April 30, 2014 10:02 pm Putnam Indian Field School: Coloring & Creating to Help Others
The children of Putnam Indian Field School (age 2 – 5) created individual and group work to display for their parents. The children were inspired by the works of artists Yayoi Kasuma, Vassily Kandinsky and Claude Monet.
The Annual Art Show, held on the weekend of April 25 -26, allowed parents to see what their children had been preparing for weeks.
One Nursery class imitated a Kasuma project by decorating a white room, white furniture and white household objects with colorful dot stickers. They even found a way to “dot” the ceiling!
Another class created their own interpretations of Monet’s garden. Ceramic pendants in the style of Kandinsky caught the light as they sparkled on a glass background.
A Pre-K class recreated famous NYC buildings using cut out newsprint on black paper.
Other Pre K children made shoebox dioramas based on a storybook. Some classes had learned about a specific animal or bird and presented original stories, drawings, paintings and sculpture related to their study.
The event was well-attended both days, and the children delighted in explaining their projects to their parents.
But they were most excited that showing their work enabled them to support an organization they all love: Heifer International.
Parent donations at the door are used to help that Heifer send pregnant animals to people in small villages in underdeveloped countries. All the children understand that a gift of a goat, cow, beehive, pig, water buffalo or llama can help poor families raise their standard of living by providing nutritious food to consume and sell. The children of PIFS were thrilled to raise over $2,500.
Now the 5-year olds will take on the job of deciding what animals to buy and in what quantities. They will do the math, have the discussions, choose the animals, and then present the check to a representative of Heifer International in May. These young children are truly making a difference!
