Art Dish

Hearts with Tints and Shades

2012-02-15T13:20:00.001-08:00

I have fourth grade students divide their paper into 1/4's and trace a heart in each section. I teach a lesson on tints, shades and also complementary colors. We used tempera paint cakes to paint them. I let them decide how to paint the hearts and background but encourage them to try a few tints, shades or a complementary color combination. It could also be used with patterns.

My Family

2012-02-15T13:13:00.001-08:00

Kindergarten students end up with a red heart to give away and a heart framed drawing of their family to take home. I fold red paper and pre-draw 1/2 of a heart for them. They cut on the line, open it up, and are amazed that they have a perfect heart! They decorate their heart or write a message. We glue the heart frame to white paper and they draw their family.

So sweet.

Favorites From February

2012-02-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

Clay Hearts with Coiling

3rd Grade

Third grade students roll clay out with rolling pins, use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut a heart shape. I teach a lesson on coiling and they add at least one coil on top of their heart, some add three or four. We glazed them.

Snowflakes...

2012-02-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

This is a quick and fun lesson on symmetry and cool colors... I had the students draw snowflakes with sharpies. We then went over the lines with regular crayola markers (cool colors). They took a paint brush and spread water over the markers to make it blend. The next week we added white glitter to the snowflakes.

2012-01-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

I did these projects simultaneously with first graders. The first week we talked about patterns and glued all the pasta to create a radial pattern snowflake. While they worked on that, I also called one group at a time to paint the snowballs for their snowman. We used a half way blown up balloon as a stamp to stamp the paint onto the page. The next week they painted their pasta snowflake white and we read The Biggest Best Snowman. They then finished their snowman by adding all the details with construction paper crayons.

2012-01-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

This project was based on the book Owl Moon. We drew and painted the owls the first week, then the second week we read the book and talked about how to create art by working together (incorporating the second grade collaborative art SOL). Each table was responsible for painting their tree and moon as a group. They then taped their owls onto their tree.

Art & Literature: Winter

2012-01-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

I read The Biggest, Best Snowman to first graders before we did snowman drawings with black crayon and chalk. I showed them how they could layer three different colors of chalk and then blend them together with a kleenex for the background.

Art & Literature: Winter

2012-01-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

I read Kevin Henkes book Birds before we did mixed media snow scenes including birds in winter.

Cityscape in Winter

2012-01-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

It Fell in the City

I read the poem by Eve Merriam It Fell in the City to kindergarten students.

They cut out paper shapes to make their cities, added details, and then used q-tips to

paint on the white tempera for snow.

Top 50 Art Education Blogs

2012-01-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

Top 50 Art Blogs

Painted Cardinals

2011-12-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

I found this lesson here:

Supplies:
• 12″ x 18″ white paper
• Blue metallic tempera paint (Michael’s craft store will have this paint)
• Pencil
• Black, red, yellow and white tempera paint
• Q-tips for snow

1.Look at pictures of cardinals. Talk about positive and negative space. (The cardinal and trees are positive, the sky is negative)
2. Explain however, that it’s not necessary to draw the entire body, just the head and neck area.
3. Draw the cardinal's head and neck, then branches behind him.
4. Add blue sparkle paint in the sky (negative), the beak yellow, add brown for the branches, paint the cardinal red, and last paint the black patch around the eye.

Week 2:
1. finish painting.
2. with a thin brush paint black outlines (or you could give the students sharpies)
3. Paint white dots for snow.

Winter Birch Trees

2011-12-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

I found this lesson on Deep Space Sparkle:

We looked at Monet’s painting “Magpie” and talked about the winter landscape.

Supplies: 9″ x 12″ watercolor paper (school grade “Biggie” Brand or Canson), watercolor palette including white (if you don’t have white watercolor/gouache use tempera paint), masking tape or blue painter's tape, salt, small and medium size watercolor brush.

1.Tear strips of masking tape in half lengthwise (not easy) and use ripped or torn edge for the outside of tree. Place the straight edge towards the middle. Do again so there are two torn edges creating the tree. Add branches if you would like. Smooth down with back of fingernail. Make sure ALL trees extend off the top of the paper.
2.Paint a line across the trees near the top. (horizon line)
3.Mingle two or even three colors together to create a winter sky. I like blues, reds, and purples but the children will know what colors they like. It helps to lay down a layer of water so that the colors blend easily. As soon as the color is on, sprinkle salt onto the paper (right).
4.Painting snow can be a bit tricky. I suggested that the students mix a bit of white paint with a touch of brown and paint over some areas of the painting. You could also choose blue but brown makes a better contrast to what is almost always a blue sky. explain shadows.
5. On the white board, next to my sample painting, I drew a sun in the top right corner of where my painting hung. From there, I could draw an imaginary line to demonstrate where shadows would fall. Paint all the way off the paper.
6. Using a small brush and black paint, draw trees along the horizon line. Paint right over the masking tape.
7.The quickest and easiest part of the lesson: bark. Peel off masking tape. If it tears, don’t worry. Just glue wayward piece down (glue stick,not white glue). Using a small brush and the black watercolor paint, paint small curved lines across the tree. Add a fence along the horizon line and in the foreground too.

Tissue Paper Leaves

2011-12-16T05:36:00.000-08:00

Supplies:
6″ x 9″ white drawing paper
Tissue paper cut into 5″ x 5″ squares
Mixture of white glue and water
small paint brush
Black marker (waterproof is best)
Oil Pastel

1. Tracing or drawing the Leaves with sharpie. Have pictures of leaves. They can put the tissue paper on top of the leaf drawings or draw leaves on their own. They must have newspaper under the tissue paper at all times.

2.Cut out leaves and arrange the leaves on the paper and brush smooth with the glue mixture under and on top. (Mod Podge would work too.)

3. Pick your next leaf and do it again! Encourage overlapping!

4. Week 2: The students will finish gluing leaves, and draw oil pastel leaves.

5. The students will then add a frame. (If there is time they can add tissue paper scraps to decorate the frame.)

Candy House

2011-12-09T13:21:00.001-08:00

I've made these candy houses for several years with 1st grade (man do they like talking about candy). This year I tied in a literacy aspect and read "Hansel and Gretel" by James Marshall. To start out the house they make two candy canes for the sides (upside down "J"s), connect the bottoms of the candy canes, and make a pointed roof. After that the decoration is up to them. The houses that look the best usually have the most details. A fun lesson for right before winter vacation.

