I mention frequently that Caroline is creative and spends a lot of her time doing artistic things whether it is building on the computer (Minecraft, Roblox, Animal Jam, etc.) or with real life media. I’ve asked her a few times if she’d like to share photos of some of her creations with you, but she never was ready. Until yesterday! Yesterday she came to me and said she would like to take photos and share so today we took a whole bunch of photos so you can get a peek at what she’s been up to the last few months!
She’s very much a night owl and so she does most of her computer building in the late morning/early afternoon and her real life art in the evenings. She would do art from 7:00 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning if I would let her. I usually make her stop around 10:00 p.m. so we can get to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour. This past winter we created a permanent art area in the (unfinished) basement where she has plenty of room to spread out and paint and craft to her heart’s content. Anything messy has to be done in the basement. Less messy things she has a huge desk in her room to use.
As you’ll see from the photos, right now she’s very into Star Wars, Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Pony, and anything miniature. Sometimes she brings things to show me when she’s done and I marvel at her skill and patience at such a young age! I think much of that has to do with our being very relaxed homeschoolers so she gets a lot of time to increase her skills. Art is clearly where God has gifted her and I’m assuming it will play some important part in her future endeavors so we make sure she has a lot of time for it.
So here’s a glimpse of what she’s done. You can also see the art products Caroline recommends on my Amazon page.
Fairy House Theme Painted with Acrylics
Air Dry Clay Painted with Acrylics
Note the tiny little pills on top of the penny over on the left. The pills are for the tiny pill bottle. š
Watercolors on Watercolor Paper
Littlest Pet Shop and My Little Pony Customs
These are Littlest Pet Shop and My Little Pony toys that she has repainted to make the what is called “customs” in the LPS lingo.
Wooden Boxes Painted with Acrylics
Homemade Squishies
These are made with sponges (see here) and painted with a mixture of puffy paint and acrylic paint. The bags are made from zip sandwich bags.
Wooden Hearts Painted with Acrylics
She still has the rest of the top row to finish and hang. š
Acrylics on Canvas Hanging in Her Room
I hope you enjoyed a peek at Caroline’s art. Here are her recommended products if this inspires any of your kiddos!
Oh, how wonderful! I decided I was going to pick a favorite, and it took me quite awhile to decide on one, but I think the homemade pizza slushie is it … just beautiful, all. (I did love the fish… pretty!)
Please tell C thank you for sharing her art! I can’t wait to show K. (xoxo, KsParent!)
Oh, autocorrect got me. Pizza Squishie. š
She loved your comment even more because of the typo. We both laughed out loud. š
Yes, I laughed as well! Squishies… such a wonderful word, horribly butchered by autocorrect!
Sallie,
Your sweet daughter is certainly multi-talented in art! I think my favorites (if I had to pick) are the watercolors. As a former home schooler, who had to go back to teaching public school for financial reasons (divorce), I’m very grateful for every single family who gets to (and DOES) home school. I think it’s wonderful what you are doing! Keep up the good work!
Hi Deb!
Thanks for your kind words re: Caroline’s art and homeschooling. What grade level are you teaching now?
Sallie
Madeleine, 12, says “She is amazing.” (her mom agrees)
Caroline’s art is right up Maddie’s alley. She loves to paint anything- rocks are her latest thing. Everything tiny was super fun for her to look at – and she loves the house that looks like a Hobbit Hole.
;o)
Thank you for sharing Caroline, you made my daughter’s day.
Hi Kelley and Madeleine!
Caroline says “thank you” to both of you. If Madeleine ever wants to send along some photos of her art, Caroline and I would love to see them!
Sallie
They are ALL my favorite! She has a great sense of color.
I cannot imagine life without being creatively involved in some form of art!
Hi Judy!
Thank you for your kind words. I think you and Caroline would get along FAMOUSLY after seeing all the fun and creative things you do!
Sallie
You have a talented young artist in your home ! She has a wonderful combination of creative ideas and precise abilities ! Thank her for sharing with us !
Hi Karen!
Thank you for your kind words. I’ll share your comment with Caroline in the morning. She has been encouraged by the kind words. Not many people see her art so to hear from others what they like has been a nice boost for her. š
Sallie
Sallie,
I was teaching reading to K-5, but that position was cut, so I taught 3rd grade last year. This year I’m moving down to 2nd grade. The nice thing about that switch is that I’ll have no Common Core testing. Yay! I used to have a blog, On the Vine, and I followed your blog back then (I forget the name you had then – A Quiet Life, perhaps?).
Deb,
I still have your On the Vine blog bookmarked in a folder called “Check Occasionally” for blogs that have gone silent. So I remember it and you. š
Second grade is a fun year. I liked teaching first grade because they grow and change so much, but if I had it to do over again I think I’d prefer second when they are already reading and quite a bit more independent at the beginning of the year. LOL!
Sallie
As much as I loved blogging and reading others’ blogs (including yours!), being thrust into the undesirable world of being a single, working mom made me have to make different choices with my time. That, and the fact that when my husband left, it was quite devastating to me emotionally. My blog still exists (although, when blogger made some changes, I sadly lost my blog roll), and sometimes I toy with starting up again.
Yes, I hope this will be a good year in second grade. We’ve got challenging students at our school, so it takes a toll on us, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s been fun touching base with you again!
She is indeed creative and in so many ways. My son’s brain seemed to click in better in the evening so our basic home “schooling” was done in the daytime but his personal creative projects were almost always worked on in the evening.
Caroline is about the same age as my granddaughter, Faith. She just received a fresh supply of artist paints for her birthday. She likes to paint but is also interested in needlework, quilting, etc. I think it is very smart in letting kids work in a variety of media.
Hi Brenda!
Thanks for your kind words. Yes, the evening creativity thing has taken some getting used to. Most parents are getting their kids ready for bed and ours is just getting going. LOL!
Caroline hasn’t had any interest in fiber arts to this point. I’m guessing that following/reading detailed visual directions might put her off things that need a pattern.
Sallie
Wow, her work is amazing! She seems to have an unusually good sense of when to include accurate details, and when to be more conceptual and abstract.
Hi Peggy!
Thanks for your kind words about Caroline’s art. That’s an interesting observation you made about her art. I really don’t know how to evaluate art other than “I like that” and “I don’t like that.” LOL! All my art energy went into music so I’ve had almost no art instruction. I should probably teach myself something about it. LOL!
Sallie