Tuesday, December 10, 2013

118- I took a group to create birthday wreaths.  This is something they do when their birthdays roll around- they get to go through the "beautiful stuff" and create a piece that is unique to celebrate their birthdays. They can choose an item for each year they've been alive, so most have seven or eight items.  The chatter of the students doing something they love is a really great sound.  This group is one of the best in terms of supporting each other's work.

116 wanted to paint the foyer mobile cardboard pieces again.  While they were painting, I asked them questions and guided a discussion on repurposing "garbage" to make art.

Teacher- What are we making?

Alondra- Stuff

Adam- We are using these things that look like street signs.

Jeylianie- We are putting glitter on them.

Teacher- Why are we making these?

Adam- We are going to hang them by the door and when the wind blows, they will move back and forth.

Listaniel puts the sample string on, like a Hawaiian lei.

Adam- Look- he has it like a necklace!

The students laugh.

Teachers- What are these pieces of art called?

Adam- Mobiles!

The other students repeat the word, still a new word in their vocabulary.

Teacher- Why would we take this packing material- something other people throw away as garbage- and make it art?

Alondra- Because we can hang it all of the time?

Teacher- Can I hang any garbage as art? Can I take my lunch garbage and hang it?

Laughing erupts.

Alondra- No!

Adam- It's food- you can't have food as art!

Alondra- It will start to stink.

Adam- You can't hang it all day because it will stink like garbage!

I ask the kids if you could take the lunch tray, wash it off and then make art. They are divided by this question.

Adam says you can wash the tray and use it because it will be clean, then, and not stink.

Alondra says that you cannot use the tray because it had food on it, so it will never be really clean.

Teacher- What other garbage could we make into art?

Adam- Cans!

Jeylianie- Plastics- things you would recycle. And paper. And milk jugs!

Adam- And napkins and straws and juice containers!

I am hoping this will lead to interest in creating more with found objects and the concept of "one man's trash is another's treasure" will become more of a way of life to them.

120- I worked with small groups in rotation on drawing the seasons. The purpose of this lesson was to have the students put the seasons in order and familiarize them with the four seasons.  I thought recording dialogue while they colored would give us some insight into what they know about the seasons.

Teacher- What's your favorite season?

Angel- I like winter. I like the snow.

Teacher- We are supposed to have a big snowstorm today. Eliani,  what season are you drawing?

Eliani- Spring.

Teacher- What happens in the spring?

Eliani- It gets warm outside.

Teacher- What is your favorite season?

They all like winter.

Deyaneira- I like winter because I like to be cold! I eat the snow.

The other kids say, "ewwwww!" And laugh.

Teacher- What is your favorite?

Nayelis- I love winter because I like to throw snow at my brother!

Angel- I have two brothers.

Teacher- Do you play in the snow with your brothers?

Angel- yes!

Teacher-What is your favorite season?

Jose- Verano- the summer- because I like to swim and go to the beach.

Teacher-That is my favorite, too. What season comes first?

Angel- snow,

Eliani- fall? No, spring!

Angel- then, when you go to the beach

Eliani- that's summer!

Angel- then it's fall!

New group:

What is your favorite seasons?

Gabriella- my favorite season is winter because my mom always takes me shopping to buy clothes for Christmas.

Keyra- I like hot. Summer.

Jhulimey- In winter it is cold. And my birthday is in the winter.

Keyra- and Santa comes in winter.

Yarielys likes summer.

These conversations today were a breakthrough for me because my Spanish and their English seems to be improving (more so their English, I think, but it's still a win.)  I took four years of Spanish in high school before getting a minor in German in college.  My Spanish is rusty and sometimes the German vocabulary words want to come out in place of the correct Spanish term, so today was exciting because I was following along and realized, "Wait!  I know what they're saying!" The kids seemed excited to have this communication breakthrough with me, too. :)

During my prep, I took two students to work on the Peace Project.  I'm entering Christian and Justin's work in an art show at Impact Artists' Gallery in January. They had really creative ideas and I know both of these boys are nice, hardworking kids. Christian is doing a piece called, Peace is a Pattern of Love, which features a pattern of peace signs and hearts. Justin's scene showed a waterfall with his parents.  We looked at photographs of waterfalls on the iPad and I gave Justin paint to use, instead of the crayon on his rough draft.  It's only in the underpainting stage now, but I think his Peace is a Waterfall of Love is going to be pretty amazing! 

Peace is a Pattern of Love Rough Draft

Peace is a Pattern of Love (in progress)

Rough draft of Peace is a Waterfall of Love

Peace is a Waterfall of Love (in progress)

102 came in and finished writing adjectives on their self-portraits. They then created 3D ornaments for the hallway group project- a tree created by the pre-K and K classes.

104 also made their ornaments for the hallway tree.