Klimt Winter Trees

2011-12-09T13:14:00.001-08:00

I got this idea from another blog (artolazzi - an awesome one if you haven't checked it out), here's the link to the original lesson http://artolazzi.blogspot.com/2009/11/klimt-winter-trees.html

These trees turned out awesome! It took us 3 sessions to make, but didn't take the whole time of each session (we were working on finishing our last project). The kids really loved making these and it was a great way to introdce Klimt! Day 1 we painted the background, day 2 we painted swirly trees and learned about Klimt, and Day 3 we did the decorating (snow, metallic paint designs, sequins and rhinestones). A great wintery lesson!

Horse of another Color

2011-12-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

This is based on several books.."Everything but the Horse", by Holly Hobbie, "Hush, Little Horse", by Jane Yolen, and a really old story, "Horse of a Different Color"...which I cannot now find.
The students will make a jointed horse shape by tracing pieces of the horse onto the desired color of paper and coloring the pieces with either patterns or realistic shadings, depending on which book you are illustrating. The sections are cut out, put together with brads, and a yarn tail is added to finish it off. The students love them, and move them around the table in a varity of positions.
I did this with first graders, but it can be used whereever...the older students do better with the more realistic horses. I used construction paper and markers for most of the horses, but you may wish to use oil pastels.

Enjoy!

Fall Trees

2011-11-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

This is a project that I used to do every year. I found my sample and decided to do them this year. I was so happy I made that decision, they came out beautiful. I did them with fourth grade. We made the tissue paper collage background one week, and then added the tree with oil pastels the next. We were able to review our shading to make things look three dimensional.

Birds of a Feather

2011-11-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent lesson for those who wish to cover the Art SOL's and the schools' language arts requirements. Second grade students will fill an entire 12''x 18'' paper with a varity of lines;zig-zag,curved, slanted, broken,wavy, dotted...any kind of line imagined. Any left over space may be filled in with dots and dashes. This will take one class period. Next class, students will draw ON THE BACK OF THE PAPER a large figure "8" --from top to bottom--this will be the body of the bird. ( .....make the neck of the bird a little thicker than it is.) On the rest of the paper, use feather patterns---made ahead of time ---to trace 14/15 feathers. Glue the body of the bird to the middle of a constrasting color 12''x18'' paper. You --the teacher--draw the top line of the wings while the class cuts out the feathers. The class puts glue onto each ''wing'', and glues the feathers down. Add tail feathers, google eyes, feet, and a paper beak. Instant bird!
This lesson may be used with a varity of books,...just check out your library.

Quick Clay Owls

2011-11-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

Quick Clay Owls
This could be done with K 1 or 2 after reading Owl Moon or a similar owl book.

This is from the blog 4 Crazy Kings:

Start with a ball (any clay will work)

Smoosh to make circle

Use marker cap to make UUUUUU's on belly

Fold sides in

Fold top down - pinch ears a bit

Use marker cap to make eyes

Use butter knife or similar to make beak -
Finally you can play with a bit by smooshing sides a bit to make owl more round.

Fire and glaze. (You could also use oil pastels/crayon and ink instead of glaze.(See OZ KIDZ ARTZ)

Birds

2011-10-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

This lesson is based on the book "" Birds"", by Kevin Henkes. The lesson may be found in Deep Space Sparkle Lesson Plans/Art & Literature II, which in turn may be viewed online. Janis Gillespie payed-yes, it costs money-and downloaded the unit. We reviwed the lesson and then selected a section which we thought would be useable at lower elementary.

We started by drawing a branch with leaves on a light blue paper. We outlined with black oil pastels, and painted in with tempra...... this would take one class period. Next we used scrap paper to draw 3 birds, and colored these with more oil pastels. You may spend additional time on a "how-to-draw-birds'', or you may just have the students wing it. When the birds are complete, cut out and glue onto the blue paper, carefully placing them on the branches. We did not add insects/clouds/sky, but feel free to improvise. This lesson would do well in the spring.!

Cubist Hands

2011-10-12T05:26:00.000-07:00

This is a neat lesson to do with your upper elementary students that covers shades and tints, color mixing, and Art Appreciation. Students trace their hand 2 times onto a 12'' square piece of gray bogus paper, once from the bottom, and once from a side. Using a ruler, trace 3 lines from the top to the bottom, and 3 times side to side. Don't forget to slant the lines a little. Now-very important- outline everything with a black sharpie. Begin painting. EVERYTIME YOU HIT A LINE, CHANGE COLORS. You may place the same colors kater/corner. When all the painting is complete, let dry completely, re-outline with sharpies, and make the lines dark and even. They are very colorful, and you may wish to limit the paintings to certain colors of your choice.

Fall Still Life

2011-10-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

I did this lesson with second graders. They created their piece by looking at a still life of a pumpkin and 3 gourds. There was a different arrangement of pumpkins and gourds on each table. We painted paste papers (1 orange, 1/2 green and 1/2 yellow) in one class while they were finishing up another project, then used them to cut out the shapes for our still life. They then added all the details of the pumpkins and gourds with crayons. If they had time they could color the background. They all came out really different and the paste paper added a nice texture. The kids loved painting them and combing through a design!

Face Book Books

2011-10-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is an entertaining lesson, which may be used with the older elementary classes. Students will need an old paperback- (the thicker the better)-paste, and a short wooden dowel. I have a lot of short pieces of dowels around as I do wall hangings with the fifth grades in the spring, but you can buy them at Lowe's if needed. First, students will tear off the back and front cover. Decide on what shape the outside edge of the pages will take, and cut a pattern. Trace the pattern on a page, then bunch 5-8 pagrs together and cut. In my sample I used a profile of a face, but you can use any shape; apple, house, animal...any shape that is not too complex. When all pages are cut, load the dowel and the first and last page with paste. Put the dowel in the middle, press the first and last pages together, and let dry. The''book'' will stand up by it's self when dry. You can buy expensive YES! paste, if you wish, as that is what was used in the Bookmaking class.

City Reflections

2011-09-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is a project I found on another art blog. http://laughpaintcreate.blogspot.com/2011/08/city-prints.html This was a fourth grade project that reviewed warm and cool colors. It was also fun for the children to print. We painted the background the first week and then started work on our printing plate (foam). The next week we finished our drawing of the city and printed. They really came out nice and the children had a great time doing them.

