Rothko and El Greco Mashup
It began back in November with our iModannari after Rothko who thought that the greatest paintings were the ones that captured a moment of stillness. What better way to enter into the Thanksgiving season. Rothko painted rectangles. But he blurred the…
Master Class: iMadonnari
It's December in California, so we took to the great outdoors to tackle a master class. The mentor? None other than Fra Angelico. Before tackling this Fra Angelico project, take a bit of advice from Leonardo: "It's easier to resist…
Celebrate Color: Happy Birthday Kandinsky!
Celebrate the many colors of Wassily Kandinsky and practice the math of concentricity in the process. Kandinsky connected color to sound. What an awesome metaphor: "The sound of colors is so definite that it would be hard to find…
Read a Book / Make a Map
When is a family like a map? Help your 3rd and 4th grader explore a metaphor. This is the story of an old Parisian named Armand, who relished his solitary life. Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was…
Great Ideas: Be Inspired by Books
Every journey through a Blackbird & Company literature discovery guide ends with a final project for the student to create and present. It's usually everyone's favorite activity and it gives them an opportunity to extend their time with a story…
Stitch Picasso
Stitchery builds cognitive plasticity. Embroidery is a practice that will empower students to be aware of fine motor potential, overcome the short attention span, and to have a growth mindset. The nervous system controls all of the body functions. But…
Kalidescope of Butterflies
Claude Monet's birthday was a November celebration. Imagine the Impressionist in his garden, over 100 years ago, painting something wonderful. After reading A Blue Butterfly by Bijou Le Tord, I set my students free to watercolor butterflies in all shades of…
After a Book Journey: Create
Reading a book is a journey. From Los Angeles to New York you'll travel through the city and the countryside meeting wonderful people and seeing new and exciting places. Let the journey begin! (Hat tip to Reading Rainbow.) Take your 2nd grader on…
Take a Line for a Walk
Here we are again, First-Days-of-School upon us. All of us teachers are certainly prepared with a hefty handful of academic goals, each comprised of an even heftier handful of learning objectivStill I can't help but smile, as Fall sneaks in…
Tiny Seed / Huge Plant
Our Earlybird Spring Literature and Writing Discovery Guide features The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. Follow along with the blowing seeds as they land in different environments on Earth in this classic story with its beautiful collage art illustrations. It would…