This weekend was a perfect whirling dervish of art, history, science and Happymess thrills and chills. We had our highs and lows, and now as the new week begins, we can’t quite believe it happened in just 48 hours.
Hirshhorn Waterfall, Washington DC (Allia)
Happymess kids begin their Washington, DC adventures.
Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC.
This is the first time that all 102 of Andy Warhol’s Shadow paintings are being presented together. They make an impressive array along the curve of the gallery, with various shapes and colors playing off one another.
Andy Warhol Shadows Exhibit
Initially, Happymess kids were slightly surprised by the modern art offerings.
“Where are the emperor’s new clothes?”
Athena, formerly Creatress, “It’s really great seeing all these paintings together. If you just saw one or two you would assume he (Warhol) really didn’t put anything into it, but when you see so many (of the same image in different colors) you realize that he really did work hard after all.”
Allia thinks, Hmm. If one image doesn’t impress, why then are 102 more effective? Or, mathematically speaking, what is 102 times zero?
Bounce, “The great thing about art is you really can’t do anything wrong. You just make it (art) whatever way you want.”
Allia, “Yes, that is exactly right. Art is whatever you want it to be.”
Scooter, shouting indignantly from his stroller, “These paintings aren’t art. They’re just scribbles!”
Out of the mouths of babes….
In fact, we had a great time at the Hirshhorn galleries and enjoyed many of the extremely colorful and playful ways the artists expressed themselves. We took numerous photographs and had many novel ideas for art projects of our own, including set design ideas for some upcoming Happymess theater competitions.
Modern art offers terrific freedom of thought and expression. The older Happymess kids felt empowered by the boldness of thought. The younger Happymess kids were relieved to see that perfection is not a requirement for artistic creation.
National Museum of African Art
Our next stop was the Museum of African Art. Here we were truly inspired by the variety and depth of expression throughout the exhibits. 
Athena is currently writing a script that takes place in Africa. She perused every detail looking for set and costume design ideas and studied videos of African dances.
Bounce and Scooter were thrilled with the hands-on activities. Scooter is coloring African masks and headdresses. Later this winter we will be creating these same masks and headdresses out of paper-mache.
Bounce was intrigued by an illuminated kaleidoscope. He is working on a science project involving solar energy and lighting with his Destination Imagination team.
The Museum of Air and Space
These exhibits really focus on man’s determination to conquer air and space travel.
Again, Bounce and Scooter preferred creating their own aerodynamic space ships and airplanes.
Athena was busy studying the Wright brothers and their first attempts at flight.
She will use this information for her National History Day competition entry.
Misadventures
It was a long and exhausting day, as you can imagine. We were delighted to finally return to our hotel so that we could relax and plan our evening activities. Being a Happymess family, we should have known better.
Just as we were getting ready for dinner, Scooter became very ill and we had to rush him to the hospital. I will not bore you with the long evening I spent in the emergency room.
By the next day he was feeling much better and we had the opportunity to play Chutes and Ladders together (for hours).
Ancient Indian game of Snakes and Ladders
This game is based on the ancient Indian game of Snakes and Ladders. The intention was to teach morals and manners while entertaining tiny tots.
The beauty of this simple game is that it encourages young children to play fairly. The desire to cheat seems to be irresistible. Scooter tried every which way to put himself on a ladder while sending me down the chute. We may need to introduce this game into our regular Happymess curriculum.
Johns Hopkins Study of Exceptional Talent
Meanwhile, while Scooter and I were whiling away our time at Georgetown University Hospital, the Happymess crew had move on to new adventures.
Athena received an award at the Grand Ceremony of SET at Johns Hopkins University for her outstanding SAT scores, taken at age 14. She received First in Country and First Internationally (tied with many other children from around the world). We are very proud of her accomplishments.
Boy Scout Wilderness Survival
During this very same weekend, Quantum and Truth were learning camping and orienteering skills in the hills of Massachusetts.
Washington Whirlwind (Allia)
Let Me Count the Days: Homeschooling is experiencing art, history, science, camping, an international award and the local hospital in one 48-hour period!
Filed under: Art, Field Trips, Humanities | Tagged: African Art, Andy Warhol, boy scouts, field trips, homeschool, homeschooling, JHU SET, modern art, Washington DC | Leave a comment »
And no, it isn’t easy. For children, Christmas seems to be inextricably tied to gifts. But in addition to gifts there are so many tiny traditions and each of these small jewels creates the magic of what we think of when we think of “Christmas!”
We have temporarily relocated to Vermont and are spending time enjoying one another and enjoying the unexpected. Here we are able to touch and learn about local wild animals.
Christmas is a winter holiday and Happymess kids are building snow forts, sledding downhill and creating snow jumps so brothers, little and big, can take flying leaps into soft snow piles.
Big sister, Zuzu, from far away has come home and is busy creating balloon concoctions for smaller brothers.
After a very adult dinner we are able to step out side and watch the reflection of fireworks as they explode in the sky and are reflected in the snow.
Homeschool Happymess: A Naturally Inspiring Approach to Education 
