Matryoshka Dolls

Our newest set of Matryoshka dolls purchased last night at the Russian bazaar! She was far too sweet to leave behind. Thanks Father Greg for inviting us along! We had an absolutely fabulous time! xo

{This Moment} Finishing Touches

{This Moment} - A Soule Mama Friday ritual. A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments section for all to find and see. We wish you a lovely Mother's Day weekend! xo

Project Fair Day!

What an incredible day! Grace and Emma's project was a total hit! They did such a fabulous job sharing what they learned about Matryoshka dolls and answering questions today! It's amazing the difference a year makes! Last year, at their first project fair, they were quiet and unsure and needed lots of guidance from me. This year, with one project fair under their belts, they were much more confident and needed much less guidance. They received many compliments on their project, as well as on their outfits! 

Both girls really enjoyed seeing everyone else's projects, too. While they initially "went exploring" together, eventually we got into the routine of one exploring, while one stayed to present to the people who stopped by (and then they would switch). It worked well and gave each girl a chance to field questions without the other present. 

I love how much they enjoyed this experience. I love that it gives them a chance to work on their public speaking skills, as well as the skills needed to put together a project like this. We are so grateful to live in a town with a vibrant homeschool community, and we are looking forward to next year's project fair already!

My sincere apologies on the not so fab quality of these pictures. For some reason my phone was just not grooving on the lighting in the auditorium. 

Project Fair Eve

A few days ago we began putting the girls' project fair project together (the first five pictures of this post were taken then). Coloring sheets were chosen, as was the Russian flag and a map (all thanks to one of our most favorite websites, Activity Village UK) and plans were made ("Should we go with the red presentation board or the white?" "What color background paper?" etc). Today we assembled the project (as shown by the remaining pictures contained in this post). We all agreed that the red presentation board was indeed the right choice, and the pink construction paper behind the white was just right too.  I love that they chose to do this year's project fair project together, and I love that each girl has a side of the board displaying her work (Grace still needs to add her Matryoshka dolls on to her side). Tomorrow morning will bring the much anticipated project fair. It will be the second one that the girls have participated in (last year's posts are here and here). They are so excited to be presenting again this year and are even more excited to share their love of Matryoshka dolls with all who attend! 

Paper Matryoshka Dolls

This morning was simply fabulous (really, the whole day was but this morning was just the best). With the Norah Jones Pandora station on in the background, the girls spent a good couple of hours (or maybe it was even three hours) working on these sweet Matryoshka paper dolls. There was singing (or course) and coloring (obviously) and chatting (frequently), along with periods of total silence. It was divine. I love how sweetly this project came together and I love how much the both loved it! The care they put into these dolls speaks volumes. While the girls were working on their paper dolls, my friend Emily sent me a link to blank wooden matryoshka dolls. I'm thinking these printables, those blanks and some Modge Podge and we've got ourselves our next project! The girls have decided that if the homeschool project fair takes place this year they want to work on a project together and they want it to be all about Matryoshka dolls (sounds good to me)! Now, if only we had a total of five daughters so we could dress them up as a set of Matryoshka dolls! Could you imagine the cuteness?!

The Museum of Russian Icons

During this month we've been learning all about Russia (and the Olympics). Today, in an effort to bring this country a little more "up close and personal" we took a trip to The Museum of Russian Icons (who would have guessed that the largest museum of Russian icons in the United States would be right here in Clinton?!). We'd never been before so we had no idea what fabulousness awaited us before we walked through this door. And trust me, the fabulousness inside was amazing!

For those that don't know, icons are religious pictures painted by monks that were (and are) routinely found in homes of people in the Orthodox faith (in this case Russian Orthodox). Generally, the icons have been sanctified and blessed inside a church by a priest. Each icon looks similar since the goal was to make the person/saint easily recognizable. Outside of the saint each icon is different as it depicts different stories or events. 

Emma takes a closer look at the detail in this icon. 

We were so very happy to be able to have our friends join us on this adventure. Eleni and her family are Greek Orthodox so she was able to tell us lots about icons and answer any questions we may have had. It was like having our own personal tour guide with us!

Iconostatis. 

A closer view of the icon above. 

Updating her scavenger hunt. 

I love that she's using a magnifying glass to update her scavenger hunt!

Russian letter blocks in the kids play area. 

There was so much to do in this little spot! 

Holding the tiny babies. 

The Russian Tea Room was full of yummy treats. 

We really enjoyed these wafers! 

And these chocolates were super yummy too! 

Saint George and the Dragon. 

We even found a unicorn in an icon!

We, of course, had to bring a set of Matryoshka dolls home with us! The girls already have their sights set on a second set of dolls the next time we go back!

We had a truly incredible time today! I could not get over how this all fell into place so perfectly. I remember when we first heard about The Museum of Russian Icons. I couldn't believe that there would be a museum for this topic but I am so glad there is! It really is a very special place! We spent over three hours exploring the museum and I'm sure that we could have spent even longer. As we were getting ready to go, we had the pleasure of meeting the owner of the museum Mr. Gordon Lankton. He told us that he has been to Russia fifty times and truly loves it there (and highly recommends we make the trip sometime). As a way to house his collection, and share these beautiful icons with the community, he opened this magnificent museum. It truly is a treat to have this museum so close to home! We thanked him for sharing all his treasures with us and told him we looked forward to coming back again soon!