09.28.11
Posted in Uncategorized tagged Project WET, Project WILD Aquatic, Rachel Carson Research Reserve, Water's Edge Teacher Institute at 8:23 pm by cindywise
July 10th – 15th found me in Salter Path, NC attending At the Water’s Edge: exploring wildlife, wetlands and water - A sound learning teacher institute.
It was hot, it was fun, it was wonderful! We stayed at the Trinity Center – a beautiful conference center that actually goes from sound to sea – all within a very short walk.
It was great to be with 23 other K-5 colleagues from across the state. We “participated in an in-depth investigation of NC’s watersheds and river basis while exploring the unique habitats of the coastal region”.
Some of the highlights of the week;
A walk from the sea to the sound – learning about the plant and wildlife communities, the ecosystems, human impact, and water quality. I especially enjoyed the opportunity to learn how to seine the sound!
Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) and Project WILD Aquatic were part of the week’s training.
Rachel Carson Research Reserve – Island Exploration – tidal flats, salt marshes, ocean beaches made for great exploration
A trip to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores included a program about Sea Turtles
Sessions n Creating an Outdoor Classroom, Science Notebooking, Citizen Science in the Classroom, Teaching Outdoors, and Environmental Storytelling rounded out the week of hands-on activities.
An unplanned highlight of the week was a Fire Alarm that absolutely would not go off! Apparently, when the lightning struck one night the alarms sounded – several right outside our rooms could not be turned off – even the firemen could not turn them off! Even a call to the Alarm Security Company did not result in the alarms being disabled. We offered to hit them with a sledge hammer! So, sleeping in the conference room “camp style” became the option for several participants. Cots were rolled up to the meeting room and folks slept in beds all over the conference room. Others were given new rooms for the night (we’re talking 1 a.m. in the morning). I opted to stay in my room with pillows over my head in hopes of eventually falling asleep. Fire alarms are an incredibly ear-splitting, annoying, high-pitched sound!
All in all, it was a fun week. The days were long, the food was plentiful, the company was great and the “freebies” were too numerous to list (you wouldn’t believe all the free resources we were given for our classrooms)
Now, to internalize everything I learned and incorporate it into the teaching of art!
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09.26.11
Posted in Uncategorized tagged naval stores, pitcher plants, Sustainable Forestry Teachers' Academy, trees, urban forestry, venus fly traps at 9:12 pm by cindywise
Wow – it seems like the summer literally flew by!
I had the privilege of attending 2 summer teacher institutes – the Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy and At the Water’s Edge Teacher Institute . They were both fantastic institutes and I learned so much! The Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy was in June and based out of New Bern, NC. The institute was comprised of teachers K-12 teachers from across the state of NC. It was an exciting week of touring factories – at the Weyerhaeuser Greenville Lumber Facility we followed a log from it’s entrance to the factory to the end result of a stack of lumber, at the Atlantic Veneer Corporation in Beaufort we followed logs through the stages of being cut into veneers , and Craven County Wood Energy - where we saw wood waste convert to steam and then into electricity! I wonder if some of the Hurricane Irene tree debris will find it’s way to the biomass factory!
I’ve always loved trees – from climbing them as a girl to appreciating their beauty as adult. But I now have a much greater appreciation for trees. Trees are such a vital part of our everyday life from food, toiletries, cosmetics, spices, aspirin, crayons to furniture, clothing, musical instruments, shelter and of course, paper! Check out this site for info on how trees are used in our every day life - Goods from the Woods. I bet you didn’t know that Oreo’s and Orange Sodas have tree byproducts in them!
We toured NCDFR Claridge Nursery in Goldsboro, a private landowners forest and Croatan National Forest. We learned about trees from the seed stage to the harvest stage. At a NC State Forestry site, we tried our hand at calculating the merchantable height of a tree, and how many board feet are in a tree by using a Biltmore Stick (we were given a Biltmore stick for our classroom use!!!). We had the opportunity to use an Increment Borer for determining the age of a tree.
At the Croatan Nat’l Forest we tromped through the woods to discover pitcher plants and venus fly traps. Unfortunately, the venus fly traps were a victim of the summer drought so we could not see them growing in their native state. Did you know that the Venus Fly Trap is only native to a very small region of the Coastal Plain – basically within a 60-75 mile radius of Wilmington, NC.
We learned about the importance of the Naval Stores industry in the early days of Carolina’s history – the longleaf pine and pitch, tar and turpentine! I’m sure my Carolina relatives were very much involved in this industry.
We were introduced to Urban Forestry – at first the concept seemed like an oxymoron to me – but hey, someone has to manage and maintain the trees at shopping malls and city parks.
