Snowballs

Bring on December and dare I say winter!  I adore all Lois Ehlert books, including Snowballs.  Her art begs the reader to take a closer look.  The children were curious to see, discover and discuss what objects were used to assemble the snow family in the story.  We discussed collage, the technique Ehlert uses to create the images in her books.  It's as a French word meaning glue. Simply put, collage is art made from various materials glued over a surface.   

We recreated a wintry scene from the book of birch trees and a red cardinal.  As a time saver, the trees were photocopied onto sheets of paper for the kids to cut into tree trunks.  Using a bowl they traced a circle onto red paper and cut it out.   They made a dot in the centre of the circle and cut only pie shapes. This was their challenge, to create the bird using triangular pieces. They did amazingly well.  Once the birds were assembled, details were added with sharpies. Then it was time for snow!  Out came the hole punchers.  Snow fell for an hour straight, what fun!

Owls

Who who who isn't loving owls these days?  They are everywhere it seems!  The boys and girls LOVED, and I mean LOVED, the book Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. Three owlets are left alone wondering where their Mother has gone.  They are sick with worry, but comfort each other as time passes.  The youngest owl Bill, chimes in on every page with, "I miss my Mommy."  The kids thought this was too cute. The book has not been put down for two days.  They just can't get enough!  

                                   

Good-Night Owl, by Pat Hutchins, is a funny story about an owl who can't fall asleep during the day because of all the other birds making noise.  Finally, night falls and the birds are fast asleep...all but one!  It's the owl's turn to "screech screech" and wake the others!  It's a great introduction to different birds, their calls and nocturnal animals.  

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na is beautifully illustrated and chock full of interesting facts on how different animals sleep.  Did you know that fish sleep with their eyes open because they have no eyelids?  What animals sleep standing up, or huddled together, or with one eye open?

OWLS...what a hoot!

Bird Feeders

This week we made some yummy treats for the birds.  We practiced reading and following instructions from a recipe and took turns measuring and mixing ingredients.  Which shape do you like the best?  Check out our great recipe writing below.  Hope the birds enjoy their treats!

Bird Feeder Recipe

In a big bowl mix:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 envelope unflavoured gelatin
• 3 tbsp corn syrup  

Then, mix in 4 cups of bird seed.  Dump mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick).  Use cookie cutters to make shapes.  Make a hole with a straw.  Let dry overnight.  Thread twine through the hole and hang for the birds. 

What does PEACE feel like?

Today we read a gorgeous book called, A little PEACE by Barbara Kerley.  Stunning photographs capture peace around the world and portray a simple message.  Share a smile, lend a hand, spread a little PEACE.

We also read a personal favourite of mine by Vladamir Radunsky, What does PEACE feel like?  The book was written with children from all around the world.  He asked them...

• What does Peace look like?
• What does Peace feel like?
• What does Peace smell like?
• What does Peace sound like?
• What does Peace taste like?   

I asked the boys and girls the same questions. They each recorded one idea about peace to share with the class.  What does PEACE feel like to Division 17?

Peace looks like people sharing and friends caring 

Peace feels soft like fluffy fur, hearts, love, happiness and poppies

Peace smells like cheese pizza, fresh flowers and cookies baking

Peace sounds like children singing, friends laughing and hummingbirds humming

Peace tastes like vanilla ice cream and snow on your tongue

A Poppy Is to Remember

We read A Poppy Is to Remember by Heather Patterson before creating our Flanders Field artwork.  This project was inspired by a post from the blog 'that artist woman'.  First the children drew horizon lines to divide the land from the sky and then added crosses using tape.  The field and sky were painted with watercolours.  Tissue was used to blot off some of the blue paint to create soft clouds in the sky.  Salt was sprinkled on the wet paint to add texture and a unique finish.  Once dry, the salt was brushed off and the tape was peeled off to reveal the white crosses.  This was exciting!  Finally, red poppies were added to Flanders Field. A poppy is to remember.    

I also wanted to share the striking oil pastel and painted poppies by Madame Katerynych's Grade 1 class.  They really wowed me as I passed by.  Simply stunning.

Puzzle PEACE

Yesterday we read The Peace Book, by Todd Parr and What is Peace, by Emma Damon.  We talked about Peace and what it means to us.  Then we illustrated our very own puzzle pieces about Peace.  We had fun playing with the words piece and peace and coined this activity Puzzle Peace.  Today we took turns sharing, connecting and building our our class puzzle.