Making print messes with 1st grade

First graders are practicing using lines to make pirate ships. They are using small pieces of cardboard dipped in tempera paint to make horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. They gently press the paint into the tray and print the line on their paper. The results have been really fun to watch come alive. 

This little girl said that her pirate ship was from an old movie and that's why she made it "fuzzy looking". 

Next week they will add color using pastels. 

-Ms. G

2nd grade: connecting colors to feelings

Second grade is continuing to work with color, understand the organization of the color wheel and now how colors are connected to feelings. 

We discussed the feelings that certain colors bring on or that can be related, such as red being angry, upset, or even in love. They recognized blue was calm or sad. 

They leaned about Wasily Kandinsky and his study about colors and then set off to create their own color circles.

 I like these because every student feels different. In order to feel a wide range of emotions I have the students fold their paper so have 8 equal sections. Then I play a song for each section. Students are encouraged to use the colors that best describe their emotions to the song. One song per square for a total of 8 songs in two class periods. The conversations that occur are wonderful as they discuss their feelings and move along to the music. I have them listen to a variety of music from classical to popular and the results are amazing. 

 

This has been a project I have done several years and each time I find a way to better explain it and the fun increases. It is nice to hear the students talk about their feelings and color. 

-Ms. G

Messes made earlier this school year..

One of the first projects I did with fifth and fourth grade what about Peter Max. Students created a space scape using bright colored markers and Peter Max's signature style sun.

This wonderful piece of work was made by a fifth-grade boy.

Students were able to lay out their space scape in whatever manner they liked. Many included several planets and moons. This project took them three class periods to complete. 

Second-grade was learning about the color wheel and lines, so they created a line design color wheel. They learned to divide the paper into six even pieces and then decorated every single piece with different types of lines. When they were finished adding the lines in permanent marker they painted the pieces in rainbow order as it goes on the color wheel.

This example was made by second-grade boy.

The first project the third-graders did was about landscapes and lines. Students created a mountainous landscape. Then they used different types of lines to fill in all of the areas of the landscape. 

These are just some of the messes we've made in the short time we've been in school already.  I am so proud of my new students and all of their awesome effort.

-Ms. G

So many (good) messes being made..

So currently we have a lot of different projects going on- fifth-grade is creating a Clay three-dimensional totem spoon, fourth and third grade are working on van Goghs "starry night" and then adding their favorite place as a silhouette to create the foreground, Second grade is learning about color through a project about Kandinsky and his color theory circles, and first grade and kindergarten are learning about line and creating pirate ship prints. 

The learning goal for fifth grade is to understand that a form is three dimensional.

Fourth and third grade are learning to create movement through repetition and use of different color values. They are using chalk pastels to complete this project.

Second grade is using color in the artwork and learning how colors are connected to different feelings.

Kindergarten and first grade are reviewing horizontal vertical and diagonal lines and using a printmaking method. 

In each grade the child has choices on how they would like to make or depict their piece of artwork. I encourage them all to make it very personal. The fifth-grade totem spoons should be very interesting as each is supposed to tell a story about themselves. 

Pictures coming soon..

-Ms. G

New School, New Degree, New Blog

Hi everyone! Here I am on a new journey in my local school district as a first year art teacher. I used to work in a non-profit setting where I taught for three years. It was such a great learning experience that really prepared me for where I am today. I am 17 weeks into my first public school year and I couldn't be happier. I also just graduated from the University of Florida with my Masters in Art Education. So this blog is to detail all the awesome happenings in the art room as I try to encourage my new and wonderful students to make decisions and think about their art. I used to teach using a choice-based approach where students are true artists and develop their own projects. My students have proved to me that they can be intrinsically motivated and create wonderful and personal art.

I love teaching art and I hope that you follow me along in the journey. I will post lessons, approaches, pictures and reflect on daily happenings.

-Ms. G