“Come on in through the party portal!” announced Lower School Art Teacher Lauren McCarty. The first Class 3 girl in line danced through a set of glittery pink curtains that hung in the art room’s doorway before taking her seat at her table. The rest of her classmates (and teachers!) happily followed suit.
With colorful drapery, a disco ball sparkling and soft upbeat tunes playing, the Art Room was transformed and ready for a party! But this wasn’t just any party—it was an interdisciplinary celebration of our third graders’ hard work this trimester.
Earlier this winter, using low-fire clay, the Class 3 students created colorful cups and plates. The pieces were painted, fired in the kiln and finished with a shiny glaze. Today, they were ready for use!
The students also used the clay to construct a “special meal” plate depicting cuisine that is important to them, whether a favorite dish or a meal related to their heritage and culture. On each table sat vivid 3D models of plates filled with various foods such as black mushroom rice with fried plantains, peach turnovers with eggs, miso soup, pasta with sauce and parmesan cheese, and sushi, just to name a few.
“My dad is Indian so I made Saag Paneer with Indian noodles,” a third grader shared, pointing to each section of her plate. A friend at her table said that she chose her meal because it’s her “favorite food in the whole world!” Another girl selected her dish because “my family and I eat this together every Sunday.”
To integrate Spanish into their celebration, Maestra Rosado created laminated prompts for each table. While delighting in pizza and juice, the girls conversed with each other using comments and questions such as, ¿Qué hay en tu plato? (What’s on your plate?) or Me gusta tu arte porque… (I like your art because…)
This project also stretched to the LS Dance Studio, where Dance Teacher Susan Strong gave an assignment titled “Recipe of Me.” These dances, centered around individuality and choreographed independently by each student, included elements they have been studying (shape, space, form, etc.) and “ingredients” that reflect who they are.
Each student’s dance incorporated things that she enjoys, activities she takes part in and facets that make her unique. One girl’s choreography, for example, included hitting an imaginary tennis ball because tennis is her favorite sport. A compilation video of the dances was played during each Class 3 section’s party.
We can’t wait to see what else our third graders achieve and learn throughout their remaining days in Lower School!
