We started the week with our trip to the MoMA! After looking at pictures of the works of art for so long, the kids finally got to see them in person. We started our journey in the sculpture garden where the kids gave me the opportunity to explain to them why we can't touch the art!! We had fun looking at the sculptures, Monet's Water Lilies, Seurat, Klee, Orozco, and the grand finale, van Gogh's Starry Night. The kids were most excited to see this and were captivated by van Gogh's swirls and motion. By the end of our trip, one of the kids said " I'm gonna make art you can touch when I get back to school". It was so hard for the kids to keep themselves from touching, but they really did an awesome job. My main goal for them was exposure, and the more exposed they are to the diversity of creativity, the more open minded they become.
We continued to focus on art in the classroom as the kids made their own collages, fashion pieces, still-lifes and sculptures. One of the teachers donated mounds of packaging Styrofoam pieces which were scattered all over our rug. Some of the kids sat for almost all of freeplay building and taping the pieces together. I brought in 2 cacti plants to observe, and some of the kids wanted to draw what they saw. From there, we talked about still life paintings and arranging objects in front of us to draw. We read stories about color mixing, and by now the kids know fairly well how to mix primary colors to get secondary colors. We also talked about songwriting as a form of art because we are going to have a special visitor coming in to work with the kids on writing the lyrics to their very own song. This unique experience has been set up by Michael Stack, Darby's dad, and the kids are really looking forward to it. We talked about what we'd like our song to be about and decided to write about making new friends for next year but remembering our friends from this year and all the memories we had together.
On Thursday, Joe Bondy, Sarah's dad, took us on a tree walk/sing-along trip in central park. The kids loved being out in nature as they soaked up a bunch of fun facts. Joe pointed out and discussed the Elm, cherry blossom, pin oak, goji, and pine tree. The kids learned about how tree branches get the water they need, how to determine how old a tree is and about the relationship between trees, aphids and ants. After finding a flat and grassy area, we stopped to sing, dance and skip along to Joe's guitar. We finished our expedition at Safari Park and then headed back to school for lunch.
On Friday, we had fireman Tommy come to visit us! Tommy told us all about fire safety like 'stay low and go', 'stop, drop and roll', and 'don't hide, go outside'. He showed the class the different parts of his uniform using me (ah!) as a model. That thing weights 80 pounds! And, before he left, the kids got to try on his hat and mask if they chose to.
We also spent lots of time on Friday making goo! Finally... art you can touch.
I hope you all had a great weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing you Thursday or Friday for conferences.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
This week was all about preparing for our upcoming field trip to the Museum of Modern Art. We read the Book "Seen Art", which is about a boy looking for his friend Art, but was misdirected to the MoMA. Every page was full of sculptures, drawings and paintings found in MoMA's permanent collection. The class looked closely at them, observing various compositions,media and techniques. After we finished the story, we closed our eyes to imagine our world with out art. The kids thought about not having paintings and drawings on our walls, everyone dressing the same, having no music to listen to or stories to read. It would be pretty dull! We talked about what they know about art and who can be an artist (everyone, of course!), but people have many different ideas of what art can be. We also listed the various types of art including architecture, culinary, literature, fashion, dance and music.
After talking about general art theory, we focused on a few modern artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. The kids viewed pictures of Claude Monet's Water Lilies as we talked about the impressionist movement and painting "En Plein Air". They learned that, a long time ago, most artists painted inside their studio and often worked from memory. When artists, such as Monet, began to use portable tubes of paint, they could work outside, "in the open air", painting what they see in front of them in nature.
The class experimented with this idea during a journal activity. They took their journals outside and found a place to work, drawing what they saw in front of them. They paid attention to color and form and thought about how they felt while viewing particular objects and scenes.
We studied artist Paul Klee, who is known for his remarkable use of color. The kids loved looking through his paintings, noticing his figures and symbols. They thought about why certain symbols were used and what the figures were doing. There was one painting with an arrow pointing East over a figure's head. When asked "Why do you think there is a pointing arrow?", one of the kids responded "Because there is a bear the other way!" FYI, there was no bear in the painting.
The class was very drawn to "Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. After looking at a series of his paintings, the children picked up on a lot of movement and bright colors. We talked about the use of brush stroke and how van Gogh layers his paint and uses a lot of it.
The last artist we studied this week was Hans Arp, which actually came about after some of the kids were making paper collages that were strikingly similar to one of his paintings. The kids learned that some artists left their work up to chance or randomness, and used "ready-made" objects as art, such as a shovel, wheel or cut out pieces of paper.
Taking a break from art, we started doing basic addition using our snack menu. For example, if we have 1 cup of water, 5 grapes and 2 crackers, how many pieces of snack should you have on your plate? We tallied up each item and counted them together for our final answer.
Also this week, we made it to hippo park before the rain came (90th and CPW). The kids loved being in central park and suggested we have a picnic there one day. When I asked them what they wanted to bring many of them declared they would bring different fruits and vegetables! I can't really argue with that.
