Friday Art: Working with Clay

Lately, the children have showed great interest in the story The Three Little Pigs. They were especially drawn to the houses that the pigs built. They were commenting on how the wolves destroyed the houses because they weren't sturdy enough and how they would build it so the wolf would not blow it down.




So for art today, the children made their own houses with clay. They had so much fun getting their hands dirty with the modelling clay while still being very particular on the details.

Friendships Everywhere #4 - Expectations in Friendship

Should...

*good friends always stick together?

*good friends always decide together?
*friends always be fair?

The children thought about the expectations of the characters from Friends by Helme Heine. I asked them if they agree to the rules or not. Here is what they think:

So how should friends be with each other? What are the expectations in friendship? The children created a poem on the smart board to express their feelings about friendship.

Friendships Everywhere #3: Showing Appreciation

The children always have a big smile when they describe what they do together with their friends. So this week we explored further into the connection between friends. I asked the children what friendship feels like and they all
said it feels happy!

We read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and the children immediately noticed that the tree is a very good friend by always sharing and giving to the boy. I asked the children what are some ways the boy can show appreciation(one of the IB attribute words) to the tree. The children suggested: give a hug, give a kiss, give a present, or give a card.

The children wanted to give something to their friends too. They wanted to let their friends know that they appreciate the happiness they received from them. So they made a thank-you card and beaded a bracelet to give to his/her special friend.

Friendships Everywhere #2: Circle of Friends

The Water group children created their own paper puppets to help them learn more about each other. The children really enjoyed the time designing their puppets at the table. They shared ideas and chatted about their likes and dislikes. Every time they found someone with a common interest, a huge smile would spread across their faces!
Later I introduced the book Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey. It is a delightful story about the power of friendship.  In the story Pearl and Charlie are different in almost every way but somehow, they are very best friends. How? We learned it is through the care and love that Pearl and Charlie give to and receive from each other (connection - the giving and receiving of friendship).

Then the children made their own circle of friends. They talked about what each person likes to do and what they like to do together (connection).

Friendships Everywhere #1: A Friend is...

We have begun our year with our unit titled Friendships Everywhere. 

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Organize Ourselves

Central Idea: Friendship is an important part of healthy communities

Key concepts to be emphasized: Function, Connection, Responsiblity

Lines of Inquiry:

- The role friendships play in our lives

- The giving and receiving of friendship

- The expectations in friendships

Teacher's Questions:

- Does friendship matter?

- What does friendship feel like?

- Are there rules of friendship?

To help generation ideas from the children, Eli the Elephant (a puppet) sought our group for help. Eli has just started school and needs help with homework, "A friend is _________." Everyone eagerly gave his/her idea and was so proud to help Eli with his schoolwork!