Chihuly at Cheekwood

Cheekwood extended the Chihuly exhibit. Fortunately for us they included it in their "Community Free Day". How exciting! I was dragging but didn't want to miss this opportunity of a lifetime. Sweet Pea had been asking to go & when I saw the free day posted we HAD to go. It was cloudy with the threat of rain but God held the rain off. Thank you, Father!

For those of you who aren't familiar with this exhibit & artist click here & here. It's all blown glass & simply amazing.

Saffron Tower

Cattails

Silvered Purple Herons

Boat

"Chihuly first filled boats with glass in Nuutajarvi, Finland, during the 1995 Chihuly Over Venice project. He often tossed glass into the river, letting it float downstream. Local teenagers in small wooden rowboats gathered them and it was probably then that he conceived the idea for a new type of installation."

I wish I could have taken a picture with no people around but that was kind of impossible. Lol!

We thought this rock looked really cool. What do you see?

Niijima Floats

The Sun

Yellow Herons

Part of "Mille Fiori"

All of "Mille Fiori"

The view while walking down from the Museum of Art.

Follow the footprints

Blue Polyvitro Crystals

My photos don't quite do these amazing works of art justice but I hope they gave you some idea of what they are like in person. They looked like jewels & were breathtaking.

I love these moments we have as homeschoolers to pack up at a moments notice & see things like great works of art. If we had been locked into a schedule we would have completely missed this opportunity.

Working Together ~ Prairie Primer Studies

I posted a few photos of our rug braiding. Here is some of what it took to prep for our class. First I gathered up old clothes that either had holes, stains or both. They weren't even worth passing on to Good Will. But they were perfect for rag rugs! =0)

The girls helped me cut them into strips.
Of course Princess wanted to be in the middle of the everything. Lol.

Elvis read aloud to us from Little House in the Big Woods as we worked.

A cozy scene.
Sweet Pea cuts up Daddy's old shirt.

Bugsy was content to listen & cuddle with Molly.

The poor cats were dressed up by the girls. This ribbon came from an old nightgown. Doesn't Tinkerbelle look thrilled?

As you probably guessed the pioneers never wasted anything that still had an ounce of use left in it. Clothes that were no longer worn became curtains, rags or rugs. Some were unraveled if knit and then knitted into something new. What great examples of being good stewards of what they were given by God!

Hands on Learning at Co-op

Co-op days are a huge amount of work but so much fun. I am always amazed at how much my kids learn & retain.

In Science the kids were making ocean animals out of clay.
We made rag rugs in Prairie Primer.

Sewing the pieces together.

I helped Bugsy braid his.

Elvis was eager to learn how to braid.

I taught the kids how to play a game of marbles. A popular game in Laura's day!

We had to play inside as the weather was rainy & cold. But we still had lots of fun!

Even the little ones get lots of play & learning time.

They really enjoyed playing with these cups I brought from home. It was neat seeing all the different ways they used them to explore & experiment.

This is a favorite expression of hers that I absolutely adore.

They made rain sticks as they learned about South America.

Elvis works at making a votive candle holder out of a tin can. He hammered in this star design.

My friend Jen & her youngest daughter. I love that face! =0)

These are only a few pictures from our day. We also learned about table manners, seals, & more about South Africa. A great day!