One thing I love about living in Southern Oregon is that this area is extremely homeschool friendly. We were happy to find an art studio nearby that offers homeschool art classes to kids! Meanwhile, if you want to start your child early on digital art, you may want to explore the different tech options available online such as the best affordable drawing tablet, for instance. Utilizing a drawing tablet can greatly improve their precision especially when doing some brush strokes and the like.
The girls love their teacher, and enjoy one lesson per week at the studio. Most of the time, they are the only kids in their class–so they get a lot of attention.
Their teacher decided to have an art exhibit for the kids (there ended up being 3 other students that displayed). The kids each stood up and told us a bit about some of their favorite art pieces. It was very cute!
I make no excuses for her clothes…except that she picked her own, and she decided how to wear them (i.e. skirt became a dress).
Ella was explaining the different mediums that were used for her pieces (pastels, watercolors, magic marker/pencil, salt, etc).
The kids were each given two ribbons, and asked to pick two of their favorite art pieces. I quietly encouraged my girls to try to make sure that every student was awarded a ribbon, and so they very thoughtfully selected which art piece/student to award. It was lovely to see them do it with concern for each child’s feelings!
I love this – Mia would adore this. If it’s on when we are in town she will have to go with your girls!
Definitely!! She’ll have to join them!
Hello,
I was viewing your website/blog, and I was reminded of the happy times I had as a child. My parents homeschooled us back in the 80’s and 90’s when nobody was doing it (especially in the deep south), and everyone thought you were crazy for doing it.
On top of that, my dad was in the Air Force at the time, so we were not only constantly moving from base to base, but my parents were always taking us to museums, concerts, road trips, etc. I look back fondly upon those experiences, and they instilled in me a love of travel, exploration, and a curiosity about the world around me. Your children may not remember every single detail of every trip, but they WILL remember those positive memories and experiences.
Thank you for posting all your cool photos and travels with your family, as they remind me of my own ‘outside the box’ family, even though it was in a different time and place.
Cheers… =)
Hi Al,
What a nice message. Thank you so much! What a great opportunity your family took to homeschool when it was not the norm. Fortunately for us, it is becoming more and more common, and although I wouldn’t say it is the “norm”, at least everyone seems to know a few families that homeschool these days. Our goal is to build positive memories and experiences that shape our children’s character and strengthen our family unity. If that’s all we achieve–then we have done our job!
WOW!!!
I am truly gratified by Al’s reflections on his home school experiences. True, home school wasn’t the norm, but
we believed it was best for our two children. I believe Al and his sister were thus better prepared to pursue their own dreams. Al earned Eagle Scout, debate awards, rocketry, chess championships, among many other accomplishments. Both of our children were awarded research fellowships in high school, and displayed exceptional leadership in their activities. We are very proud of Al and his sister, Jansa.