Children's Museum of the Arts

At the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year we began a partnership with the Children's Museum of the Arts which brought a talented, dedicated artist, Agatha Gliksman (Agee), into our classrooms. Never before have our students been so energized, motivated and inspired by an art curriculum. Agee was simply amazing. She never stressed about the mess, the energy or the chaos that accompanies the creative process in young children. The kids adored her!

Agee guided our students through an exploration of color, line and perspective. She introduced them to the works of Alexander Calder and Gustav Klimt. We blended in Greek Mythology by creating Cyclops and Medusa masks as well as working in plaster to build our own Trojan horse representations (see Children's Artwork on the sidebar for pictures).  

We attended a Calder exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art which inspired the students to create their own pieces in the 'style of' this unique artist (see right). 

They learned how to work with wire and tell a story with their designs. This blended seamlessly with our literature investigations of story elements as each students told of character, setting and plot through their creations. For example the piece pictured is a beach scene. Others depicted a forest, an ice rink, a wrestling match, etc.  

Sadly, the program ended due to budgetary issues. It was with much complaint that we bid Agee farewell - a group of unhappy children is hard to ignore. However, the good news is that the Children's Museum of the Arts (182 Lafayette Street, NYC) is currently housing a public display of selected works.

A blurb from their press release reads "CMA celebrates its partnerships with New York City public schools in an exhibition of works created throughout the 2008-2009 school year. CMA School Partnerships reach over 1,000 children annually and provide an enriching creative approach to classroom learning. This exhibition includes multi-media works from PS347 American Sign Language School, PS124, PS130, The Renaissance Charter School and Williamsburg Collegiate Charter School."

It runs from June 11 - September 6, 2009.

Top artwork is a Van Gogh study of Starry Night by our Pre-K students.

Congratulations Graduates!

My family celebrated my niece Heather's high school graduation this weekend.

Heather graduated from the same high school I graduated from 28 years ago.

28 years ago!!

I adored high school. It was a fantastic time for me and set the stage for a rich academic/social experience which I am still enjoying today as the perennial student.  

It was strange and wonderful to go back. As I perused the names of the faculty I was surprised to find that none of the teachers I had were listed.  That is when it hit me that it was indeed quite a long time since I ran that track, performed on that stage or bopped down those halls with my twin brother ( I bopped, he sauntered - he was always 'cooler' than I was).

The graduation was a grand excuse to gather everyone together. My Mom and Dad drove up from Florida (see mom at right posing at the graduation as per my request) and childhood friends stopped by the house. 

We played volleyball, had sword fights and cooked. 

I made sure that the heavy metal music was interrupted by some Different Drum era Linda Ronstadt.  And I bopped along to that.

Heather's little sister, my magical niece Samantha, also brought to my attention that she graduated from kindergarten just a few days before. So, I made sure to make the appropriate fuss about that and give her the fair share of attention. We relaxed on the grass while she told me more about angels and healing.

The parties have ended and things are getting back to normal. Except for the fact that for Heather, her boyfriend Vinny and many other graduates their lives will never quite be the same again. Good luck on your journey!

Signs of Summer

Summer will officially begin for me late tomorrow afternoon when the last day of the school year is complete.  

Teaching is an amazing way to spend your days but part of being a teacher is taking time during the summer months to refresh.

I plan to do just that.  

This will be my first summer in 13 years of teaching that I will not be teaching either summer school (elementary) or teaching college students.

To kick off the summer season Lauren and I created another short American Sign Language video to highlight some of the words that you will probably be using as the temperature rises.  

In this video we focus on the words - sun, hot, beach, vacation, summer & fun.

We also provide three sentences in ASL using these simple words.

So, put on your sunglasses, blow up the beach ball and enjoy the ride.

The Cops Are On Their Way!

During a visit to Central Park this week with my class I became suddenly jolted out of my playtime reverie by the loud shouting of a teacher from another school marching towards two elementary school children angrily informing them that "the cops are on their way!"

"Good Lord", thought I, "I wonder what happened?".  

Turns out it was a scare tactic, used for dramatic effect I am certain, to stress the utter disregard of these two boys in staying within the specified boundaries of the playground. They had wandered off onto the rocks which were clearly off limits!

I didn't follow up to see how long these boys waited before they realized this was an empty threat or if they even believed it in the first place.  But, this encounter did make me wonder about all the hyped up stories adults tell to little ones.

"If you cross your eyes they will get stuck that way."

