May16, 2009 Vol. 1, issue 3
Studios that stimulate learning, growth and creativity.
Master Studios is a series of studio offerings for children and young adults in the homeschooling community.
For more information please contact
Betsy Ballmann at (262)524-9694, Julie Reuss at (262)968-2438, mastersstudios@yahoo.com
or visit our website www.geocities.com/mastersstudios
Editor: Julie Reuss mastersstudios@yahoo.com
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Highlights from Adventures in Music: This was a rather eclectic semester with children creating their own compositions, learning melodies to music by famous classical composers, and internalizing the rhythm of Jazz!
All children (age 7-12) wrote their own composition to the poem “Fog” by Carl Sandburg. To prepare for this, the class acted out the poem and then brainstormed as to how one would musically create “fog”, a “cat”, “walking”, etc. Then, using a five note pentatonic scale, children wrote melodies and created their own harmonic accompaniments. The pieces turned out as unique as the children who wrote them. Some chose to write in 3/4 meter, some chose the more conventional 4/4 meter. Some chose a full range of sounds going from high to low which made these compositions especially interesting as instrumental pieces. Some chose to use a vocal range so that the piece could be sung. The result was a lovely collection of music that was well received at the Evening of Entertainment.
Learning to play the recorder was also a part of the past semester. Recorder sessions were used to reinforce note reading, to learn music theory such as “form”, and to play as an ensemble by using good recorder technique and musicianship skills. The children chose to perform three pieces at the Evening of Entertainment: a two part version of The Gospel Train; a Japanese round, Come Firefly Come, performed in two parts; and a two part arrangement of a 15th Century French melody.
In their study of jazz, children learned that jazz is highly structured even though there is much spontaneity. They learned to “swing” by emphasizing beats two and four in a measure and what is meant by “swinging eight notes”. The children also learned the importance of syncopation, some history of how jazz came to be an art form, and the rudiments of how to “scat”.
Art Studio: Ms Ballmann choose to have students study Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian-born French Expressionist painter and founding member of The Blue Riders, a Munich group of Expressionist painters so that students could learn proper technique as well as art history. The children were up to the challenge and learned much about drawing, texture, style, and composition. Says Alex, age 10, of his experience, “I learned a lot about perspective.”, and Amelia , age 12, states, “Working with Miss Betsy is lots of fun. We spent a lot of time on our drawings. I learned a lot of new water color techniques from working on our paintings, too.”
In community news, Betsy Ballmann was honored to be selected by the Greater Milwaukee Catholic Home Educators to present an art class to children at the Celebrate the Faith 2009 Catholic Homeschool Conference and Vendor Fair, April 24th and 25th at the Tommy Thompson Center in West Allis. Her class consisted of a study of a "Water-Lilies" painting by the Impressionist artist Claude Monet. Participants were also given background information on Monet's painting techniques, compositional considerations, inspiration, and motivation.
Drama Studio: At the Evening of Entertainment, the Master Players performed an original, witty, and contemporary version of "Rapunzel" called,”A Bird, a Prince, and a Gypsy” written and directed by drama instructor, Betsy Ballmann. The play featured music by famous composers set to original lyrics also written by Ms Ballmann and performed by the Adventures in Music Students. In the beginning of the semester students were given many exercises to learn proper acting and stage technique, then parts were assigned to students based on areas where they needed to grow. The result was a wonderful production summed up by Alex, age 10, “It was a great experience. My friends and I had a fun time, too!”
Creative Writing Studio: Guided by Ms Ballmann, students were encouraged to open their minds to new ways of writing. Says Amelia, age 12, “Miss Betsy would have us read our stories out loud. Then she would give us ideas and pointers. Sometimes she would read poems to give good examples of writing style.” A new student, John, age 10 stated, “ I've never written this was before and it was amazing! I was really inspired and learned how to use commas, too!” Elliot, age 9 another first time student to Master Studios states, “I've written very few things and this story I'm writing is the best! It's a great experience!”
Looking to the Future: Master Studios is offering summer programs and well as programs in the Fall. Please visit our website for a complete listing of classes!! | 
