Friendship. Love. Marriage. Family. Gossip. These were just some of the themes we discussed during our week-long exploration of Much Ado About Nothing. As we worked our way through the play, we used our favourite scenes as inspiration for a set of painted glass coasters.

There’s lots that we’ll remember about the week, particularly the camaraderie that existed between the girls. Many began showing up at the Lyceum early to eat their lunch with those who were continuing from the morning camp.

The wide range of opinions in this camp was also fascinating. During one memorable conversation, Christianne asked the girls if they thought their parents should approve of the person they would marry. We were intrigued by how cautious they were in their answers. Most said their parents shouldn’t be involved, but then became a bit unsure. Katianne said she would ask her parents opinion because “They know about boyfriends and stuff.” Johanna said, “My parents say I can marry whoever I like as long as he’s a nice guy.”

During the week we also read Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale and The Whisperer by Nick Butterworth. The group quickly made connections between these works and Much Ado. They were particularly interested in the way Shakespeare used a staged death in both plays as a way to expose evil.

We’ve attached some photographs of the stunning coaster sets that the students worked on throughout the camp. The high level of artistic expression is remarkable. It was wonderful to watch Ceili surprise herself by her own abilities, quickly moving from stick figures to full-bodied characters. The entire group marveled at the way Mirella spread her paint so smoothly — it took a lot of convincing on her part before the group believed she hadn’t done glass painting before!

On the final day, each girl chose a line or two from the text to accompany her coasters and mounted these quotations on a wooden backing.

The grand finale of the camp was a trip to watch the play performed at Bard on the Beach. Seeing the characters we had come to know so well, and the lines we had fallen in love with brought to life was a fitting end to a wonderful week. Ceili said, “If you get confused about who is who, just listen for your favourite lines and then you’ll know who’s speaking!”

What a week. In the company of twelve brave writers aged 5 to 9, we embarked on a publishing experiment. “Is it possible to create five published pieces in five days?” we asked ourselves. The answer is a resounding “Yes!”

We began the week by decorating wooden boxes with images that we felt represented our writerly selves. Bright colours, pink people and butterflies abounded. Over the course of the week we filled our boxes with incredible words. Delicate. Delicious. Viking. Rolls Royce. Each day we added to our stash.

During the first and second day we created summer word necklaces out of shrink art. Amid popsicles and swimming, the word dehydrated appeared more than once.

On the third day we began painted paper lanterns filled with wishes. From a wish for less pollution to a wish for a billion more legs, the writing was by turns inspiring and hilarious.

On the fourth day we finished our lanterns and began creating tote bags sporting messages to make people smile, or make the world a better place.

On the final day we finished up our tote bags, and used all the words we’d collected over the week to write a celebration of summer.

Five projects! Five days! Amazing!

Here’s their incredible poem.

Summer

Summer looks like apprehensive. It looks like flowers. It looks like an original watercolour of hot weather. It looks like love, lemon and lace.

Summer sounds like birds chirping over the ocean. It sounds like swimming. It sounds like exhaust coming out of the tail of a car.

Summer smells like termites. It smells like the ocean. It smells like the world. Like a rose. It smells like gravel on a dirt road leading to a manicure. Summer smells like politics.

Summer tastes like fresh fruit. It tastes like scrumptious culinary arts. It tastes like delicious. Summer tastes like popsicles. Like lemon sorbet. Like elephants.

Summer feels like hot. It feels like spiders crawling all over your body. Summer feels like a fat ant. Summer feels like water. Summer feels like twitching long hair. Summer feels like lemonade in the sun.

If it were always summer, I would sing while I was dancing. I would shower in sunscreen. I would do all my activities outside. I would go to the beach. I would ride in the cash cab. I would go canoeing. I would discover buried power.

In the year 3000, summer will be different. Summer will be crisp. It won’t be. The world will have exploded. The world will be graphite.

Summer is called Cool Monkey when it is in Canada. Summer is called Swimming, is called Perfection. Summer is called Flowers. Summer is called Animals when it is sunny. Summer is called Beautiful all the time.

