ART:

Students worked very small scale today, a unique challenge requiring fine motor control!  Using concentrated acrylic paint and fine tip paint brushes, each individual painted imagery onto a 4”x4” ceramic tile.  This was a new approach to painting for this group, and the results are fantastic; vibrant natural scenes and subject matter.  Each student received his/her art portfolio today- enjoy looking through these many wonderful artworks created this year.  Have an artful summer and keep sketching, drawing, and exploring the wonderful world of art Tiger Wolves!

OE:

For our last week of Spanish, los tigre-lobos were so impressive with their project presentations and finishing up their fables. We had a lot of fun on our last day playing review games with a water balloon toss and are definitely ready for summer! Hope you all have a great one and keep up that Spanish!

ART:

As we near the end of our weekly art class, Tiger Wolves are squeezing in as much creative learning as possible!  Today in class, our talented artists explored a tissue paper painting process.  Tearing small pieces of differing shapes, size, and color, students created abstract landscapes by painting (applying with a thin glue) these individual pieces onto long rectangular pieces of poster board.

SPANISH:

This week, los Tigre-Lobos did a great job completing their bilingual fables and finalizing their country projects for our fair next week. We’ll be showing off our work Tuesday, May 27 1-2 pm at the Red House, so please come by! We will also be having some fun fiesta celebrations on Thursday, May 29 including a water balloon toss with a Spanish twist, so please dress accordingly. Gracias!

FARM & GARDEN:

This week the tiger wolves got busy in the garden. We examined one the main things our plants need to be fruitful: good soil! What is the difference between soil and dirt? The simple answer is that soil is alive.  It is full of microscopic organisms that are the result of decomposing matter. The result? Healthy, green plants! The tiger wolves were pleased to discover that we have a great source of soil amendment right here at school: Mo and Powders manure! If you look into their field and observe their "bathroom areas" you can see a different in both the color and productivity of the grass. The Tiger wolves also got excited about planting a garden where they could grow the biggest or tastiest vegetable, stirring up some good healthy competition.

Spanish:

Los Tigre-Lobos are hard at work finishing their fables and country projects as the trimester comes to a close. Though it can be difficult to stay focused with such beautiful weather, we’re almost there and earning ourselves a week of proud project presentations on May 27 1-2pm at the Red House and fun fiesta day on May 29. Keep it up, Tigre-Lobos!

Art:

An array of instruments to complete a music festival is complete!  Tiger Wolves finished building their musical instruments today!  

SPANISH:

This week, los tigre-lobos were getting ready for summer by finishing up some of their clever bilingual fables and end of the year country projects. They’re also having a lot of fun playing games and working toward a week of fun to finish off Spanish this year. Please look ahead to Tuesday, May 27 1-2pm when we will have our works out for viewing at the Red House for family and friends to see.

OE:

Experiential learning outdoors in the rain, wind, and snow!  Tiger Wolves played the game of ‘Fantasy Tag’ today; a dynamic game involving imagination, formation of strategy, teamwork, physical exertion, excitement of quickly changing play, and fun fun fun! 

As the class learns experientially, some components of this style of learning include:

-Participants are actively involved in learning.

-Learning takes place in an environment of trust and safety.

-There is interaction among group members.

-There is constructive and supportive facilitation.

-Learning and knowledge comes from the individual, the group, the activities and the process.

ART:

Tiger Wolves continue to build models of their instruments; a dynamic art project focusing on 3-dimensional form.  Students are using a variety of materials, objects, and tools to create these replicas.  We have trumpets, pianos, electric guitars, drum kits, a harp….!  As each individual completes the building process, final touches will be applied using paint and collage as a means to embellish and create a decorative finish!

OE:

The class revisited the initiative challenge ‘The Blind Polygon’ today where each student is blindfolded and circled around a long rope.  The group is asked to make a multi-sided geometric shape- outlined using the rope.  Before beginning this exercise, the discussion focused on the need for effective communication, leadership, and also followership.  Our preparation paid off with the group exhibiting extra focus and determination.

We also played ‘SPUD’; a game involving decision making and fast reactions.  Lots of action!

