Nature Drawing at the Huntington

The boys and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon at The Huntington Botanical Gardens yesterday. It was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect. I recently bought the boys new sketching journals so we were excited to find a good place to break them in. The Huntington has so many gardens to visit, giving the kids many drawing options. We have yet to visit all the gardens. This time we chose to spend most of our time in the Lily Pond garden. The kids took their time sketching in their journals. In addition to the flowers and plants, we were visited by ducks, fish, turtles, and baby squirrels. After the Lily Pond we walked around the Desert Garden, looking for a nice cactus to draw. Unfortunately, Bode tripped into a cactus and cut our visit short. He had a handful of needles including a thick one that drew blood after being stuck in his vein. Ouch! Bode learned the hard way that he needs to listen to Mom and not run near cacti. But outside of that, we had a nice visit. Since we have a membership, we hope to visit frequently and see what else the boys can sketch.

Need more ideas? Check out:

Field Trip Friday Blog Hop

Field Trip Blog Hop

Young at Art classes

Ian and Cole enjoyed taking some art classes at Young at Art. It is a great studio and we hope to take some more classes there either this summer or in the fall. We like to do art at home, but it is also nice to have a professional teach the children from their artistic perspective. We have enjoyed trying different art approaches. During these classes, they boys used oil pastels to create their art. First, they chose their subject matter (fruit/vegetable, stuffed animal, etc.) Next, the teacher showed them the techniques and how to create the art piece. Next, the children copied and made their own drawing. The teachers were available for questions and helped guide the children's progress and correct misapplications. My boys enjoyed the classes and brought home some beautiful art pieces.

Nature Drawings at the Huntington

After visiting Burminco, we enjoyed a few moments at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino. It was perfect weather for some nature drawings. Each of the boys found some things they wanted to draw and immediately got to work on their creations. I was quite impressed with how focused they were and how well the drawing held their attention. This will definitely be something we do more of in the future. Plus, the Huntington is so large that we can visit it several times and be able to draw something different each time. This visit was spent in the Jungle Garden (with a waterfall).

Ian

Cole

Bode

Good job boys. Your drawings look terrific!

"Peep" Dioramas - Fun Art with Food

The boys created fun Peep dioramas with some friends before Easter. I didn't realize Peeps were so versatile. Each of the kids came up with their own ideas of what they wanted to create. Then they were hard at work creating their masterpieces.

Creating "Peep"Shows

Ian chose to create a baseball field scene of his favorite team, the Angels, versus Texas, which he'd watched on TV the day before. It was a "Peepball" creation. He came up with the entire idea on his own: the field, the players, the uniforms, and equipment. He even made a hat with an "A" on it and gloves. He did a great job. It was super cute!

Ian hard at work.

Peep wearing an Angels baseball hat.

Texas Peep with a baseball glove.

Ian with his finished Peep project. Great job!

Texas vs Angels, Peep-style.

Cole decided to create at Pirates of the Caribbean diorama - "Peeps of the Caribbean." He was very creative in making his boat and pirates. He even added an island with a treasure chest and an "X" that marks the spot. Cole had a lot of fun putting this together. And it turned out great!

Cole carefully creating his boat.

Every pirate ship needs a jolly roger.

Those are some swashbuckling peeps.

Cole did a great job with his peep pirates.

Peeps of the Caribbean

Bode decided to make a beach scene - Peeps at the Beach. He needed my help, but he had a great time gluing, cutting, and deciding where everything should go. He even drew bathing suits on his peeps. He was thoroughly entertained by this project. As Bode would say, it was "great!"

Bode cutting the paper he glued ahead of time (oops).

Gotta have seaweed at the beach.

Bode adding bathing suits to his peeps.

Bode loved making his beach peeps.

Peeps snuggling at the beach.

This was a great idea that I cannot take credit for. But I look forward to creating more Peep dioramas with the boys next year. And since I don't eat peeps, I think this is a great use for them *wink, smile*