CHILI PEPPER ART!!

CREATING ART FROM WHAT CHILDREN KNOW 

AND EXPERIENCE

It's a blazing hot day in Tucson, Arizona.  You sit down to dinner and even though it's still in the 90's, many of us in the Southwest crave a bite of "Chile" with our food.  From the oldest to the youngest, it's part of our culture.  

In one of the preschool classrooms I have the great honor of working with, at Sunnyside Head Start, their brilliant teachers chose the topic of "Chiles"as a place to start a project.  Children brought their own knowledge of:

1) What is a Chile?

2) What does a Chile taste like?

3) What is the shape of a Chile?

4) What color is a Chile?

5) Are Chiles all the same?

The children in our part of the country bring a lot of prior knowledge about chiles.  This led to the creation of Artwork.  It led to:

THE CHILE PROJECT

One of the key areas this preschool center is fantastic at, is engaging parent involvement and having children and parents discuss things at home so that children then come back with more information to share with classmates and teachers.  Imagine all that can be learned.

In this case children learned that "chiles are fruit" that are a part of their culture and that there are "many types of chiles" used in their homes.  Their parents use them for:

1) Cooking
2) As a spicy condiment
3) Used in different dishes
4) Used in Candy

Chiles are also part of the garden at this center and teachers and children grow a variety of them together.

CHILE-INSPIRED ART!                                                                                                                        In the photo below, you can see preschool children creating Art from their "PRIOR KNOWLEDGE."  This makes the creating of the Art more meaningful to them and is a great place to connect children with improvising and exploring the use of different "perspectives".  

1) Can the Chile's be used to create shapes?
2) What kind of shapes can you create?

THE FINAL PRODUCT

What I really love about the piece of child-created Art below, in addition to it coming from the child's knowledge and culture, is that it's authentic to the child's perspective of Art.  Bravo Sunnyside!!!

THE PROCESS

How do you feel when someone displays or highlights your work in a positive light?  We all love it, don't we?  It's important to take the time to display children's artwork, but what makes the image below unique is that THEY DISPLAYED THE PROCESS with images and quotes (see final image below)!

Wow.... we all know the process is very important, but to be able to display the process is truly powerful for children, parents, and teachers.

I hope everyone has a great month of August.  I know I'm really looking forward to seeing my many little friends at many centers around the country and my many teacher friends as well!

See you amidst all the laughter and joy!

Enrique

P.S. Our website is under renovation, but you can still visit our old website at www.famefoundation.org.  For more information on what we do, check out the book Living Like a Child.

MINI-WORKSHOP! VLOG (Video Blog)

ENGINEERING GAMES for ADULT LEARNERS

Happy July 4th to everyone from my home country of the U.S. and welcome to all of you from other parts of our beautiful world.  For those of you who are new, I'm Enrique, Musician and Producer,  Founder and Director of Early Education of the F.A.M.E. Foundation.  My blog today is a vlog, a video blog.  It's an extension of my group "Living Like a Child" on Facebook.  Simply click and enjoy!

Bienvenido a todos mis amigos y colegas del mundo entero.  Para ustedes que son nuevos, soy Enrique, músico y director, el fundador y director de educación temprana del fundación F.A.M.E. (El fomento de Educación con Arte).  Hoy mi blog es un vlog, totalmente con video.  Este es un extensión de mi grupo en facebook "Viviendo como un Niño."  Aunque están hablando en español, los imagenes te dan mucho información!

PART I of III (1:39)

PART II of III (1:14)

PART III of III (4:57)

LIVE LIKE A CHILD

VIVIENDO COMO UN NIÑO

LOVE LANGUAGES and LEARNING

RECOGNIZING THE DIFFERENT WAYS 

IN WHICH WE LOVE

Hello!  If you're new to this blog, welcome and I encourage you to scroll through the many blogs of my colleagues.  From Debbie Clement to Dr. Danny Brassell to Mimi Chenfeld and many more.  My blog today is actually a vlog.  A story told almost completely in video.  Enjoy how teachers Melissa and Edith from the Santa Rosa Head Start program in Tucson, Arizona have used Dr. Chapman's Five Love Languages to elevate how they connect with children and their families.  You'll see how they have created a child-created resource that is helping parents understand their children in a deeper, more meaningful way.  Click and enjoy!


Buen Dia!  Si eres nuevo a este blog, bienvendio!  Te animo tambien a ver los blogs de mis colegas que estan escrito arriba en íngles.  Mi blog hoy es verdadermente un vlog.  Un cuento dicho con video, pero como algunos no hablan íngles hay mucho en español escrito para ayudar a mis colegas del mundo Latino conocer mas de esta tema.  Las maestras Melissa y Edith son de la programa prescolar Santa Rosa Head Start.  Ellos han usado la información del libro "Los Cinco Lenguajes de Amor" (Click para ver el libro en Amazon) de Dr. Chapman para elevar como ellos conectan con los niños  en su clase y sus padres.  Tambien, crearon un libro con los niños que se usa para ayudar a los padres entender mas sobre esta tema.  Con amor y un abrazo fuerte! 

