Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s a chilly, sunny morning and I am so grateful for the return of the sun to these parts. I feel like it has just been gray and gloomy for months. I have a very happy cactus too – it is either a Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus but it is pretty confused because it is all bloomy and pretty.

This weekend I finally got to meet my new niece! It was a bit of a wild ride for little girl – she had jaundice and ended up having to go back to the hospital for an overnight. She is doing great now though, and we got to meet her. It’s been so long since I have held a wee bebe and I very reluctantly handed her off to Billy for his turn holding her. We didn’t stay long, but long enough to chat and squeal over the baby and play a little with Mermaid Girl. I also made lemon tortellini soup for them so we took that with us as well.

Before seeing the baby though, we had another stop. We drove about half an hour to get something to eat that kept being targeted to me on Instagram. Lol. It looked so good and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Imagine my surprise when we arrived and it was in a gas station. Ok, I am not a food snob or anything but I do get a little weird about eating from a gas station restaurant. However, Billy went in and ordered it and brought it out to us, and it was delicious. There was a never ending line at their drive through, and it was quite busy! Definitely a hidden gem.

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Sunday was absolutely beautiful, in the mid 50s and sunshiney. We opted to work outside in the yard for a bit, clearing some of the front beds and laying cardboard down over some areas in the back that have been taken over by decades old ivy. Anyone know how to get rid of ivy without chemicals? I am hoping that this plan of suffocating it works, other wise we will have to try something different. It grows over our neighbor’s garage, and destroys it, and they are not happy about it either. I think our previous neighbors there planted it, and now it has moved from that spot in their yard into our yard and just keeps spreading. Wyatt played in the yard while we worked then afterwards we all went to our favorite ice cream place! It opened for the season last week so we were waiting for a perfect time to go – and Sunday was it. We all got our favorites- Black Cherry for Billy, Mint Chocolate Chip for Wyatt, and Scooby Doo for me, which is peanut buttery. So good!

I uncovered these babies who were buried in leaves – I can’t wait for them to bloom!

So spring is springing around here! What is going with you all today?

Homeschool Journey: Maine! Week 1

On March 27, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling9 Comments

We are working on our very last New England state – Maine! I decided since it is our finale and goodbye to that region, that we would spend two weeks working on it. Last week was all about the sea and coastal areas, and it was seriously so much fun.

In addition to general Maine facts, I focused on lighthouses and on whales with Wyatt. I need to get this kid to the ocean and to an aquarium! I really believe in hands on learning and I see Wyatt light up when we can experience what we are learning about as opposed to just, well learning about it at home. However, since we can’t visit everywhere all at once, or really just everywhere we do our best and travel through books and music and food and whatever else I can think of.

The lighthouse study was pretty neat. He really enjoyed learning more about lighthouse keepers and seeing diagrams and pictures of the insides of lighthouses, than in what the purpose of lighthouses were and how they worked. We watched a few videos, read a few books, and together made this rendition of a lighthouse on an island. I thought it turned out pretty cute!

As for whales, we did a proper whale study, learning all the facts about them. We also listened to whale songs which are so otherworldly – they actually sort of creeped Wyatt out. I think it is pretty, he is not a fan but he is 8. He much more enjoyed all the sea shanties we listened to, and I get it, they are much livelier.

Our poet of the week was Mary Oliver! As the teacher I get to pick all my favorites so I am. Lol. The book we read, My Poet, was about a little girl who is friends (fictionally) with Mary Oliver and together they collect words. It was really well done. We also read a few different poems by Oliver which are sort of eh, not quite for kids but we read them anyway, and zoomed in on the poem “Children, It’s Spring” for our painting inspiration. As an additional painting project that correlated with the book My Poet, I had Wyatt describe four things – a pine cone, sand dollar, agate slice, and Freddy our frog. Lol. Then I had him pick one and paint it, and we surrounded it with his words.

What We Used:

This section contains Amazon Affiliate links. In addition to the curriculum I am creating for him, we also use curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful, The Waldock Way, and Blossom and Root for phonics, reading, science, and social studies.

