Process

Many times a finished product does not reveal the layers of work that went into the project. Our buntings for the Auction, is one example.

First, we learned what a bunting was and what it was going to be used for. Then came the real work.

Picking a Theme
The next task was a brainstorming session to pick a theme. The children thought of things that we have done during the year that could be depicted on a bunting. Here are their ideas:
-The Aeneid
-Pi
-Poems
-Alice in Wonderland
-Cinderella
-Body parts
-Bugs
-Wizard of Oz
-The President's Song
-Paddle to the Sea
-Seasons

As you can see, there was a wide variety from the curriculum represented. I must admit I was a little skeptical on how some of the ideas would translate, but I tried to trust the process.

Voting: learning about the democratic process
I took down all the ideas and put them on a ballot. Each child got a turn to leave the room, fill out their ballot, and placed in the ballot box. To narrow down the choices, each child got to vote for their top three choices. 
I tallied up the scores and discovered a three way tie for one of the spots. So, it was back to voting. This time the vote was between: Alice, Bugs, and Paddle. Alice won.

The final contenders were: Alice, Cinderella, and the Wizard of Oz.  It was a close race but the Wizard won. There were cheers and a few disappointed moans, but no one seemed too disappointed.

Recall and decision making
Before continuing on the creation, we had another brainstorming session.  We listed as many characters from the first two books that we could think of.  I must admit, the children were much better at this than I, recalling many obscure characters, like the Kiladah (half tiger/half bear). Then each child gave me a first and second choice of a character they wanted to depict. There were several overlaps but when I pointed out a character that no one had chosen, someone quickly offered to change.

Sketching
After deciding on a character to draw, the children got a big piece of paper to sketch out their ideas. This was a new concept. I was trying to get them to consider different ways to represent their characters. Most children just made one drawing. This at least gave them the opportunity to consider the details they wanted to include. Some children really got the idea of making several versions of the character and deciding which they liked best.

Final product
The final step was using the ideas they had formed the day before and bringing their character to life on a white triangle. The drawings were colorful and inventive. If they wanted, they could add details by glueing ribbons, buttons, and beads to the figures.

Thank you, to Sara for getting us the materials for this project, Jill for coming in and assisting me while the children worked on the triangles, and the parents who will assemble the triangles into the bunting.

The bunting can be bid on during the Auction on April 25th.