Thursday, October 10, 2013

120, bilingual first grade- We continued with the paintings and I saw more students interacting with the brushes- twirling the brushes, etching designs into the wet paint, layering the paint over and over again.

112, self contained class- The students were bored with the idea of drawing the continents, so we decided it would be more exciting if we painted them on 3D globes.  We used papier mache on balloons to make our planets.  One student wanted to make the moon, so I think the next step will be to research which planet they want to create, instead of forcing everyone to do the Earth.  This way we can have them read and write about their planet and share out, tying in reading and writing standards.

108, monolingual first grade- The playground has a new gate and the gate is locked with zip ties until we get a handle for the gate.  Good thing I took a photograph of the playground yesterday! We sat in a small group and drew from the image on my iPad.  I tried to show the students that we can't see everything on the playground from the photograph and it's not okay to make up what they see when they are drawing like a scientist. ("Can we draw children?" "I'm drawing hearts around it.")   They seemed to understand, but it's not the same as drawing from life.  I wanted to critique the work, but the students need more practice with critique.  I've made a note of it and we'll try again next time I see them.


118, monolingual second grade.  I took the students outside to choose another part of the community to draw, since their peers drew the playground yesterday.  They chose the old church next to the school.  I liked the way they described the shape of the tower:

It looks like a bounce house!
I see a rocketship!
I think it's like a witch's hat!

I didn't push colored pencils on them this time, instead preferring that they just concentrate on the pen drawings.  I think this was a good idea.  Yesterday, I had the students drawing and coloring and something was lost in the rush.

101, preschool. We finished our alphabet book!  Then, we constructed projects with pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks.  At the end of the class, the students voluntarily put their materials away and only one student wanted to keep his.  I thought that was interesting.  They are getting used to using materials and there is an understanding that the materials are for the group, not for the individual to take home.  I think this is a good sign for our Reggio program.  The group and the materials obviously mean something to the students.

Here is a preview of the School #33 Pre-K and Kindergarten Spanish-English Picture Dictionary:

103, preschool.  I took the other half of the class to use finger paints.  It was just as much fun as the first time. I think these are really beautiful pieces of abstract art.  The focus is on the experience, not the finished project, and there's beauty in that.

Untitled

Untitled

Rainbow

Castle

Dinosaurio

Agua