The Art Center

A few weeks back, we learned about a new choice that we would have during choice time. It was called the art center! However, we did not have a lot of materials to build and construct things from. We got an idea to ask our families to help us find beautiful things around the house!

We co-wrote a letter to our families together with Ms. Petersen. We knew we had to ask really, really nicely for our families help. We thought at first that we would just ask moms and dads to help us but then we realized that we could ask our brothers and sisters and grandparents, too! We also came up with a list of things that we were looking for. We thought about all of the beautiful stuff we have at home and how we could use it at school.

 

We took our bags and notes home and were really excited to fill them up! When we returned to school after the weekend, we each chose our favourite thing in the bag to share with the class. We noticed that we had a lot of different stuff!

 

Since the art center would be shared with everyone, we decided that we would all dump our bags into the middle of our circle on the carpet. We had so much stuff but it was hard to find what we were looking for! After much debate, we decided to sort our items. At first, we didn’t know what to sort by. Should we choose colour, size or material?

 

We decided on material so that if we were looking for a specific item, we would know where to find it! We had done lots of sorting activities beforehand, but this one had a real purpose. We got right to work and began sorting our big pile. Some items belonged in two groups and some items were unique and didn’t have a spot. We had to use our problem-solving skills to figure out where these items might go. We discussed these items as a class and came up with conclusions together.

(Where does this button go?)

 

Lastly, we labelled the bins so that anyone who uses the art center can find what they are looking for. We listened REALLY closely to the sounds that we heard and used our best ‘kid spelling’.  Look at all of those sounds that we know!

 

 

(Note: At this early stage, I do not correct student spelling. It is more important for the children to become comfortable and confident with their writing abilities. If I critique and correct the letters, students can become self-conscious and unwilling to take risks when writing. I also use writing time to inform my instruction. If, for instance, I notice that many students are struggling with a particular sound, I make sure to emphasize that particular letter in the future.)

We are really proud of the art center that we created. We have already started to build beautiful things and can wait to construct more! A special thanks goes out to all of the families who helped us find buried treasures at home that we are reuse and repurpose!