Rubber Duckie Day!

 

My students LOVED this project!! We talked about hybrid creatures/creations, and the creativity that is involved in synthesizing two ideas into one. They had so many great ideas they each created three different ones.  Some did them as a theme...others had completely different ideas. If you are looking for a fun one day lesson...here you go! 

Matisse Inspired: Fish Bowl

Here is what’s happening in the art room this week for 2nd Grade! 

 

Still Life: 4th Grade

I have so many new students at my school this year that I was really wanting to see where their drawing skills were.  My kids have always loved picking "fruits & vegetables" from my stash of still life objects....so we went that direction for this first observational drawing.  I was pleasantly surprised by the skill they displayed! Check out their work.

Humor in Art: 2nd Grade

I've seen this project EVERYWHERE on line for several years, but I've never tired it before in my classroom.  As we near the end of the school year, I'm wanting to review some skills & keep students interested/engaged....and thought that this lesson would be a great way to do just that!  Also, I think students need to be reminded that art can be FUNNY!  We aren't ways making "beautiful" work of "beautiful" things.  Sometimes art makes us laugh! I think that is also a great idea for this time of the year!! ha ha  I'm proud of the work I'm seeing, and may do this again next year!! 

Check out the results!!!

Eyes: 1st Grade

Last week my 1st graders created self portraits using mirrors, and they were wonderful.  I wanted to focus in on eyes a bit since many of the students did struggle some with creating their eyes/lids/lashes.  So this week we used our mirrors once more and just created 1 BIG EYE!! ha ha  The kids loved doing it & they "look" great!! 

1st Grade Self Portraits

I like to end the year like I begin it...with a self portrait.  It is a really good indicator on where the students are with their skills, and what I need to improve on in teaching students portraiture.  Here are some of my 1st grade students' self portraits.
Please forgive my photography skills!!!
 I struggle when trying to capture pencil drawings with my iPad!!

Town Planners: 1st Grade

I'm so excited with the work I've been seeing from my 1st graders on this project!!!  Let me give you some background.....

The week before this project we did a collaborative project where students created a "village"(refer back to...   http://www.artwithmre.com/2018/10/collaborative-community-1st-grade.html  ).  They broke up into small groups and discussed what they felt where important parts of a town.  They each were responsible for creating a house, a business/place of worship/school..etc. ...and with any left over paper they could make trees/clouds/shrubs/cars. They cut them out, and then the students helped plan where the different elements would go.  The kids loved it...and they turned out great.

For this project...I had the students create a drawing of their own town.  I did show them how to create the road so they could show more buildings & over lap parts of the picture to create a more realistic layout.  They were encouraged to create a town with the buildings that would be most important to them.  Some ended up with toy stores, candy shops, and ice cream parlors...and not much else, but they were still fun...and they kids were able to make them personal. This was done as a drawing only....no coloring.  Sometimes details get lost in the coloring, and I really wanted to preserve those details!!

Gesture Drawing: 4th Grade

I really feel I need to push my 4th graders to consider the way people move/bend to get them to the next level.  Many still draw very stagnant/frozen/robotic looking people.  After we went over all the joints in our body & the way that they bend/move....I had the students do several gesture drawings.  THEY LOVED IT!  I really feel it did help for them to consider the way the draw people  & what they  are doing within their pictures.  

I select students to "model" for gesture drawing.  THEY THINK IT IS SO MUCH FUN!  I will ask them to pick a pose, but I'll often have to adjust them a bit so the angles are more pronounced.   I give them some props to help stabilize and give more interesting positions.  I always make sure they feel safe/stable before I have the kids start drawing.  If I see them start getting shaky...I'll have them step down.  

I will usually have the students do four gesture drawings.  On the back, they create four people with details that are in a state of motion.  

At the end of class...most of my students ask if we could do this lesson again!  I think we will revisit it Mid-Year as a refresher.

1st Grade Self Portraits

I love going through my students' work for the nine weeks...and thinking about how much they've grown!  The first graders have done such a great job on their self portraits(using mirrors).  To think where they were at first of the year...mind blowing!  This is why I love elementary so much......you see jumps in skill that are simply awe inspiring!  

Kindergarten is Sleeping!

This week I read "RUSSELL THE SHEEP".   In it, Russell is having trouble going to sleep, and tries sleeping in different places..a pillow..and counting different things.  This is my jumping off point for the lesson.  I don't like having my students copy illustrators' images.  I wanted them to create a  self portrait while sleeping.  We've not worked much with interior spaces, so I thought that this was a great opportunity to practice.  We looked at many images of bedrooms.  We talked about perspective & the need for things to be on the floor.  Many wrestled with this, but I loved the results no matter!!! When you introduce more complex ideas like these at young ages, really your just giving them opportunity to attempt something outside of their "comfort zone".  There is no "failing"....it is only a chance to try something new!