Posts

October 2020 Free Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper

Happy October! Here is a spooky-shadow-silhouette inspired wallpaper for your devices. Vultures, and bats, and spiders, Oh my!

Sorry to be a couple days slow. Had a Candy Land party to throw for a certain now 6-year old. Much love,

Betony

For the desktop, click on the image above to view the large size image

For the iphone wallpaper, navigate to this page on your phone and then click and hold on the image you want. Select ‘Save image to camera roll’. Then from your camera roll set your home screen/lock screen or both. I make a couple different versions so that you can use what works best for your device.

October’s Adventures in Homeschooling

Last year we began homeschooling Lucy (8), Hattie (6), Beatrice (3), and Arlo (1). We’re including this on our Giants & Pilgrims blog as all our family adventures seem to impact our art & music so much! Also, we just like sharing the stories. So we’ll be sharing posts on the themes we’ve been covering each month and calling the adventure “ABACUS”! Our hope is that these posts will help spark creative direction and inspiration for your family as well as giving us somewhere to be document and record our experiences.

Anatomy and Physiology:

For October we did a whole anatomy and physiology exploration because – skeletons!
Our favorite layered body puzzle. We all really love this, lovely wood pieces.

I picked up this cool skeleton model at Target on clearance a few years ago. Its great for learning all the organs and bones.

Some magic school bus reading –

Looking at diagrams of the different systems of the body as well as playing with some cool body rubber stamps I found at a yard sale over the summer. (Book is the Firefly Visual Dictionary)

Art:

The girls helped me get my moon painted for my installation piece for the Children’s Museum in Denver.

And helped celebrate the closing of my time as Artist in Residence.

We learned about Leonardo Da Vinci and the Mona Lisa. Here is lucy with her Mona Lisa, smiling her Mona Lisa smile.

Harriet “painting the world blue” at the Children’s Museum’s VW bug installation.

 

Buzzy (and Lucy) painting at easels at the museum

Harriet putting on a shadow puppet show for Arlo

 

 

Lucy and I participated in Inktober (a fun instagram challenge to paint one ink sketch a day for the month of October)

Autumn Goodness:

We collected leaves and tried our hand at preserving them by dipping them in beeswax. Which we then made into a lovely wall hanging.

Collecting and breaking acorns to make acorn flour.

Learning about Andy Goldsworthy (watch this documentary if you haven’t!) and collecting a spectrum of leaves.

A trip to a local farm for fall festivities –

 

 

Our first snow of the year!

Enjoying the fallen leaves by making “leaf angels”

Apple picking!!

Halloween:

And alllllllll the halloween goodness.

Carving jack-o-lanterns

 

 

Howl-o-ween at Centennial Village

 

 

 

Lucy bobbing for an apple –

A trip to Pumpkin-Pickers-Paradise –

 

And we made our own scary movie – “Nightmare Mansion”! Complete with all kinds of cool special effects.

Making Halloween decorations

And our yearly reading of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven (made better by pop up books)

India/Diwali:

Thanks to a delicious Top Munch box, we learned about Diwali and got to taste all kinds of traditional Indian snacks. (and dressed up in costumes…)

Making a mandala from rice and beans –

Coloring India on our giant world map –

Reading Club:

We had our very first Homeschool book club! Our book was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was so so fun.

Homemade “golden ticket” invitations –

Picking out candy favors for the party at Rocket Fizz candy shop –

The whole crew with their candy sculptures! –

We ended the night with Chocolate fondue! (a melted river of Wonka’s chocolate)

 

 

Lucy’s homemade candy factory machine –   

Mazes and Labyrinths:

Visiting the corn maze (where we tried the Left hand on the wall trick, and it failed, ha ha because of this bridge in the middle!)

We tried it again at the pumpkin patches maze and this time it worked, phew.

 

A favorite game – Labyrinth! (Master Labyrinth is really fun too)

And we had a blast solving all the mysteries in Graham Bases “Mysterium” book

Electronics:

We got our first Tinker Crate in the mail and it was so fun! The girls built their own spin art machine! So well designed and educational! Can’t wait to do more of these. Thanks grandmama!!

We also have been having a blast with Snap Circuits – a very cool electronics kit for kids. This is Lucy making an FM radio! It worked!

 

Miscellaneous :

I missed posting this in August, but here is our yearly newspaper, the Coons Delivery

Harriet Orchard lost her first tooth!

The tooth fairy brought her this homemade doll – her name is Sky

The girls made a play dough feast out of a batch of homemade play dough we made.

