Virtual Session #2 – CLOUDS and PATTERN…………………….ending with a little CHAOS.

Tuesday 22nd March 2016.


BEFORE THE SESSION BEGINS

In preparation for today’s session, Vanya sent me a outline plan and details of the materials which she is going to introduce. Our main focus is on CLOUDS and PATTERN.

I love looking at clouds and when I fly, I ALWAYS have my camera ready to snap up a     beautiful formation. With this in mind, I searched through a bunch of memory cards and found this image which I had taken 2 years ago on a flight to Southampton.

Many of the boys and girls have never been on an aeroplane, so I think they will find this view unusual and I hope that it will provoke some interesting discussion.
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READY, STEADY, LET’S START!

After a discussion with Vanya about signs of Spring and today’s weather ……. comparing the weather in Belfast and Sligo, our plan was to go outside.

Task 1: Go outside for a cloud search. Make chalk drawings on the playground surface.

OK. We were planning to go to the playground with our Cloud Finders, but good old Norn Ireland weather decided to cover the entire sky with cloud that was so dense we had to abandon this activity………… but then Plan 2 kicked in, and the result was FABULOUS.

Vanya recapped on our moss investigation and looked at some of the children’s drawings. The boys and girls showed her a few examples of their drawings using felt tipped pens. Some of them said that the pens were easier to use than paint and cocktail sticks.

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She showed the class an unusual lichen, and explained that it takes many years to grow and it will only thrive where there is clean air. She looked it up in her Irish Wild Life book and told us that its Latin name is HYPOGYMIA PHYSODES! She asked the children to suggest a “common” name, and one idea was “cherry.” She said that was a coincidence, as the lichen grows on cherry trees. I said it should be named “fussy” as it has such special requirements and takes so long to mature. Vanya suggested that a bird had used the moss to make a nest. This led to a discussion about what type of birds we see in our playground. Seagulls, robins, crows, magpies, blackbirds………..and a squirrel were mentioned!

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We looked at a photograph of frogspawn, and Vanya said that the shapes reminded her of clouds. Great discussion about CLOUDS was initiated because of a photograph of a scene in Moscow showing low-lying yellowish snow clouds. We listened to a very fancy poem about clouds and we thought that we might have a go at writing some poetry during one of our later sessions.

Next on our agenda was PATTERN. We have recently been working on mirror symmetry in Maths and we found out that a pattern repeats itself. Vanya drew a pattern on a photograph of some clouds and this is where the fabulousness begins………………

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This is how Vanya outlined the clouds and then showed us how to draw a pattern inside them!

PLAN 2: Each child had to draw his/her own cloud and make a pattern inside it. Then the cloud was cut out, and all the little individual clouds were put together to make a large one. Such concentration and ideas ensued. Take a look…………………

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Vanya told the children that she wanted to share something which she had bought in the Ulster Museum – The Amazing Crystal Garden. She showed them a jar containing rocks which were covered in vinegar and said that we will have a look at it every week to see if any crystals are forming. WOW! She also told them about Ukichiro Nahaya, a glaciologist from Japan. CONNECTED LEARNING at its best.

BREAK-TIME already??? How did that happen?

After break we embarked on Task 2:

First of all…………….

Vanya introduced us to a new trio of artists and we were impressed.

Berndnaur Smilde is like a magician – he creates clouds inside buildings! He is Dutch and he lives in Amsterdam. Vanya showed us a video of how the makes the clouds. They only last for 10 seconds….what a lot of work and then it disappears so quickly!

Jeff Wall is a Canadian photographer. We will look at his work entitled, “A Sudden Gust of Wind” in another session.

Tara Donovan – WOW – She is an American artist who creates installations from everyday materials, such as plastic cups, paper plates, pencils, straws. Vanya showed a selection of her 3D work and asked the children what materials they thought she used. The answers included: paint – collage – fluff.

We talked about how snowflakes are formed from crystals and that every snowflake is UNIQUE. Vanya showed us a collection of snowflake patterns. She then demonstrated (just like a presenter from Blue Peter) the process which she wanted the children to follow. She had an acetate on which she layered strips of paper in order to make a “snowflake” pattern. She reminded the boys and girls that each section should have a repeat pattern. She also gave them a very good tip on how to apply the glue correctly to the paper.

As well as using strips of white paper we also used pages from travel brochures and magazines. Some children approached the camera to show Vanya what they had done, and she told them she was very pleased with their work. She has a beautiful rapport with the boys and girls and is so supportive of everything they do!

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Time just flew by and the session drew to a close. We will spend some time in the morning finishing off the “snowflakes” and then we’ll superimpose them together to create a large snow cloud. We are going to put them on the classroom window. With the sun shining through it will be like a light box. The idea behind this is to create CHAOS – a theme which we will pick up again in our next session.

