"Remember" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 8
Isaac and I were trying to think of favorite stories in which “Remembering” was a major theme. We came up with C.S.Lewis’ The Silver Chair in which Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum have to remember Aslan’s four signs in order to find and rescue Prince Rilian. Isaac’s picture illustrates the dramatic climax of the book....
"Remember" for Illustration Friday
by Lily, age 4
This is Dory and Nemo. Dory has a hard time remembering things....
"Remember" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 6
If your teacher teaches you a math problem, you can remember it later! (And apparently if she teaches you the numbers backwards, you remember them backwards too...)
Author/Illustrator Mo Willems sometimes puts fan art on his great blog (now see here). The kids loved seeing them and were inspired to think up their own "Pigeon" titles. Here's some of the fun ideas they came up with:
The Pigeon Finds a Sabertooth Mouse
Gracie, age 6
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Tank
Isaac, age 8
The Pigeon Finds Some Friends
Lily, age 4
Another one by Gracie:
The Pigeon Finds a Rocket
(Dad loves the beak on the pigeon rocket! And the curtains in the window...)
"Polar" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 8
OUCH! Didn't see that pole there. . . .
A Girl Fishing
for Illustration Friday by Lily, age 4
Polar: Relating to a pole. Do fishing poles count?
"Puller" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 6
Gracie thought the word of the day was "puller." When I saw how hilarious her picture was, NO WAY was I going to tell her any differently!
A couple weeks ago, I heard on the radio that the Symphony was going to be playing, among other things, Carmina Burana. Even though I knew we really couldn't afford it, I resolved on a whim that I was going to pack up the two oldest kids and drive the hour trek to give them their first live symphony experience. I mean -- Carmina Burana -- that's a pretty good first symphonic impression. And of course, O Fortuna was everyone's favorite part of the night. We all brought along our sketchbooks in case anyone was inspired during the program. Here's a couple favorites from the pictures the kids drew while we were there (before they fell asleep):
Violin by Isaac, age 8
O Fortuna by Gracie, age 6
(In order of appearance: the Choir, a Flautist, a Harpist, the Conductor, and the seated Audience)
"Fortune" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 6
Wow! That is quite a fortune! Buried in a big pile of coins!
"Fortune" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 8
What good fortune to find a genie who could grant you a fortune!
"Green" for Illustration Friday
by Lily, age 4
This is the Green Headed Duck that walks through our yard. Oh, and also a king (...whom I don't remember ever seeing in our yard)
"Green" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 8
A green sea serpent done in our mosaic squares. Isaac's largest mosaic endeavor yet!
(I always love zooming in close and looking at all the chunks of words and parts of pictures that get caught up in these...)
"Green" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 6
It's Larry the Cucumber, made out of mosaic squares. Good job Gracie!
Here's a fun family activity we've been doing for some time now. We make Family Trading Cards. At some point in time, Isaac became interested in the idea of collecting trading cards, and I suggested we make our own. The whole family's hooked.
by Lily
Here's how it works.... Dad cuts paper into a bunch of card size squares and each family member gets five or six at a time and can fill them with Anything. When everyone's done, they get all mixed up and randomly handed back out. Then the trading begins! It's really fun to see what everybody has made and to try to get a hold of the day's favorites. After a bit, each person pulls their complete collections out to see if there's any past favorites that can convince so-and-so to part with a newly created treasure.
by Gracie
At first I thought it would be a one-time fun family activity. We didn't anticipate how fun it would be, or how competitive it can get. It's really odd how much everyone cares about their collection. My wife and I treasure our packs and get really intense about trying to score certain cards.
by Isaac
We do Family Trading Cards on a fairly ritualistic basis now. We started maybe a year or two ago, and our collections have grown to about 60 cards each. It's also a great way to remember how the kids used to draw when they were little and to see how they've progressed. The cards in this post are some favorites from Dad's collected pack.
by Mom
"Snap" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 6
A snapping turtle (made with cut paper).
"Snap" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 8
A creature rises from the murky deep to snap up some yummy lunch.
(Dad wonders if this is a 'snap-dragon'. . . heehee)
