The World According to Benny

The New Michael Moore!

2012-01-23T15:10:00.001-08:00

Check out my first ever documentary! It is called "The Militarization of Boys." It's about how our culture wants to make boys like me into fighting machines.

Lost in Rome

2012-01-06T07:37:00.001-08:00

Zoe and I made a new movie!

A Poem Shared...

2011-12-27T05:54:00.000-08:00

I'm a member of a great homeschool coop. We study all kinds of things together, including great poets and poems. Here are our readings of Willam Blake's 'The Tyger' and Emily Dickinson's 'I Shall Not Live in Vain.'

2011-12-18T05:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was in my second Reader's Theater production at Woodstock Library. The play was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and I played Edmund. He's a bit of a bad boy and a traitor, but it was fun to play a bad boy!

Shakespeare in the Fall

2011-11-30T05:13:00.001-08:00

Over the last month or so, I have been watching lots and lots of Shakespeare! It has been super cool. A homeschooling mom (thanks, Emma Goldman-Sherman!) organized for a bunch of homeschool kids and their families to get tickets to 5 Shakespeare productions being put on in the city.

The first we saw was Love's Labor's Lost. The BBC version really wasn't very funny, but the production at the Public was super funny! I loved how the actors ran around all over the stage, but also through the theater too. We got to meet the director too and learned lots about how the production was put together.

Then we saw King Lear. I really like this play and the production was great. I nearly cried when Lear brought his dead daughter, Cordelia, onto the stage.

Next we saw Cymbeline. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this one. It's a really complicated story with tragedy and comedy and mix-ups and ghosts, but this production was awesome! Only 6 actors played all the roles and there was lots of great singing. I really liked the sword fight too.

Last night, we saw Titus Andronicus. It was super bloody - literally buckets of blood - but I closed my eyes in those parts. But I liked the man who played Titus and the boy who played Titus' grandson.

We have one more play to go - Henry V. I have the same birthday as Henry V (although I don't think I would start a war over tennis balls!).

A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Video!

2011-10-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

This summer I played Snug the Joiner in a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. I had so much fun! Thanks to Lesley Sawhill and everyone else at New Genesis Productions.

Thich Nhat Hanh and me!

2011-10-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

Last week, we went on a 5 day Buddhist retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery - one of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's monasteries. Thich Nhat Hanh (known as Thay) was at the retreat, so we heard his dharma talks evey day and did walking meditation with him. It was very cool!

The best part of all was when I got to ask Thay a question (I was one of three kids to ask him a question in front of 1000 retreat-goers!)...

Occupy Wall Street - We are the 99%!

2011-10-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend we joined the Occupy Wall Street protests! We went on a march and hung out in Liberty square. I took all the photos at the end of this video. Rume the dog and I loved our first protest! Visit Occupywallstreet.org.

3D Drawing Class...Online!

2011-09-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

Jojo and I recently signed up for this very cool website where Mark Kistler teaches 3D Drawing through online videos. It is really, really fun! Here are some of my pictures. A shark (above) and Fat Cat below:

Two simple houses:

A crazy house:

A sphere (with planets and rockets behind):

Space Hamsters:

Crunchinators:

Homeschool History Studies Part 2 - Ancient Rome

2011-09-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

When Jojo, Baba, and I got back from our trip to Spain, England, and Greece in June (where we saw a lot of things we learned about in our homeschool history studies - part one), we moved on to studying the history, culture, and philosophies of the Hellenistic era and Ancient Rome.

We still use Gloria Fiero's Humanistic Tradition to start us off, but then we read and watch lots of other cool stuff.

Books:

Epictetus Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness
Seneca Letters from a Stoic
Alain de Boton's The Consolations of Philsophy (chapters on Epicurus and Seneca)
Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra

Films, TV, and Documentaries:

Julius Caesar (the 1953 movie with Marlon Brando as Mark Antony)
Anthony and Cleopatra (the 1980s BBC production)
I, Claudius (the 12 part TV series - we watched it all, and I loved it!!)
Alain de Boton's Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness - Seneca on Anger (30 min TV show on Seneca - available online)
Alain de Boton's Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness - Epicurus on Happiness (30 min TV show on Epicurus - available online)
PBS series (four episodes) The Roman Empire in the First Century

We're now studying the fall of the Roman Empire and the birth of Christianity and Buddhism...

