Draw A House With Me!

Here is one of my online lessons I did with my 1st graders.

I'm trying to get my students to work above the bottom of their paper(young artists will often draw out of the bottom of their paper eliminating the opportunity for foreground) and to create an environment.

Clay Cottages

Channeling my inner Thomas Kinkade (GASP)...my fourth graders created clay cottage facades.  They love the projects, but the results can be real hit & miss.  By 4th grade...I have only a few handfuls of students that have been with me since Kindergarten(out of 100 students in 4th).  Some of them have never touched clay before.  That makes for an interesting class.    I thought this group did very well over all...other than them being small.  

Finished Clay Facades: 4th Grade

Paint did bring some of the clay facades to life.  

Clay Days: 4th Grade Facades

I have a love hate relationship with this project. . In every class I have several lovely facades...but it is the rectangles that are way too small...too thin...and have no defining characteristics that make me crazy.  How can you spend at least 40 min with the clay in your hands and end the class with something the size & appearance of a saltine?!?!  Demo-check...teacher examples-check...reinforcement throughout-check...self checking devices-check!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    ......Sigh......

(these are the ones that turned out pretty well)

House Collages: Kindergarten

There are projects I do at the end of the year to make sure my student "get it".  With kindergarten I always tend to have a collage project to check cutting & gluing skills.  We are going to be working on these for two class times....this is end of day one.  I'm THRILLED!  They are looking great...and the future is lookin' bright here at Tulip Grove.  I have an amazing "crop" of great artists coming up!!