Anyway, a few weeks ago, the kids had a presentation of some projects that they had been working on at school. Both classes had the opportunity to work with an art teacher who integrated some projects into the themes that the classes were focusing on.
Tim's class did an investigation about the local history of Bishop Thornton. They had school ledgers going back about a hundred years, and they interviewed a local family who has had attended the school for generations. All of this research helped them to develop a script called "A Journey Through Time." The play was about two students who travel through time (on a time-traveling tractor!)
and attended their school about 70 years in the past.The script itself was impressive, but what made this play spectacular was that the students made the scenery, props, and their own puppets for the characters! The puppets' heads were made of dyed wool, and the students even sewed the clothes and shoes themselves. Tim's puppet's name was Anthony Stobbs, and Tim's job was to hold his puppet (a different student was his voice). This video clip is Tim's big scene.
Here's a picture of some of the cast with their puppets.
After the play, we headed downstairs where the students had displayed some more of the art projects they had been working on. Maddie was showing off some Plastic Art that her class did.
They layered different plastic scraps, covered it with wax paper, and the teacher ironed it for them to make a melted piece of art. Maddie's class also felted their own wool, 
and made a 3-D map of the city of York (where they had taken a field trip). 
Tim's class had made drawings based on a train ride they took from the country into the city of Leeds. 
The drawings showed the differences in architecture as they progressed closer to the city. The parents were also able to learn about the process involved in making the puppets, 
and we were able to look through the school ledgers the children had used for their research.
To me, this is education at it's finest. The students did their thematic studies by integrating unique art experiences into it, and then presented it to the parents at the end of the unit. I loved it, and left the school feeling so assured that my kids are in the best school possible for them at this stage.
