Integrated Arts Course

You may not know this, but on Monday evenings when I leave Chets Creek, I put on my Superhero cape and am instantly transformed into "Professor Tamburrino - Teacher of College Education Majors and Arts Integration Guru."  Actually, I have to call upon folks who are experts in the field when it comes to instruction in the Visual Arts.  I do not consider myself an artist, however, I have a great appreciation for beauty and a love of all things artistic.  Last night, Mrs. Jennifer Snead - Visual Artist Extraordinaire - came to my rescue and provided a fabulous workshop for my students at the University of North Florida. 

Her topic was "Illuminated Manuscripts of the Middle Ages" - an integrated lesson that tied the Visual Arts in with Language Arts and Social Studies.  She showed a video to explain the process from making parchment to embellishing handwritten manuscripts with pure gold.  It was awesome!  I have provided the link below in case you are interested in learning more about the process.

http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/videoDetails?cat=2&segid=372
(It takes about 60 seconds to load before it will play)

My students were given the task of creating an illuminated letter.  They were to use one of their initials and draw symbols around it that represented something about themselves.  Gold paint and metallic markers were used to "illuminate" their initial which was then glued onto a piece of wallpaper and mounted on black paper.  The results were stunning.

Mrs. Jennifer Snead

Discussing a family crest with a student

Working on their letters

Third Grade student samples from Chets Creek Elementary

One of my students' pieces

Jennifer, you are an amazing educator and I owe you an enormous debt of gratitude. Thank you!!

Until next time...

Edutopia: Opening Minds Through the Arts

If only this were true everywhere.

Until next time...

Multi-Cultural Day 2011

Each year at the conclusion of the Holiday Musical, the second-graders at Chets Creek spend a day digging deeper into the actual celebrations that were discussed while preparing for their musical.  The Resource Team runs various centers throughout the day, each one covering one of the holiday traditions.

Yesterday, I spent the day in Israel teaching about Hanukkah.  Yes...the Arab in Israel, speaking Hebrew and sharing the story of the Maccabees and their miraculous victory in battle over King Antiochus and his Syrian army over 2000 years ago.  The people of Judah were outnumbered 100 to 1.  (Not a great ratio, unless your god is the God of Israel.)  Long story short, God worked several miracles on their behalf, one of which was multiplying the oil in their lamps when they returned home from the war.  They had enough oil for one night, but God miraculously re-filled the oil for the next eight days.  Hence, the "Festival of Lights" celebration we know as Hanukkah was born.

Take a peek into my center and see what transpired....



"Eight Days of Hanukkah" was playing while they entered the room.  They couldn't see my laptop screen, but could hear the story of the Maccabees re-told through the song.  Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah) wrote the song and had it recorded.

The story of Hanukkah

Dreidels

Playing the dreidel game

We concluded our time together with a

story entitled, "Light the Lights"

The other centers included the celebration of Kwanzaa, Parranda and the Christian Christmas story.

Until next time...

Once on a Housetop 2011

'Tis the Season for Holiday Musicals and Performances!!

Tonight at 6:00 p.m., we conclude our holiday programming with "Once on a Housetop" performed by the classes of Mrs. Walag, Mrs. VanAlstyne, Mrs. Morgan, Mrs. Tsengas and Miss Evanko.  They have worked very hard to provide you with a performance that is sure to delight!

This multi-cultural holiday musical written by Roger Emerson and John Jacobson takes place on several different housetops.  Various holiday traditions are being celebrated and viewed through the eyes of a group of chimney-sweeps who are up on the rooftops cleaning chimneys.  While they are taking care of business, they discover that not everyone celebrates the holidays in the same manner and it is an eye-popping experience for each of them.

"Once on a Housetop" 2011 on PhotoPeach


 
 
Last Thursday, the same musical was presented by the classes of Mrs. Metzger, Mrs. Morris, Miss Thomson and Mrs. McLeod. This Thursday, the entire grade level will celebrate "Multi-Cultural Day" as a culminating event for this unit of study.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for all of the hard work that went into this production.  You guys never cease to amaze me!!

Mr. Brooks, it was absolutely fantastic having you back in the house!!  Thank you, Ms. Bailey for allowing him to come!!

Until next time...

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

I'm sure there was music performed somewhere along the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade route in New York City today, but I thought it quite fitting that my sister took a picture of Spiderman and e-mailed it to me from the bleachers.  How thematic of her!!

Happy Thanksgiving, Superheroes!!

Until next time...

McKenzie's Run 2011

Let's see....this year, I've done the Wolfson Children's Hospital 5-miler, the Winter Beach Run (4-miler), I was a Running Buddy in the "Girls on the Run 5K" last spring, I ran to support the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in April, I did the GREEN (Eco-Friendly Builders) Run in June at the request of my cousin, the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Cancer Care run over Labor Day weekend, the Komen Race for the Cure in October and this past weekend, McKenzie's Run 2011.  As I was flipping through my calendar to chronicle the above, I realized that I had invested time, money and energy to support a cause at least ten times this year.  That's almost once a month! I had no idea!!

The McKenzie Noelle Wilson Foundation raises money to help children succeed in life, whether it is the orphanage they built in Africa or the McKenzie Academic Resource Center (MARC) at Portside in Jacksonville, Florida.  It is such a blessing to take part in something that ultimately blesses others. 

Chets Creek had a team of walkers and runners who participated in the event on Saturday.  My sister and I were proud to be a part of it.  If you would like to contribute to the ongoing work of this young lady's foundation, visit http://www.caregivegrow.org/.  Her life was cut short, but her family turned tragedy into triumph and their efforts are making a difference.

Paulette and Dee Dee

Everbank Field

November 19, 2011

Until next time...

WVU Armed Forces Salute 2011

The West Virginia University's Marching Band out-did themselves with their tribute to Veterans past and present.  Check out their half-time show honoring each branch of the Armed Forces.  If you can figure out what the formation is for the US Coast Guard, please leave me a comment at the end of the post.  It looks like an upside down ship to me.  I assume they were playing to the other side of the stands.



This is what I saw as I watched the program:

Army (a moving tank)
Coast Guard (an upside down ship)
Marines (an eagle)
Air Force (a fighter jet)
Navy (a submarine)
USA (Great Seal of the United States with flag)

What a great show!! I cannot begin to comprehend how many hours of rehearsal went into that program.  It was phenomenal!!

Until next time...