Pattern Fish

I always love to begin the school year with the book Pattern Fish, by Trudy Harris.  My first grade students love to show just how much they know about patterns.  It's a great cross-curricular book. After we read the book and discuss patterns, students participated in a directed drawing.  I try not to use stencils unless I need things to be a certain size.  It can be challenging to get the little ones to draw large enough to fill the paper.  But we all gave it a go!

So the process went a little something like this. We began with a great big frown.  That was the key to getting them to draw large.  Then we added a smile.  Voila!  A fish body. Next we added details, such as fins, a tail and a mouth. Students then had to decide on a pattern for their fish body. After adding all of our details to our fish, we added seaweed. This is a great way to explain overlapping to the little ones. The ocean bottom was added, along with some bottom dwellers and then it was time to trace over our lines with Sharpies. 

The next time we met, students added color, remembering to use a pattern with their choice of color.  White crayons were used to add bubbles.  To wrap it up, each student painted their water using a glittery watercolor. There were lots of oohs and ahhs when they realized their water sparkled. Everyone had such success with this project!

Up, Up, and Away!

After reading Hot Air, by Marjorie Price, our little artists began planning their own hot air balloon designs.

Using chalk pastel for the background was both fun and successful.  The balloons were colored with markers.

Flowers!

I saw a post where an art teacher had her students draw flowers and then color them in, blending colors with oil pastels.  This was a great way to start our school year and a great way to review color theory and blending.

2015-2016 School Year

It's a new school year and things are moving right along.  I will soon post pictures of what we are currently working on. I'm reading The Dot, by Peter Reynolds to our newest little ones. We are discussing patterns and will soon draw and paint under-water worlds, including patterns in first grade. Second graders will begin Paul Klee castles, using simple shapes. Third graders are fascinated, (as am I), with Salvador Dali.  Hot air balloons are going to be fun for fourth graders to design and fifth graders are brushing up on their blending skills using oil pastels.  More to come!

Clay Cupcakes: 

Wayne Thiebaud & Claes Oldenburg

After studying the art of Wayne Thiebaud, (YUMMY!), we set out to make clay cupcakes. This is perfect way to introduce Claes Oldenburg. 

I bought silicone cupcake liners at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Each student was given a liner, sprinkled with baby powder to keep the clay from sticking.  We made small pinch pots and then pressed and molded them into the liners. The clay that went beyond the height of the liner was trimmed using a large paper clip. The clay was easy to pop out and now you have the bottom.

Another pinch pot would become the top. A cherry was added, with reminders to score and add slip.  The cherry added to the top of the cupcake becomes the handle for our containers.

After firing, it was time to add color! Students were asked to use one color on the bottom and then use several colors to decorate the top.  We actually finished these just in time for Mother's Day. 

Clay Fish

What is a Mandala?

A mandala, (mon-dah-lah), is various geometric designs (usually circular) symbolizing the universe; used chiefly in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation. They allow the busy mind to take a break while the creative mind is allowed to run free.  One stares at the mandala and irritating thoughts fade away.  Mandalas are used as symbols for meditation, protection and healing. Mandalas are great examples of radial balance.

I needed to complete a lesson connecting art with the computer world.  Fortunately, our kids were issued Chromebooks this year, which made this project a lot easier.  We looked and and discussed examples of mandalas and how they are examples of radial balance.  Then it was time to create!

I was lucky to have the help and guidance of one of our Tech coaches. (Thanks Sara!)  I had not done a lesson in a long time in which I collaborated with another teacher.  It was fun and refreshing.  We got the kids ready to go and began to create using Sumo Paint. They enjoyed it as much as I did.  This is the type of project where there are unlimited possibilities.