Fun Photo Friday

Mine too! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Kindergarten Birdies

Students in kindergarten have been focusing on the elements of art. They started with a color mixing activity using red, yellow, and blue. They mixed the colors on the paper and created a page filled with stripes of new colors. They were required to make green, orange and purple. Later in the class I gave them some white paint so they could experiment with making tints. In the next class, they learned about different types of lines and added line designs with oil pastels on top of their painted stripes. The following classes were spent looking at birds of South America. We talked about shapes we needed to use to create a tropical bird. After making the head and body, I taught them how to cut strips from their rainbow paper to make feathers for their bird. This step took several class times but was a great lesson in fine motor skills as well as appropriate glue usage. This was a great multiple step lesson with tons of opportunities to improve their fine motor skills.

Fun Photo Friday,

They weren't supposed to be playing with their palette....but it sure made something cool.

I'm ALWAYS amazed at what kids can create with simple Lego blocks.

Kindergarten glue at it's best.

Happy Weekend!!

Fun Photo Friday

I think I will start trying to post fun pictures each Friday! They will most likely be random snippets of things from my week and lessons but it will hopefully keep me blogging more regularly. Happy FRIDAY!

Making a splash with David Hockney

Students in third grade learned about the artist David Hockney. We focused especially on his California influenced pool paintings from the 60's and 70's. I saw a similar project on the blog "Kids Artists". The students were focusing on line, shape, and color while working on these. We also spent a good bit of time thinking about how our hair and body look different when submerged under water. The kids loved creating the look of weightlessness in their self portrait. Hockney used interesting techniques to create the effect of light shining in on the water of his pool paintings and we tried to recreate that. I love how they all look so much like the child that made them. Great job third graders!

Fifth Grade Optical Illusions

I saw a similar project to this online and decided it would be a successful project for my fifth graders. They had to use a cool color on their hands and a warm color on their background. This project went pretty quickly and was a good first project that everyone was successful with. It was a great reminder about overlapping, as well. They loved looking at different examples of optical illusions each week and I shared some of M.C. Escher's work too. 

Book making fun!

My fourth grade students have been learning about book arts! We have looked at completely handmade books and artists that create altered books.these students are creating books all about themselves like a visual diary.We started with a large manilla envelope and painted interesting textures on both sides. Next, we created a plate for the front cover with their names in ransom note style letters. They are adding color to the pages that will eventually go inside with bleeding art tissue and water to make a tie dye effect. I plan to fold the pages so that each page has a pocket and I will sew them in the books with my sewing machine. In the coming weeks the students will have various assignments for creating the art that will go in the pockets. Stay tuned for more updates on this big project!

We are outta' here!

School is OUT here in Oconee County! I sent home all of my student work in the last few weeks and it is always such a relief when I am finished with that massive task. I find that rolling, taping, and labeling their art is the best way to get it home. I have about a 30 second portfolio review with them all before I roll it up. It's a good chat to have with them before they ride off into the sunset. All of the students have at least one picture in our art show and it is mounted on colored construction paper. That work is always placed on the bottom of the roll and provides protection for the art inside. I tell the students to treat their tube of art like a newborn baby :) They think that is fun. I included my "25 Days of Drawing" challenge again this Summer. Any kid that shows me their sketch book in August will get a prize from me. I am sharing the PDF with you all as a parting gift :) I adapted mine from some I've seen online so I can't take full credit for the idea! See you in August!

Some 2nd graders with their "babies"

One last project to share.....

My fifth graders took a look at the art of face jugs in the South and we interpreted them in our own fun way. They made their pots using a simple pinch pot technique and we followed up with some simple glazing. I purchased wheat grass seeds from our local health food store's bulk section. I googled the best info on growing wheat grass and let our Environment Club do the planting. This is about 4 days worth of growth. They were triple this height and MUCH greener by the time they took them home. The kids and parents LOVED these.

A root actually grew out of a little hole in this one's nose!

Family Art Night and Silent Auction

Our Annual Family Art Night and Silent Auction came and went. It was a huge success and I couldn't be happier with the turn out as well as the profits from the auction. I did things very similar to previous years. My preparation for this event is massive but I have gotten it down to an "art" and It comes together easier every year. I also have a co-worker that is a tremendous help and I couldn't do it with out her.

 I mount and label all the work then mount it on black butcher paper weeks prior to the show. Then I start with a team of volunteers about 1:30 the day of the show tacking up the sheets of paper onto the walls. It goes surprisingly fast. I like that the kids come back that night and the halls have been transformed.

We set up the lunchroom with tons of art activities for all guests to enjoy. Some of the centers were watercolor, still life, free collage, Legos, modeling clay, zentangles, and free drawing. We set up a little photo booth area for people to take fun pictures. Our book fair was also open this year and that was a popular stop for guests.

We served light snacks and those are always a hit. I mix up a snack mix of Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, marshmallows, and chocolate chips. It tastes like a s'more! I also have juice in the primary colors and the kids can pick two colors to see it change in their cup. Last but not least, we had our silent auction featuring canvas art made by each homeroom. It was a big success and the kids did an amazing job. Now I will go take a nap.