SPANISH:

Los tigre-lobos are doing a fantastic job finishing up their country projects and will be ready to present next week! As well, they are working hard on writing animal fables. I’m learning so much from them. As well, they’re getting geared up for their assessments on all the vocabulary they’ve learned this year. Keep it up, tigre-lobos!

FARM & GARDEN

Two weeks ago, the Tiger Wolves planted their first seeds of the season: Artichokes, Cabbages,  Kholrabi, and  Brussel Sprouts. These will eventually be transplanted into our brand new raised bed garden behind the barn. I am happy to report the Tiger Wolves took great care of their seeds, making sure they got the water and warmth necessary to germinate. This week we observed many newly sprung seedlings. We discovered that most of our seeds germinated and had their first leaves. Others were still unfurling out of their seed coats. Some were already growing their second leaves! Students painted beautiful diagrams showing the process by which a plant utilizes sunlight energy to make food for itself so it can continue to grow (photosynthesis).

Next week the Tiger Wolves will be going on a field trip to Winter Winds Farm to lend a hand with some newborn goat kids. The kids need bottle training and we will be helping to train them! Make sure your child wears appropriate clothes for being on a farm next Wednesday (boots, clothes that can get muddy/smell like got, rain gear if the forecast is anything like this week).

Finally, check out this amazing human fence! Mo and Powder think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and also happen to be amazing escape artists. Tiger Wolves to the rescue!

OE

An energetic and dynamic game of ‘Capture the Flag’ today for the Tiger Wolves!  This game engages participants at so many different levels:  encourages working as a group, one on one communication, formation of strategies, compromise, problem solving, independent thinking…And a ton of fast running action!

ART

As a contributing component to the Tiger Wolves class ‘Band’ project, we began a 3-dimensional project in art today where students will create models of the instruments they are studying.  Students sketched their instruments; then conceptualized a 3-D design plan to build a replica of the instrument.  We will use found materials, cardboard, and lots of imagination to create these pieces!

SPANISH

Los Tigre-Lobos are nearly done with their big projects on Spanish-speaking countries! We've traveled the world in our classroom and learned so much along the way. Not too mention we're continuing to learn with Jueves de Juegos (Game Thursdays) and our self-made Phrases of the Week: "Las Alpacas se escaparon!"

SPANISH

Los tigre-lobos are almost done with their big Spanish speaking country projects! Their colorful, informative, and creative posters and brochures feature the Yucatan, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Toledo and Barcelona, Spain, and Zacatecas. I’m very excited that you will be able to see their beautiful projects soon!

ART

Tiger Wolves continued exploring wire art today as we worked further to learn how to get our intended results as we practiced manipulating different wires to create our wire art quilt blocks.

On Tuesday, we worked on finishing up our Latin American and Spain country projects, which we will be finalizing in a couple weeks. We also loved taking a small break from our projects on Thursday by playing Everything We Know Bingo with pictures, handmade Bingo boards, and creative coloring.  Muy buen trabajo, tigre-lobos!

Welcome back to art Tiger Wolves!  Today each student participated in the TVCS portfolio process by writing a brief reflective piece on a particular art project.  This along with fantastic photos of each child and the specific art process will be compiled in each student’s portfolio.

Next, a new art adventure begins!  Tiger Wolves are exploring form and texture and utilizing fine motor skills as we begin a wire art quilt project.  A modern and expressive way to make a quilt is to incorporate wire, string, and beads.  Wire is an amazing art medium – it can be bent to form a variety of lines, shapes, letters, and images, outlining pattern in the way that individual pieces of fabric make up each square in a traditional quilt.  Each student began the process by wrapping annealed wire around a ceramic tile to create a square.  Next, using various colored wire, students are creating designs by manipulating wire to fill the space within the square.

SPANISH:

Hola a los amigos y la familia de los tigre lobos! Many of us are closing in on some great posters and presentations of Spanish speaking places around the world. The Yucatan, Barcelona, Toledo, Costa Rica, Zacatecas, and Ecuador will all be presented on near the end of April by our wonderful class. As well, we will continue to review and add actions to our songs that we have come to know so well. 

ART:

We enjoyed the textural and visual sensation of gently handling and appreciating our finished abstract felted artworks!  Each work embodies unique qualities indeed!

