Back to the Marker Board

 The first three days down of third grade.  This is the biggest class I've had since this guy was in my room. He's off to college for his sophomore year.

I have the blessing of a wonderful instructional assistant for a time, four days a week.  The kidlets are sugar smacks, but there are 22 of them and only one of me, so before closing time rolls around, I am whupped. I hope to start walking in the mornings next week, as it ain't happening after school.  Making a trip around the garden with a hose is about the best I can do in the evenings.

I took an online class for art teachers this summer.  My friend Gardener E, who has helped with art for so many years, has been out of the classroom due to Covid.  I had hoped she could return this year, and it might be that she can, but right now there is an uptick in cases of the Delta variant and the news for us changes everyday. Another dear friend has clay on offer, so hopefully we'll be able to get to that this year. 

Thank the Lord, I can still keep the desks together.  There is no where to put 22 desks spread apart in this room 

So, back to art. One of the projects was gathering various materials to create "wishing sticks."  This artist, Meri Cherry, used embroidery hoops.  That would have been a little pricey, so I cut cardboard boxes into various size boards.  I sat out a set of warm acrylics and another of cool colors.  I asked my assistant to talk about what is meant by one third.  Then they chose three colors and painted their board.  Next, we went for a walk outside to find sturdy sticks, no bigger than our finger.  This "one third" and "as big as"  are still challenging concepts in third grade.   Next we picked a yarn to weave on our board.  Another biggie in third grade is tying various knots.  I do a lot of projects like weaving, sewing, knitting and now wish stick making that requires knot tying.  I told the kids that we would all have to get this skill down, because if not, we'd never get very far with 22 of them and only one of me.  Some already knew how to tie the thread to their stick, others got it fairly quickly, while a few struggled. In the end, everyone was tying knots and feeling proud of themselves. 

Whilst I had my big girl gramerlings, after camp, I had them go through all my charms, beads and buttons and organize them.  Along with feathers, wooden sticks, and crosses, the kids had a lot of choice about their wish sticks. 

In addition, I noticed a new book on the library page, about a fiber artist, Judith Scott called Unbound.

Oh my word, what a sweet, heartbreaking story.  I also read Wishes, about a refugee family. 

So, they were off, creating their sticks and wishes. 

I learn so much just observing during this type of process art.  If you look in my door, it might appear to be playing, but to me, it is a chance to watch how they work, think and solve problems- very telling. 

So after that hard work, we ended the day in our favorite place, the creek!