Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Loving Lois Ehlert and On to the Ocean

Whew!  We've been busy!  Sorry that I've taken so long to update the blog.  I have lots of things to share.


Loving Lois Ehlert
Lois Ehlert was the final author we studied in our author unit.  Her books are known for their bright colors and interesting collage materials.  As a young child, she loved art and collage.  As an adult, she worked as an illustrator.  Just like Eric Carle, her first book illustration was for Bill Martin Jr.  She created the alphabet that dances its way through Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  Ms. Ehlert went on to both author and illustrate her own books.  






Here is Ryan's version of Ms. Ehlert's Planting A Rainbow.  We created a colorful rainbow collage and labeled it in English and Spanish.











Feathers For Lunch encouraged us to go outside with our resident ornithologist, Ms. Kari to watch birds. Then, students created a bird for our classroom tree.




Wing Haven
 is a beautiful garden and bird sanctuary located near downtown Charlotte.   Lois Ehlert counts nature as her primary inspiration.  It is certainly easy to imagine Ms. Ehlert finding inspiration in this amazing environment.  Here are a few photos from the day.  It would be a great place for a family visit.  





On to the Ocean!
Studying Lois Ehlert provided the perfect transition on to our Ocean unit.  We used our newly discovered collage techniques while visiting the High School art room.  Students worked in groups along with Ms. Thrasher’s class to create ocean animals to decorate our play.  
Walking to the HS
Sea Star Collage



Getting to work in the Art Room