Surreal Summer - Part Two

2011-08-20T05:31:00.001-07:00

My surrealism camp (see the post below) was so fun and inspiring, Baba, Jojo and I went to see surrealist art at New York's MOMA.

Here's an exquisite corpse like the one we did at camp.

And, of course, Dali's famous melting clocks!

We sat in MOMA's sculpture garden and drew our own melting clocks:

And when we got home, we made some surreal sculptures. Here's a Pop-Lego-maker!

And "Sink with Light"!

And "Red Oven"!

Surreal Summer - Part One

2011-08-20T04:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went to a fantastic Surrealism summer camp at the awesome Painted Cloud Studio.

Here is my surreal collage:

And an "exquisite corpse" done my classmates and I (each person adds a part - head, torso, legs - to the picture):

My surreal firetruck-tree!

Decolamania is a technique used by surrealists where you spread paint on a surface, then press it onto another surface, and then look for imagery in the blots. Here's my decolamaniac monster:

And here are my surreal Bat-Cobras:

And a surreal poem!

We all did 3D surreal landscapes. Mine is the one at the right at the back with the orange stalactites and green stalagmites!

You can see more of my classmates and my work at the Cloud Kids blog.

Lost in Time

2011-07-27T17:58:00.001-07:00

Our latest movie starring Rume...of course!

A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Catskills

2011-07-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

I have just had the best 2 weeks ever. I took part in New Genesis Productions' Summer Shakespeare Intensive. We rehearsed every day for 10 days and then put on three performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I played Snug the Joiner, one of the players.

And Snug plays a lion in the play within the play!

One of my best friends Zoe was in the play as a fairy called Moth.

Here's the fabulous director, Lesley.
And the production assistants. I worked with Brandon (on the right). He's awesome!

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

2011-07-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

When we went to England in May, we saw a Royal Shakespeare Production of Macbeth. For the "Tomorrow and Tomorrow..." scene, the actor stood on a ladder in the middle of the stage. This inspired my own performance!

Creon, Antigone, and Me!

2011-06-25T14:06:00.001-07:00

As part of our Greek Studies, we read Antigone, a play by the ancient Greek playwright, Sophocles. We then filmed this scene from the play!

Here are the outtakes:

Travel Tales

2011-06-22T06:58:00.001-07:00

We just got back from 5 weeks traveling in Europe! First, we went to Spain for 2 weeks and stayed with my Grandma. Then, we went to London and Greece. These are some of the photos I took.

It was fun to see all the ancient Greek sights after doing our Greek Studies.

Sting Ray!

2011-05-02T08:06:00.001-07:00

This is my new bike! Someone was selling it on the street in Soho and Baba and I bought it!

I Heart Art!

2011-04-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have been going to the best art class ever. It's called "Modern Art for Homeschoolers" and it is at the Painted Cloud studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I love the teachers Samara and Brendan! Each week we talk about a modern artist and then we do art inspired by that artist.

Here is my piece inspired by Franz Klein:

And here I am with the real thing at MOMA.

Here is my piece inspired by Helen Frankenthaler:

And here is me with a real Frankenthaler.

And here's my Warhol-like prints!

I love Andy and every time we go to MOMA we see his paintings.

And then we go say hi to him at Union Square!

My Latest Reading

2011-04-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

I did another bookstore reading. Here I am reading an Emily Dickinson poem, "Bee! I'm Expecting You," at Inquiring Minds Bookstore in Saugerties, NY.

Homeschool History Studies

2011-04-12T05:31:00.001-07:00

In first grade, I read (with my mum) the series of kids' history books called The Story of the World (there are four volumes which go from Ancient times right up to the Modern Age). I loved them and learned lots and lots about Ancient Egypt and Greece and the Middle Ages, about the fire of London and Shakespeare and the World Wars and all kinds of things.

At the beginning of this year we started our history studies at the beginning again. But this time we're going into more detail and using this book called The Humanistic Tradition.

We are reading lots of plays (like Antigone and Oedipus), stories (like The Odyssey and Gilgamesh), watching lots of movies and documentaries, and going on tours at the Metropolitan Museum. We've also made a timeline!

Here is our reading list and my Lego history sculptures!

