Saturday, January 24, 2009

Wetlands

I spent the last two days finishing a canvas painting with the grade 3 students of Kensal Park School. We all had a lot of fun…


By the end of Thursday, only the cattails and rocks were left to complete.

I was told that there was going to be a special event happening on Friday, so I arrived a little earlier than normal and the painting continued…


Just after the lunch break, our canvas was finished.


We spent the remainder of the class period judging the students’ colouring contest. All the artwork was really great! I always enjoy when I see the techniques I teach the students, used in their artwork…


By taking individual lines from many students’ poems, I was able to create this collaborative expression…

P lants keep the Earth nice and clean
L akes are homes for lots of animals
A nyone can help
N obody should be left out
E verything needs energy
T all mountains touch the sky

E verything on Earth is special
A nimals are our friends
R ecycle to create less waste
T oday is a new day, the past is behind you
H elp keep our planet safe

After the winners were awarded their ‘Art For Earth’ T-shirts, we had the teacher take a group photo – one with smiling faces and a silly faced photo…


I had finished loading my equipment and supplies into my car and when I returned to the classroom the teacher asked me if I wanted to stay for a short while to participate in a school event. Of course, I said yes!

The event was put on by a group called ABC Canada. As one part of their Family Literacy Day 2009 celebration they were attempting to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the “Most children reading with an adult, multiple locations”. We were given certain children’s books to read to the students and the reading had to begin exactly at 2:00pm, for a half an hour. The teacher and I took turns reading the different short stories to the class. One of my stories had a lot of singing, and since the students already knew the story they helped me with the singing. During the last song, our classroom was overflowing with the children’s voices. I was having a great time!

I left the school with a smile. Not only had we finished our painting – we had also worked together to create a new world record! Not bad for a Friday afternoon….

Jim

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