Welcome to Mrs. White's Class

3/8/2026

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Well another 4/5th grade concert/art show in the books! I am so proud of all the students and their masks.  They worked incredibly hard and they turned out amazing.  Sorry about the confusion at the end of the concert if they could take them or not.  I was not originally going to be there to help take down, and I didn't want anyone getting hurt or breaking masks trying to take them home.  Since I was there and able to grab them for kids, I figured why not.  My apologies for any problems it created!

 

I have updated our amazon wish list under class wants and needs.  Anything you want to gift is amazing but not expected.  I just get asked rather frequently if there is anything we need! Thank you so much for everyone willing to support my vision for this class.  I try to come up with unique and fun ways to teach these skills and try things that the students like to do as well.

 

Exciting news for this summer, I am trying to organize a camp with Coding for Kids with a Florence teacher alumni Mr. Tucker to co teach a one week camp the second week of July.  It still needs to be approved but if it is, it will only have 24 spots and it will be the second week in July.  It will be a Minecraft "Redstone to Reality" camp.  Mr. Tucker will teach Minecraft coding and I will be teaching the hands on part of Minecraft in the "real world"  so we will be doing circuitry and chain reactions.  This will be for 4-6th graders.  I will post information as soon as I hear back if it is approved and when the camps open up! I would love to fill it up with Florence students!  Even if this camp doesn't make the list for this year (they already had a bunch!) There are several camps that are absolutely amazing and I highly recommend.  They have scholarships available as well.  They don't like to turn anyone away if they can help it.  

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2/11/26

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I can't believe we are only twoish weeks away from the end of second trimester! We have been so busy in here getting ready for our art show, fourth and fifth grade concert show pieces and everything in between. Besides our art show pieces we have been working on a few other things.  In kindergarten students talked about value and made snowmen paintings based on the book "Snowman at Night". First grade has been learning about germs and how to properly wash hands to get as many germs off as we can each time.  We used UV reactive lotion to learn how easily germs spread and how hard they can be to wash off. They then created their own unique germ by felting wool and decided what symptoms it would cause! Mrs. Pickering's K1 class worked especially hard learning about snowflakes and explored different textures in the outdoor classroom and then used what we found to create texture in our clay pieces to make our own unique wall hangings using beaded snowflakes and our clay art.  Second grade spend most of January in the STEAM lab coding different "rides" for an amusement park- let's just say we should be glad they aren't in charge of rides, some of the lego people did not survive the rides! Third grade was able to complete two separate pieces for the art show.  One was Gayotaku an ancient Japanese way of recording fishermen's catches as well as a felting under the sea piece.  They will be heading to the robotics lab next week. Fourth and jumped right into their art show piece and then immediately moved into their concert art piece which we are still working on.  Fifth grade finished up their lego unit and created their green screen video and quickly worked to create a show piece using value and silhouettes- some are still working on it and it will be a tight squeeze fitting in our concert piece.  If your student does not have a piece in the show, chances are they are just taking their time to finish it! Thank you all for your support and I look forward to seeing everyone soon. 

 

 

 

1/19/26

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Sorry about my delay in updating on here! We have been so busy lately getting ready for our  art show during conferences.  It feels like they are coming quick.  You all have earned our art room 350.00 from purchasing stuff from artsonia!!!! I am so very thankful and it has been extremely helpful in getting supplies for us.  So far I have purchased blacklights and paint for our art show, a new motor for one of our lego kits, beading supplies for k-2 projects, plastic sea animals for Gayotaku printmaking, and more that I can't remember! Every little bit helps with funding all these cool projects. 

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I was also very lucky to find some used desks for our STEAM lab.  Once the lady found out it was for our school she donated them! They are sturdy and can fit two students at each desk so perfect for partner work which is essential in STEAM! We are very excited about the new look of our room.  

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Students have been working hard on so many projects, I can't believe the year is half over already.  All grades are currently working on a large project to show at conferences, can't wait for everyone to see it!  Kindergarten finished up their "Snowmen at Night" inspired art work and then played with magnets to make their snowmen move.  First grade learned all about Keith Haring and how to draw bodies both large and small. K1P is working on their clay project, studying different textures from nature and snowflakes to create something special.  Second grade finished up their robotics unit and are starting their clay unit.  Third grade will finish up Gyataku printmaking and then get their turn in the robotics lab.  Fourth grade worked on a warm and cool silhouette cityscape and after they finish their conference show piece will start working on their concert art, they have picked something pretty cool. (If it turns out!) Fifth grade, I feel the most pressure with these guys since it is my last year with them until 7th grade! They just finished up Balloons Over Broadway and their robotic unit and now will quickly work on the conference art and concert art.  It will be close to see if we get it all done in time.  