Paleolithic and Neolithic

Reading list:
The Humanistic Tradition – Introduction and the Birth of Civilization
The Story of the World, Volume 1 – Chapter 1

Films and Documentaries:
The Dawn of History (Documentary)
Secrets of the Stone Age (Documentary series)

Ancient Mesopotamia

Reading List:
The Humanistic Tradition – Chapter 2, Mesopotamia: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order
The Story of the World, Volume 1 – Chapters 3, 5, 7, and 17

Gilgamesh (trans. Stephen Mitchell)

Films and Documentaries:
Gilgamesh (free online documentary at Learner.org)

Tours:
Guided Tour “The Cradle of Civilization: Art of the Ancient Near East” at the Metropolitan Museum (see calendar – there’s usually one tour a day: http://www.metmuseum.org/calendar/)

The Hebrews

Reading List:
The Humanistic Tradition – pp. 48-54 (in Chapter 2, Mesopotamia: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order
The Story of the World, Volume 1, Ancient Times – Chapter 6, 14,

The Old Testament – Genesis and Exodus
Usborne Family Bible

Films and Documentaries:
The Ten Commandments, dir. Cecil B Demille (starring Charton Heston)
Walking the Bible (Documentary series "Bruce Feiler’s epic, ten thousand mile odyssey to explore the greatest stories ever told, in the settings where they actually occurred”)

Ancient Egypt

Reading List:

The Humanistic Tradition – Chapter 1, Egypt: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order
The Story of the World, Volume 1, Ancient Times – Chapter 4, 12, 13

I studied Egypt in more detail a couple of years ago with friends. There are lots of kids books on Egypt that we read at the time. See more details on my friends’ blog. http://diykindergarten.blogspot.com/2010/01/egypt-meet-ancient-world-5.html

Documentaries and Movies:
The Ancient Egyptians (Free online documentary)

Tours:
Guided Tour “Art of Ancient Egypt” at the Metropolitan Museum (see calendar – there’s usually one tour a day: http://www.metmuseum.org/calendar/)

Ancient Greece

Reading List:

The Humanistic Tradition – Chapter 4, Greece: Humanism and the Speculative Leap, and Chapter 5, The Classical Style
The Story of the World, Volume 1, Ancient Times – Chapter 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, and 25

The Odyssey trans. By Robert Fagles
The Odyssey, a graphic novel by Gareth Hinds
D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths,
The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus, by Aliki
Greek Myths for Young Children, by Heather Amery
Sophocles, Oedipus
Sophocles, Antigone
Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates

Films and Documentaries:
Ulysses, dir. Mario Camrini (movie starring Kirk Douglas)
The Odyssey, dir. Andrey Konchalovskiy (made for TV series)
The Odyssey (This video is a free online documentary from Learner.org)
Oedipus Rex (BBC production)
Antigone (BBC production)
Aristophanes: The Gods are Laughing (Pseudo-biography of Greek playwright, Aristophanes)
“The Rise of Greek Civilisation” and “Greek Thought” (2 documentaries, free online at Leaner.org)
Socrates, dir. Roberto Rosselini (movie/dramatization of life and death of Socrates)
Athens: The Dawn of Democracy (PBS documentary)
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization (PBS documentary)

Tours:
Guided Tour “Art of Ancient Greece and Rome” at the Metropolitan Museum (see calendar – there’s usually one tour a day: http://www.metmuseum.org/calendar/)

My First Reading at Barnes and Noble (84th Street, NYC)

2011-03-01T06:40:00.000-08:00

This is me reading my poem about Rume at Barnes and Noble on the Upper West Side, NYC! It was really fun.

Happy Birthday, MLK...and a trip to Ten Broeck Commons!

2011-01-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

I went to Ten Broeck Commons with my homeschool Roots and Shoots group. Ten Broeck is a retirement home for older people and my friend Zoe's great grandma lives there. We gave out cookies and cupcakes and made the residents smile and laugh! We also celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday and I made a poster about Sojourner Truth. I showed the poster and told the residents all about this amazing woman who came from New Paltz and who escaped slavery and told other people how wrong slavery was!

Here is our Roots and Shoots website and Zoe's report on our trip to Ten Broeck!

Doggy, You Can Drive My Car!

