Last night I ran into the word "peacock" twice, as I was hashing out an idea for my TK class. We are studying birds, coincidentally, and I was thinking of our Thursday craft/art idea exhausted by the year,  trying to get an idea off the ground just a little too last minute. First in that search,  I ran into a blog with K bird art, and a masterful bunch of art pieces the blogger's students made about peacocks. Gosh. I can't find it now, darn,  which is driving me crazy and I'll include the link once I do find it.  (Their art blows mine away sadly)And so I refer you to a million amazing images that I did NOT see from the net.

This project used chalk, lovely chalks-pastels- so I was interested as we have really not done a chalk project this TK year, and I own a huge bags of pastels. Then later in the evening, on my private Facebook, I saw an article about a local peacock that was injured yesterday in a bad car crash. Fred's kind of famous locally.  I was looking at that news thinking-what a weird coincidence that I just thought of drawing peacocks and out of the blue-peacock news. It gets a little weirder too, as just now as I shared their drawings I brought home with my son -he shows me on his new phone a pic of Fred in actual surgery. Amazingly his friend's mother is the vet trying to save Fred. He's got a horrible looking broken leg. So I thought-how could this be happening?
And why?
A lot to share with my 5 year olds tomorrow morning, as I try to search out some writing link my little TK can handle on peacocks. Perhaps I'll make one up. Maybe something will plop down from the same coincidence this all spun from, as many of my lessons do evolve-or did- prior to a national obsession with standard and same pages. But this program allows me some room for invention and I love it.

So today my students tried to draw a peacock, just from here up-head and tail. To be honest I was trying this just as a way to show a few peacock feathers I have, and talk about feathers on birds, to extend into something they could do. I wanted them to observe the feathers. And I didn't really talk enough to do this project well...sometimes my timing is off. I need to rehearse and I can never rehearse. Here at home tonight I am thinking about how I did as the teacher. Just c-.
The kids though made very nice artwork. They've come a long way. A lonnnggggg way.

Rainbow Fish is a book well known to primary teachers. Copyright(ed) in 1992 by Martin Pfister it has been used in classrooms for a long time. On-line if you search "rainbow fish images" you see a delightful range of possible art for your classroom. I went searching because my TK (transitional kinder) is engaged in studying fish-so an art activity seemed a way to think about "scales." Bringing a fish from the fish market would really be a great way to see them-except I hesitate because they are dead and that might be tough for my five year olds. So art seemed a way to think about the fish and investigate their form.

If you know the story it goes something like this (spoilers):
Rainbow Fish is incredibly beautiful but a bit short sighted. Rainbow Fish carries a notion all creatures of the sea will worship that beauty. But ...and ( here I do name this feeling of envy or jealousy), his fellow fish would like a bit of that beauty for themselves in the form of a scale. I quibble with the book on this idea because scales are not transferable and neither is "beauty," but this just is part of the story so you go with it. In my class no one questioned this part of the story. Not even after extended prodding. Rainbow Fish rejects a tiny fish's plea for a scale in a harsh way and suffers social isolation and rejection. (again pretty implausible in today's world)  Rainbow Fish after seeking advise eventually gives away the most prized possession, his colorful scales,  and regains the other fish as friends. So the book has lots to offer-shunning, negative emotions, isolation, beauty, giving, selfishness, generosity-the works. And if you wonder why I keep saying Rainbow Fish over "he" or "she" a pretty easy convention-I forget if it is he or she and it is effort to get up and go over to look. I'm thinking it is "he."

My students were very thoughtful about the story they've heard several times including THIS version.
When we began this three day project all students had a traced outline-that might have been unnecessary. But I chose to supply that. They drew in the scales in black crayon. The next day they began to color the scales with 25 color choices I provided including "construction paper crayons" from Crayola that are wonderful. Honestly they are going to need support if they are five to do this work, our pics are 18 x 11 so it took awhile on white tag I purchased. This is where I basically said-we are coloring 25 minutes for two days so go slow. Good Luck.

Then they washed over it with watercolor.

And rainbow fish emerged.

Every year I've taught we have created Mother's Day gifts. And worked on cards. In TK the gifts are ready, thanks to a successful morning. Cards are coming along at the "art center.""
The work today was really nice. Children are making little bags so Mom can tote a lunch, book, or carry her "stuff." We used acrylics so, of course, my concern was ruined clothes and a project beyond them.
I was wrong, it went beautifully.
I spilled the only real spill.

Let's tell you a funny little thing I heard today before displaying the work. One of my little ones, a charmer, stated as she smelled the paint (by the way children ALWAYS notice the smell of everything especially paint), "This smells like my really old grandma."

Sometimes I have to step back and laugh.








I added the puffy paint after they went home because as good as I maybe at this work I have yet to see puffy paint "go well" with young children.

So now it's my moment to talk about mommas.

If you want a general observation it would be that every child I have loves their Mother fiercely. With abiding love. No matter if Mom is present daily or someone they must go see. They are five and they are so dear. Which got me to thinking a little bit today about the children that are suffering from war in our world. Or that deal with the catastrophic loss of mother and must reconstruct her in the relationships they make along the way. I often hope I fill that role a tiny bit when I need to-which happens.
It's a real responsibility.

Today I was thinking of my mother. Her loss is very hard. Even though her passing was at 85, to me she is frozen as she was in my early childhood. A bright woman trying to raise her two children. I remember Mom actually from about the age of this class I have into my teens most clearly-when we were in the defining times of our relationship. So as the children made their art-it took me a second to process that I can no longer spend my Momma Days with the person that I loved. And then I thought a little bit about my three children.

Mother's Day is soon here-I hope it brings you joy. I hope it brings your mother joy.