Salt Art Project and A Great Book!

Wow. This past week got away from me, and before I knew it, Monday morning arrived and I realized I had forgotten to write my blog post. So here I sit scrambling to get it done before Emily wakes up and we have to start our home school lessons.

As many of you know we home school through a private school's Independent Studies Program, so Emily attends choir practice twice a week and has all day Friday classes twice a month. On Thursday our home aide came to visit and on Friday it happened to be my day for lunch and recess duty. I think the schedule irregularities threw me off just a bit.

Speaking of homeschooling, this year I decided it would be fun for Emily and I to do art together. So whatever art project I have her accomplish, I try my hand at it as well. This week we made salt art pictures which are simple but pretty. All you  need is some black construction paper, some glue, some salt, and some water color paints. The idea is to draw your picture with glue, sprinkle it with salt, and when it is dry, paint the salt. This would be a great project for children both young and old.

Emily's Salt Art

My Salt Art

 This week also found me reading and reviewing books by some fellow authors that I know online, and little did I know how utterly I would fall in love with The Adventures of Geraldine Woolkins by Karin Kaufman. I loved the characters. I cherished the descriptions Miss Kaufman used to describe places and things. Words that, although not what humans would say, left you knowing exactly what the animals were referring to. But most of all, I love how Miss Kaufman delicately and effortlessly wove the message of faith into each chapter. Her description of God as Very Very Big Hands is a beautiful image and one I will think of often. Since my review copy was an e-version, I without a doubt had to purchase a hard copy to hold in my hands and read over and over. It is my sincerest wish that further adventures will be forthcoming in the near future. Rock on Miss Kaufman; you have been blessed with an extraordinary writing talent!

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.