Falling in Love with Sunflowers…

One of our first tasks this month was to create an art project celebrating the upcoming arrival of fall. Luckily, our good friend Mrs. Walton grows these beautiful sunflowers in her backyard.  She was also kind enough to lend them to us for this project. Thanks Mrs. Walton!

We poked and prodded them, coaxed the odd bug out of them, and finally decided on a plan of attack for sketching an outline of them.  On Monday, we’ll add a layer of oil pastel to our pieces and post the resulting works of art here!  Stay tuned!

Friends in 4Wo

We’ve been getting to know one another in 4Wo, and we’ve discovered we’ve got quite a cast of characters.  Ones who have been here since Kindergarten, brand new additions to IREC, and familiar faces from our grade three classrooms.

As their teacher, I’m just now getting to learn a little bit about each one of them.  We’ve spent some time outside (orienteering has been a treat), some quality time inside (Art is high on our list of favorite activities), and quiet times learning new routines and strategies for learning.

I’ve snapped a few pics along the way, and wanted to share them with you.

Merry Christmas!

Just a few things to get you all caught up with where we’re at in 4Wo…

Our Red Lion Amaryllis has decided that it’s getting ready to bloom already.  This was not scheduled to happen until at least the middle of January!  I guess it loves the sunshine in this classroom as much as I do.  I told the students that I would post pictures here as soon as it’s in full bloom – which shouldn’t be long.

We’ve been taking an opportunity to enjoy a bit of yoga during our PE time this week. Our classroom has been doubling as a very serene yoga studio!

Yesterday, as a wrap up to our Science unit covering Waste and our World, we enjoyed making an edible model of a landfill – complete with all the parts.  It was delicious!

Here are a few student comments about this fun project:

” I liked that we made a presentation about a landfill, and it was yummy.”

“My favorite part was the leachate (syrup).”

“My favorite part was the ice cream sandwich – it represents the trash”

Maybe one of these tree decorations came home this week?  We made them on Monday as part of Art class.  These kids are origami masters!

I do hope all of you enjoy your holiday break!  I’m looking forward to seeing everyone back here on January 5th, 2015!  

Merry Christmas!

Monster Mama 2 – The Finished Products

This art project was so much fun!  See our previous post for details about the inspiration for these frighteningly funny characters.

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Monster Mama

Today we read this book:

Story by Liz Rosenberg, Illustrations by Stephen Gammell

We loved the drawings, and used this one for inspiration:

By Stephen Gammell

To create art like this:

Check back here soon to see our finished products.

Yes, It’s Almost Fall

So, we experienced a  bit of winter weather this week.

It was a shocker.

On the exact day we were to be making these gorgeous fall leaves for our classroom window in Art class, there were actually snowflakes falling.  Staff and students came into the classroom and giggled about how we should have been making snowmen for the window instead.  Hush!  Today we can rejoice, the fall weather has returned and these little beauties are simply glowing.  They are fantastic grade fours!