"If you eat the watermelon seeds one will grow in your stomach."

"If you get out of bed the boogie man will snatch you away."

I'm sure we all have heard some variation of these.  At what point do we realize it is all formulated BS to keep us in line? How do these 'frights' stay with us as adults? What keeps us in line nowadays?

Top Ten for 2008-2009

At the end of each school year our children's librarian, Sara, asks each elementary class to create a list of their favorite books. In the past our top ten choices have been fairly predictable - and by fairly predictable I mean that they reflect my influence.

This year the final cut is reminiscent of the Tony Award nominees - notable as much for the omissions as for what was included. To my horror Curious George was nudged out, as was my man Todd Parr. No Gingerbread Man, Lorax or English Roses!

Lauren's all time favorite children's book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein wasn't even in the top 20! Nor was anything in the Lisa & Gaspard series by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben. However, Rotten Ralph did make the short list so one of her favorites was represented.

The number one pick this year was The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers. This book was a new discovery for Lauren and I as well. It tells the tale of a young boy who literally eats books - he simply can't get enough of those delicious words. When he eats he 'digests' the words on the page to acquire the knowledge contained therein.

However, this habit gets out of hand when all of the ideas and words overwhelm him. He gets mixed up and confused. Finally he realizes that it is better to gain knowledge the old fashioned way through reading (not eating) books.

There is a bite taken out of the back cover which proved amusing to our students. It is a good book but I was a bit surprised by the #1 status.

Mercer Mayer was well represented in our top ten with three books coming in at numbers 2, 4 and 5. Number 2 is There's a Nightmare in my Closet, # 4 is There's An Alligator Under My Bed and # 5 is There's Something In My Attic.

All three revolve around similar themes of combating your fears and finding out they are not as scary as you first believed them to be. The only difference I find between them is that the main character in two of the stories is a boy and in the Attic book it is a girl.

Our students loved to be scared this year. A book entitled Tell Me a Scary Story...But Not Too Scary by Carl Reiner was just edged out of the final ten. I would have included it, but who am I? These are the kids picks (and I must add that they have fantastic taste).

Once Upon a Potty (boy) by Alona Frankel was a hit at # 3. Just as they loved to be scared they loved to be grossed out. This book is about one boy learning how to use the potty. Sample lines include descriptions about body parts like a 'wee-wee for making pee-pee' (or is it the the other way around) and a hole for making poop (or something like that). His poorly aimed attempts to make it to the potty are illustrated with a mound of poop sitting right next to the potty.

This was one of two books this year (the other was In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak) that depicted drawings of a little boy naked. I'm not sure if I should be appalled at the giggles and pointing to the private parts or if I should just ignore it.

It did provide us with an opportunity to connect to our trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we were surrounded by naked statues. We treated it as rather matter-of-fact and kept it simple. We figured if we didn't make a big deal out of "oh, look they are naked" then the children wouldn't either. I think they know what's what.

Our first true book series came in at #6 with George and Martha by the super-duper James Marshall. This is my 13th year of teaching elementary school (PreK - 1) but my first introducing this book series to my students. How was this gem hidden from me for so long?

Each book contains 5 short stories about the friendship between these two hippototami who find that honesty is the best policy. The books contain rich vocabulary that can be used to promote discussion as well as important lessons regarding trust and sensitivity. Plus who doesn't enjoy seeing a hippo all dolled up in a dress or sporting a gold tooth?

One of Lauren's favorites came in at #7 and is the second book series in the top ten. Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos and Nicole Rubel made a lasting impression on our 5-and-6-year-olds.

Ralph is indeed a rotten cat who does spiteful, mean and hateful things all in the name of fun (and sometimes just to be rotten). Thank goodness his owner, a little girl named Sarah, is quick to forgive his antics. It took me a while to warm up to this naughty kitty - I am more of a dog person - but I think I finally have accepted him for who he is. There is something lovable underneath all that menace.

Number 8 brings us to the Fly Guy series of books by Tedd Arnold. This is a case of he's so ugly he's cute. This series was another new discovery this year that happened quite by chance. Our school librarian sent up a bunch of these books for us to keep in our classroom library and the children were instantly smitten.

These are chapter books with large print, known vocabulary and basic sight words. They are perfect for the emergent reader who wants to read 'chapter books' but lacks the stamina needed to sustain reading of books with many, many words.

Fly Guy is funny, endearing and helpful. I like him.

