2012

Artistic Reuse Program

Amanda Del Sontro & Amelia Reynolds Academic Plus 5/4/2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 3 What is Academic Plus? ......................................................................................................... 4 The Program ...................................................................................................................... 4 As Volunteers ...................................................................................................................... 5 Our Project, step-by step ....................................................................................................... 6 Step One| Brainstorming .................................................................................................. 6 Step Two| Adjustments & Planning ................................................................................ 6 Step Three| Execution ....................................................................................................... 8 Results & Photos .................................................................................................................... 8 Reflection ............................................................................................................................... 10 Quick Tips! ............................................................................................................................ 11 Appendix ............................................................................................................................... 12 A. Completed Lesson Plan ............................................................................................ 12 B. Original Lesson Plan Ideas ....................................................................................... 14 C. Moose Reference Pictures ........................................................................................ 16 D. Moose Coloring Page Alternative ............................................................................ 17

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INTRODUCTION
If you are reading this, it is likely that you are considering volunteering or referring service learners to Beverly J. Martins afterschool program, Academic Plus. So, to you, our fellow volunteer, we say hello. We, Amanda Del Sontro and Mimi Reynolds, came to Academic Plus as part of our Breakthroughs in Social Justice Sustainability classa 200-level Environmental Studies course offered by Ithaca College. This course explores the links now being forged between justice-oriented and eco-sustainability-oriented movements and the pivotal role these alliances can play in reversing gross inequalities, and regenerating our ailing ecosystem. We travelled to Academic Plus almost every Wednesday in the semester. Our first half of our time here was spent getting to know the children we were working with; the second half was spent planning, and then executing, our final project. This manual was written for volunteers who not only want to work directly with kids as a mentor/educator on the after-school team, but also want to create an organization building or curriculum enrichment project as part of a course requirement. The following step-by-step guide takes you through the process of planning, creating and executing such a project, by explaining how we did our own. Our own project was known as Bruce the Reuse Moose!: a sustainable sculpture program with a lesson plan (Appendix A) that boasts the importance of reuse over recycling. Here we will provide our experiences, goals, and motivations, as well as some alternative ideas for you as a volunteer. The goal of this manual is to give you an idea of what a final project could look like, and also help you along the way if you decide to create something similar. Our ideas and execution was not perfect, and we encourage you to take this project and tweak it to your will. Most of all, we hope that whatever you decide to do with your project, you will make it fun for all those involved. Good luck, and enjoy! Sincerely, Amanda & Mimi

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WHAT IS ACADEMIC PLUS?

THE PROGRAM ____________________________________________________________________ Academic Plus (A+) is an extended day program with academic connection run for the students of Beverly J. Martin Elementary in Ithaca, New York. The elementary school services grades kindergarten through 5th grade. The program both re-enforces in-school lessons and allows for experiential learning through choices hour long, unique programs that sort The mission of the BJM students by interest, rather than grade. Enrichment Program The kids are encouraged to learn (Academic Plus) is to support about and interact with the childrens learning by community while learning life skills offering homework support, or getting help with their homework. strong literacy activities and meaningful, diverse The choices vary from week enrichment opportunities in to week, and can include: Yoga, chess, a caring, fun, hands-on group reading, sharing circle (show and tell for all ages!), Lego robot building, atmosphere. gardening, vegan/vegetarian cooking (cooking is often culturally inspired and uses ingredients often come from the schools garden), computer class, science fair, sports/gym activities, music instruction, the arts, recess on their incredible playground, and homework help. Most of these programs are taught with or by volunteers, and in some cases, these choices engage the children with the community via fieldtrips. A typical day for Academic Plus starts at 2 pm on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, when students are dismissed to the library. They meet up with their group leaders, which are determined by their grade, and after all students are accounted for (around 2:15 pm), the group leaders take the children outside to the playground for some recess time. By 2:30, all groups are back inside and then separated for a healthy snack time with their peers. After, or sometimes during, snack,

