sutton007

View from the 11th floor of NERD Center High atop the 11th floor in the NERD Center (Microsoft's New England Research and Development Center) on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, MA I found myself overlooking the beautiful Charles River.  Early this morning you could see several 'crew' teams practicing in the river. The skyline of Boston was crystal clear. This breathtaking scenery only added to the excitement of what was about to take place.   Waiting patiently, I milled around chatting and waiting for the EdcampBoston 'Unconference' to begin.  An 'Unconference' is basically a group of people getting together and setting their own agenda for the day based on the needs of the people attending.  Read to learn more here .  An 'Education' Unconference is for passionate educators, by passionate educators and is free (a word we educators love!).  It is a day filled with sharing and the exchanging of ideas and resources. There is one rule however, called the ...

Still Life created by Sam C. using The Art Zone " Chiaroscuro! " shouted one of my fourth graders in answer to the question: "What technique did the artist use in this painting to show the contrast of light and dark?" " ELBOW: Every day life, Light, Brushstrokes, Outside, Weather !" answered another ten year old child to the question: "What are the characteristics of Impressionist's paintings?" If you ask me, most fourth grade students (and many adults) would not know the answers to these types of questions, yet they are common place in our school when the children are involved in our "Docent" lessons.   This program which started over 15 years ago by one of the teachers and several parents continues today. Parent volunteers, also known as, Docents, visit our 3rd grade - 5th grade classrooms once a month and present a different artist or genre. At that time it is not unusual to see students dissecting the paintings of the Old Master...