Storytelling Jars

Post Contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director/Educator

This is one of those really fun projects using items from around the home and yard to create a magical little world, ripe with stories to be told. Inspired by Emily Neuburger's "Storytelling Jars" from her super creative book "Show Me a Story", students used colorful scrap fabric and paper, sticks, tiny magazine images, odd beads and tiny stones to assemble a little scene within the jar. Items can be taken out and re-arranged or new items can be added to set the stage for new stories to be told. Parents: this is a perfect rainy day activity to chase the doldrums away!

Emory: hot air balloon caught in a tree!

Andrew using a dowel to tuck his items into place within the jar

Andrew: tree, nest & birds

Heidi

Heidi: bunny and eggs with tree in background

Mikel at work

Mikel's storytelling jar, in progress

Mikel: sea horse and sea plants

Leila

Leila: bunny, eggs & trees

Joseph: volcano with lava, stones and fish

Xavier with tree & crocodile

We love these! kudos to the students : )

Picture Tales Storybooks

Post Contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director/Educator

This week our theme is storytelling. For today's class, we were inspired by a writing activity from the book "Show me a Story" by Emily K. Neuburger. Students were given several random  pictures (a person, a place and an animal) and then asked to write a story to explain how and why these images are connected. For parents seeking a solution to a child's "I'm bored!" exclamation, select a few magazines, find random pictures that catch your child's eye and create a story together, linking the images. 

The photos below provide a glimpse of the clever and imaginative stories that emerged from this activity ~ I wish I could have photographed every page. Kudos to the students for their engagement in this storytelling activity, it was rewarding to witness their process and to read the completed storybooks : )

Laila

Laila

Laila

Andrew & Anika (not in photo)

Andrew & Anika

Leila

Emory

Elise

Aidan

Elise

Mikel

Mikel

Mikel

Emory

Leila

Dexter

Isaac

Isaac

Rachel Harrison Inspired Sculpture with Andy Coppersmith

Post Contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director,

Beye Discovery's Andy Coppersmith conceived and taught the lesson below, inspired by the work of artist Rachel Harrison. In his lesson titled "The Potentiality of Materials" students worked with a variety of ordinary materials, often destined for the recycle bin or garbage, to turn them into something interesting, curious, and artful. As students joined individual items together, new sculptural forms emerged that were then unified by colorful tissue paper wrappings. A week later, students took their work a step further, using paint, collage, found objects, and other embellishments to complete their sculptures. 

These fun, colorful sculptures were exhibited in the second floor display case. As in Rachel Harrison's work, we experienced how ordinary objects, transformed by the artist's hand, can make us stop to look with curiosity and wonder : ) Thank you Mr. C. for such a terrific project!

Aidan and Mr. Coppersmith leading a discussion about Rachel Harrison's work. Leila shares her observations.

Observing a second exemplar by Rachel Harrison, held by Heidi

Mikel, part 1, building the sculptural form

Joseph, part 2, adding tissue paper

Elise, part 2, tissue paper

Aidan receives assistance from Mr. Coppersmith, to join objects together

Aidan sculpture, with tissue paper

Anika and Andrew working together to create their sculpture

Eva, with completed sculpture (notice the deer tracks, lower left side)

Ben, completed sculpture (I wish I had taken a photo from the top view, it was very clever!)

Ms. Jenkins assisting Cassie

Laila, part 3, adding details

Jackson, left and Dexter, right

Aidan, adding embellishments

detail, Aidan

Laila, finishing touches

Jackson, completed sculpture

Elise, adding finishing touches

Laila, completed sculpture!

Kiran completed sculpture

Dexter, completed sculpture

Elise, completed sculpture

Emory, completed sculpture