Big Fat Hen

2011-09-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

I read the book "Big Fat Hen" to the first grade. We discussed all the beautiful illustrations of hens in the book and then drew one step by step. After talking about texture, we used texture rubbing plates when adding the color to the hens.

Illustrated Names

2011-09-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

I use this lesson during the frst few weeks of school since it helps me to remember my students' names and get to know them. During the first class they decorate each letter of their name to tell something about themselves (the A is a piece of pizza, the d includes a soccer ball etc.). The second class involves a lesson on positive and negative space and opposite colors. Students make a cut paper design using these principles. When complete, they glue their name to the top of the cut paper design.

Uncle Sam

2011-09-22T12:51:00.001-07:00

Uncle Sam
I had a bunch of cardboard egg cartons donated. I did this with fourth grade for a patriotic project. It is a little crafty but they turn out very cute and the students and other teachers love them!
Materials:
(4) cups from egg carton
blue and skin color tempera paint
(1) 2"x4" white construction paper
(1) l"x5" blue construction paper
(1) 2"x2" blue construction paper
(1) 3"x3" black construction paper
scraps of white yarn, paper, ribbon
scissors and glue
sharpies
Day 1
1. We talk about symbols and that Uncle Sam symbolizes the United States.
2. Each student is given 4 cardboard cups from an egg carton. Trim the edges.
3. They must glue together the egg cartons and paint the top skin color and the bottom blue. (this can be a challenge for them so it may take a whole day to just do this)
4. Have them write the name on the bottom of one egg cup with sharpie.
5. Collect in a paper box lid.
Day 2
1. Fold the 3"x3" black construction paper in half and cut a heart for the feet. Glue to the body.
2. Use the l"x5" blue construction paper strip for the arms, adding hands (cut
into blue rectangle). Glue the center of the strip to the back of the body. Write the name on the back of the blue rectangle in sharpie
3. Color or paste red strips on the 2"x4" white paper. Paste and roll into a cylinder.
4. Cut evenly spaced slits up one edge, fold back and paste to the brim, brim, fold the 2"x2" blue construction paper in half and trim off corners.
5. Use the scraps of white yarn to make hair and a beard. Glue to the head. Glueon the hat. Add other decorations with the scraps.

Sunset Silhouettes

2011-09-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

These are great for fall. I found this on Deep Space Sparkle. I shopw 4th or 5th grade this video on positive and negative space: Positive and Negative Space.

We talk about what creates a silhouette.

Students wash a 9x12 inch piece of drawing paper.

Then they trace a ruler on all 4 side of the black paper to create a frame.

After that, they draw a landscape with pumpkins, bare trees, fences, grass, houses, etc.

Next they cut out the negative space (or background).

Finally they glue the black on top of the sunset colors.

Pop-Up Books

2011-09-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

I took a graduate class last fall in bookmaking....NOT SCRAPBOOKING. While we did several versions of binding and construction, not all were applicable to elementary Art....several, however were. This is a simple pop-up that may be used 3-5 grades, providing you work slowly.
To start, you need 2 bookends, about 6''x4'', of some heavy poster board. Next cut a long strip of heavy paper for the folded pages. Pleat it accordian style to fit inside the ends. The paper should be slightly smaller than the bookends. On each outward fold , cut a small design that will ''pop''.
The inside paper that is to be folded needs to be long enough to make at least 4-5 cutouts, so you will need 8-10 pages, plus 2 more pages to glue to the bookends.
For the bookmaking class, we used special glue, but a cheaper substitute is paste...yes, the stuff none of us buy anymore.

I and Janis Gillespie spent 2 hours wednesday, September 21 constructing one. They turned out great!

Name Design

2011-09-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

This lesson uses letters of the student's name to form a colorful, patterened design. You may also use vocabulary words, spelling words, or any other words which you wish the students to remember.

Start by drawing on a 12'' x 18'' white paper the word/name you wish.....you may change either size or paper color. Place on each table ONE color...have the class paint in the first letter. Change colors, clean brushers. Place the next color on the table--next color, next letter. Repeat until all letters are done. Then begin with the spaces, and repeat the process until all spaces are done. Time permitting, pattern in the letters or background. These always turn out great...the biggest problem is getting the class to paint slowly, so that they stay within the lines. P.S. I use regular tempra.

Positive and Negative Space Name Art

2011-09-13T12:38:00.001-07:00

Positive and Negative Space Name Art

This turned out to be a nice review of positive and negative space for my fifth graders. They began by making a grid on their papers using a ruler with different sized squares and rectangles (one space for each letter or number). Then the students drew the letters of their names using capital and lowercase letters that had to touch at least two sides of the spaces on the grid. If they wanted, they could also put the year or the year they were born. Finally, students colored in either the letter or the space around the letter with a marker and then erased all pencil lines left showing. The fifth graders were very proud of their abstract names.

What's in a line?

2011-09-13T12:33:00.001-07:00

Contour Line Drawings

My second graders were reviewing types of lines. I took out a bunch of scrap paper and they searched for interesting shapes. They used a glue stick to put the shapes on their 9x12 paper. Then they followed the contour of their shapes with a marker.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

2011-08-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite lesson for kindergarten's first art class. We read "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and then talk about different adventures we could go on if we had magical purple crayons like Harold. The kids only get purple crayons and they can draw adventures on the front AND back of their paper. When they are finished I also have a movie version of the book that I let them watch while the detailed drawers finish up.

Room Idea

2011-08-25T10:05:00.001-07:00

Room Idea for First Nine Weeks

I decided to go with a "Welcome to the Pack" theme. I also have a book called "The Crayon Box that Talked" to help with going over rules and getting along in the art room.

Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti

2011-08-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

This project was based on the African folk hero Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott. We tried two different methods of creating the graphic spider. The first type was flat, the other was to glue the paper legs into a circle. Both methods were successful, it would be a matter of preference. This project was very simple to do and the results are very bold and graphic.

Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella

2011-08-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

This project is based on the book Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella by Tony Johnston. We used 1 inch wide paper strips and glued them together. We used clothespins to hold them together to dry while we were building. We experimented with both gluing them onto a piece of paper and also just hanging them up from the ceiling with no background paper. Another fun project that was pretty simple to do, if you used clothes pins... aka "art clamps".

Cloudy with a Chance of .....

2011-08-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a children's book written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. We had a great time making a project based on this book. Our project ended up being Cloudy with a Chance of Snacks. We used crayons, watercolors, glue and various snack food items.

