Story Quilts

Second grade thought of places they would love to go any time. We read the story Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. The students then created a drawing of themselves flying over the place they would like to go. We added some patterned paper around the edges to make it look more like a quilt. The results were great!

Mixed Up Chameleons

First grade did an amazing job with these cute chameleons! We read a non-fiction book about chameleons to learn what they look like, eat, and where they live. Then, we learned how to draw a chameleon. During the next class, we read The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle. We mixed primary colors together to create the secondary colors that make up the chameleons' bodies. The students were excited about what colors they made. We added the background after reviewing the chameleon's habitat using the non-fiction book. A great project for color mixing!

Asian Landscapes

Third grade students learn about Japan in their Social Studies curriculum, so this year I decided to have them create an Asian landscape painting. First, I had them use black paint to make the outlines of the mountains, houses, and trees. Then, students experimented with watercolors using salt and plastic wrap to create different effects. Finally, students created a name stamp to show who the artist was. We added some red paper on the top and bottom to make it look more like a hanging scroll. The students had a lot of fun using the salt and plastic wrap. And they got to keep their stamp, which really made them excited!

Make it Mighty!!

I had the best class yesterday afternoon! My second grade students were working on story quilts based on "Tar Beach" by Faith Ringgold. We imagined ourselves flying. We read the story about the story quilt. And then finally we got to drawing. I told the students to try to make themselves the largest part of the picture because he or she is the most important part of the drawing. As I was repeating this for emphasis one of my students suddenly calls out "Make it Mighty" and puts his arms up in a muscle man pose. I started laughing instantly! I couldn't hold it back, it was so cute! I don't like the students to yell out, but I made an exception with this one. :)

Projects of the Month!

Projects of the Month!!!
This year I have decided to chose one class per grade per month to have their artwork hung up. This way everyone will have their artwork up at least one time during the school year, and I don't have to choose the "best" artwork to hang up. It's so much pressure when they all turn out so great!!!! So now I present to you the projects of the month!

PreK-Students in PreK are still learning how to use the supplies in the art room. I thought it would be a good idea to jump right in and get messy! We tried creating lines using cardboard pieces and toilet paper tubes. The students loved creating different things using the new tools!

Kindergarten- Students looked at the artwork of Piet Mondrian and his straight lines. We learned about horizontal and vertical lines and talked about how the lines acted in the artwork. Did they touch, were they crossed, what shapes did they create? The students then added some colored rectangles for some added pizazz!

First Grade- Students looked at "The Tree of Life" from Gustav Klimt. We talked about the lines that were made and how the artist used up all the space to create his work. To make the

artwork their own, students drew their favorite things in the trees. They had so much fun sharing what their favorite things were with their classes.

Second Grade- Students looked at the artwork of Stuart Davis and how he used letters and numbers to create movement in his artwork. In their artwork, students were drawing letters and numbers to fill their space. Students could use warm or cool colors for their letters. Then to make the letters show up better, we used the opposite color palette (warm or cool) to paint the background.

Third Grade-We studied the different areas of the Chesapeake Bay and what animals live in those habitats. Students were to chose one habitat to create for their artwork and include at least two animals in their drawing.

Fourth Grade-Students looked at the lighthouses around the area of Southern Maryland. We discussed the importance of these lighthouses and why they were created. The students were to choose a lighthouse to create for their artwork. We started with a sketch, and the students then used a viewfinder to crop their artwork to focus on what is most important.

My fifth grade hasn't finished a full project yet, so their artwork is yet to come! And I haven't had enough time to teach my PreK 3s much of anything yet! I've only seen them twice this year. We're still working on it though!

Art Room 2010-2011

I thought that since it is the beginning of school, and my room is nice and clean for the time being, I would share some photos!

This is the front white board in my room. The blue hanging pockets are for my art helpers. This year, we are going to chose them for every class. Last year, I changed them every month, and I ended up forgetting to do it. The chart next to that is for my "Art Stars". I took this from a fellow blogger. The students have to try to keep A-R-T up the entire class. If all the letters are there for three classes, they can chose their seats for the following class. If they are noisy and disruptive, they will lose letters. Lose the T and they have to talk in a whisper for the rest of class. Lose the R and they will have to have a silent art class for the rest of the time. Lose the A and the rest of class will be silent, as well as the following class. Hopefully this will motivate my students to stay on-task this year.

My Word Wall so far. I tried to organize it this year. Last year the cards were all over the place, and I couldn't find the words I was looking for! I am going to add more words during the next few weeks.

The best surprise of this week! I was talking with another teacher's husband, and he told me he had a light box that he used to use for negatives. I was so excited! I lose a bit of counter space, but that just means that I will have less space to leave random stuff!

Hopefully, my room will stay somewhat clean this year. I will try to add more photos as the year goes on!

Whoa, whoa, whoa!!!

Summer is quickly coming to an end, and I need to get myself together! I just realized that I took a bunch of photos for Artsonia and never put them online!!!!! I feel terrible! I will just have to update them later and make it an exhibit from previous year. Ugh. I don't know if I am completely ready for school to start back up. I am excited because my birthday is the very first day of school for my students this year! I'm a dork, I know, but I still love it! My goal for the rest of the summer is to get the first couple months of school planned out. I don't want to get to work and not be ready, or start to create brand new ideas when I don't know what I really want. That probably doesn't make sense, but it does in my head. lol. I am also going to try to post some of the art projects that I have done in the past on here so I can share what I have done. I know that people might not read it, but I feel like a mooch because I just gather information for myself and don't give anything back. We'll see how it goes! On an ending note, does anyone know a way to store portfolios in a limited amount of space? I am looking to have each of my students have a portfolio, but I don't know how to store them, HELP!!! Thanks :)