What a wonderful time to share!
During PACT time, our NMIC’s Family Learning participants are engaged in a variety of socio-cultural-educational learning activities.
A summary of these activities is contained below.
September 19, 2008: Creating a Family Journal.
During the first PACT session, each family created a Family Journal. Families worked together on decorating their journals with pictures, expressions, and phrases that best describe their family unit. Such depictions included, but were not limited to interesting/fun family activities, shared hobbies, and family interests. These depictions were then shared with the families.
September 26, 2008: Things we enjoy doing as a family.
Continuing the theme of family activities, the second PACT activity focused on brainstorming, as a family unit, the various activities that families enjoy doing together. These activities were placed on newsprint and depicted in pictures by the family. Working with our Family Learning drama teacher, each family then acted out the various favorite activities/events to the other families.
Rufina and son Kevin sharing her family's favorite activities  Maria and daughter Zoe presenting their hobbies.
Bernardo and his son Darwin decorating their journal.
September 24, 2008: MOMA: Art looking workshop (Photographs, crayons, paper)
Working with our MoMA facilitator, the families were engaged in the in-depth exploration of the museum experience. This exploration included understanding the participants’ current understanding of and exposure to museums as well as what participants hoped to gain from the museum experience. The families observed photographs of famous paintings by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Botero, etc. and viewed the photographs through a critical lens. The students were also engaged in making a crayon-based art project with the MoMA facilitator. The art projects were then shared with the other families. September 30, 2008: Music Workshop (plastic bottles, buckets, sticks, seeds)
During this wonderful session, our families were introduced to the different components of percussion: rhythm and beat. Our families helped to make their own instruments using recycled materials and seeds. Through this session, the parents and their children had a better understanding that beautiful music can be created with every day materials.
October 3, 2008: MOMA
Art making workshop. Working with shapes (sticky foam)
The participants continued with the theme of art-making project. After observing, discussing, and sharing their viewpoints about photographs of famous paintings, each family made an art project based on the formation/creation of shapes. They worked with sticky form cut-outs. The families then presented their final project to the group, as a whole.
October 9, 2008: MOMA Visit. Art Project: Masks
As a culminating MoMA-facilitated project, the families had a private, interactive and participant-centered tour of the museum. After the tour, all participants made masks using a variety of art supplies. The participants then described their creations to the others.
Thank you, MoMA!
October 17, 2008: Reading Circle "Hello Pizza Man!"
Participants were engaged in an interactive reading circle literacy event focused upon the children’s book, "Hello Pizza Man!" The activity incorporated a variety of pre, during, and post reading activities. The parents read the story with and/or to their children. At the end of the activity, pizza was served to the participants and every family received an original copy of the book.
October 24, 2008: Reading Circle: Friendship "Owen & Mzee Best Friends.” Write your own version.
This session focused on reading circle activities centered upon the theme of friendship as told through the beautiful story, “Owen & Mzee Best Friends.” The facilitators covered the text, making the book wordless. Thus, the participants only had the pictures. They then created their own stories (i.e., their own books). Their stories were shared with the other participants. The participants were able to keep their books at the end of the session.
October 31, 2008: Art looking and Making MoMA Post Visit Session
The participants were engaged in a post-visit MoMA session focused upon their museum experience. The participants enthusiastically shared their views of the MoMA visit. In families, they recreated favorite pieces of art from the museum and described them to the other participants. The medium was brown paper and oil pastels.
Families recreated favorite pieces of art from the museum
November 7, 2008: Drama Class Healthy minds, healthy bodies. Art project: Our bodies (Brown Paper and temperas)
Focusing on our health unit, the families—using brown paper and temperas—contour drew other family members and painted them using temperas, pieces of sponge and plastic bags to create texture. The drawings, of course, were life-size. They were then hung throughout the floor.
   After exercising their bodies, the families traced and colored life-size paper dolls
November 14, 2008: Health event: Health Event: face painting, paper snack bags, balloon animals and screenings. Health project: “What does “Being healthy” mean?
Again, following our health theme, our participants were engaged in an extremely successful family-centered health event. There were important health screenings (e.g., cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure) for the adults. Of course, there was an array of children-centered activities including face painting, balloon animals, and art making projects. In addition, children participated in a literacy-based health project, “What does “Being healthy” mean?, in which awards were presented to the participants.
While the parents were screened...   the children were engaged in face painting, crafts, and mix their own healthy snacks!
  November 17, 2008: Guggenheim: Unique buildings Pre-visit session.
In order to prepare participants for their field trip to the Guggenheim, a museum family educator visited NMIC’s program. The session focused on pre-teaching some of the critical vocabulary, as well as introducing the students to the architecture of this unique building, thus preparing participants for the trip, as a whole. In addition, as a family, the participants were engaged in art-making projects.
   Our families discussing and drawing buildings November 21, 2008: Drama Workshop: Saying Thank you- Storytelling “The rainbow Coat” Art project: Making thank you cards (construction paper, glue, markers)
The participants were engaged in a reading circle focused upon the short story, ‘The Thank You Coat’. The beautiful story focused upon the importance of being appreciative for the people in our lives and the things that we have. As a culminating activity, the families then made cards depicting what they were each thank you for. The Drama component focused on expressing thanks without words.
The families working on their ‘Thank you’ cards
 Orquidea, Josiany and Joel sharing proudly their beautiful cards
"Thank you, Family Learning Program!"
November 22, 2008: Visit to the Guggenheim
NMIC’s Family Learning participants spent the afternoon at the Guggenheim Museum. Partaking in a private tour of the museum, our learners were engaged in a thoroughly interactive, enjoyable, participant-centered learning experience at the museum. They experienced the museum’s architectural space, and observed pieces of art. Afterward, all participants were engaged in a very enjoyable art-making project.
   Outside and inside the museum the families experienced the beautiful space created by the unusual shapes and angles of the Guggenheim
December 6, 2008: Dia de los Muertos at the MET
NMIC Family Learning Program embraces multiculturalism. Our families celebrated “El Día de los Muertos” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). They were engaged in art projects and took part in the procession.   The families at the MET Art workshop, working on colored sand projects, then it was off to the procession
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PACT 2008: Parents and Children Together |
