Goodbye, summer break

With a sturdy push and a tiny wobble, we’re off into a new school year

Like a rusty old scooter the kids left in the yard— wheels creaking to life under the strain of a rider— so began our school year yesterday.  It was mostly me doing the groaning and creaking while my kids gave the necessary firm push.

A pen drawing of one of our scooters, drawn while getting some vitamin D.

They have been BEGGING me to start school since the last week of July.  Due to their ages and abilities,—middle school, elementary school, and special needs/preschool— there is no crossover in courses of study (except art, I instruct the older two together, and my youngest hangs out and participates when she feels like it).  It takes me several weeks to prepare for the year once I’ve researched and chosen curricula.  I go through the courses, write up my plan of attack, gather supplies, forget who needs what, go back and consult my notes/teachers guides, make tea to clear my head, clear it too much, misplace my now tea stained notes and on and on until I’ve got a pretty decent idea of how I want it all to go down.  Anyway, I was exhausted from all the brooding before we even started.  BUT!!  The kids were thrilled yesterday, it felt like Christmas watching them crack open their school books.  It’s gonna be a great school year, and their contagious excitement made me feel much less tired.  Soon enough it will be I who is giving the firm push through the doldrums of winter and the kids who are moaning and groaning.

I drew this after class was dismissed; the poor little homeschool hallway is in shambles and the perspective is wonky, but it adds to the wrecked effect 😆

I think our art day is moving to Tuesdays this year and I’m putting together a course based off the book The Classical Language of Architecture by John Summerson.   I am so excited about it; we are going to meander our way through, stopping to look at anything with a column or an arch that interests us for as long as we please.  I wish I could say it will include a field trip to Italy or Greece.  But it will give us some knowledge and understanding (and new vocabulary) with which to view and appreciate the world around us. 

I am pleased so far with the textbooks and level of excellence and instruction. I gasped when I opened a Language Arts book by The Good and the Beautiful to this gorgeous full page full color image:

"View of Sankt Zyprian in Tiers with the Rosengarten in the Background" by Konrad Petrides (1864-1943), date unknown. There are beautiful artworks like this one printed all throughout one of our textbooks. I’m hanging it on the wall after we get past that lesson on Monday.

Our art making classes will be inspired by

Michael Newberry

’s The Art Studio Companion.  He does an excellent job at breaking down and explaining the art making process, a much better job than I. Check out his Substack and you will find yourself entranced by the beauty of his art and enlightened by his knowledge.

Also, if you haven’t seen it,

Joyce

and I put out a piece yesterday that we collaborated on.  We did not share our thoughts with each other as we each wrote a bit on what home meant to us.  When we at last shared what we’d come up with, we were astonished to realize that what we’d written aligned perfectly and that we’d unknowingly been in sync the whole time.

Home

Well, here we go.  Wish us luck this year.  I know that starting is the hardest part.  Once we get this thing rolling it’ll pick up speed and everything will become easier and smoother.   In the meantime, I may become scarce around here.

I hope you all are enjoying August!  Thank you for taking time out of your day to check out my scribbles.  I am always humbled by your generosity and kindness.  Have an excellent weekend!

-Jenn

*** All drawings were made by me with a sharpie pen from life observation.  If you’d like to see more of my art, you can find links to it here.