Last Day of School 2015 Ridgeway Community School Part I

The last day of school is filled with finish up, clean up, awards, lunch and play ball--the especially thrilling kickball game: 5th Graders verses the Teachers. (See Last Day of School 2015 RCS Part II)

 
Elise during wrap up time in Mrs. Anderson's room.

 Ms. Ashley giving out 100% Attendance Awards!

Students participate in accelerated reading at Ridgeway Community School.  After they read a book, they can  take a multiple choice quiz and gain points depending on the difficulty of the book.  The students above received a Bronze Metal.

Silver Metal Award Winners.

Gold Metal Award Winners.

Crowning achievements for two of our teachers.

A special gift for our friend, Nyah, whose family is moving.  A canvas painting of thumbprints from everyone in our school creating a growing tree.  The leaves of the tree are Grades 2-5 students.  The trunk and roots are the Kinders and 1st Grade students. Three 5th Grade students added rootedness with their thumbs at the base of the tree.  All the fruits and flowers are the teachers favorite colors.  The red thumb prints are strawberries--one of Nyah's favorite fruits.

The canvas was provided by Mrs. Cindy Smith--a loving parent of one our 5th Grade student's, Nathaniel "Viggo" Smith.

Art Show at Ridgeway Community School 2015

Every year, Ridgeway Community School has an art show to showcase the work that the children in Kindergarten through Grade 5 have created over the year.  Art Show opened May 6 and continues through May 28th.  Art fills the halls, the library, the gymnasium and the art room.  The art is bright and colorful and happy. These are the bright faces of Ridgeway Community School hanging in the library.

The 1st Grade created pandas, cows, pigs, and sheep with chalk pastels, tempera paints, oil pastels and watercolors.

The second and third grade art was Splat the Cat, foxes, and sunglasses portraits.

The fourth and fifth grade students created one point perspective,  value studies from light to dark in one color, and an artwork inspired by Friedens Hundertwasser.

 Lots of art in the halls.

The Kindergarten art on the front bulletin board.

 

Art inspired by Piet Mondrian by the 4th & 5th graders. 

 A collaborative robot on the Art/Music room door by Tyler and friends.

Finding Natural Areas in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Finding natural areas in a new city can be a wonderful adventure.  I had a day to explore Milwaukee, Wisconsin between dance events on Saturday and Monday.   Looking at art at the Milwaukee Art Museum was on my agenda.  And going to the Domes to see the desert and the tropics.  But I had a little time and the parks and trails near Lake Michigan gave me great pleasure.  Here are some photos of the places that I explored.

A beautiful sunny day with a chilly wind.  The leaf buds were not venturing out yet on April 27th.

The daffodils were blooming every where in the city.

I appreciate the shadows that the branches are casting on the earth.  Oh, we live on a beautiful earth.

Sumingagashi—Floating Ink Paper Marbling & Accordion Book in a Box Workshop

Doing Sumingagashi (sue-me-NAH-gah-she)—Floating Ink Paper Marbling in a workshop with Jill Krase at the Winona Arts Center on April 11, 2015 was an incredibly fascinating and inspiring afternoon.  After we played with floating ink and created very interesting marbled papers, we created a little box with a lid and put an accordion book inside.  Here are a few photos.

Jill Krase with a birthday cake that she brought for one of her workshop participants and shared with all of us!

Table filled with supplies including mulberry papers.

Dirk and Carol, participants in the workshop.

See more of what is happening at Winona Arts Center on their facebook page.

To find more workshops with Jill Krase, see her at Ovenbird Bindery.

Open House for EASEL exhibit including "Fly Away with a Book"

The SELCO traveling exhibit, "Experience Art in Southeastern Libraries" is currently in Rushford/Peterson High School Library through April 8, 2015.  An open house to celebrate the exhibit is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 6:30-7:30pm.

The art that I created for the exhibit, Fly Away with a Book will be on display.  I'm excited to see the other pieces in the exhibit.  I've seen the images of the art in the EASEL book but seeing the actual work up close is very exciting.

Fly Away with a Book
12" x 12"

See the process of creating Fly Away with a Book

The exhibit will be traveling through June 2015.  To learn more and see the full exhibit schedule.

Hope you get a chance to view the art.

Art Club

We started an Art Club last year, Spring 2014, with all age levels, Kindergarten through Grade 5 and created goggles of enhanced perception and  huge painted murals on paper of earth environments at Ridgeway Community School.  It was so popular that I had over 45 students enrolled.

This year, I've created a smaller club incorporating different projects for each session.  This fall, the 3rd - 5th Grade students stitched puppets with felt, embroidery floss, and buttons.

This little bear puppet asked, "Do you want to join us?"  The children had the option to create a bear, bunny or owl puppet from patterns that I provided. Or students could develop their own design.  We used patterns from Lisa Griffith's, Woodland Puppets. 

Fourteen students worked on bears, owls, or bunnies.  Three students created their own puppets.  Some students had never sewn before, and we all learned to be patient with threading a needle, making knots, and creating stitches.  Two parent volunteers helped with the fun.

First, students cut out or created their patterns, laid them on the felt, and cut out the pieces.

When the pieces were cut, students decided on what color of embroidery floss to use to stitch the parts together.

We began the puppets in November; we had a week off for Thanksgiving and then came back to complete them the first week of December.

Here are some of cool results.  Some students stitched on buttons for eyes and others stitched felt.

Lucas added a belly button to his bear.

Students could use a running stitch that moved the thread in and out or a whipped stitch that brought the stitch over and around the two pieces.  Either stitch worked well.

Jack created an owl and a watch.

Happy and proud results from all of that stitching.