Sculptures: Paper and Wood

Dear Parents,

This week we made more sculptures. After sculpting with oven bake clay last week, we used paper and masking tape to build what some children described as bridges and obstacle courses. We used strips of paper to fold, roll, crumple, and bend. We taped them to a bigger piece of paper, and they are on display in the classroom. 

On Tuesday Pastor Cheri came to visit our classroom with her little dog Mickey. We learned that Mickey is sixteen years old, blind, and doesn't bark. He is friendly and was happy to let friends take turns petting him on his back. Everyone wanted to pet him except for three people. Two of the three said they had dogs at home. We heard about the children’s old cats and dogs, some of whom are no longer with us. 

After reading Animals A to Z, Hot Dogs and Cool Cats, and Any Kind of Dog, we went in the big room to run a little, and then in the yard to swing, climb, and dig in the sandbox. One person was on the swings for so long, someone said, “She’s never coming off!” The jungle gym transformed from an ice castle, to a spaceship, and then to a pirate ship. At one point the entire class was in the sandbox except for the one swinger. 

While half the class was playing a new color game with Larisa during tumbling, in the classroom we cut out shapes with scissors. The children were cutting up a storm.

On Thursday and Friday we worked on wood sculptures. The class used wood glue to secure pieces of old puzzles to wood, popsicle sticks, and a few gems. The next day everyone chose silver or gold paint. 

In the block area children have been building a big wall. Some said it was a castle. Many chanted, “My castle, my castle!” One person looked around and said, “Our castle!”

Have a wonderful weekend,

Therese

Self Portraits and Sculptures

Dear Parents,

We began our week playing with blue kinetic sand. The children waited impatiently for their turns. Everybody got one turn. We will have more chances in the coming days. 

We drew self portraits after reading When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry. In the book Sophie draws a family portrait. We looked at the cover of Martha And George which has portraits of each of them too. We looked at our faces in mirrors, and at each other, to see what shapes we see in our faces. The children said they saw circles, ovals, triangles, squares, half circles, straight lines, and curly lines. While half the class played in the big room, the other half drew self portraits. Later, one person said his was crying but he forgot to put tears. 

On Wednesday in gymnastics we heard a little music. While half the class tumbled, the other half drew with pencils. A few friends drew more self portraits. Some drew train tracks, and one person drew a tiny Pluto, a big Pluto, a huge Pluto, and Saturn. 

We created sculptures using oven bake clay. Everyone got a piece of red, yellow, blue, and black clay to roll and squeeze. Someone said it felt warm as we rolled it. The children created spirals, long snakes, a heart, a tiny bowl, a circle, and more. We put them in the oven and went to play in the big room. 

In the big room we are riding tricycles, climbing in the jungle gym, building castles with blocks, and preparing meals in the kitchen. 

We are working on speaking up for ourselves if someone is playing a game we don’t want to play, and having our listening ears on when a friend is talking to us. 

On Friday we played in a rice bin. We used cups and funnels to pour and measure the rice. We also played with our kinetic sand again. Someone asked, “How do you make kinetic sand?” and “Why is it blue?” 

In the big room three friends put on a show on the stage. There was some dancing, twirling, and a monster who hopped on stage. Several children sat as audience members and ate pretend popcorn during the show. 

Have a near-the-end-of-winter weekend,

Therese