Albert Bierstadt was born in Germany in 1830. He came to the United States with his parents while he was still a baby. He was raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He returned to Düsseldorf to study painting as a young adult. When he was twenty-seven, he returned to the United States to travel the western … Continue reading Albert Bierstadt
Nature study can be as simple as a short walk in the neighborhood or as elaborate as a week in a National Park. Don’t make it complicated. Just go outside. This month, we suggest you spend some time outside every day that is reasonable and observe what is going on with the birds in your … Continue reading Nature Study: Butterflies
Biography George Gershwin, 1898-1937, was one of the most well-known pianists in history. He turned out an enormous amount of music before his life was cut short by a brain tumor. Lucky for us, he was one of the first musicians for whom we have recorded video of him playing. While you can probably find … Continue reading George Gershwin
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) is a poet of the Harlem Renaissance who portrayed the lives of ordinary, working-class African Americans. He was the first African American poet to earn his entire living from his writing and speaking. He has all sorts of poems depicting life in his time. You can read more about Langston Hughes here: … Continue reading Langston Hughes
Adventuring We Shall Go… Reflecting back on some of our favorite science adventures, I am happy that we did so many hands-on activities. Many of our science studies were focused around a kitchen counter, but some of them sent us on an excursion to explore the beauty outside. One such adventure took us leaf collecting … Continue reading A Nature Study Example Project: Making a Leaf Book
Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) painted landscapes and made prints. Often he used his working vacations to produce new art in either oil paint or in watercolors. Eventually, he was employed as a commercial illustrator for popular magazines. Homer studied art on his own, and he developed new skills and techniques. You … Continue reading Winslow Homer
I’ve had people tell me that “Classical music is boring and pretentious.” I strongly disagree. Actually, when I’ve been told this, I’ve asked, “What classical music have you listened to?” Typically, the person declaring that classical music is boring has rarely listened to it. So, how do we grow a love for this source of … Continue reading Adding Beauty: Music Appreciation
If you haven’t ever tried Picture Study in your home, now is a great time to try it out. Here’s how it works: Ideally, each student would have a print of the piece of artwork, but in my house, I project the image to our living room TV. You might open it on a computer … Continue reading Adding Beauty: Picture Study
