Magical Masks, Hats, & Foam Creatures

As I get ready to retire, I'm using up some of the craft materials I purchased but never got around to. It is really very difficult to have 42 kids doing this at the same time. I had to do all the prep work because these students would not have been able to cut the masks out themselves. We had days of cutting practice with less than stellar results. Some states push for more time on academics in Kindergarten and First Grade. Their teachers are discouraged from activities requiring cutting and pasting so the children are losing their ability to do fine motor work. Since an art teacher sees those children less than one hour per week, they are not able to spend the time to address individual needs. Classes of 30 to 40 children are nightmares purely from a material handling perspective, let alone preparation, cleanup, and behavior management. (See Animoto below)

4th Grade Weaving

My first experience with weaving was during student teaching and it was amazing to see a class of usually rowdy 3rd Graders settle down so completely while they were engaged in this activity. It is a tactile project that allows the students to relax and either focus on the work or engage in quiet conversation once they get a rhythm going. Unfortunately, I chose a yarn assortment that I bought from one of our only source catalogs and the yarn had a rough texture. Some of the yarn had multiple strands that did not weave smoothly but the kids didn't complain. For that I was grateful. (See Animoto below)

The Monster Game

Using the whiteboards is a real blessing in many ways. Temporary drawings do not become precious and kids don't mind erasing them in order to draw something new. We used the SMART Board to play drawing games during which they learn the concept of columns and rows. Kids come up and roll the virtual die and explain to the class which column and row they will draw. Looking at the white board results gives me an immediate take on whether the child understood the cell they were to draw. (See Animoto below)

My Peeps!

Fourth Graders used a pattern to trace their bunny peep onto a folded piece of felt. They cut it out and stitched it together, leaving about one inch open on the bottom. They used the hole to stuff their peep, making sure the stuffing went all the way up to the ears. Since French knots are a bit tricky for Fourth Graders, I had them glue googly eyes on instead. I loved seeing all the pockets filled with peeps as they went to their next class.

Salon Des Enfants 2013

This was my last Salon Show because by this time I had decided to retire. I had such a great time with my junior high elective classes and watching them improve their skills. I was so proud of the work they did for the show. I will certainly miss that part of teaching, where I can mentor students who are exploring their personal creativity in art. (See Animoto below)

Color Order Designs

Students created a color order design using only the 3 primary colors. I was looking for proper color blending, the correct order, and craftsmanship in the coloring. Students simply do not have the same skills they used to have because classroom teachers are relegated to mundane testing skills and discouraged from any basic skills in the classroom. We see a much lower level of craftsmanship because of this test emphasis. (See Animoto below)

6th Grade Radial Designs

Radial symmetry is such a beautiful and simple design principle from a daisy or sun to a very complex design. Students created these designs without bothering with compasses or protractors in order to improve their skills at "eyeballing" the symmetry of the details.
Students watched a great video about radial symmetry on the SMART Board before we began. These students learned radial symmetry using sticky squares when they were younger so they had prior knowledge of the concept. (See Animoto below)

Using Whiteboards to Learn About Line

First and Second Graders are learning about the art element of line. They worked with a SMART Board activity and personal whiteboards to show understanding and their recognition of various types of lines. We have already looked at the types of lines used by artists Miro and Mondrian, so we are building on that knowledge. (See Animoto below)

Tessellation Transformation

As part of our math concept integration in art class, 4th graders explored tessellations. We looked at Tessellation Exploration by Tom Snyder and they looked at a few samples by M.C. Escher. They learned about adjacent sides, slide translations, and transformation. After creating a slide translation template, students were to sketch a few ideas in their sketchbooks that would transform the slide into something imaginative. After tracing their template to cover a piece of paper, they were to add all the details and color in a checkerboard pattern. Coloring was to include one of the neon colors and students were to use good craftsmanship in their work. (See Animoto below)

Learning About Line: Miro-Style

I like to use Miro as a featured artist with all primary students because the artwork is easy to recognize and includes easy to understand concepts. Students can use whiteboards to practice drawing the types of lines and shapes used so they are not timid about creating their own Miro-like designs. The video below includes the work of only the youngest students so it is quite basic.

From Ordinary to Extraordinary Drawing

One of the things an art teacher tries to do is have students look at things from a different perspective. It may be a different viewpoint or just to put things together that they didn't think of. Students were handed a brand new #2 pencil to study and then were able to choose a bird that would be made out of pencils. These are the work of my Holy Family students from Whitefish Bay, WI. 

6th Grade Block Printing

6th grade classes have been working on block prints. Some of the students had to carve a fairly hard linoleum, but most got to work on the easy cut carving material. They had to draw either a bird, flower, fish, or butterfly from book resources. None of the drawings was traced because the books and the carving materials were not the same size. Students transferred their drawings by rubbing the graphite onto the carving material. They then used sharp gouges to carve away the negative spaces and leave behind the positive. Each carved plate was printed using a brayer to roll the ink onto the plate and then rubbing the paper covered inked plate with a barren. The best carving can be ruined by using too little or too much ink, so the students practiced a few test prints before using the marbleized papers.

Learning Form Through Clay

Many of our families do not have the means to have art supplies in the home and all kids need to have tactile experiences with art supplies. I try to provide at least two 30 min. classes where students just get a chance to interact with the clay with no objectives or expectation. This was done under the radar because although sound art education, I would have failed any formal observation because I didn't interrupt kids by asking questions or requiring a final product. The art room should be a social arena where kids learn to share and help each other with their personal explorations.  

"Elf" Yourself!

After simple cartooning exercises using a SMART Board game, I decided that it would be fun to do something inspired by a current holiday movie with really cute elves. As an early literacy connection for very young kids, I had them turn a simple block capital letter into an elf. Later I put them together into holiday greetings so they could see how they could be used.

Learning to Sew

Since the kids were no longer allowed to do any holiday crafts in the classroom, and I didn't usually do such things, I decided to integrate it into my fibers lesson. Along with weaving, I wanted to make sure they knew how to sew something simple. It was a rush job because several classes were cut for various reasons, but it was something fun to do that classroom teachers were almost forbidden from doing because of the focus on testing.

Character Counts Zentangle

This assignment was a tie to the Character Counts curriculum which was implemented to instill positive character traits into the students. Kids chose a short word and carefully lettered it onto a large piece of paper. Then they divided the letters into sections they could add zentangle patterns to. Watercolor washes were added for an added element of color.

Dia De Los Muertos MIM Reception

Because we agreed to create an ofrenda display for deceased musicians for the Musical Instrument Museum, we were treated to a reception and tour of the museum in November of  2012. The children had boxed lunches on the patio and then saw their work on display. It was a wonderful event including a cello concert.  

Second Graders Butterfly Symmetry

Second graders applied what they learned about vertical symmetry to the drawing of butterflies. They had played symmetry games on the SMART Board and drew butterflies on whiteboards before they used colored pencils and paper. By that time they were more confident in their freehand drawings and had a sense of mirroring from one side to another. 

Dia De Los Muertos Ofrendas

Students worked as hard as they could to finish up their ofrendas for the Dia De Los Muertos display at the Musical Instrument Museum. Students and their parents will be treated to a light dinner and reception at the MIM followed by a cello performance. It is a gorgeous facility and we hope to get some great pics of the kids and their families that night.

Drawing Ishly

Second graders read the book ISH by Peter Reynolds and then drew their own vase of flowers. No one was afraid to start because we did it on whiteboards so they knew they could wipe it off and not waste crumpled up paper like Ramon did in the book. The whiteboards are a good way to practice drawing "ishly."