The Artist

Connor has started enjoying art more and more. He loved his art elective last year when he started middle school (and is anxiously awaiting the fourth term to get it again this year). He joined the school art club, which meets once a week after to school to work on projects.

The first project was for entry submission to "Improbable Baubles" at a local art museum (the entire school district participated). We spent our Saturday afternoon driving out to see the exhibition of kids art work. With so many entries, his submission didn't make the official display, but did make the display book for each school.

We also liked the "shell grotto" that was open at the museum house as part of the exhibit ...

Cut + Paste

Sawyer working on his reindeer ornament at one of his favorite places, Cut + Paste, with Aunt Kelly ...

Masterpiece by Xander

This has always been a toy that Sawyer plays with at our house. He loves patterns and making things match and line up. Tonight, Xander started playing with it and created this. And Sawyer did not like it. He liked the image just fine, but you see, for Sawyer, once the image has been created you put everything back into it's place. Immediately. Each piece back into it's color coded bag and put away. He did not like Xander wanting to display it on the counter all evening. It took all the patience Sawyer had to leave it alone, to not put it all away. But he did, grudgingly, leave it alone.

Art by Xander

Another masterpiece by Xander.

Art Wall

Xander LOVES to draw. If he can't have a screen, which is always his first choice, then he's in his room coloring and drawing and creating something. We're actually running out of wall space. He's covered his dry erase wall (as well as the one in Sawyer's room). He's got something on every single wall. He even started taping his "Exit Sign" art on the magnet wall in his room. Now he's progressed to taping things on the ceiling ...

Chalk Art

Sometimes it's even prettier after it rains. I love Sawyer's chalk art. It's always in the same place, and usually a similar type pattern, but the colors are always a surprise. Our own Jackson Pollock ... wonder if he would switch to giant canvas and paint. We could be rich!

Art by Connor

History. Battles. Star Wars. These are the things that interest Connor the most. And these are the things that he's taken to drawing and building with Legos. Now ... if only they would come out with a World Wars Lego set with tanks and planes and guns ...

Art by Sawyer

One of my favorite pieces that's come home this year!

Trains!

Xander LOVES art. He goes through more paper and markers than anyone I know. I used to think I loved art as a child. But Xander's love / obsession goes much further. If you tell him to "play with toys," his idea of toys is white paper and markers. Sometimes we see road signs, an early and often love of his, and sometimes we see video games. Today, we saw something a little different. This one is his Norfolk Southern train. And I love it. It has two engines, a tanker car, and a caboose!

Chalk Art by Sawyer

It's always this particular section of our back patio / basketball court. And it's usually a similar design, though the colors sometimes change. And yes, that would be a full box of 48 pieces of chalk. We need to by stock in Crayola at our house, apparently.

One Last Look

It's the end of an era for the art wall in our old house (don't worry, he will have a new art wall in the new house). This art has been up for months, as he hasn't wanted to erase anything ...



And he also wanted to share one of his recent coloring pages ... still on a Mr. Peabody and Sherman kick at the moment ...

Painting Pumpkins

Mommy doesn't like to carve pumpkins. More specifically, Mommy hates to hollow out the pumpkins in order to carve them. So several years ago, I introduced the boys to my love of art. We paint the pumpkins instead. All the boys enjoy this, but Xander is perhaps my most willing and creative artist. He LOVES it just the way I always have. And he's enthusiastic about it every single year, painting more pumpkins than anyone!







Did I mention that we end up painting a lot more than three pumpkins each year?

The Artist

If you don't have young children and are not familiar with PBS Kids, let me introduce you to one of Xander's favorite things ... Word World.

It's something we know A LOT about in our house. Some might say a little too much.

Xander can recite entire episodes verbatim (and with perfect inflection). He anticipates moments in each show, laughing just before something funny is about to happen or saying a line just before a character has the chance to do so. He knows how to spell all of the words featured in the "Let's Build a Word" segments. He knows the entire series inside and out.

This summer Word World is also showing up in other ways.

Xander is our artist. He LOVES to sit down with markers or crayons or paint. He will go through an entire ream of paper in one sitting if you will let him. The desk in his room is filled with his "papers" from letters to numbers to drawings to signs to whatever his current obsession happens to be.

Here are a few recent examples ...

"Pig's Perfect Pizza" is a favorite episode.

 As is "The Lost Letter L" episode.

And, as anyone who's ever watched PBS knows, every show ends with a thank you to the sponsors as well as "Viewers Like You" and then ...

"Thank You."

Welcome to our "Word World."