Swirling toward Charybdis

This is the third lesson I've been able to teach the year twos. My very first unit of inquiry, for better or for worse, was fully integrated, so I got to start teaching them two weeks before the Eid vacation (unlike year one, who I mentioned just started yesterday). Actually, I guess it was pretty much "for better," because it didn't let me procrastinate getting down to business before the vacation, it forced me to really jump into the PYP and get to know what I was doing, guided by my marvelous department head. But last night I started wondering if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. The year twos are studying their senses right now, and we are working towards making a wind chime, which will engage the sense of sight (through the colors they paint it when it is finished), touch (through the textures that they press into their clay pieces), and sound (for obvious reasons). Today we had an "art experiment," as I like to call these lessons where they don't make a finished product. We used plasticine and tried out different ways of creating texture, while at the same time learning some of the rules for using clay and getting a little more used to my style of management. It went fairly smoothly; I've managed to become fairly product-oriented, and although part of me still wants the kids to have something to take home at the end of the day, I'm sure it's good for all of us.

The reason why I feel like I'm being sucked into a whirlpool, why I might have bit off more than I could chew, is the fact that I haven't tested the kiln yet, I haven't got the wood pieces cut down to the right size, and I'm still figuring out how to put the thing together. This is the first time I've ever run my own clay project, and I'm nervous. I feel like it IS, in fact, coming together, but I really want them to turn out nice, and to have the kids be proud of what they've accomplished, with this being the first year their age has been allowed to have art at school. I guess we'll see next week.

I caved and decided to have the year ones trace the top and bottom of a cup to make the circles they need. I keep forgetting they are really just kindergarteners - the tag "Year One" just keeps psyching me out, especially since they look a heck of a lot bigger than my Korean kindergarteners, and I hadn't had them in class til yesterday. Lesson learned.