One of the greatest things about learning another language is learning about the cultures of its native speakers. Students are introduced to new traditions, holidays, and perspectives while building upon their language skills. All first through eighth year students have learned about the tradition of El Día de los Reyes Magos. 

Lower elementary students are exploring Flamenco dance as we begin to learn about Spain. We read a story called, Jorge va a España, which introduced Flamenco dance and a few major cities in Spain. Then, students constructed castañuelas and abanicos, common accessories used in Flamenco.

Upper elementary students have been working toward becoming independent readers in Spanish. They have been reading stories and identifying cognates, summarizing the main idea, and recalling details from the text. Most recently they did this with the story, “La carta a los Reyes Magos” from Storyteller’s Corner. 

Middle school classes have just completed their third unit of our SOMOS curriculum. They are now working on writing sequels or alternative endings to video clips we saw in this unit. They also listened to a story which summarized the traditions of El Día de los Reyes Magos.

First year students created an evolving art piece throughout three consecutive Art Studio classes. This project combined a range of materials and techniques, and exposed these young artists to many different thinking processes, possibilities, and experiences. It was an open-ended, process-based project in which the making and the doing was the main focus.

We began this artistic journey by painting colorful swatches of watercolor on a 12×18 inch piece of wood. Next, we divided up the wood board with strips of tape in various directions. This created new areas for the children to paint in using tempera paint and gave children the opportunity to practice color mixing. We then added three-dimensional elements such as wood shapes, wire, pipe cleaners, corks, beads, and more. During this step of the process, the level of creativity truly accelerated! I could hear the children talking amongst themselves about what their project was evolving into: a town, a city of lights, a playground, an imaginary planet, etc. 

This is where the magic in valuing the process over the end product comes to life! Process-oriented art honors the individual and values critical thinking, exploration, listening, and imagination. It allows the developmental process of each individual to flourish. Throughout the making process, children begin to trust themselves and remain flexible thinkers, which in turn builds confidence in their ideas. Each child grew to be more deeply invested in their creation because of the freedom to explore the materials in their own way.

This past month, students in Kindergarten through 5th grade have been practicing and participating in the team sport of flag football. Did you know that the Super Bowl is the most watched television event in the United States on an annual basis? In flag football, instead of tackling like in American football, the defensive team tries to remove/pull the flag belt from the ball carrier to end the down.

During our flag football unit, most of our focus was on developing hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. Skills taught were: passing the football using the the proper grip (fingers on laces),taking a step with the opposite foot when throwing, passing with a partner about 10 feet away, catching a ball thrown to them (thumbs up for a high ball and pinkies down for a low ball), practicing the proper technique for kicking a football off a tee, punting the football, and understanding and using simple game rules.  Students also learned that the quarterback is the person who throws the ball, the center is the person who hikes the ball, and the receiver is the one who catches the ball and runs with it.

In the Art Studio, second year students have been exploring the Art element of line in various ways. After working on a few projects using materials such as paint, markers, and collage on paper, students were asked to apply what they had learned about line so far to create a 3D project. 

Students were presented with the task of creating a sculpture that explored line in three-dimensional form using wooden blocks, wire, pipe cleaners, strips of paper, beads, buttons, and foam pieces. The only tools they could use to attach their materials to the wood block was a hammer and nails. After a demonstration and safety discussion about how to appropriately use and respect the tools, each young artist got to work. Some students began by coloring their block with paint markers, others bent pipe cleaners and paper strips in to zig-zaggy or wavy lines, and soon enough the classroom began to sound and look like a woodworking shop! 

The task of hammering nails into the wood to attach each part required increasing amounts of dexterity and coordination, yet it was so fun and rewarding that each child wanted to do it over and over! Some students made multiple sculptures while others worked diligently on one. Students who were timid toward these tools and materials at first, quickly turned the corner and gained a newfound confidence after some practice and focus. Their fine motor skills and problem solving abilities truly improved with each swing of the hammer. This kind of open-ended, process-oriented art is an endless opportunity for making choices, coming to conclusions, and evaluating results. Throughout the making of this project, each child became more comfortable with uncertainty and remained flexible thinkers, which is key for creativity and confidence!