2010-12-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

Check out my song - and the music video it inspired! (me and Jojo and Baba made the video over the Christmas weekend)

And here's me and my friend Owen in his dad's studio where we recorded the song. Big thanks to David (Pattillo) for mixing and producing the song and Owen for his backing vocals and drumming!

Froggy and Bunny

2010-12-22T06:54:00.000-08:00

Zoe and I made another movie! And here are the outtakes...

Benny and Zoe save the day!

2010-12-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

Zoe and my latest movie about our first day working at the New York Nature Society.

Make sure to watch these funny outtakes too!

Andy and my Friends

2010-11-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

My friends came over and we made this stop-motion movie!

Captain James T. Kirk!

2010-11-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

I got sick on Halloween, but here I still like to wear my James T. Kirk costume!

Where Thou Art - That - Is Home

2010-10-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Emily Dickinson's house in Amherst, MA. My friend Zoe came too. We had a really fun and interesting day. The animals liked it too!

We Love the World!

2010-10-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

I have joined the Hudson Valley Homeschoolers Roots and Shoots group. We had our first meeting at Burger Hill near Rhinebeck. It was really fun. Jojo made this video.

Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute, giving youth of all ages the opportunity to improve our world through service-learning projects promoting care and concern for the environment, the human community, and animals.

Bamboo and Boats

2010-10-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to the Met and saw this strange but cool bamboo sculpture. They offer guided tours where you can climb on it, but you had to be 10 years old! I was annoyed.
Luckily, I got to play with the radio powered boats in Central Park!

Birthday Memories!

2010-10-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday last month (Sept. 16th). I had a super fun day. There was a lot of singing by the Kid Beatles.
And lots of jumping...
And lots of little tiny cupcakes!

Little Vera liked the little cupcakes!

The Very Light Car

2010-10-03T18:24:00.001-07:00

I saw a short documentary on PBS about Edison2’s Very Light Car. It is super light (800lbs) and not only drives fast, but can drive super fast. It is shaped like nail so that it cuts through the air and along the road. The designers at Edison2 say that it can go one hundred miles on one gallon of gas. This would make the car better for world than other cars, even electric ones. They say that a “very light and aerodynamic car is more efficient than a heavier one with more drag, no matter what type of power source is used.” The designers hope to win a big prize of 10 million dollars and then they can make the car so perhaps everyone could buy one. I would like to drive one. I like that it goes fast and like the shape and the snazzy wheels.

Swallowed: Part Three

2010-09-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

(See here for part one and here for part two)

Back on the ship, Scotty and the rest of the crew were relieved to see Kirk, Spock, and Uhura when beam-up was complete. But Scotty said he needed a private conversation with Captain Kirk, They went into the engine rooms and Scotty whispered, “The engines almost exploded while you were gone.”

Kirk’s eyes widened like space saucers. “What happened? What made them nearly explode? Are the engines working okay now?”

Scotty nodded. “The heart was the problem. Its vibrations were too strong for the ship. Her engine’s are old, Captian. They couldn’t stand the shaking. Hopefully it’s over now.”

But just as he said that, there was huge burping noise and the whole engine room shuddered like a subway train out of control.

“Oh no, sir. It’s happening again.”

Kirk looked around and shouted to Scotty. “keep an eye on the engines. I’ll get back to the bridge.”

Kirk stumbled his way through the wobbling corridors. It was like being in a force 10 earthquake. When he finally reached the bridge, the crew was staring up at the window again. The green landscape was disappearing. It looked like they were heading for a big dark hole.

“Can’t we turn the ship around, Mr. Zulu?” Kirk asked.

Mr. Zulu shook his head. “No, sir. We have lost control!”

The ship bumped and tumbled and twisted and turned and entered the deep black hole. The crew shrieked and shouted. It felt like they were on a super-galactic rollercoaster.

But then there was a deafening noise, like air being sucked out of a giant balloon. Kirk looked up from the floor where he landed. Out of the window, he saw billions of stars and the familiar indigo-black space around them.

Spock pulled himself back into his seat. He looked at the stars and raised one eyebrow. “Sir, I think we just came out of the poophole!”

The End

Beware of Scary Giants!

2010-09-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

I made this movie with my friend Zoe - and her sister Sabine!