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the groups will have a sort of circle time where they may have a discussion, draw, or read a book together. The bell rings at 3 oclock and students are off to their first choice. Homework help is always a choice, and certain students are sorted into this as their first choice consistently. Second choice starts at 4 pm when the bell rings again, and ends (officially) at 5, when parents begin to arrive to pick students up. AS VOLUNTEERS_________________________________________________________________________ As Academic Plus volunteers, our day began at about 1 pm. We arrived at the program and went to a colorful room with tiny chairs on the first floor, signed in as volunteers, and met with Marie Vitucci, a coordinator of Academic Pluss programs, and our project leader. This first hour before the children were relea sed was spent discussing the days activities with Marie (or with one of the many group leader), socializing with Academic Plus staff, or planning or organizing materials for our eventual lesson on sustainability. At 1:55 pm, we would follow the group leaders up the library to meet the students, and keep them entertained while we waited for the rest of their peers to arrive. Both of us were assigned to different grade-groups: Mimi was assigned to the third grade, and Amanda was assigned to the fourth. When it was time, we all went out on the playground, where we would mostly observe, or, on some days, step out to set up things pertaining to our project. Note that as a volunteer at Academic Plus, it is not your responsibility to discipline the children in any way. If any issues arise, be sure to report it to their group leader, Marie, or any other member of the permanent Academic Plus staff. At snack time, we broke off into our designated groups again and helped pass out the foodstuffs. We would socialize with the children and the group leaders, and participate to an extent during circle time. Generally, at this point of the program, try to make yourself at home with the group you are helping. When the bell rung, we returned to the library in order to help students with their homework. This time served as a fantastic opportunity to get to know the children, including their interests and general knowledge. When doing so, we were surprised to find that many of these kids knew more about their homework than we did!