For this week, we will have our field trip to MoMA on Monday and will continue learning about, observing and making our own art. I told the kids that what we've been doing is analyzing or critiquing art as we question and observe it.
I hope you all had a great weekend. Remember to sign up for conferences if you have not done so already.
Amanda
After talking about general art theory, we focused on a few modern artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. The kids viewed pictures of Claude Monet's Water Lilies as we talked about the impressionist movement and painting "En Plein Air". They learned that, a long time ago, most artists painted inside their studio and often worked from memory. When artists, such as Monet, began to use portable tubes of paint, they could work outside, "in the open air", painting what they see in front of them in nature.
The class experimented with this idea during a journal activity. They took their journals outside and found a place to work, drawing what they saw in front of them. They paid attention to color and form and thought about how they felt while viewing particular objects and scenes.
We studied artist Paul Klee, who is known for his remarkable use of color. The kids loved looking through his paintings, noticing his figures and symbols. They thought about why certain symbols were used and what the figures were doing. There was one painting with an arrow pointing East over a figure's head. When asked "Why do you think there is a pointing arrow?", one of the kids responded "Because there is a bear the other way!" FYI, there was no bear in the painting.
The class was very drawn to "Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. After looking at a series of his paintings, the children picked up on a lot of movement and bright colors. We talked about the use of brush stroke and how van Gogh layers his paint and uses a lot of it.
The last artist we studied this week was Hans Arp, which actually came about after some of the kids were making paper collages that were strikingly similar to one of his paintings. The kids learned that some artists left their work up to chance or randomness, and used "ready-made" objects as art, such as a shovel, wheel or cut out pieces of paper.
Taking a break from art, we started doing basic addition using our snack menu. For example, if we have 1 cup of water, 5 grapes and 2 crackers, how many pieces of snack should you have on your plate? We tallied up each item and counted them together for our final answer.
Also this week, we made it to hippo park before the rain came (90th and CPW). The kids loved being in central park and suggested we have a picnic there one day. When I asked them what they wanted to bring many of them declared they would bring different fruits and vegetables! I can't really argue with that.
For this week, we will have our field trip to MoMA on Monday and will continue learning about, observing and making our own art. I told the kids that what we've been doing is analyzing or critiquing art as we question and observe it.
I hope you all had a great weekend. Remember to sign up for conferences if you have not done so already.
Amanda
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Our week before spring break was definitely event PACKED. We had a lot to talk about and a lot to accomplish. It was also the last week for our friend, Macy. The kids worked hard all week drawing her pictures and dictating what they love to do with her in school, all of which was put inside a special "Goodbye Book" for Macy to take with her to her new home. She can read her book whenever she feels like she misses her friends at Columbus Preschool, and we talked about how writing letters is another way for us all to stay in touch.
We had a special goodbye party for Macy, and the class decided to make her cupcakes for a treat... with cinnamon! This deliciously sweet and healthy spice has been the biggest craze among the kids. As a class, we talked about how sometimes you need to try things 7 or 8 times before your tongue realizes it's yummy. After our conversation, all of the class was willing to taste cinnamon with apples and there was an overwhelmingly positive response. They've now been asking to add it to their applesauce and fruit on a regular basis.
Baking also gave us the chance to further talk about fractions. The kids were exposed to what fractions look like, and that a fraction means a part of something. We discussed the most basic fraction, 1/2. They learned that two halves are equal parts, and when put together, they equal one whole item. We used common objects from our classroom to demonstrate this concept, and some of the children recognized 'halves' on their own as they encountered them during the day, usually as they're opening their sandwich at lunchtime.
Another one of our math lessons was learning to count by 10's. This came about when one student from our class wanted to collect 100 blue unifix cubes and connect them to make one long, straight line. He and I counted them many times together to see if he had enough cubes to amount to 100, but counting by 1's took a really long time! After finally reaching 100 cubes, as a class, we counted them together by 10's. We divided them into groups, and they understood that 1 group is 10 cubes, 2 groups is 20 cubes, etc.
The kids were visited this week by Dr. Levy and his family dog, Shauna. They learned about what a Veterinarian does, and the basic needs of animals, which we discovered are quite similar to the needs of humans. He showed us how he gives check-ups to animals, making sure they are healthy, and used x-rays to demonstrate how he determines why an animal may not be feeling very well. There are some cases when animals need to have surgery, and after surgery, the doctor needs to make stitches. Dr. Levy showed us how this is done using his stuffed animal friend. The kids were in complete awe as they watched this procedure. After Dr. Levy's visit, it was no surprise that the kids were interested in doctors. This came out through their imaginative play as they pretended they were doctors or sick patients; some human, some puppies or kittens. We borrowed a doctor kit from Didi's classroom, equipped with a stethoscope, thermometer, blood pressure gauge and various other tools.
