1000 Origami Cranes for Fundación Amigos Contra el Cancer Infantil

Seventh graders are currently studying all things Japanese, so in art class we are doing a unit on Origami. After doing some test runs with very easy designs, we got ambitious and decided to try to make 1000 Origami Cranes, like the story of Sadako.We will be making these cranes for charity, to help children with cancer through the Fundación Amigos Contra el Cancer Infantil. Our goal* is to have 1000 cranes done by April 19th, so we can exhibit them on the 20th and sell them each that day to raise money for the foundation. Only 2 seventh grades are working on this project so we need all the help we can get! If you want to give a hand, you may follow this tutorial and create as many as you can. Finished cranes may be left in the CBNH library with Rose.

Remember, the most important step for origami is PATIENCE!

* Another important thing we talked about in class was the difference between a dream and a goal; Goals have a date! Otherwise, they are very hard to accomplish.

Chinese Landscape Scrolls

 
7th graders´ Social Studies curriculum focuses on Asia and so does their art program. They have explored Hindu Mandalas, Chinese Dragons and Beijing Opera Masks and recently we had a chance to try out some landscape scroll paintings.

For homework they had to research the main characteristics of these paintings and frequent subjects (cherry and blossoms, waterfalls, bamboo, and chrysanthemums)  and later in class they tried watercoloring their own designs based on these characteristics.

They are all very beautiful, but these are some of the ones that looked the most "chinese" ;-)

Mandalas

7th grade students are learning about the Middle East in their Social Studies classes. They have learned about Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions and in my class we explored how their sacred art sometimes takes a Mandala form. They were each given a different Mandala design which they had to color any way they liked, trying to get lost in the meditation process. We played meditation music and it was the first time i´ve seen a group of 14 year olds sit in complete silence for a whole period. It was shocking and wonderful, they loved it and were so hooked i had to give them extra ones to color at home! Also, some of them designed their own mandalas applying principles of radial symmetry. Loveley results, we might use these to make t-shirts and/or earrings...