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We said our goodbyes to Vanya: Doei! …. followed by a hasty tidy up and then off to the dinner and lunch halls.

After lunch the children posed at the cloud display to wish Vanya a Happy Easter.

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Virtual Session #1- HATS OFF TO US and MOSS!

DSCN9951       Sound check.

Lighting.

Cameras roll.

Action!

Our first virtual session began on Tuesday 15th. March. We didn’t know how it would be, and I was rather apprehensive…….. but no worries………. the gods of IT were smiling on uDSCN9986s!

Vanya appeared in the top left hand corner of the IWB and everyone was delighted to see her. We chatted for a while, recapped on what we had done during the “real” visit and off we went…………. She showed us a photograph of her artist friend’s ( Amanda Jane Graham) gigantic white knitted hat! “WOW!” everyone exclaimed.

We looked at photographs of Dutch women wearing traditional hats and costumes. We wondered what thDSCN9954ey (the hats) were made of. They were stiff , but yet light enough to wear.

THEN, Vanya introduced us to the work of Dutch artist Hendrik Karstens. He takes photographs (in the style of old Masters), of women wearing hats and accessories made from everyday things. There was an image of a model wearing a book on her head. Naturally this inspired me to imitate the image by putting an open book across my own head. Vanya suggested finding things in the classroom which the boys and girls could use in a similar way. The floodgates opened and a parade of head attire ensued. What a lot of creative thought came from that photograph!!DSCN9955

We have put a selection of the “hat” photographs on the Pupil Gallery.

After the euphoria of “hat-fest,” Vanya reined us in to talk about the weather in Sligo and in Belfast. We told her about our Cloud Finders and she showed us her more sophisticated version. We talked about different types of clouds, and what weather they brought… we mentioned NIMBUS and STRATUS. She also asked if anyone had flown in an aeroplane and had seen clouds that are very high up in the atmosphere. One of our classroom assistants, Mrs May told her that she would take sDSCN9967ome photographs when she flies to Paris next week.

Then we moved on to artists who liked paining clouds. We looked at a painting by an Irish painter, PAUL HENRY. The boys and girls gave their opinions about how they interpreted the work. Vanya mentioned that there was a cloud named PILEUS in the painting. Next, a very violent sea scene was presented by WILLIAM TURNER. I think it is so enriching for the children to experience the works of a variety of artists and have the opportunity to talk and share what they see and feel, particularly when our resident artist is available to offer her own thoughts too.DSCN9970

Then we talked about Vanya’s parcel…the selection of mosses and lichens which she had sent from Sligo. We told her that we had looked at the moss using magnifying glasses and then we had a brainstorming session to find as many adjectives as possible to describe the moss. We produced a display for the corridor and our Literacy Co-ordinator, Ms Bell popped in during the week to say that she liked it! Vanya showed us more photographs and drawings of different types of moss and finished with a specimen which looked like snake skin.DSCN9928

AFTER BREAK we had a practical session. Vanya demonstrated first. We wet each child’s sheet of cartridge paper and then they put a splash of green and red paint on top. They used cocktail sticks to drag lines though the paint. There was great enthusiasm for this task, maybe too much in some cases, as several holes appeared on a few sheets! This was definitely a great learning experience! The children realised that mixing red and green produces brown.

PLENARY: We had a “round up” of what we did, what we had learned, what went well, and what we could do next. Using the cocktail stick as a tool was very tricky. It was very narrow and difficult for the children to use. BUT…it was a new experience and very worthwhile. We thought of other tools which might produce better results: felt tips or colouring pencils were suggested.DSCN9927

FINALLY: Dillon H told Vanya that he had just become a brother to triplets a few days ago.. two boys and a girl. CONGRATULATIONS!

Then Vanya showed us photographs of Oscar and Juno. Everyone said, “Aahhh” and “Ohhhh!”DSCN9932

GOOD-BYE VANYA The children had to go to lunch and dinners. Unfortunately, I had to return to tidy up on my own. The moral of the story? Next week, finish the practical task earlier and everyone can help to tidy up!!

Can’t wait to see what’s in store for us next week, our last session before Easter.

 

 

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Learning outside the classroom

DSCN0001 DSCN9975Tuesday 8 March – We went outside armed with notebooks, in search of signs of Spring.

The sky was blue, the sun was out, and there were some fluffy white clouds floating by.

First of all, our Spring Walk took us around the grassy area at the back of the school. We found some daffodils growing near the horse chestnut tree and some daisies in between the blades of grass. Sketches were made and then we moved on. Near the car park we spotted some fungi growing on the bark of a tree and more sketching was made.DSCN9968

One of the boys found a glittery pompom and a piece of a gold Christmas decoration, but we decided that they didn’t warrant an inclusion in the notebooks.