L is for Lobster || Welcome to Maine || Hello Lighthouse || One Morning in Maine || My Poet

We will be continuing on with Maine this week, and turning our gaze from the coast to the more inland areas.

My Sunday-Monday Post

On March 26, 2023March 26, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized36 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! I am super excited that our forecast today calls for sunny weather and a high of 55! Finally! And our favorite ice cream place opened for the season last week, so I think we are going to get our first cones of the season today as well. I am hoping they have my favorite, Scooby Doo!

We had a pretty busy week last week, with appointments every single day. Ick. But they are over and done so that is good, and Wyatt will be starting speech again in two weeks and will be getting his new braces which he desperately needs. His other orthotics/braces are just so small on him now!

Read Last Week:

This book was so cute! I read it as part of Middle Grade March and it was adorable. Eva is a spunky little semi-magical witch, with just a pinch of magic, but as she is clever and resourceful, that is all she needs!

Reading This Week:

I was planning on reading one more middle grade book this month, but I am not feeling it right now. It is instead time to read Watership Down, like I do every spring! My favorite book of all time! I am so excited to read it again!

Posted Last Week:

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Book Review: The Grace of Wild Things

Homeschool Journey: New Hampshire and Robert Frost

Watched/Listened:

We watched Beyond Paradise, and are all caught up on the available episodes, which I am bummed about! I am enjoying this spin off of Death in Paradise. We also watched Ted Lasso and finished up season 2, and watched some of the old Hamish Macbeth episodes on Acorn, even though I get all upset since they are not like the books. However it is an easy peaceful show to watch and I look for those on busy weeks. Oh! We also finished up the newest season of All Creatures Great and Small! I was sobbing!

For our movie night this week we watched the remaining movie in the Irish Folktale Trilogy I mentioned last week. It is actually the first in the series but the last we watched. It was ok, but not our favorite. It was also super dark and sad! The name of this one is The Secret of Kells. As we were watching, Billy remarked that Brother Aidan looked like Willie Nelson and then the rest of the movie I could not get that image out of my head!

As for listening, I didn’t really listen to anything new last week, just my normal line up of true crime podcasts – Morbid, Redhanded, Casefile, Going West.

And that is it from around here! I hope all is well in your corner of the world!

Homeschool Journey: New Hampshire and Robert Frost

On March 24, 2023March 24, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized13 Comments

We are slowly making our way through the New England states in our homeschool studies and it has been a fun little “trip”. We vacationed out east one summer when I was a kid and I have never forgotten that trip. I loved it so much and would love to take Wyatt out east as well! However for now we will just learn about the states that make up New England.

Last week we were studying New Hampshire! I have to admit I didn’t know too much about New Hampshire myself. Two of my favorite books are set there (A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Hotel New Hampshire) and that is about the extent of my familiarity. So Wyatt and I both learned some neat facts last week together!

One of Wyatt’s favorite things that we learned was that New Hampshire is home to the oldest floating post office. This kid is obsessed with the postal system and thought this was so cool. This “floating post office” was started in Lake Winnipesaukee in 1892 and the Sophie C. delivers mail to the islands in that area. It also delivers ice cream! How awesome is that! It did look really cool and if we ever get to New Hampshire we will definitely take a ride on it. Wyatt was fascinated!

Interestingly, when I googled oldest floating post office, I found that there is one right near us, in Detroit! They like to call themselves the only floating post office, which is confusing, but this postal boat has its own zip code. The J.W. Wescott delivers mail to passing freighters which is really neat, and also delivers the occasional pizza. These floating post offices seem to be multi-purpose! The J.W. Wescott was founded back in 1874 (so before the post office in New Hampshire). The Sophie C. and the J.W. Wescott deliver to different types of people, to people just living on the islands, and then the crews stationed on freighters so maybe that is why they both hold the title.

We are going to try to amble downtown this weekend to see if we can find this floating post office!

As part of our Poets and Painting theme we are doing this spring, Wyatt listened to a lot of Robert Frost poems, learned a little about the poet, and then painted a poem inspired by one of Frost’s most famous poems, “The Road Not Taken”. I was not surprised Wyatt chose to paint a yellow wood – yellow is one of his favorite colors!