Tiger Wolves learned a fun and engaging lifetime craft utilizing sheep wool today.  Each individual constructed a French knitter using cardboard cylinders and craft sticks, then learned and practiced the French knitting technique.  The process involves fine motor skills and concentration.  It was exciting to watch our textured knit tubular shapes grow longer and longer!

ART:

Tiger Wolves experienced the human powered agitation process today while wet felting their carefully arranged natural fibers.  This was a soapy, wet process of making continuous circular motions over both sides of the felting screen for quite some time!  We are excited to remove our dried abstract felted art pieces from their screens next week.

SPANISH:

Hola a los amigos y familia de los tigre-lobos! Gracias for another great week. We’re all working hard on our Spanish-speaking region projects and have started to listen to new kinds of Latin music to support our class music project. It’s been great to see how well we can research on our own and come up with really amazing projects to be presented in April. 

FARM & GARDEN:

This week with Full Circle Education, the Toros did some seed shopping! We reviewed and discussed seeds that fit our climate and ways we can extend our growing season. Then the students got to work browsing seed catalogues for exciting varieties of vegetables they had previously picked out for their garden. Soon we will be planting!

OE:

A Nordic trip to Pioneer Park today!  A fresh groomed track provided excellent traction and cyclecross features were exciting to explore on skis!

ART:

Today in art!  We took a look at our collagraph prints- Wow!  Each student signed his/her print edition, titled, and signed it as well.  Look for these excellent works at the art show in May!

In conjunction with the latest farm and garden enrichment project where students created felted sponge over soap using alpaca wool, in art we began a felting project.

First:  What is fiber art?  Fiber art includes any type of artwork which uses linear, pliable elements – fibers – as a major material, and may be constructed by methods traditionally associated with textile fibers such as stitching, weaving, dyeing, felting…

So - ‘The step between a handful of wool and a hat:  exactly how does one create felt?’ Felting is a simple process of separating, tangling, and relocking animal fibers found in items such as yarn or wool.  Felting begins through the agitation of the animal fibers; these fibers are lined with tiny scales which interlock and keep the fibers’ shape.  In felting, the scales are coaxed into separation through heat- warm water or friction-and then gently tangled using various tools.  Once the animal fibers have been separated and tangled, the felting process is complete when the scales are once again interlocked.  This usually occurs when the fibers cool; at this point the basic process of felting is complete!  There are several methods to agitate and tangle animal fibers into felt such as needle felting, nuna felting, knit felting and the wet felting method which Tiger Wolves began today.  Students began the fiber layering process using alpaca, buffalo, and dyed sheep wool to create soft, abstract designs.  Next week we will add the ‘wet’ to the wet felting process!

SPANISH:

Los tigre-lobos are working very hard on their country and region projects. They are getting far along and impressing me with their organization to deliver their projects at a small in-class fair 1-2pm on Thursday, April 17^th at the Red House. Some of our regions, cities, and countries includes: the Yucatan, Barcelona, Toledo, Ecuador, and many others. Come by and see what we’ve been working hard on when you get a chance!

OE:

Celebrating the winter Olympics in O.E.!  Today, a new sport emerged, perhaps to be seen in the Olympic circuit in the future:  snowshoe-snowball biathlon!  Snow shoes can be complicated:  so many straps, cleats, connection points…. But, Tiger Wolves were focused and independent today as each child accepted the challenge to figure these snowshoes out.  Then, off to the races- we created a large oval course with two snowball target areas and a penalty lap area.  An intensely fun, dynamic event for sure!  

ART:

Tiger Wolves spent today’s class completing their cubism portraits.  Students also gained exposure to new art terminology as they worked on an art word search.

SPANISH:

Hola a las familias y amigos de los tigre-lobos! We are so excited to continue creating more bilingual and Spanish projects in class while we continue to listen to our songs and read new books together. This week, we worked on finishing up our menus and starting to research our new, bigger projects: Studying regions of and creating presentations about Spanish-speaking countries. We’re working well in partners and excited to show off our skills when we’re finished with this next big project for which we will have a Spanish Fair.

