Thursday, January 16, 2013

This week has been filled with more documentation sessions for me, than art lessons.  I have been documenting the changes going on as we focus on our block areas in the rooms I work in when the students have center time, and showing the teachers the way I question and document, based on the research I've done on Reggio Emilia.

120- The students are working on science kits, but this group loves to add a creative flourish to their scientific studies, so I don't feel like art is ever separate from what they do.

Teacher- tell me about the solids.

Esmerelda- I see something black, it's little because something is black. I think it's something to eat.

Jolimar- I have to eat these.

Kialis- she is pretending.

Genesis- these are hot!

Kialis- it looks like beans

Kialis looks through a magnifying glass.

Kialis- now I see purple!

Esmerelda suddenly begins to cry. She wants more of the peas and rice.

Teacher- How can you get more of these?

Esmerelda- I can tell her. Genesis, I want a turn.

Genesis didn't intentionally take all of the solids, so she didn't even notice the problem. She invited Esmerelda to work with her.

The groups switch and now I have Eliani, J and Jean Luis.

This group jumps on the container and immediately begins to play. Jean Luis and Jose work together to use the funnel to fill a container.

Eliani- they look like seeds with a little bit of rice in there.

The group decides to pour all of the solids into one container and they work together to accomplish this goal.

J accidentally spills a few on the floor and asks Jean to help him pick them up. Jean Luis is quick to help his friend.

Teacher- I wonder where these came from.

Eliani- maybe they came from the woods.

J- or from shopping

Mrs. Lauer comes over and asks the group what they are doing.

Eliani- we're doing science!

Teacher- what is it called when you are learning about something in science by playing with it?

Eliani- a project?

Teacher- an ex....

Eliani- experiment!

J calls Mrs. Lauer over to show her what happens when the solids are poured out of the jar.

The groups switch again and now I'm sitting with deinariya, Windeliz, Keyra and Natalia.

Natalia- we should put all of this stuff in here, okay?

Windeliz- I think it is going to be the same.

Keyra- see, they are beans

Natalia- if you have beans and then all the flowers grow up.

Keyra- these are beans.

Natalia- these beans are like you put water on it and the water will go inside of it and make the flower grow up.

Keyra- these are magic beans

Teacher- magic beans?

Natalia- if you get water inside of it, the flowers will grow up.

They fill one bottle and put the cap on and Keyra looks at it with a magnifying glass.

Natalia- they look bigger when we use this. If you shake it, it's like a maraca!

They decide to fill the other bottles to make a maraca for each kid.

Windeliz and Keyra play their maracas and laugh.

Mrs. Lauer asks them to try to fill the bottles with and without the funnel and compare the two.

Deinariya- the funnel is easier

Natalia- you can use the spoon and you can share them, too.

Windeliz- we've been sharing! 

It's a maraca!

118- I came into the room while the students were at their centers. The focus for the teachers this month is on enhancing the block area of the room, so I headed over to the blocks to see what was going on.

 

Justin- We made a ship!

Evan- It started like dominos, because if you hit this, it will hit this and this and all fall down.

A- It looks like a ship, though, so now it's a ship.

Evan- It's halfway sinking

Teacher- Why is it sinking?

A- It crashed into the rock and started sinking.

Justin- There are alligators. If we would put lions up here, the lions could protect the ship.

Evan- Navy seals could jump in and help.

Justin- Maybe we need pirates. This is the pirates' prisoner and she's a spy.

Teacher- This would make an awesome story! Would you like to go work in the studio on a story with me?

They all said yes.

 Raymond, A, Justin and Evan are the students who head back to the studio with me. They draw their scenes while excitedly telling me about the characters and giving me a basic idea of what their story will be.

Title- the navy seals vs. the evil doctor

Characters-

A navy seal named Sniper 26

Another navy seal who is into computers named Cold Blooded Viper

A navy seal named Dead Eye Jack

A navy seal named Frost

We wrote half of the story on Thursday and completed it on Friday, so it will be in Friday's post.

108- Ms. Boyd has added a lot of interesting new supplies to the block area of her room. The students are using today to explore the new materials in many different ways.

J- we're playing golf!

She has created what looks like a mini-golf hole and is using a block to putt the golf balls around the area.

Roshelys- I want to make a tail.

Jeanivette- I'm making a cake.

Teacher- what is it for?

Jeanivette- for you!

The students used the Pom poms and pipe cleaners to make antenna headbands.

Jaylin- I made animal headbands. Roshelys is a ladybug.

J- This is fun! You should try one on.

Monah- they are having a meeting with bugs.

Roshelys drops flower petals and announces that someone is getting married.

Monah has a block tower set up with a rectangle of single blocks set in front of it. She tells me it's a gate and shows me where it opens to let the people out.

Monah suddenly moves everything out of the gate and starts over. She layers rose petals around the perimeter and places marbles inside of it. The bugs are then placed on the raised tower. She tells me that the marbles are seats. It becomes apparent that the raised area is meant to be a stage and the enclosed rectangle is where the audience sits.

Teacher- is this a show?

Monah- it's the bugs' show. There are going to be some people in it, too.

Teacher- what do bugs do when they put on a show?

Monah- this is a make believe show, so the bugs will be talking. The people from the audience will come up on stage to be in the show.

After she sets up the stage and theater, she creates a sculpture using straws pressed into a floral foam circle.

Monah- this is for when the bugs get tired after the show. They will crawl inside of it and go to sleep.

Another group notices Monah's awesome construction and asks her what it is.

Monah- it's a theater! I'm putting these [marbles] here in case the bugs fall. I'll put the rest in their bed.

At this point, jaylin becomes interested in what Monah is doing. She fetches more marbles.

Monah- now, the show is going to start. 

She starts to line the dolls up in the theatre, then decides to lay them on the Rose petals in the back of the theater. I sense that she is frustrated that the dolls can't sit- they can only stand or lay.

Monah- these two came together.

She seats the couple together, apart from the first group that "arrived."

Jaylin- what if the bugs were the audience?

Monah thinks about that. It solves the problem of the people not being able to sit. She agrees and they find more bugs to serve as audience members.

Jaylin brings over one of the antenna headbands she made earlier in the period, gives it to Monah and says, "now you're a bug, too!

The Bug Theater

Roshelys- these rocks are heavy, like a real rock. I think they are real. I'm a flower girl!

She takes two baskets of Rose petals and carries them around.

Jeanivette notices that the floral foam has become stuck in the straw. J takes it and decides to find a solution. She finds a twig and uses it to push the foam out of the straw and is very proud of her ingenuity. 

103- I introduced the Spring mural lesson to this class, the second pre-k class.  I showed them the multiple pieces of artwork from ancient China, contemporary China, Monet and Botticelli. We brainstormed images of Spring. The list has a few similarities from the other class, but they were also able to think of some new ideas.  I rolled out the mural and showed the students how to draw the flowers from observation. I showed them how to trace the ladybug cutouts and shapes.  Then the students began to draw on their own.