Day 8

Today was very short and busy. The class kicked off the day by finishing their drawing that they worked on with Ms. Homan, Todd's mother. Ms. Homan brought in pastels for the students to use on their drawings. She did a demonstration for the class to show how to use the pastels properly and shared a few techniques for the kids to practice. She emphasized using light colors before using dark colors and to always use the side of the pastel, not to hold it like a pencil. I was fascinated to see how well the students listened to what she said. Everyone was very good about not pressing down too hard and making sure they used the flat part of the pastel. I was sitting at the round table in the back of the room with all the pastels so when students came to get their colors i could see which ones they were choosing. I learned something new about colors when two students came back to me and asked if they could use pink and if pink is a light color. I told them to check with Ms. Homan because she didn't specifically say they could use pink, like she did the light blue, light green, yellow, and orange. I was sure pink was a light color, but i had them check just in case, and to my surprise pink is considered to be a dark color in pastels. The students were so quiet while Ms. Homan was in the room because they were focused and interested in the pastels. I couldn't believe how wonderful the pictures turned out and detailed they were. After this project it made me wonder why some of the students who are great at drawing really struggled with the pastels and blending the colors, where as some the the students whose drawings were not as outstanding were excellent with the color and and blending the pastels together. After a long, productive time working with Ms. Homan on their pictures it was time to clean up and move onto Fairy Tales with Mr. Jensen's class. Today i didn't have a chance to really interact with many of the kids, but i helped Katharine, Samantha, Dylan, and Hayden cut out decorative paper to make a cover for their books. This was a fun craft for me and a bit more relaxing than helping students find lost books, or look for missing pictures, or trying to keep them on task and focused on their stories. 

It was Gym time before they knew it. They left everything at their desks they way it was and lined up for Gym. At this time i cleaned up the paper scraps around my area and left AEMS to attend my lacrosse game at Vermont Academy. I can't wait for tomorrow; i get to go with the second grade on a hike and eat popsicles!!