ART:

Happy Valentine’s day!  What an amazing field trip to the Teton Arts Council today!  We brought our collagraph printing plates built during our last class to the TAC and met up with our printmaking teachers Melinda and Mona  in the printmaking studio.  Mona demonstrated the printing process:  how to soak and dry each individual printing paper, how to use a brayer to roll ink onto our collagraph plates, and then how to properly use the printing press, finally hanging each print from a clothesline to dry.  Each student printed an ‘edition’, two prints in succession, the second being the ‘ghost’ print.  The dampened paper over the textured plate produced magnificent results.  Students paired up to print with Mona, while the rest of the class received an engaging lesson in calligraphy from Melinda.  She taught the fundamentals of calligraphy, demonstrated technique, and each student practiced the alphabet and even wrote Valentine cards in this expressive handwriting style!  

SPANISH:

I’ve been really impressed with the gusto that los tigre-lobos have taken on their menu projects! They have done a really good job so far and are almost done with these artistic, bilingual endeavors! We will begin to start forming our driving question for our end-of-the-year project as well…perhaps we will create our own song for our band or maybe create a field guide in Spanish for Teton Valley? I look forward to seeing what we come up with!

ART:

Today begins a two part class on collagraph printmaking; an exciting collaboration with the Teton Arts Council!  Collagraphy is a printmaking process invented and popularized in the 1930’s by artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.  In collagraphy, various thin materials are arranged as a collage and applied to a rigid surface.  Then a print is taken from the collage.  The finished piece can be inked or left white to showcase the textures and qualities of the paper used.  Today two printmaking artists from TAC visited our class, teaching us about this printing technique and demonstrating how to build a collagraph plate.  Students utilized all sorts of materials like wire mesh, wallboard compound, tissue paper, and twine to build up a printing plate showing abstract and semi-representational textured imagery.  Next week, a field trip to the TAC printmaking studio to use the printing press and create our prints!

SPANISH:

Los Tigre-Lobos are very excited each day to get more work done on their first Spanish project: menús en español. Once we are done with these, we will look to a larger project driven by the students’ interests…maybe we will make a Spanish song for our band or create recipes and have a class restaurant with menus in Spanish! I look forward to seeing what this creative class has in store. In the meantime, we are also continuing to learn new words and phrase, such as this week’s phrase: “No te preocupes!”

OE:

The culmination of a successful ice skating unit today!  The consistency this unit provided proved beneficial to each individual’s skill progression and self-confidence.  Consecutive weeks spent on the ice allowed for greater positive impact for the Tiger Wolves.

Ice skating is a sport that offers many benefits for children.  It can become a life time activity, and when started at a young age, it allows for children to harness their skills and ability on the ice as they grow.  With an ever increasing emphasis on screen time, it places our youth in the fresh air.  Ice skating increases lower body strength by working the hamstring and quadriceps muscles and is helpful for improving coordination and balance.  Ice skating encourages artistic expression- children can express themselves artistically alone and in a group.   Learning to play hockey exemplifies these and many other benefits as well.

Thank you parent helpers, what great support you all provided!

OE:

Tiger Wolves are demonstrating exciting growth in skills and confidence on the ice!  We are having a lot of fun skating around with our friends, working on technical skills, playing group games, and today- some creative performances in a talent show on ice!  Thanks very much to Marc Anderson for playing a huge part in the success of our class!

ART:

Tiger Wolves explore Cubism!  Students viewed many portraits and paintings rendered in the Cubism style by Picasso and other artists, the, continued work on the cubism portraits begun last week.  Students are choosing different art media for color after completing their pencil drawings.

SPANISH:

Los tigre-lobos are truly are excited to continue reading in Spanish and are about to embark on doing projects in writing in Spanish as well. They are working on menus to review their action words, food vocabulary, and to learn new words through this artistic and writing project.  Along with this, we’ll be working on learning animal body parts and continuing our phrases of the week…this week? Are you going to teach your new phrase of the week to a friend or family member? “Claro que si!”

ART: 

An artist profile today:  Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso!  The class watched an online artist biography and portrait tutorial, and read a book on the amazing artist Picasso.  Of all Picasso’s versatile styles, the focus today was on Cubism.  Students learned about Cubism- a style of painting where the objects of the painting subject are broken up and re-painted in an abstract form.   In connection to our latest work on portraits, students utilized line drawing to design cubism portraits.

