What a great week it's been! We began the week with Picasso and his painting, "Bouquet of Peace." The painting is a picture of two hands holding a bouquet of flowers. To begin the lesson, we discussed what the words realistic and abstract mean. As a class, we looked at many of Picasso's paintings and decided if they were realistic (looking like a photograph or picture on an iPhone) or abstract (something that doesn't look real). Before diving right into, "Bouquet of Peace," I asked the children if they thought Picasso was holding the flowers with his two hands or if he was giving them to someone else. If you look closely, two right hands are holding the flowers, therefore, Picasso must have been given them to someone. The children were asked who they give flowers to and why. Many children said they give their flowers to a parent or grandparent. One little boy said he gave flowers to his sister for her dance recital! The children were invited to the table in pairs. The children practiced following direction skills as they began to draw the flowers. After the bouquet was drawn, each child put a painted hand print on both drawings to show the flowers being given to a friend. Come on in and check out our bulletin board. I will try to get names on the front of each piece of art early next week.
Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. In honor of the holiday, the children came up with the idea to make booby traps to try and catch the leprechauns! Our classroom was full of booby traps after just 20 minutes! Everyone wanted to try and catch a leprechaun! After free play was over, we gathered as a group to find out more about these traps. It was so much fun to hear how the traps worked and how they were going to trap the leprechaun. Here are a few of the explanations on the traps:
"The leprechaun will go inside, he will find the shiny spot. Then I will trap him and I will shake the pot of gold out of him!"
"The leprechaun will go into the box. I will shut the lid and tape it closed. I will open the other end and the pot of gold will slide right out! No lunch for leprechaun [clap!] DONE!"
"My trap is in the middle of the floor. I will be at the other end. Once the leprechaun is inside, I will pull the chain to catch him!" (picture below)
No leprechauns yet, but we'll keep the traps up for the weekend! We also had a green themed snack - cucumbers, green apples and, of course, lucky charms! And tried a rainbow experiment on the science table.
Lastly, we wrapped up the week with the introduction of our engineering unit about bridges. The children were introduced to the different types of bridges including a foot bridge, car bridge, draw bridge, etc. Next week we will continue these studies and the children will have the opportunity to build their own strong bridges! If you drive through Boston this weekend, don't forget to point out the very famous cable-stayed bridge, the Zakim Bridge! And there is also the Tobin Bridge, a cantilever truss bridge, if you are traveling on route 1!
Important Dates and Reminders:
March 19: March Gathering at Chikki Plaza, 10am tomorrow!
April 1: April Tuition Due
April 18-22: SEE closed for Spring Break
May 11-12: Picture Day! More info to come in a few weeks
Check out the pictures from this week:
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| "Bouquet of Peace" in progress! |
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| A few of the completed masterpieces. The different colored hands represent giving the flowers to a friend. |
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| More bouquets! |
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| Creating the leprechaun booby traps! |
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| And another trap... |
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| And another trap! |
So much learning packed into this week! I hope to see you all at Chikki Plaza tomorrow, March 19th, at 10am!
Joanna
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