We have been very busy in the art room over the winter months and are now enjoying thinking ahead to spring. Here is what we have been up to over the past couple months and where we are headed.

3^rd Grade: Third grade worked together to make 7 Habits mural art. We tied this to their community field trip where they saw murals throughout Elizabethtown. Third grade is now working on clay coiled pots. Next, they will be making a few projects dealing with the human figure. They will then be making a mask, creating a car design, and experiencing different styles of painting including Sphero painting. They will end the year with a fun, silly project on Surrealism.

2nd Grade: Second graders made snowmen collages, a pinch pot with shapes attached, quilt squares, and a multi-media weaving. They are just starting on a paper mask design. After that they are going to be making a still life painting, a Mexican sun, and a Japanese fish print.

1st Grade: First graders made a snowman sculpture, plaster animal sculpture, a weaving, Valentine’s Day collage, and a clay plaque. They are now working on a self-portrait with a frame. Next, they will be making a geometric shape collage, an organic shape collage, and will be making a partner painting.

I am looking forward to a wonderful spring filled with fun and new projects in the art room!

This trimester, all three grades worked very hard to learn several pieces of seasonal music for the school’s Carol Sing. They did a fantastic job showcasing their abilities to sing and read music. The first grade classes focused on reading the lyrics of the carols and learning the music by echoing the melody. The second and third grade classes worked on the form, meter, rhythm, and tempo of the carols to better understand how these elements are used to create all music. The third grade classes also discussed style or genre of several different classical, jazz, and pop pieces as well as outlining the instruments used. The second grade classes worked extensively on building their skills in reading, writing, and identifying rhythms. They also worked on refining their ability to identify the sounds of the different families of instrument in the orchestra. The first grade continued to practice their abilities at finding the steady beat in different tempos and types of music in several meters. First graders were also introduced to the different instruments of the orchestra and how they sound.

All three grades learned about the keyboard family of instruments and had a chance to see how a piano creates sound and why it’s a member of the percussion family. They learned about keyboard instruments that are in the wind family (the organ) as well as saw a keyboard instrument that plays bells (the carillon). All of the classes also had a chance to play a piano and see how it works. The classes also had the opportunity to play an electronic keyboard called a synthesizer, and experiment with the different sounds it can produce.

Soon, the third grade classes are learning notes on the staff in the treble clef. They are using this skill to read the notes of the melodies of several well-known children’s songs. Right now, they are working on recognizing the sound and appearance of the instruments of the orchestra and classifying them by how they produce sound. The second grade classes are being tested on their ability to read, write, and perform a variety of rhythms. Soon, they will be learning about pitches and how notes are named after the letters of the alphabet. The first grade continues learning about rhythm and melody as they play simple harmonies to new songs. They learned about the instruments of the orchestra used to tell the story of, “Peter and the Wolf” to be able to recognize the timbre (sound of) and appearance of the instruments.

During the second trimester third grade participated in a floor hockey unit playing with a puck and sometimes a ball. It was fun to see the difference in play when you used a puck compared to the ball. We worked on passing, dribbling, positions, and game strategy. They also have been working on fitness testing performing curl ups, push ups, and the trunk lift. All third graders participated in the fitness tests. Ask your child which area they were the best in.

Students in first and second grade participated in one of my favorite units, the parachute. Please don’t let your children tell you we were jumping off of any buildings. HaHa!! We used the parachute to work on teamwork. We played games and made various shapes using the parachute. I think most students will say that either Sharks and Lifeguards or the Washing Machine was their favorite parachute game.

Third grade is currently involved in a volleyball unit and first and second grade are participating in a jump rope unit. In our volleyball unit students will learn the skills of serving, bumping, setting, rotating, and keeping score. The first and second graders will use long ropes and short ropes to work on various jump rope skills. Students will learn that the rope actually talks to them so they know when to run in during front door turning.

I know that the five day cycle can be challenging when trying to remember sneakers. If you are ever unsure as to what cycle day it is you can always check the PE website and it is posted on there for you. Thanks so much for your help in having your child remember sneakers and dressing in appropriate clothes for PE.

Our Field Day date for Rheems is Friday, May 15^th. The rain date is Wednesday, May 20^th. We need lots of helpers to make this a fun and special day for the students. Please mark your calendars!!!

Students have been experiencing great success in the lab as we continue our work with the Chromebooks, learn and use various Google Apps, and make continued progress in our keyboarding and coding programs!

First grade students are doing a wonderful job logging into their devices! Some students now even have their usernames and passwords memorized! Using Google Slides, first graders have had opportunities to use text formatting tools to change fonts and colors. Time has also been spent on properly using the shift key and the space bar. Next up, we will begin a unit on Digital Citizenship and discuss ways students can stay safe online and be good digital citizens. Students will also continue their work in the coding program, Kodable, and will work on concepts such as conditions (if, then statements) when moving their character (the “Fuzz”) through various mazes. Within the next couple of class periods, students will spend time on unplugged coding exercises and begin working in Code.org. Through the use of our keyboarding program, Keyboarding Without Tears (KWT), students are becoming more adept at finding letters on the keyboard quickly.

Second grade students are regularly using Google Classroom to access class assignments. Using Google Slides, they have been practicing changing font color, size, and style. Students have learned how to use the touchpad and the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cursor and delete mistakes in text. Second graders have also had the opportunity to work with images and have learned how to resize, rotate, and flip them. Next up, students will begin using Spheros (small programmable robots) and will participate in a team project where they will build an obstacle course for Sphero to travel through. Students are continuing their work in our typing program, Keyboarding Without Tears, and are learning about home row and practicing using two hands at once to find letters and type. Students are also continuing their work and making lots of great progress in Code.org.

Third grade students are well-versed in using Google Classroom to access their assignments, including work in Google Slides. They have had multiple opportunities to practice formatting text and resizing, rotating, and flipping images. Students are currently finishing up a project in which they used various features in Google Slides to write and format a winter acrostic poem. Students have enjoyed learning shortcuts for tasks such as copying, pasting, selecting all text at once, undoing mistakes, and logging out of their computers. Third graders are continuing their work in Code.org, a self-paced coding program. Students are working with concepts like looping (repeating steps in code) and debugging (problem-solving to find and fix mistakes). Third graders are making progress in Keyboarding Without Tears. Through a variety of different exercises, they are using home row and picking up speed and accuracy as they locate letters and type using two hands. All 3rd grade students across all buildings will be taking part in a March Madness Font Tournament. Just like the Final Four in college basketball, we will start with 64 fonts that will battle it out in 6 different rounds, coming down to just two fonts in the final championship round. Students are so excited to vote for their favorite fonts each week during technology class and to find out who the winner will be!!

Please be sure to check out our technology class web page for use at home! There are many typing games and seasonal activities available as well as links to kid-friendly websites. In addition to these activities, check out the links for Kodable and Code.org where your child can access his/her individual coding activities! Enjoy!!

* Follow our technology class on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MrsPainterTech