Drawing With Children

I am using this book to teach the Middle and High School beginning drawing.  Just can't seem to make that photo larger.  It is Drawing With Children by Mona Brookes.  This is an area I am totally not gifted in.  I love art, but drawing is just not my area of strength.

We had a great time learning about the 5 elements of shape.  I used the same activity with both classess at different levels.  Each student followed the same set of instructions and came up with unique creations. It was interesting to see the personalities come through.

We are still havign a blast with art.

Spiders and Quilting

Five busy spiders jumped across the floor.......  We have been studying spiders in our K-2 classroom.  Creepy, cool, hairy spiders are appearing all over the room.  Bendaroos are perfect to make spiders with because they are sticky.

I might be seeing spiders in my sleep tonight.

Last year I started a log cabin quilt.  I took a class, but really was just so crazy with life that I never finished it.  In fact when I took it out again this fall I laughed because some of the squares were sewn out of order.  I decided to not fix it out of lazyness and  as a testament to how crazy busy I was a year ago.  I am retaking the class, starting from where I left off.

 I think I will be able to finish it this time. I am determined, and life although still crazy is a bit calmer than last year.

Paint Chip Art

I volunteered myself to be the 3rd-12th grade art teacher this year.  I did this because I just love art not because I am an artist.  So not being an artist means I need to come up with a flow that I can actually demonstrate with my no art training.  I love it and the kids love it.  I suppose I can't go too wrong since we have never had an art teacher.  We are a PreK-12 school with 2.5 certified teachers and an aid.  I love it!

 I found some really great ideas for using paint chips for art projects on Pinterest. I found lots of amazingly fun ideas  http://pinterest.com/craftyscientist/paint-chip-projects/.   Last week I raided the Home Depot and Lowes paint chip dislpays and introduced the concept of color harmonies.  The lesson was to choose a color harmony to create a piece of arts using repeated shapes.

Here is one example from highschool.  I need to take photos of the rest of the projects.  Some of the students really "got" the concept and some created projects that were fun, but did not meet the goals of the assignment. I just let that go because I want art to be fun.  I am going to think about a way to help those along who do not quite "get" the goal at the same time as allowing them their artistic freedom.  I am going to try this with the 2-5th next week using just value in the same color.  Teaching art is just so much fun.

The Sun, The Sun, The Beautiful Sun

The sun came for a vist this weekend and it was welcomed with open arms.

The hubby did a crazy Vertical Climb Challenge up the North Face Trail.  He did 9 laps which equates to 19.8 miles uphill, which is just amazing to me.  I on the other hand hiked the same trail with the little guy and our good friend.  It took us a few hours because the little guy wanted to hike much of it on his own.  I see a future in long distance climbing.

It was a beautiful day.

A weekend of sunshine puts me right back on track.  Thank you sun.

Rebuilding

I spent 7 years teaching the multiage K-3 class in the school I work in.  Just like any teacher I dropped a lot of cash creating a creative environment.  I had plants I loved, cute baskets, special books, and lots of resources.  When I left the classroom last year I thought I would be out of the classroom for a few years so I left many things there to stay with the class.  Good bye Amaryllis that blooms an amazing amount of times in one year.

Now I am back in a huge room without all my old comfort items.  It is kind of nice for someone like me who has a gift of "inquiry".  Seriously I took a strength finder test and that was one of my strenghts.  People who have a strenght in inquiry like to collect things that might be used in the future.  The exact translation for this might be "clutter".  Goodbye clutter.

Our classroom is pretty sparce this year.  It will slowly become more comfortable, but for now it is big and sparce.  I am kind of liking it.  All the cool  items I ordered in the past now sit in the 3rd grade room (my old room).  Darn those were some good resources.  As we rebuild our classroom I am loving watching what the students are coming up with.  Oh by the way... did I mention I only have 4 students right now... soon to grow to the huge size of 6.

American flag built out of City Blocks.

So Much to Do So Little Time To Do It

Oh the times they are changing....

I have been missing in action due to lots of fun travel.  We went to a wedding celebration, to our land in Homer, and then to teaching inservice.    I found out the last week of August that I was heading back into the classroom.  We had to hustle to recreate our family schedule.  Now I have the funny combination of teaching part time in a classroom and part time as a homeschool coordinator.  I thought it would be an odd mix, but after 1 week I am really liking the combination.  They both fit well together and the in classroom time keeps me fresh and excited about how young children learn.

Our school was renovated this summer, well I should say, it is still under construction.  I was able to get into my classroom the day before school started, and had to hustle to get things moved back in.

Here is a photo of my clean slate.  The windows were not even installed yet.

The room used to be a highschool room and now it is my multiage K-2 room.  All the bulletin boards and white boards are too high for the kids to reach.  That is a bummer, and even more so since the construction crew rehung everything without asking for our opinions as to height etc... I am going to make some stepping stools so the kiddos can reach.

We are kicking off the year with a David Shannon Author Study. I love incorporating author studies into our day.  It is such a great way to learn how to analyze books.  I am amazed at the level of analysis that even the youngest child can do when they compare books by the same author.  David Shannon has some hysterical (well K-3 hysterical) books.  My students are loving them already.

This is one of my favorite books to use for author studies.

To the Sea

By The Sea Emily Dickinson

I started early, took my dog, And visited the sea; The mermaids in the basement Came out to look at me. And frigates in the upper floor Extended hempen hands, Presuming me to be a mouse Aground, upon the sands. But no man moved me till the tide Went past my simple shoe, And past my apron and my belt, And past my bodice too, And made as he would eat me up As wholly as a dew Upon a dandelion's sleeve - And then I started too. And he - he followed close behind; I felt his silver heel Upon my ankle, - then my shoes Would overflow with pearl. Until we met the solid town, No man he seemed to know; And bowing with a mighty look At me, the sea withdrew. Our Alaska summer is coming to a close.  Termination dust has already been reported in the mountains and work will start in two days.  I am so thankful to have this time off in the summers, but each year it gets a little more difficult to return to work.   Heading down South once again for work and am looking forward to the little one having the time of his life in the firgid surf.