Kinder Visual Arts: Exploring Color Theory through Watercolors

Kinder students are exploring color consistency and watercolor media. Watercolors can be transparent or opaque depending on amount of water used to dilute it. Liquid media can also manipulated on paper surfaces in many ways. Moving around color with wind can make interesting lines and shapes. Also, transparent color can be a good primer for mixed media projects.

Kinder - Transforming ourselves and beginning Celebrations!

One of the key aspects of performing is preparing your body beforehand by warming up. In addition to the physical warm-up that is done at the start of every class, Kinder is now adding facial and vocal warm-ups to their routine.

We begin with "Watermelon Face" and "Lemon Face", which are terms connected with imagery to stretch, tense and relax the facial muscles, allowing us more control of our expressions. 

We begin by taking deep breaths and using our hands to mimic what our faces would be doing. "Watermelon Face" is the term we use to open up our eyes, mouths and even our throats as wide as we can, as if we are about to swallow a whole watermelon.

"Lemon Face" works with the imagery of having just tasted a fresh lemon that is very sour and we squeeze our facial muscles, trying to fit all of the features of our face in the center, by our nose.

Once we have completed our full physical warm-up, we work on finishing up our Unit on the growth and transformation of plants and animals by reading "Waddle". This is a 2-dimentional book that uses the art form of "scan-motion" to give the animals on the pages movement as they fly, swim and waddle. 

The Kinder classes take on these movements as they transform themselves into the animals featured in the book!

As the animals run, fly and swim on the pages of the book, the Kinder classes challenge themselves by doing the same. This work is essential as we study the concepts of Change, Form and Connection.

We begin our unit on Celebrations and decide to take it on in a more dramatic way. Using the beautiful theme song from the film, "Chariots of Fire" by the composer, Vangelis, we imagine that we are in a race, only there is an added challenge to this race. It is completely in slow-motion! In this kind of race, the last person to cross the finish line is the winner!

By moving our bodies as slowly as we can, we are actually using and building our muscles a great deal more than if we were moving quickly. The Kinder classes enjoy racing, as well as celebrating their victories in slow motion as well.

"Racers, are you ready? Yeeeeesssss!"




 "On your marks, get set......GOOOOO!!"

"WE DID IT....YEA!!"

    

Even the audience cheers....in slow-motion! 

Fourth grade making props

For this year's Christmas musical, Music, Drama, and Visual Arts are collaborating.  In Visual Arts the students are making different kinds of scenery and props for the show.  Without giving too much away... here are some behind the scenes photos of the creators hard at work.

1st Grade School Trip to Divercity!

To prepare the 1st Grade for the next Unit about Communities and the people that we encounter in our own community, we took a trip to the amusement center in Albrook, "Divercity".

There, the students were able to place themselves in the various roles of those that have key jobs that we see in our daily lives. The beauty of this center is that it is especially for kids, no adults allowed! The students had introductory meetings at each new section that they wished to try before they were able to take on the task that each job required.

As we walk into "Divercity", we were greeted by beautiful scenes of Panama.....










Then the fun begins! First stop, go into the bank to get your guest certificate exchanged into "Diver-Money" for any item you may want to purchase while you are here. Here at "Divercity", the primary role that the students get to play are those of adults!

Then, we head off to play the roles of all of the many locations 'Divercity" has to offer. We hear about the process of making cookies and baked goods at Pascual. After that, we go to the Zona de Talentos to show off our singing abilities and have a bit of fun!

At Supermercado Xtra, we take turns working at the cash register, ringing up customers' purchases, charging them for what they have bought and then becoming the customer who gets to decide what is needed to take home to the family!

At Telemetro, we share breaking news with the audience, using our reading skills to let everyone know what is going on in the world. We work in front of the camera and share the microphone with our fellow news anchors. Telemetro Reporta!

Off we go to the Fire Station to become trained as fire fighters and learn how to save lives. After a rigorous training session, we go down the slide, get our gear on and quickly go to where we are needed!

We are ready to take off with Copa as we take turns in the Captain's seat to fly our passengers to wherever in the world they wish to go.

One of the major industries in Panama is farming and cattle. Our students get to go to the farm and take care of all of the animals there, making sure that they are fed and collecting the eggs from the chicken coop.

Without a doubt, we all had an amazing time, one that we will never forget as we discover all of the incredible jobs and the people that work in them.....in our Community!