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OUR PROJECT, STEP-BY STEP

Our project planning probably began three or four weeks into our time at Academic Plus. We presented our lesson plan to the kids on the 28 th of March, 2012, and it was an option for first and second choice on Wednesday, April 4 th, 2012. STEP ONE| BRAINSTORMING______________________________________________ Since the goal of this project in the context of our class was to give back something to the Academic Plus program, our the first part of our brainstorming process was to gage the childrens interests and the programs needs. By working in the school and with the kids, we realized that many were artistically inclined, creative, active and, in Mimis words, goofy and fun. The atmosphere of the school seemed to perpetuate this personality. We quickly decided that no matter what our project was going to be, we wanted it to represent the schools spirit. When we asked Marie what she wanted out of our time there, she requested a three-week choice activity focused around sustainability. Each week would be a different environmental lesson plan geared toward a different age group (kindergarten to first grade; second and third grade; and fourth and fifth grade). At first attempting to fulfill this idea, we drafted up several different lesson plans to serve the purpose Marie requested (See Appendix B). Our first few ideas included a monster-making recycling craft we dubbed Recyclops. To come up with these, we consulted the Academic Plus staff, books Marie provided on green activities for kids, our own imagination and the internet. Unfortunately, this first set of ideas was off the mark, according to our professor and Marie. They were all either too complex or not expressing the ideal of sustainability accurately. To resolve this, we first met with our professor, who made some editing suggestions and discussed the logistics of these lessons. Then, we went to Marie, who was quite inspired by our Recyclops idea. That was where Bruce began. STEP TWO| ADJUSTMENTS & PLANNING___________________________________________________ Both our professor and Marie liked the Recyclops idea, but environmentally speaking, reuse is more effective than recycling, so we decided to adjust it according to feedback. The name of the Recyclops program definitely expressed the personality of the school with its humor, so we decided to take the pun idea and roll with it.
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When we realized reuse rhymed with moose, we decided to shape the lesson plan around it. Although our lessons were going to be a three-week program, Marie ultimately liked the idea of Bruce the Reuse Moose so much that he became our only lesson. This was the first of several adjustments we made throughout the planning stages. Originally, our plan was to have the kids, in a large, single group, construct the Moose from the ground up. We quickly realized, though, that this would be chaotic and ineffective. We doubted that the moose could be built under such circumstances; that our point of reuse Construction of the base. An abandoned book over recycling would self and some left over cardboard was used to actually be heard; and create a base for Bruce to be built off of. that the moose would be stable. For the stability issue, we decided to construct a base that the kids would build and attach a torso, legs, head/neck and tail. Also, instead of using glue as the adhesive of choice, we thought tape would hold much better, and would reusable capabilities. To solve our chaos problem, we did a few things. First, we divided the work. The younger kids (kindergarten through Presenting. By being second grade), we assumed, would do better working on the animated, we piqued their interest in the torso, tail and legs, since the issue of stability was now project. nonexistent. Since the head and antlers would be much more structurally complex, we thought we should leave that work to an older group (third through fifth). Also, we made the decision to limit the groups to fifteen students each, as suggested by Marie. Then, we decided to schedule a prep day with the kids. One week befo re the actual construction took place, we met with the students in the program in these separate groups during their normal choice times. Both presentations did the same
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thing: explained the project and its purpose. However, we customized the presentation to the age group we were working with. We also explained to each age group their separate jobs, and got them acquainted with the anatomy of a moose (Appendix C). These presentations severed three purposes: it prepared the kids for what they were doing the following week, thereby reducing the chaos of it; encouraged them to bring in more building materials for the project; and also got them interested in/excited about the project. Our final adjustments came on the day of construction. Worried about running out of supplies more appropriate for head construction, we divided out the building materials so that the younger group only had large boxes and more decorative refuse to work with. This ensured that certain supplies were saved for things like the antlers. We also decided to put Bruce on wheels (we taped the base on boogie boards provided by the gym teacher), which made him easier to move during construction. STEP THREE| EXECUTION_________________________________________________________________ The construction began during first choice with the younger group. After quickly reminding the students what part of the body they were supposed to work on and what a moose looked like, we stood back and let them have fun with the materials we provided. Occasionally we would come in and help them tape, but one goal of our project was to make it all theres. After the second group, the older students, finished the head, we let them go in and re-tape anything that the younger kids had not secured properly.

RESULTS & PHOTOS

We were surprised to see how enthused the kids were about the project. Once we gave them the materials, they started taping things eagerly to Bruces torso. The resulting body didnt look extremely moose-like, but they were proud of what they did, and they definitely had fun, and that was what was important. After the construction, we had the kids draw moose pictures, and told them about other, smaller
Mid-Construction. With the second group.

reuse projects they could do at home.

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Similarly, the second group was also very excited about Bruce. They had amazing ideas when it came to Bruces head and antlers. When they finished, the sculpture did resemble a moose, and not just a pile of trash, so we considered that successful. When the students (those involved and otherwise) saw Bruce, we was met with a chorus of ohhhs and ahhs. Marie tells us that the kids really still talk proudly about their project. Bruce stood in Beverly J. Martins Completed Head. cafeteria, where he was constructed, for almost a month before he fell apart completely. The materials used to construct him will be salvaged as much as possible to be used in other art projects. He no longer stands, but we doubt the students involved will ever forget this project.
Completed Torso.

Bruce! Second group posing with the finished Bruce Project.

