Friday, June 28, 2013

What We Learned About Today: The Aztecs!

© Holly DeWolf- The Aztecs

Today's learning and illustration theme is about the Aztecs. I decided to illustrate a sun stone idea in hopes that it may make some of this rain go away. Here's hoping!

On a side note- I thoroughly enjoyed illustrating this. It was so different to anything I have done since art school. I feel like I creatively stretched a bit today. 

What we learned about the Aztecs:
• They had a bad side and a good side!
• They had a ruthless killing reputation. Sacrifice was an ongoing ritual to please their God. 
• They loved chocolate!
• The had a very orderly and complex social system. 
• The had a love of art and poetry. 
• Aztec children went to school.
• The had slavery but surprisingly treated their slaves fairly. Some were allowed to marry, own land and some even had their own slaves!
• They played sport- Ullamaliztli. This game consisted of a rubber ball that opponents had to get through rings. The object of the game was to not let the ball touch the ground. 
• Many believe it was the Spanish that totally defeated them. However, due to the population dying off due to Small Pox, it made the battle easier for the Spanish. If it were not for this disease, they most likely could have defeated them. 
• The name Aztec is not an accurate term. They were given that name- they referred to themselves as Mexica.  
• Sadly, there is evidence of cannibalism. Some theories say they did this as a ritual and some believe they were protein deficient. 



© Hannah DeWolf- Aztec Boy


© Reagen DeWolf- Aztec Sport



Thursday, June 27, 2013

What We Learned About Today: Zombies!

© Holly DeWolf- Zombie Coffee! 

Today the girls wanted to learn about Zombies. There was a lot of content-mostly stuff not fit for young eyes so we kept it light. We looked at the history and origins, popular culture, rock n roll and cartoons. Mostly, I wanted them to sleep and not have spooky nightmares.  

This is what we learned: 
• Without adequate amounts coffee, most adults feel like Zombies! 
• Originally, the term Zombie described a hypnotized person. This came from a voodoo thing with it's origins from Africa and then Haiti. 
The catatonic somnambulist is another spin off of the voodoo zombie which was featured in the classic film The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari. 
Thanks to George A. Romero, the concept of zombies were forever changed to the flesh eating horror fiction undead we know today!  
• For great Zombie collectibles, ThinkGeek has some dead goodies! 
Cute Zombies are a thing! 
Zombie Walks are becoming a regular event in most cities around the world. 
Rob Zombie makes the undead so Rock n Roll! 
• Classic Zombie films: Night Of The Living Dead, White Zombie, Shaun Of The Dead and ParaNorman.
• The Walking Dead is based off a comic book and has been scaring the pants off us for 4 seasons now. 
The Zombie Survival Guide was written by Max Brooks. 
• Recent Zombie film I have watched was Warm Bodies. Loved it! 
• Most recent zombie cartoon we have watched was Scooby-Doo! 
Zombie Haiku -Good Poetry for your brains! 


© Hannah DeWolf- PickaZombie! 

© Reagen DeWolf- Zombie Pup! 

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

What We Learned About Today: Wednesday!

© Holly DeWolf- Happy Hump Day! 

Today we decided to learn about Wednesday. Wednesday is a positive point of the week. It means we are in the middle. It means we are this much closer to the weekend. 

What we learned about Wednesday:

Wednesday Adams is our favourite famous tv/movie character named after this fine day.
• Wednesday's child is full of woe! 
• Wednesday is the hardest of all the days of the week to spell! I spelled it wrong 3 times already. 
• The name is derived from Old English Wōdnesdæg and Middle English Wednesdei, "day of Wodanaz", "day of Mercury."
• Wednesday is the middle of the work week, meaning that we made it "over the hump" towards the weekend. This term is American English slang.
• In Japan, the word Wednesday is means 'water day.' 
• The color associated with Wednesday is green.
• In Winnie the Pooh's Blustery Day was on "Winds-Day" which was a play on words for Wednesday.
• The astrological sign of the planet Mercury represents Wednesday. 
• Songs that have Wednesday in the title: Wednesday Week ~ Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Wednesday Morning, 3AM by Simon & Garfunkel, and Wednesday by Tori Amos. 



© Hannah DeWolf- The Crazy Camel Ride! 



© Reagen DeWolf- The Chatty Camel! 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

What We Learned About Today: Pizza!

Pizza Moon © Holly DeWolf
© Holly DeWolf- Pizza Moon! ...Amore!
We took a much needed day off yesterday for a road trip. Any chance I get to escape the studio is a pretty big deal to me.

So today we learned about Pizza and it's origins. Like road trips, pizza is a pretty big deal in our house. In fact we have dedicated a whole day to it. Fat Friday is our day to make homemade cheesy goodness. 

What we learned about pizza: 

• In 6th Century BC- Darius the Great and his army baked a type of flat bread on their shields and then covered it with cheese and dates. 
• In 79 A.D - After Mount Versuvius erupted and smothered Pompeii on August 24 (the same day of the month my youngest was born) there was evidence of a flat flour cake that was baked and widely eaten at that time in Pompeii and nearby Neopolis, The Greek colony later to became Naples.
• For many people, especially among the Italian-American population, first named pizzas as Tomato Pie. Tomato pies are made the opposite way- first the cheese, then the toppings, and then the sauce.
• There is evidence that the Babylonians, Israelites, Egyptians and other ancient Middle Eastern cultures were eating flat bread that was cooked in mud ovens.
• Thanks to Italian immigrants, mostly in New York and Chicago, helped make pizza the popular food that it is today. 
• Some weird pizza toppings: Chocolate, baked-chili beans, bacon and banana, Layered seaweed, rice and eel (yuck) and cream cheese! 

What we like best: homemade dough, mozza, pizza sauce, bacon, pepperoni and green pepper. Bada-Bing and Amore! 


© Reagen DeWolf- Pizzamon! 

© Hannah DeWolf- Good Pizza! 

Sunday, June 23, 2013

What We Learned About Today-Cheese!

© Holly DeWolf- I'm Cheesy Like Sunday Morning! 


School's out for another year.  So we decided to keep the learning going all summer long with a daily theme. What we learned about today was cheese. More importantly, the history of cheese. We read up on our latest theme, we illustrate pictures as fast as we can then I create a blog post about it. 

What we learned about cheese:

• Cheese first appeared somewhere around 7,000 B.C.
• The method of transforming milk was kept a closely-guarded secret for many years.
• In ancient Egypt, for example, only priests were privileged with this secret.
• The word “fromage”, French for cheese, comes from the Latin “forma”. 
• the Romans and the Greeks considered cheese a luxury food.
• European monks invented ripening and ageing techniques for cheese.
• In the 19th Century, a chemist and biologist named Louis Pasteur proved that heating milk at sufficiently high temperatures for a specific amount of time could destroy pathogenic bacteria.
• Canada was one of the first countries to apply the techniques of pasteurization.
• The United Kingdom is one of the biggest consumers of cheddar cheese.
• In Quebec, over two billion litres of milk are converted to cheese every year. 

©Hannah DeWolf- Cow & Cheese! 


© Reagen DeWolf- The Hungry Mouse!






Wednesday, June 19, 2013

I'm No Small Potatoes!

© Holly DeWolf- I'm No Small Potatoes! 


I'm no small potatoes and neither are you! It's good to get back into my Tiny Narratives series again. Stay tuned for more! 

Monday, June 17, 2013