Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Another Workshop Ends!

Wow, those four months flew by!  It's now time for our Publishing Parties, where the students receive their portfolios with all the work they created.  They designed their own covers, and I am sharing one of my favorites because it reflects how much this student, Lucy (5th grade) enjoyed this session.  Students get to choose adjectives that reflect their work, and also design a central picture.  I bet you can guess what I love about Lucy's artwork.  (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Thanks for a great year, everyone!  Happy Summer!


Friday, May 6, 2016

Squiggle Line Stories

     This is always a favorite assignment!  The children get to pick from a pile of papers with squiggle lines on them.  They can turn the paper any direction they'd like, and then create a picture out of the design.  It is always so fun for me to see how different kids take the same shape and create completely different pictures out of it!  

     After art time, the students brainstorm the 5W's and H of writing for their story:
Who is in my picture
What is happening
Where my picture is taking place
When the action is happening
Why the action is happening
How the story plays out/ends

     Here are some fabulous pictures and stories from across the grades!

The Rocket, by Gabriel (1st grade)

     
      On the astronaut's birthday, the rocket went to space.  The rocket went through lightning into space.  The astronaut thought about how cool the moon would be when he landed on it.  It took him so long to get back to Earth that he was a whole year older!

The Worm and the Mother Bird, by Alyssa (2nd grade)
     One day, at 1:00 pm in the spring, a red, soft, fluffy bird with a bright yellow beak was hunting forever for yummy, crunchy food.  She was looking for food for her babies and some for her.  The worms are smart and tricky.  Her cute baby birds always get the yummy food, and she never gets it.  Then, the mother bird found a slimy worm.  She flew fast and swooped in as fast as she could, and finally she got her yummy food!  She finally got her lunch.


Brownie, by Saviana (2nd grade)
     One hot summer day, a dog named Brownie was in a green field.  He caught a smell.  A smell like..... just a smell like something sweet.  He went across the field, so full of flowers he almost lost the smell!  Brownie followed it and sniffed as hard as he could.  He wanted something to chew on, his teeth were begging him.  What was that smell, he didn't know either.  

     "Brownie!" called the farmer.  "Time to eat!"  

     He rushed to the porch and ate his lunch so fast, he didn't know his stomach was hurting.  He just thought about finding that smell!  He went back to the field and followed the smell.  Finally, he got to it!  He dug one foot then, there right before his eyes he saw a bone!  Happy and tired, he went home.

My Fluffy Bunny, by Rayne (3rd grade)
     One beautiful sunny morning, Brownie went out for a stroll down the road.  She was a little hungry, so she looked around on her walk.  She saw a worm, and she thought it would taste like the dump!

     Then the bunny passed a nut.  She tried it, and it tasted like cardboard to her!  So, she went along with her walk.  She didn't see anything for a while.  The only thing she saw was a fox, so she decided to take another trail.

     Then she saw Cat.  Cat was going for a walk, too, but then Cat saw a mouse, and went after it.  Brownie was sad that she had not found anything to eat for herself.

     Then, she saw an apple tree.  She went over to the tree, and saw juicy, yummy apples.  She reached up, and grabbed an apple.  Then she smelled and tasted the apple.  It smelled delicious, and tasted like it was perfectly ripe, so she ate it and went home.  She was no longer hungry!

Hungry Chubby, by Daniella (3rd grade)
      Chubby was sleeping with her mom.  Her mom couldn't sleep because her little cub's tummy was grumbling so loudly her ears were about to pop!

     Mrs. Polar Bear said loudly, "You go get some food!"

     Chubby walked as she saw the full moon and got even hungrier because she thought that it was cheese.  Chubby ran to a little circle in the ice that was cracked.  There she saw three little fish named Scared, Scream, and Help.  She licked her lips and said, "This is going to be easy."  As she snatched three small fish in her huge paw, they screamed, "Help!" and "I'm scared!"

     As she walked back to her mom, she stuffed the three fish in her mouth, and said, "Yum."  Then she lay on her mom's nice warm belly and went back to sleep.


