Hoover Library's Thank-A-Vet poster contest winner for our school.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Penguins
First grade students learned many facts about penguins as they created these precious works of art. We looked at various pictures and discussed the habits and environments of penguins. Students started out by using water color washes to paint their snowy backgrounds. This is a great lesson to discuss placement, size, and the horizon line.
The next week, they used u-shaped templates to trace and cut out penguins. (There are differing opinions about using templates. I sometimes use them with the younger grades so that their objects don't end up too small.) Students made wings from scraps. Each student was given rectangles of orange paper to create feet. I love the feet!
The following week, final details were added and we used watered down tempera to add some snow. I added the snow, tapping and slinging paint as they watched, but if you are brave then let the kids go for it!
I hope you enjoy our efforts!
First grade students learned many facts about penguins as they created these precious works of art. We looked at various pictures and discussed the habits and environments of penguins. Students started out by using water color washes to paint their snowy backgrounds. This is a great lesson to discuss placement, size, and the horizon line.
The next week, they used u-shaped templates to trace and cut out penguins. (There are differing opinions about using templates. I sometimes use them with the younger grades so that their objects don't end up too small.) Students made wings from scraps. Each student was given rectangles of orange paper to create feet. I love the feet!
The following week, final details were added and we used watered down tempera to add some snow. I added the snow, tapping and slinging paint as they watched, but if you are brave then let the kids go for it!
I hope you enjoy our efforts!
Friday, December 12, 2014
Las Posadas
The celebration of Las Posadas is observed for nine days in December. It begins on December 16 and ends December 24 each year. Although it originated in Spain, it has become very popular in Mexico, Guatemala, and more recently in the United States.
The celebration of Las Posadas is observed for nine days in December. It begins on December 16 and ends December 24 each year. Although it originated in Spain, it has become very popular in Mexico, Guatemala, and more recently in the United States.
The name Las Posadas means The Inn in Spanish. This Spanish observance is a reenactment of Joseph and Mary's search for shelter before the baby Jesus was born.
Las Posadas begins with a procession of neighbors, friends, and family who visit each other's homes, reenacting Joseph and Mary's search for shelter. The procession goes from house to house until they reach the one where the night's festivities will be held. The group is then invited in for the party and the feast begins.
One of the more important parts of the night's festivities for children is the breaking of the pinata. The pinata is traditionally shaped like a star to represent the star that led the three wisemen that night. The pinata is filled with treats and toys. Each child is blindfolded and given a stick to try to break the pinata open. When the pinata is broken open, the children scramble to grab it's contents.
One of the more important parts of the night's festivities for children is the breaking of the pinata. The pinata is traditionally shaped like a star to represent the star that led the three wisemen that night. The pinata is filled with treats and toys. Each child is blindfolded and given a stick to try to break the pinata open. When the pinata is broken open, the children scramble to grab it's contents.
African Masks
Students always love working with clay. African masks are a fun subject to incorporate into this medium. We looked at and discussed many different masks before designing our own. After the masks were fired, students added neutral colors to complete this fun project. We are going to follow up with more detailed mixed-media paper masks. It should be a lot of fun!
Students always love working with clay. African masks are a fun subject to incorporate into this medium. We looked at and discussed many different masks before designing our own. After the masks were fired, students added neutral colors to complete this fun project. We are going to follow up with more detailed mixed-media paper masks. It should be a lot of fun!
Friday, December 5, 2014
Poinsettias
There is a Mexican legend that explains the origin of poinsettias. According to the legend, a young girl had no gift to give the baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. She was told that the baby Jesus would love whatever gift she gave, because it came from her heart. She gathered up some weeds, carried them inside the chapel, presented them to the baby Jesus and began to pray. Suddenly the green weeds had blazing red stars on top of them. When everyone went outside, the rest of the weeds bore bright red poinsettias, too.
Our second grade classes enjoyed making these special flowers for the holidays. We used templates to trace and cut out the shapes. The petals and leaves were folded and then glued together. Bright yellow circles were added to the center and topped with yellow glitter.
There is a Mexican legend that explains the origin of poinsettias. According to the legend, a young girl had no gift to give the baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. She was told that the baby Jesus would love whatever gift she gave, because it came from her heart. She gathered up some weeds, carried them inside the chapel, presented them to the baby Jesus and began to pray. Suddenly the green weeds had blazing red stars on top of them. When everyone went outside, the rest of the weeds bore bright red poinsettias, too.
Our second grade classes enjoyed making these special flowers for the holidays. We used templates to trace and cut out the shapes. The petals and leaves were folded and then glued together. Bright yellow circles were added to the center and topped with yellow glitter.