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REFLECTION
Despite all the fun we had, and the positive effects we believe this project influenced, if we were to go back and do this again, we would have changed some things. We learned that we underestimated the children involved, which is why they finished so much earlier than we expected they would. Also, their interests surprised us: apparently, the older kids wanted to do the body, and the younger wanted to do the head! Instead of constructing the base ourselves, we would probably let the older children construct it; they were very good with stabilizing the head, so they probably could have handled the job. The younger kids could have been effectively focused on the head, since there seemed to be more work to do there anyway, and it didnt have to be as stable. Also, we could have easily reinforced the head, while re-taping the body was a daunting task. It may have been helpful if we were more present during the construction. If we had helped more, Bruce could have been, arguably, more stable and more moose-like. Also, our prep day presentations could have stood to be a bit longer, just to give them a better idea of what a moose looked like and how this idea was good for the environment. However, we are very proud of how we physically represented reuseit definitely got the point across. We really should have constructed Bruce in the area that he was supposed to stay. To think we could move him after construction, even if he was sturdy, was ridiculous. The cafeteria was probably a better location for him overall anyways. Through this project, we learned how to communicate effectively with each other and our supervisors; the importance of reuse over recycling; how to educate others about the environment; how to adapt to feedback and issues; and how to interact sustainably with a community program. Doing this was very rewarding for us, and if you put the effort in and have some fun, it can be equally rewarding to you.

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QUICK TIPS!
Ask questions! All the staff at Academic Plus are really friendly and happy to help. If youre stuck, ask questions! Our project wouldnt have turned out half as well without their help! Start with a focus and plan around it. Our focus was environmentalism and reuseas long as we kept that in sight, our ideas were valid. Talk to the kids. Theyre really smart and led interesting lives. Trust them, and dont underestimate them. Theyre your best source of inspiration available when it comes to your project. Communicate effectively with supervisors and team members. Coming up with ideas and then executing them is a lot simpler if you keep communication lines open. Establish communication and organization early on and it will be a cinch! Adjust and adapt! Your project will probably go through as many (if not, more) edits as ours did. Let it happen, embrace it, and leave yourself plenty of time to adapt. Speak up! If you dont like how your project is going, or disagree with how something is being done, say something! This project is supposed to be fun. Have fun! If youre enthusiastic and enjoying yo ur project, everyone involved will also be!

Have Fun! Mimi (left), Amanda (right) and Bruce (center) sure did!

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APPENDIX
A. COMPLETED LESSON PLAN
Bruce the Reuse Moose (Remoose!) To execute this lesson plan, we begin by explaining the importance of reuse in a world that recycles. Then, we worked with the kids to build a Remoose (Reuse-Moose) statue that can be displayed at the school. (Mimi and I) tested out making our own mini Remoose, just to see if it can be done, considering the shape of bottles, cans, etc. In this case, the full-sized ReuseMoose was able to be constructed. However, if it does not for any reason, I think it would be a suitable alternative for the children to make their own trash collage of a moose. They could glue paper, wrappers and other things on an image like this* (Appendix D). After we built the Remoose, we explained why this helps the environment, and encouraged the children to pursue similar projects in the future. Lesson Transcript A lot of you know that recycling is good for the environment, and thats true: it is a lot better than throwing things out. However, theres something you can do thats even better: take anything you arent using, use them in a different way! Reuse them! When you throw things away, they pile up somewhere else in the environment and do damage. When you recycle things, you get to use them again, but they need to go a lot of places first: the recycling container, then to a truck, then to a recycling center, where they are broken down and built into something else. Then they are shipped back to a store, where your parents pay for it again! This may keep things from piling up, but it takes up a lot of energy But when you reuse things, they dont need to go anywhere! Just from one hand to another in a different shape! [illustrate these ideas physically to make them easier to understand.] So today were going to build something your whole school will be able to appreciate, all out of things you would usually throw away. Together, were going to make a Remoose! A Reuse-Moose [Suggested] Materials: -Leftover/used cardboard - Leftover/used Paper - Candy wrappers - Egg cartons - Coffee containers - Paper towel/toilet paper tubes
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- Empty containers - Plastic bags - Any salvageable trash in the school - Tape of any kind (Duct tape, masking, scotch, etc. Even better if its been lying around awhile, since youll finally be able to put it to use) Everything can be used for something else! Why throw something out when youre done with it when you could use it to make something pretty and/or useful? Even if our Remoose falls apart, you can t ake what hes made out of and build him into something else. Just dont let him loose! Bruce the reuse moose and all his parts should stay here as long as possible! It takes a lot of energy and materials to create things like plastic and paper, so doubling their life is very helpful. By reusing materials and making them into something else, you generate less waste and keep your school, community and the world cleaner! So next time you see someone getting rid of a box, imagine what you can do with it to lengthen its life!

