Watercolour Painting

Here are some of the watercolour techniques I needed to think about in order to produce this amazing painting:

Choose a broad brush and use it to wash the paper with water
Switch to a finer brush; wet it and then dab it dry on a paper towel
Select a colour, starting with the palest
Look closely at the colours and shapes you see
Add a bit of detail to show flowers or leaves
Try not to leave any of the paper blank
Dab the last of the water off with the paper towel
Leave it in the sun to dry

Why not come to the classroom and take a closer look at my painting? I would love to know what you think of it.

Sketching at Chateau de Penthes

Yesterday we took our clipboards, some stiff white cartridge paper and a 3B drawing pencil to Chateau de Penthes. We were going to do some sketching.

I decided to draw the view towards the lake and the mountains. Take a look at my sketch.



How do you think it compares with the real thing?

Where in the world? continues.....

"In Notting Hill there is a Christmas tree made out of recycled plastic."

Justin was puzzled. 'Did they just do it to get in the newspaper?' he asked. We think they might have done!

Cave Painting (or drawing on the white chalk with a blackboard)

During our Unit of Inquiry on Materials, we started reading the book, 'Stig of the Dump' by Clive King. Stig is a caveman who lives at the bottom of an old quarry close to Barney's grandmother's house. Barney finds Stig one day when he falls through the roof of Stig's den. They become friends, even though they cannot talk to each other.

Since the quarry is no longer in use, people throw all their rubbish away down there; Stig is good at finding new ways in which to use old things.

On the same day that they cut down an enormous tree (getting warm once in the process) and then use it to start a fire (getting warm for the second time) Stig picks up a piece of charred wood and uses it to draw an amazing hunting scene on the chalk wall of the den.

Then we had a go at using charcoal and chalks to make our own hunting scene. We dusted the paper with charcoal powder and smudged it to give it a greyish background. Then we used charcoal and chalk to make our scene.



"I like how you smudged it and how you drew the people who were so busy," said Maya.

Tuesday Newsday - Where in the World?

With our current unit in mind, this week we tried to tell 'Where in the World' our news happened.

Fiona's news story was about hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. "The hurricane season is just getting under way," she explained. "Experts say that these days, hurricanes happen twice as often as they did 100 years ago. Some people think this might be because of Global Warming; that the seas are getting warmer."

Says Evangeline, "I am not sure whether my news is good news or bad news. In Scotland, even though there is supposed to be Global Warming right now, instead of warm Spring-like weather, it is snowing and people are enjoying being able to ski at the 'wrong' time of year."

Mapping the school

We asked ourselves; how can we show what our school looks like? After taking a walk around the school, we had a go at trying to make a record of everything; from the classrooms to the kitchen, the music room to the French rooms and the library.

Take a look at mine. "I started with Rosalina's class. First I did downstairs and then upstairs. Then I did the school corridor. Last I did the gym. Well, the corridor was a bit difficult because I didn't have enough space on the paper. I enjoyed doing it. I missed the kitchen but I could point to where it should be. I think other people could find their way using my map (apart from the kitchen!)"



How does it compare with the real thing?

Feeling

Invented by Fiona, Giulia and Evie

Rules: No peeking under the blindfold!
The oldest goes first

· Put the cards face down on the table
· Put the blindfold on



· Pick two cards
· Feel them



· If they are not the same you don’t keep them; it is the next person’s go



· If they are the same, you keep them; you have another go



· Who has the most cards when all the cards are gone wins

paper

This is a house



and it has a garden with a slide in it and there are people that go in it.



I just got some coloured paper and cut it into a triangle for the roof. Then I got another piece of coloured paper and cut that one into a square. After I cut a rectangle for the door. I glued the triangle on top of the square.



It was a bit tricky to make the fence.

What is it like?

My sister's watch
This is my sister's watch and it has two metal bits on it; around the face and the buckle. The strap is made of plastic.



What is it like?
It is very bendy.

My daddy's record
I have brought a record. It doesn't play music any more. It was here since my daddy was born(!) It is made of a kind of plastic. It is called vinyl.



What is it like?
Some of it is shiny and some is dull.

plastic

I made a rocket and it has a yellow window made out of a plastic lid and the plastic boosters have fire made from three plastic straws.

‘I like the way you made the boosters,’ said Danah.