Project 162: The Trumpet of the Swan

All the children have enjoyed E.B. White's novels (see Project 153: Stuart Little and Project 128: Charlotte's Web), so we wanted to read The Trumpet of the Swan before the big two got too big. 

The Trumpet of the Swan is the story of Louis a trumpeter swan who can't trumpet, and whose father steals him a trumpet which he learns to play, and how Louis earns money so his father can pay back the shop he stole the trumpet from. 

Alongside reading the book, which took up most of the week, the children also drew their own swans, completed the quiz in the back of the book, and watched the film. 

It was also a good opportunity to introduce them to the music of Louis Armstrong and (as the film names Louis's sisters Ella and Billie) Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. 

Next week: Rocks and Minerals

Project 161: Preparing for Christmas

This week's project was all about preparing for Christmas, starting a day early with an advent wreath, some Christmas wreaths, and some salt-dough decorations for the tree:

The children made some Christmas crackers:

And made gingerbread Christmas trees and 'reindeer bark' for eating with the decorating. 

Finally we watched a couple of Christmas films: It's a Wonderful Life (which they thought was a bit long), and The Star, a retelling of the Christmas story from the donkey's perspective:

Next week's project: The Trumpet of the Swan.

Project 160: Wassily Kadinsky

We decided it was time to look at another artist. We hadn't focused on a single artist since Project 136: Leonardo da Vinci, and while we did Project 88: Painting, the only time we've solely focused on a single artist was Project 79: Art and Mondrian. 

We started by learning about Kandinsky and his work, looking at a PowerPoint on Twinkl, reading about him in the art books we have, and watching a YouTube video. 

We did a Twinkl cut and stick activity and colouring sheets. 

We looked at the colour wheel, got the children to mix their own colours, and created Kandinsky-style concentric circles.

Finally the children created their own abstract masterpieces by rolling a dice to pick geometric shapes and lines for inclusion. 

Next Project: Preparing for Christmas.