Summer drives a Rolls Royce Phantom to the supermarket on Mercury. Summer dresses in the hottest sun when it goes on a hike. It puts flowers on its dress when it goes to the bank.

I didn’t know that summer is a girl. Winter is a boy.

Summer wants clean air. It wants rain over Vancouver. Summer wants a playground. It wants more trees. It wants a lower temperature. Summer wants to be unending.

The astounding Masterpiece is finished!  Fifteen children from three different Lyceum kindergarten classes collaborated on the twelve-foot long mural of Olympic Season British Columbia during the Spring 2010 term, and it now hangs on the Lyceum wall for all posterity.

Materials and Preparation

How was it made?  Our kindergarden artists created their own collage paper, using bright acrylic paint and paint-texturing tools.  (Fig. 1).  They donned smocks and rose to the Herculean task of painting the entire background of their mural (Fig. 2) and left a few haphazard blue footprints on the Lyceum floor . They drew and cut out unique details for the mural from their collage paper, and used double-sided tape to connect their details to their hand-painted background.  Finally, the children painted the finished collage with Mod Podge to seal and strengthen the surface.

Collaborative Methods

The first collaborative challenge was to find ways for the three classes to communicate and work together, despite their physical separation.  At the beginning of the spring term, all three kindergarten classes held independent mural planning discussions, and then drew a large, detailed, draft to represent their ideas (Fig. 3).  Each class also wrote letters to each other (Fig. 4) with the help of a teacher/scribe, explaining their ideas, and asking for feedback.  Letters and notes were written back and forth between classes throughout the early phase of the project.

Hot topics the children worked out through letter-writing included the question of background colour, for which votes were taken (green vs. blue).  The community arrived at a happy compromise (a blue/green ratio of 4 to 5, based on voting numbers).  With great respect and enthusiasm, the children also negotiated and brainstormed together over details like cars, houses, and (Fig. 7-8) hot-air balloons (the final brilliant brainstorm yielded one “dark rainbow colour” balloon for boys and one “regular rainbow color” balloon for girls).

The children always engaged with the mural first thing, upon arrival — how could they resist?  Each week, new details had appeared in their absence!  Very exciting.

A Rescue Operation (Fig. 9)

When Rachel, Lucas, and Dylan (afternoon class) first saw Charlotte’s (morning class) swimmer out alone in the middle of the ocean, they decided to launch an urgent rescue operation.  Their solution of a Red Cross rescue helicopter (piloted by Monkey) lets down a long rope so that the stranded swimmer can always climb up to safety.

The Red Roofs of Whistler (Fig. 10)

Tobin, observing that “all the roofs in Whistler are red,”  made many of our mountain rooftops red too.  Katie pointed out that one of the roofs was actually yellow.  Laura explained, “That’s because it’s the Mayor’s house.”

Can someone explain to James what The Masterpiece is?

A Masterpiece!  A mural.  –Charlotte

We painted it all.  –Hogan

Have you done all of the work on that piece by yourselves?

No! –Group

Who else worked on it?)

The Afternoon class.  –Charlotte

And the Afterschool class.  –Sylvie and Will

On June 17th, the classes finally signed their names to many copies of the extra-large photograph of the Masterpiece, so each family could receive a copy signed by all of the fabulous contributing artists.

The kids often (and still, for those who are coming here for summer camps) admire their own work, standing in front of it and talking amongst themselves about their favourite parts.

But the rocks, the rocks!  –Katie (exclaiming in admiration)

That Masterpiece, I want to go into that Masterpiece. –Eric

Because it looks so good! –Harry

That whole masterpiece picture is my home. –Eric

One piece is yours and one is mine. –Harry

The final detail was a blue turtle, added by Lucas on June 17th (Fig. 12).

Post-Masterpiece Update

Tobin’s family has sent their Masterpiece photograph to a card company to be made into cards.  Another family shared that they have had their photograph copied, laminated, and made into placemats.  Several other families have told us that they have had their photographs framed.

