Paper Sack Scrolls

Colored pencil on paper sack.
This is work done by fourth graders was created during our study of the eye. If you click on the photos you will get a close up look of find wise eyes looking at you.

Salamanders

Second grader Jasmine Crowell gave me the most amazing gift, a baby blue spotted salamander. He was the cutest and sweetest little salamander! The picture of me with the salamander was taken on the day I sent him back to his real home among the decaying leaves. I read The Salamander Room
to my students and then we drew pictures of salamanders. These colored pencil drawings were done by kindergartners. The book emphasizes that salamanders belong in the words, so I had Jasmine take him back to nature. I miss my little spotted friend, but the beautiful drawings are a wonderful reminder of him.

The Eyes Have It

The first graders made collage eyes in the style of Renee Magritte's "False Mirror." The students in Mrs. Elliott's class wrote, "Today we learned how to draw an eye." Art teachers are concerned about preserving a child's "creative self expression." As educators we are in a constant struggle to provide skills and knowledge of art terms without corrupting the child's unique creative impulses. However, even by the time they are in first grade their perceptions of creative expression has been corrupted by cultural influences. We have to explain what the atmosphere is and that the sky is not a blue stripe at the top of the page, the earth is not a green stripe at the bottom, bodies are not circles or ovals with stick lines emerging from them, bodies have mass and dimension. Eyes are not dots or circles, they are almond shaped. The concept is challenging, because all knowledge is.
Study of the eye was reinforced in science also. In science we learned about: the sense of seeing, the parts of the eye, the basic function of the parts of the eye, dysfunctions of the eye, light, color, and UV light.
Life isn't all science so we considered the proverb, "The eyes are the windows to the soul." Hopefully, these young people will recognize that there is much to see, know, and express about life.

Whirling Beginnings

The first project of the year was a service project. The whole elementary school made pinwheels for the Neal Singles Run. The run happened to fall on International Peace Day. To demonstrate their appreciation for the work done by the education foundation and their concerns for peace not only in the world but in the school, community, and the home, the students created Pinwheels for Peace.
"Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two Art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, who teach at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida, as a way for students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives. The project was quickly embraced by their students and the entire school community and by millions of art teachers, teachers, parents, children and adults who desire peace in our world" (http://www.pinwheelsforpeace.com/theproject.html).
The students contribution made the day of the race very special indeed.