If this class doesn't produce a few artists - or house painters- it won't be because they weren't exposed to different types of paint. Yesterday I painted their hands with tempra to make Mother's Day gift labels. They also used water color paint on their planets. I was able to find a silver water color paint for the moon and was rewarded with oohs and aahs from the children.
The children have been practicing writing their names and numerals. They can write their names alone but I write with them the first time they write a numeral. This is often called guided writing when an adult holds on to a pencil with a child to form a written symbol. This gives the body an opportunity to feel the motion needed to correctly form them. Next, the children write alone beneath the guided numerals. It is amazing how quickly improvement is seen.
Our long awaited music video was recorded today. We finally had everyone here the same time Lelia had the free time to set up her "studio". They recorded three times so she could pick the best. We had discussed where the microphone would be, where they would stand and the need to move only their heads and hands but not their bodies. Lelia had a monitor set up so they could immediately see that moving one's body too much meant being out of the picture. It was really a hoot to watch them perform for the camera. I was afraid they would freeze up but our little performers rose to the occasion. They were able to see their performance about five minutes after recording and loved it! Lelia will send a link for me to post it on our blog but I will also make (or one of my tech savvy kids will) DVDs for each family.
Today the children were gardeners. We planted marigold seeds and strawberry shoots right after Spring Break and have watched them grow. Today they chose which plant to give to their mothers for Mother's Day. If you receive a marigold, please plant it soon so its roots can grow deeper. If you receive a strawberry plant, you can either plant it in a large pot or in soil. It will quickly spread once it has more space and will soon begin to produce berries. These are an everbearing variety that produce fruit until a hard freeze. I was quite surprised this Fall when I discovered the last berry of the season as the first snow fell.
Most of the plants are potted in peat pots. You can put these directly into the ground and as they feed the soil and plant they will deteriorate. What a great idea!
Next Tuesday (the 11th) is our El Rodeo picnic and I do need to let Elena know the number of parents dining with us. We also need cash sent in ($3 per person) by Monday. I apologize for the short notice but we are the first class to eat our annual Mexican meal.
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