Artsy Smartsy - Shrunken heads

Today we learned how to make shrunken heads from apples. You peel the apple and then create a "face" by cutting away the portions of the apple that are not part of the face leaving behind the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and any other features you want the face to have. So, you kind of have to think opposite of what you want to create. I believe the technique is called "relief."

After the head is done, you decorate it with cloves and then roll it in lemon juice. The cloves and lemon juice act to preserve the apples. Over time, they dry out and shrink and give the "shrunken head" look. We saw some made the previous year and they looked great!

Sadly, a couple of our heads attracted some fruit flies over the next few days and before we knew it, itty bitty maggots were eating the heads. So, what did we do? Bagged up those apples and put them on display to watch those maggots turn into flies, of course! The wonders of homeschooling...an art project one moment, a biology lesson the next.

Artsy Smartsy - First Day

We are participating in a wonderful group called Artsy Smartsy. This group meets two days a week for a few hours. Each day there will be a new art project where the children learn a new technique. For the kids who do not want to participate, there is another room with toys and chairs for parents to hang out. Lots of opportunity for socialization for both children and parents.

Little puff balls were provided to decorate sea shells. Anika decided to decorate herself.

We went to a nearby park for lunch.

Sam rarely enjoys art, but he's participating here...

Anika, using the puff balls on the sea shells...

We had a great time and met some wonderful families!

Moving the Pigs

Part of our homeschool involves the small family farm we have at our home. We raise chickens, pigs, and rabbits along with having a large vegetable garden. As often as possible, we try to involve the children in all the farm work so they can learn how to care for the animals as well as all the other lessons nature provides. 

Today was "move the pigs" day. We believe for animals to be healthy, they need to be raised on fresh pasture. This means that every few weeks, we move the pigs to a new spot and allow the old spot to revert back to lawn. The chickens help to clean up the old spot by scattering droppings and removing any larvae along with providing some fertilizer.

This days move was a big one, the pigs were going from a spot in the corner of the yard to a spot in the middle that we needed tilled up. Pigs are amazing rototillers - or, rootertillers ;-) They root up the grass with their super strong noses using the force provided by their thick neck muscles. It doesn't take very long for a spot of mature lawn to be completely tilled by a couple of pigs. To move the pigs, we created a little chute for them to walk down.

Sam was on the lookout for any pigs that might escape the chute and head his way.

 Anika providing a mud spot for the pigs in their new spot.

Pig

The pigs proved very stubborn today and in the end, we had to put a bucket over each ones head and then push from behind at the same time. It took us pretty much the whole day. What did the kids learn? Perseverance  ingenuity, and the importance of training new piglets to go where you ask!