OE:

Estoy muy orgullosa de los Tigre-Lobos! We have done a great job of learning fruits and other food words in Spanish evidenced in how well everyone is doing in our class games “Simon Dice” and “La Guerra!” We will also be looking into creating puppets together that will speak in Spanish with us and help us review what we already know as we reach the end of our song list, and creating menus for restaurants to use our food and action words. Finally, we’ve started learning more action words from our newest song, “Que haces en la clase?” Don’t forget to use the phrase of the week… “Olvidalo!”

FARM & GARDEN:

This week, the tiger wolves worked hard to move hay from the barn into the Alpaca shed! They came up with many modes of transport, including sleds and wagons. The Alpacas are really starting to warm up to the students, and will even eat treats from their hands sometimes. We made some general health observations too, and decided its time to clip their toe nails. Should be an exciting task!

SPANISH:

Hola tigre-lobos! I’ve really liked how much the Tiger Wolves have started to get into their books in Spanish, games, and upcoming projects in Spanish. They do a great job being enthusiastic about new songs, food words, and doing the actions well. These last few weeks, we’ve focused on food vocabulary, what foods we like, and how we say “buy food,” “prepare food,” “count food items,” and “eat food.” Also, make sure to use that Phrase of the Week with your family and friends: Checalo!!

ART:

Tiger Wolves completed the ‘self’ investigation portrait and writing activity today.  Students worked to complete their permanent marker self-expression statements, then, painted creatively over the entire surface with watercolors.

OE:

Our first of four wonderful ice skating Fridays!  Tiger Wolves broke into two groups today:  one for improving hockey skills, and the other to work on skating basics, gain confidence on the ice, and play group games.  Thank you very much parent helpers!

OE:

Today Tiger Wolves gained valuable experience affirming lifetime fitness as an integral part of life!  We took a field trip to the Dreamchasers fitness facility in Driggs and worked with Chris Heilman.  Chris has an extensive background in sports and exercise psychology, is a personal trainer, strength coach, and works with people of all ages teaching a mind-body connection.  She works with youth and even Olympians! – focusing on the mental and physical aspects of sport.

Our class began with an introduction to body anatomy through identifying muscle groups and joints.  The class learned about the importance of warm-up and stretching as injury prevention.  Chris led us through an effective warm-up routine for kids, and through different demonstrations and ‘body weight’ exercises, taught us more about how our muscles work and how to strengthen different muscle groups safely and effectively.  The class provided hands on experience in becoming more in tune with our bodies and our minds – and the important connection between the two.  We all limbered up, learned a lot, and broke a sweat!

SPANISH:

Los tigre-lobos continue to love enjoying singing their Spanish songs and playing games in Spanish. They remembered a lot about their colors, greetings, weather, phrases of the week, and more over the break. This week, they learned names of fruits and how to say they buy them (comprar), fix them (arreglar), count them (contar), and eat them (comer). In the coming weeks, we will be working on getting through longer stories in Spanish, learning new songs, and brainstorming for their end-of-the-year projects. Dale, Tiger Wolves!

ART:

Tiger Wolves investigated ‘self’ through artistic means today.  A unique self-portrait project incorporated line, color, and written expression.  We began by studying our faces in mirrors, and then using only a sharpie marker, drew what we saw.  The sharpie posed a challenge- no erasing!  The experience of drawing with permanent marker provides a great way for our young artists to focus on capturing details, and learn to relax with the realization that there are no mistakes to erase.  These self-portraits were captured on large pieces of paper.  With the project theme of ‘I am…’, the students filled in the space surrounding their portrait with many sentences reflective of their personality and character.-  ‘I am a sister – I am an animal lover- I am a daughter- I am important!…..  Students created different designs with words as they wrote down their statements.   Next each student will paint his/her self-portrait with water color paints.  Fantastic!

O.E

We started class today with a fun warm-up called ‘People to people’ where students pair up and follow a caller’s directions to connect parts of their bodies, such as elbow to knee, with combinations becoming more complex and contortionally challenging.  The caller yells ‘people to people’ and everyone must quickly switch partners, this new pair then connecting quickly again.  This was a fun way to stretch!

Incorporating new games from around the world, Tiger Wolves learned a game from Pakistan today –‘Ounch Neech’.  In this game, students utilize different levels of the play environment:  ounch meaning up, and neech meaning down.  Ask your child about this one! 

