Week of March 2-6, 2015!

Happy Friday indeed!  Another busy week has come and gone!  Here'e what we've been up to:

It's March Map Madness! We are learning all about maps, directions, countries and the good ol' USA!   We began our week mapping our family on a family tree. We read the book, "My Map Book" by Sara Fanelli and discussed how almost anything can be mapped.  We also read "Who's in a Family" by Robert Skutch and the children wrote their names on a tree and discovered how their family members are connected.  

As the week went on, we introduced the children to American artist, Jasper Johns.  Jasper was born in 1930 and currently resides in the northeast.  He is best known for his painting titled, "Flag." In staying with the map theme, the children studied his painting titled, "Map" (1961), a unique paining of the USA.  As a group, we discussed the colors he used and how his artwork was "messy" not neat and precise.  Jasper said that paint drips are a bold feature in his painting of "Map."  He is quoted to say, "In ordinary life, drips usually imply a mistake, or sloppy indifference... There are no accidents in my work, it sometimes happens that sometimes the unexpected occurs.  The paint may run but then I have a choice to paint it again or not.  If I don't, then the appearance of the element in the painting is no accident." I love it! Very wise words! Why does art have to be perfect?  The children each chose a state to paint.  We used a technique of dragging the paint drips on the paper to create a similar look to Jasper Johns' work on "Map." We tired different materials and found that a large popsicle stick is the best way to drag the paint.  Children who needed a little assistance with their paint dragging were given a modified popsicle tool to work with (see the pics below).  Once all of the states are completed, they will be pieced together and hung on our bulletin board.  Definitely stop in to check it out next week and we will also be sure to post a final picture on the blog.

What happening next: We will continue our map studies while learning about a compass and direction.  Our Jasper Johns recreation will be completed and we will hopefully be able to finally play outside again!  We will continuing to practice writing and will introduced basic patterns throughout the week.  

An extra special thank you goes out to the families who participated in our fundraiser to benefit our playground! We raised almost $500 and would love to hear your suggestions on how you think we can improve our outdoor classroom!  We cannot wait until the warm weather is upon us! 

And don't forget! You are all invited to help us shovel out the playground this Sunday, March 8th beginning at 11am!  It's BYOS (bring your own shovel)! Please park in our lot and walk through the school.  Our front door will be unlocked, just meet us outside! Please see the Evite for more details.  

Lastly, our March gathering will be at the Barefoot Book Store in Concord, MA on Saturday, March 21st at 1pm.  The cost is $5/child and will include a story time and craft.  If you are not familiar with Barefoot Books, they are amazing and an all time favorite of our teachers and students!  Please RSVP via Evite.

Friendly Reminders:

 - Butter Braid orders will be in on Tuesday, March 10th.  We will begin passing them out to families during the 12:00pm pick-up.  Please make arrangements to pick up your order before 5:30pm on Tuesday. The product arrives frozen and is recommended to stay frozen.  We will have a cooler to keep the items frozen up to 12 hours, there is no rush to pick up your order, but please make sure you plan to stop by.

- If all goes smoothly with our playground dig out this Sunday, the children will be back in the routine of playing outside!  Please look for an email from me on Sunday to confirm that we will begin outdoor play again and for more details.  This means snow pants, water proof mittens, waterproof boots and hats! 


- Picture Day will be on Thursday, March 19th and Friday, March 20th. Fliers are now going home.  Please fill out the form and return to us as soon as possible.  Please email me with any questions!

Have a great weekend!

Paint pulling on Idaho!

Modified paint pulling on Colorado!

Come back next week to see the final map!