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B. ORIGINAL LESSON PLAN IDEAS

Nature Balance Nature Balance is a variation of tag that teaches kids about the balance of nature, according to the Sanborn Western Camps. The kids break up into three groups: bobcats, grass and mice. A visible marker, such as a different color ribbon, helps the kids identify one another. The mice try to tag the grass since mice eat grass. The bobcats tag mice, since bobcats eat mice. The grass players tag the bobcats because bobcats provide nutrients to the grass when they die. If a player is tagged, he becomes the next species in the chain. For example, if a bobcat is tagged, he becomes grass. Stop the game periodically to determine the balance of each species. This leads to a discussion about how balance impacts real plants and animals. If there are too many mice and not enough grass, the mice have more competition for the grass that is available. What did you notice about this game? How many of you were on all three teams at some point? What does this mean? All things are connected. Grass grows and is eaten by mice. Mice are eaten by bobcats. Eventually, bobcats die, and when they do, they decay and return to the earth, where they provide food for new grass to grow. Recyclops Make your own recycled monster! -cardboard (recycled) - Paper (recycled) - candy wrappers - Plastic bags? - paint, markers, crayons, etc? Everything can be used for something else! Why throw something out when youre done with it when you could use it to make something pretty and/or useful? Even if your Recyclops rips, you can use their parts to make another! Its alive its alive! By reusing materials and making them into something else, you generate less waste and keep the world cleaner! Bottle Cloud (demonstration) (see p. 37 of 365 Outdoor Activities) Clouds are a natural and necessary phenomena. Cloud facts: -A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air. -Clouds reflect all the colors, resulting in their white appearance.
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-If the clouds are close or thick enough, light does not get through, which is what makes clouds appear gray. -Clouds move with the wind Clouds are formed when warm particle-rich air meets cool, moist air, like so. Relate clouds to water cycle, and then how pollution effects the water cycle. Water Conservation Exercise (demonstration? Like to make participatory) Does anyone know how much of the earth is water? About 70% but not all of it is drinkable. Anybody want to guess how much of the water on earth is safe for us to drink? Well, lets pretend all the earths water is contained in this bucket. Now, can we drink the water thats in the ocean? You can, but it doesnt taste very good, does it? Its salt water, and its not very good for us to drink. How much of this bucket do you think it salt water? (pour out about 80%) Thats all the fresh water we have. But not all of it is liquid! Some of it is trapped in icebergs or snow (pour out 40%) or in the air or clouds(pour out 20%). What is liquid and fresh isnt always accessible, though. Some of it is trapped so far underground, we cant get it (pour out 50%). And then much of that is polluted by chemicals, dirt or bacteria! (pour out water until there is very little remainingideally a drop) That drop is about all the drinking water the 6 billion people on our planet have to share. Water we use to drink, cook, shower, wash our hands, flush our toilets and water our lawns! Thats not much, and you should do your best save what you have! Easy ways to conserve water: -When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water. - Tell your parents to only run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month! - For cold drinks keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain. - Wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap. - Collect the water you use for rinsing fruits and vegetables, then reuse it to water houseplants. - Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you'll save up to 150 gallons per month. - Designate one glass for your drinking water each day or refill a water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.

Edible aquifer http://savingh2o.org/lessonplans/ediable%20aquifer.pdf

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C. MOOSE REFERENCE PICTURES

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D. MOOSE COLORING PAGE ALTERNATIVE

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