Winter day 2013

In the beginning of February, due to the constant Moscow winter, we had our Winter day. Me, Sabina and Matanat initiated the Snow Art activity. Sabina bought the acrylic paints and the brushes, although we also used some from the Art department, after Ms Platt proposed to us to use some of the materials from there.

During the activity groups of children from different years were coming and we had to act quickly because 1^st ) it was very cold and we didn’t want the paints to freeze, so we decided to mix them with hot water. That way invented a really usefull method for drawing in the snow- we found out that each bottle was used up in about 2-3  minutes and every time we had to fill it up with water - either going back to school or bringing a big basin with hot water inside. We also did that because most of the children didn't understand that they shouldn't completely empty the bottle and as a result we ran out of acrylic paints. However, thanks to Sabina’s food colouring paints, we discovered that they were long lasting, easily soluble in water and the final effect of the paint on the snow was amazing, due to the fact the paints were very strong.

At first, our group wanted to do snow sculptures, but since it's hard to build even snowmen with the snow outside, we decided drawing on snow was a better idea and it turned out to work very well. So during Snow day, we showed the children how to draw on snow and we hope they enjoyed it. I can say it from the looks on their faces . The only problem in the beginning we had was that we couldn’t organize the kids to draw something which they obviously didn’t want to, so we made them little competitions and this got them more motivated, so they were actually productive, instead of just wasting the paint on the snow, which was happening in the beginning. I think this activity was helpful for the kids to see to what extent is their imagination working and to also make the day funnier and more interesting for them.

Some issues that arised during the activity:

 We forgot to  bring our own bottles
 We also didn't think of how to fill them up quickly
 In the beginning of the activity we should have told all the children what to do or at least give them an idea, because they spent a lot of time thinking about what exactly to draw/ sculpt.

 Most of the groups were coming from a previous activity- hockey, which was taking place in the gym, therefore a lot of the kids weren’t wearing jackets, so we had to force them to get inside and put their warmer clothes on because we didn’t want them to have health isues.

 Students did not come to the even on time.

Positive outcomes from/during the activity:

 A lot of new ideas of making sculptures and not only drawing on snow

 We achieved the target which was to teach children to draw on snow and enjoy it

 The event was organized completely by year 13 with little supervision from teachers. As a result, we, as a whole group, managed to entertain the school, providing children with various outside activities and "Free Hot chocolate" service .

Therefore during Snow day we undertook new challenges, we developed new skills and worked collaboratively with others. And, of course, we planned and initiated new activities.