SWS @ Peabody

I went to Peabody on Tuesday. It was interesting to say the least. There are 6 teachers in the whole school that take care of everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! We sat in on the art class for a group of Kindergartners. Marla McLean is the "art teacher" at this Reggio Emilia inspired school and she led the group of kids in a discussion. They are sorta starting a new project and she led them in a discussion about recyclable materials. They talked about how trash effects the environment and what they could do with all the extra space we would have if we recycled more (because there would not be as many trash dumps). The kids talked about several things they could do with the leftover space and had some very good and creative ideas. 

Then they worked on their kindergarten class project which was a rug that they are weaving made of MORE RECYCLABLE MATERIALS !!! in this case, plastic bags. The kids sat on either side of a large loom and worked together to weave the plastic bags in and out. It was encouraging to see the kids working together in a project like this and see them learn about the environment and how they could make art and at the same time save it!

The time in the art room is divided in half and first they had the discussion and did the rug for an hour and then for the last hour they could have free time. During free time they were allowed to use the materials in the classroom and go outside to the common area to play and paint. 

The kids were very good and thoughtful with the materials and did well cleaning up after themselves (without being told what to do). I was very impressed with the projects they had on display from their last unit on fairies. The art room seem to be like a sort of fun haven for the kids and the studio looked like some flower child's bedroom, I loved it. I am looking forward to going back this week.

(The picture is of  the fairy houses the kids  made in the last unit)