Professional Development ~ August 2011

2011-08-03T16:43:00.001-07:00

A group of us worked together the past two days exploring children's literature and art projects inspired by them. We had a lot of fun and shared a lot of good ideas. I am going to try to get a few of our projects posted in the next few blogs.

Aliens from Planet Symmetry

2011-05-03T12:37:00.001-07:00

Symmetry

I knew my third graders were reviewing symmetry and I was tired of the old butterfly. So I decided to have them make aliens. Of course they started by picking a color for their alien, folding the paper, and then drawing a curvy line.

It was neat to see all of the different shapes that were created and the students were very excited to decorate their aliens!

Goldfish Matisse style

2011-05-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

Goldfish a la Matisse

I came across this lesson in an old Arts and Activities magazine. I decided to try it with my kindergarten students. The results were great!

Day One: Use at least three different colored crayons to rub the paper more than halfway down. At the bottom of the page, glue squares of colored tissue paper. Cut a table from a piece of black paper and glue it on. (I had previously drawn the table line for them so all they had to do was cut)

Day Two: Use a tracer to make the fish bowl. Use blue and green markers to color the water in the fishbowl and then paint with water over the marker. While the bowl is drying, cut out goldfish and leaves. Glue the bowl, fish and leaves to the background.

Organizing Your Art Room

2011-04-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

These are the 2010, top 10 art rooms from The Teaching Palette: http://theteachingpalette.com/2010/09/27/art-room-showcase-2010-space-organizing/

Giraffe's Can't Dance...

2011-03-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

I've noticed this project on many art blogs. I was always curious, this year I decided to give it a try with my first grade. I loved it! The children loved it! The results were amazing.... so fun. It is crayon resist.

Royal Self Portraits...

2011-03-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite projects to do with first grade! They love it and the results are adorable!!! We discuss facial features and placement and draw together. They outline their drawing with Sharpie. We then outline with a Crayola marker and then use a wet paint brush to fill in the shape... We call it "Painting with a Marker". The kids love it and talk about how they might be "allowed" to paint this way at home.

The final step is adding "jewels" to our crown.

Analogous Colors

2011-03-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Analogous Color Weaving

In reviewing analogous colors with my fourth graders, I decided to put a weaving twist with it.

1. review the color wheel
2. draw an organic shape in the middle of your paper
3. follow the contour of your first shape to draw other shapes around your first
4. use a Sharpie marker to trace over pencil lines
5. Paint the shape picture with an analogous color family (watercolor or tempera)

The following week:

1. use a black piece of 9x12 paper to make a loom
2. cut your existing painting into strips (a ruler width is a good size)
3. weave your painting through the black paper. there should be 3-4 strips left.
4. glue your artwork onto a paper from the same color family
5. use the leftover strips from your painting to decorate the edge

Sensational Still-Life

2011-03-24T10:42:00.001-07:00

Sensational Still-Life

I find that my older students have trouble drawing things large enough so we cheated a bit with this still-life and used tracers for the fruit and bowl. (For my more confident artists, I gave them a choice to use or not to use the tracers) The project was more about color anyway, so I didn't feel too badly about the tracers. Plus the results are always nice and everyone comes away with a piece of artwork that is successful.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...

2011-03-24T06:34:00.001-07:00

March comes in like a lion...

In follow-up to jungles in first grade, I have my second graders draw a lion on white 12x18 paper. I demonstrate the steps on drawing the lion and then they are on their own. Their lion has to be divided into shapes so that patterns can be put on the lion. After the pencil drawing is complete, they use a black Sharpie marker to go over their lines. Watercolor or tempera cakes are used to color their lion. The following week, the lions are cut out and glued to black paper. Green cut out leaves and vines are added. Stars and a moon complete the jungle background.

Henri Rousseau Tigers

2011-03-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

Materials: Photos/books about tigers (first grade level); 6x9 white paper; Surprise! by Henri Rousseau; black crayon/oil pastel, orange tempera cake paint; green liquid tempera; leaf-shaped sponges; construction paper crayons; newspsper; 9x12 green paper; Tiger/henri Rousseau coloring pages

Day 1

Show the painting "Surprise" by Henri Rousseau to first graders.
Ask students if the tiger looks like a photograph. Is it important to make the tiger look real? Tell how Henri Rousseau had never been to a jungle and used his imagination to draw his jungles.
Show real photos of tigers and tell students they can be as big as a car!
Have students draw tiger with pencil first on 6x9 white paper. Touch 3 sides of the paper.
Go over pencil lines and draw stripes with black crayon or oil pastel.
Have students go to an orange paint station to paint tigers.
Place on drying rack and get Henri Rousseau coloring page.

Day 2

Students will make jungles for the tiger!
Cut out tigers.
Glue on 9x12 green paper.
draw horizion line behind the tiger with black crayon.
With black crayon draw 4 trees in the background and big leaves in the foreground.
Color with construction paper crayon. (sky, trees, grass, leaves)
Students can draw other jungle animals hiding in the leaves too.
Go to green paint station and stamp leaves in the foreground.

Woven Chinese Dragons

2011-03-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

Materials:
9x12 White paper
Black tempera cake paint or watercolors
Oil pastels
6x9 black paper
Book: Legend of the Chinese Dragon by Marie Sellier

Day 1

1. Woven Chinese Dragons! Second grade learns about China in March and April.
2. Read: Legend of the Chinese Dragon by Marie Sellier. Talk about the animals that make up the dragon: ox, fish, horse, serpent, bird.
2. Artists designed and colored two sheets of paper- one with dragon scales and the other with an abstract design- all in oil pastels. Talk about abstract shapes. They start from a real object, but the lines are very messy!
3. Then they painted over these papers in black tempera/watercolor.

Day 2
4. Next the artists cut strips from the scales page and wove it into the other page to create the dragon's body.
5. The artists learned about symmetry to create their dragon's heads that they cut from black paper and then designed with oil pastels.
6. The artists cut necks and tails and then colored them as well before attaching them to their dragon.
7. The artists cut out and colored two sets of people legs- just like the ones that carry and dance the Chinese dragons!
8. Finally, the artists can write their names in Chinese to finish their projects.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

2011-03-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

It's Dr. Seuss's birthday this week. I read "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to my second grade. We painted one piece of white paper with bright stripes. We then drew a fish with Sharpie and painted it red or blue. After they dried we cut them out and glued them on the striped paper.