Rachel (who brought her mom in for a special viewing of the Masterpiece) explained to us that the little paper children made by a previous kindergarten year, who still hang on the wall above the Masterpiece, now have new homes “in our world below” inside the Masterpiece.

The Masterpiece and all of its fabulous inhabitants now live on the central Lyceum wall, and all are invited to come visit.

Our Masterpiece Artists

The Morning Class: Charlotte, Hogan, James, Katie, Laura, Sylvie, Tobin, Will

The Noon Class: Dylan, Lucas, Rachel, Uma

The Afterschool Class: Eric, Harry, Sabrina

It was a week of minstrels, dragons and magical happenings at the Lyceum as five young artists joined us for our Contemporary Fairy Tales Inspire Great Art summer camp. Using some truly beautiful contemporary fairy tales as their inspiration they made dragon collages on canvas, sculpey clay landscapes and painted fans.

We were impressed by the students‘ thoughtful responses to the stories told. One particularly memorable conversation found them discussing whether it would be better to face a demon or be condemned to death. Milo said, “There’s nothing worse than being dead.” Everyone else agreed.

We felt blessed this week with the freedom (and staff!) to be able to adapt our program to meet the needs of the students involved. This meant that there was extra time for Peppy to complete a very detailed work of art and revisit the much-loved story Dove Isabeau at Leo’s request.

Each day we also checked the Lyceum’s butterfly tent. As the week progressed we watched butterflies hatch from cocoons and spread their wings. On the last day, we set them free in the Lyceum’s garden – a magical ending to a magical week.

We’re going to be upfront with you. Although we promised to look into the work of five author-illustrators during this camp, the energy the students put into their art projects meant that we only had time for four. But they were an amazing four! Over the course of the week we looked at the work of Oliver Jeffers, Phoebe Gilman, Mo Willems and Audrey and Don Woods. Each day we worked on an art project inspired by the author-illustrator we studied. From canvas board collages inspired by Oliver Jeffers stick characters to shrink art necklaces featuring Mo Willems’ famous pigeon, the whimsical artwork created in this camp knocked our socks off.

This was a very kind group. We ere struck by their empathy for the characters in the stories. When we asked whether the witch in Heckedy Peg should die, Sofia said, “No. She won’t do it again.”

We spent time each day talking about the defining characteristics of each author’s work. We loved how, by the end of the week, we could say, “Oliver Jeffers” and the students would instantly say, “The one who does stick legs”. On the last day of class we presented books to the students in random order, asking them which author-illustrator created them. They guessed every one correctly, giving the author’s first and last names!

Perhaps the lasting contribution of the authors we studied this week was most accurately summed up by Gabriel who said, “I’m going to tell my stuffies who talk to me when it’s night time that Phoebe Gilman is dead, but we still have her books.”

Last week we had the pleasure of spending our afternoons with some intrepid bug catchers.  A large group of curious and enthusiastic 3 to 5 year olds joined us for our Insects in the City camp, exploring insects through literature and art, as well as catching their own bugs and examining them under in their very own bug catchers.

I loved this camp!  The students were so inquisitive and got really into looking at bugs. During our excursions into the neighbourhood we listened to them talk like scientists, discussing how they could identify the gender of an insect by their load of visible eggs. It was amazing to watch them learn the names of all the insects — they went from saying, “Hey!  Look at that wiggly one” to “Hey! Look at that spittlebug.”  Incredible.

The students also created some fantastic works of art.  Each had an aquarelle painted background, tissue paper leaves and bugs made out of polymer clay.  I was impressed how the students took pains to be accurate.  Each spider had 8 legs, each insect had 6 legs. I was also impressed by how steadfastly all the artists stood by their vision of their pieces. Despite the fact that we told Noah that a crab was not an insect, his finished product was a gold crablike masterpiece.  It was beautiful.

