CHESS!

In a recent brain-storming session with Mr. Chris Nunnery (big kid's after school teacher at the YMCA) we concluded that we could really use a fun and interesting go-to activity which can open as kids finish homework.

hmmmm... lets teach everyone to play chess!
We unearthed some pieces, but no boards.

I have been thinking for a long time about the importance of making useful things in art class. To be able to make something that you need to stay warm or can use for fun is an important life tool, which we seem to be loosing as a culture. How can we bring it back in relevant ways?

We decided that we would make our own chess boards.



Most kids worked in pairs, which led to a lot of good discussions about how the project should be done.


"We do it like she does the pink and I do the green so that we get the checkers right... if we mess up the game doesn't work as well. So we are paying attention to the paint, to the color."


Dual brush action!! One for the red one for the purple!


(serious moments)






(less serious moments!)



over all, a very good day on May Street!

drawing where we live

Over the past few years, we have had the chance to work with many international students from SCAD. Its an amazing experience, because these students bring not only the art that they're excited about, but pieces of their culture and native language...... awesome, and as Tom Waits wrote, an experience that gives us all better eyes.

Today Yoyo (Fashion) and Faisal (Architecture) did a little class on architectural drawing. We were all absolutely amazed at what we came up with!

it started with elevations... and talking about lines.




Now what about drawing things that are 3D? lines, shapes and angles...










"All of our houses are in the same neighborhood. Because they are under the same sky, see?"

if not now, then when?

if not today, then why make your promises?

**** We have had sort of a hard week at the Y. Over all, there is such good stuff going on; such good energy, hard work and fun things. This week however, we've seen a lot of difficult behavior from the kids. The kind of extreme behavior--- aggression and upset-- that only comes from a few children, but is so loud and clear that it rubs off and effects the whole group.

So what can we do? We are far enough into the school year that we've identified the few kids who are having the hardest time and are engaging in the most challenging, mean and sometimes dangerous behavior. So what do you do with this knowledge?
What do you do with those kids? How do you Understand and address that unhealthy behavior? You can't ignore it. You can't hope that it will go away on its own.... it is here to stay until there is some real, true and believable reason for it to go away.




I really don't know what to do, but that isn't a good enough excuse anymore to stand here doing nothing! SO, tomorrow will be the beginning of some one on one art sessions with members of our little group...... I've been thinking it over for a while, so let's calm down and start drawing----- mark making is very telling, the way that we handle materials is telling and therapeutic. learning to take care of something over time is healthy.

Project one is book making--- I will bring materials to create a special book for each child in this little group. We will work one on one in a quiet place. The book will include photos of them. that's the plan so far. working with children one at a time is so different that working with a group---- often so much more space for important things to happen. being a child in a group can be so over stimulating, step one is winding down through the process of making.

A later step will be finding ways to sustain this calm (if we happen to find it)

My friend Deborah shared this video with me a few weeks ago--- http://blog.onbeing.org/post/897441497/a-world-through-the-hands-by-trent-gilliss

please check it out. please do whatever you can, even if you don't know for sure that it is gaurenteed to fix things---- do what you can with good intention, whenever you can. It will pay off. I know it.

PATHWAYS TO CHANGE CAMPAIGN!

Pathways to Our Future is a commemorative campaign and celebrration to support future efforts of the West Broad Street YMCA. Supporters can make a contribution to honor a friend, celebrate family, recognize a business or show college spirit with a personalized engraved brick. The brick pathway will be installed to create a safe sitting area and to connect the West Broad Street YMCA childcare center and community garden.

I though it would be great for as many of us to pull together and make a donation to this campaign for a LOOP IT UP brick or set of bricks!!

Here are the rates:
$63 for a 4x8" Brick
$126 for a 8x8" Paver
$1500 for 4 Bricks or 2 Pavers and special recognition
$3000 for 8 Bricks or 4 Pavers and special recognition
$5000 for 12 Bricks or 8 Pavers plus special recognition and incusion on donor plaque.

**** lets see how much we can raise between now and next June! Please contribute whatever you can -- if all of my friend donate just $1 we are off to a fantastic start!!!!

You can mail your donation to:
Molly Lieberman/ Loop It Up Savannah
C/O The West Broad Street YMCA
1110 May Street
Savannah GA 31410

..... AND we now have really cool bumper stickers that you can get with a $10 donation!!!

*** Boys and Girls Club, day one & a very good day

sisters


brothers

"They come and wave at you and you get to go make stuff!"

Tuesday mornings are becoming a universal favorite at the West Broad Street YMCA... ART MORNING...




"they come and wave at you and you get to go make stuff"-- Kevin, age 3 (in the orange shirt!)

We spent last week drawing with the two year olds. I've been reading some articles about the amazing benefits of drawing(http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts/200907/helping-children-draw-out-their-traumas)and honestly there is no better way to instantly get every child involved! Caitlin and Loop It Up new comers Laura and Kirby set up a huge piece of paper on the floor and the results were wonderful. We did this little experiment where we didn't even really talk too much about what the kids were "supposed" to do. We let them come into the room and see the piles of crayons sitting on the paper.... THIS ensued within the next few minutes!




With the three year olds, we put out a big piece of clear contact paper and got out the "nature things" that we collected and sorted last week. The simple task of placing leaves, dried peppers and seeds on the sticky paper proved to be plenty entertaining and led to many interesting observations...




" These leaves are scratchy now that they dry. When they were flat they were soft. smooth."


"oh yeah.... scratch. You're right!"

When we had placed all of our specimins, we covered the whole thing up with another sheet of contact paper.


We'll be hanging it in the window!

Laura brought her baby Ellie to visit with us! She fit right in!



Having the baby there was exciting for the kids-- everyone wanted to touch her and snuggle her! I had a good talk with a few of the boys about how you touch a baby, we concluded that you have to be "so gentle and soft. If you rough, she fall down."

The fours spent the day sorting out our nature stuff onto big pizza pie graphs--
each type of specimen got its own spot.



We had a nice visit from Mr. Peter, who helped with the sorting!!! (YMCA directors are very good at sorting!)

a good first week

* * *
It began last tuesday, working with the 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
Caitlin and I arrived at the Y around 9:30 and set up a variety of collection containers--- trays, bins, boxes with several different compartments.

With the 2s and 3s we explored the playground for interesting "nature things"--- leaves, rocks, sticks, seeds, flowers, mulch...

SOme children were more interested in sorting, some in collecting...



"Red go here on the side. There are more yellows. Yellow here, no... here."



Leaves around us:


"Mine has yellow and red. special leaf, I know

With the 4 year olds, we ventured out into the garden.



Our garden at the Y is reletively new, and there is a fresh enthusiasm for figuring out what its all about!



"Peppers, baby-little watermelons, flowers. Hot peppers that you don't eat unless you want somethin too spicy for most people"



"Watermelons have to be in their own place so that they dont mush the flowers."




On Friday, worked with the elementary kids -- a lot of old timers and some new faces too! Each child got a big name tag



and a pile of beautiful stuff which we used to decorate their name :



London works with Ms. Nancy, finding all the right little things!

Quion worked quietly on his own and spent a lot of time picking the right materials and using the right amount of glue.



"sometimes I use the bottle and squeeze a line [of glue] out. Thats good for rounder things to stick. A lot, I just do the paint brush for these flat circles."





"I use as many kinds of things as I can find. Different shapes and textures make it interesting and good."