Week of June 8-12, 2015

In the atelier, we have been busy creating artwork for Imagine Community Gardens new garden for Hope House on Genesee Street. I wanted to keep the story workshop idea flowing into the atelier, so the first and second grade students are working on Story Stones. The students listed as many nouns as they could think of, categorizing them under characters, places and things.

The students then chose one noun to illustrate. The provocation was, "How can you draw a word?" After they got approval for their design from me, they drew and painted it on a flat stone. To begin the second class, I placed all of the stones on the table and we divided them into visual symbols we could guess correctly and paintings that we couldn't guess the word. The students with rocks in the latter category had to revise their painting to make their symbol easier to understand. Students suggested changes to the students, such as, "You could add a triangle for the roof- that would make it look more like a house." 

Completing research for their story stone nouns.

For the Pre-k's garden project, we are continuing to make insects with wood pieces and wire. Once they finished their insects, they drew observational drawings of the insects from photographs. Students in 103 reported out about their insect: 

R- It’s a firefly. I know that their butts light up.

C- This is a lady bug. It has six legs.

E1- This is a lady bug. The lady bug flies.

E2- This is a lady bug. He’s red.

J- This is a spider. They crawl on people’s floor at their house.

C- They can eat you, too.

E1- Did you know that the lady bug, they walk up the tree? One day I was putting a leaf under the lady bug, but it was red. Sometimes, lady bugs are orange.

A- This is a bee.  It flies in the sky and it goes on the ground on the floor and it crawls in my bed.

Teacher- You had a bee crawl in your bed?
A- No.

Teacher- But you just said that.

A- I know.

Ms. Cich- Why are we afraid of bees?
L- They sting us.

I- Mine is a butterfly. They have wings. They can fly.

Ms. Cich- What do they like to eat?
I- Apples.

N- This is a butterfly. They eat apples. 

Teacher- Where do butterflies come from?

N- The sky.

Teacher- Anyone else?

R- A cocoon!

Teacher- And before that?

R- A caterpillar.

L- This is a mosquito. They got wings and they got legs. They fly around and bite you when it’s nighttime.

Teacher- What happens when you get bit by a mosquito?

J- Mosquito bite.

L- It’s a mark when you get itchy and it itch you.

B- A butterfly.

Teacher- What do you know about them?

C- They live in the garden.

A2- A firefly. It flies around.

Teacher- How do you know it’s a firefly.

E1- Because it looks like a butterfly.

A2- It flies by people. It bites people.

Ms. Cich- Have you ever been bit by a firefly?

Teacher- Has anyone been bit by a firefly?

No one knows. We look it up. They do not bite, but they are poisonous when eaten. Frogs and lizards are affected by firefly poison.

B- It’s an ant. They bite and they are on the ground. They just stand there for a few hours. 

Drawing from photographs of insects.

Playing with finished insects.

The kindergarten students are continuing to work on wire and metal loose part insects. 

Concentration faces.

Completely engrossed.