International Day of Peace!

To celebrate International Day of Peace, yesterday we planted our pinwheels outside.  The 3rd and 4th graders were able to put up all our pinwheels outside that were filled with messages of peace.  Pinwheels for Peace is an international event that took place on Sept. 21 all over the world.  What a wonderful way for us to start out the school year and promote a school climate that encourages students to be peacemakers by spreading kindness to others. 

Look at all our peace attire!

We read, Whoever You Are, by Mem Fox to coincide with our peace events.  This book is about how we look different on the outside but inside we are the same.

International Day of Peace is Almost Here!

We have finished making all our pinwheels for Pinwheels for Peace.  Tomorrow morning the 4th graders will help "plant" the pinwheels in the ground around the school to show how we will try to be peacemakers in our school and at home.  I am very excited about this opportunity to join together as a school to celebrate our wish of being kind, peaceful people.  

 

Our hallway display with a complication of thoughts about peace

Below is a poem that a fifth grade student wrote.  Thank you so much Madison for your inspiration!

Peace (Our World)

By Madison

Peace is the quiet wind whistling through the air; the sound of happy children playing; the smell of a bunch of roses and no destruction.  Peace is the words, “I love you.”  Peace is doves sitting quietly together on a ledge, the feeling of silky clothing, the warmth of heaven.  Peace is when enemies did not exist, when no one decided to fight, when people are accepted for who they are, when you feel like nature is whispering to you.

Every morning you pick to be peaceful or mean.  Everyday you should pick to be peaceful because when you’re peaceful it’s like a contagious disease, but you want to catch it.

Flag Mosaic

It took the work of many students in 1st, 4th, and 5th grade to come together to collectively create this larger than life flag mosaic.  A mosaic is an artwork made of tiny pieces of glass, paper, or other materials that come together to create one design or object.  Our flag served as a rememberance of 9/11 and related well to our 5th grade discussion of Jasper Johns.  Also, our flag ties in with the upcoming International Day of Peace because it took the work of many people uniting together to finish the flag.  Likewise, peace can come when people are united and working together.

 

Art Explorers

Art Explorers, our after school art club, has kicked off for the year.  Tonight the students began creating silhouettes of people collaged with pieces of paper.  They had lots of fun tracing each other, and we took up the entire art room floor in the process! Stay tuned for the finished product.

Something Fishy is Happening in the Art Room

 The 2nd graders have started our Under the Sea unit.  Yesterday we made these collaged fish out of some beautifully painted paper.  Check out our fishy creations. 

Jackson Pollock with a Twist

The Kindergarteners have been making artwork filled with all sorts of lines.  This week we've been looking at the work of action painter Jackson Pollock.  His paintings are filled with drippy lines that look like giant scribbles all over the canvas.  The Kindergarteners created their own version of drippy paintings.  First they glued bright colored paper onto their white paper (and yes, we're getting better at gluing!).  Then they squirted glue all over the paper to make tangled, scribbled lines.  Next they sprinkled salt to the glue and let it dry.  Finally they added watercolor paint to the salt and watched the primary colors mix to create the secondary colors.  Check out their beautiful, abstract works of art:

The beginnings of Pinwheels for Peace

There are lots of exciting things happening in the art room.  Students in grades 1-5 are preparing a project called Pinwheels for Peace.  This is an international project whereby students around the globe create paper pinwheels.  The pinwheels are decorated on one side with images and designs of what peace means to them using markers and crayons.  On the other side students are writing ideas about ways to promote peace, diversity, and understanding amongst each other at school, home, and in their community.  Finally on September 21^st, which is International Day of Peace, we will be placing the pinwheels in the ground outside the school to form a collaborative installation artwork.  The pinwheels will then spin in the wind, which represents the idea of spreading the message of peace.  You can learn more about this project online at http://www.pinwheelsforpeace.com/ .  I am very excited about this opportunity, which ties in well with our school’s anti-bullying initiative, and our classroom rule of being kind to everyone.  Below are pictures from the start of our pinwheels.  Right now they are mostly just squares of paper, but stay tuned for pinwheels soon.  And check out these beautiful messages of peace that the students wrote: