School Silent Auction

Here is some documentation on some of the collaborative art pieces that we did in our classroom for this years silent auction.  

Prickly Pear Mosaic Mirror

Children rolled out pear shaped pads and then used pointed sticks to create the needles.  We let children use their imagination, so that the needle designs we all very unique.

 

Our friends at Borton Magnet Scool were kind enough to do our first firing.

We then glazed the tiles.  After the glaze was added we fired them a second time.

We had traced all the pads and labeled them, so that as they were being fired we could start with the mosaic.  We arranged the pads and glued down our mirror.

We bought square glass mosaic tiles and I broke them in half and discarded any sharp pieces.  While letting the children mosaic I explained to them that it was like a puzzle and the trick was to get them close together without touching.  I also explained that there was a flat side and a bumpy side and we wanted the flat side up.  I mostly worked with two at a time, so that there was a lot of individual attention.  The children did an amazing job!  

Because of time, the teachers had to do the grouting and cleaning.

Then we stuck in the pads and grouted.

Wiped off and sealed.

Here they are hung up and ready to be auctioned off.  We got about $450 for both of them, although they were auctioned separately.

Hands Around a Heart

In this item, we started by tracing handprints onto black paper and had them used metallic makers to write their names and then decorate them.

Then the hands were paced around to form a heart and a quote was added inside.  This was then framed.

The quote reads "we hold our children's hands for a little while... But they hold our hearts forever."

Handmade Felt Garden Bed

This was my personal contribution.

And here are some of the other classroom's finished art projects.  They look amazing!

A rainbow made of recycled bottle caps!

A lamp made with colored plastic cups, that were then melted in an oven.

Children's water colored hearts arranged in a tree.

Dove made from everyone's handprint over a tissue paper decoupage background.

Fingerprint dove that come with a corresponding list of all children and which color fingerprints are theirs.

Watercolor flower pot.

Water colored paper that was punched out in shapes of butterflies and then put into a shadow box.

Corinne's beautiful artwork in different forms.  Cards, framed pieces, and a tote bag.

One of the dads, Alan, made both of these incredible pieces!  A rabbit bike lock and a ladybug garden trellis.

Beautiful artwork and classroom collaborations.  

And these are only preschoolers!  

Wow!!!  

Dinosaur Eggs

Dinosaurs are put into a mixture of baking soda, watercolor, and water, and then set to dry.  The children then spray then with vinegar (with a drop of soap for bigger bubbles) and the watch the eggs bubble away.

Courtyard Day Activities 2015

Every year at St. Mark's Preschool and Kindergarten and The Straus Center at Temple Emanuel do two shared activities with each other.  First, their school invites two of our classes over for a Very wonderful and fun Thanksgiving Day celebration.  Then in the Spring, our school invites two of their classes over for a fun day in the courtyard at our school.  It's a wonderful relationship, and creates a warm feeling of community between both schools. 

Here are pictures from our event at set-up time.  I really wish I was able to take pictures during the event but I was too swamped!

So here it is pre-kids and not quite ready to go!

The quiet reading and puppet area.

Ball pit and tubes.  One parent managed to create a super cool extra long tube!

Pom Pom catapults.

Crazy hair area with colored chalk and beading. 

Dancing with scarves and beautiful music. 

This tarp was used to gather and do songs and stories, and also to enjoy Popsicles at the end.  During the event it was covered in Legos and Duplos. 

Playdough in two different colors to mix. 

Ribbons attached to hair bands to color. They are made to fit on the child's wrist to use for dancing.  We supplied a rainbow of water colors to use to paint with and q-tips for paint brushes.  This was very popular and eventually we needed to move some kids over to benches, just to have enough room to accommodate all the children that wanted to make one.

Bubbles, of course!

Sidewalk chalk. 

This is a must see while children are playing to get the effect of it.  These were "ice castles". Where you pour salt on big blocks of ice and then spray or drip food coloring on it.  Our ice also had treasures frozen inside, which made it even more fun to try and get them out!

Then lots and lots of boxes of all different sizes.  Kind of a "use your imagination and see what you can do" kind of area.