21 | September | 2013 | Mama Cormier

…the boys and girls loved this lesson and boasted to their parents how they learned about Wassily Kandinsky

I’ve used Kandinsky’s Concentric Circles in art lessons in the past but I loved the twist that I used on this one. I actually got the idea from one of the blogs I follow but I’ve spent hours trying to find it so that I can give credit where credit is due. I changed it slightly so that the students could experience a different medium other than pencil crayon.

I talked about how Kandinsky was one of the first creators of abstract art and how an experiment in colour theory ended up being one of his most famous pieces. I set up stations with Sharpies and squares of drawing paper, watercolour paints, crayons and watercolour paper squares, oil pastels and squares of brown paper and the last station had squares of bristol board, glue, scissors and a box of assorted papers and calendars.

At each station the students were instructed to create 3 squares with the medium at the table. They had to draw concentric circles but they could be as creative with them as they wanted. When all 12 squares were done the students were given a piece of black construction paper and then asked them to arrange the squares in a pleasing combination. I helped them glue on the first square and then they were left on their own to line up and glue the remaining squares.

I think the finished product is beautiful and no two are the same.

Can you tell which one is mine? Most of these were done by grade 3 students.

…..in all the years that I’ve been doing Curriculum Night or Meet the Teacher Night, I’ve never been given flowers

…………until this week.

On Thursday evening our school held its annual Curriculum Night, where the parents come to meet the teachers and learn what some of the expectations for their child’s grade are. Routines, curriculum information, assessment and upcoming field trips are some of the things that are presented to the parents.

Some of us who don’t have homerooms, greeted parents in the hall and directed them to classrooms and the room where they could drop off their children to watch a movie. One of the families came by with flowers for the principal, thanking her for all that she had done when they first arrived from Europe last year. Half way through the evening they arrived with three more bouquets for the rotary teachers who also taught their children. It was such a spontaneous and kind gesture and we were all flabbergasted by the generosity and thoughtfulness of these gifts.

Cheers!