Picturing America

I came across a FREE art curriculum that I'm excited about. It's called Picturing America, and produced by the National Endowment for the Arts (I might as well get some benefit out of my tax money, I figure). Since we're studying American history right now, I was thankful to find this resource. I printed the entire curriculum manual, which was 89 pages, but you could also read it online--I'm just a snuggle-on-the-couch-with-book-in-hand kind of person. I am supplementing by finding more art from each artist off the 'net (I love Google) and a few library books.

And since I'm thinking about our morning routine, I might as well share it:

We have a devotion time each morning. Right now we're reading through the Old Testament on Mon., Wed., and Fri. We just finished Pilgrim's Progress today, so I'll replace that with Character Sketches on Tues., and Thurs. I also read from a book that collects the Proverbs into topics nearly every day. We keep a prayer journal during this time as well.

Following our Bible reading and prayer, we work on memorization (I shared my system here). We practice and learn root words from English from the Roots Up and the above-mentioned Art three days week. And we alternate one day a week each for: Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends, Praying the Bible with Your Children, Voice of the Martyrs Kids of Courage, and Hero Tales.

Of course, this is what happens most of the time, and is not shared to put a burden on anyone. We have "those days" also where everything seems to be out of whack and I feel relieved just to make it successfully to bed time where I can wind down with a good book (currently Charlotte Bronte's Villette).