What We Used:

New Hampshire || A Stone Sat Still || G is for Granite || Papa is a Poet || The Road Not Taken (this book was lovely by the way!)

Stay tuned for what we have been doing this week!

Book Review: The Grace of Wild Things

On March 23, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review11 Comments

Publisher Summary:

An inventive and fantastical reimagining of Anne of Green Gables—with magic and witches!—that explores found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination, from the acclaimed author of The Language of Ghosts and The School Between Winter and Fairyland.

Grace has never been good at anything except magic—not that anyone believes her. While other children are adopted from the orphanage, nobody wants Grace. So she decides to make a home for herself by running away and offering herself as an apprentice to the witch in the nearby woods. After all, who better to teach Grace to use her magic? Surely the witch can’t be that bad.

But the witch is that bad—she steals souls for spells and gobbles up hearts. So Grace offers a deal: If she can learn all 100½ spells in the witch’s grimoire, the witch will make Grace her apprentice. But if Grace fails, the witch can take her magic. The witch agrees, and soon an unexpected bond develops between them. But the spells are much harder than Grace expected, and when a monster from the witch’s past threatens the home Grace has built, she may have to sacrifice more than her magic to save it.

Inspired by Anne of Green Gables, this is a magical story of found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination.

My Thoughts:

I thought this book was so much fun! I would have absolutely loved it as a kid – I loved it even as an adult!

So the big question everyone wants to know the answer to…how much of it is an Anne of Green Gables story? In my opinion, the similarities are mostly very broad ones. Grace is an orphan, her first adoption didn’t work out, and the character Grace is very inspired by the character of Anne. Grace is enthusiastic, curious, is prone to flights of fancy and romanticism, has a very dear and close friend, and there are two direct incidents that were definitely directly out of Anne of Green Gables but with a twist to make it work with this book.

There was magic, and witches, fairy princes, and a quest that Grace had to fulfill. The witch was not nice, she was definitely an evil witch (at least in the beginning) but the book takes a turn, and Grace and the witch become a family of sorts, so it is also a book of found family, which I love.

By far though one of my favorite characters is Windweaver, Grace’s familiar and pet crow. She found him as a baby and nursed him to health, and Windweaver is arrogant, yet loyal and loving with Grace. He also adores poetry, but only poetry about birds.

The ending felt maybe a bit rushed but it was also emotional, and moving. I was actually pretty upset over something that happens in the end but like Grace I understood it was the right thing.

Overall, this is a fantastic book that is like Hansel and Gretel meets Anne of Green Gables, yet strong enough to not simply be a retelling. Grace and the witch, Windweaver and Sareena, all are wonderful characters in their own right and stand on their own against these famous backdrops and comparisons. I do think this book might be scary for sensitive young readers, who are not fans of scary stories. While most of the book is not scary there are references to children being cooked in the oven, so be mindful of that if there is a child in your life who would not react well to those parts.

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP14 Comments

Good morning everyone! (or afternoon or evening or whenever you are reading this) It’s a chilly morning today although it is supposed to warm up – finally! I have my delicious cup of coffee sitting next to me on one side, and Wyatt on the other, and it is a good morning, despite having to get up early and get blood work done.

Hmm where to begin? Let’s start with the best news of all – my new niece is here! She was born Saturday afternoon and is 6 lbs 9 oz, and 19.5 inches long. She was born so fast that the staff was surprised and the doctor never even made it! They thought it would be hours before she arrived – she showed them, and made her arrival after an hour after her parents arrived. I get to meet her today, maybe. I am can’t wait!!! We decorated their house for their welcome home, and delivered flowers to Mermaid Girl, who was excited but also missing her mom and dad. My brother was of course exposed to Covid right before little girl made her arrival so he is being super cautious. Or, as Billy says, covering up photographic evidence that he shaved his beard off after a shaving incident. Lol.