The bark of a silver birch tree was peeling off and we stopped to feel the texture of it. DSCN0007Everyone agreed that it was definitely like paper. We took a sample of it back to class.

I drew the children’s attention to the sticky, gluey buds on the giant horse chestnut trees at the entrance of the car park. Higher up, some buds were just starting to open and a tiny glimpse of green was visible.

Next we looked at our crab apple tree. In Autumn last year it had produced small apples which the birds loved to eat, and now its buds were closed tight. An array of heather was growing close-by and we took some photographs for our collection.

We noticed different cloud formations in the sky, and I took several photographs, although the quality wasn’t great. We had already downloaded Cloud Finders, and I wanted the children to see if they could recognise/name any of them when we went back to class.

What we did notice was a lot of MOSS. It was growing everywhere………on tree roots, on the walls and curbs of the car park, and we found a lovely moss pattern on the paving stones too.

It was time to go back to the classroom and have a plenary before break. Everyone had filled the page of their notebook with great observations and sketches. We had lots in store to tell Vanya about our Discovery Walk for our forthcoming Virtual session.

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A Parcel arrives

DSCN9863 I told the children that Vanya had sent a parcel of discoveries!  Full of anticipation,  someone went to the office every morning to see if it had arrived. At last it came and when I opened it, a selection of moss and lichen was revealed. The children got some magnifying glasses to examine each sample. We had found an extensive amount of moss growing in the school grounds, but some of Vanya’s moss was completely new to us. We talked about the texture, shape and colour, and brainstormed adjectives to describe the moss:

soft         furry        springy         spiky          velvety      fluffy       wet    moist

thick      green     spongy       silver      delicate     damp   thick    beautiful  

greyish     cool      greenish grey   cushion      carpet

We Googled “moss” anDSCN9870d found out some amazing facts.

 

We made a display in the corridor and our Literacy Coordinator was very impressed!

Later in the week the boys and girls made some pencil drawings in their Virtually There notebooks. Drawing DSCN0006moss is no easy task, butDSCN0007 everyone “had a go.”

We are going to continue with this theme in our first virtual session with Vanya. I can’t wait to get an insight into the technique of painting moss.

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No Virtual …..It’s Reality!

Winter Hat Day

We began with much discussion about hats – styles, purpose, materials. This led to “getting to know a sheet of paper.” What did it look and feel like when it was scrunched up into a small ball, and then flattened out again? Next, colour was introduced and ideas began to form about what shapes interested the boys and girls.DSCN9926

Vanya inspired the children to manipulate the paper to form a wide variety of hats. Dillon’s Pharoahesque creation was quite wonderful. The freedom of “have a go and see where it takes you” provoked much creativity and also allowed the children to problem solve.

The end result was a variation of hat styles: flat caps, funnel hats, bonnets, damsel/clown  hats, hats with unicorn horns on top, and  Robin Hood type hats with feather accessories included.

The idea for this activity was sparked from a very simple remark between Vanya and myself – This is what the Virtually There programme provides -not having to follow prescriptive rules, being allowed to go off on a tangent/in a new direction which can lead to  vocabulary extension, sharing ideas, developing skills, working creatively, and most of all – having FUN in learning.

 

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First entry :)

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We had a visit from Vanya on Tuesday 1st. March. It was a great opportunity for the children to meet her at last! I had been talking about her and the “Virtually There” project since our initial meeting in the Ulster Museum months ago. We decided to have a Winter Hat Day, and Vanya arrived after a 3 hour journey from Sligo in her nifty green van – resplendent in her bright yellow hat.

The children had come to school wearing a variety of hats and caps, including a fox, a DSCN9917character from Star Wars, and a very fancy riding hat with a feather.
Vanya asked the children to examine the hats to see if they could suggest how they were made. A lot of interesting answers were offered and it made us think about things which we generally take for granted. She then spent quality time getting to know each child, and finding out their interests. The children had an opportunity to ask their own questions and found out some things about Sligo and the fact that Vanya has 2 dogs called Juno and Oscar.

After lunch the practical activities DSCN9898began! Paper was folded, scrunched, coloured and formed into a wide and creative array of head adornments. Lots of photographs were taken as a record and these will be added to our notebooks.

 

 

No scissors had bDSCN9950een used, so tidy up time was relatively easy!
We had a plenary before home time and the overall consensus was that everyone had enjoyed a fun day! The hats and children went home, and Vanya stayed to check out my PC and talk about our forward plan. It was a great day and a catalyst for more “good stuff” to come………………..to be continued.

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