Global Treehouse: January 2014

Taking art outside:

You can make fun colored ice balls using water balloons, food coloring and water. Simply fill up the balloon with water, carefully add food coloring and place outside in the snow to harden. Once water turns to ice, peel off the balloon and have fun! You may want to use gloves with this project as food coloring easily transfers onto hands.

What?! A cupcake made of snow?

We just finished lunch - you can't be hungry already!

A snowman's face with ice balls for eyes, the squirrel's corn for his nose and Hawthorn berries for his smile. Too fun!

This snowman took two minutes to roll up!

"Merry Fishmas"

Minute to Win It Christmas party game!

Shaking jingle bells from a box tied to his back brings lots of laughter and good cheer.

Rudolph Lunch

We spent an afternoon at Science Central. They have a great program for students.

This year students dissected a squid.

This is the squid's beak (mouth).

"Hello Mr. Squid. Nice to meet you!"

The use of a compass and drawing Ven sets during Math is actually fun!

While studying the tongue and tastebuds, we decided we should do a taste test to see how well/quickly students could determine sweet, sour, salty, umami, and bitter. Instead of doing the typical taste test, we decided to make it a little older and difficult by using blindfolds.

We explore different adventures in each county visited through our History program. Some are group activities and some are completed through individual research and reporting/presentations.

While the exact location of where henna originated from is unclear,

we took this opportunity to study it in India.

Here's our attempt at turbans and sari(s).

A report on INDIAN HOLIDAYS and their origin....

an explanation on KITE construction and their cultural importance ...

and a TRAVEL JOURNAL/SCRAPBOOK on the people and places of India...

Rangoli designs are symetrical patterns and are usually created on ground using flour or powder. The patterns are very complicated and are especially popular during Hindu festival months.

Sometimes, several women together will create one large design. When the symmetrical pattern is decorated in colors using colored sand or flowers, then it is called rangoli. Some rangoli designs are passed down through the generations from mother to daughter. Certain designs are created on special occasions such as weddings and Hindu festivals like Diwali, the Festival of Lights.

Rangoli are thought to bestow prosperity on homes. Every morning in southern India, millions of women draw rangoli on the ground with white rice powder. Through the day, the drawings get walked on, rained out, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day.

Every morning before sunrise, the floor is cleaned with water and the muddy floor is swept well for an even surface. The rangoli are generally drawn while the surface is still damp so that it adheres better...

Women used to primarily use rice flour to create these patterns or designs. Holding a handful of flour in her right hand, the woman will uniformly drop the flour to make a line through her thumb and pointer finger, and keeps on moving her hands to make the curve or the dots. Today, women prefer to use crushed stone powder or the many brilliantly colored synthetic powders available in the market.

Source:mypassporttoindia.com

How fun to transport ourselves and complete our own Rangoli. Creating these works of art is definitely a test in patience....the colored sand must be worked slowly and methodically or the lines blur.