However, before Baby E’s arrival, we had many other adventures! On Thursday morning Wyatt and I went to the Henry Ford Museum to visit the Scooby Doo exhibit!! I was so excited. More than Wyatt, honestly. Scooby was my absolute favorite growing up and I still love it. Ghosts and dogs and mysteries? I guess I have been the same my whole life! Anyway, the exhibit was really fun. It was set up with a mystery to solve but Wyatt was not interested in that part, he just wanted to explore all the fun and interactive displays, which is fine. We saw bookcases and pianos with secret compartments that revealed themselves when you pushed the right book or played the right tune, and Wyatt got to act as a behind the scenes villain! They had an area where one side of the wall was a suit of armor, and the other side had buttons and levers that would activate the armor, rattling it or causing its eyes to glow. You could also make a disembodied laugh happen and flying ghosts. My child absolutely loved this. You could see people on the other side via a camera feed and surprise them! Wyatt had a blast.

There were other interactive displays as well, and then a whole play restaurant which Wyatt also enjoyed. He made pizzas and sandwiches and Scooby Sundaes. And I saw a toy doll house that I would have loved as a kid – how did I miss that when I was growing up? Maybe it is new.

Then of course Friday was St. Patrick’s Day! We spent the day listening to the Irish Rovers, the Pogues, and Van Morrison, read some books, and created some fun nature art. We had “leprechaun” bread (pistachio pudding bread), Lucky Charms treats, and then for dinner Irish beef stew over mashed potatoes. It was all delicious! Wyatt enjoyed the Lucky Charms treats the best – and the leftover marshmallows. Later that evening Billy and I watched Wolfwalkers, which is part of an Irish Folklore trilogy and it was excellent. I am thinking about doing a big review of the trilogy.

So it has been an exciting few days! Lots to do and see, and a new family member even!!

This week Wyatt and I both have lots of appointments which stinks. I hate weeks like that. But at least the weather is supposed to be nicer which will make things easier.

I was going to include our homeschool journey from last week in this post, but I feel like I have blathered on quite enough for this morning, so I will do that later on this week instead. Enjoy your day everyone!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On March 19, 2023March 19, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized29 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hey all! Last week was very thankfully a slow week! We had one outing and the rest of the time we focused on things at home. We are also all on babywatch over here- my SIL is due any moment now and I can’t wait to meet my new niece!! She will be the fourth kiddo in our family with a March birthday!

UPDATE: Baby girl is here! Mom and baby are doing well!! Welcome to the world baby E!

Read Last Week:

I am still in the midst of Middle Grade March and finished two fun little books last week! The Grace of Wild Things was a fun, Anne of Green Gables inspired read. I hope to review it this week! And The Tea Dragon Society is so darn cute!! I want a tiny adorable tea dragon!! It is a graphic novel and the artwork is very Ghibli-esque.

Reading This Week:

Speaking of Ghibli, this book has big Ghibli vibes, specifically Kiki’s Delivery Service. It looks like it will be another fun little read for Middle Grade March.

Posted Last Week:

Homeschool Journey: Easing Back Into Our Routine

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Made in Ireland: A Few Irish Etsy Artists

Watching and Listening:

Billy and I have been watching a weird range of shows this week. Ted Lasso, Beyond Paradise (a Death in Paradise spin off), and Ghosts. Then Friday night we watched Wolfwalkers, which is part of an “Irish Folklore Trilogy”. I used to watch Song of the Sea with Wyatt when he was a baby all the time, and I still love it. This one was amazing as well, but I don’t really think it is for kids. Maybe older kids, like high school? The description:

Wolfwalkers follows the story of Robyn Goodfellowe, a young apprentice hunter who arrives in Ireland with her father during a time of superstition and magic to wipe out the last wolf pack. While exploring the forbidden lands outside the city walls, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh, a member of a mysterious tribe rumored to have the ability to turn into wolves by night. As they search for Mebh’s missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the Wolfwalkers and risks turning into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.

It was pretty intense actually, but also perfect for St. Patricks day. We still need to watch the first in the trilogy, The Secret of the Kells, but if it is as good as Song of the Sea and Wolfwalkers I know I will love it.

