Monday, September 24, 2012

Arty Parties!

Some of my classes just earned their first Arty Party of the year! I keep a chart with all of the homeroom names on it. When a class has a great day, they get a sticker on the chart. When they have earned eight stickers, they have an Arty Party! My students absolutely LOVE these reward days. I set up the room in centers that they can rotate and visit as they please. I try to have different centers for each of their parties so they get to experience new activities. This round of parties had an interactive smart board activity, modeling clay, a circle painting collaborative art table, fuzzoodles, connectigons, invention station, roll-a-creature drawing activity, and a free drawing station. Here are some photos of the fun. I love Pinterest and get so many great ideas from centers on there. The kids are so independent and happy on these days and will work hard to earn them.
 The Connectigons were from an educational toy company and my own kids quit playing with them so I brought them to school.
Free drawing!
Circle painting!
This was the "invention box". Otherwise known as a box of junk. They loved it more than I ever imagined!
I saw a similar idea to this on Pinterest and adapted my own hand out for the kids to create a creature by rolling dice. They were completely entertained by this center and I will probably use this as an emergency sub plan as well.

5 comments:

  1. I am so happy to have found your blog (though Pinterest, where else?!?!) *smiles*

    In the 20 years I've been teaching, my school has never had an art teacher, unfortunately. I have little artistic skills myself. But I truly believe in the value of art and when I see creations such as those you have posted, I'm inspired to increase the aesthetic opportunities I provide my students. Thanks for the narrative that accompanies the pictures. That helps me better know how to incorporate your ideas into my lessons.

    I am a now a follower.

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  2. I love the create a creature idea!!

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  3. Great photos! Wondering, what brand tempera do you use? It looks so wonderfully opaque!

    Laurie Dyer
    k-6 art teacher
    Utah

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    1. Thanks Laurie! I am currently using the Sax brand Versa Temp. It's not washable. I've made that mistake before. Washable stuff is NOT opaque and is often sort of slimy. My little trick is that I add just a bit of white to colors to make them more opaque. Especially if we are painting on colored paper.

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  4. I am so impressed with your create-a-creature and was wondering if it's possible to do a little write-up on how the creatures turned out and make the image above a pdf. printable? I would love to share it with my kids!

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