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."

Watercolor Flowers

Students in first and second grade got a chance to use watercolor to paint their big flowers similar to Georgia O'Keeffe. We looked at O'Keeffe flowers on the SMART Board then drew large flowers on whiteboards. They had a demo on proper brush care and how to clean the water prior to working with the watercolors.

 

Progress on Ofrendas

Fourth graders in Mrs. Pinuelas' class are spending their art classes working on the Day of the Dead ofrendas for the Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale. The backdrops are tissue paper and meant to emulate the blankets of real flowers used on elaborate altars. Next we will work on decorated stuffed felt skulls. Since we only have 35 minutes twice a week, we are having to work as quickly as possible to meet the deadline of October 25th.

 

Fractions, Percentages, & Degrees, Oh My!

Fourth graders learned something about radial symmetry along with degrees, percentages, and fractions while creating designs that were one quarter of a circle. In an effort to recycle, the circles were CD labels that were of no further use. They also learned how to use a protractor during this activity.

Going Green in the Art Room

Second graders continued their art education with a SMART Notebook presentation about Georgia O'Keeffe and her flower paintings. Some of these students were with me last year so they recognize several artists and their works. Georgia O'Keeffe was new to them.

Now that they have a little watercolor experience with concentric circles, I thought moving into the radial symmetry of large flowers would be a good next step. After looking at her paintings, each student drew a large flower on our newly received whiteboards. It's very easy to use up a lot of paper in the "learning to draw" activities and the whiteboards are a good fit with trying to conserve resources.

 

Here are some of the first graders doing the same activity.