STAB 2019

The students are analyzing and teaching each other about some of the beautiful Renaissance paintings that we'll see when we visit the National Gallery of Art . Here are some of the comments about The Adoration of the Shepherds , by Giorgione : Dylan, Parker  and  Nicole : The people in this painting are outdoors , in nature. This is a major characteristic of Renaissance art. There are many features of nature like the mountains, the water, the detailed rocks, the trees, bushes, cave, and animals. Also, the people in this painting are very detailed (another big characteristic of Renaissance art.) Baby Jesus has toenails on each toe! Mary has a pointed nose and closed eyes (you can see each individual eyelash). One of the shepherds has curled hair in the back and a very realistic hair color. Jack A., Liam B., Reese  and  Cabria : The detail of Mary’s robe, and the curves on it, make the painting look very realistic . Also, there are many vivid colors on the peop...

What do you see and notice in the medieval painting by an unknown artist ( The Stigmatization of St. Francis )? Hannah, Willow and Anna : In this painting, t here are hardly any vibrant colors (t he church is the only thing with vibrant colors) . It looks like St. Francis is being impaled by lasers! The painting doesn't look very realistic. For example the skin tones of the people are grey and not realistic, and Francis’s head is tilted at an unnatural angle that would never happen in real life . James A. : The painting has the people angled sideways, like ancient Egyptian paintings. Sophia and Isabel G. : The perspective is wrong. The trees are a lot smaller than St. Francis. Alejandra  and  Chloe Z. : St. Francis is as large as the house and almost as large as the mountain. Justin  and  Travis : Jesus is clearly visible, and he is giving the stigmata to St. Francis. In the Renaissance painting, you cannot see Jesus, so St Francis’ stigmatization is less dramat...

Madonna Enthroned , by Cimabue The Alba Madonna , by  Raphael Engineering Marvels of the 21st Century: Seven members of Core 2 on the same sofa!!

Humans continue to be impressed by the Gothic cathedrals, even though they were constructed 1,000 years ago. 1,000 years from now (in the year 3019 AD!), which modern architectural or engineering accomplishment will be most admired? the International Space Station,  the Burj Khalifa,  or the English Channel Tunnel Courtney, Sammy, Marin,  and  Liam B. : The Burj Khalifa is a fantastic building, that uses new architectural ideas and new technology, and it will be imitated and admired for many, many years. The Space Station can always be replaced by new, better space technology. In a thousand years, it will not be impressive at all. Griffin, Eden, Rowen  and  Travis : No! There is definitely a structure humans are going to replace quickly, with new and improved technology: the Burj Khalifa. Humans will quickly build a taller building, and people will forget all about the Burj Khalifa. The Space Station is much more innovative and impressive, and it is an imp...

If you would like to learn a bit more about Gothic architecture, click on the bonus page, here .

This week we began studying architecture -- cathedrals, in particular -- in anticipation of our trip to Washington, DC, where we will visit the majestic and beautiful Washington National Cathedral . The students provided lots of fascinating definitions of architecture, and we concluded that it involves both the art and the science of designing and constructing buildings. In order to begin practicing their architectural skills, the students looked at photos of different styles of cathedrals. Their observations were impressive: Caroline : There are very few windows , and the cathedral is overall very simple . Sanaa : It has a solid surface, with not that many decorations . Carter : It has a washed, whitish color , with a little pointy tower detail leading towards the sky. Sammy : There seem to be arches around the doors, and a mosaic kind of pattern on the edges of the roof. Isabel G. : There are not a lot of extravagant details on the outside of the building. Caden : I notice a ros...

The 6th graders have thoroughly enjoyed several recent musical recommendations from their classmates. Liam J. introduced us to the uniquely creative style of Black Violin . Here is Dreamer , another of their songs: Sanaa shared her joyful approach to life, through the music of  Panic at the Disco . This is Gospel  is another piece by PATD . In this video, I love the contrast between the starkly white piano and the colorful explosions from the sky! Today, Sofia recommended Birds , a lyrical gem from the musical Ultimate Storytime . I thought that Meg had an especially good insight about the beautiful story told in the song: Meg said that it is " sophisticated in its simplicity. " I hope you'll enjoy Dreams , another song from  Ultimate Storytime :