MARCH breAK! 2012: A Tentative Schedule

I’ve got ambitious plans for MARCH breAK! 2012.  Depending upon which professional path I might choose to follow, I may not be able to run “camp mama” next March, so I’ll be making the most of it next week!  I’ve completed our story for the week, The Adventures of Sir Lóchrann Holmes: A Study in Emerald.  Simply put, it is a reworking of the classic Sherlock Holmes Study in Scarlet, only set in Ireland, with a secret underground community of grass snakes as the main characters. I’ll post more about that project separately.  At the moment, I’m just grateful that I’m already set to have the kids read and illustrate their special book over the coming week. I have decided to ask them them illustrate 3 or 4 scenes or sentences from the book each day using different artistic techniques or media (water colour, oil pastel, marker-pointilism, collage, etc.).

In addition to our illustration projects, I’ve researched, rejigged, and dreamed up a few recipes based upon the dishes that are served within or related to the plot and theme of A Study in Emerald.  So, over the next week, we’ll be making Sir Lóchrann’s Favourite Shamrock S’mores, Mrs. Houghston’s Famous Single Serving Irish Soda Breads (a.k.a. Amphibian Farls), Popping Pot o’ Gold Mustard, Mrs. Limerick’s Lime-Berry Lower-Sugar Jam, McUaitson’s Minted St. Patrick Shakes, Subterranean Snakewiches, Oven-Baked Salt & Vinegar Chips, Python Pizzas, and Gallagher & Na’Sráide’s Eat-em-on-the-Run Frog Sandwich(Cooki)es. 

As for crafts, we’ll be working up some Finger-Print Four-Leaf-Clover Holiday Cards for the “Grands,” Spiral Serpent Mobiles & Stick Puppets, Neck-Tie Bean Bag Snakes, Python Masks, and Sock Puppet Adders.  

I’ve also scheduled various forms of “Dance Breaks” depending on the day, Irish dancing, serpentine yoga poses, floor slithering to detective music, and the like. And I’m looking forward to writing a few Skip-Counting Songs, playing a Math Game with “Leprechaun Gold,” practicing piano, starting seeds for our spring garden, and joining in a few improv theatre games or formal scenes.  

It seems like a lot, but I have a feeling the kids will still have plenty of time to just laze on the couch with their stuffies, watch favourite movies, play video games, hang out with friends, fool around with the dog in the park, and hold their traditional lego-building championship upstairs in their rooms.    

Here’s our tentative schedule.  I’ll be posting selected book illustrations, recipes, crafts, and activities as I am able over the course of the next few weeks. 

Monday, March 12
Read: Chapters 1 & 2 of A Study in Emerald
Illustrate: 4 Favourite Scenes using Coloured Pencils or Oil Pastels
Bake: Sir Lóchrann’s Favourite Shamrock S’mores
with Homemade Mint Marshmallows
and Chocolate Graham Crackers from Scratch
Craft: Fingerprint-Four-Leaf-Clover Holiday Cards
Dance: Irish”Dance Breaks”
Mathwiz: Composing Skip Count Songs for Numbers 1-6 throughout the day
Piano: Scales, Pentascales and Chords + Freeplay Pieces
Prepare: Soak the mustard seeds in vinegar for tomorrow’s “Make.”
!!!!!!!!Play!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, March 13
Read: Chapter 3 of A Study in Emerald
Illustrate: 4 Scenes with Permanent Marker & Watercolours
or One-Continuous-Line Ink Doodling
Make: Mrs. Houghston’s Famous Single Serving Irish Soda Breads (a.k.a. Amphibian Farls)
Popping “Pot of Gold” Mustard,
Mrs. Limerick’s Lime-Berry Lower-Sugar Jam (made with Pomona Pectin)
Craft: Serpent Spiral Mobiles and Stick Puppets
Dance: Serpentine Yoga Poses & Charmer Trance Dance
Mathwiz: “Leprechaun Gold” Skip Counting Game
Piano: Memorize 3-4 bars of a polished piece
!!!!!!!!Play! Play!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, March 14
Read: Chapters 4-5 of A Study in Emerald
Illustrate: 4 Scenes using Marker Pointilism or Gel Pen Strokes
Make: Oven-Baked Salt & Vinegar Chips
St. Patrick Shakes,
Sub(terranean) Snakewiches,
Craft: Necktie Bean-Bag Snakes
Dance: Floor Slithers to Detective Movie Themesongs
Mathwiz: Compose Skip Count Songs, Numbers 7-10
Piano: Spin Around and Name that Note, Practice a Performance Piece
!!!!!!!!!Play! Play! Play!!!!!!!!

Thursday, March 15 
Read: Chapter 6, A Study in Emerald
Illustrate: 2-4 Scenes using Collage or Moistened Chalk
Make: Quattro-Stagioni Python-Shaped Pizza for Dinner
Craft: Cut and Colour a Python Mask
Drama with Papa: Ides of March Madness –
Perform and Film a Scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
Mathwiz: Continue Singing Original Skip Count Songs, Numbers 7-10.
Piano: Practice Everything in Your Assignment Book!
!!!!!!!!Play! Play! Play! Play!!!!!!!!

Friday, March 16
Read: The 7th and final Chapter of A Study in Emerald
Illustrate: 2-3 Scenes & Cover/Title Page using kids’ choice of technique(s)
Make:  Gallagher & Na’Sráide’s Eat-em-on-the-Run Frog Sandwich(Cooki)es
Craft: Sock-Puppet Snakes
Drama with Mama: Sock-and-Other-Puppet Serpent Theatre
Mathwiz: Leprechaun Math Game Redux: Skip Counting 7s-10s.
Piano: Family Recital, Play your two best pieces.
!!!!!!!!Play! Play! Play! Play! Play!!!!!!!!

Saturday, March 17
Sweetening St. Pat’s Brunch: Lime Mint Syrup
Start Seeds for an Herb Garden

Sunday, March 18
Sunday Suppers: Our First Paella

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