ART

Tiger Wolf artists painted their textural clay pieces today.  Using acrylic paints, students selected a color to paint in the grooves, lines and indentations, then chose a second color to paint over the surface of the piece, creating unique two-toned results that emphasize the terrific texture created by the students’ self-made stamps.

SPANISH

Los tigre-lobos are getting better at being attentive and ready for Spanish each day. They have had fun going through all the songs we know and new songs while keeping up with our words of the week, too! This week’s word is: “Que lastima!” A fun one to know and use when things just aren’t going your way. We’re also practicing kinds of clothing and furniture this week and over the break. Que tienes en la casa de tu abuela? (or whoever’s house you visit over the holidays J and how can you use these words?) We’ve had a great time reading Las Mujeres Astutas and are gearing up for the holidays by making sweet tamales today!

Spanish

After a week off for the holidays, los Tigre-Lobos are back at full roar in Spanish! They enjoyed making their weather wheels this week to use at home and at school to remember how to say different types of weather. This week, we learned a new phrase: Dime (dee-may). A way to use it with your child? Tell them: “Dime” what “dime” means and they will (even though you may have already figured it out). We also had fun learning our newest song about getting up in the morning and putting on our camisas, pantalones, calcetines, zapatos, y chaquetas. We’re most looking forward to a special visitor next Tuesday, December 10, who will make tamales with us as a traditional Mexican holidays’ treat. Let me know if you’d like any extra materials for your child(ren) over the break to keep up with their espanol!

Art

Welcome back to Art!  Today Tiger Wolves worked with clay!  Students used their decorative art press tools to create impressions on slabs of clay they rolled out.  Then, created organic 3-D forms with a hollow center filled with dried beans.  These textured pieces – ‘percussive pods’, when finished with acrylic paint, will serve as unique and decorative sound instruments.  This multi-step project has involved exploring with different clay bodies, plaster, using different sculptural tools, mold making, and practice with applying texture and constructing form.

OE

 A little cold weather did not deter the Tiger Wolves!  We bundled up for winter fun today.  Tiger Wolves worked through a new teambuilding initiative.

 ‘Log jam’  

--Everyone starts by standing on a low beam.  The group is told they will need to line up in some determined order without anyone falling off the beam.  A certain time limit to complete the activity adds an element to the organizational output of the group.

--Natural outcomes:

    -promotes contact, support, and inter-dependency.

   -develops understandings about group dynamics.

   -focus on communication.

   -develops group problem solving skills.

--As a framing/debrief, discussion involved:

   -what made this activity difficult?

   -what were the keys to success?

   -what was the group’s problem-solving style and how did it work?

   -what is it about the nature an activity that determines the leadership needs?

   -what happened if a technique didn’t work?

   -were you able to ask for what you need in this exercise?

   -in what ways did people feel support?

   -what if someone didn’t do their part?

We also learned a new game –‘Norwegian ball’, a game involving a lot of running, throwing, kicking, and catching with a purpose of developing team cooperation, strategy, and competition.

OE:

Tiger Wolves celebrated Thanksgiving through a fun and creative twist on the game ‘Fish Gobbler’ that we learned last week.  Students offered suggestions to make up the game –‘Turkey Gobbler’ with call outs like ‘mashed potatoes!’, ‘slicing the turkey!’, ‘apple pie!’ relating to different actions and movement levels.  The class engaged ‘Stalking the leader’, a sensory awareness activity.  This one can pose various challenges for the group, which provided learning opportunity for discussion and problem solving during a group circle.  We completed class with majority vote deciding on ‘Cars’, a variation on tag.

ART:

Our creative group complete positive space silhouettes today!   This activity was a bit of a brainteaser as far as rendering an area of importance or main subject, and being able to cut away the surrounding negative space.  Each student painted a watercolor wash background and mounted the ‘positive’ space imagery onto this.  We reviewed positive and negative space and wrote our definitions on this concept in our artist books.

Tiger Wolves also removed the oil based clay from the plaster of paris we poured two weeks ago which revealed very interesting stamps – the art press texture tools we will use to create impressions on clay.  Stay posted for this exciting project that will take place after the break!  Happy Thanksgiving!

