They look just like real cinnamon rolls.  Now they are waiting for a turn in the oven before joining Frog and Toad for “tea”.

 

Signing Time

Cannon used the sign for “milk” to ask mom for a drink of milk. You can use one or two hands to make the sign which looks like you are milking a cow.  He used two hands and curled his fingers around and moved his hands up and down.  Cannon also used the signs for “listen bells” twice to alert me to the sound of distant church bells this morning, a sound I love to hear. Thanks Cannon.

 

Puzzling Finish

After we cleaned up after ourselves Cannon wanted to put the US puzzle and the world map puzzle together.  Avalon was happy to help us put the pieces away.

 

Sunday October 27, 2013

The Frost is on the Pumpkin

First we pop the top.

ooOOooooOOOoo! Halloween is coming. 

To get ready for that day of treats and maybe a few harmless tricks Cannon and family had fun carving a large pumpkin.  After we cut the top off...

Gooey fingers!

Cannon had to reach inside and pullout handfuls of seeds and slimy pumpkin “guts”!  Ooey Gooey!  When we were done we called on dad’s big muscles to scrape the inside clean.  Mom saved the seeds to bake later.  



Righty gets in there to help.

Daddy helps scrape the inside smooth and clean.

 After we drew a scary pumpkin face we cut the eyes, nose and mouth out. The pumpkin was now ready for the candle.

Stretching the Spider Web Around the House

Next we pulled out lots of spider webbing and stretched it around the room and down the hall. Fortunately there were no spiders hiding in the web. (We like the sign for spider.) 

Cannon unpacks supplies for the "game".

We finished the day with Frog and Toad ...

adding a couple of new elements to the game.  It is now time to add a list of rules and instructions. Our game is getting more and more complicated.  To play the game Cannon must read letters he finds in the “mailbox”, write notes to friends and family, he might have to do a round of sight word flashcards or some fast math facts.  Now we have added amazing animal facts as well as planet earth facts. What will be next?

Cannon showed me the letter he wrote to me with Mr. Book.  Wonderful Words! 

October 20, 2013

It has been an exciting and interesting few weeks.  We have been inventing a game – Cannon’s Adventures with Frog and Toad.  The game is based on the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel.  Cannon placed Frog’s house in the upper left hand corner of the game board and Toad’s house in the lower right hand corner. 

 

Cannon opens a letter from the mailbox and reads the message inside.

 

 

He helped draw the paths that take us to each house and places along the way. We may stop for tea and cookies or have to walk through the dark and scary woods, end up in the pond for a swim or best of all stop at the mail box to check for a letter from Frog or Toad. Cannon reads the card himself and sends Frog or Toad to a new destination.

 

 

If we land on a green circle we have to draw a card that may send us forward or backward, to the mailbox or to the pond for a swim.  Landing on a red circle will mean a round of Math-Slam or Flash Math; a yellow circle means a run through four to six sight word flash cards. When Frog and Toad reach their destinations we wind them up and they do a “dance of joy” doing several back flips in a row.  We will keep adding elements to the game. 

A Spider Comes to Visit

 

 

The weather is getting colder and every one and every “thing” is looking for a warm place to spend the winter.  I found a spider in my house Sunday morning and thought it would like to visit Cannon.  It was smaller than a dime but looked much larger in our “bug jar” with the magnifying lid. Cannon gave it a good look before waving good-bye to it, my cue to put it way.  Cannon learned the sign for spider and curious.  Spider is especially fun to make.

 

 

Following the theme we used some Halloween decorating spider web to make some art. We stretched the web out and pulled it across some damp paper and let it stick to it.  Then Cannon dropped liquid water color onto the paper and then set it aside to dry.  When we removed the web we could seed the web design it left behind.  Thanks to artist Lynne Medsker for this idea.

 

 

 

Leaves are Falling!

It is time to start a leaf collection.  I collected a basket of leaves from Holiday Park on Spring Mill Road, just like I did when I was a student at IPS #91. Every fall one of us ( my two brothers and I) needed to make a leaf collection for school. If we were lucky we would get a trip to Holiday Park it had and still has a large collection of trees and they were all labeled.  The labels are gone so Cannon will have to search through his tree identification cards to find a match. 

 

He will also have to use sharp eyes to tell the differences between the leaves. We found two different kinds of oak leaves. I wonder how many more there are.  And of course their colors are wonderful too.  Hum, I wonder why the leaves change colors. Oh, a curiosity -  more research coming. Note: Cannon likes the sign for curious.

Speaking of curious.
Some one is always curious about
what is going on at the table.

Mail Box
Cannon created a spooky Halloween card using his stamps – ink pad and colored paper. He also had fun inking his hand and stamping his fingers and hand onto the paper.  Hum, I wonder who he will surprise with this special card. Cannon enjoyed the Frog and Toad story about The Letter.  Cannon likes the idea of sending and receiving mail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 30, 2013

 

More Liquid Layers

Cannon’s science experiment from school – making “wave” bottle using colored water and a clear oil inspired us to go one step farther and make another bottle using four liquids each with different properties.  After we did the math – our bottle could hold 750ml so we divided it by four – Cannon measured and poured the liquids into the round bottle. The liquids separated into four layers – pink shampoo, orange Dawn dishwashing soap, yellow vegetable oil and green colored water. Shake it up and then watch the layers separate. How and why – good questions! Maybe some research in the coming week will give us the answers.

 

Frog and Toad Together – The Game

We are continuing to develop our own board game about Frog and Toad.  This week we added more action squares to the paths to and from Frog and Toads house. We added detours to a pond, mailbox and forest where you had to draw a card.  You might be sent back 2 or 3 spaces, have to write a silly sentence for the mailbox, do a round of math slam, or identify a number of sight words. More cards will be added to the game and the stories will change also.  This week the game was based on the story Cookies. 

The best part were the game pieces, a wind up frog and toad that would do a back flip when they reached their destination.  This game was so much fun we played it for most of our session.

 

 

 

Trees!

Cannon studied the dry sycamore tree leaves and seed pods.  We cut one open to see the fluffy seeds that were compressed into the ball. Then we looked up the sycamore tree in our FANDEX of trees.  We also looked up our Gingko leaf and learned more about that tree. Maybe we will start a leaf collection. 

 

 

Words, Words, Words!

Silly sentences:

Miss Beth jumped over a red banana.  She put a bow on the Clock.

The dictionary search sent us to the back of the book.  We read the definitions for, wrong doing, wrench, and wrest.

We read another story from Frog and Toad – Alone.

 

Communication

Cannon offered me a cup of coffee when I arrived and helped make it.  Cannon and daddy were up early so they made a Sunday treat – Waffles! So I enjoyed a yummy warm waffle with my latte.  Several times Cannon alerted me to sounds outside, once for a distant emergency siren and then a few “teases”.  He used the sign for hear/listen + bell.

 

Making Music

Cannon showed me how he can "toot on his flute".  And then we practiced playing the harmonica we each have one now.  Cannon's is red and mine is green.  We made some music together.  Cannon held and moved the harmonica while I pushed air through it.

 

 

 

 

Too Much Fun!