This month District 97 students have been hard at play and work, both of which mean they’ve been learning!
Students in Ms. Schweigerts class at Beye Elementary School have been working with theater director LeKeya Shearrill to create a video that shares their knowledge about the life cycle of the butterfly. Students started out as eggs, grew into larva and broke free of their chrysalis. They enjoyed life as a full butterfly and sent well wishes to the next generation. Ms. Shearrill created a video of the student performance that was shared with the class.
Students in Mr. Naber’s class at Longfellow Elementary School have been working with Atiba Jali to learn about African drumming. As a link to the social studies curriculum, students worked on creating various rhythms that correspond to traditional music. Following the lead of Atiba and Mr. Naber, students performed their short repertoire for peers, parents and guardians.
Second graders at Mann Elementary School worked with textile artist Pam Penney on an Art Start project that tied to their social studies curriculum. Students researched facts about a given state, (postal abbreviation, capital, state bird & flower) to include in a custom made quilt square that will represent each of the 50 states. Penney taught the students how to hand dye yarn with simple materials found around the house, how to create simple embellishment type stitches and will guide them in assembling all of the pieces into one large quilt.
Hatch first grade students in Ms. Winfield’s class have been working with dancer Diane VanDerhei to deepen their understanding of the science curriculum. Through creative movement and dance exercises, students learned to read and interpret a ‘dance sentence’, grew from a caterpillar to a butterfly, and sprouted from seeds to flowers in order to help the butterflies pollinate the first grade garden!
Also at Hatch, First grade students in Ms. Brummel’s class have been working with ceramic teaching artist, Gina Lee Robbins exploring the properties of clay. Students created tubes, cylinders & spirals, then added texture & pattern to each piece with found objects. When dried, the pieces will be fired and strung together to create a collaborative installation.
If you think your student would enjoy activities like this, check out our art and performance related BASE Camps.