And finally, we took the girls out to their first experience in really fancy dining at Acorn in Denver to celebrate my time at the Children’s Museum. They did a great job trying lots of new foods. Not a great photo, sorry, I was too busy snarfing down all the things…

October’s Adventures in Homeschooling

This year we began homeschooling Lucy (7) and Hattie (5). We’re including this on our Giants & Pilgrims blog as all our family adventures seem to impact our art & music so much! Also, we just like sharing the stories. So we’ll be sharing posts on the themes we’ve been covering each month and calling the adventure “ABACUS”! Our hope is that these posts will help spark creative direction and inspiration for your family as well as giving us somewhere to be document and record our experiences.

READING AND LITERATURE:

Here were our reading books for the month:

We read Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux (one of Tim and my all time favorites), The Boxcar Children (which Harriet LOVED and has been watching the Netflix movie of over and over again), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (the new beautifully illustrated version), and a really cool pop-up version of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (which also led to the Calvin & Hobbs Monster Drooling Poem based on The Raven, and the Simpson’s Halloween episode of The Raven – both SOO funny and good).

taleofdespereauxbookcover516bwsj5sol-_sy344_bo1204203200_img_0129jjkh_raven_pop_up_book9781419721977_int_page_6-1024x683

We are still loving our morning reading out-loud tea time on the front porch. Although it is starting to get chilly!!

img_5577img_6368

For our History books we read these two – (we are going through Beautiful Feet History’s Early American series in order). We really enjoyed both books.

967454jamestown-new-world-adventure

As part of our history study (and since we finished the Columbus book last month) I thought it would be fun to carve soap boats on Columbus Day. I usually set out our morning activity the night before. On this particular morning, the girls got up without waking me up (like they usually do) , and happily carved through all 8 bars of soap on their own, and this is the scene I woke up to. Soap everywhere, but no one was bleeding and they were thoroughly pleased with themselves. Pretty hilarious.

img_5687

img_5690

Geography/Culture: Mexico

One of the things we are doing this year is our Passport idea for Geography/World Cultures. We are “visiting” a different country every month – exploring the food, culture, dress, arts, and music through themed activities. This month, Harriet and Lucy chose Mexico as our country to visit.

img_5575

I have been using the book “Give Your Child the World” as a reference for books. I think the High Plains librarians are starting to hate me because of how many books I put on hold each month. Oh Well. Sorry guys.

51tbiu1igl-_sy344_bo1204203200_

As recommended in Give Your Child the World, here were the Mexico themed picture books we read through from the library.

cbdcfcda6c9ed1206827a01249c1aacb 9780679889366-l  51s4qzqfqyl 61gway8vzll depaola-tomie_the-legend-of-the-poinsettia 512vim1exdl 513nko9u9cl-_sx369_bo1204203200_ arroz-con-leche-rice-with-milk-9780833587626 51ihji4bvwl-_sx323_bo1204203200_ 51fbt5ljxyl And the movie – the_book_of_life_2014_film_poster

Elena’s Serenade and The Legend of the Poinsettia were probably our favorites.

One of the major reasons we picked Mexico was because we wanted to do a Day of the Dead celebration. The girls fully planned, prepped, and decorated for this themselves!

Getting Lucy started on Adobe Photoshop early 🙂

img_5698

day-of-the-dead-invite

Like the invitation says, we decorated with Papel Picado and marigolds, painted faces, watched Book of Life, Colored skeleton faces, ate Mexican food and authentic Mexican candies from our local Mexican grocery store, and made skull rocks. This will definitely be one for the books and I can see it becoming a yearly tradition :).

img_5774 img_5777  img_5789 img_5795

img_5824

Nature Study

We have been using this ebook as a guide for our Nature Study. And it is SO beautifully done.
cropped-cover-photo-1

It has a simple activity each corresponding with the season, paired with a recommended book list, an art piece to enjoy, a poem, and art ideas.

Nature Outings:

We have designated Monday as our outdoor adventure days. It’s our day off together as a family, and we just love it. This month we visited a local cemetery where we did some grave rubbings.

Processed with VSCO with g2 preset

Processed with VSCO with c2 preset

Took a family bike ride on the Poudre River Trail to look at the changing leaves –

img_5671 img_5426

Went on a nature outing to our beloved Homestead Park to search out our favorite trees and do a little Pond Study.

Processed with VSCO with hb1 preset

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

Processed with VSCO with g1 preset

Processed with VSCO with c2 preset

(Harriet studying a sample of pond water we brought home with us)

img_6365

And of course October wouldn’t be complete without an outing to a pumpkin patch!!