Another book series, Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat comes in at #9. These are fantastic books with instantly likable characters. There is dark, brooding, (goth?) Rosamond with her four cats - Super Hex, Big Hex, Little Hex and Hex who is always staring out from under her bangs and uttering strange statements.

There is optimistic and sunny Annie with the dangerous dog Fang that she only sees as a cutie pie. There is Nate's own dog Sludge who provides Nate with the key to solving his mysteries by just being Sludge.

And, of course, there is Nate himself. Pancake loving, serious talking, overly dramatic Nate. In each book (and we have read quite a few this year) Nate solves a new mystery - nothing is refused, nothing is too small.

We went to see a production of Nate the Great: The Musical at Town Hall in Manhattan this year. What a hoot!

The Wanda Witch book series by Katherine McEwen rounds out the top ten. I like these books. Lauren is not a fan. Obviously our students like them because they beat out some other deserving titles for the coveted spot in the top ten.

Wanda is a witch in training who can't seem to get her spells right (think Bewitched's Aunt Clara). Wanda is brought back on track by Cat-a-bogus, her guardian of sorts who makes all things right again.

I guess these are silly, strange books but they strike a chord with their magic, charms and spells.

So there you have it. The top ten books for the 2008-2009 school year for first grade class 201. I wonder which ones will make the cut next year.

Free To Be...You and Me

There's a land that I see

Where the children are free.

And I say it ain't far

To this land, from where we are.

Take my hand. Come with me,

Where the children are free.

Come with me, take my hand, 

And we'll live...

In a land

Where the river runs free -

(In a land)

Through the green country -

(In a land)

To a shining sea.

And you and me

Are free to be

You and me.

Free To Be...You and Me was the stupendous brainchild of That Girl! Marlo Thomas.  It only seems fitting that given my recent obsession with the television series our school play this year be (coincidentally) conceived by Miss Ann Marie herself. 

When I was in sixth grade our elementary school performed this show and I have vivid memories of the repeated refrain "a doll, a doll, William wants a doll.  A doll, a doll, William wants a doll".  The role was played by a really cool boy that was very popular so he could pull off playing a boy who longed for a doll 'to wash and clean and dress and feed; a doll to give a bottle to - and put to bed when day is through".  Even as a young boy I thought what a progressive show. Free to Be indeed!

Marlo corralled her talented friends (Judy Blume, Carl Reiner, Mary Rogers, Judith Viorst, Charlotte Zolotow, Arnold Lobel and others) and each one contributed a song, story or poem. The book became an album and then a show.

In the hands of our talented school directors, Dawn and Vanessa, the show shined in an edited version of the original. Rehearsals were held during lunch periods and from my point of reference it seems as though it was put together in a very short span of time. Quite impressive!

The finished product was presented last Tuesday in the midst of the ASL Festival with two performances.  For the closing number all of the students were ushered onto the stage to sing and sign the title song. And there I go again with the water works.  

But according to the show It's All Right to Cry!

Closing Ceremony

Hurray for the "47" Alumni Association for ensuring the closing ceremony of the ASL Festival was an enjoyable event for all of us. Thank you!

The Alumni Association was integral in ensuring the presence of guest performer Robert DeMayo (pictured left) who told stories relating to his experience growing up as a Deaf child & brought our students onto the stage to perform in a series of entertaining skits.  

I don't want to give away his act but there was a bit about riding a roller coaster that had my class in stitches.  To see them cracking up like that was so precious to me and I knew when I saw their faces that the program was a success.

Throughout the week each class also participated in an Open House. During scheduled times we would visit one another's classrooms to see student work. For some this meant sharing ASL videos which were projected in movie theater fashion and for others it meant sharing their writing, drawings, artwork, class projects or photography.  

There were some surprises. One student shared a book she wrote and illustrated. Her drawings were so amazing that (I hate to admit) I didn't believe she created them. So, I asked her to draw something for me on the spot (see picture on the right). As she drew she gave me a detailed step by step description of the process. She is so talented! 

I am going to invite her to my class this week to teach my students how to draw.  I envision it will be like those late night art lessons I used to watch on television when I was a child.  

I am sure that the coming week will feel a tad depressing because the excitement is over. However, I like to think that it is really just a beginning. I hope that the celebration and focus on American Sign Language and Deaf culture will continue.  Perhaps in our monthly Spirit Days and hopefully in another ASL Festival next year.  

Thanks again to everyone who worked so hard to make this a success!  xoxo