Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls

My 8th graders have been learning about Dia de los Muertos. The Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico. The holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle. It is viewed not as a day of sadness, but as a day of celebration. I love the use of color and pattern in these pieces.

Pumpkins

7th grade did an amazing job on their pumpkins this year!  I love how they used what they've learned about shading with paint and color to make their pumpkins look so realistic!

Candy corn!

6th grade observed real candy corn, studying how the lights and shadows look as they lay on paper. Then used what they noticed to add shading and highlights to their larger-than-life painted candy corn art.  This is one of my favorite projects every year!

Cats on the fence in 5th grade

My fifth graders are finishing up their paintings this week.  They practiced blending in a circle for the background and we also discussed many different types of lines as we drew these together. It's always a struggle to get them to fill the page with their artwork but I think they nailed it with this project!  

4th grade Spooky Halloween Houses

This is one of those projects I repeat each year in 4th grade.  They seem to get better.  The colors were especially vibrant this year! 

We discuss unity and line, as well as artistic styles with this project.  I think they enjoy the fact that they don't have to make their lines straight. 

They are still finishing up some coloring but I couldn't wait to post them! 

Sneak Peeks!! Pumpkins, scarecrows, haunted houses, spiders and cats on a fence!

A few things we're working on this week! I can't wait to share the finished pieces!  

Kindergarten is learning about overlapping, line, and shape in their pumpkin paintings:

First grade is whipping up some excellent scarecrows using what they know about line, shape, and self portraits:

2nd grade is still working diligently on their Grant Wood pumpkin farms, learning about depth and foreground/midground/background.  I didn't get pics of theirs just yet! 

3rd grade is practicing their spider web drawing skills with line and shape (webs are drawn on the back):

4th grade is learning about unity and artistic style in their whimsical haunted houses:

Fifth grade is studying abstract art and will also be learning about blending in a circle with paint next week:

More pictures to come!!

Happy Haunts in 4th grade

This project has always been one of my favorites!  We draw the whimsical houses step by step, and students loved the fact that their houses did not have to be perfectly straight! 

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. 

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!