Art Inspired Wednesday

April 3, 2013

This morning the children filled the classroom with activity, each center was visited and worked through as the Cardinals moved individually or in groups. Today's energy continued to expand on our artistic side with some continuation of a project inspired by the photographs in the book Circles, Triangles and Squares by Tana Hoban. The children looked at the interesting photographs of shapes in all parts of our world.  All of the photographs were taken with black and white film highlighting shapes in the world. It you have a moment, stop by to look at this photo book of shapes or check it out on -line.   The children selected a photograph that inspired them and then used a variety of collage materials to interpret the shapes and pictures.      

We introduced a new artist today, Piet Mondrian. We learned that this Dutch , abstract painter dedicated his work to painting nothing but vertical and horizontal rectangles and lines, their colors limited to black, white , and gray and the primaries red, blue and yellow.

We cut 3/4 inch strips of black paper and demonstrated how we could create art that is inspired by Mondrian's style and concepts.  This was an ideal artist to look at as this form of art connects our study of shapes in such a natural way.

Outdoor Play

Over Spring Break, Xander traveled to Switzerland. Today, he brought with him a present of Swiss chocolate for all his Cardinal classmates and shared some of the fun things he did with his family on vacation. The children listened attentively and asked interesting questions, such as "How do you ski down a mountain", of their friend's travels.

Rainy Tuesday Fun

Cardinal Happenings on Tuesday, March 12 

The Cardinals thoroughly enjoyed joining the Lower School students for morning assembly in the Mueller Auditorium today. Our children were so proud to be part of the larger community as they took their seats on the cushy chairs and settled in to watch the performance of the Kindergarten play.  Many of our children have friends in our Kindergarten classes and seeing their older school friends working together on the stage to tell a 'story' was quite exciting. The children noticed how the stage had been transformed through design and props created by the Kindergarten class.  Fourth grade friends participated in the assembly as well and we all loved listening to a duet written by Bach and performed by students on the piano and flute! This was a wonderful opportunity to connect with our larger community and to continue to build the important relationships within our school. We saw lots of our friends who have come to be 'readers' from 2nd grade and of course our children with siblings were thrilled to give a hug and see one another!

When we returned to our classroom, we reflected on the assembly and this led to a wonderful discussion about how the stage had changed since our last visit with April when we looked at the set of Once Upon A Mattress.  We engaged in a really interesting discussion about sets and how they can help to tell a story. We set up hypothetical situations and tried to think of what we would want to put on a stage to help tell a particular story. For example, if we wanted to tell a story about someone who loved to bake we would not have our set in a music studio (as today's play had) but that we would perhaps use tables, cooking utensils, ovens etc. to create the feeling of a bakery shop. The children were very interested in the whole notion of performances and a few children asked if we could put on a play too!  Time will tell...

In the classroom we had several choices open for our extended Choice Time today. Exploring shapes
has really taken off with our children. The children are involved in several learning centers that support this interest and goal. We continued to look at photographs of shapes in the Tana Hoban book Circles, Triangles and Squares and the children have become more observant of shapes all around us at all time. The children have been inspired to interpret the shapes they have seen in the photographs and are using collage materials to express their interpretations. They have used twigs, Popsicle sticks, small pebbles and toothpicks to design and create their shape art. The children gain so much from open ended math and art experiences and this activity facilitates that growth beautifully.

The flow and movement of our room continued smoothly with a shared story on the rug leading us to lunch. We read Cornelius by Leo Lionni, a fable that illustrates how we can learn from one another. This led to the Cardinals making personal connections in sharing things that they have learned from their friends at school or their siblings and friends at home. Smiles appeared on the faces of the children as they heard their names in scenarios shared during this time.

OTHER PHOTOS FROM THE DAY

Monday Happenings

The morning began with an intentional look at the book, Circles, Squares, and Triangles by Tana Hoban. In small groups, children visited a center filled with materials such as popsicle sticks, small wooden pieces, small round glass stones and pebbles, and toothpicks. After doing a picture walk through the story, the children each seemed to be inspired by the photographs highlighting the shapes in the world around us. They immediately took to creating the shapes depicted in the book, explaining these are like the triangles in the bridge or I would like to make the road signs. It was interesting to see the children identify each piece of the photograph and through creative selection, chose similarly shaped materials to assemble their own interpretation.

Learning centers such as this easily can be supported by a teacher as the children have grown in their relationships with each other and independently choose other areas of work in the classroom. Building with the Magnet Tiles continues to provide the children with a three dimensional experiences with shapes. As the children connect squares and triangles of different sizes together, they compare heights and positions to create a stable structure. This has led to imaginative play scenarios where animals are now being added as character. Problems such as storms arise as well, that need to be solved through reworking and moving of pieces.

Lilly's Mom Alix had the opportunity to spend time with the children reading stories this morning. As a professor at Temple, Alix is on Spring Break this week and this provided a special experience for her to share free morning time with us in the Cardinal class. The family-school connection is something that is so vital to the children's learning experience at this age. Opportunities such as this provide support and the comforting feeling that school is just an extension of the home environment where every child is valued, loved, cared, and respected. 

At Morning Meeting, we were introduced to the artwork of the abstract painter, Piet Mondrian. Much of his art consists of only vertical and horizontal rectangles and lines. As the children listened and watched closely as the teacher turned the pages displaying many of his pieces, they noticed his paintings primarily were put together using black, white, gray and the primary colors. During Morning Meeting, we extended our conversation and participated in a discussion identifying shapes in areas of our house such as the bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Many ideas were shared that clearly illustrated the children's awareness. The teachers then challenged the children as they sat down for their  journal time in asking them to recall and illustrate shapes that they saw on their drive to school today. The journal topic of the day led to making deeper connections with shapes in the world around us.  Take the opportunity to read your child's journal at pick-up or drop-off and see what stands out to them.

Creative expression is something the children truly enjoy and they identify with the role of the artist. They have grown in their feelings of ownership and connecting with the studio. Today, painting at the easel was opened and the children were able to use large movements in their strokes. Color mixing and shading are two types of experimentation happening in this area right now.

The children are really starting  to connect with shapes and color. The question of the day was: Can you find any shapes on your face? The children loved looking in a mirror that we placed near the graph to see if their facial features resembled any familiar shapes.  As they stopped by the mirror, they were quick to point out aspects of their face and seemed quite surprised at just how many shapes they could identify! 

What a way to finish the day than with a shared time together engaged in outside play:

Wishing everyone a Happy Monday as we all adjust to Daylight Savings Time! Tomorrow, we will be attending Lower School Assembly at 8:30 in the Muller Auditorium. The Cardinals are excited to be part of the audience for this community experience filled with a packed schedule of:

-Kathy and Beverly's Kindergarten Play -"State My Name" Game with 4th Grade Students

-Flute/Piano performance of Bach's Minute in G from Drew Arteaga and Charly Avril

It is sure to be a heartwarming experience showcasing the talents of our students here at AFS.

If you do arrive after 8:30, feel free to bring your child to the Muller Auditorium to join us.