By Meridian Students (representing all grade levels!)
Young Designers’ Conference was a day filled with “maker” activities. It started off with an all-school presentation by a keynote speaker, and they we go to attend two different workshops, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Everything looked really interesting. There were science classes, technology classes, art classes and more! We didn’t all get to attend our top choices, but we ended up really liking the workshops anyway.
The conference was fun, but also hard work. Some workshops were challenging because we didn’t have teams or groups, but working independently was fun too! We learned a lot more than we thought we were going to. The keynote speaker (Rick Hartman, “Gears of Invention”) was amazing, and his presentation was interesting and insightful!
We loved becoming designers for a day because we like to be creative thinkers and use our imagination. We think it is important to try things that you’ve never tried before. You are allowed to fail when you are designing, which is a good thing! It’s good to fail because it lets you see how difficult some things can be, and helps you discover and learn new approaches. Young Designers’ Conference is also a great way to explore jobs that parents and adults might have to see if we would enjoy that as a career.
It was a really hands on experience, so we got to dig deep into different activities and topics. We loved the whole conference and are excited to learn what the workshops will be next year!
First graders have been working on chameleons this week. Their project incorporates an important 1st Grade visual art standard, as they are using primary colors to create secondary colors. They first read the book A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni, and drew chameleons together. Next, students painted 3 sections of their chameleons with their 3 primary colors. The following class they used their own plate for mixing primary colors to create different shades of green, purple and orange. Simultaneously, 1st graders have been learning primary and secondary colors in Spanish class.
watercolor hearts based on the artist Jim Dine, and third graders are constructing islands using plastercraft! This interdisciplinary project is being led by our Art Specialist & Science Program
When we get to the Art room we sit on the rug, and the first thing we do is read a book about the activity we are doing that day. This week we made chameleons and dinosaurs using all different colors! In Art we get to use pencils, pens, sharpies, water paints, oil pastels, and more. We are looking forward to making planets out of paper mache.
