Think Spring! : Kindergarten

I know we are still in the midst of winter...and many are getting hit hard with winter weather.  I am ready for brighter days & the signs of spring! My kindergarten students have been studying bugs & insects the past few weeks. We also have been looking at Radial Symmetry, Vertical, Horizontal, and Diagonal.  This project is kind of a mash-up of all these ideas! 

EXTRA EXCITING CLAY DAY: 2nd Grade

With the number of classes I see & the budget I receive....I'm able to do one clay project per grade level a year.  So needless to say....clay projects are special & exciting! 

But today was a bit more exciting than a "normal" clay day.

I gathered my students back to the demo area where I have a brand new box of clay.  I wanted to show them the weight of it & how it comes to me.  So as I'm explaining how heavy it is & how they ship it....I'm opening the box.  As I lift the flap of the box...the BIGGEST, FATTEST, UGLIEST cockroach jumps out of the box!  The kids let out a collective high pitched scream & jump back from the table.  I didn't scream(really...I didn't)...but I did jump back!  The cockroach must have been scared because it scurried back into the box.  I flipped the box over to get him out...and found another one squeeshed to the side of one of the bags of clay.  I did gag a little at the site of legs and guts everywhere!  Oh my. What a way to kick off clay!! 

Pinch Pots: Going Buggy

I'm doing a bug unit with my first graders...so we turned our pinch pots into crazy little bugs.  What kind of bug...I'm not really sure, but they sure are cute!!!  

I'm really focusing on the kids attaching well with their clay. I want to build a good clay foundation so when they get to middle/high school and have art...they will have a working knowledge of terminology and techniques.  

SPLAT! is BACK!!!

Several years ago I did an all school art show on the theme of BUGS! It was so much fun!! One of my favorite projects from the art show was a first grade lesson I called SPLAT!  I had the kids imagine a cartoon book just splatted on their windshield.  What would it look like?  How would it's body be?  I made them stand up and try to pose like the bug(hysterically funny!!).  Then I had the kids trace with Sharpie & paint with watercolor.  This time we made it a marker project.  

Martina The Cockroach: 1st Grade

Have you ever read Martina The Cockroach?  It is a weird little book that was included in a set of fables, fairy tails, and stories I bought many moons ago.  I am using it as our inspiration for this week's first grade lesson.  I'm really trying to help them get control of their coloring & craftsmanship.  Not sure why this group has been so "messy".  These are not yet finished, but are turning out super cute!!  

Monster Bug Masks

As I was grading & handing back work....I couldn't remember if I posted any of these!  I think they are fun.  

Art Show 2014: Part 3

This post contains some of the displays for 2nd & 1st Grade (as well as the K lining the bottom that I spoke about in my last post).  

2ND GRADE

COUPLE CLOSE UPS FROM 2ND

1ST GRADE

CLOSE UPS OF A COUPLE PIECES FROM 1ST

Art Show 2014: Part 2

Here are the images of 3rd & 4th Grade displays.  I have classes of each...but a couple of my pictures just were terrible(lighting issues).  I'm include some close ups of some of the projects so you can get a better idea of what the lessons were about.  

NOTE:  In the following posts about the art show...you will also see big bubble bees & ladybugs with flowers.  I decided to run my kindergarten art along the bottom of the entire show.  It really framed things nicely...and freed up wall space so I could display the other work more effectively.  I loved not feeling like the art was SQUISHED together this year!!!!  When you are hanging about 550 pieces in a limited space..it can be challenging.  

4th Grade

3rd Grade

Art Show 2014: Part 1

This is the art show that almost wasn't!  However, it turned out to be one of my best in 13 yrs at Tulip Grove Elementary!!  Parents were greeted as they walked into the school with a sign in table(always important for Title 1, but also great for personal reflection later!!).  There were thank you cards created by K-4th students right about the sign in sheets....a favorite of regular attenders!! 

The next thing parents came upon was an activity table!!  They were encouraged to set down...students, parents, and all guests....and create a bug for the spiderweb!!!  I had so many parents tell me they had never used construction paper crayons before...THEY LOVED THEM!! ha ha  This ended up being a HIT this year...the table was always filled with people creating the whole evening!! 

Then they entered the show.  they walked through "Mosquito Netting" curtains.  Had to set the mood!!

Yes...I put little bugs in the netting for "extra" POW! ha ha  You know me..I'm a little over the top.

This is where the bugs made at the art show will go(can't wait to share with you the finished work..AMAZING).  

My color coded fly swatters allowed parents/guest to find the grade level easily.  They then just had to find the teachers name!!  

My kindergarten team have THE BEAR CAVE where they were teaching about hibernation...the bears don't come out for another week...so I had to work it into my theme!  Spider's Cookie Cave ready to serve yummy cookies to the kiddos!!  Teachers donate a package (or two) to the art show....I always have more than enough!  

This year I decided to add a cause to my art show...Malaria No More.  It seemed like a perfect match for the art show's theme!!!  I'll let you know the results...and my thoughts on this in another post.