Project Based Learning Electives provided by the Berrien Springs Virtual Academy
​FLC - Fun Learning Company                   Fall 2019

Instructor: Dawn Frasieur
Email: dawnandmike007@yahoo.com
Home phone:  #269-262-0697                                 
Niles Location: 2601 N 5th St., Niles, MI 49120
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Art and Culture Around the World

Additional registration at location is required.

​Tuesdays,  10- 11:30 AM - Grades 1-8  

September 10th to January 14th

Description: This is an introductory course for children, designed to expose them to cultural art. This course will focus on a variety of artistic expression in cultures and even land forms in our varied world, through fun, region-oriented, hands-on activities. We begin in the fall with our neighbor Mexico, playing with a bit of Spanish (through song) & Mexican folk dance, dabbling in related art activities (introductory weaving, Mexican paper flowers,...), and - as with all areas we explore - children living in these cultures (discussing how life is different in the U.S. - and the same). Moving around the world in the fall, we learn some Japanese origami and learn to write 1-10 in Japanese script (itself an art form). We do Australian dot art, make puppets of some indigenous animals, design traditional rain sticks, and sing some of the same songs Aussie kids sing. Our "visit" to Africa emphasizes the different cultures in that large continent, and our projects range from Abayoma dolls to Masai neck rings; we also play a game or two enjoyed by children in different African countries. A section on animal habitats also provides lots of opportunity for creativity. In the spring, we turn to the varied cultures of Europe - Russia (Khokhloma painting and traditional architecture), Portugal and the U.K. As time permits, we return for a bit to Asia and the Americas. Please call the instructor if you have questions about our class.
 
 
Weekly breakdown:

1. Mexico: Varied activities, including map work, the introduction of a Spanish song (numbers and colors) and weaving (a craft shared by many cultures) of placemats.
2. Mexico: Varied activities, including the addition of the Mexican flag to our scrapbook binder.
3. Mexico: Varied activities, including crafting of Mexican paper flowers.
4. Japan: Varied activities, including map work and watercolor painting of Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms.
5. Japan: Varied activities, including origami ships for the Sea of Japan. and Japanese food tasting.
6. Japan: Varied activities, including Japanese flag and decorations for "Children's Day," a Japanese holiday.
7. Habitats: Varied activities centered around our scrapbook/binders, including "Desert" habitat page with sand painted background, cacti and rattlesnakes formed from clay, and other additions to habitat.
8. Habitats: Varied activities, including the design of tropical forest pages complete with animal stickers.
9. Australia: Varied activities, including koala and platypus paper bag puppets and the "Kookaburra" song.
10.  Australia: Varied activities, including "Over in Australia" song and crafting rain sticks and binder additions (Australia map, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean).
11.  Australia: Varied activities, including kangaroo cups, wombat and koala masks.
12.  Africa: Varied activities, including paper Masai necklaces and beginning the Africa section of our scrapbook binders: animals in various African habitats.
13.  Africa: Varied activities, including crafting Abayomi dolls.
14.  Africa: Varied activities, including group work on large, 3-D map.
15.  Regions of the U.S.: Varied activities, including intro to traditional American crafts and map work. (What states have you visited?)
16.  Regions of the U.S.: Varied activities, including American habitat activities.
17.  Regions of the U.S.: Varied activities, including regional puzzle activities.

*Please note: it is important to make as informed a decision as possible when choosing your student's Community Resource classes. Most locations will allow a student to drop a class after one meeting, at no charge if it wasn't a good fit for the student, but not all. Some classes plan ahead based on the number that have signed up and have purchased materials, hired teachers, etc. and there might be a fee for class time or materials given to the student if the student drops after one or two meetings. The school cannot pay for classes that students do not complete, so choose wisely; if you do not take the class off of your student's schedule by the deadline, you may be asked to pay for the class time incurred prior to dropping the class.
 
Syllabus

​Teacher of Record:  Lisa Van Plew-Cid