There's a Wocket in my Pocket...

2011-02-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

Elementary schools celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss. This is a project that I do with kindergarten. I read the book "There's a Wocket in my Pocket". After reading the book, the children start by making a pattern on a piece of paper. We then glue a square on the paper to make a pocket. A few dashes with the crayon and you have stitches around the pocket. The children then make a "Wocket" for in the pocket. We were able to do this in one class period. These examples were completed earlier today. Fun project!

Coat of Arms

2011-02-03T13:17:00.000-08:00

In 5th grade I have my students create their own personal coat of arms. (This is a much anticipated project) I used the book "Design Your Own Coat of Arms" by Rosemary Chorzempa to help the kids with some different ideas for their coat of arms. We talk about the different elements they need to incorporate, the shield shape, the helmet/bow/crown at the top, mantling (the decoration around the helmet and top of the shield), and the scroll at the bottom with their motto (we talk a little about examples of mottos and what a motto is). Unlike traditional coats of arms, these projects are not about their family name, instead they should represent them as a person. The students incorporated different symbols that related to them or represented things they like to do. The kids LOVE this project, which is pretty cool for a non-messy thing. We used skinny sharpies to outline and colored pencils to color in.

Penguins....

2011-02-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

I did this project with first grade, but it would also work with Kindergarten. I read the book, "Penguins, Penguins Everywhere!" by Bob Barner. We then created penguins step by step together. I saw similar ideas on several other blogs. They are adorable!

Compass Rose

2011-02-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

Whenever possible I like to correlate with the classroom teachers on projects. Third grade created a Compass Rose. We used rulers, circle templates, sharpies and colored pencils. The children absolutely loved this project. The results were quite impressive.

Snowmen Painting

2011-02-02T07:36:00.000-08:00

This is a project that was done with first grade. We drew the snowmen, outlined them with sharpie and then painted them with tempera cakes. The following week we glued them on a sheet of construction paper and used oil pastels to make snowflakes on the frame. They came out SUPER! We have received many compliments on the displayed work.

Cool Blog

2011-01-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

Check out this cool art blog at www.deepspacesparkle.com

Great lessons and classroom ideas. I am having a difficult time with the dreaded free draw at the end of class. This blog had a good discussion with a few solutions. I think I may try some white boards!

Snowman

2011-01-14T06:26:00.000-08:00

Oil Pastel Snowman

My fourth grade students started out by drawing a one inch border around their paper. Their next step was to use a pencil to draw their snowman close-up. After drawing the snowman, they traced their pencil lines with white glue and let their paper dry until the following week. Once the glue is dry, the students used oil pastels to color in their artwork. The dried glue leaves nice black lines around their shapes in the drawing.

Winter Wonderland

2011-01-14T06:22:00.000-08:00

Winter Wonderlands

My first graders love doing this artwork. They start out with some triangle tracers of different sizes and trace them using cool colored crayons. Next they add a tree trunk and some branches with the crayons and draw a horizon line. They use cool colored tempera cakes and white to paint their forest. The next week the students use hole punchers and scrap white paper to make their snowflakes.

Winter Scenes

2011-01-14T06:14:00.000-08:00

Winter Scenes

My kindergarten classes enjoyed making these winter scenes. They started with a sheet of 12x18 gray paper. They used crayons to draw an outside scene. The next week, they were excited to use a sponge and white paint to make it "snow" on their picture!

Snowflakes

2011-01-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

Fancy Snowflakes

I decided to take a little twist on the white snowflake, so we used purple or black paper for our snowflakes to really make them stand out. The students started by using tempera cake paint in blues, whites and purples for the background. While that was drying, they traced lids of different sizes on purple or black paper for their snowflakes. After cutting their snowflakes, they used a silver Sharpie to decorate the flakes. Finally, they glued the snowflakes to their painted background and added some Sharpie work to the background.

Winter Trees

2011-01-13T09:08:00.001-08:00

Winter Tree

I took Caitlin Kell's idea for the sky. In fact, these were going to be the fall trees she had on the blog but time got away. My second graders painted the background using the primary colors. The next week, they cut white paper for the bottom and then used brown paint for the tree. The last week, white paint was added to the branches and they hole punched white paper for the flakes.

Snowflakes

2011-01-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

This is a quick, fun and easy project I found on another blog. The kids loved doing them and it was easily finished in one day. I would think it would work for 2nd through 4th grade. I used construction paper crayons for the drawn flakes, but oil pastels would work also.

Art blogs/ Vivid Layers

2011-01-02T18:53:00.001-08:00

I added our blog to the list, lots of great blogs on here... Take the time to check this link out!
http://vividlayers.blogspot.com/2010/12/art-teacher-blog-directory.html

Stick snowman ornament

2010-12-30T03:48:00.000-08:00

Here is the picture of my stick snowman. I do this project with second grade. I takes 3 classes. The first class we assemble the sticks. There are two short sticks on the back to brace the project, although it seems to hold together without them. If there is time at the end of the first class, we make the star. Second class paint, third class decorate. The smile is made from pre-cut rug yarn, but you could use yarn that you cut or paper (hole punched "coal" would be cute). This project is a bit difficult (assembling the sticks) but I have had many positive comments from my parents.

Winter Cardinal

2010-12-20T10:25:00.000-08:00

I found this from another art blog:

Winter Cardinal

1.Make cardboard wing templates for students to trace to keep the scale of the bird from starting out too small. The rest of the drawing was done with step-by-step instructions on the board. Describe the wing as needing to be tilted a bit, a “shark fin” was added on top, and a belly below. The black face looks a bit like half of a butterfly, and the beak extends directly to the right of it. A tail is added below, along with feet. The branch is behind the feet so it’s lines jump over the feet and tail.

2. After the drawing is done, it needs to be traced with a thin black marker.

3. Lastly, all except the snow is colored in with oil pastels.

Russian Palaces

2010-12-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

This is a lesson I do with Kindergarten. You can change it up and make it more complicated, or simplify it. We looked at pictures of the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral in Russia and discussed the similarities and differences between those buildings and buildings they have seen. Then we talked about different lines and shapes they could use to make patterns on their buildings (like the towers on St. Basil's). This year, on the first day I had the kids paint the sky (I splattered on the snow later), and work on creating the patterns on their 4 towers and door (in other years I've done it more simply without the frame and painting the background). The second day we cut out the Hershey kiss shapes for the roof tops and added sparkles and a frame.