It was truly an amazing week. We learned so much and were given so many resources to take back to our classrooms to use with our students. I hope to encourage my co-workers to take advantage of this free institute – it reinforced to me the importance of an education and the importance of technology in the workplace and of course - the importance of trees in our lives!!! My challenge will be how to incorporate Sustainable Forestry into my curriculum.
Next year I hope to be accepted into the Asheville Institute ’cause I still need to see how a tree is made into paper
Well, that was longer than expected! Next post will be about the Water’s Edge Institute in Salter Path, NC.
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02.11.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:46 pm by cindywise
Wow, a thousand apologies for not posting – this year is really flying by……
So, to catch up…..
We have been busy, busy, busy in the art room.
Fall Highlights:
4th & 5th Found Object Sculpture – we love upcycling discarded materials into works of art. The students worked collaboratively in teams of 4 (and later teams of 8 for 5th graders) to sculpt either a Robot, Mode of Transportation, Animal or Person.
Students had to learn the art of compromise and problem solving to effectively work together and create their 
masterpieces!
Students were inspired by the work of contemporary Found Object artist Brian Marshall. We checked out his blog ADOPT-A-BOT.
4th Graders rocked at Collage in October! For inspiration, we checked out a You Tube video Roses on My Table Mixed Media Assemblage artist, Zinnia’s, collage techniques
3rd Graders explored Fall as their theme in art. They viewed beautiful fall images and work by artists who incorporated Fall as a theme in their art. They then had a choice of media in which to execute their own fall renditions. Several pieces went to the Dare County Schools Annual Art Show in January.
The students always love to kick back before Thanksgiving Break and do Artist’s Choice which can include building with blocks, lego’s, Lincoln logs, or creating a Make It-Take It Art project.
Check out one of our Third Grader’s Chair!
2nd Graders turned recycled materials into Fantasy Insects. They were challenged to also create the insect’s habitat. It was fun watching the student’s imaginations at work. What can you make from cardboard cylinders (i.e. toilet paper tubes), bottle caps, lids, egg cartons, straws and other misc. recycled containers?
Kindergarten-1st Grade:
All students enjoy the Artist’s Choice Time.
One of our Kindergartner’s chose the blocks and built his own person!
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09.24.10
Posted in 1st Grade Art, 2nd Grade Art, 3rd Grade Art, 4th Grade Art, 5th Grade Art, Kindergarten tagged art history, background, Center of Interest, Diego Rivera, elementary art, foreground, Horizon Line, middle ground, NHES, oil pastels, overlapping, proportion, Starry Night, thumbnail sketch, van Gogh, View finder at 8:02 pm by cindywise
We’re settling into our routines in the art room and having fun exploring new concepts and artists!
Kindergartners and 1st Graders have explored Vincent van Gogh - which of course led us to “The Starry Night”. What does your student remember about Vincent van Gogh and what do they like about Starry Night? Students used oil pastels to create their own version of Starry Night. Oil Pastels are Awesome!
For the past 2 weeks, 2nd Graders have been learning about the Horizon Line – where the sky meets the ground – they always touch! Students traced the Horizon line on landscapes photographs, went outside and checked out the horizon line with their own eyes and then found the Horizon Line on famous works of art in the Art Room. They had just enough time to do a quick sketch using the Horizon Line. Week 2 brought a new assignment – and new concept, Center of Interest. 2nd Graders had a choice – either select a pre-cut magazine image to incorporate in their drawing or draw without using the magazine image . Students further cut around the pix, glued it on their paper and worked on completing the drawing showing a horizon line and center of interest. The projects will be completed next week. The 2nd graders are doing a fabulous job!
3rd Graders are exploring the concept of overlapping and proportion - things that are further away are smaller. It’s all about drawing what you See not what you Know. They were also introduced to Foreground, Middle Ground and Background areas of their paper. Mexican artist, Diego Rivera’s work was viewed with special attention being paid to how he used overlapping.
4th & 5th Graders made paper view finders. The students watched a 2 minute video clip where an artist explained how and why she uses a view finder. The students have spent 2 weeks using view finders – both outside and in the art room. Their assignment was to find interesting subjects/objects to observe and complete several thumbnail sketches.
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08.27.10
Posted in 1st Grade Art, 2nd Grade Art, 3rd Grade Art, 4th Grade Art, 5th Grade Art, Kindergarten tagged 1st week art class, art room rules, ordinary people doing extraordinary things video, teacher tube at 7:15 pm by cindywise
As an Artist - rules for the Art Room
3rd-5th graders checked out the changes in the art room, watched a short video “Ordinary People doing Extraordinary Things” and then started a drawing in response to the video.
\”Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things\”
1st and 2nd graders are reacquainting themselves with the art room. Rules are being reviewed and art is being created based on a summertime nature experience.
Kindergartners are becoming familiar with the art room. The tables and chairs in the art room are really BIG! They shared crayons and drew from their hearts.
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