As for listening, on Friday we listened to a lot Van Morrison, The Pogues, and The Irish Rovers. Naturally. Lol. I also started listening to a long form podcast (True Crime) called Black Hands about the Bain Family murders.

And that is about it from my corner of the internet! How are you all doing? What is happening in your neighborhood?

Made in Ireland: A Few Irish Etsy Artists

On March 17, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn artist review14 Comments

Top of the morning to you!

Like most Americans, I love learning about my heritage and ancestry. My ancestry hails from England, Scotland, and Ireland, with a teensy bit of Italian and an even teensier bit of Norwegian. Of them all, Scottish is the dominant force in my DNA – but it is St. Patrick’s Day so of course I am super Irish today! I have a whole day of shenanigans planned for Wyatt, and we started off the day with Leprechaun bread (pistachio pudding bread), which was delicious.

When I think of Ireland, I think of creativity, artistry, beauty. I think of magic and whimsy and fairy tales. Of poetry and literature. And today I wanted share a few really cool artists that I found while browsing Etsy! All are living in Ireland or from Ireland, and today seemed like an appropriate day to share them here.

This post does contain affiliate links. If you were to purchase something at no extra cost to you, I would make a small commission.

Cotton and Moonstone is the first shop I want to mention. The artist also does framed crystal work, but it is these macrame pieces I want to talk about! They are simply gorgeous, and the artist, Cathy according to her Etsy page, has a lot of Celtic inspired pieces but also boho and botanical inspired ones as well. The wall hanging here is her Irish Blessing Celtic Knot.

This next shop had so many pieces I was in love with that I had a really hard time deciding on which to share! Karen Pleass is a textile artist, and her work is so detailed and make me think of little vignettes, just looking out into the Irish countryside through a window. They are just so lovely and each and every one made me smile! This one is called Stargazing and I love the idea of these sleepy sheep enjoying the night sky.

Ok, Erin, step away from the textile artists for a minute! Let’s look over here…

… at PannaDraws! Panna Zsamba is a Dublin based artist, whose artwork is simply stunning. Her work includes nature inspired paintings and prints of birds and other animals, and peeking out from the hawks and robins are dragons and unicorns and other fantasy creatures. I am in LOVE with her unicorn. It is so majestic and the look in its eye! I am adding it to my hopefully one day I will buy it list. (I did not include a picture of it here on the blog per her copyright info, but bounce over to the shop if you want to check out her stunning art!)

Susan Meaney’s shop is full of the cuteness we all need in our lives! Sweet bunnies and adorable foxes, badgers, flowers, fairies – all available on cards and on tote bags, and even on notebooks, like the one pictured above. Her shop is Burren Flower Fairies and if you like whimsical woodland creatures then you need to check out her store!

Last but certainly not least is this Irish Wolfhound linocut by Wild Creature Cuts. I am a big fan of lino art work, and of Irish Wolfhounds. We have a teeny house or I would totally get one. I have loved them since learning of them in high school, when I read Finn MacCool by Morgan Llewelyn. Man do I love her books! This lino I think is so full of movement and intent, and maybe if I can’t have an actual wolfhound I could have a picture of one? Wild Creature Cuts features other animals as well, but this was my favorite of the bunch (pack?)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day all! Make some music, write some poetry, paint a picture, create something beautiful today!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On March 14, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP15 Comments

It’s a cold lazy morning around here today. I am soooooo over this snow and winter. Spring needs to get here! I am letting Wyatt watch tv in our bed this morning, while I sit here next to him drinking coffee and writing this post. I am reluctant to get out from under the covers today. I made quick coffee this morning, Keurig version – Newmans Own blend. It does the job but I drink it way too fast!

Let’s start with a Wyatt update. Yesterday he was able to go back to physical therapy (where he did awesome!) and then we went straight from PT to Detroit to Children’s Hospital for his follow up appointment to check his incisions. They thought he looked great!

Is daylight savings kicking anyone else’s butt? Wyatt and I are such primitive creatures I think. We are both having a hard time adjusting! I read that for some people it is hard because the darkness in the morning and the light in the evening is confusing to your brain and body, making you more tired in the morning and then more awake in the evening. That seems to be true for Wyatt and I. It’ll even out but dang I was draggin’ wagon yesterday almost all day, UNTIL it was bedtime. Billy however is just one of those rare people who can sleep anywhere, anytime, no matter what.

