Arts & Activities

General

  • Do art critiquing the way the "pros" do!  This site includes elements of art, principles of design, an art timeline, art vocabulary, and activities as well.  Although Dialectic and Rhetoric students will gain the most benefit, Upper Grammar students could benefit with parental guidance.
  • Use this site for great pictures when making lapbooks.  Contributed by Sue.
  • A vast resource for further research on 19th-Century Art. Click on 19th-Century Art.
  • Excellent architecture sight: www.greatbuildings.com
  • Recommended by Carol, this art history project book can be used in all four year-plans, as it goes through the 1980's.  There are 80 projects in this book entitled Great Studio Projects in Art History, and is written by William Reid.  ISBN 0825138523
  • Here's real help with Feast Nights: food timeline and recipes galore!  Enjoy!
  • Art history time line: there are two pages to this time line--page 1 is BC, page 2 is AD.  There are many wonderful links to pictures of art from each period, as well as resources for further study.  A gem!  All ages can benefit.
  • "This time line site is a bit of a pain to get around, but once you do, you'll glean great time line information on classical music."  --from Christina, a Tapestry user.
  • Maggie recommends this website, "The Music Chamber," that lists all of the composers according to time period.  "We found it most helpful!"
  • "Don't know if you've heard or participated in the Home Depot Kids' Workshops yet or not. But they are a blast. They give the child a complete project kit which includes everything they need for materials to build something. They have work tables set up with hammers, wood glue, screw drivers and anything else needed. Plus they give them a work apron & pins for completing the project. I took all three this morning with DH & he worked with the older two while I helped (big time) the younger. They were so proud of themselves."  --From Susan in Florida
  • Brenda, another user, wrote: I wanted to pass along a great site to everyone...www.puzzlemaker.com   You can put in a list of words, etc, and it will generate puzzles....everything from word searches, to crossword  puzzles...codes, etc!!!  They also have some really cool mazes which my younger ones love!!  I have used it a lot for something fun to go along with what we are studying.....
  • www.brainpop.com  Educational site with free educational movies.  You can watch two free per day.  Good for review or to introduce a topic.  The best ones I've seen are in the math section.  Aimed at grades 3-8, but fun for all!  - -Taken from a posting from our yahoogroups email loop by Barb.

    Peanut Butter Dough for mapwork:
  • Materials: dough recipe, waxed paper, blue icing, green sprinkles, clear sprinkles, small chocolate chips, red candy strips (licorice strings), M&Ms.

    Use these symbols:
    blue icing - lakes and oceans
    green sprinkles - plains
    clear sprinkles - deserts
    chocolate chips - mountains
    red candy strips - rivers
    M&Ms - capitals

    Dough Recipe:
    2 c. smooth peanut butter
    2 1/2 c. powdered milk
    2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
    2 c. white corn syrup

Mix all ingredients together and put small portions on waxed paper. Makes about 25 small maps.  See the Y2 Gallery page for examples of completed maps.

Want to suggest a resource or link? Email Dana.


Unit 1

Week 1: When John Adams Was President

Week 2: Napoleon: The Man and His Career

Week 3: Early Industrial Revolution

Week 4: Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase

Week 5: Jefferson and the Supreme Court

Week 6: Madison and the War of 1812

Week 7: Reshaping Europe and South America

Week 9: Monroe and the American Hemisphere

Want to suggest a resource or online site? Email Dana.


Unit 2

Week 10: John Quincy Adams and Political Realignments

Week 11: Jacksonian Democracy

Week 12: Revolutions in Texas & Europe

Week 13:  President Jackson

Week 14: European Life from 1815-1830: Revolutions of 1830.  Australia

Week 15: America Expands: 1830-1860 Overview

Week 16: Manifest Destiny: Pioneers Head West!

  • Outstanding site on totem poles.  Find out why "low man on the totem pole" was a total misnomer!  Grammar students and up.
  • Great site on salmon: everything from life cycles to conservation to .pdf handout on group projects (for school children).  This site is done by kids for kids.  Great for all ages.
  • (In case you missed this last week...) WONDERFUL interactive site on the prairie--your child can spend HOURS here.  Best part is the "build your own prairie" section.  Don't miss it!  Upper Grammar and up will love it!  VERY addictive.
  • Line diagrams of different kinds of covered wagons.  Includes a list of suggested needs of each adult on the trip.
  • See what very young children did to contribute to the family chores as they traveled in wagons to the West.  (This site has some great seeds for all kinds of group or individual activities for this week's study!)
  • Excerpts from diaries and other useful information about everyday life along the trail.  Parents should thoroughly screen this site, but it looks like it has something for everyone to me.
  • Patterns for pioneer bonnet and pioneer man's workshirt.
  • Check this site out for building a fort, covered wagon, or making a patchwork quilt.  Sandy contributed this site.  Thanks!

Week 17:  The Mexican-American War & President Polk

  • Karen Oliver found this great site for making a pinata.

Week 18: Gold Rush, Telegraph, and Pony Express

Want to suggest a resource or online site? Email Dana.


