Old Socks Wanted!!!

Hello everyone.  Welcome back to school from the nice week off for Thanksgiving.  It sounds like everyone had a wonderful time at home with good food and family!  Today I read a book to the class about Elephants that can paint.  It was an interesting nonfiction book about these amazing Asian Elephants who are being taught to paint as a way to raise money to protect them.  The Asian Elephants have been dying off due to changes in their climate.  Many Asian Elephants used to be a crucial member of the labor force in many asian communities, helping with the transportation and hauling of lumber.  As the human population increased in these countries however, the Asian Elephants were finding themselves without enough land to survive.  So the governments in these countries stopped the lumber companies from cutting down the trees.  This left thousands of Asian Elephants without work, and unfortunately without land to live on.  Many were dying and some artists stepped in with the idea that if they gave the elephants a new job, that could create some income to help protect these special animals.  After reading the book we went to the website (www.elephantart.com) and checked out some of the artwork the elephants made, as well as watched a couple videos about the organization and the elephants at work.  It was truly remarkable to see the abilities and talents of these large creatures. 

After we were finished the students were very excited and wanted to immediately jump into an art project of their own.  I thought about it the rest of the day and decided that I too, want to make some art inspired by the Asian Elephants.  But I want the students to EXPERIENCE what it would be like to create art as an elephant would.  That is where the socks come in.  If you can send an old pair of socks (the bigger the better) that you would not need back, I would greatly appreciate it.  I plan on using them to restrain the student's arms together like an elephants trunk.  Then with the hands stuffed inside the bottom of the sock, they will have to try and navigate the end like an elephant does as it tries to hold and use a paintbrush.  I'm sure it will be very silly and messy, but it should also be a lot of fun and a great learning experience for the class.  I am hoping to do this project on Friday, so if any of you would like to come and help (between 10:30 and 11:30am) that would be great.  It would be fun to take some pictures of the "sock-trunks" hard at work making their art!!  Ask your children about the story, and check out the website, it's really fascinating!!
-Mr. Linnet