"Buffalo Skins"

2010-12-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

I read Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie DePaolo to my second grade students when they are learning about the Plains Indians.
They use a crayon resist technique on brown kraft paper to paint their "animal skin".

Medicine Bags

2010-12-13T08:16:00.001-08:00

Second grade students make these Sioux "Medicine Bags" when they are studying American Indians. I do a lesson from each of the different groups of American Indians. I tell my students that the Plains Indians would use animal skins and rawhide with bead decorations on a bag. We use lunch bags, graph paper, raffia, feathers, and pony beads.

3-D Paper Poinsettias

2010-12-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

Students trace and cut out three petals and three leaves. Each table of students gets one stapler to share and they help each other fold and staple petals together. We wad up a piece of yellow tissue paper for the center of the flower.

These look great on a bulletin board in December and parents always love them when students take them home.

Monthly Mentor Blog (NAEA)

2010-12-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some very interesting blogs about different areas of art education from assessment to special needs students. The latest one is about an art teacher's community art program where she partnered with Fred Mutebi to create a mural exchange between Texas students and students in Uganda: Monthly Mentor.

Positive/Negative cutouts

2010-12-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

This is a super lesson to do around the holidays. Students will first learn the terms ''related shapes '' and ''radial shapes''. On a 9'' black paper square, class will draw their design with pencil. Place design on a newspaper and cut using exacto knives. (...threaten first, and remove knife if anyone ''plays'' with it ).When design is cut out, use scissors to cut pieces of tissue to glue on the back...remind them that each shape has a different color. They may also use the knives to do the smaller pieces of tissue to fit. Display in any window using small pieces of masking tape.

Hands -Positive/Negative

2010-12-10T05:40:00.000-08:00

This is a simple positive/negative lesson I do with younger children. Start with a 12'' square paper and 2 colors of 6'' paper, 3 each. Students will draw their hand onto one-do not touch the sides or top, and cut out. Trace the one hand onto the other 5. Cut all out, saving both the outside part and the inside hand.( positive and negative ) Arrange the pieces in a balanced design on the 12''square paper, and then let them glue it. Simple, easy, and may use any shape that can be easily reproduced.

Origami and Papermaking Links

2010-12-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

Papermaking and Book ideas

Origami Club

Nutcracker

2010-12-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

I found this idea on another art blog. I really liked it, so I changed it up a little and tried it out with second grade. It has been very successful. They loved doing it and all of them came out great, as you can see from the photos of a few of them. We drew the nutcraker step by step using basic shapes, outlined it with sharpie and then painted with cake tempera the first week. The second week we went over anything we needed to touch up with sharpie, cut them out, glued them on the black paper and added glitter. I love the project, will definitely do it again.

Mosaic Penguin

2010-12-07T05:57:00.000-08:00

What you'll need:
1 sheet light blue construction paper
Construction paper: black, white, orange, and red
Pen
Glue stick
Black marker
Pattern: http://crafts.kaboose.com/mosaic_penguin_template.pdf
How to make it:
Place pattern on top of the light blue construction paper and trace it with a pen. This will create an indent in the blue paper.Add a simple line behind the penguin's body, just a few inches above the penguin's foot. This is the land.
Tear white and black construction paper into strips, and then tear the strips into squares.
Remove pattern. Apply glue with glue stick to small areas of the blue paper, using the indentations as a guide. Start with the "land" area first, pressing white paper scraps in place.
Still working in small areas (so that your glue doesn't dry before you get to it) press on all the black paper areas. Finish with the white area in the center of the penguin.
Tear or cut out a triangle beak from the orange paper and glue on to the face. Use black marker to add two eyes and eyebrows. Tear or cut out a bow tie from red paper and glue in place under the beak.

Majolica pottery

2010-12-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

Description
Majolica pottery demonstrates that a beautiful idea can travel
the globe! During China’s Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), potters
used cobalt, an Arabian mineral, to create a dark blue glaze to
contrast with China’s white porcelain clays.
Later, Islamic potters mimicked the look with their reddish, iron rich
clays by painting bright oxides and stains on a tin-glazed,
opaque white background. Their wares became as popular as
Chinese Ming pottery and often were shipped from Spain to Italy
via the port of Majorca, an island off Spain’s eastern coast.
Pottery painted with colors over a white base became known
as “majolica” and was widely produced in Italy during the
Renaissance. Florentines Lucca and Andrea de la Robbia were
the best-known majolica clay artists, creating large religious relief
sculptures glazed with bright colors on a gloss-white base.

Preparation: Gather photographs of Ming Dynasty
pottery as well as Islamic and Italian pottery in the majolica
style. Display in the classroom resources that explain the style’s
movement across cultures.
With the students:
1 Start with a baseball-sized lump of clay (about 1 pound)
for a small goblet and an orange-sized lump (about
1 ½ pounds) for a larger one.
2 Make a pinch pot:
• Roll less than half of your clay between your palms or
against the tabletop into a perfectly round, egg-sized
ball.
• Push your thumb about halfway into the center of the
ball and turn it, pinching the clay gently between your
thumb and fingers. Focus on the thick parts, pulling
upward and inward to create uniform walls and a tall
tulip shape (not a cereal bowl). Keep the rim thick
enough to prevent cracks.
• Tap the bottom of the pot gently on a table to flatten
it slightly.
• Invert the pot on a small board or piece of cardboard.
3 Roll the remaining clay on the tabletop into several ropes
the diameter of your little finger. Set aside the best rope for
the rim, covering it with plastic.
4 Score and slip the bottom of the pinch pot. Then score and
slip the ropes and coil them atop it, pressing them gently
together. Make the coils close and tight near the pinch
pot, where fingers will grip the goblet, and coil the ropes
upward to the goblet’s desired height.
5 Turn goblet right side up. Gently tap the base coil flat so
the goblet is stable and the rim is parallel to the tabletop.
6 Score and slip the pinch pot rim and place the reserved rope
atop it. With a wooden tool or your finger, gently smooth
the joint, affixing the rope firmly and tidily to the rim.
7 Texture, stamp and sprig goblet as desired. Support goblet
gently with your fingers as you texture or stamp it; score
and slip any sprigs and clay pieces you add to the goblet.
8 Turn goblet upside down to dry. Check that the base is
parallel to the tabletop.

