Tour 1 Weeks 22 and 23

 

What can I say? The school year is winding down and I may have lost some momentum in the area of blog writing. 

Among other things. 

BUT - as a result of my procrastination, I can announce that Matthew was a winner in an art contest! Even though the three people who actually read this blog probably know that already.

The contest was through the Indiana State Museum, specifically the Friends of the Lincoln Collection. I was reading my email one day and a message from the the museum about the art contest caught my attention. Matthew was in the next room so I read the information aloud and asked him if it interested him at all and he enthusiastically replied yes! The contest was for ages 10-14 and residents of Indiana. The theme was "Re-imagining Lincoln" using any medium of the artist's choice and required an accompanying statement explaining the piece.  Matthew immediately knew that he wanted to make a mosaic and his final project turned out really well! 

He won an Honorable Mention in the 3D/Mixed Media category and will receive a check for $50. Which he plans to spend on...more art supplies.

"My project is a mosaic of glass and copper on wood. In the center of the mosaic, there is a black wire outline of Abraham Lincoln filled with shattered glass. This glass represents the shattered country united by the wire outline of Lincoln. It also fragments the picture of Lincoln set behind it, reflecting the many and varied views of him. The edge of the mosaic is divided in two, just like the country at the time Lincoln was president. Half is black and half is white or "half slave and half free" as Lincoln described it."

Here's a link to the website showing all the winners and submissions:

https://www.friendsofthelincolncollection.org/art/

Thank you to everyone who offered their congratulations to Matthew! 

In other news, we've spent the last couple weeks studying Indiana State History. We learned about and colored our state flag and talked about the Native Americans who lived here long before the state was settled. Other topics we touched on included: the first European fur traders to enter Indiana, how and when we became a state, our capital moving from Corydon to Indianapolis, the Wabash and Eerie Canal, Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home, founding of the first Catholic diocese in Vincennes, Saint Mother Theodore Geurin, and Johnny Appleseed. 

We also labeled our Indiana map and added it to our geography notebooks. Then we added information about geographical features as well as our state facts and history. 

We completed our science studies of zoology this week! We reviewed the different habitats we've covered and discussed animal migration, food webs, food chains and various methods animals use for defense. Our last project was reading about and tracing the migration routes of several different animals.  

I appreciate the sense of accomplishment gained in actually completing something! If you also home school then you know what I'm talking about...

He really wanted to just sit outside while perusing an American History book...

That about sums things up. 

We have one more "official" week of school which will be followed by some much needed time away from home. A girls weekend for me with my mom and aunts and then our family vacation to a cabin in Michigan. I'm also hoping to plan some field trips to various historic sites here in Indiana.  

I hope you are enjoying spring!

~ Dori

Teen recovering from his SAT with the dog who ADORES him