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.

Art By Me fundraiser 2013! 5th grade parrots

I know I do this project every year, but I have to admit, it's one of my favorites!!  It's perfect for teaching drawing, proportion, color, and the list goes on!  This year's parrots, as always, turned out fantastic!  I love them more every year!  This is for our fundraiser project that we do through a local company called Art By Me.  It's fantastic because students can have their artwork "published" onto a product they love.  Check it out for your school at www.artbyme.com.

Enjoy!

 I gave them color wheels to help them figure out which colors would blend well into others.  Most of them chose to do them in color wheel order, but I gave them the freedom to do them in any order they wished.

 Love the leaves in this one!!

Welcome back!!!

It's hard to believe the new school year is already here!  I am excited to begin this school year with lots of new ideas and art projects!  As always, with a little help from Pinterest, I know this year is going to be great!  I can't wait to get started creating!  Check back soon to see how we start off our year in art!

Summer art camps!

This summer I had the opportunity to teach two art camps in the county.  The first one was through the arts council for our county, and the 2nd one was through the YMCA.  Here are a few pictures!

 They really enjoyed origami, so we did two projects!

So it's back to school for us next week!  More art projects coming very soon!  :)

Art Word Wall

This year in art, we incorporated more literacy in our art curriculum.  I began a "word wall" and posted it in the art room.  Then when we discussed a new art word, I could show them them the correct spelling and add it to our wall.  I had the students, yes, even the little ones, to write the art word and the definition of the back of each artwork.  

 Then when they are looking back over their work years from now, they'll be able to remember exactly what they learned during that project!

 The work in progress word wall!  We will be adding more to it next year!

Lovely ladybugs

1st graders learned about symmetry and insects while creating these beautiful painted ladybugs!