Specialist Lessons

Week of: 5/11-5/15

WOW! We are so impressed with everything you shared last week!

You were creative, energetic, imaginative and thoughtful. All the specialists said “My gosh the amount of talent at this school is impressive”

We were getting hungry listening to all the stuff you were planting in your gardens. Fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers, such a variety. We saw a potato turned plant that must have been over a foot tall! There were even a handful of you helping your neighbors that may be having a hard time keeping up their gardens at this time. Books Books Books, so many interesting books being read, bringing adventure right into your homes. You are dragon riders, wand swinging & potion making wizards, freedom fighters, super tasters, laughing with pigs and elephants, diving into characters diary’s & secret thoughts! You are busy! We heard of 6 mile bike rides, seeing bioluminescent waves, creating running tracks in your backyards, kid car washes to play in on hot days, making obstacle courses, having zoom basketball practices and digging in the dirt because you never know what you might find! Having fun while keeping your bodies happy. Our ears were singing when we heard the flute, piano, recorder and ukulele songs! Some live music and some recorded music, some people listening to the Beatles, while others were listening to Rihanna. We even saw a piece of art inspired by music and how it can make you feel. Beetles finding their shadows, colorful paintings with subjects from portraits to abstract, colorings of plants, pencil drawing with impressive shading, intricate clay projects, homemade beads and gems, worlds

created out of recycled materials and legos. Original characters brought to life with such imagination and thoughtfulness that we wanted to jump into the paper to meet them. We met many adorable dogs, cats, birds and lizards and we can see how very lucky they are to be part of your families making your house a home. We wished many Happy Birthdays past, present and future.

Thank You for making our week!

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK

For the next 3 weeks our theme is THE UNITED STATES

​Garden with Mr. Matthew, Mr. Brian & Mismak ​ Trees Trees Trees

What is a tree?

Trees are all plants and carry out the life processes that all plants share. However, trees are not actually a scientific group of their own. Trees may be cone-bearing plants (gymnosperms), flowering plants (angiosperms) or ferns.

All the groups of plants that include trees are vascular plants. This means they have vascular tissues called xylem and phloem. Xylem and phloem link all parts of the plant, transporting water, minerals and manufactured food around while also forming part of the structural support for plants.

Check out the link to our Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1UngLHyosU

Trees play a significant role in reducing erosion and moderating the climate. They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store large quantities of carbon in their tissues. Trees and forests provide a habitat for many species of animals and plants. Tropical rainforests are among the most biodiverse habitats in the world. Trees provide shade and shelter, timber for construction, fuel for cooking and heating, and fruit for food as well as having many other uses.

Trees in the USA

The United States would not be the country we know today without the vast forests that provided the growing nation with timber, paper and other resources—and eventually inspired our environmental awakening.

The only apples native to North America are crab apples, which were [24] once called "common apples". ​ Apple growers brought as seed from ​ Europe were spread along Native American trade routes, as well as being cultivated on colonial farms. An 1845 United States apples nursery catalogue sold 350 different varieties of apples.

Tree Activity

Explore trees in your neighborhood! Ask an Adult if they can help you identify a tree near your home.

Look for flowers and fruits on trees in your area.

Sit under a tree, climb a tree (carefully), or hug a tree and appreciate their wisdom and importance.

​Art with Ms. Nichole WHO AM I?

-I was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1949, at the age of 21, I moved to New York City to work in commercial and magazine illustration.

-My art explored many different media including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music.

-I ate soup everyday for lunch. I made very famous artworks of Campbell's soup cans.

-My art studio in New York City was called The Factory and I covered it in aluminum foil! FUN!

-My art was usually bright colors, simple lines, strong shapes, of everyday products, movie stars, musicians and money.

-I lost my hair early in life, was I going bald, so I had a lot of fun wearing wigs of all shapes, sizes and colors.

-I volunteered at homeless shelters in New York City.

