As we returned from winter break, we jumped headfirst into our winter studio curriculum. 

In the Downstairs, the Sunnies are being inspired by the change in light and dark in the winter, and are busy exploring white and black. After reading The Noisy Paintbox, about artist Vasily Kandinsky’s pioneering of abstract art and art depicting feelings, they were introduced to his painting Thirty, an unusual for him black and white painting. The Sunnies used mixed media to create their own black and white masterpieces that we’ll put together as a collaborative artwork. 

Inspired by the start of ski season and slope day, the Flower Patch Kids and Carriage House began exploring the themes of balance, symmetry, and asymmetry as they function within art. This week we’ve been doing symmetry challenges, 30 seconds on the clock and racing to create a loose parts tableau that exhibits symmetry, asymmetrical balance, or radial symmetry.  This is always a fun start to this work and ensures that we all understand these concepts.

The Neighborhood is furthering their balance study with creating beautiful cardboard notched building sets that they’re challenged to balance. These sets will also lead us into our next balance inspired work, with a focus on symmetry. 

The Carriage House is continuing their balance work with a detailed symmetrical tile drawing, using stencils and an axis line to ensure symmetry. This is highly focused work and the Carriage House kids are honing their skills at focus, detail work, and slowing way down while making beautiful work. 

The chemistry concepts of activation energy and catalyzing reactions offer the perfect metaphor for the sense of wonder and construction of new knowledge evidenced by the BEAM groups in the kitchen lab this week. We may have left with more questions than answers, but the good news is that’s what authentic science is all about! Keep up the fire…it’s Maple Syrup Time.    

All over the library these days, you can see books that have a bright, beautiful, kid-designed star on them. 

Then the Upstairs Neighborhood got a chance to see the stars. We talked about the word “recommend” and what it means. They wanted to put stars on books that they would recommend, and they also noticed that they loved books that already had stars on them. So we came up with the idea of writing their names on orange dots and then sticking them onto the stars. If you see a book with a star and lots of orange dots, you know that book is recommended by many!

Finally, the Sunnies had their chance to notice stars and to talk about what they mean. Some of them got excited to find books that had been recommended by older siblings or friends. They also got excited to see books they already loved had been recommended by older kids at school. They wanted to recommend books, too, and we used an orange sticky note so they would have more room to write their names. 

Through the visual medium of a star, sticky dots and notes, and blurbs with writing, all the children at school are using the library to communicate with each other about the books they love to read. They are helping guide their peers to the next books they might love. They are expressing their interests and taking ownership of their library. Each of them are entering into this project at the level they are able to, whether that is sticking a star on a book, writing their name, or writing a paragraph. 

We will continue to expand on the ways in which the children can communicate with each other and talk to each other about books without a grown-up being in the way. Some ideas are commandeering a wall in the library or maybe even the hallway! Stay tuned!