hydrogen, helium, boron

    The first week of summer break is over and I have really enjoyed spending it with the kids. I wanted to recap some of what we did. One of my favorite things was the music I got to share with them. We looked at the Beatles and how they influenced American pop culture and changed the way we  wrote songs, viewed music's influence, and how they shaped our heroes and villains. Through the Beatles we met U2, Yoko Ono, Charles Manson, Michael Jackson, Julian Lennon and the Monkees. The Beatles have touched nearly artist we can imagine...oh yes, Imagine.  What a great conversation. We also took a look at Chuck Berry. Berry, having many many hit records, has provided us with Route 66; a song that has been covered countless times. Through Berry we get to see artist such as Depeche Mode, the Rolling Stones, and even the Cheetah Girls. There is a lot to Berry that cannot be nailed down. He spent much of his time away from reporters, and only recently did an interview with Rolling Stone. We let his music speak for itself.
    We also studied some famous artists. Magritte was a great choice to start. His psychology bled into his art. Magritte is unmistakable. You know immediately what is a Magritte. Big, bold, colorful, filling. We studied Jackson Pollack and somehow this led to the kids taking over and showing me some really wonderful sidewalk art. Pollack became a snowball to lots of other artists.
   A short time is being spent on the States. We usually look up travel and tourism spots from youtube which allows us to see the pretty side of what a state has to offer, as well as the big attractions. It's short and to the point.
  I promised a Western, so  I dug up a little of my past and introduced the kids to The Young Riders. It's in color, so that keeps  their attention. It turned out to be a great show for the boys. There is action and gun-fighting, and names they recognize. The material includes slavery, the civil war, women's rights, property rights....a long list to be sure.
    We also did the periodic table and will continue to do so. I love the periodic table. Our first course of business is to learn the first 10 elements. In song form. I am in heaven. Mixed in with the periodic table has been a book called 30 Second Theories which explains theories in physics. The chapters are short and easy. We also watched Nova Science: How the Brain Works...okay we watched it because Neil Degrasse Tyson hosted, but still, it taught us some basic principles of magic and perception. It lets us see numbers and letters in color. It was so cool...and ND Tyson..sigh.
   Our week in video ended with The Dhamma Brothers. The documentary shows life inside an Alabama high security prison and how one experiment changed so many lives. It was tough and honest.  It was beautiful and respectful.
   Friday afternoon at 3.00 put an end to my first week. I closed with Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant. We didn't discuss it, or analyze it...we just sang.