3rd grade owls for Art By Me

This is one of my favorite projects!  They always turn out beautiful!  Here are a few from this year.

Glorious paint!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love paint?  Well, I do... I love the smell (the non-toxic varieties, mind you!), the way it looks freshly squeezed from a bottle or tube, untouched and unalternated by brushes... the richness of the color and thickness with which it coats the bristles of my favorite brushes.... It is the most perfect medium to me, in any form, whether it be oil, acrylic, or tempera. The vibrance it brings to every piece of art that my students create is just magical!  I know... I may be slightly, or not so slightly, crazy... But I don't mind being a bit crazy about paint. 

   This is interesting because I was once afraid of it.  Especially in my art room.  No wait- I was terrified by it, the thought of the MESS and the NOISE associated with excitement over using paint overwhelmed me to the point that I avoided it as much as possible in my first few years of teaching!  We still used it, but only when necessary!  Once I realized how life-altering paint could be, (a bit too strong of a description for paint? Nah!) I began to use it more and more frequently, until painting is now a weekly event!  Oh... but what about all that noise and mess it was supposed to cause?  Surprisingly, the kids are quietest when they paint.  Some days you can almost hear a pin drop.  I love it, because I know they're engaged and enjoying what they're doing.

   So, to any new teachers who may be in fear the of this messy medium... You don't want to miss the wonderful things that paint can bring to your art room.  I promise it's forgiving, and even if it's not, messes can always be cleaned up, and nothing compares to the joy on a child's face when they find out it's "PAINT DAY!!!" in the art room!  

Colorful Chameleons

We are finally making enough progress on our first projects so that I can post pictures!  4th grade is working on these beautiful chameleons for their Art By Me fundraiser project.  We still have a few more steps to complete and then I'll post finished pictures.  We discussed the color wheel and patterns before they chose their chameleon colors.  We will paint the background next week!