Nutcrackers
Nutcrackers became well known in Germany within the mining community. Life was hard for the villagers who worked long hours as miners. Often the miners watched as their fruits of their labor were taken by their superiors. During winter months when they weren't mining, many of the villagers carved wood until they could return to work. Their carvings, nutcracker dolls, were cleverly designed to resemble powerful people such as policemen, kings, and soldiers. The townspeople enjoyed the caricatures of their rulers, because they were placed at their service to perform the lowly task of cracking nuts.
This was a project I found on Artsonia a few years ago.
Nutcrackers became well known in Germany within the mining community. Life was hard for the villagers who worked long hours as miners. Often the miners watched as their fruits of their labor were taken by their superiors. During winter months when they weren't mining, many of the villagers carved wood until they could return to work. Their carvings, nutcracker dolls, were cleverly designed to resemble powerful people such as policemen, kings, and soldiers. The townspeople enjoyed the caricatures of their rulers, because they were placed at their service to perform the lowly task of cracking nuts.
This was a project I found on Artsonia a few years ago.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Gingerbread Art
Gingerbread cookies can be traced back to the Greeks, but became more popular in later years. These carved works of art served as a sort of story board that told the news of the day, bearing the likeness of new kings, emperors and queens, or religious symbols. The finished cookie might be decorated with edible gold paint (for those who could afford it) or flat white icing to bring out the details in relief.
The first gingerbread man is credited to Queen Elizabeth I, who surprised visiting dignitaries by presenting them with one baked in their own likeness. Gingerbread tied with ribbon was popular at fairs and, when exchanged, became a token of love.
Below you can see our first grade gingerbread men and women. Enjoy!
Gingerbread cookies can be traced back to the Greeks, but became more popular in later years. These carved works of art served as a sort of story board that told the news of the day, bearing the likeness of new kings, emperors and queens, or religious symbols. The finished cookie might be decorated with edible gold paint (for those who could afford it) or flat white icing to bring out the details in relief.
The first gingerbread man is credited to Queen Elizabeth I, who surprised visiting dignitaries by presenting them with one baked in their own likeness. Gingerbread tied with ribbon was popular at fairs and, when exchanged, became a token of love.
Below you can see our first grade gingerbread men and women. Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Cityscape Collages
Using neutral colors to create a work of art can be challenging, but our first grade Gators stepped up to the challenge. We looked at photographs of nighttime cityscapes and discussed the overlapping and size of buildings. We also discussed textures of buildings.
First grade students then set out to create their cityscapes. They chose pre-cut shapes and added crayons rubbings to show texture on each building. Squares were added to represent windows, some lights were on and some were off. Stars and moons were added using white charcoal pencils. They turned out to be quite nice!
Monday, November 10, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
Dia de los Muertos is a time to remember and honor ancestors and loved ones who have passed. But it's not a sad holiday at all! This celebration, which is historically a Latin American tradition, is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd of every year. Flowers are placed on altars placed in homes or public places. The altars are also decorated using sugar skulls, marigolds, candles, religious symbols, photos, as well as favorite foods and beverages. The sugar skulls,(calaveras), symbolize death.
Second grade students viewed and discussed examples of calaveras before designing and making their own. We discussed symmetry in both design and color choices. Templates were used to create the skull shape and then students drew and colored the skulls to complete the lesson.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Autumn Trees
Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the feeling of getting out on a crisp, cool day and admiring the beautiful foliage. The colors of the autumn leaves against the azure blue sky is simply magnificent to see. Our self-contained class attempted to capture some of that beauty on paper. I think they did a beautiful job!
On day one we first painted our grass and then we rolled our trees. I hot glued foam strips to paper towel rolls and then we added brown paint to the foam and carefully rolled the tree trunks, beginning at the horizon line.
On the second day we dipped cotton swabs into orange, yellow and red paint and added our leaves, both on the tree and on the ground. You could discuss warm and cool colors before starting the painting of the leaves. I hope you enjoy the results!
Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the feeling of getting out on a crisp, cool day and admiring the beautiful foliage. The colors of the autumn leaves against the azure blue sky is simply magnificent to see. Our self-contained class attempted to capture some of that beauty on paper. I think they did a beautiful job!
On day one we first painted our grass and then we rolled our trees. I hot glued foam strips to paper towel rolls and then we added brown paint to the foam and carefully rolled the tree trunks, beginning at the horizon line.
On the second day we dipped cotton swabs into orange, yellow and red paint and added our leaves, both on the tree and on the ground. You could discuss warm and cool colors before starting the painting of the leaves. I hope you enjoy the results!
Under Water Worlds
This project is always a lot of fun for my first graders. We started off by reading the book, Pattern Fish, by Trudi Harris. The kids enjoy identifying patterns as we read along. After finishing the book, students eagerly began drawing their own patterned fish, taking care to add details such as fins, eyes and of course, patterns!
