from the atelier 10/18/07

Please see Ms. Leslie's blog to find out more about what we presented and discussed. Ms. Iris has posted to her gallery photos of all of you working with the clay.  Within the next few weeks, we will be firing in the kiln the pieces that you made.








preschool 3's:

This week and last week, we have continued working with clay.  The children also spotted some beautiful sunflowers in the atelier that they wanted to paint.  They spent time mixing the colors that they observed, and they had a chance to work in small groups to paint them.  The children modeled and shared ideas with each other about what they had observed about the flowers.
preschool 4's:

The 4's joined the 3's to paint sunflowers. Working in multiaged groups was exciting and new for the children. 

The four-year-old class was posed a provocation last week and this week about their clay houses. To encourage the children to think even deeper about what they had made, we asked, "Where are your houses?"  The children then began to formulate their ideas about where their houses might be located.  Some children talked about the city, while others talked about the country.  Some children named actual places, like Waikiki or Mililani.  As the children began to talk, the teachers began to ask more in-depth questions:  What is a city? What is the country?  The children had lots of ideas and theories about what makes up a city.   To further this discussion, we have been taking small groups into the atelier to talk about what is in a city.  To add another layer to this discussion as well as offer another way for children to visualize their ideas, we asked them to draw some of their ideas in their sketchbooks. 
Kindergarten

Last week the children finished their clay unit by painting and glazing their slab clay pieces.  I also downloaded to the gallery some of the children's work, so please check it out!  As we finish up with our clay unit, we will have a drawing unit and then a painting unit.  Learning more about drawing and painting provides the children with a better understanding of how they can successfully represent their ideas.  This week the children will begin the drawing unit by learning how to draw the wooden model.  They will also will have a chance to model while their classmates draw them!