FRIDAY ART DAY

I have decided that we will have art day on Fridays. At first, I felt like we couldn't do that because we already were giving up working on school work Tuesdays because of the music class I was leading for a homeschool group. Now that class is over, and I can dedicate Fridays to art without getting behind. So, I am committed to doing visual arts as well as performing arts with the girls. Yesterday was our first attempt at this, and while it posed some challenges, it was well worth it to me.

A few lessons I learned right away:
1. Bellies must be full of a good breakfast before attempting this kind of day (we had to have a second try at this)
2. It is a struggle for me to keep the focus on art for the girls and not art for my own sake, but I must find a way to do this.
3. The house will be a disaster afterwards, so I need to plan this image into my vision of the day and deal with it.
4. Projects need to be planned according to Quinn's schedule: what to do when he's there, and what to do when he's asleep. 5. In order to encourage follow-through, projects should be stimulating, but with quick rewards of completion.

We made some decorated felted balls, which turned out to be fun and rewarding. Here are the steps we took:
1. Collect supplies: colorful roving, nylon hose or tights, yarn or string, beads, buttons, scissors, thread, felting needle, sewing needle
2. Make balls, by wrapping pieces of wool roving around each other, stuffing the ball into the hose, tying it off, and stuffing another ball in, etc.
3. Felt balls by tossing the ball-filled hose into the wash with hot water and soap.
4. Take out the balls, roll gently to secure round shape, and let dry in the sun.
5. Decorate with buttons and beads and more roving and thread.
6. Step back and marvel at the beautiful piece you have created : )