3rd & 4th Grade Chipboard Loom Weaving

Students used small chipboard looms to weave small pieces that were turned into a pocket necklace. Students learned how to focus and relax while using good craftsmanship. (See Animoto below)

Monet-Like Tree Landscapes

First and Second Graders learned about Monet's use of brush strokes and placing colors next to each other in order to create a soft look to their skies and grass. They learned how to make sure their watercolor brushes were having a "good hair day," and how to clean up after painting.

Picasso-like Portraits

Students used an interactive SMART Board activity where they manipulated various facial features in a variety of colors in order to create a Picasso-Style portrait. They created a black crayon outline and colored with watercolor in bright, contrasting colors. (See Animoto below)

Dia de los Muertos Skull Designs

3rd and 4th graders have spent most of the school year so far on things relating to the body. They have learned to capture action using gesture drawing, human proportion using virtual manikins, facial features using mirrors and digital samples. Since we looked at human skulls as they related to facial features, it seemed like a good idea to look at skulls as they relate to the Day of the Dead. Students were encouraged to highly decorate the skulls using mainly organic elements such as swirls, curved shapes, and flowers. (See Animoto below)

Miro-like Designs

As promised, here are the 1st and 2nd grader's take on Joan Miro. After comparing the use of straight and curved black lines between Mondrian and Miro, and the use of geometric versus organic shapes, students did their own version of a Joan Miro-like design using markers and black colored pencils. (See Animoto below)

Mondrian-Style Designs

1st and 2nd graders learned about Piet Mondrian and Joan Miro. Students participated in SMART Board sorting activities which compared Mondrian's use of line, color, and shape with Miro's. Watch for Miro-style designs in a couple of weeks. (See Animoto below)

The Eyes Have It!

3rd and 4th graders are learning about facial features and proportions. We began with eyes since they require the most detail study. Students worked with mirrors as well as other exemplars. Training a child's "eyes" is as important as training their hands and these students are beginning to "see" more than they used to. (See Animoto below)

Working on the "Beasties"

All classes will have a hand in the creation of our Beasties. The younger students got to stuff the plastic bags with softly crushed newspapers and tape the bags shut. Since it's a total waste of time to clean up for a different activity, whenever we do paper mache' it's for the entire morning or afternoon and all classes get involved. This also gives everyone a stake in the project and most students use good craftsmanship while working. It's especially important to instill a sense of craftsmanship in the younger students who are quick to point out when they see something that was not done carefully and they fix it. (See Animoto below)

Jr. High Blended Shading Designs

Junior High students spent some time learning a value scale and had to complete a multi-gray scale done in ebony or 4B pencil before starting a design. Many of the students at this age are not used to keeping their hands out of the way when they are working, and they didn't quite get into the habit of laying down a scrap sheet to protect areas previously worked. We had no windows, nor could students leave the room to go outside, so spraying was not feasible. They did their best and most did grasp the idea of value and blending, though mastery wasn't gained in their initial pieces. (See Animoto below)

I Like to Move It, Move It Final Drawing

One of the fairly recent animated movies was Madagascar and the lemurs were always dancing to the lively, "I like to Move it, Move it." I used that song to get kids to stand up and wiggle since there really was no room to move. We looked at examples of figure proportion and the artwork of Keith Haring to create stick figures in movement. This was an introduction to gesture drawing and capturing movement in drawing. (See Animoto below)