-I thought everyone should be able to buy and enjoy art so I made many prints of my pieces, some were sold at high prices but I always sold many at very affordable prices.

​DRUM ROLL…...I am ANDY WARHOL ​(I bet many of you figured that out)

Andy Warhol was an American artist who was a leading figure in the art movement known as ​POP ART​. A new way of making art, a new way of looking at culture, POP was short for POPULAR. Popular things that were happening all around, like food, movie stars, musicians. It first started in London, England, but really took off in New York City in the 1950's and 1960's.

Here is a video about ANDY WARHOL

https://video.kqed.org/video/the-art-assignment-warhol/

Here is a video about POP ART

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhEyoDCTSDQ

Let's be inspired by ANDY WARHOl and POP ART!

A few different projects to try this week, choose one or more.

1. Find a product in your house, soup can, cereal box, a piece of fruit, anything interesting to you. Look at the colors, the letters, any pictures on it. Study it. Draw it one time, this is a simple drawing, don't sweat the small details. Then either photo copy with your home printer 3 times OR use your window like a light box, tape your original drawing on a window, put a blank piece of paper over, tape it too, then trace your first drawing, repeat 2 more times. You should now have 4 of the same photo or drawing. Now use either crayon, marker, colored pencil, water color, paint whatever medium you choose, do each of the 4 copies different colors then place them together.

2. Look through a newspaper or magazine and find an interesting portrait of a person or picture of a product, cut it out, like the above instructions copy it 3 times, color and place them together.

3. Choose a photograph of yourself and photocopy or trace, using instructions in #1, color 4 different ways and put them together.

Here are 2 examples, 1. I traced a photo 4 times, colored some sections with 2 or 3 colors, then one all over color. 2. I photocopied an image on 4 different colored papers.

P​ E with Coach Jolyene​

The next few weeks will be centered on the Summer Olympics. This year would have been the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Unfortunately, the Summer Olympics that will usually be in July and August will be postponed till later.

I would like you to try to make your own Olympic backyard games. This week we will be focusing on Track and Field. Although there are many different events in Track and Field, we are going to be focusing on only a few.

Backyard Olympic Games

* Sprinting:

Choose a starting line and finish line. Practice running a few times, then time yourself and see if your time gets faster.

* Hurdles

If you are able to create small hurdles, add them to your sprinting track. Do the same thing as you did with sprinting. Practice running a few times, then time yourself and see if your time gets faster.

* Javelin Toss

Use a pool noodle or a paper towel roll and throw it. Use something to mark where it landed, then throw it again to see if you can beat your last mark.

* Shot Put

Use a ball or bean bag and try to throw it like they do in Shot Put. Here is a video for an Olympic Athlete to show you how.

Shot Put: Olympians' Tips

​Music with Mr. Cline Music in the United States

Since March, I have featured music on my​ website​ from Austria, England, and Italy. There is so much great music from around the world!

But, we also have a lot to be proud of musically just in the United States. After all, Kermit​ the Frog​ and Judy​ Garland​ (who sang the songs we learned in April) are both American. So are the composers who wrote those songs.

The real question is where to start when it comes to music from the United States. There is no possible way we could learn all of it in three weeks!

I have chosen to highlight three musicians that come from three different periods of times in United States history. Each is unique. Each is amazing. But, most are probably not what you would expect.

To start it off, let me introduce you to the “King of Ragtime”, Scott Joplin. His most famous piece, “The Entertainer”, is heard in a simplified form on ice cream trucks across the country. But, it is really quite an impressive piano work.

This week, I will be teaching you about Scott Joplin, introducing you to some of his great music, and helping you to play and sing along with his most famous tunes.

Click here to get started: ​http://stcl.us/scottjoplin

​Storytime with Ms. Pam

This first book highlights the beauty of nature from right here in the Southwest United States.

● https://youtu.be/hRq_of5fm54​ - The Table Where Rich People Sit

Let’s head to the beach.

● https://youtu.be/MlIAdUcaPL8​ - Me First