Thursday, November 21, 2013

120: I helped the class prepare for the Discovery of Puerto Rico celebration.  They finished painting the last of their props and we practiced their act.

118:

I have a group of seven students and they are cutting slabs to create a replica of the church next to our school, as part of our long term study of the community.

T- I notice that your clay walls are all different sizes. I wonder how that will work when you build the church.

S1- I guess we should make them the same size.

T- I didn't say that. I am wondering what you will do, that's all. I think it is interesting.

S2- I like that they are different sizes. When we attach them, it will look more realistic. The building has walls that aren't the same.

S3- some are bigger and some are smaller

S4- and they will all be attached together, so it doesn't matter.

S5- maybe we should make them skinnier?

S2- I don't think so. We will just attach them later.

S5- if you squish it like that, how are you going to get it off the table?  That's not the way to do it. Watch me.

S4- You flip it like a pancake and it doesn't stick. Like this.

T- when do you think this was built?

1960s, 1980s, 1990s, 1915, 1929, back in the thousands

S1- that's when Adam and Eve were born.

S2- the small pieces can be windows.

T- how could we find out the age of the church?

S1- I think G goes to that church- we could ask her!

S4- go on the internet and check out their website.

T- ok!

We checked the website, but it didn't say.

T- now what?!

S1- We could just guess.

T- if we guessed, would we know it's right?

S6- no.

S1- we could check with the builders. They would know.

S2- we could ask the people ate the church.  They work there, so they would know. You could text or call them. Or go there on a Sunday.

T- let's call them right now!

Students- Really? We can do that? We're calling now? 

They were very excited and gathered around me as I called the number we found on the church website. I introduced myself to Karen, who'd answered the phone, and explained our inquiry. Karen was nice enough to look it up for us! The church was built in 1891 and the hall was built in 1893.  Now that we know these dates, we'll talk more about what that means next class, and we can see if there are any other questions the students have about the church, the building process, or the time it was built.

UPDATE! Karen called us back and invited us for a tour of the church, so the students get an idea of the architecture on the inside!  This is a great opportunity for them to make ties with the community and learn more about the architecture. We will be planning a walking field trip to the church to take a tour and maybe do some observational drawing on the inside! 

108: We all gathered in the auditorium to practice the performance.  Both the New York and Puerto Rico murals will be on stage, to show the immigration process from Puerto Rico to New York. The students were very careful with the murals as they moved them around the stage.  They are so proud of their work, and excited to show it off in such a way. 

116: We finished our tree after some trials and tribulations.  Just as the boys finished the last palm leaf, the tree tipped and all of the leaves came off!  I stapled them on for them, but the tree was created by propping two boxes together and the result of stapling it was such that the tree shrunk a little.  "It's a baby tree!" One child exclaimed. "That's okay, Miss. I like it better this way," he said. I offered to make it full-sized again, but the students preferred the child-sized tree.

It's a baby tree now, but it's okay.  We like it.

While that group worked on the tree, I began a project that's been on my mind for two weeks now.  We want to decorate the entrance to the school.  I have these cardboard packing triangles.  I knew the students would be thrilled to have a purposeful project, so I gave them the box and asked what we could do to make the triangles more beautiful.  "They look like queso!" was the first remark they made. :) Soon paint and glitter (our new favorite thing) came out and the triangles took on a whole new life.  I am hoping that we can sort the colors when they are done and maybe do patterns or solid colors and string them on fishing line to hang in the foyer.  Repurposing cardboard, beautifying the building, allowing students to express themselves, practicing pattern for the older kids and color for the little ones- this project has so much!  I can't wait to see how they want to string them up.  They were already attaching them together to form little diamonds.

Before

After!

103- The preschool students finished their masks! 

102- I took a small group of kindergarten students who struggled with their painted self-portraits.  We were able to accomplish much more with the individual attention!