Our Cornucopia Art Projects!

Here all of the Cornucopia Art Pieces that came back.  The students seemed to enjoy this activity and loved sharing their work with the class.

 Adrian made his from an image he found on him mom's phone.

He said he drew and painted it all by himself.

 This was Ana's cornucopia.  She found inspiration from the computer.

She actually painted hers on a canvas.  I have it hanging behind my desk at school!

 Jimmiel made this cornucopia at home, then painted it.

He said he enjoyed filling the cornucopia with different kinds of fruit.

 I absolutely loved how Robby made his Cornucopia.

He didn't use still life or an image to get his inspiration.

"I used my brain and painted what I remembered." -Robby

Isabel enjoyed this project so much that she made two!

The first is a simple, more literal view of a cornucopia.

The second is a true Kindergarten interpretation.

I appreciate how she chose to add herself to the piece!

Great job to all of you.  I hope that all of you do something creative over the holiday, and take some time out to read a little each day.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! -Mr. Linnet

Thanksgiving Projects: Hand Print Turkeys & Cornucopia Still Life Paintings

I challenged my class this week to get in touch with their artistic sides as we give thanks for the many blessings we have in our life.  Beside collecting almost 160 cans as a class to give to the homeless, we also worked on projects in class that give thanks for all we have.  The first project we did was to paint our hand to make an autumn-colored handprint.  After they dried, we went CRAZY with markers, turning our hand prints into Thanksgiving Turkeys!!  The students were very creative, and their artwork was AWESOME!!

 Here are a couple examples of the hand prints.

Students picked out the colors they wanted for the

fingers/feathers.

 Here are some of the finished Hand Turkey pictures.

They had a blast creating them, and all were so different.

 We did "Artist's Chair" when finished, and 

I loved how the students described their pictures.

 "This is an Electric Turkey"

"My turkey is playing with his friends."

"This turkey is running from a tornado."

"My turkey is eating a banana."

We also made a "Giving Thanks" Card that we will bring home to share with our families after the Thanksgiving Feast tomorrow.  We dissected a "Thankful" poem, highlighting some of the vocabulary and adding some of our own illustrations.  Then we wrote our own "I am Thankful..." poems to give to mom and dad.  I think they turned out really good, and you should enjoy reading them!

 Here's an example of the Card Cover.

 Here are a few examples of the inside of the cards.

The students helped come up with the poem we wrote!

In class, I also made a "Giving Thanks" Jar, where the students could write down on colored strips of paper what they are thankful for.  We are collecting the "thanks", and will share them aloud tomorrow after our Thanksgiving Feast.

 The class really liked this idea!  They were lined up all day long

to get a chance to put their "thanks" into the jar.

It will be a special moment sharing these tomorrow!!

Finally, I sent home an art project idea with the homework this week, and was completely blown away with the results that came back.  Students were encouraged to create a cornucopia display with their family (or find one from the internet), then sit down and paint what they see.  My budding little artist Ana brought back this masterpiece to share with the class.

I'm pretty sure more students will be bringing in their art tomorrow to add to the collection.  I plan on showcasing these at school so the older students can see what these amazing kids created!!  This year I am definitely thankful to be blessed with such amazing students.  I wake up excited to work with them each day.  How many people can say that about their jobs??

Enjoy the amazing art our class created to give thanks this holiday season, and enjoy the week off on vacation with your loved ones.  See you all in December! -Mr. Linnet

Report Card Conferences This Week!!

Just a Reminder that our school is having Report Card Conferences this week.  We will have minimum days every day this week (8:15-11:50am).  Your children brought home your Conference Time last week.  I look forward to meeting with each of you to discuss your child's progress in class this year.  Please contact the school office or talk with me at drop off/pick up if you forgot your time.

Our Thanksgiving Feast is on Friday also.  Just wanted to remind everyone so that we have a great celebration.  Our class will be dressing up like Native American Indians.  If any of you can donate brown paper bags to our class, they will help with our costumes will are making.

Have a great week, and enjoy the following week off for Thanksgiving!!
-Mr. Linnet

Happy Veteran's Day (Nov. 11, 2013)

We had a brief class discussion today about Veteran's Day, and what Veteran's are.  We discussed how Veteran's serve in various Military branches to defend and protect America and it's interests.  We also shared family members in our family who have been part of the U.S. Military, so that the students could feel a personal connection to this holiday (if they have one).  After the discussion I shared a Veteran's Day website that is appropriate for children, played some of the games/activities on the site, and printed off one of the coloring pages to make Veteran's Day cards that I plan on distributing this weekend to one of the Veteran's Halls in the local community.  Here is the link if any of you would like to continue working on any of the games/activities with your children at home.  Enjoy the long weekend, and have a Happy Veteran's Day with your family.  I would also like to give a special thanks to the many men and women who have served this country, and even given their lives to protect our rights and freedom.

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!!          

                                                                                                      -Mr. Linnet

Veteran's Day Activities for Kids

This Week's Homework Activity: Make a Book Report Jacket

We made one of these in class this past week for the story "Duck on a Bike".  Our class had a lot of fun reviewing this David Shannon classic, that I thought I would let the students make their own jacket to a favorite book of theirs this week at home!  Students can pick any book they wish (except "Duck on a Bike"), or use one of the books in their book bag this week.  Follow the directions given, and create an exciting book jacket to bring in and share with the class on Thursday (no school next Friday!!).

Here is a sample from Luis, one of our Student of the Month winners for October, who did a terrific job on his Book Jacket in class this week.  Thanks Luis!!

Book Jacket Cover: List Title and Author (if known)
Draw a picture about the book.

Book Jacket Inside: Write complete sentences
to answer questions about the book.
Add another page to the original book
with your own picture and ideas.

Book Jacket Back: Create a Word List (3-5 words)
*Choose important words from the story.
They can be words used frequently in the story,
label words that help understand the pictures,
or sight words that all students should know.

*Don't forget to send me your pics.  I love putting student work up on the blog.  Keep working hard, and remember, your very FIRST Report Card will be arriving later this month.  I'm proud of the efforts you have all been giving! -Mr. Linnet