As Passover and Easter were approaching, we talked about which holidays we celebrate and how we celebrate them. When asked why we celebrate them, many of the kids were at a loss for words. Marcia shared the story of passover and I shared the story of Easter. We talked about what it means to be free and how it is important to be compassionate and kind to others, even when others may not be very friendly to us. The children were exposed to the traditions of these holidays as we learned about the significance of unleavened bread and made chocolate covered matzoh. They also colored eggs, which symbolizes new beginnings and the coming of Spring! We had a few egg hunts outside, and the kids chose to hide the eggs for the teachers, too. I must say, I don't know how fair it is to hide the eggs in your pockets.
Another emerging curriculum in our classroom has been sculpture. The kids shared their knowledge on sculpture and we discussed how they can be made using all different kinds of materials and techniques. They learned about different sculptors as they viewed photographs of sculptures from all over New York City. Many of the kids were excited to recognize the works of art they were shown, and were enthusiastic about making sculptures of their own from a variety of available materials, such as firing clay, salt clay (a.k.a play-doh), plasticine, and Styrofoam.
At the end of our week, we had to do a little spring cleaning before our break, of course. The kids rolled up their sleeves and got ready for a shaving cream party. The tables were coated with shaving cream and they dove right in. After they were all done with this amazing sensory activity, they used a Styrofoam cup to lift away the soapy, foamy mess. The kids were so proud of how squeaky clean and fresh they made their tables-- they actually called the teachers over from the class next door to show them.
I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of their spring break, and I will see you when we return on TUESDAY. Also, if you have not returned your photo orders, please make sure you do so ASAP.
See you soon!
Amanda
We had a special goodbye party for Macy, and the class decided to make her cupcakes for a treat... with cinnamon! This deliciously sweet and healthy spice has been the biggest craze among the kids. As a class, we talked about how sometimes you need to try things 7 or 8 times before your tongue realizes it's yummy. After our conversation, all of the class was willing to taste cinnamon with apples and there was an overwhelmingly positive response. They've now been asking to add it to their applesauce and fruit on a regular basis.
Baking also gave us the chance to further talk about fractions. The kids were exposed to what fractions look like, and that a fraction means a part of something. We discussed the most basic fraction, 1/2. They learned that two halves are equal parts, and when put together, they equal one whole item. We used common objects from our classroom to demonstrate this concept, and some of the children recognized 'halves' on their own as they encountered them during the day, usually as they're opening their sandwich at lunchtime.
Another one of our math lessons was learning to count by 10's. This came about when one student from our class wanted to collect 100 blue unifix cubes and connect them to make one long, straight line. He and I counted them many times together to see if he had enough cubes to amount to 100, but counting by 1's took a really long time! After finally reaching 100 cubes, as a class, we counted them together by 10's. We divided them into groups, and they understood that 1 group is 10 cubes, 2 groups is 20 cubes, etc.
The kids were visited this week by Dr. Levy and his family dog, Shauna. They learned about what a Veterinarian does, and the basic needs of animals, which we discovered are quite similar to the needs of humans. He showed us how he gives check-ups to animals, making sure they are healthy, and used x-rays to demonstrate how he determines why an animal may not be feeling very well. There are some cases when animals need to have surgery, and after surgery, the doctor needs to make stitches. Dr. Levy showed us how this is done using his stuffed animal friend. The kids were in complete awe as they watched this procedure. After Dr. Levy's visit, it was no surprise that the kids were interested in doctors. This came out through their imaginative play as they pretended they were doctors or sick patients; some human, some puppies or kittens. We borrowed a doctor kit from Didi's classroom, equipped with a stethoscope, thermometer, blood pressure gauge and various other tools.
As Passover and Easter were approaching, we talked about which holidays we celebrate and how we celebrate them. When asked why we celebrate them, many of the kids were at a loss for words. Marcia shared the story of passover and I shared the story of Easter. We talked about what it means to be free and how it is important to be compassionate and kind to others, even when others may not be very friendly to us. The children were exposed to the traditions of these holidays as we learned about the significance of unleavened bread and made chocolate covered matzoh. They also colored eggs, which symbolizes new beginnings and the coming of Spring! We had a few egg hunts outside, and the kids chose to hide the eggs for the teachers, too. I must say, I don't know how fair it is to hide the eggs in your pockets.
Another emerging curriculum in our classroom has been sculpture. The kids shared their knowledge on sculpture and we discussed how they can be made using all different kinds of materials and techniques. They learned about different sculptors as they viewed photographs of sculptures from all over New York City. Many of the kids were excited to recognize the works of art they were shown, and were enthusiastic about making sculptures of their own from a variety of available materials, such as firing clay, salt clay (a.k.a play-doh), plasticine, and Styrofoam.
At the end of our week, we had to do a little spring cleaning before our break, of course. The kids rolled up their sleeves and got ready for a shaving cream party. The tables were coated with shaving cream and they dove right in. After they were all done with this amazing sensory activity, they used a Styrofoam cup to lift away the soapy, foamy mess. The kids were so proud of how squeaky clean and fresh they made their tables-- they actually called the teachers over from the class next door to show them.
I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of their spring break, and I will see you when we return on TUESDAY. Also, if you have not returned your photo orders, please make sure you do so ASAP.
See you soon!
Amanda
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