Swallowed: Part Two

2010-09-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

“You’re right, Spock. We’ve been swallowed,” said Kirk, shaking his head and still looking out at the strange green sight.

Then Uhura asked, “But what swallowed us? And how did it get here, in the middle of space? And why did it swallow us?”

Kirk turned to Uhura. “Good questions. We must found out the answers!”

Spock saw something else out of the window. “Sir, I see something strange. Is that a heart?”

Everyone on the bridge stared up at the window. The heart was huge, and a rainbow of colors: blue, green, yellow, red, purple, and black. It was beating like a mad and hungry ape.

As the Enterprise got closer it started to shake with the heart’s vibrations.

Kirk shouted, “To the transporter room. Follow me, Mr Spock. Uhura.”

In the transporter room, Scotty was taking a nap. He woke up with a start as Kirk blasted through the door.

“Wh….Wh…what is it, Sir?”

Kirk jumped onto the transporter platform. Spock and Uhura followed.

“Beam us down, Scotty,” Kirk commanded.

Scotty rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Och, aye, sir. Whatever ya say.”

In a few seconds, Kirk and the crew were on the beating heart. They could hardly stand. It was like being on a giant trampoline. The beating noise was so loud, Spock covered his pointy ears.

Kirk got out his special Analyzer machine and jabbed it into the squidgy surface of the heart. The machine made a beeping noise and its lights flashed. Kirk handed the Analyzer to Spock. Spock read its small screen.

“Sir, we were right. This is heart. And the animal whose heart it belongs to is the Black Hole Space Blob.”

Kirk and Uhura gasped. They had read about the Black hole Space Blob in space school. They thought it was a myth. Ancient stories told of spacecraft being swallowed by the blob and disappearing forever.

“What are we going to do now?” shouted Uhura above the loud beating.

Kirk sighed. “We must return to ship and find a way out.” He flipped open his communicator and shouted, “Beam us up, Scotty”

To be continued….

Star Trekking

2010-09-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

I like watching Star Trek. Here is the first part of my own Star Trek story.

Swallowed!

It was a quiet day on the U.S.S. Enterprise. Captain Kirk was talking to Spock.

“Last night,” he said, “I heard a strange rumbling, like a big stomach was hungry. Did you hear?”

Spock raised an eyebrow. “No, sir. I didn’t hear it.”

Then Uhura, who was passing by, said. “I heard that noise too, Captain.”

“Maybe it was just a little problem with the engines. I’ll ask Scottie about it later,” said Kirk.

But some time later as they were entering a new Galaxy, Snowdfarsia. The whole ship shook violently. Spock fell off his seat and Zulu slipped down the steps. Captain Kirk was coming back into the bridge and bonked his nose on the doors which didn’t open because of the shaking.

When Kirk recovered, he rushed into the bridge. He stopped suddenly and looked up at the huge window.

“What????!!!!!!!!!????”

The whole sky outside had turned bright green like the fresh grass in a meadow. Kirk didn’t faint but he was so surprised. Spock and Zulu had now stood up and they stared with eyes as big as pineapples at the strange sight. The ship began to shake and wobble and tremble. Everyone grabbed for a seat or a desk or anything they could find.

Spock suddenly spied a black hole in the middle of the green space with white spikey edges that pointed up and down like teeth of an ancient T-Rex.

“Sir, I think we may have been swallowed!”

to be continued…

Benny's Movie Review: Charlie Chaplin's The Kid

2010-09-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Kid – director Charlie Chaplin

In “The Kid,” a movie by Charlie Chaplin, there is a tramp and an orphan. At the beginning, the boy is born and his mother can’t look after him so she leaves him in a rich person’s car. But two naughty crooks steal the car. When they are driving away, they hear the baby scream. They put the baby near a trash can! A little tramp who wears a hat and baggy pants finds the baby. The tramp is called Charlie Chaplin. He takes the baby to his shelter and looks after him.

The boy grows to five years old. He helps the tramp make money. He throws rocks at windows and smashes them. Then, Charlie Chaplin fixes them! And then, after a while, the mean and terrible and horrible orphan catchers come. They try and take the kid away in a truck. But the tramp runs as fast as he can and gets the kid back. Just when he is safe again, the kid’s mom shows up. She wants him back. The tramp is very sad but then the mom says he can come and stay with her and the kid named John.