Thanks for stopping by and as always reach out if you have any questions! 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Nov 2025

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Wow! I can't believe a full month has passed by and we are into the following month.  I try to update this as much as possible but we have just been so busy!  Kinder through 3rd grade has been working hard on their concert art and I hope to get them uploaded to Artsonia in the next two weeks.  They have some pretty cute stuff on there for Christmas present ideas! I hope when our winter art gets on there you guys will really enjoy it. 

 

Kindergarten has been working on sunsets and trees while learning all about blending. First grade has been learning about constellations and creating their own nebula paintings. They even got to use an air spray paint gun, which I think they enjoyed. Second grade is making their own version of Klimt trees and they are loving having their turn at it, as well as third grade learning about the northern lights and getting their turn at making them.  Fourth grade has been working on circuitry and weaving while fifth grade has been learning about graffiti and dragons!

 

I hope to see you all at conferences, feel free to stop by and say high.  If my door is closed it just means I am in a conference and I will open it up as soon as we are done.  Due to having a seventh grade class I have to balance private conferences with open door ones! Please email me if you would like or need a private conference and I will find a time to make that happen.  Thank you all for your support and hope to see you soon. 

 

 

 

29 September 2025

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Thank you all for stopping by during open house!  Just wanted to get on here to remind you that all the artwork will be coming home at the end of the year like always. Do not feel any pressure to buy anything off the artsonia site! We do get a percentage for supplies but I am doing it for the digital portfolios mostly.  I am starting to get artwork uploaded for each grade but I do appreciate your patience as it does take some time for my TA and I to get it all uploaded.  I have some cool ideas coming up so I am excited to see what the students do with them! 

Thanks so much, 

Mrs. White 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 September 2025

 

Welcome back families and hello to all our new families! I am very excited to be teaching STEAM for the second year. I have many new ideas and many kids have already asked if it is their turn to do the favorite projects from last year, which has been really cool to hear.  

 

For those that don’t know what STEAM stands for, it is science, technology, engineering, art, and math. In my class, we do a heavy focus on art with robotics/coding and engineering sprinkled in throughout the year. We will occasionally touch on science and math when we are doing projects but my focus is to give them access to things they don’t get to do in their everyday classroom.  

 

Because STEAM covers so many topics, we usually only complete 3-4 art projects for the whole year. The students create a portfolio at the beginning of the year and all their projects are stored in my class until the end of the year. I have found this helps with getting work home and not ending up crumpled in the bottom of a backpack or lost. Creating and maintaining a portfolio is also one of our state’s art standards. I know this can be frustrating for parents so I am trying something new.  

 

This year, I will be trying to digitize most of your students' completed art projects. After some research, I decided to go with a company called Artsonia. Some of you may have already received an email as I loaded your child’s name into our classes. I am hoping you do not get bombarded with emails from them, feel free to unsubscribe or discontinue if you would like.  

 

While Artsonia does offer opportunities to buy your child's work printed on objects- please know YOU DO NOT NEED TO SPEND A DIME!!!  My intention is just allowing you to see and store most of your child’s art digitally. Our class does receive some money back if you do end up purchasing something you like which is a nice benefit, but it is only 15-20%, so please please do not feel obligated. The original pieces will be coming home at the end of the year like always.  

 

Below is what we have been working on so far this year, continue reading if you are interested! 

 

This year kindergarten started by talking about lines and we read a book called Never Let a Unicorn Scribble, then created our first art project based on that. First grade has learned about Kandinsky and we made a mural out of concentric circles. K1 chose to do a project based on Kusama’s work and we are working on pumpkins in her style. Second grade has started an art project based on the work of Cezanne and is learning about value and space. Third grade didn’t get to do a clay project last year because we ran out of time so we chose to jump right into working with form and are learning the techniques to make a clay piece next week. Second and third grade also got to learn about M.C. Escher and created a joint mural based on his work. Fourth grade has been learning about Georgia O’Keeffe and their interpretations of her style are turning out incredible. Lastly, fifth graders have been working extremely hard learning about pixel art and finishing up their personal pieces and we are attempting to make large paper chain murals from some of them.  

 

Thank you so much for all the supplies and the support already this year! Feel free to swing by at open house! 

 

Sincerely, 

Mrs. White

 

 

 

 

12 August 2025

WOW! The school year is coming, I am so excited and have a lot of new lessons planned.  It will definitely be an adjustment to a four day but I think it will be great.  I can't wait to see returning faces and meet new ones.  Though let's be honest, remembering all the names now that you are all in new classes is going to take me just as long! We will be starting with some collaborative art projects looking into artists like Kandinsky and pixel art. Can't wait to see you all at open house in a short few weeks.