Up the Hill Academy

Claudin de Sermisy

2008-09-03T03:43:00.000-07:00

Our Renaissance composer of the week is Claudin de Sermisy. He was a French composer born in 1495 (d. 1562) who was well known for this chansons (French lyrical songs) and church music. He was also a favorite among several kings of France. You can find the youtube playlist I compiled by clicking here!

Botticelli Hearted the Nudey-Nudes!

2008-09-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

Birth of Venus

“If Botticelli were alive today he'd be working for Vogue.” Peter Ustinov

I am finding that I love the rich colors I'm seeing in the works of these Renaissance artists we have been studying. Is it the oil paints they used?? I don't know, but whatever is being used, the paintings are quite lovely. We've been focusing on the works rather than the materials and techniques so I'll have to do some research about the paints...unless you know! lol!!

This week we are focusing on Alessandro Botticelli and his works. There is always a ton of things to discover about these artists...I've only chosen a few things to share with my kids. Here are some quick facts that I've used as my notes when teaching about this artist:

born in Florence, Italy in 1445 (died 1510)
sent to painter Fra Filippo where he learned to mix colors and clean brushes. Fra Filippo was a great influence
painted religious paintings for churches (3 frescoes in Sistine Chapel)
Famous works:

Adoration of the Magi
Birth of Venus
The Judith
Primavera
Madonna of the Magnificat
Virgin Enthroned
Mars and Venus

Paintings have an underlying meaning (allegory)
early paintings were of mythical creatures and Greek gods--later paintings were of more religious matter (after his meeting of Savonarola)
liked to paint nudey nudes! Seriously, after looking at some of his works, I agree with Peter Ustinov's quote at the top of the post! lol!! Surprisingly, not one of my kids has mentioned the scantily clad people in the paintings...I may eat my words today though!

Morning Star, Book Burning and a Devotional

2008-08-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

This year for history, we are studying the Renaissance and Reformation period. I'm using TruthQuest by Michelle Miller and The Story of the Renaissance and Reformation by Cindy Miller.

We've started our study by talking about John Wycliffe, Jan Hus and Thomas a Kempis.

John Wycliffe Reading His Translation of the Bible to John of Gaunt
by Ford Maddox Brown

Hus Being Burned by Spiezer Chronik

Thomas a Kempis on Mount Agnes---unkown artist

Band Camp Recap

2008-08-29T04:38:00.000-07:00

Last week, Nik and Jake attended band camp. Both boys are starting their second year with our local homeschool band. I am amazed at how much this small group has grown over the years. In fact, I wasn't too interested in my children being involved in band because I was certain the band would be dinky and nothing like the band I was involved in when I was in school. I know, I know, I'm so shallow sometimes! lol!!

Anyway, I have been thorougly impressed with the whole band experience and all the bands (beginners, concert and symphonic) sound wonderful. The sypmphonic band is quite impressive. We also have a jazz band and brass ensemble. Our band directors are top notch and are wonderful with the kids...seriously, I am thrilled that I caved and let my kids join the "dinky" band!

Band Camp was held daily from 9 until 12. There were three days where we all went from the camp to an activity. Friday night there was a concert and lock-in. On Saturday there was a carwash fundraiser. It was an exhausting but fruitful week!!

On Monday, we all vistited the nastiest laser tag joint in the world.

On Tuesday, we went skating. My kids can't skate...but they tried!

Belle did well....
and then this happened....

Nik just said "No!"

On Thursday, we went bowling. I have no idea why I have no pictures from that day. Pete and I were quite surprised to find out that Belle has some mad bowling skills....the boys?....not so much!

Friday night there was a short concert. Jake has not tried out for the Concert Band yet so he played with the Beginning Band. He plays the trumpet...and yes, I have a terrible time taking photos at concerts...I can't seem to get a good shot...and my hands are jiggly...it must be because I'm so excited! lol!

Nik played with the Concert Band and Brass Ensemble. He plays the baritone. You can see him waaaay back there in the back...

After the concert, the kids enjoyed a lock-in. Here's Nik and Jake with a couple of friends who were also staying overnight. There were plans of playing the Wii all night....

I was tickled to get to babysit this little fellow all week! He and his two sisters were recently adopted from Ethiopia. His mom is the band director. Belle stayed in the nursery with me and helped...she loves the babies!

Listening to Guji Guji

2008-08-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

In attempts to help Isabelle better her listening skills, I've chosen to use recordings of other people reading books. My original plan was to use audio books from the library, but there are several neat sites online that I can use also. These sites are great because I will not be creating late fines! lol!! Sheesh...I have such a terrible time getting books back to the library...but I digress...

Yesterday, I found BookPALS Storyline where we listened to Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen. BookPALS books are read by actors, for example, Guji Guji was read by Robert Guillaume. The book was brought to action not only by Robert's reading, but also by the animation of the illustrations. There are also activities to go along with each book. I appreciated the comprehension and what I call the "thinking deeper" questions. Isabelle found quite a few activities listed that she would like to do also! We are returning today to read A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon and read by Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin).

Here are some more story sites. I've not looked through all of these sites thoroughly so keep that in mind! I'd love to add links to this list so if you know of a near story site, please let me know...

RIF Reading Planet---7 stories and story songs
Between the Lions---stories change weekly. The player is a little small for me...
Mighty Book
Wired for Books---Several Beatrix Potter books
Storybook Online Network---tons of books here!

Homemade Board Games

2008-07-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

I think board games rock…but they are terribly expensive. I made this generic gameboard for the family in hopes of giving my kids a fun way to review history and science. Our board has worked well for us!

old game board..from yard sale or thrift store
scrapbooking paper
diecuts…or clipart, magazine pictures, etc
adhesive…I used double-sided tape and photo splits
dice…grabbed from another game!
place holders…I use holders from games that are no longer complete. Repurposing at it’s finest! lol!!

Cover your board with scrapbook paper using a good adhesive. You don’t want your board covering going all crazy mid game! I cut a thin bit of paper out at the fold of the board so I could fold the game up for storage. If you are going to store your game board flat, you can skip this step.

Next, I created a “path” using scrapbook paper squares. I added “traps” and “move aheads” along the path: different squares hold different consequences and the squares with flowers allow player to move ahead. The “traps” stay the same, however, the “move aheads” seem to change with the game! Our favorite “trap” is the square where the player steps on a pop top and has to cruise on back home…you know, from Jimmy Buffet’s song! As the player is making his way back to the start box, we all sing the chorus from the song. I know, I know…it’s so redneck but it’s fun! lol!! We also like the “Escape to the Border” which is an area marked with a red sombrero. When you land on the square that takes you to the border, you lose a turn, but you get to hang out at Taco Bell! There’s also the Butterfly Conservatory where you lose a turn…

I wanted this board to be a generic board that could be used for a lot of different games. So far, it has worked out well. I store the different games in ziploc bags. We also created a more elaborate game board when we studied the American Revolution…I’ll have to see if I’ve got some photos of that one to share too.