Enrique Feldman
Founder and Director of Education, F.A.M.E. Foundation
Lead Facilitator, Arts Integration Solutions
National and International Presenter
Film Composer
Author

LOVE LANGUAGES and LEARNING - PART I (1:26)

LOVE LANGUAGES and LEARNING - PART II (3:14)

LOVE LANGUAGES and LEARNING - PART III (3:13)

I encourage you to know your love languages and use that critical information in how you invite children into learning environments.  Thanks again to Melissa and Edith!


Te animo a conocer los idiomas de amor para usar esa información crítico en como invitas a niños al aprendizaje profundo.  Gracias a las maestras Melissa y Edith!

Enjoy this screen shots from the videos which highlight how the children and families "knew they were loved."


Aqui tienes un imagen del video que te enseña que los niños y padres estaban aprendiendo sobre los idiomas de amor.

CAN YOU GUESS WHICH LOVE LANGUAGE EACH RESPONSE REPRESENTS?

Physical, Words, Quality Time, Gifting or Acts of Service?

PUEDES ADIVINAR CUAL ES EL IDOMA DE AMOR CON CADA RESPUESTA?

Físico, Palabras, Tiempo de Calidad, Regalos, or Actos de Servicio?

Each answer gives you an idea of how each individual child "recognizes" that they are loved.


Cada respuesta te da un idea de como el niño reconóce que el o ella están amado.


Below is one response where the child says his daddy gave him a telescope so he could see his daddy when he was away.  


Abajo la respuesta del niño dice que su padre le compró un telescopio y asi el niño puede ver a su padre cuando el no esta en casa....ahhhhh.

This response was in Spanish.  The translation is "My daddy shows me he loves me when he takes me to work and I get to be big.  My mommy shows me she loves me when she takes me to school.... she cares about me."


Abajo la respuesta es en español.  Puedes leyerlo y pensar sobre cual es la idioma de este niño.

How do you show others you love them?  How do you like to be loved?  Just thinking about these questions can create changes that improve the quality of life for you and everyone around you.  


Como enseñamos a otros que los queremos?  Como te gusta ser amado?  Empesando con estas preguntas podemos elevar nuestra calidad de vida y la calidad de vida para todos en nuestro mundo.


Below is an example of a child who's love language is "Acts of Service".  Enjoy Anthony's artwork and his response to the question "How do you know your family loves you?"  Keep in mind that this is very different from the question "Do they love you?"


Abajo tienes un ejemplo de un niño y su idioma de amor es "Actos de Servicios."  Goza al arte del niño Antonio y su respuesta a la pregunta "Como sabes que to familia te ama?"  Toma en cuenta que esta pregunta es muy diferente a la prejunta "Te ama tu familia?"

New images coming soon!  Nuevos imagenes pronto!

REAL FLOWER ART (Verdadero Arte Con Flores)

FOSTERING THE CREATIVE PROCESS with FLOWERS and CHOICES

(El FOMENTO DEL PROCESO CREATIVO con FLORES y OPCIÓNES)

This story tells itself with images.  Children from the Sunnyside Head Start program, which my F.A.M.E. Foundation works with, were introduced to flowers as you can see below.  Also, welcome to my many friends and colleagues from Mexico!

Este cuento lo dice todo con imagenes.  Los niños del programa prescolar de Sunnyside, que trabájan con mi fundación F.A.M.E., estában introducido a flores, como puedes ver abajo. ¡También, saludos y abrazos a todo mis amigos y colegas de México!

The children were also introduced to a grinding stone, which was a way of activating prior knowledge, as these children have seen family make salsa and/or guacamole with this traditional device.

Estos niños estában introducido a un molcajete, que es parte de su conocimiento como lo usan sus familias para hacer salsa y guacamole.

The children decided on which flowers they like the best.  They observed what colors the flowers were and how they looked the same or different.

Los niños decidieron en cuales de las flores les gustaron el mejor.  Obervaron los colores de las flores y como algunos eran el mismo y diferente.

The children then took their flowers and ground them up with their own hands making different shaped pieces of flowers.

Los niños tomaron sus flores y usaron el molcajete para hace pedazos de flores con formas diferentes.

They started to place the ground up bits of flower onto a surface and began to create their own abstract Art.

Empesaron poner los pedazos de flores en forma de Arte abstracto.

CHOICES (OPCIÓNES)

One important thing about this on-going activity is that the children had many choices.  Don't we all engage better when we have choices?  Simply brilliant.

Una cosa muy importante de este actividad, que tomó tiempo, es que los niños tuvieron opciónes.  No es cierto que cuando tenemos opciónes en nuestra vida, damos más energía a nuestras actividades?  Simplemente brillante.

INTEGRATING ART (INTEGRANDO EL ARTE)

Something else that makes this activity deep in learning, is that it integrated scientific investigation, discovery, wonder, and the building of life long learners by allowing the child to create the Art.  This impacts self-concept in a powerful way!

