We have made insect mobiles before but I changed it up a little this year. This time the first grade artists added a real silk cocoon to the end of their mobiles! I bought the silk cocoons along with some silk squares from this etsy artist: WCMercantile.
The silk cocoons took the metallic watercolors beautifully. We used the cocoons with the tops cut open that make a little lid (sans worm)- perfect for inserting written wishes on little paper strips. We hope that when these wishes are ready to mature they will open up and come true. There were lots of good wishes for friends, family, and school and I saw more than one wish for the ability to fly!
This is an update to our Inuksuk project. I've found a few more resources since then and also wanted to share the second part of this rock inspired unit.
We added this amazing mentor artist this year: Michael Grab of Gravity Glue! The kids were completely mesmerized by his work and it was a great start to conversations about grit, patience, focus, and going with the flow. This year I noticed the quality of their sculptures improved as they were more mindful of the process and to the subtle surface differences of the rocks.
I also added Art21 artist, Vija Celmins. I got to see her rock inspired art at MOMA last summer and couldn't wait to add this to our unit. In the MOMA link you will find a great audio clip of her talking about To Fix the Image in Memory where she describes the act of observation and drawing as "a record of concentrated looking." The next day we also watched the Art21 video segment (to the 4:45 mark) in which she describes her process so beautifully.
Watching Vija talk about her process was the perfect introduction to their careful observation rock drawings. They LOVE the fancy drawing pencils, blending tool, and the idea that an eraser can be a drawing tool and are very motivated to learn how to make a realistic drawing using value.
The first day I give them an H, HB, and 4B drawing pencil to use. They also make their own blending tool and value chart. The next day I let them experiment with the full set of drawing pencils.
The third graders added a poem to their rock drawings. They could create a cinquain, haiku, free verse, or rhyming... ode to my rock!
We have a New City School tradition the week before winter break called PODS. The fifth and sixth graders choose a special class to take for the whole week offered by teachers and administration.
Students could choose birdhouse building with Bill from buildings and grounds, jewelry making with Laurie the school counselor, piñata making with Nina the spanish specialist, music making on iPads with Ben and Liz our music and tech specialists, or exploring thingiverse and printing on our maker bot with Eric the science specialist. Wow! Our students must have had a tough time deciding which one to choose!
This year, I offered a recycle and recreate class using my hoard of plastic water bottles. I have seen water bottles being used in so many amazing ways from bottle cap murals to mobiles so I wanted to give it a try.
I highly recommend it! It was lots of fun to make and you can't help but to smile when you see these hanging in the hallway. The installations are so colorful, catch the light beautifully, and are a great example of how artists can transform the everyday object into art.
I went to see the Hobbit movie over the weekend. There was a scene that has stayed with me while trying to process the recent horrific event that has broken all of our hearts- Gandalf the wizard is explaining why he chose a hobbit to help in their journey:
"Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage."
Funny that wizards, elves, dwarves, and hobbits helped to restore my faith in humanity. I wish powerful laws could protect us and we had better mental health care for all. The thought of all that probably not happening in my lifetime leaves me feeling powerless though. What I can do, and what we can all do, is keep evil at bay with small daily acts of kindness, love, and courage.
I'd like to share our 4th grade creative art journaling on the theme: My Hands Are My Heart. They give me courage!
The kinders have been practicing a little color theory! They have been working with warm and cool colors here and here for example.
This is the last project in our color unit, a collage inspired by the question- what is your favorite color and why? The kinders LOVED the collage process but even more, I loved their responses to the question. We spent some time before we started, to close our eyes and visualize our favorite colors and then did a quick share. While they worked on their collages, I came around to record their thoughts. Their color responses evoke a memory, feeling, family, or nature- all of them lovely!
(I did get permission to share this secret with everyone!)
