How do you fit the Geometry Standard into your Preschool Classroom?
1) Patterning Blocks! Let kids manipulate different shapes. Ask questions about the different shapes? How many sides does the hexagon have? Are they all the same length?
2-4) Art! Let kids explore different shapes - this ‘circle art’ is great for young learners who are just learning their shapes.
5-6) Building! The kids need to be able to experiment with different 3 dimensional shapes. This is a great math concept because the kids can actually SEE that it takes more blocks to build the longer side of a shape.
(via Two Things in Common: Teacher Tips on a Snow Day)
This blog post on Two Things in Common has some awesome ideas (like making your own teacher stationary from Vista print) but this one was my favorite by far. I have a spare drawer in my filing cabinet too.
Occupy Wall Street taught many middle-class white people what poor people and people of color had already known. The law is often a hostile and arbitrary thing. Speak too loudly, stand in the wrong place, and you’re on the wrong side of it. My experience was infinitely easier than most. Many people arrested came out to a lost job, or they have to deal with nerve-damaged hands from being in cuffs for too long, or they face a society that believes they asked for it.
While we were in the cell, after we banged too long and chanted too hard, an officer stared at us. “Look at you people,” she said. “What do you hope to accomplish? You brought this on yourselves.”
Read artist Molly Crabapple’s full article on her experience at Occupy Wall Street here.
![[Image] I am baffled by friends that have millionaire politics & low-to-middle class incomes.
Will Torious quoted, image by Randy C. Johnson
(Will is my good college friend that I think SERIOUSLY needs to be tumblr, and Randy C. Johnson is his friend. The image was created based on Will’s facebook status yesterday after the SCOTUS decision on Obamacare).](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6ep0vVlmY1qdmgq8o1_500.jpg)
[Image] I am baffled by friends that have millionaire politics & low-to-middle class incomes.
Will Torious quoted, image by Randy C. Johnson
(Will is my good college friend that I think SERIOUSLY needs to be tumblr, and Randy C. Johnson is his friend. The image was created based on Will’s facebook status yesterday after the SCOTUS decision on Obamacare).
So as it turns out, kidergarten is actually a pretty awesome grade. This is a big mosaic/mural that the whole kindergarten, and a few self contained special needs classes are working on.
They all painted texture paintings (with tempera cakes and Saran wrap) and then cut them up into squares (hurray fine motor skills!) to use as tiles for our spring mosaic. We talked about the Philadelphia magic gardens a lot before we started tiling our mosaic. It’s not quite done yet, maybe in one more week?
No big deal, just cultivating a sense of community through large scale collaborative art ;-)
(Source: leedrawspictures)
This is a fun idea. We are doing a snowman book in January, so I am just going to save this here in case I have the time.
I found this through a link on Pinterest, and just HAD to share!
DIY Puffy Paint:
Squeeze bottles for the paint: I used 6oz. bottle from Wilton (you can get these in the chocolate making section of any craft store…I found mine at Jo Ann Fabrics they were about $2 for 2 bottles)
- Flour
- Salt
- Water
- Coloring: You can use tempera paint (wet or dry), food coloring or natural coloring agents such as beet juice, raspberry or blueberry juice reduction, etc. For mine, I used Wilton’s gel food coloring because they already come in almost any color imaginable (plus I already had them in my cabinets and I loved the concept of keeping everything non-toxic - or edible - too! You just never know…kids are crazy)!
- Glass/Plastic bowls
- Spoons/Whisks
- Funnel: optional…but it helps with getting the paints into the squeeze bottles
npr:
utnereader: What would you do to improve on the Mona Lisa? Our friends at Booooooom!, the Vancouver-based art blog, are asking photographers to flex their creative muscles by remaking classic works of art. The results from the Remake project—modernizing paintings by Rembrandt, Ingres, van Gogh, Lichtenstein (pictured above), and others—are fabulously clever. See more …
Team Teachers Contest:
The teaching community on Tumblr has helped me realize that I’m not alone. Education is one of the smallest/the smallest majors at my school and it’s easy to feel lost in this sea of people, many of them who are less than respectful of what we do. The support of teachers I’ve never met before is overwhelming to me sometimes. Many of you aren’t even art teachers but I’m inspired by you every day. This year has been particularly challenging for me. I just transferred to a school in New York City and I’m in my junior year. It’s been very hard to adjust to both a new environment and the level of work that is expected of junior-level art education majors. It makes my day to see that someone has reblogged the photos from my lessons. Knowing that what I’m doing is valuable in someone else’s eyes means the world to me, especially when I’m not getting that kind of positive feedback in class.
The teachers on Tumblr have also inspired me to better, both for myself and for my students. I know how hard all of you work, I wish other people could see that too. The featured posts in the tag have such a range of subjects- from do it yourself supplies, management techniques, to teaching with technology. Does Tumblr count as professional development?, because it should! I was part of the summer book club where we read Eric Jensen’s Teaching with Poverty in Mind. That experience has been invaluable to me. I’m teaching in a homeless shelter next semester and I know that the discussions and learning that I shared with the rest of the club will help me to build up students who need it the most. To all of you teachers in the trenches, teaching through poverty every day: you’re heroes.