If you choose:

Decorate the goblet with the majolica technique:
• Brush two to three coats of lead-free

White (LG-11) using a wide brush. Glaze evenly onto
cone 04 bisque-fired goblets. Glaze may be applied onto
bone-dry greenware (without bisque-firing first) but
beware as the pieces would be very fragile.
• Paint images and designs by brushing one to three coats
of Gloss Decorating Colors over the dry Opaque
White Glaze to emulate true majolica. Fewer coats give a
translucent, watercolor effect.
• When dry, fire to cone 05. Do so slowly if you have
applied glaze to bone-dry greenware.

CORNUCOPIA

2010-12-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

CORNUCOPIA

Materials:
1. tissue paper (brown, purple, blue, yellow,
red, orange and green)
2. (1) 9" x 12" piece of newsprint
3. (l)9"x 12" white construction paper
4. liquid starch
5. paint brush
6. black crayon

Steps:
1. Cut a cornucopia out of brown tissue paper. Cut various fruit shapes from the other
colors of tissue paper.
2. Have children arrange their design first on newsprint.
3. Paint the white construction paper with liquid starch. Move the arrangement from
the newsprint to the white paper, one piece at a time. Go over the top of each piece
lightly with the liquid starch. Be careful not to go over the edges so the colors won't
run.
4. Outline the design with crayon after it is dry. The colors of the tissue will have run a
bit and this makes it more interesting. Outline the original fruit design.

Paper plate turkey-3rd grade

2010-11-30T16:12:00.001-08:00

The students love this project. You will need 2 paper plates per student. Before the class, use one paper plate per child to create a cone (staple it). The children will cut across the bottom of the cone. That cut off portion becomes the turkey's wing, the upper portion is the body. Fold down the point of the cone to create the beak and face. The second plate is divided, not quite in half, to create 2 sections of the turkey's tail (you want one section larger than the other). The two sections of tail are divided like a pie, each section painted a different color. We paint the body and wing brown, and the beak yellow, add google eyes (don't they make every elementary project better) and feet. I give out a written instruction sheet for this project that also includes pictures. My goal with the written instructions was to support SOL testing (helping the children learn to follow instructions) as well as reduced stress for me! Those who have trouble reading the instructions use reading buddies, which has not caused any conflict for me. This has been a very successful project!

More Op Art

2010-11-22T05:51:00.000-08:00

This Op Art Lesson is very simple, but you may may make it as difficult as you wish. This is just 3 pieces of construction paper that have a simple line pattern on it. They are attatched in the middle with a brad. The pieces of paper may then be moved in any manner to change the design look....try odd shaped paper with any combination of designs/patterns, and more than one brad.

Canopic Jars

2010-11-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

Fifth graders are making Canopic Jars using Pringles cans;
Day 1 - We started by looking at Canopic Jars from Ancient Egypt and learned a bit of background about the 4 sons of Horus and the purpose of the jars. After the introduction, the students practiced making a head with modeling clay. They were given the choice of making one of the 4 sons of Horus or any head they chose.

Day 2 - We used Sculptamold - my first experience - to make the heads on the lids of the Pringles cans. I wish we'd used Model Magic instead. The Sculptamold was gloppy and bothered some of my students with disabilities... not to mention that it was very soft and not at all like the modeling clay they'd practiced with.

Day 3 - We papier-mached the Pringles cans and finished them with a couple of pieces of tissue paper.

Day 4 - We began by talking about hieroglyphics and Egyptian patterns. I passed out lots of examples from a Dover book on Egyptian designs, and gave each student a sheet on hieroglyphics. We then decorated our cylinders/cans with gold Sharpie paint markers, glitter glue, and regular Sharpies. We also used Tacky Glue to affix the dried Sculptamold heads on to the Pringles lids and set them aside in a separate box.

Day 5 we will paint our heads with acrylic or metallic tempera paint. I can't wait to see how they will turn out!

Wishing tree

2010-11-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

This lesson was an idea I modified from the Arts & Activities magazine that our school receives. I did it with first graders, but older kids would also enjoy it. Week one, we drew a tree on a 6''x8'' paper-the same size as the styrofoam. I had the class draw the trunk half the way up and then 'branch out' the limbs. I told them to place 17 leaves on their tree..it helps to give them an exact number. We then taped it to the styrofoam and retraced, pressing firmly. Tell class to place their names on the BACK of the styrofoam.The next week we took pastels and colored a 9''x12'' paper, then smoothed it with kleenex. The class then printed them. I did put the boarder on before we printed--it just seems to make everyones look a little more ''finished''. Everyone had a nice print.

Buffalo Paintings

2010-11-19T03:44:00.000-08:00

I got this lesson from another art teacher's website, but I added the Native American symbol frame to it. I tried to squeeze it all into 2 days, so I did the background and buffalo on the first day, and then cut the buffalo out and glued it all together and added the frame the second day. I also read the book "Buffalo Woman" by Paul Goble on the second day (it's a Native American legend about how the Buffalo Nation and Native Americans became "related").

Gargoyles!

2010-11-19T03:38:00.000-08:00

I stole this clay gargoyle lesson from Cassie several years ago. The kids LOVE this lesson, the younger ones can't wait to be in 5th grade so they can make their gargoyle. This year I changed it up a little bit. I had an overwhelming number of coffee cans and plastic containers, so I decided that the kids would also make a building for their gargoyle to live on. We looked at and discussed gothic architecture, and then created our buildings on gray paper with sharpies and white colored pencils. They turned out really nice!

Owl Drawings

2010-11-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

Vocabulary:

Line, pattern, convex, concave, nocturnal

Materials

Owl Moon

12x18 white drawing paper

black sharpies

owl images and books

colored pencil/watercolor

Procedure

The students will draw a V on the page upper center, add circles on each side of V, add smaller circles inside those and color in for eyes, close v off with wavy half circle at top, add V to bottom of eyes to make beak, add zigzag lines around eyes and over top but not to touch the beak, add 2nd and 3rd row of zigzag feathers, draw to curved lines(concave and convex) from near beak down to make wings not to touch at lower end of page, add outer layer to create wings on both of those lines, add feet at junction of wings near bottom of page, fill in belly with little v's for feathers or other feather like shapes, add branch and tree to complete, have students add any other details they want. The students can then add watercolor, or crayon

Art Websites

2010-11-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

Artsonia is a great site for lesson plans. Teachers share lessons for elementary through high. There are also articles on various art topics and contests. If you are a memeber of the NAEA you can register your school for free. Also, you can have an online gallery of student work. http://www.artsonia.com/

Food Color Wheel

2010-11-16T10:18:00.000-08:00

Food Color Wheels

Materials:

Color Wheel Handouts
Pencil
9x9 white paper
circle templates/paper plates
red, yellow, blue tempera paint (for mixing)
brushes
water
scissors
glue
card stock paper/posterboard/black constructions paper

Steps:

1. Begin by asking children to draw a banana and an apple, which they will paint yellow and red. (For younger children: pre-draw fruit shapes that they may paint in)

2. Then they may paint a number of blue dots, which will represent blueberries.

3. Ask children to draw a lime, then ask what color it should be. Instruct them in mixing green from yellow and blue, so they may paint the lime green.

