Monet’s Picnic!
Posted by Faith Barbuto
After studying the life and work of Claude Monet and how he was instrumental in creating the Impressionist art movement, the PreK students followed his lead with an outdoor painting activity. Sitting aside our own Horse Tavern brook we nibbled on scones and sipped juice from champagne glasses as we tried to capture how the light hit the water on a beautiful spring day.
The Shape of Things
Posted by Faith Barbuto
Our budding Pre-K mathematicians continued to work on shapes. We have been delving into complex shapes such as pentagons, hexagons and octagons. Counting and labeling sides was great number writing practice. Students have been making these shapes out of pipe cleaners and paper. Tying math into social studies we found examples of shapes on safety signs around the school both inside and out. In a math meets art activity, students used reusable stickers to copy shapes in some of our latest artist, Alexander Calder’s, artwork.
Language Learning the Fun Way!
Posted by kellyyeh
Play! Play! Play! Learning a new language is exciting and fun!
In the Lower School Mandarin classroom, PreK students used face stickers to create animal faces. They had so much fun designing their own animals while learning vocabulary for different facial features.
Second graders played a game called “Draw My Little Monster.” Students drew a monster based on the teacher’s instructions. For example, they were given prompts such as, “The monster has five blue mouths” or “three small ears.”
Other grades used family member cards—similar to poker cards—to play a game. Students had to say sentences such as, “I have three older sisters,” in order to place their cards. The first student to get rid of all their cards won.
Every child loves to play. Learning a language through fun activities not only helps students build skills, but also keeps them interested and engaged. The Mandarin classroom atmosphere is lively, full of energy, and filled with fun!
Year of the Fire Horse!
Posted by Carina Blackwell
Xīn Nián Kuài Lè, Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái – Happy New Year and Wishing You Good Fortune!
Our Grade 4 through 6 Mandarin students kicked off the Chinese New Year celebrations by preparing over 600 vegetable dumplings, which, along with other delicious Chinese dishes created by our Chefs, were enjoyed by the entire school during a special festive lunch. Meanwhile, our younger students had fun practicing their Mandarin skills by crafting Play-Doh dumplings, listening to stories about why red and firecrackers are essential for Chinese New Year Celebration and making colorful Chinese New Year crafts. As part of the celebration, all Mandarin students received traditional Red Envelopes to mark the New Year of the Fire Horse.
A special thank you to Unquowa parent Mrs. Toolan, who visited the 5th and 6th grade Mandarin class to share insights into Chinese New Year traditions. The students had a great time taking turns wearing the festive dragon costume and dancing around the classroom!
Throughout our two-week celebration, Mandarin students across all grade levels showcased their language skills with performance on the school assembly. Their songs were filled with wishes of good luck and health for the New Year. Adding to the joyous spirit of the occasion, everyone came to school dressed in red!
Enhancing our foreign language program, this cultural experience is always a festive and delicious highlight of the year that our Unquowa community looks forward to celebrating.
The Beauty of Being Unique
Posted by Alice DesGranges
Our PreK students recently discovered the bold and imaginative world of Kimmy Cantrell, an Atlanta-based artist known for his vibrant mixed media works, ceramic masks, and expressive sculptures. Inspired by African artistic traditions and Cubism, Cantrell creates faces that are beautifully asymmetrical, filled with exaggerated features, bright colors, and even found objects.
One of Cantrell’s most meaningful philosophies is the idea that beauty does not have to follow traditional rules. His art challenges standard ideas of perfection and reminds us that there is beauty in imperfection and individuality.
Inspired by his work, our PreK class designed their own unique masks using patterned paper, paint, and cardboard. Students were encouraged to take artistic risks , placing eyes, mouths, and other facial features wherever they felt they belonged rather than where they “should” go. The result was a joyful collection of colorful, creative faces that celebrate differences and self-expression.
Through this project, our young artists learned an important lesson: art does not have to be perfect to be beautiful. Sometimes, it is our differences that make us shine the brightest.
The “Bear” Necessities
Posted by Faith Barbuto
Once a story unit starts, it takes over! We find ways to weave our fairy tale into every subject of the day. Our latest story was Goldilocks and the Three Bears so fittingly our science focus was bears but we didn’t stop there! We used bears for math, taking out our trusty bear counters. Friday’s math game was bingo bears. Bears became our mindfulness inspiration too as we learned to breathe like bears. We created cardboard tube bears and paper bag caves to remind us how to breathe deeply and relax our bodies. As our culminating activity for this unit we had a teddy bear picnic! Everyone brought in a favorite stuffed animal and we spread out a tablecloth on the floor to share bear themed books and snacks with our special friends. I had each child draw a line down the center of a paper plate and practice counting to divide each snack equally between them. Good news though, the toys didn’t eat much so the kids got to have all the snacks! In a surprise that I wish I had planned, the Unquowa lunch menu was picnic Friday so while the class was at Art, I moved the tablecloth to the table and surprised the class by having our visitors join us for lunch!