My favorite part of the movie was when the tramp had the baby hanging up in a basket. The baby was drinking from a teapot! At one point, the baby couldn’t get the teapot but the tramp helped him. The scariest part was when the orphan catchers tried to get the kid. I cried and I felt sad. But then I was happy at the end.

I like Charlie Chaplin because he has a famous and weird walk. He puts his feet out to the sides and his legs make the shape of a lemon. He has a cane that he swings and sometimes he falls down. He makes me laugh.

How a Brown and White Dog became a Buddha!

2010-09-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

This is the first part of my new miniseries called "The Story of Rume Siddharta." It's about how a small brown and white dog became a Buddha!

Rume, Storms, and a Poem

2010-09-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

Rume and the Lightning Bolt
By Benny (typed by Jojo!)

Rume the white and brown doggy,
In the swaying, green grass.
Her fur so soft,
Smooth like an ice cube.

She spies an orange and pink butterfly,
Dancing in the air.
Rume gets ready to pounce
Like a tiger in the hot jungle of India.

But, woo, a scary, loud thunder cracks,
Rume snaps her head up,
To the black clouds.
Rain started dropping like a leaves in the Fall.

Rume runs for cover.
But
Too late.

Cracckkkkkkk!
The fast, blinding, yellow lightning hits scurrying Rume.
She lets out loud, frightened, high-pitched yelp.

The storm rumbles away over the treetops.
Rume lies still as a rock.
But then her right eye gives little blink.

She pulls herself up onto her paws
She feels lightening and fire energy in her small body.
Rume begins to run.

Trees whirl, lights flash, birds fly from their branches,
Rume is running almost the speed of light.
Faster than a cheater
Faster than a space rocket.
Faster than sound.

On and on and on she goes.

She catches the lumbering storm and overtakes him.
She leaves raindrops in her speeding, sparkling dust.

MOMA and Matisse

2010-09-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

I went to MOMA with my friend Kavi...

We drew this painting by the artist Henri Matisse.

We liked the helicopter too!

Beach!!

2010-08-31T09:41:00.001-07:00

I had lots and lots of fun with my friends at the beach!

When Rume Met Spot

2010-08-27T10:26:00.001-07:00

My friend Owen came to stay and we made this movie. Our dogs fell in love!

Gandhi Studies

2010-08-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

We have been reading lots of books on Gandhi and we saw the movie about him. I drew a picture of him too. He liked peace and independence for India.

After Dinner Poetry

2010-08-24T05:33:00.001-07:00

I like to read poems after dinner with Baba and Jojo. We read from these Poetry for Young People books which have really great pictures too...

Tickles and Giggles!

2010-08-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hee hee hee!

Comic Artist!

2010-07-31T05:31:00.000-07:00

I just did a week long class learning comic art and cartooning with Matt Maley, who is a really great comic artist who used to work at Marvel! This was the cover I made for my comic, Flash B and Speed Rume!

This shows the different stages (below). First, the sketch, then the 'inking in,' and finally adding color with markers and colored pencils.

Jojo did the class too. This is her comic.

It's a Dog Life at Esalen

2010-06-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Rume went to Esalen in Big Sur, California. She enjoyed massages, hot tubs, great food, and the power of now!

Tractor from France!

2010-06-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Look at the tractor and trailer my Grandad bought me!

Fire, Fire!

2010-06-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

My Grandma Cati has come to stay and she bought me a fabulous Lego Fire Truck! Watch and see how we built it...

Rume's Grand Day Out

2010-06-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

Here it is. My new movie! This movie took lots of work. There were lots of sets to build, stunts to organize, and clay characters to make. It was really fun! Don't forget to watch the Extras and Outtakes below.

Movie extras...

The outtakes...

B-Boys Playing B-Ball

2010-05-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

Check out my latest movie (we have new movie making software, so listen out for the sound effects!).

Benny and the Dogs

2010-04-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

Me feeding the dogs...using stopmotion!

The Happy Hour Montage

2010-04-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

I watched the movie Mr Smith Goes to Washington with Jojo and Baba. We liked the montage where Mr Smith tours DC.

I made a montage of my own!

The Search for Senor Osito

2010-04-07T08:36:00.001-07:00

While I have been traveling in Europe, Rume has been having her own adventure...