Otra cosa de este actividad que está conectado al aprendizaje profundo, es que está integrado con la investigación científico, el descubrimiento, y el crecimiento de niños que quieren aprender para todo su vida.  Los niños hacen el arte ellos mismos y esto impacta el concepto de uno mismo en maneras poderosas!

THE CREATIVE PROCESS (EL PROCÉSO CREATIVO)

The creative process is a magical bridge.  When anyone is connected to the creative process, in any field, they view learning from a very positive perspective.

El proceso creativo es un puente fantastico.  Cuando qualquier persona está conectada a este proceso, en qualquier rama de la vida, se ven el aprendizaje de una perspectiva muy positiva.

While the process was truly the most important part of this journey, enjoy the following original pieces of Art made by the children of Sunnyside Head Start, where I have the great honor to visit and share often.

Aúnque el proceso es el parte más importante de este viaje, goza este Arte, hecho por los manos de los niños del program prescolar de Sunnyside, donde yo tengo el gran placer y honor de visitar y compartír muchas veces.

What do you think was powerful or effective about this project?

¿Que piensas usted de que fue poderoso, efectivo o emocionante sobre este proyecto?

LIVING LIKE A CHILD

VIVIENDO COMO UN NIÑO

On June 5th, stay tuned for The Five Love Languages of Children

El el 5 de Junio, regresa para leyer Los Cinco Idiomas de Amor de Niños

The Bilingual Teacher

Hello. My name is Lidia Barbosa. I am the author of Kinder Latino and Kid's Reading Activities.  It is an honor to be invited to collaborate with Pre-K and K Sharing.

My first language was Spanish. I was born and raised here, in the United States.  Being a bilingual education teacher has been a very rewarding experience. I have taught 2nd grade, Pre-K and Kindergarten.  The Pre-K students are full of curiosity and willingness to learn new things, especially when you make it fun. Kindergarten students never cease to amaze me at how much they can learn. I love to see their reading and writing skills grow by leaps and bounds throughout the year.  What I love about second grade students is their self-motivation and that spark in their eyes that they get when they figure something out on their own.

I love the passion and respect for education that Hispanic families demonstrate.  Parents and students, alike, take education very seriously.  Parental involvement is especially high in the lower grades. These parents volunteer in the classrooms, teacher workroom, field trips, attend every conference and are always willing to help in some way. Even little holiday parties turn into huge celebrations with them bringing in more food than we can handle.

There are so many districts that provide some type of bilingual education. I am still surprised to see the lack of resources in Spanish for our bilingual classrooms. This becomes a challenge for us. We struggle to find books, center activities and reading resources for our students. Even-though there is a great need for it, the wide variety of resources are simply not available. Bilingual teachers spend many hours translating and creating material that is appropriate for their classrooms. This is the reason that I created Kinder Latino. It allows me to share ideas and activities with bilingual teachers.  My mission is to help others save a little more time and give students useful and meaningful resources in their own Spanish language.

After fifteen years of working in education, I was blessed with my third child. That was when my husband and I decided that I should stay home with my two youngest children. Time goes by so fast. I have three children. Daisy is 11 years old, Angel is 5 and Isabella is already 2 years old. I love spending quality time with them and enjoy them while they are still young. Now that I stay home, I have a little more time than when I was working.  I am able to create the resources that I always needed and wished for when I was in the classroom.  

I always new that I might want to publish some type of resources for bilingual education some day.  But, I never really imagined that my "stay-at-home-mom" status would turn into a "work-from-home" opportunity. Sharing ideas on my blog is a bonus.  It's a great feeling of accomplishment to be doing something that I love while helping others along the way. 

I have started to create some resources in English as well. Our bilingual students are definitely expected to learn English as soon as possible. Our goal is to provide as many opportunities for students to increase their vocabulary skills, comprehension and fluency in this second language.  With this in mind, districts offer various programs that they feel might be the best at achieving this goal.  Some bilingual classrooms provide an E.S.L. block during the day. This is when students build a foundation of academic skills in their native language.  They also focus on acquiring skills in English during a set amount of time each day. Other districts prefer the dual language method. This is when students are taught both, Spanish and English, during the day. Some prefer to use a rotation method where some days are taught in Spanish and other days are taught in English.  There are still other districts that prefer the full immersion program. It seems that no matter which program is being used, it still varies a little bit from campus to campus within a single district.  That being said, acquiring the English language is an important goal of the bilingual education program. There are simply different methods of teaching programs in the attempt to reach that goal.

I hope that you are able to find my future contributions to this community of Pre-K + K Sharing useful.  My next post will be in about two months from now.  I look forward to sharing more with you.  In the meantime, feel free to follow my Kinder Latino and Kid's Reading Activities blogs. Kinder Latino is for those who are interested in teaching Spanish to their little ones at school or in the home.  Kid's Reading Activities is an English blog that has some fun ideas for teaching young learners.  I hope to see you there :)

Enjoy these Spanish vowel prints for now.