SPANISH:

Buen día de acción de gracias! This week, we learned a new song about table manners and how to say parts of our family in español. We now have two words of the week to try while we’re on vacation: “Basta!” And “Pasame.” Both can definitely be used during Thanksgiving festivities or just over dinner. Ask your child what these mean and how to use them with hand actions. We are regularly reviewing our colors, weather, days of the week, parts of the body, and months of the year. As we get into the holidays, I will be looking for ways to celebrate navidades and dias festivos in different cultural ways. Let me know how you celebrate your cultural holidays this time of the year! I hope you all have wonderful descanso, viajes seguros, y días festivos!

Spanish:

Los tigre-lobos are progressing really well in Spanish! Just in time for the cold season, we are really learning our weather terms along with the days of the week, months of the year, and reviewing the songs we have been doing throughout the year. This week, get like Speedy Gonzalez and use our phrase of the week: Andale! As a reminder, students are encouraged to ask for a copy of the Spanish songs. Please email the Spanish instructor, Kristin Ladd at kyoladd@gmail.com if you’d like a copy so you can keep up your Spanish over the break!

Farm & Garden:

This week for Farm and Garden- the grey wolves got a chance to do some Alpaca work again. This time, we were able to successfully harness Mo and feel his amazing coat! The 3/4 graders are in charge of taking care of the Alpacas now that they are housed in the red house. Everyday, twice a day, they check their water, feed them hay and pellets, and watch their behaviors. The students are noticing that the Alpacas seem to trust them more and follow them as they enter the gate to feed. Of course the Alpacas aren't always happy with us in their territory and they spit on occasion. The grey wolves aren't phased by this and continue to enjoy their responsibilities. This winter we will begin work with some of the wonderful fibers that they provide us each year during after shearing. The goal is to card, spin and knit the alpaca wool. 

Art:

To prepare better for printmaking image creation, Tiger Wolves learned about positive and negative space today.  We read through an online tutorial about this concept and also watched a short video that showed different examples and ways of seeing positive and negative space in composition.  The class started a related art project where each student drew a simple design on construction paper, focusing on the positive space as the area of interest, then, cutting out the negative space that surrounds the image focus.  Students painted with watercolors on a background sheet to create a sky silhouette.  

Music:

We started music class off today with a listening exercise using Santana's "Oye Como Va".  What instruments are being played? How many band members are involved? What is the feel of the song? What do the lyrics mean?  Next we learned a new song that will be performed at the winter concert. By first singing with the recording and then singing with just the guitar for accompaniment the melody is beginning to get stuck in our ears.  We ended class with some call and response between hand drums.

OE:

A new game – ‘Fish gobbler’, was a fun opener today providing opportunities for quick paced transitions, listening, recall, running, chasing, and movement levels.  This dynamic activity kept us on our toes! Tiger Wolves played a new game involving running and chasing –‘Man from Mars’, that required a different thought process for decision making in play. A favorite – ‘Jewel thieves’ combines a fast paced scavenger hunt with an element of catch and release. And – the class attempted a new teamwork initiative- ‘The Lap Game’ which was entertaining to say the least! 

OE:

A fun warm-up – ‘Copy Cat’ was an entertaining way to begin class.  This is a concentration game of following and leading movements and guessing who’s mirroring who.  Next, a group juggling game provided opportunities for students to establish movement patterns, throw and catch.

We played ‘Fantasy Tag’, a version of tag involving students writing descriptions of something they have always wanted to do, with one group trying to identify who belongs to a specific fantasy, and tagging selected individuals who then join the guessing team.   The game ends when all players end up on one team.

Spanish:

Saludos a los Tigre-Lobos y sus amigos! Greetings to the Tiger Wolves and their friends! We had a great week learning our newest song about the days of the week and how to talk about the weather. In clase de espanol, we're really working toward knowing all the songs we've learned (10 in total!) along with our phrases of the week very well before the holidays come upon us. We will be reading Eric Carle's La Mariquita Malhumurado and getting to know animals, practice our numbers, and learn some fun phrases like "Oye tu!" next week along with playing new games. If you would like a copy of the main CD used in class, please let the Spanish teacher, Kristin Ladd kristin.ladd@tetonscience.org know, and she will gladly make you a copy! Keep an eye out for cooking recipes and holiday tamale-making in the near future. Also, don't forget to ask your child the phrase of the week! What could "Que lindo" mean? Thank you for your support and we look forward to another great week next week!