En La Piscina

2010-04-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

On vacation in Spain, I have learned to swim!!

I also love to throw the ball for my Grandma Cati's dog Rafa.

The Kidnapping of Baby Steggy

2010-03-20T07:14:00.001-07:00

This is my second movie starring Baby A and Steggy - and introducing Tiny Steggy!

My First Movie! Baby A and Steggy Save the Day

2010-03-04T07:33:00.000-08:00

This is the first movie I have made with my new digital video camera. I wrote the script too. Watch out for the sequel....

More Presidential Adventures

2010-02-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

We went to see the portraits of the presidents at the National Portrait Gallery. Then onto a tour of the Capitol...
I took these pictures with my new camera.

I got a little tired with all the walking...
but a snack and some juice helped!

DC and Benny the President

2010-01-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

I've been reading Mike Venezia's funny and great books about the presidents (we are up to the fifteenth president, James Buchanan). It's fun to be in DC and see the places the presidents lived and worked.

Here I am being sworn in as President!

My first address to the nation!

A quick trip over to the Supreme Court to meet the justices...

Art Studies Continued in Washington DC

2010-01-11T05:59:00.001-08:00

We went to the National Gallery in DC. I saw the only Da Vinci outside of Europe!
We have this Jasper John's "target" at home!

I built my own sculpture!

My First Portrait!

2009-12-27T06:36:00.000-08:00

Owen is my friend and his mum is called Dina Jordan and she is an artist. She painted this picture of me!

Owen is in the picture next to mine here...

Ping Pong Holiday

2009-12-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

I love to play ping pong!!

Art Studies Continued...

2009-12-01T05:18:00.001-08:00

We went to the MOMA and I got to see my favorite Andy Warhol paintings.

We felt inspired to do more Andy Warhol painting at home. Here's my Warhol superman...

It's based on this painting by Warhol

And here's Jojo and my Warhol bananas!

We also saw Monet's water lillies at the MOMA and did some sketching!

Me, Obama, and The Great Wall of China

2009-11-18T05:34:00.000-08:00

We are now learning about ancient China. Yesterday, I built a Great Wall with my blocks.

This book was really interesting.Yesterday, while I built my wall, Obama went to the real one!

Warhol-oween!

2009-11-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

I was Andy Warhol for Halloween. We've been painting soup cans like Warhol did...

I love these books about Andy Warhol...

Jojo painted a Warhol banana too...

Here's our Jack o Lanterns!

Two Wheel Dreamin'

2009-10-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

I HAVE GOOD NEWS. I CAN RIDE MY BIKE WITH NO TRAINING WHEELS!

Ancient India Studies

2009-10-10T04:54:00.000-07:00

We are learning about Ancient India and the Hindu Gods. Jojo and me made Ganeshes. Guess which is mine? They will go on the shelf with our models of the Greek Gods.

We read the story of Ramayana. Then we saw this movie called Sita Sings the Blues. Jojo made a clay Sita (but sometimes her arms fall off!)

Wiggly Sculpture on Top of the Met

2009-09-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

Me and Nini and Des love the huge wiggly sculpture on the roof of the Met!
My friend Annie took photos of us!
Des is giggling!
Nini too!
I'm looking kind of serious!

A Pollock Afternoon at the MoMA

2009-09-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

I went to the MOMA and looked at Jackson Pollock paintings. He likes to splash paint!

Summer Movies!

2009-08-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

Artists in August

2009-08-11T05:48:00.001-07:00

We set up an artist's den in our house.
We've been learning about Joan Miro and painting his pictures. This is my Miro painting.

We've also looked at paintings by Claude Monet. This is my haystack!

This is Jojo's Monet painting of Big Ben.

...and sometimes we paint outside like Monet loved to!

We went to the Met too and saw a real Miro!

Rume and I also did some sketches...

I'm going to eat you....

2009-08-11T05:42:00.000-07:00

...except I have no front teeth!

More Catskills Adventures!

2009-08-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

We went to a waterfall. It was so much fun it made me dance.

Mountain Top Fun

2009-07-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

I went to see Nini and Des at their cabin. We cooked hot dogs on a fire.
We played twister.

We ate lots of good food!

Maine: The Movies

2009-07-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

Maine: Home of the World's Biggest Globe!