The Snake, by Samantha (4th grade)
     "Yes!  I see it!  I'm not hallucinating!" said evil Dean DeVil.  "Cruel is going to be so happy!  Ever since we married, we've been itching to make a real snake skin dress line!"

     Giddy with happiness, Mr. DeVil inched toward the innocent snake.

     With reflexes like a cat, Mr. DeVil snatched the snake.  The poor snake squirmed and struggled, but it could not escape Mr. DeVil's strong grip.

     Cackling piteously, Mr. DeVil brought the snake to his evil private lab.  Mr. DeVil chained the frightened snake to the operation table.

     Just as Mr. DeVil was about to slice the scared snake in half, his evil Henchmen arrived.  While the women distracted Mr. DeVil, the snake found out that the chains were actually made out of metal shavings!  Small, carefully placed magnets were holding the chains together.

     Hope ignited in the snake's heart.  He bravely knocked a magnet out of place with the tiny tip of his tail.  To his delight, the chains fell apart!  Happily, he slithered to the door.

     He stopped dead.  Mr. DeVil was running towards him!

     He slithered towards the exit, his heart beating loudly over the sound of the minions' cries.  One inch left..... He made it!

     Happy again, the snake slithered into the garden.  Never, EVER to be bothered again by Mr. DeVil!

Sophie Squiggle, by Adeline (5th grade)

     Sophie was staring at the mirror, trying to adjust her magenta bow just right.  It was Picture Day at her school, so she was also practicing her smile.  But not just any smile.  A smile she could keep on her face while trying to see her bow at the same time.  All while having the same exact adorable face she always has.  It was hard, and if you tried to do it, you would probably give up in two minutes.  But Sophie was trying, because all of her pictures in the yearbook didn't have her cute bow in it, and plus, she was always frowning in frustration, trying to keep her bow in the picture.

     "Sophie!  The bus is here!" her mother called.

     "Coming!" Sophie shouted back.  "Ugh.  My stupid giant head," she thought as she climbed up the steps of the school bus.  "It's always ruining everything, even my school picture."

     "Okay, Class, it's time to go," her teacher announced.  She led all of the young aliens to the area with just a whole bunch of reddish-brown dust.

     "Sophie Squiggle!" the photographer called.

     Sophie squirmed up in front of the camera, and did what she practiced all morning.  When Sophie started to scrunch up her face, she relaxed and glued on her perfect smile.  Then she stared up at her head and frantically tried to move her head to the perfect position so that her bow would show.  But right in the middle of when Sophie was perfecting that: CLICK!  The photographer had taken the picture!

     "Next!" The photographer shouted, and the next alien walked up.

     When Sophie came home, she saw her picture and realized two things.  One, her bow wasn't in the picture.  But luckily, she was wearing her adorable smile and looking the cutest she could be.  And that is all that counts!

Henry Gets Bullied, By Ahnika (6th grade)


     Once there was a Hippo named Henry who loved to eat flowers. He would graze in the fields alone in the sunny afternoons, and dance in the evening underneath the shining moon. Henry was a very kind hippo, but his friends were not so nice. They always teased him until he would cry, and they would laugh when he ran away to his mommy.

Henry eventually quit school and got home schooled by his grandma. His grandma Heather was sweet and caring, and helped Henry feel better about his troubles at school.

It had now been a year since Henry went to regular school. Henry was happy and full of spirit again and forgot all about his mean friends at school. Until he saw them again when he was on his regular afternoon grazing routine. Henry immediately tensed up and got ready for the avalanche of hurtful words to come. But Henry was surprised to hear what they said.

Henry’s old friends apologized for their bad behavior and asked Henry for his forgiveness. Henry stood still, amazed at what happened. He gave a nod with tears in his eyes.

     The bullies’ faces got sad when they saw him crying, “I am just so happy,” Henry said. “I am coming back to school!” he exclaimed. The bullies’ faces lit up. After Henry returned to school, his enemies became his friends.