Art:

Today we began what will be a broad unit on printmaking.  Our first project is building art press tools that we will use to create texture and designs/impressions on clay.  The process today involved:  Students used wooden sculpting tools to create an image or design on oil-based clay by either adding relief to or subtracting from a ball of clay flattened in a small paper cup.  The plaster of paris was then poured onto the design.  Tiger Wolves documented the important art concepts related to the project in their art books.

Music:

The focus of today's music class was singing.  As Halloween has come and gone, we are beginning preparations for the Christmas show in December by singing several potential songs.  We practiced singing along with recordings to learn the melody and lyrics of several songs and then sang them a cappella in a group.  We also practiced one round in three different groups, paying close attention to the respective group's melody as well as the symphony created by the entire group. 

ART:

Happy Halloween!  Today in art Tiger Wolf artists explored paper craft through a pumpkin mobile project.  We constructed 3-D abstract pumpkin shapes using cut paper strips.  It was great to discuss the artwork using art terminology.  Students saw line, shape, texture, color, form, and space in their art today!

MUSIC:

The focus of today's music class was rhythm.  We used upside down cups to practice different combinations of clapping and cup taps.  Then we broke into groups and practiced different rhythms on large hand drums, paying close attention to the difference between a "rim shot" and a bass palm hit.  We also spent some time in groups singing "The Ghost of John" as a round. 

SPANISH:

Esta semana fue muy especial porque celebramos Dia de los Muertos! This week was very special because we are celebrating Day of the Dead! Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a holiday from Mexico that is now celebrated in many parts of the US that comes the two days following Halloween. We have used this past week to prepare for Dia de los Muertos by making skull masks, a traditional costume for the holiday and reading a book about the holiday. There is much to celebrate when it comes to knowing our ancestors and family members we miss dearly. I encourage students and families to get to know more about the holiday and how celebrating the past can help us enjoy the present! Here is a great website if you are interested in knowing even more: http://www.mommymaestra.com/2010/11/brief-history-of-dia-de-los-muertos-for.html. Celebrations in the community will be held November 1 & 2 with food, traditional altar decorations, kids' activities, and cultural dance at Driggs City Hall as part of the Art Walk and its own celebration through the Hispanic Resource Center. We are SO excited that our Tigre-Lobos were able to help on Friday with those decorations and altar set-up. What a wonderful way to remember those who have passed away.

OE:

Tiger Wolves worked together to complete the ‘Caterpillar Walk’ today.  This initiative is an old favorite and great way to point out aspects of teamwork as well as provides an opportunity to discuss how non-direct focus on the group’s task at hand sabotages the group achieving a goal together.   It is a reality that certain students may not participate wholeheartedly in an initiative activity; this occurrence lends itself well to group discussion on how to proactively support the team as a whole.

We also played an imaginative game of ‘Ranger Tag’!

ART

Tiger Wolves added to their art vocabulary lists today.  We discussed concepts, significance, and other elements relating to our gate project such as:  interactive art, conceptual art, form in art, the symbolism related to the circle, communication in art, and what an installation is in art.  The gate project is all of this and more! The students continue to define the project theme and how the interactive component relates to this.  The updated theme:  ‘We as humans can create an interactive art experience through an installation placed in a natural setting that investigates relationships between humans and the natural world’.  As the project progresses and knowledge of related concepts grows, the students are fine tuning this!   The classroom was organized in stations where students worked on various aspects of the gate from painting pieces of the installation, working with beads and wire, driftwood and willows, and collaborating on decisions of the placement of these on the gate. 

SPANISH

Saludos y besos a los tigre-lobos! The Tiger Wolves have learned their Spanish songs so well this month! I praise their enthusiasm and participation in getting to know vocabulary and phrases for numbers, colors, greetings, parts of the body, and, our newest addition, feelings and needs. I appreciate that many Tiger Wolf families are using our words of the week as well. Our newest is: “Chocala!” Give a high five this weekend for all the great things your kids do! Hasta luego!