Cat Silhouette Sunsets - 5th grade

I did a similar project last year with 5th grade that used blue and purple hues to create a glowing moon.  I saw this one on Pinterest and just had to try it with my 5th graders!  This project is great for teaching painting techniques, using just the right amount of pressure to create thin lines.  Students have a tendency to smash their brushes onto the paper to get as much paint out as they can before dipping the brush again!  I try to encourage them to dip their brush as often as they need to in order to make smooth lines. 

1st grade pumpkin ornaments

I usually do some type of ornament out of model magic or salt dough around Christmas, and this year I will be on maternity leave during that time so I have other things planned for art!  So I thought I'd switch up and do ornaments for Fall!  We created these cute little pumpkins on the first day, then painted them during the next class.  Of course the kids loved making these! :)

Kindergarten pumpkin mosaics

I do this project every year with kindergarten.  It's wonderful for teaching them how to properly use glue and is great for their fine motor skills!  I draw the pumpkins on black paper.  Then they glue the triangles around the outline out of the pumpkin first before they begin filling in the middle.  I encourage them to put the pieces together like a puzzle instead of piling them on randomly.  It takes a while to complete, but the results are beautiful.  I precut the triangles, but if you have time, you could have them cut their own.

4th grade Halloween houses

We are getting an early start on Halloween this year in 4th grade!  We did these Halloween houses by drawing them together step by step in white colored pencil on black paper.  We discussed all the whimsial details they could add, such as pumpkins, ghosts, curly trees, black cats, and stars.  If you have students that do not celebrate Halloween, they can leave off the ghosts and jack-o-lanterns, and just have pumpkins for fall "funhouses." I reminded students that they shouldn't be too worried about getting their houses straight, since they should look stretched and whimsical on purpose!  They are turning out great!  Here are a few for you to enjoy! 

Big news!

I'm not sure I've officially announced on my blog yet, but we are expecting a baby November 3!  I'm a little late in posting, since we only have about 4 weeks left, but I thought I should share so that if I seem to disappear for a little while around Thanksgiving and Christmas... you'll know why!  This is our third baby, and like our first two girls, we did not find out the gender, so we are excited to see whether we'll have a boy or girl in just a few more weeks!!

1st grade scarecrows!

1st grade began their scarecrows today and I am so pleased with the way they are turning out!  I couldn't wait to post pictures, so I'm posting the drawings today, then color will come later!  We drew these together using my document camera that I received for FREE last year from IPEVO's wishpool!  I love being able to draw things with the exact materials they are using and project them onto the board!  I found this lesson on Pinterest and it originally comes from Art Projects for Kids.