If nothing else, you all make me laugh. After a really rough day in class, some one always posts a funny cartoon, anecdote, or story that makes me smile. I can’t wait until I have the chance to “speak Spanish like a boss,” and so many other little funnies that I read here. Whenever I feel put down about my career choice, my teaching, or my life in general, the teaching community on Tumblr has been there for me.
So this is my wishlist: I’m teaching without a lot of supplies next semester so any help is SO appreciated!
Awesome to hear!
Don’t forget to write your entry. Also check out her Amazon wish-list. This budding future teacher can definitely use our support. We really look forward to reading about your experiences coming up levinmoonflower!
(Source: msleahhbic)
MILK BOTTLE ORGANIZER
No, you don’t need to buy more containers to organize the kids’ stuff. You just need to drink more milk.
Good idea for my crayons!
(via thekidonabudget)
Van Gogh Memory
I love making memory games that pertain to the theme we’re working on, so these will pop up lots of times over the course of the year.
Whenever I work on an artist series, I make the memory game out of the artist’s actual art! Make your own memory game by creating a grid in your word processor with 2 columns and as many rows as you need for your deck/pairs. Thicken the lines on your grid and use google images to fill in your rectangles, making sure to fill each row with the same photo. Cut, laminate, and provide for your kids in the classroom.
My kiddos love the “magic” of finding a match, and at the end of my Van Gogh week, some of them even start recognizing specific paintings by name! (“Miss Megan, I got the Starry Night match!!!!”)
Generally going to post at the beginning of the month, but since we’re halfway through September, jump on these while you can if you can crunch the time.
NOTE: Always check the guidelines. Some of these might be restricted to certain geographical areas. Some might have to go through a non-profit, so you might have to buddy up as a school or a teacher, though most of what I post here will be accessible to schools.
Deadline September 16th (IT’S JUST A NOMINATION GO GO GO!): The Great American Teach-Off
Nominate an outstanding K-6 teacher (yourself included) for a chance at a $10,000 classroom grant — 7-12 teachers get a chance come Winter.
From the site:
GOOD and University of Phoenix are proud to announce the launch of The Great American Teach-Off, a nationwide competition to celebrate teachers who are making a positive impact in America’s classrooms.
Here’s how it works: Click here to nominate an outstanding teacher for kindergarten through sixth grade*—it can be one you’ve had, your child’s, or even yourself—by September 16. We’ll select the finalists based on how he or she makes a positive difference for students; how creativity and innovation is fostered in the classroom; and what impact he or she has made on the greater school community.
Deadline September 19th: Make Your Mark Grant
Youth-led hands-on service mini-grant, $200
From the site:
“GenerationOn Make Your Mark Week (formerly Kids Care Week) is celebrated during the third week of October, this year October 16-22, 2011. The week inspires and mobilizes youth to use their energy, ingenuity and compassion to “make their mark on the world” through hands-on service to help others in their local and global communities. During the week, young people focus on issues that matter most to them by doing small acts or service projects that add up to making a big difference. Make Your Mark Week ends on Make a Difference Day, the largest national day of service.
Thanks to our founding partner, Hasbro, generationOn will award 200 mini-grants in the amount of $250 each to support service projects that enable youth to “make their mark” on one of the following issues: Animals, the Environment, Homelessness, Hunger and Literacy. We’re looking for projects that engage youth and other community members in creative solutions that make a positive impact on the Make Your Mark Week issues in local and global communities.”
Deadline September 30th: P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education Grant
For teachers integrating the arts into instruction, $1000
From the site:
The P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education has grants available up to $1,000 to be awarded in 2011 to educators who need assistance to further their program goals.
Applications may be made for a grant up to $1,000 to support a new or evolving program that integrates the arts into educational programming. The purpose is to aid and support teachers who wish to establish an effective learning tool using the arts in teaching children who learn differently.
Deadline September 30th: Let’s Play! Playground Construction Grants
$15,000 construction grants to schools, communities, and organizations with a community ready to build a playground but lacking funds to do it.
From the site:
Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! are excited to offer $15,000 Let’s Play Playground Construction Grants to qualifying organizations using the KaBOOM!community-build model. Grantees will plan their project, and share best practices and challenges through the KaBOOM! website.
Deadline September 30th: Classics for Kids Foundation Stringed Instrument Grants
Bridges a funding gap: Amount variable depending on needs, must match some percentage of funds; quarterly deadlines (so don’t panic if you miss this one).
From the site:
Classics for Kids Foundation aims to bridge the funding gap and enhance school music programs by providing matching grants for beautiful new stringed instruments.
If your school or non-profit organization believes in the role of fine instruments in your program, and can show evidence of need and commitment to raising matching funds, you are a strong candidate for the Classics for Kids matching grant program.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Please let me know if you apply so I know what to keep posting. And if you GET one of these? Drop me a line and I’ll send you a congratulations card!
This coming week our color is blue.
I need a craft with the color blue that can be done with brown paper bags. I have the kids take home the bags, put two things of that color in it, and then share it at school on Friday. Any ideas (pictures and links are welcomed)?
Definitely a list to explore. I’ve been looking for ways to include art in my computer center.
