2/3s Craft Chinese Dragons

The current 2/3 class is quite adept at cutting and folding paper. They often create quite remarkable structures when given the opportunity. With this in mind and China the class topic of study, the students began crafting cut and folded Chinese dragons. With red, green and orange construction paper they worked on long articulated bodies joined in segments with brass fasteners to allow for dragon-like movement. With the edition of wings, scales and many original details, each dragon took on a unique personality.

Beginning cuts

Attaching sections

Pushing the brass fastener through

Gluing in the teeth

It needs to breathe fire!

A friendly looking finished dragon

4/5 Immigration Scenery

The 4/5s are studying immigration and writing original plays on that topic that will be presented at their end of the year show of work. To enhance this endeavor the students are painting backgrounds for the plays depicting a scene from the old world, the Atlantic steamship crossing and a glimpse of the new world. Working in groups, they are painting these large works on the floor, in the hall and wherever they can find space for this large project. 

Initial drawing...group process

The immigration steamship crossing the ocean

A scene from the old world

Working together to add details

Final panel of the old world

M.S. Students Zentangle Their Self-Portraits

After completing their self-portraits, the middle school students Zentangled designs over copies of their work. Lots of stark black and white patterns were drawn, creating fascinating and, in some cases, quite eerie images. This exercise can be very absorbing, as one gets lost in the repetition of pattern...thus the title, "Zentangle". It's a relaxing, de-stressor for the end of the year.

Intricate patterns

Concentration works best for this exercise

Four finished portraits

2/3s Paint Chinese Scroll Paintings

Tying in to the classroom study of China, the 2/3s became familiar with traditional Chinese scroll painting, and tried their hands at creating their own scrolls. Watercolor backgrounds were painted on a vertical paper. Once dried, drops of black ink were applied to the bottom of the paper and lines representing branches were blown upward through a straw.  Names were then written in Chinese, and bamboo skewers were glued to the top and bottom to allow the scrolls to look authentic and hang straight.

Laying in the watercolor sky

Working around the moon shape

Practicing blowing out the ink for tree branches

Gaining control of the medium

Practicing a name in Chinese characters

K/1 Make Maasai Necklaces

Following the giraffe portraits drawn by the K/1s they listened to Maasai and I by Virginia Kroll and Nancy Carpenter and learned about the Maasai people of East Africa and the flat collar, beaded necklaces that they craft. Noticing the geometric patterns that the Maasai design, the students drew and colored their own patterns, adding the rectangular bottom piece with beads hanging from it.

Cutting the center to make the rectangular bottom piece

Full attention to cutting the circle

Working out a geometric design

Figuring out colors

Tying beads to the bottom strings

Threading and tying the bead