Monday, June 27, 2011

Dinosaur Land Year Two

 

Most Children are fascinated by dinosaurs. They learn a great number of facts about these magnificent creatures through pretend play and exploring real information from books.

A couple of the children, who were here last year, had so much fun building an interactive dinosaur land with recycled materials. They asked if they could try building it  again. Without wasting a second we turned our small tables upside down and started brain storming on how we should build this exciting and “VERY DANGEROUS LAND”.

 

 

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Many ideas came into place and everyone agreed on a few things without much conflict. Our dinosaur land had to include: “giant trees, sharp rocks, mountains, and dangerous bridges to cross”. We added some new things this year: “a very wobbly wooden stick bridge, a zip line for the dinosaurs to use”, and even a desert-like area with very few trees. Just like the Triassic period!

 

 

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The children played with Dinosaur Land for about a month and the girls decided to convert it into “ Magical Fairyland”.

Monday, June 20, 2011

A study of Black, Gray, Gold and Red

 

Emotions are the deepest feelings that an individual can exhibit. They define who we are! They fabricate our thoughts, our actions and how we create art. In most Reggio Emilia Inspired schools, art is not just “art” but is considered as SYMBOLIC EXPRESSIONS. These symbolic expressions are called “The Hundred Languages” of children. Loris Malaguzzi explains is best in the beginning of a poem he wrote in 1998

 

The Hundred Languages of Children

The child is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.

Always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling, of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.

 

These pieces were made some time ago to study the composition of black, gray, gold and red. Using a combination of ribbons, beads, silk petals, pom poms, rocks, cardboard and glue, the children began their artistic journey.

The children were able to explore depth, color and texture.

 

 

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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Recycle! Reuse! Redesign! Repurpose! Renew! and RE-INSPIRE!

 

Talk about turning trash into treasure, the children have repurposed these various bottles and created whimsical works of art. Plastic takes about 450 years to degrade and when you think about millions of plastic bottles piled up for generations, it does give you pause for thought.

We reused a variety of clear plastic bottles and stuffed them with brightly colored painted paper towels.

Materials:

Recycled Bottles

Liquid Watercolors

Pipettes (dropper)

Paper Towels

 

 

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Let’s not forget that the accessibility of open-ended resources helps prompt curiosity and provokes investigation. Exploration is essential for young children’s growth. If children are not motivated and inspired, then they will not learn!

 

 

Here's a list of some common garbage items and how long it takes for them to degrade in the environment.

• Disposable diapers: 450 years

• Rubber boot sole: 50 to 80 years

• Tin can: 50 years

• Leather: 50 years

• Nylon fabric: 30 to 40 years

• Plastic bag: 10 to 20 years

• Cigarette butt: one to five years

• Wool sock: one to five years

• Plywood: one to three years

• Waxed milk carton: three months

• Apple core: two months

• Newspaper: six weeks

• Orange or banana peel: two to five weeks

• Paper towel: two to four weeks

Sources: U.S. National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab; New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

 

 

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When it comes to Casa Maria’s art, pre-loved is new and repurposed art is considered Eco-Cycle Chic!