Day of the Dead Family Festival October 28, 2011

Next Saturday in Harvard Square!

From the Peabody Museum’s website:

Drop-in Family Event

November 5, 2011           12:00-4:00 pm

Free with Peabody Museum admission. Sugar skull workshop: $5 per skull.
For more information: pmae-ed@fas.harvard.edu or 617-495-3216

You’re invited to the Day of the Dead celebration at the Peabody Museum. Bring your camera for new activities this year! Have your face painted, make some dress-up crafts and calaca (skull) masks, and then pose for pictures of yourself in front of the holiday backdrop and with costumed Catrinas/Catrins (elegant skeletons). View the special altars and decorations, leave messages for your departed loved ones, and enjoy festive music. Decorate and take home a sugar skull and have some light snacks. Recommended for ages 5 and up accompanied by an adult.

Did you hear about our special visitors? October 25, 2011

We were thrilled to meet two never before seen creatures yesterday!  The creatures, created by the robotics club at CRLS and the drama class at CRLS were exploring school.  Part of the Sackler/CRLS/Morse 4th graders collaboration, the creatures were here for the 4th graders to observe, draw, and write about.  Much like Albrecht Durer’s rhinoceros, many students in school got glimpses of these creatures, but many students did not, relying solely on gossip and rumor of the beasts!

Here are our visitors:

 

 

Family Day of art-making October 19, 2011

Harvard’s Sackler Art Museum, is hosting a Family Day, this Saturday October 22nd, from 1-3pm.  The exhibit that this activity will take place in is the same exhibit I took the 4th graders to a couple weeks ago: Prints and Pursuit of Knowledge.  If the Family Day is as much fun as the field trip, I highly recommend going!  Click here for more information about the Museum and October 22nd.

**link not working, will edit soon**

Garden rainbow October 18, 2011

The junior kindergarteners came for an Open Studio class recently to create a rainbow.  They had previously been in our Citysprouts garden and located objects of every color.  In the art studio, they colored in the shapes they had identified, as well as coloring in the bands of the rainbow.  The final product is currently displayed on a bulletin board near the library.

 

Birthday celebrations October 17, 2011

The 2nd graders are learning about the folk art tradition of Mexico’s Amate bark paintings.  Inspired by the celebratory, colorful paintings, the students have created the ultimate birthday party.  They each chose 4 activities that would have at a celebration in their honor.  Some of the activities include: go kart racing, skiing, hot air balloon rides, sno kone machines, trampolines…the list could go on forever.  The photos show the students at work, painting with neon paints.

 

Congrats to… October 14, 2011

Ms. Carhart’s homeroom!  The 7th graders were the ultimate champions in the Back-to-School Art Studio championship.  As a reward, they won a trophy for their homeroom teacher, as well as apple pie made by me.  And we can’t forget about the 4th grade runner-ups…they put up a valiant fight.

8th grade Knights

The 8th graders came during their Social Studies classes to create a personal Coat of Arms.  Each student had to choose particular symbols and images that hold certain values.  For example, a tower symbolizes protection, while a hydra symbolizes mysteriousness.  The students also had to determine their mark of cadency, or birth order.  A first born child is symbolized by a zig zag line, while a second born child with a crescent.  Even the colors were representative of important values!

   

 

Rhinos! October 10, 2011

I took the 4th graders to 2 museums in Harvard Sq. last Friday…to the Sackler Art Museum and the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

At the Sackler, the students were introduced to the story of Albrecht Durer’s rhino prints…images he made even though he had never seen one himself.  At the museum, they collectively wrote a poem using observational language; as well as drawing an “imaginary” beast from written clues.  The beast turned out to be be a rhinoceros.

At the HMNH, the students were guided to the African animals exhibit and used observational drawing skills to draw animals they had never heard of before.

These skills learned on the field trip will be used in upcoming Art and ELA classes, including a big surprise towards the end of the month!

 

   

And the champion is… October 5, 2011

Either Ms. Zink’s or Ms. Carhart’s class!

I have been hosting a Back-to-School Art Studio Championship all September.  3rd-8th grade classes have been competing against one another, testing their knowledge of the studio’s rules and routines.  This week is the final round of competition between a 4th grade and 7th grade class.  For this last round of competition, the students are being scored on their teamwork, creativity, and speed.  They have 10 minutes to construct the tallest tower possible, using only paper/popsicle sticks, masking tape, and rulers.

Here are the 4th graders at work:

   

Never-before-seen-creatures October 4, 2011

The 4th graders are preparing for their field trip this Friday!  Today they had 2 questions to think about. 1. How do scientists know exactly what a never-before-seen-creature looks like?  Dinosaurs, for example.  and 2. If given a picture of one part of the animal, how could scientists guess what the rest of the creature looks like?

The students were given a small part of an imaginary creature.  After gluing that to their paper, they had to invent the rest of the animal, making decisions about size, texture, personality, and mobility.

The 4th graders are going to the Sackler Art Museum and the Harvard Museum of Natural History this week to explore this scientific approach to drawing.