Material Explore

We had the opportunity to partner with The Materials Center! This partnership afforded us the experience to have a teaching artist come to the school through a program called Teaching Beyond the Square. Wendy Gelsanliter came to our classroom, set up materials for exploration, and set these artists loose. 

Wendy and her assistant asking kids to raise their hands if their item is made of plastic. 

Students sharing about their items made of wood. 

Buildings in progress

Experimentation at its finest

Seeing where it goes 

The balancing act

Filling for effect

Designing at work

Proud of the product

Testing the waters

Interior design

These students are ready to share about their experience building with these new materials. 

To see all the photos from that day follow this link
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1nsbRZuyyrhjsiyi8

Publishing Share - Small Moment Stories

These young writers worked so hard to publish stories to share with their friends and family. They shared their many drafts and fully published pieces with covers. Families and friends wrote special notes to each child in their comment books. This was a magical day!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Our last trip this year was to The Met - Arts of Africa Hall. Students looked at art and artifacts from West and Central Africa both past and present.

Awe-struck anthropologists sketch El Anatsui's Between Earth and Heaven.

These anthropologists are looking at the Benin Plaques of West Africa.

Figures and Statues

Masks and Headdresses

Project Time

Students learned about indigo dyeing for tying and starch resist fabric. They tied objects to their t-shirts and made designs with rubber bands. They also carved adinkra symbols into linoleum to make stamps.

These third graders have worked on gaining skills such as weaving, wood carving, molding wax, and found object art that they can use when choose their project topics. Students also looked at a variety of kits from the Brooklyn Children's Museum containing staffs, masks, toys/games, baskets, stools, and statues (some of which are photographed here).