Unit 3

Week 19: Far Eastern Inventions and Arts

  • Who Invented It?  An annotated list of Chinese inventions lower down on the page.  Text is great for Dialectics and up, and wonderful for teachers to quickly bone up!
  • Pictures of Chinese inventions.  All ages.
  • Pictures of Chinese crafts.  All ages. 
  • Detailed instructions on making a Chinese kite. Site recommends this craft for 3rd Graders.  However, teacher help is definitely needed.  Instructions are written to the teacher.
  • What is an abacus?  How to make one (Grades 3-5).  Again, instructions are for the teacher.
  • Artifacts in the Michael C. Carlos Museum from the Far East.
  • Image Gallery of Taoist Art from the Art Institute of Chicago. Presented with information on the Taoist worldview and religious customs. Recommended for older students.
  • Japanese Prints from the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery.
  • The Taipei Gallery contains both traditional and contemporary Chinese art. 
  • Asian Art at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
  • Very nice painting: Japanese Tea Party.  Inspirational, or perhaps as clip art/decoration for work this week. 
  • See a 4th Grade class holding a Japanese Tea Ceremony--then hold your own!
  • Make your own Origami. Link contributed by Joanna from MA.
  • For older students (Dialectic and Rhetoric): crafts from the Far East:

Week 20: Crimean War, Sardinia, and the unification of Italy

Links for lower level topics:

  • Research and figure out the design of stagecoaches.  How does a harness work with 6, 8, or 12 horses on it?   How many different shapes of coach can you find?  Oh, and don't miss the Hints for Travelers. (Spit On The Leeward Side!)
  • Take a field trip to see an authentic stagecoach!  This link quite extensively lists stagecoaches in museums by state.  Take your sketchbook for some investigative sketching of their designs.
  • Enjoy this site about John James Audubon

Week 21: The Underground Railroad & President Buchanan, A Nation Dividing

Week 22: Civil War 

  • Civil War clipart!  Pictures of uniforms: print them off to make paper dolls, etc.  Much, much more!
  • Check the latest version of Civil war television programming.  This sites keeps an up-to-date record.
  • Did you know it took two photographers with careful hands to take a photo on the battlefield?  Check out the process here, and other interesting tidbits on photos taken during the Civil War.
  • See scenes from a one-man play about Matthew Brady's life.
  • Actual photographs by Matthew Brady.
  • Timeline and biography of Matthew Brady.
  • Photos taken by Alexander Gardner.
  • Learn and hear Civil War songs!  All ages.
  • Civil War fife music.  This site contributed by Kathy.
  • Cindy shares a display that is available in Charleston, South Carolina.  Touring The Hunley is only available on Saturdays and Sundays.  This was the first submarine to ever sink an enemy ship, and efforts are now being made to acquire, recover, and preserve this vessel.  Or, follow the link and see the activities available online.

Week 23: Civil War II

Week 24:  Reconstruction Era

Week 25:  Plains Indians

Week 26:  Unification of Germany.  Thomas Edison and Alexander G. Bell

Hudson River School:

  • Summary of this art movement with multiple links to individual artists and paintings.
  • Follow Thomas Cole's allegorical The Voyage of Life from childhood through old age.  Scroll down to find the links to each of the four paintings.  Be sure to read the accompanying notes on each.  Or next time you're near Washington D.C., go visit these grand paintings in person.
  • Veith article from WORLD magazine, The American Sublime, concerning the art world's reaction to a recent Hudson River School exhibition. 

Want to suggest a resource or online site? Email Dana.


Unit 4

Week 27: Africa, Livingstone & Slessor

  • Note to parents: Secular views on Africa include opportunities to discuss the following topics at age-appropriateness: Creation/Origin views, Islam, Pantheism, Racism, Relativism, and secular views on the Bible & Christianity.  
  • African Voices, a Smithsonian website.  Parents, please preview or guide your student through this site.
  • Explore the Wonders of Africa - kingdoms, architecture, and people groups.  Parents, please guide through this PBS site, too.
  • African food and groceries. Fun site for exploration!  Discover fish stew and other intriguing recipes.
  • Make an African Mask!  Site contributed by Suzie.

Realism--Courbet and Manet

  • Realism in Artcyclopedia.
  • Courbet links.  Check out these paintings, especially:  A Burial at Ornans.
  • Manet. Check out these paintings, especially: Any of the flowers he did the last years of his life, while bed-ridden.

Week 28: Realism--Leibl, Corot, Daumier

  • Leibl short bio.  Find his famous work, Three Women at Church among other famous realism works here.
  • Corot's amazing landscapes. 

Week 29: Victorian Art and architecture & the Pre-Raphealites

Week 30: Impressionism & Culture 1870’s to 1900: Focus on America

Week 31: Social Darwinism & Laissez-Faire Economics.  Immigration: Statue of Liberty

Post-Impressionism.  Cezanne and Van Gogh

Week 32: Symbolism.  Gauguin and Munch

Week 33: Immigration and Ellis Island.  Inventors

Week 34: Architecture and Sculpture of the late 1800's

Week 35: Scientists, the Salvation Army, & Charles Spurgeon

Week 36: The Nabis. Vuillard and Bonnard

  • Bonnard: The Table, 1925
  • A recent Vuillard show at The National Gallery in Washington, D.C.  Click on "Exhibition Highlights" to page through this wonderful resource of his work.
  • These interiors are a good representation of typical Vuillard paintings.

Want to suggest a resource or online site? Email Dana.