Last Day Photos

Have a great summer everyone! Please keep in touch.

Tie Dye

We are winding down this week. I feel like I could spend months on this art unit and I wish that I would have planned for us to spend more time on it. There are so many more artist and art styles that we haven't covered.

We made tie-dyed shirts today. What fun that was! We wrapped the shirts up using rubber bands and then dipped each layer into one of the four colors of dye. Each shirt and design was as unique as each child.

We learned that the tradition of tie-dying has been around for thousands of years (long before the hippie generation). People in Asia and Africa create beautiful clothing using this art form. People in India have been tie-dying for over 5,000 years. This form of tie-dye is referred to as Bandhani. I've included a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandhani_work. Interesting enough, the Hindi word Banhan means tying up.

Remember, we'll have a short day next week. We'll only be meeting for two hours before we leave for the pool party. I look forward to spending our last day together with you and your families.

I can't say it enough but thank you again for supporting me and allowing me to pursue my gifts and my love for working with young children . I truly feel that it is a privilege to be entrusted with your children. Each one has made lasting impressions on my heart.

Pop Art

We spent nearly the whole day working on Pop Art projects. We learned a little about the works of Andy Warhol, a well-known Pop Artist. Basically, Pop Art became popular in the United States in the 60's. Pop Art uses images of everyday objects to portray elements of popular culture. People, celebrities, popular items and comic strips were used as subjects for Pop Art.

Our art project consisted of putting together images using the computer. We then edited the photos using effects such as changing the photos to black and white, adding colorization, texture, artistic effects, and distortion. Once the children were happy with their photo designs and layouts, we then printed them on iron-on transfer paper for t-shirts. Finally, we ironed the images onto shirts. Yes, it took us all day to complete the project but hopefully, you mothers are happy with the finished product.

I sent home some articles yesterday, along with a checklist of some of the objectives that we've covered this year. I hope that you find the information helpful. It has been a joy to work watch each child grow and develop this year. I grow along with them. Thank you again for sharing them with me. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.

Next week is water day. We will be going outside to play in the sprinklers as long as there are no thunderstorms. Please send your children dressed in swimsuits with sunscreen already applied. Also, don't forget towels and a change of clothing. Thanks!

Oh, and thank you to Andrew and Ms. Laura for providing us with a delicious pizza lunch yesterday. What a treat for all of us!

Action Jackson

I apologize in advance if the spacing of paragraphs is out of whack. I'm having trouble when posting the blog. Lately, my posts aren't appearing exactly like I publish them and I'm not sure why.

We studied Jackson Pollock this week. He was known as an action painter; he used the motion of his whole body when painting. He had his own unique style which was coined as the drip technique. He would lay his canvases out on his studio floor, instead of using an easel, and drip pour, and splatter paint to create his works of art. He would often use household paints instead of artists paints along with hardened brushes, sticks and other items to paint with.

We created our own versions of Jackson Pollock pieces. The children dripped and threw paints onto canvases that were laid on the floor. Each of them experimented with different colors and ways to throw the paints onto canvas. I've posted some pictures of them in the process as well as pictures of the finished product. For an extension of our lesson, you can take your kids to http://www.jacksonpollock.org/ and create mess free action paintings online.

Most of the excitement on Wednesday centered around a young cottontail, thanks to Rooney the dog. We were able to get the bunny before Rooney had him for lunch. We found a box to keep the bunny in for the remainder of the school day. We went online and researched to find out more about cottontails. I'm certain that the children's favorite part was getting to hold the bunny. In fact, it was quite a distraction because they didn't want to do anything other than hang out with the bunny;-) After the bunny received a lot of prayers and TLC, Syan took him home with her so that her vet neighbor could care for him.

Next week, we'll be working on a special art project for the mothers. I hope to see all the children then. Have a wonderful weekend!

I absolutely love our art study so today was especially exciting for me. We kicked off our study with Vincent Van Gogh, a Dutch post-impressionist painter. We learned a little about the life that he lived and about his works. We discovered that he completed more than 800 paintings in 10 years but that he really didn't become famous until after his death. Before he committed his time to art, he worked as a store clerk, salesman, and preacher.

Van Gogh never could find happiness. I'm wondering if he struggled to understand who he really was in the Father's eyes. The children and I talked about this and talked about how sometimes we struggle with how we feel about ourselves and how many times, we just need to ask God to show us how much he loves us.

I really enjoyed watching the children paint their own versions of Van Gogh's Starry Night. You'll see pictures of their masterpieces posted here. They began their projects by painting with cotton swabs and popcicle sticks. Once they completed their paintings, the cut buildings out of construction paper. I was very impressed with the process and the product! What do you think? Oh, and ask your child who he/she thinks Van Gogh was thinking about when he painted Starry Night.

I'm working on lesson plans for next week. I got a little carried away buying our art supplies this week so I'm changing my lessons plans now so that we can use what I bought. I've got a lot of ideas and supplies but we only have four weeks of school left.

Here's a link to a Van Gogh online game: http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/vangogh-sc.htm See you next week!

Mr. Al Concert and Homeland Creamery Pics

Pajama Day

Most of the children came dressed for a pajama movie party. Syan and Michaela came very prepared with sleeping bags and all! It doesn't seem to matter what I plan; the kids always get so excited about doing even the simplest things (I wish I was more like them).

We used the Resurrection eggs and an animated movie to learn more about Easter. I was impressed by how much the children knew about that first Easter. I really enjoyed the discussions. To top things off, we went on an egg hunt. Ms. Laura was gracious enough to hide the eggs while I kept the children busy playing in the woods. They had so much fun finding eggs that they wanted her to hide them again.

We won't be meeting for class for the next two weeks but there are a few field trips on the calendar. If you are interested in going to the Mr. Al concert, the link to buy tickets is http://www.mralmusic.com/. If I don't see you then, I'll see you back in two weeks. Happy Easter!