Shorebird Paintings for 5th Calendar Fundraiser

Here are all the paintings created by 5th graders for the 2011 calendar that will be for sale later this month. The funds we collect will go to support shorebird rescue in the gulf. To find out more about this click here. Since we only have 12 months, children voted in class for the most successful paintings based on technical criteria they came up with themselves. The paintings with most votes will be larger in size, yet, all paintings will be in the calendar.

You will need a pay pal account to order the calendar. Please keep checking the site in the next few weeks to order them. They will be professionally printed through www.snapfish.com.

2nd Grade Side Facing Portrait Practice

Children in a 2nd grade are working on drawing side facing portraits. Children took turns 'modeling' for each other. There are the most adorable sketches. Keep in mind this is the very first attempt by most of the kids in drawing a profile of a person. I can tell they were really doing a great job looking.

The glasses look great!
Those lips!
The ears and the hair bun.....those eyes....just such a great sketch.
Great job on that bun.
this remind me of a Picasso drawing....genius.
The artist even included the necklace.
Cutest lips.
Great job on the hair and capturing its direction.
Love it!
Very proportionate.
Look at that curly hair.
the nose.....! love it.
So rich....
Love those lips.
I love how amazingly different all these are. They all have their own personality.
the lips....great job.
The hair looks very realistic.
The glasses! classic....
A warm little smile on her.

3rd Grade Create Imaginary Maps

Last year parents donated dozens of maps to the art room. Since the 3rd graders are studying maps I thought it would be fun to create imaginary maps. Children were shown a typical map legend (map key) and were asked to create their own map keys for an imaginary place.

In class we created a basic map legend. Children were given time to explore real maps.
Students making their imaginary map legend.

Letter to 5th Grade Parents

Dear 5th Grade Parents,
In the 5th grade students have been using their new painting skills to paint shorebirds in their habitat. They spend a whole class looking at how painters have depicted water in their work and practice those skills themselves. They have also spent an entire class carefully looking and drawing shorebirds in their sketchbooks. We have one more week to work on our paintings. The combined images of all the paintings created for this unit will be printed in a 2011 Shorebirds in Their Habitat calendar which will be for sale online through the Murch art blog next month. All proceeds above and beyond what it cost to print them will be donated to International Bird Rescue (http://www.ibrrc.org).
As part of the assignment I will have children write about what their wishes are for their contributions to this organization. Please take a few minutes to explore the site www.ibrrc.org. They have beautiful and relevant images, video and stories about their work restoring wildlife bird populations in the Gulf. In class this week I will be reading an excerpt from the site called, Procedures for Rehabilitating and Releasing Oiled Birds. Please review and use some of the vocabulary words below at home to help facilitate discussion about the subject in class and express relevant ideas in their writing; some of which might also be included in the calendar.
Miriam Cutelis
Miriam.Cutelis@yahoo.com
www.Murchart.blogspot.com


Relevant Vocabulary
* Stabilize: to make stable
* Waterproofing (in birds): What give shorebirds waterproof ability is the position of the feathers
* Criteria: standards that must be used in evaluating a decision.
* Hyperthermia: is an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation.
* Hypothermia: is a condition in which core temperature drops below that required for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as 35.0 °C (95.0 ...
* Debilitated: make weak
* Preening: What a bird is doing when it preens is carefully aligning each feather, which is made up of a shaft, veins, and tiny barbs that connect the veins into a tightly woven unit. This feather structure does not allow water or air to penetrate and provides buoyancy and insulation.
* Agitate: to give motion.

Letter to all 3rd Grade Parents

Dear Wonderful 3rd Grade Parent,

In art class we are studying the basic elements of a map to create our own imaginary map of a make believe location next week. This week, each child created their very own Map Legend/Key after carefully studying dozens of real maps that were kindly donated to the art room by last year’s parents. Please support your child by pulling up a paper map you may have at home and looking or finding some or all of the elements listed below:

Map Title
Compass
Map Key/Legend
Distance/Scale key
Smaller side maps and their purpose
Abbreviations that may be used.
Color and names of bodies of water
Separation likes

Some activities you might want to do are:
* Find symbols on the map and look them up on the Map Legend/Map Key
* Discuss why some names of places are written in larger letters than others
* Discuss why there might be some smaller maps on the borders of the main map.
* Try to figure out how far one place is from another by using the distance key.
* Allow plenty of time for your child just to look at the map. There is so much to look at.

Miriam Cutelis
Miriam.Cutelis@yahoo.com


Note: This should all be done in a fun and relaxed environment. This is not homework or mandatory. This flyer is just a way for parents who want to make connections at home with school content have the tools they need to make those connections. If your child looks frustrated or uninterested it’s best to try at a later time when the experience can be seen as a positive activity. If you do not have a map, please ask your child to borrow one from me. I have about 10 I can lend out to kids for a night.