4. Do the same for an orange (yellow+red), and a plum or cluster of grapes (blue+red).

5. Once painted fruits have dried, cut them out.

6. Cut a circle out of card stock/black paper.

7. Beginning with primary colors, glue "fruit" around the plate according to their colour to create a color wheel

SOLs 3.4, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4

Bad Case of the Stripes

2010-11-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

To begin this lesson I read the book A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon. We then drew self-portraits with sharpies, and painted stripes. The next week we made a pattern for our frame and cut the person out and glued them on. They look GREAT! It's a really good book for the beginning of the school year.

Turkey Pinch Pot

2010-11-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

Turkey Pinch Pot

I introduced my kindergarten classes to pinch pots. After forming the pinch pot, they pinched a bit of the top together to make the turkey's head. Then they used their fingers to pinch up the back of the pot to make his tail. After they were fired, they used Jazz Gloss paint to paint the head red and body brown. After they were dry, I drew on eyes for them with a black Sharpie and hot glued a feather and beak to their turkey. The kids loved them!

Shape dragon for second graders

2010-11-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

My shape dragon lesson was taught to second grade students. There were 5 small circles used (the size of the head), with one left whole, two cut in half, and two cut into quarters. The students enjoyed the project and learned something about math, too!

Victorian Houses

2010-11-01T13:03:00.001-07:00

I do this lesson with fifth grade students and have had great success and interest on their part. I introduce Victorian Houses as a style of architecture originally from the 1800's. I have collected many photographs of Victorian houses from all over the country which I share with my students. I've also used a print of Edward Hopper's House by the Railroad . We pay special attention to details like gingerbread trim, cat walks, dormer windows, cupolas, turrets, finials, iron gates, etc. The students draw in pencil from a photograph, or they can make up their own house. They outline with a sharpie and then paint the sky black. These are always a big hit around Halloween.

Scarecrow Model

2010-11-01T12:38:00.001-07:00

Fifth grade students help me make a scarecrow from recycled clothing etc. and then he models for us. Since we put him in different poses and he will sit still the entire period, he makes a great model. I use this lesson to identify and use visual texture. Students place textured items like burlap, cardboard, and corduroy under their drawing as they color in, creating a textured look to his clothing. The drawings always look great and the younger students enjoy seeing our scarecrow sitting around the Art Room for the month of October.

Fall trees

2010-10-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

The children love this lesson. We discuss trees and how to draw them. Then discuss the background. Students draw a tree and fill in the entire background, no empty white space. We then use ONE finger to create all our leaves for the tree by painting fall colors with our fingerprints. We talk about the brown leaves ending up on the ground. It doesn't take much in the way of supplies but the results are always good. Hard to believe these two were made by first graders.

Funny Faces

2010-10-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

I do this with my kindergarten classes. They tear pieces of scrap paper to make a face. Then they use old medicine bottles, cardboard, etc. dipped in black paint to add details to their funny face.

Fall Symmetry

2010-10-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

Students receive one sheet of 9x12 paper and a half sheet of a different color. Students draw half of their image on the half sheet of paper. After cutting out their image and saving all of the pieces, they glue it to the full sheet of paper.

Leaf Sun Catcher

2010-10-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

Students trace a template of a leaf two times on brown paper. Both leaves are cut out. A square of wax paper is glued to one leaf and then the student takes pieces of fall colored tissue paper and glues them to the wax paper. A second square of wax paper is put on top. The students then line up the second leaf and glue it to the other leaf. (I tell my students it is kind of like making a sandwich where the leaves are the bread, the wax paper is the mayo, and the tissue paper is the ham)

Explorer Ship

2010-10-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

When my third graders are studying explorers, we make a ship. We start by using tempera cakes to paint a 9x12 sheet of paper greens and blues. Then we use crayons or oil pastels to color a second sheet in warm colors. The following week, the blue paper is torn and glued to the warm colored paper to make the ocean. The torn parts are white so if they are glued so the white is at the top, it looks like waves. Lastly, the students draw a ship on brown paper and some sails on white paper. The ship is glued to the ocean scene.

Super Artist!

2010-10-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

It's a bird.
It's a plane.
It's SUPER ARTIST!

We had a Super Hero Bookfair Night, and all the teachers dressed up as super heroes.

If anyone needs an artist super hero costume... :)

More Fundraiser

2010-10-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

Fifth grade used chameleons for their inspiration for the square 1 fundraiser project. We talked about chameleons, read a book about them and then drew one together. They were then urged to give their chameleon a personality of its own. Each one should look different from the rest. We added patterns and bright colors to our designs. They came out GREAT! I loved them,

and so did the kids!

Square 1 Fundraiser

2010-10-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

One of the schools where I teach does the Square 1 fundraiser. I thought I would post a few ideas that I used this year with the classes. In third grade we did cats using the art of Laurel Burch. The students enjoyed looking at her work and discussing the cats. We then created cats of our own. I emphasized using lots of patterns in their designs. I thought they came out great! I think you could do the cats with any grade leve and still have success.

Leaf Prints

2010-10-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

I like to do this leaf printing project in the fall. I ask students to bring in leaves and I bring in some from home. We classify each leaf. With third graders, I talk about mixing the paint right on the leaf to get intermediate colors. I use tempera paint cakes and tell my students to keep the paint on the dry side. Paint the side of the leaf with the veins, turn the painted leaf over onto paper and rub with a paper towel to get a good print. Lift the leaf off.

Fall Leaves

2010-10-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

I did this project with 3rd grade. We made leaves with marker outlines and veins, and then used water to make the marker "bleed" (the cheaper the paper the better it works).