Artful Friday: A Few Resources~The Great Composers

Good morning  friends....
 Welcome to my little spot
 on the web today!

I hope your Easter week was productive, fun and memorable!

We delved a bit into our beloved John Paul the Great this week
 in honor of his anniversary.
Found a pearl of his wisdom which we absolutely love:

"Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term.
All men and women are entrusted 
with the task of crafting their own lives.
In a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece."

Perfect words from an artist turned priest.
How have we missed this?
It's now one of my favorites of his gems.
We have a special affinity for Blessed JPII in our family.
I write about being blessed to be in the presence of the saint here.

In my  'Artful Friday' post today,

there are a few notable resources  I found 

 that I'd love to share with you.~

~Violin Classics~

The kids are  plugging away at piano and violin lessons.
Working hard, getting frustrated at times, but having fun mainly.

I really love that they are learning together 
and helping one other. 

Seriously.

What a good thing.

What a true blessing that they have this to share,
 to encourage and to assist each other.
Despite the notable difference in their interests and ability levels,
 as well as the almost three year age span, the violin is a shared ground.

Little moments here and there give me a glimpse into a future  
that I hope holds them as best friends.

The "strings" posts above refer to a few violin

 materials that their teacher is using with them.

Additionally, this book has been a ton of fun for them and a confidence-booster.

Learning about the masters does that, no?

The Easter Bunny placed a copy in each of their baskets.

Since then, the reminiscent strains 

 of Pachelbel's Canon and  Vivaldi's "Spring" can be heard!

Just a bit of the familiar right now!

Musicians'  "stories"

This one's a scream!

"Good Times, Bad Times and What the Neighbors Thought"

If that subtitle doesn't grab the kids 

for the inside scoop on the masters...

What they ate, what they wore, their habits and more.

From the Baroque period's Vivaldi to 

folk music's Woody Guthrie.

 

I just placed the order this week for Dover's Great Composers Coloring Book 

for the kids to enjoy  while they're  listening to the greats on CD

(we get tons of music CDs from the library!) 

....or during a quick read aloud from the  above Lives of the Musicians

              We've been reading "mini"composers' biographies in 

 Meet the Great Composers,

                                      at the end of the school day while dinner cooks 

and before we run off to  evening commitments. 

                                                                 

                                                 

Friends, here are a few 'Artful Friday' posts  in case you'd like to 

dust off something from the archives:

Everything You Need for a  Cezanne Study

The Arts in Our Homeschool This Week

 ( knitting, winter crafts, the theater and piano)

 Lenten, Valentine and Papal Crafts

( Not an "Atful Friday" post, but you will find some creative links to papal studies here. )

Mercy Crosses, Lenten wreaths, Rosary Making, Music Lessons

Strings, Keys, Sketches

Strings for the Beginner

Yeats, Joyce and Watercolor with a Little Vivaldi Thrown in!

Crucifixion Paintings

Thank you so very much for stopping in!

We've another busy day of school ahead, as I am sure do you!

Followed by a gathering at the home of friends. 

The baseball season begins tomorrow and 

"the boys of summer" are quite excited to get their games on around here!

Have a wonderful, fun weekend!

 Until next time,

~Chris