The STATUE OF LIBERTY stands on Liberty Island in New York City harbour. She has stood as a symbol of the UNITED STATES since it the statue’s dedication in 1886. Sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was a friendship gift to the United States from the French. In her right hand she raises a torch which is a symbol of Liberty’s focus on enlightenment and progress, and in her left hand she carries a tablet inscribed with July 4, 1776 which is the day the United States declared independence.

The children drew their pictures, using Sharpies and then used a variety of media, including watercolours, felt-tips and coloured pencils to colour them. They really took their time and focused to get the *patina colour of the statue just right!  As you can see, the children did a fantastic job and I couldn’t be prouder of them!

*PATINA: a green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period.

The GRAND CANYON is a giant canyon located in ARIZONA in the United States. Recognised as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon has taken over two billion years to form. Rock has slowly been washed away by the COLORADO RIVER, creating the steep canyon walls, through a process called EROSION. Year after year, the Colorado River has made the canyon deeper. Due to erosion, there are over 40 sedimentary layers of rock in the Grand Canyon, many of which create the colourful layers that make up the canyon walls.

Thc children laernt about the life of Canadian Mounties before creating these impressive portraits of them.  I think they look fab!

The SONORAN DESERT is a North American desert that covers large parts of the SOUTHWEST in the United States and Northwestern parts of Mexico. The Sonoran Desert is especially dry and warm compared to other North American deserts and while it might seem surprising that many plants and animals live in this desert, some really thrive. The SAGUARO, a type of cactus that only grows in the Sonoran Desert, can actually live to be over 150 years old.

BISON, not to be confused with buffalo which are found throughout Asia and Africa, are found mostly in North America. Bison are a sacred animal to Native Americans who would hunt the bison, using every part of it for their basic food, clothing and shelter needs. After nearly being hunted to extinction by settlers, bison herds were preserved and are no longer considered an endangered species.

The children learnt about the habitat of the bisons and then painted their landscapes.  They drew their bison with oil pastel and sponge painted it to create the fur texture. 

I think you will agree that they did an amazing job!

We learnt about the Canadian fishing industry and the small towns that rely on fishing for their economy.  The children then used watercolours and oil pastels to create these stunning fishing boats.

The desert tortoise  is a  species of  tortoise in the  family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.  The desert tortoise is the official state reptile in California and Nevada. 

The desert tortoise lives about 50 to 80 years; it grows slowly and generally has a low reproductive rate. It spends most of its time in burrows, rock shelters, and pallets to regulate body temperature and reduce water loss. It is most active after seasonal rains and is inactive during most of the year. 

The children learnt about the American artist Ryan Conners and how she loves to draw cats wrapped up warmly and drinking hot drinks.  The children used collage to create their own COSY CATS.  Do you have a favourite? If so, why?  It’s hard to choose as they are all fabulous!

ABOUT ARCTIC ANIMALS
The ARCTIC is a region that covers the northernmost part of Earth. Northern CANADA is included in this usually cold, snow and ice-covered land. Arctic animals are special because they can live where
the summer is very short and the winter is long, dark and cold.

TED HARRISON (1925-2015) was a Canadian artist whose landscape paintings
were influenced by his surroundings in Canada.  The children created their own polar bear and landscape inspired by this amazing artist.

Thanksgiving is an American and Canadian holiday. It is celebrated to give thanks for the harvest and for the year ahead. 

Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated in many countries around the world.

The children did observational drawings of pumpkins and coloured them using chalk pastels.  As you can see, they did an amazing job!

On a Thursday our After School Club does various art activities, in a fun and relaxed environment.

We really enjoyed creating these brilliant bookmarks today.  There was lots of talk about our favourite animals and the children gave their bookmarks super cool names…. one was even called ‘Mrs Pearson’! I felt very honoured.

This week we did observational drawings of pumpkins, using Sharpies and chalk pastels.  The children really enjoyed chatting while creating and all were pleased with the results.

Today we made an awesome owl and we each gave our owl a name! I was really impressed with an older brother helping out his sister, who is in Reception.  Well done Thiago!

We collected leaves from the garden and created some awesome leaf animals.  It was wonderful to see the older children heling the younger ones with some tricky cutting and glueing.  Here are a selection of them:

We follow a two year Global art passport that encourage the children to explore ‘Cultural Appreciation’ so that they may understand and learn about another culture in an effort to broaden their perspective and connect with other cultures.

IRIS SCOTT is an American finger painter. She got her start when she was “too lazy to wash out herbrush” and decided to finish a painting with her fingers instead. The experiment paid off, as she was able to create vibrant paintings full of movement and life,all by using her fingertips and oil paints. She paints a wide variety of subjects from animals to landscapes and portraits.  These are two of her famous paintings. 

The children then created their own painting in the style of Iris Scott and I think that they are awesome!

ABOUT THE BIBLIOBURRO

The BIBLIOBURRO is a traveling library in COLOMBIA where the owner travels on the backs of two donkeys, Alfa and Beto. Fitting his donkeys with packsaddles that were originally made to carry water, Luis Soriano, a Spanish teacher in rural Colombia, started carrying a mobile library of books to remote areas where children didn’t have access to books. The book Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter tells the true story of the biblioburro. our Reception children worked every Friday on this project creating their own ‘BIBLIOBURROS’, which all contained their favourite books.  As you can see, each donkey is as unique as the child that reated them.  I think that they are all amazing and I couldn’t possibly choose a favourite!