Our art explorations were interspersed with some of Christianne’s favourite stories about insects.  Here’s the complete list:

Hey Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose

Tadpole’s Promise by Jeanne Willis

I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe

Crickwing by Janell Cannon

Honey Bee and the Robber by Eric Carle

Bug Butts by Don Cusick

Bug Zoo by Nick Baker

Field Guide to Insects by Paul Beck

Buzz by Dorling Kindersley

Old Cricket by Lisa Wheeler

Bubblegum, Books and Bugs by Monica Kulling

On the final day of camp, the students collaborated on a poem.  Each supplied some information that they’d learned during the camp, some anecdotes from their own lives, as well as some more whimsical musings.  The final product knocked my sox off.  Here it is:

I Know All About Bugs

Flies sting you twelve times,

but this is a poem about a ladybug.

Orange lady bugs, they have orange on them

and black spots and they bite.

You have to be careful when you pick them up.

That’s the kind of ladybug I saw on my back deck.

This is their attack thingy.

When you get a ladybug is sprays out yellow.

It’s horrible.

If you eat it,

it would taste like yuck,

like crunchy

and sour.

It would taste like wood.

You’d need to cook them first.

A ladybug was in my backpack and my mom saw it.

When my mom was a ladybug she found a big castle.

My dad is not a ladybug, he stays in my house with me.

But my mom is not a ladybug yet, she’s still a mommy.

And my dad is not a ladybug, he’s still a daddy.

If a ladybug were the size of a car it would squish you,

but if you ran away, it wouldn’t catch you.

If you ran into your house

and locked the door just in time

and your family did it too,

you would be safe if you didn’t open anything.

A ladybug flies.

It goes all the way to a flower

It goes all the way to a compost.

It goes all the way to the top of my house.

Then it goes all the way to the top of Mount Everest.

It sees everything. It sees me.

It sees trees. It sees flies.

It sees cars. It sees a skyscraper.

Then it the sees the whole town.

I don’t have lady bugs on the top of my house.

I go to the park. I see a ladybug.

Perhaps our own feelings of awe about the insect world were most accurately summed up by Lucas who, after a long discussion about insect stingers and secretions said, “Our bums are so boring!”

Can you think of a better way to start your summer than spend a week exploring the world of blossoms and butterflies with a group of thoughtful and artistic 3 to 5 year olds? No? I didn’t think so. Our Blossoms, Bubbles and Butterflies camp wrapped up on Friday as we watched some beautiful works of art walk out our door, in the hands of some very proud artists.

In addition to the art pieces, we engaged in some pretty wonderful (and hilarious) conversations.  Here’s a sampling…

Christianne had just finished telling a story about how she was sprayed by a skunk when she was young.  The children found this pretty fascinating, and had a number of questions and comments for Christianne.

Sophia: But you don’t still stink, right? Wait…do you smell, Christianne?

The students start sniffing in Christianne’s direction

Juliet: No, it’s all dried up now.

Good point!

Over the course of the week, each student worked on a multimedia art project that came together on the final day of the camp. On the first day we went on a walk through our neighbourhood, sketching flowers along the way. We blew bubbles in the park and had a picnic snack. On the second day, the campers painted the background of their canvas and on the third, they cut out blossoms based on their sketches from painted paper. On the fourth day they made butterflies out of polymer clay and on the final day they put the whole piece together and added bubble prints to the finished product.

Throughout the process, Christianne shared some of her favourite stories about blossoms and butterflies.  As we were reading a book about a fly who couldn’t fly, Tully piped up, “Maybe her mom or dad could hold her up!”  If you weren’t at the camp, but you’d like to read some of the books, or if you were at the camp and you’d like to revisit some of your favourites, here’s the complete list of everything we read.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (with props)

Snail’s Birthday Wish by Riona Rempt

Tadpole’s Promise by Jeanne Willis

The Wonderful Life of a Fly Who Couldn’t Fly by Bo Lozoff

Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson

Don’t Worry Bear by Greg Foley

The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone by Timothy Basil Ering

I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe

Varmints by Helen Ward

The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen

Rose’s Garden by Peter H. Reynolds

On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole

Find the books at the public library, or at your local independent bookstore.