Hans Heysen - Pears and Grapes, Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Ballet, Lydia Maria Child - Thanksgiving Day

The yellow of these pears against the dark purple and green of the grapes is so wonderful!  You might try coloring or painting a couple of grapes with your children.  It's fun to try to make them look round and shiny by shading and highlights..  Somehow Hans Heysen has managed to give them that frosted or powdery look that grapes often have.  Fruit and vegetables make good subjects for trying your hand at painting.  You can paint them live or take a picture and paint from that.  Sometimes it's easier to paint from a picture as it's already flat like your painting.

Our music for the next couple weeks is the The Nutcracker Ballet by Tchaikovsky.  It's almost an hour and a half long so perhaps you would like to listen to about a half hour a week.

We are still enjoying the poems we are memorizing by John Donne, but I  thought we'd take a break from challenging new poems by him to enjoy something for Thanksgiving - this  familiar poem celebrating gathering with family for the holiday is by Lydia Maria Child:

               Thanksgiving Day
Over the river and through the wood,
  To grandfather's house we go
    The horse knows the way
    To carry the sleigh
  Through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the wood--
  Oh, how the wind does blow!
    It stings the toes
    And bites the nose,
  As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the wood,
  To have a first-rate play.
    Hear the bells ring,
    "Ting-a-ling-ding!"
  Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river and through the wood
  Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
    Spring over the ground,
    Like a hunting-hound!
  For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river and through the wood,
  And straight through the barnyard gate.
    We seem to go
    Extremely slow,--
  It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the wood--
  Now grandmother's cap I spy!
    Hurrah for the fun!
    Is the pudding done?
  Hurrah for the pumpkin-pie!