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset

Processed with VSCO with a5 preset

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

Processed with VSCO with c2 preset

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

Along with our weekly nature outings, we finished up our Nature Pal Exchange box (and received one back in the mail from North Carolina!). It was such a fun project. I am already looking forward to the next time we do it.
img_5703

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

Processed with VSCO with c2 preset

Harriet’s “Leaf Lady”
img_5535

The contents of the box we put together:

img_5731

Music

All of the kids are really enjoying their music classes through the Union Colony Children’s Music Academy here in Greeley. It uses the musikgarten approach which I am loving more and more all the time – especially as I see how it grows and expands with the kids.

img_5502
img_6373

Math

We needed to switch up how we were doing math. No one was enjoying it. So this month we used the book Bedtime Math (which is so fun).

51sxv06ognl-_sx258_bo1204203200_

We added some more tactile/playable elements to our routine (counting bears, a shape rubber band board, an abacus, etc…)

img_5573img_5913

img_5489

Science

We have really enjoyed various Steve Spangler Science videos. We broke out the cornstarch one morning and recreated his cornstarch slime experiments.


img_5767

We also enjoyed some Magic School Bus “Inside the Human Body” and this really cool Human Body model from Target.
img_6053 img_6054

Which led to drawing white skeletons on black paper of course.

img_6399

Art/Handicrafts

Since we read Hansel & Gretel (candy house and witches…), we made Hansel & Gretel dolls to play with. My friend Lindsay had given me this amazing tea towel that has a beautifully illustrated pattern already printed onto it. The pattern is from Sarah Young’s etsy shop. Now that I have made them, I think we are going to need the little red riding hood one too 🙂

img_5683

img_5736

A cotton snow storm –

Processed with VSCO with c3 preset

We used a fun little kit to make these Halloween luminaries.

img_5740   img_5749

We did some major papier mache magic with tape and cardboard to make Lucy’s “Spooky Tree” halloween costume.

img_5893img_6310

We played with our freshly organized rubber stamps to give our letter writing days a boost.

img_6335

Since we are reading the Tale of Despereaux, the girls sewed these very simple little felt mice from this pattern.

img_6377

img_6382

And of course what would October be without a night of carving all those wonderful pumpkins with hot chocolate and popcorn of course and a spooky playlist.

img_6387

Processed with VSCO with c2 preset

And, finally, I will leave you with a very spooky (and hilarious horror film by Lucy)


Happy October friends! Thanks for following along!!!

October Ideas and Activities around the Theme “Lore”

For this entire year I’ve been doing an at home curriculum with the family (Lucy 6, Hattie 4, Beatrice 1). Tim and I call the project “Abacus” and we’re sharing it each month for the fun, challenge, and community of it. Each month we choose a theme and then come up with a bunch of activities around that theme. Read all about how to use this list and our heart behind this project here.
Explore past months themes here.

Mostly for the month of October, I just want to soak it in. October is my favorite month and it always just seems to fly by. I love the way the air feels, the way it smells, all the tastes, the colors. Everything. And, I am pretty married to our traditions. I just want to do October-y things in October. So, bear with me on this theme, because it is pretty loose. Normally I would insist on something a little more narrowed down, but I love that most of the things we would want to explore anyway in October fit within “Lore” and it adds some depth to our stories we would already be telling.

October Dates to Take Note of:

October 1st – International Coffee Day (very important…we make a point to celebrate this everyday at about 7:00am)
October 24th – United Nations Day
October 31st – Halloween
And don’t forget that November 1st is All Saints Day/November 1 & 2nd = Day of the Dead

Local: Greeley, CO events:

Oktobrewfest – October 2nd-3rd (sorry if you missed this!)

I don’t have any other events for October, someone help me out. What goes here?

List of Ideas and Inspiration for LORE:

MYTHOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY (is that what this category is…?):

Make a wall/chart of Witches, goblins, pumpkins, fairies, ghosts, ghouls, vampires, changelings, silkies, chupacabras, etc and learn some of the folklore behind where they come from.