Students were then challenged to color their drawings using a pattern. Bubbles were added around the fish using white oil pastel. We finished our pictures by adding shimmery watercolor over the entire picture.
This project is always a lot of fun for my first graders. We started off by reading the book, Pattern Fish, by Trudi Harris. The kids enjoy identifying patterns as we read along. After finishing the book, students eagerly began drawing their own patterned fish, taking care to add details such as fins, eyes and of course, patterns!
Students were then challenged to color their drawings using a pattern. Bubbles were added around the fish using white oil pastel. We finished our pictures by adding shimmery watercolor over the entire picture.
Nighttime Landscapes
It was time to create a painting and students were excited! We began our artwork by painting our moon and our ground. We added metallic silver to add a glow to the night sky. While our paintings dried a bit, we looked at Carnival Evening by Henri Rousseau and discussed the spatial components of the painting. Rousseau was self-trained and inspired many Surrealist painters, including Salvador Dali. Students next painted trees using care to paint some trees in the background and some in the foreground. The final touches were added. We included some fire flies and some metallic gold to mimic fire flies from a distance. The end results are magical! I saw this idea on line.
It was time to create a painting and students were excited! We began our artwork by painting our moon and our ground. We added metallic silver to add a glow to the night sky. While our paintings dried a bit, we looked at Carnival Evening by Henri Rousseau and discussed the spatial components of the painting. Rousseau was self-trained and inspired many Surrealist painters, including Salvador Dali. Students next painted trees using care to paint some trees in the background and some in the foreground. The final touches were added. We included some fire flies and some metallic gold to mimic fire flies from a distance. The end results are magical! I saw this idea on line.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Open-Ended Questions to Ask your Child About Art:
So it's the end of the
semester or school year and your child brings home the art that he or she has
been working on. What do you do next? Do you pull a piece to frame? Tuck the portfolio in a closet? Or maybe you could turn this into a
learning moment. Talk to your child about what he or she learned. You
just might be surprised!
1. Tell Me.
What can you tell me about your picture? Can you tell me some things about the artist,
book, places, or culture that inspired you?
2. How? What
can you tell me about the process you used to make this work or art?
3. Materials.
What kind of materials did you use? Did you use a new skill or technique?
4. What if? What if
you had used a different set of colors? Would it change the mood or
feeling of the painting? What made you decide on the colors that you
chose to use?
5. Self-Critique. What do you like best about your artwork? Is there anything you wish
you had added?
So it's the end of the semester or school year and your child brings home the art that he or she has been working on. What do you do next? Do you pull a piece to frame? Tuck the portfolio in a closet? Or maybe you could turn this into a learning moment. Talk to your child about what he or she learned. You just might be surprised!
Monday, September 29, 2014
Venetian Architecture
Venice, Italy. Second grade students took a little trip to Italy to discover the beauty of Venice. Venice is actually composed of 118 small islands that are not strong enough to support the architecture. The architecture there is actually supported by wooden platforms that are kept together by millions of wooden piles entrenched in the sea bed. Venice has 416 bridges and 177 canals that help residents and tourists navigate this unique city.
After a discussion of Venice, students began by drawing a line across their papers and drawing several rectangles of various sizes along the line. Students added arches and other details characteristic of Italian architecture. Students then drew the wavy reflections below the line, thus creating symmetry. Color was added using oil pastels, vividly to the buildings above the line and somewhat more faint below the line. To finish the lesson students added watercolor to help create the illusion of water. I borrowed this lesson from Artsonia.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Surrealistic Birds
Surrealism can be a fun style to tackle with elementary students. Who could be better to discuss when thinking about Surrealism than the king of Surrealism, Salvador Dali? We started out by looking at a photo of Dali. The kids giggled when they saw his wild eyes and mustache. Do you remember the first time you saw a photo of him?
Next, we looked and analyzed The Persistence of Memory, and the students were very insightful I must add. We then looked at and discussed The Elephants. In deciding what to draw, I made the decision to draw birds instead of elephants. (We live in a college football loving state and the elephant just happens to be the mascot of one of those schools. Those students that were fans of the rival school were thankful that we drew birds instead.)
Students carefully drew their birds using a pen Sharpie and then added patterns. Next we painted the backgrounds using watercolor washes. The following week students added color to their birds using markers. I think Salvador Dali would be impressed!
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Primary Popsicles!
Kindergarten students read the book, The Color Tree, by Denise Bennett Minnerly. Primary color were painted on to paper. On day two, we reviewed the primary colors and students used secondary colors to paint lines on their paper, which was divided into three parts. Popsicle templates were traced, paper was cut and glued to the prepared background. Sticks were added as a finishing touch. This lesson was borrowed from We Heart Art.
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