‘Midsummer craziness’ as we near Midwinter!

Who would have thought Clive King’s novel ‘Stig of the Dump’ could continue to inspire and provide a hook for a new generation? From creating their own ‘Stig inventions’ from observational drawings of bottles and kettles to lamps and coat hangers, Year 3LH wowed me with their imaginations and ingenuity! If only Jake’s machine was in operation-providing food for a poor family from just one piece of fruit.

Onto corrugated card fiery colours of reds, yellows and oranges were coloured with oil pastels followed by a layer of black acrylic paint.  Stags and campfires, beehive huts and beech trees were then etched onto the card to create the setting Barney and Lou encountered one Midsummer night.

 

Miss Allison once again worked her magic as she choreographed another memorable dance. This time Stags, stones, beech woods, ponies, arrow heads and Stonehenge were weaved seamlessly into the routine!

Parents and interested adults were the willing audience so that Year 3LH could perform to the powerful music entitled Dark Jungle-Jurassic World. Here are just some of the lovely comments:

“The dancing was wonderful to watch.”

“I was very impressed by how quickly they had picked up the routine.”

“The children portrayed such confidence.”

A pastel Summer solstice captured Stonehenge scenes which definitely brought colour into the art studio. After selecting a section of their drawing using a viewfinder, Y3LH then drew and painted onto plaster of paris. It was lovely to see such pride in their finished piece of art which will no doubt take pride of place on a window sill/mantelpiece very soon!

One of the most powerful writes was inspired by the chapter in the book when Lou greets the chief and communicates with him in her own language. What could we say to someone very important about who we were? How would we speak to them? What would we need to make sure of? Around the fire pit on a very cold November afternoon, Y3LH did speak to the chief of ACE. This they did in their own language even though the wind was whistling and smoke smarted eyes!

Below are just a few comments from the numerous parents and interested adults who turned up for the celebration…

“The art studio gives parents an insight into what their children have been doing, and an opportunity to interact with their teachers.”

“I really enjoyed the performance and I am so proud of the effort the teachers are putting into the kids learning.”

“I really like being able to spend time with Layth and for him to show me his work. I really enjoyed seeing him get excited as he showed me his work. He has really enjoyed the last two weeks.”

 

 

The Little Mermaid

What a privilege it has been to work alongside Year 2 over the past month. Because they are going as a cohort to see the ballet ‘The Little Mermaid’, Mr Spink and Miss Savage thought this would be an ideal ‘hook’ for their arts fortnights. Therefore through dance, drama, storytelling, writing and art, we explored and captured a little of the magic of Hans Christian Anderson’s beautiful yet in places tragic story.

Sprats and herring provided the fish for our observational drawings which we created using charcoal, graphite, pencil, felt tip and watercolour. Similarly the wonderful shell drawings used these materials as we hatched, dotted, dashed, cross hatched and circled.

Miss Allison worked her magic as she choreographed another memorable dance. Parents and interested adults were the willing audience so that Year 2 could perform and spread the happiness and enjoyment of their routine.

Here are just some of the lovely comments:

“I loved seeing the children enjoying the dance. Watching them work together was a joy.” Grace D’s dad

“Lovely dancing, smiley faces and everyone looking happy!” Jemima’s Grandma

“The kids worked really hard on the dance; so happy and so impressed with everyone’s effort and behaviour.”

Fine motor skills were the order of the day as we created the willow fish. Weaving of tissue paper, wool and beads ensured that all had their own unique look. Meanwhile, quite a scary looking piece of artwork of a mermaid holding a swordfish inspired their own watercolour and charcoal mermaids!

Through drama and storytelling we immersed Year 2 in the story. Their narrative writes were wonderful.

Mehuli’s mum beautifully shared the purpose of the fortnight in her appreciative comment. It captures the why and heart of what we do:

“The whole performance was really splendid. I really liked the fact that so much creativity is being evolved in each pupil. I am really pleased to see my daughter grow up in the truest sense.”

Year 2 loved sharing their learning with parents and interested adults. Thank you for coming!