 Learn about ancient Egypt and Make mummies – wasting a roll of TP and playing a mummy game would be fun too.
wrap4
Spend a day learning about Day of the Dead and doing day of the Dead activities –

Common Practices for Day of the Dead Day of the Dead is annually celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. The first day, called “Día de los Angelitos” (Day of the little angels), is dedicated to the souls of deceased children, while November 2nd is set aside for the souls of adults. Before these days, families may clean their homes to prepare for the arrival of the souls of their loved ones. Many also visit cemeteries to decorate the graves of the dead with their favorite items and flowers. Graves and ofrendas are decorated with papel picado, photographs, cherished objects, marigolds (cempasúchitl), and skeletons made of paper or clay. Food and drink are placed on the ofrendas for the dead. It is believed the dead enjoy the tastes and smells of the food. There are many important foods associated with Day of the Dead. In particular the main dish is mole, which is meat (usually chicken or pork) cooked with a sauce made from chilies, chocolate, peanuts, and other ingredients that vary by region. Pumpkin candies, rice pudding, and tamales may also be offered. Bakeries produce special bread called pan de muerto in the shape of people or bones and decorated with pink sugar. Stores also sell skulls made of sugar or chocolate, adorned with names, for children and adults to eat.

spring-vertical-medium-plastic-papel-picado-banner-5
These look neat to make too – (I can’t find the original source for this image, but I think these just use those precut scrapbooking paper wrapped around a candle holder)
c7dc4d19b7802165ccc438d0db352ab1

Learn about Greek Myths
I especially like this book – 
13003926_01_p

Create our own little Apple Holiday, complete with new traditions

FILMS:

We don’t do Scary movies around here (seriously don’t get that at all…) But, we do love halloween shows –

Pirates of the Caribbean (since Lucy wants to be a Pirate for halloween)
Big Fish
Nightmare Before Christmas
Adams Family Values
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Ghost and Mister Chicken
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Old Nic at Night Shows:
Sabrina the Witch
Laurel and Hardy
Adams Family
Little Rascals Spooky Hooky
little-rascals
Bewitched
screen_shot_2014-10-30_at_11.45.33_am

There is nothing better than watching old black and white spooky films with popcorn, fancy root beer, and or hot cider. So October to me…
(By the way, we just discovered that Tiny but Mighty Popcorn and it is wonderful! A new favorite…)
boylan-root-beer hot-cider-ck-1941036-x tiny_popcorn

LISTEN:

Lore podcast (Grown-ups Only)
MxdXdQrT

Listen to all our Halloween mixes!


READ:

Read all the Stephen Kellogg versions of American Folklore books: Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, Mike Fink, Johnny Appleseed, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett
14559Sample1 644909 il_214x170.638434193_kdnh il_340x270.685237277_37t6

Read the Littlest witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennet – one of my favorites as a kid, I am excited to revisit it with my own kiddos.
1

Read Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsburg – If I remember correctly, some awesome halloween scenes in this one.
4539

Read some Edgar Allen Poe
zpf0003b

Find a good kid version of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Ichabod_crane

PLAY:

The Telephone game (the connection is about how folk lore is passed on through generations)
blog_educational_policy
Visit a pumpkin patch (We always go to the Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Ranch)
pumpkins_view

ART:

Make Shadow puppets – or just get some from one of the many wonderful Etsy shops

Carve Pumpkins and make Turnip lanterns (the original jack-o-lantern!)
abe9eb61aceb75d5897ea9e543ed47d2

Sew Halloween costumes but also learn about the characters they are portraying (right now Lucy wants to be a pirate and Harriet a Princess, not sure about Beatrice…)

6a00d8341c2e9653ef015392482f3f970b-800wi

SCIENCE:

Save old spice bottles and make pretend Potions
DSC_0345
Also make homemade Soda potions

Ephemera Download: Bottle Labels

 

 

What better time of year is there to concoct potions? Whether they’re fictional messes you’re mixing together with children or actual brews (like homemade oils, cocktail mixtures, or canning adventures) here are some old-fashioned bottle labels for your creations.

apothocary labels

All Saints Day


Items needed:

Candles and a make-shift alter

The day after Halloween (or All Hallows Eve) is known in the ancient Christian calendar as All Saints Day. Traditionally, it’s November 1st and is about remembering the saints who have gone before us as the days fade into colder, darker hours and winter approaches.

Untraditionally, we suggest you celebrate this holiday sometime this month in a new, creative way.

Gather family and friends together- it can be around the kitchen table, somewhere special outside, or even a planned religious service.

Let there be an open time of sharing.
Ask, “Who has been a “saint” in your life? Someone who’s
been a “light” for you?” It could be someone who’s passed or still with us, someone you know intimately or an artist/writer who’s deeply inspired you from afar, they could be religious or not…

Honor them by naming them, remembering how they’ve lit up your life. Perhaps share a story. Then light a candle to represent them and set it in the area you’ve designated as an alter.

This activity works with a large room of people or even privately on your own. Celebrate how you see fit.