Upcoming Events…
- 12/15-18 – WINTER FAIRE! Bring your handmade items to sell at the fair
- 12/16 – Alpha Portfolios on Parade Presentation @ 1:30pm in the Community Hall!!
- 12/17 – Alpha Games & Art Day
- 12 17 – Alpha Pajama & Snow day
- 12/22 – 1/2- WINTER BREAK!
** Please remember to submit the Parent Portfolio Pick by Tuesday morning so that your student can place it in their Portfolio for POP. **
The Amazing Alexander Calder
was the focus of our art study this week. We started our exploration with a video from the Whitney Museum in New York City which houses the artifacts from Calder’s Circus. Here’s the video we watched and discussed:
http://vimeo.com/66170895
to lean more about Calder:
http://whitney.org/Collection/AlexanderCalder
We talked about the jobs mentioned in the video including Art Historian, Conservator and Archivist. We also thought about where artists get their inspiration. And then our room was transformed into an art studio where our sculptors created every afternoon.
Multi media materials on hand. You may want to consider keeping a tray or small table set up at your house with wire, wire cutters, pipe cleaners, buttons, beads, big flat rocks, sticks, hot glue gun, bottle caps, etc. for your Alpha. It’s fun for the whole family!
Watch this video about the Author, Illustrator Lois Ehlert on her life as a child and how she became inspired to be an artist:
http://youtu.be/zkdjSSmskcw
Sculpting helps to develop our fine motor muscles.
Oma (Mara’s grandma) assists in teaching us how to use wire cutters and other materials – all with sparkly fingernails ;-)
Balance was one of the concepts we used to create our own circus sculptures that can move
Sometimes we turn into sculptures!
Language Arts
We have been practicing Reading to Ourselves through the whole first semester. We started with 1 minute and are now reading for 15 minutes a day! Our skills and focus have developed so well that we’re now ready to Read with a Partner, if we choose. We had a lot of fun pairing up to share books and stories.
Studying the difference between short and long i
Handwriting with Ms. Jennifer: We’re focusing on capital letters for a few weeks, just to make sure we’re all making them the from the top. To begin, we air wrote our letters F, E, P, B, N, M starting at the top and frog hopping back. It’s good review for everyone.
Math
Since we were focusing on the fine art of sculpture some of us explored how to create 3-D shapes. We found there were different ways to accomplish this and made comparisons.
Other Happenings
Taking time to talk about the artistic mural treasures we found around Austin ~ one family may even get to interview one of the mural artists!
Sharing nature art
Yoga with Ms. Stacie on Thursday mornings
We had a wonderful visitor all week. Sophie, a friend of Ms. Kim, is an education student who came to assist and learn in the classroom. If she didn’t already, she has a fan club now!
Our Founder, Ms. Georgie also came to visit. We presented her with a crazy sock garland that she says she’s going to hang in her office! We love you Ms. Georgie!
Merci beaucoup…
to Gabi for coming to our classroom on Monday to give it a deep cleaning. She scrubbed shelves, door knobs, window sills and sucked up all the bits leftover from our flurry of activities into the vacuum. And then she came and gave it her loving touch again on Thursday!
to ALL of you parents who donated supplies for our multi-media art, including Hannah G. who donated last week for our Mural.