Resources

The recent The Wonder Pets Save the Bengal Tiger television special and accompanying book Save the Bengal Tiger! (Wonder Pets!)  and Global Wonders India DVD have been great audio visual resources for introducing our youngest students to the culture of India. The Wonder Pets Save the Bengal Tiger is a re-telling of the folk tale of a mouse pulling a thorn from a lions paw, thus proving the worth of even the smallest animals. The website has games and puzzles related to the story that cover the themes of friendship and teamwork and the vocabulary of the program. Global Wonders India is a DVD that introduces elements of Indian culture through the story of a play date between friends of differing cultures. The music and vocabulary reviews are especially well done.

Peacock Drawings

Cool colors, pattern and printing were the focus for these beautiful peacocks. The students learned about national symbols and pride in national resources. They noted that India had more colorful animals than we did. These were beautiful and fun to draw, but I relly think glitter is what really makes them work. 

Rama and the Demon King

The first graders at James Mosher listened to the story Rama and the Demon King by Jessica Souhami. This is a story based on the epic Indian poem Ramayana,  but greatly simplified for children. The students made paperbag puppets of the characters in the story. (Picture 0014)  Second graders listened to the story and were asked to draw the characters from their imagination. 

Gandhiji Graphic Design

Eighth grade students are working on a graphic design assignment following their viewing of 'Gandhi' the film biography of Mahatma Gandhi. Students are creating artwork to show connections that they see between the philosophies and lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. , Barack Obama and themselves. 

Tape Art

James Mosher went through a massive restoration a few yeas ago and many good things were done to improve the school for its students. Near the end of the project a time crunch meant cut corners. One of the things that has long impacted the look of the school is the incorrect paint job. The contractors didn't prime the concrete walls and the paint peels with little provocation. The principal is annoyed and is always trying to keep work up without ruining what is left of the paint.

So one day, while perusing the web I came across the story of a guy living in a mall. So what is in connection? He works with Tape Art. I got very excited and thought ah ha! A solution for the no mural edict but still a distraction form the peeling paint.  Initially I was worried aboout proceeding but I figured if it was not acceptable I could always take it down. IT WAS A BIG HIT! Everyone loved the idea. My first one was an Indian elephant. It is the right size but not perfect anatomically. Oh well. The kids have left it alone since I put it up in September. It is only this week that a kid messed with it. But I can fix it. yeah tape! 

I also did Barack Obama after the election, and this week I did a peacock to accompany a lesson we are working on.  

Rangoli

Rangoli and Kolam are traditional Indian art forms used to decorate the area outside the home. Middle school students at Harlem Park explored the traditional methods of creating Kolam and Rangoli.  Using only their hands and natural materials students created patterns with radial symmetry.