May 27, 2010

It's over...

Today is the last day of school...and tomorrow is our last day!  This year really did go by fast.  I'm sure selling our house, building a new house(almost finished), finishing my masters, having a 1 yr old made things go a bit quicker!! ha ha  Don't look for me to totally disappear from the blog over the summer though!!!  I am meeting next week to plan our fall inserve for the elementar art teachers of Nashville, I have a summer camp in July I am teaching, and I'm trying to get together some classes to teach at Hobby Lobby over the summer as well.  So look for some post concerning those things in the not too distant future!  I need to get back to packin' up my room for summer!!! 

May 13, 2010

Line Design w/ Shading- Student Work in Progress




Line Design w/ Shading- The Steps

Another MNPS art teacher showed me this project several years ago, and I really liked it.  I tweeked it a bit here and there, but it is basically as he showed me.  The students LOVE IT!  I do this with 4th grade, but I guess you could try it with other grade levels.  All you need is paper, Sharpie, and colored pencils! 


Start by drawing a curve line across the paper.  Think rolling hill...not roller coaster!
Add 8 dots across the line.  They could be(should be) at different lengths apart.  You need a dot at realtively close to the edges of your paper. 
You will then start connecting the dots.  The dots close to the edge will go off the edge of the paper to an imaginary dot.  You can not cross over any lines.  However, you can share a line as you begin going up and out.  The lines should be taken off the edge of the paper as you extend outwords.  Some sections may be pinched off as other sections grow larger...and that is totally ok. 
This is a students work that's a great example of what it should look like.  The students should pick a group of colors they feel work well together.  The will press harder in the corners...and as they near the center get lighter and lighter.  This is a great way to get them practice with pressure control!!! 

May 08, 2010

Beginning of the End: Part 2

Reorganize! Now is the time to take stock of what you have & where it is located. Every room is different in regards to storage space...there is no excuse for you not to be organized. I have been in a portable, a regular size classroom, and a room designed as an art room. I've even helped a friend get organized who did art-on-a-cart, and had a small closet for storage. You need to make your space work for you no matter. What do you use most often? What don't you use often, but are not ready to get rid of? What have you held onto for years, and should have been recycled or trashed?
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If you are blessed with a classroom, what do you keep out in view of the kids? Do you have a shelf for everyday supplies? Are there things that could be put up that would declutter your room? Clutter can derail some of your students...not to mention mess with the fung shway of your room!!(ha ha) What kind of storage do you have that you can utilize better?? What products could you buy for your room that could help it to become a more organized place? ***************************************
If you need help processing through your own situation...e-mail me and I'll see what I can do to help! I'd love to have a show on HGTV or TLC where I go into classrooms and organize/decorate them!!!

May 06, 2010

THE FLOOD-Nashville,TN

Sorry I've not been posting...the kids have been out for a week due to the floods that rocked Nashville this past weekend. Hopefully they'll return next week. Today is the first day for teachers....and tomorrow I'm hoping to have some time that I might be able to takes some pictures and post...we shall see?!?!!? Thank you for all the e-mails & questions about the projects and ideas I've posted on my blog.