Wyatt had a playdate with Mermaid girl Friday while my SIL went for a check up at her baby doctor (one week until her due date!) and they played like crazy. Board games, restaurant, drawing, they just were into everything and having so much fun. My messy house got even more messy and I loved it. I wanted them to have fun! Wyatt was wiped out afterwards! It was good to see him have so much fun. Then Saturday was his little party! My mother-in-law got cake and ice cream and invited just a small amount of people over. Sadly, a few family members were sick so they didn’t come so we didn’t get to see them, but Wyatt still had fun. My mom definitely enjoyed hanging out with my in-laws two dogs – she is snuggling Murphy in that picture.

In other news – I got a new rug! Our other one in the den was just so dingy and since we spend so much time in there and with Wyatt healing, I felt like I needed something new. It is so bright and cheery! Next I need new couches since my cat Maggie (who passed away in October) used these as a scratching post; now that she is no longer with us (I still miss her everyday) we plan on replacing these, maybe in late spring. It didn’t make sense to do that until she was gone since she would have just done the same to new ones. For now though, a new rug it is! Not the most level photo, but I was kneeling in front of the other couch and Wyatt decided to hug around my neck while I was taking it. Lol.

Well, we need to start school soon, and then I need to get cracking on this house! It’s gone to the dogs over the past few weeks with everything, and I need to get it back in order.

Speaking of, does anyone else enjoy watching people declutter and organize on YouTube? I have no idea why I find it so calming but I do. I watch With Love Kristina for many reasons, but lately she has been decluttering and I feel relaxed after watching. She feels like a very real YouTuber, who shows her messes. She was also very preggers in this last video, but I saw yesterday on Instagram that she had her baby, so congrats to her!

And that is the big and small of it over here! How are things in your world?

Homeschool Journey: Easing back into our routine

On March 13, 2023March 13, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling11 Comments

Hello everyone! So as we recover from Wyatt’s surgeries, I thought we would start back to our homeschool routine focusing only on his favorites – so social studies, art, and science. We are probably going to add math and reading back in this week starting Tuesday. (We had a neurosurgery appt this morning as well as physical therapy)

Our pared down schedule worked well. It got Wyatt back into the swing of school again, and also made room for him to rest when he became tired.

For science, Wyatt learned about the difference between coniferous trees and deciduous trees. We opted for the table crowd activity this time (his curriculum has three different approaches to labs – outdoors, tabletop, arts and crafts ) It was the right choice for his first day back! Just look at this face. Lol.

For social studies, we visited Massachusetts! Well not really obviously. Wyatt loves learning about the states way more than I expected him to honestly, especially learning the state symbols and seeing the flags for each state. I am happy he loves it like he does though! I always loved social studies too. We learned that the Boston Marathon has a wheelchair division! I had no idea so that was a neat fact to learn. We also learned that Dr. Seuss, Theodore Geisel, was from Massachusetts which is neat because Wyatt shares a birthday with Dr. Seuss – March 2! Wyatt loved how I told him to identify the state on the map too – I told him the little hook that comes off and branches into the ocean looks like a strong arm flexing, and that is how to find it. He thought that was hilarious.

But what Wyatt loved the best was art. Of course. He has been asking to paint for weeks now, and I just didn’t think it was a good idea until he was more healed up. However, he was cleared for physical therapy so I figured it was time to paint as well!

Instead of focusing on a particular artist over the next few weeks, I am mixing it up a bit. We are focusing instead on a poet, and then painting a picture that is inspired by a poem that poet wrote. This week we did Emily Dickinson, naturally, as she was from Amherst – plus I love her.

We talked a bit about Dickinson as a person, read a few poems, read a picture book, then we focused on the poem Make Me a Picture of the Sun. We talked about the imagery, what it could mean, and how it made us feel. Then I had Wyatt watercolor a painting that correlated with this. He loved it.