2009-07-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, it was such a big globe!

Best Friends and Frogs!

2009-07-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Leslie - Nini and Des's mom - caught a frog. We loved it so much, we all gave it a kiss!

I caught a Des!

Fun with the G'parents!

2009-07-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

Nana and GG came to stay at Bud Street. We had a lot of fun gardening...

...and eating cherries!

More Clay Models....

2009-05-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

I made these dinosaurs all by myself!
Jojo made these...

Tandem Two

2009-05-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

Baba and I can now ride together. I pedal when he gets tired!!

Greek Gods...again!

2009-05-22T06:42:00.001-07:00

I LOVE the Greek Gods! I'm still reading lots about them and now, Jojo and I are making Gods, Goddesses and some Greek monsters with clay...

I also made some planets

Benny and the Burritos

2009-05-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

Benny the Builder

2009-05-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

We read about Theseus and the Minotaur and I built a labyrinth like the one Daedalus built for King Minos in ancient Crete (and where the Minotaur lived).

I also helped Baba with some building at New Paltz!

..and some fixing!

Muddy Day at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

2009-05-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun playing hippos in, what we call, the "American Nile" at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (that's William the ancient Egyptian hippo on our shirts!).

This was just before we all got very stuck in the mud!

But we did escape...and were very muddy!

Zeus, Hermes, and Demeter

2009-04-27T15:21:00.001-07:00

We are now learning about Ancient Greeks! Me and my homeschool pals, Nini and Desmond, went to the Met and dressed as Greek Gods. I am Zeus. Nini is Demeter. Des is Hermes.
We spotted Gods and Goddesses in the Ancient Greek art.
I carried my thunderbolts!

Also, Cati (my grandma) came to visit and we planted strawberries and blueberries

I made my own Mount Olympus!

My Friend Phil

2009-04-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Phil came to stay. Sometimes he's a scary monster!

Phil bought me a great Lego digger which I love.

Here's me playing trains!
I love riding my bike.

Arizona

2009-03-23T07:25:00.001-07:00

I went to Arizona a few weeks ago and saw my Nana and Grandpa. I had so much fun. I even saw a giraffe and rode a camel!

World History 101

2009-03-23T07:18:00.001-07:00

Me and my friends, Nini and Des, are learning all about the history of the world. These are two of the books we are reading.

We have learnt about dinosaurs. I went to the American Natural History Museum and saw a huge Apatosaurus. With my mum, I built Lego dinosaurs too...

We are also learning about Ancient Egypt. I made some pyramids.

My favorite god is Thoth!
We saw a hippo like this in the Egyptian section of the Brooklyn Museum and at the Met. We call him William!

Me and the New President

2009-01-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

My Clay Animals

2009-01-21T09:28:00.000-08:00

New Year in the Mountains

2009-01-10T10:11:00.000-08:00

How do you like my sled!?

Holidays with the Family

2009-01-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day 2008

2009-01-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

I got a really cool whale and a puzzle.
Cati - my grandma - bought me lego. I love it!

Popcorn Makers

2008-12-23T06:02:00.000-08:00

My cousins gave us a popcorn maker and this is what it's like

Outside on a Snowy Day

2008-12-23T05:57:00.001-08:00

It was so snowy. My cheeks got cold!

I made an angel.

Inside on a Snowy Day

2008-12-23T05:45:00.000-08:00

We all put together shelves.

First Tooth

2008-12-23T05:44:00.000-08:00

I lost my first tooth!!

A Snowy Day in New York

2008-12-16T10:36:00.001-08:00

I stayed in today because I wasn't feeling too good. I drew some sea animals and that made me feel better! Can you see the shark, the whale, the boat, the jellyfish, the submarine, the octopus, the seahorse, the seal, the starfish, the dolphin, the lighthouse, the blue moon, the crab, the seaweed, and the fish (getting chased by the shark!)? If you click on the pictures, you can see them bigger.
It was snowing outside while I was drawing sea animals.

Benny's Thomas the Tank Engine Movie - with Acoustic Soundtrack!

2008-12-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

This is my Thomas the Tank Engine movie (and Percy and Toby movie). I was the director and the narrator and the musician. And also Thomas the Tank Engine and friends are ready to make a new project.