1st and 4th grade still life

4th grade has created these wonderful contour outline still life drawings and then added blended colors to them. Super proud!! 

The still life paintings below are made by first grade. 

Love my kiddos and how hard they work! 

5th grade cakes

Every year we do square 1, which is a fundraiser that helps pay for art supplies and other cool things we do in the classroom. This year fifth grade is creating colorful cakes. Here are some not yet colorful cakes. 

Week 5..back into the swing of things

Kindergarten names. I used large sequins. This is great for fine motor, clue control and name practice. They all did pretty well and overall I'm impressed with this years kindergarten classes. 

Second grade busy cities.. They are finally finishing coloring them. 

1st grade still life. I was a bit skeptical and have taught this lesson differently each time. This time I had the best results, I'm very proud of my first graders I can't wait to paint these. I'm making the same still life with the fourth graders but they are using oil pastels and incorporating shadows and high lights. 

Third grade worked on some free form monsters. This was a quick one day project to catch everyone up - but still teach the material. They had a lot of fun with this one I may turn it into a full scale project. 

Fabulous Fourth Grade

Fabulous fourth graders have been creating mood and depth through the use of line. They decided on the mood they wanted to represent and used appropriate colors. Then they are working on their brush Line skills by painting birch trees and cutting them out and gluing them on to the back ground. 

I'm really proud of how hard they work. I will post a complete one soon. 

Week 3..

This week had a little more printing and stamping for the kinders and first graders. We were discussing the direction of lines and some shapes. 

Kinder made prints of their homes. 

I always find these spectacularly special. I love the child style thinking and how they represent things. 

They used laminate samples to practice printing their vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines and used sponges cut into shapes for different details. 

First grade, using the same method created city scapes that they will color in next week with pastels. 

This building has many many windows but is the overall idea of what they are trying to accomplish. 

 

Second grade is creating busy cities but they are drawing them. We have discussed the directions of lines and various geometric shapes that can be found in buildings and their surroundings. 

I don't give too many parameters because I feel like they should be thinking these things up. I tell them the direction to hold their paper, skills they will need like "draw light, until you've got it right" and how to organize things to look best. The rest is up to them. As long as they can explain their learning goal and artistic decisions I'm a happy (and proud) little art teacher. 

Third grade is creating LineScapes. They are learning the three parts of a landscape and then using line to decorate the areas within their landscape. The one below isn't complete but is in good shape to have the lines added next week. We are studying wavy, curved, dotted, broken, curly types of lines and they are free to make their own up. 

It's the third week of school. I'm super proud of my kids. They are adapting well and following my very organized routines. 

I love being an art teacher. Mostly because I'm always impressed with what my kids come up with. 

"Every artist is a child. The problem is staying one once you grow up" Picasso 

On to week 4! 

Line prints with 1st and 2nd

First up we have the lovely first graders learning about horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. 

They wrapped rubber bands around a hard piece of card board, rolled ink on and made a print. They were encouraged to fill their paper. Some went as far as trying more rubber band designs. They also learned that they can make multiple copies with a print. It was messy and they loved it. 

The second graders had fun make calm and busy lines with paint scrapers. I put paint directly on their table, let them roll it out and then use the scrapers to make calm vertical and horizontal line designs and then busy lines using diagonal, curved or swirly lines. Then they pressed their paper down on to the paint and lifted the prints. They thought I was crazy for putting paint on the table but they loved it. 

Forgive the blurry photo- I was moving quickly 

They all did really well and were pretty independent and patient since only one person could go at a time at each table. 

Hooray for more printmaking! 

Week One, Done!

The kids and  I have survived our first week together. I'm still super excited to get to know my kids better and make amazing art projects with them. Next week is going to be a little tougher, we start our first projects and I will be testing 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. That's right, testing in art. Not something I agree with but it starts this year with a Baseline Test and ends the year with growth score. The state has mandated that districts develop pre and post test for every subject taught and here we are. Makes my heart sad for the students but it is what it is. We will move forward and thrive because thats what artists do, we problem solve and find new ways.

Week two is an exciting week for the primary grades who will explore print making in various forms like mono prints and monotypes. They will learn about lines, line direction and quality. Our curriculum focuses on the Elements and Principles of Art. In order to get through it all this year I have decided to pair an element with a principle. So Line will go with Unity because all the images will be unified by their use of line.

Already excited :)
Have a good week, everyone!!