The sun is shining!

With the Spring weather fast approaching our story is now taking on more meaning as the seeds in our story are reflected in the shoots and spring plants gathering around us. Today Reception 2 came for their second session this term , first in the studio then outside painting in the play ground. In studio one child commented, 'I remember everything I do when I come here' he was true to his words as he then shared the story with us :
A very old man was tired f the city, the noise , traffic people and smoke so he decided to go on a long walk away from all the hustle and bustle, with him he took his SHIELD , to bury in a FIELD . All the children remembered the IE words and were brilliant at the yoga pose of the tree , that we use each time before beginning the activities.

planting seeds in the soil to discovering magic coins

There was once a wrinkly kind old man who was tired of living in the town and he wanted to get away from the crowds of people so he decided to walk to the countryside, he wanted to find a space where he could feel free and smell the fresh air filled with the aromas of nature. Over the years the man had collected many seeds from his various walks which he kept in an old leather purse. He took the seeds with him , hoping he would find some good soil to plant them in. Eventually he came to a beautiful landscape with mountains, a river and rocks, but it didn't have a wood so he was happy to sew the seeds here so that they could one day become strong trees in a forest.
After a while the seeds became buried under the soil, helped by both animals and people treading them into he ground. With rain water and sun the seeds were able to grow, and grow and grow. Some grew quickly, others slowly , but eventually a beautiful forest could be seen in the place where the old man gad sewn the seeds. One seed took longer to grow, it was a special seed, it started growing in the same way as the others had, but then became something quite different! It grew into a stick puppet , called "Seed" , just like the ones you made last time you came.

Spring Term 2012

To all parents children and staff from the Good Shepherd, we want to keep you posted on the activities we are doing at Kite Studios with the children when they come to work with us in the Art studio. Last term was very rewarding as we worked closely with teachers from nursery to year 2 to re-enforce aspects of the ciruclum especially in language in the context of story telling. We focused on vowels and the 'magic e', letter recognition, formation and spelling . During each lesson we have recorded the results with photographs and notes to bring together for the blog.

The theme of' all about me for year 1 ' inspired us to spend some time on introducing ourselves with good eye contact and lots of smiles, something that became very important in our story when the puppet protagonist introduces him/her self to the vowel owl! The children began by imagining they were puppets going on a walk in a forest, but first they became tiny compact seeds on the ground that wit the help of sunlight and water grew into tall trees ( they all tried the tree pose from yoga!) , but one seed turned into a puppet not a tree. Each child identified with the puppet and first made a drawing of how they wanted it to look and after making the puppet they made a drawing from observation of how it actually looked. The puppet making involved watching the techniques and then working in pairs to help each other with the various stages such as twisting the fabric for the head.




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In the second session we developed the story about the puppet in the landscape of the magical forest with the vowel owl, the children had access to all kinds of materials from real bay leaves which they picked off branches and then scrunched to smell the aroma, before drawing them from observation. They used ink to draw with , dipping their fingers into it to remember the vowel 'i' for ink and to feel the freedom of drawing in a way that they couldn't worry about mistakes.
Clay was used for the ground of the forest and the owl vowel , so by the end of the second session they had all had a go at painting, drawing , cutting, modelling in clay, sticking and turning card into a tube for a plinth to exhbit their landscpes on.

Alphabet stories - all about me in the land of the magic e

Autumn Term 2011- Alphabet stories and fun with phonics all about me in the landscape of the magic e...

Kite Studios is now in its 5th year running workshops with the children from the Good Shepherd Primary School with our aim to use the Art studio as a resource to embed creativity across the school curriculum. What began, as a tentative exploration has become a confident process integral to both the children and staff at the school.

Each year we identify an area and plan the terms around the topic e.g. this term with children from nursery to year 3 we are working on Alphabet stories - having fun with phonics, to support the literacy strategy planned with the class teacher.
At the end of the year we look forward to sharing with you the outcomes of the work that your children have done.

Kite studios is used as a resource, to bring in a high level of art education to the children, using a breadth of creative skills, something that most children don't get the opportunity to develop, and these skills will set them up for life.
We welcome parents to observe a class, but due to limited space please book through the school office.

Spring Term 2011 'Discus Designs'

After devloping the theme of circles inspired by the olympic rings to Wassily Kandinsky's Colour study-Squares with Concentric Circles 1913, the project expanded into the realm of using recycled circles in the form of old Cds and transforming them into plates for printmaking using an etching press. The results were spectacular and the titles evidence the originality and thought that went into the work.
The project is only in its early stages as we still have a term left to develop it and take it into the public arena to a gallery space in the W12 shopping centre. We have been colaborating with Todd Green from 'Shutter Art' who has secured the space and some funding from Hammersmith and Fulham towards materials for the final stage of the project.
When the work is complete we hope to invite the artists, their friends and families as well as the school to an opening to see the work. Two sales have already been made, so this is the first step towards making the art classes an opportunity for entrepreneurial approaches and possible ways of making it sustainable!

Autumn Term : Circles inspired by the Olympic Rings

Brainstorming the circle from wheels to the wonders of space.