Graffiti Names Fourth Grade project

These names turned out so well!

 

Fourth graders enjoyed learning how to write names in thick letters and with a 3D side. We talked about graffiti art versus vandalism and then began the project by printing names large on the paper.    Directions for how to add the thickness and 3D side are available on the internet.  We showed the students step by step and they did very well.

 

Next they used chalk to fill in letters, using a color wheel to make sure not to use colors in the same letter which would make a muddy color when mixed together. We put a small amount of chalk in the letter and rubbed with a paper towel wrapped around one finger.

 

                     
Last step was to decide on a background and draw first with pencil if doing a brick wall. Fourth grade artists could use more chalk in the background or change to markers.
                                                                

 

We really love the way these turned out. Many people have commented on the projects hanging on the bulletin board in the hallway. I even saw some parents taking pictures of the

names at the Halloween parade.      

                             

Talking About ART

Students have been practicing talking about art in art class! First we watched a video called "the Umbrellas" by NickJr.  In the video two girls go to a museum and go into their favorite painting. They talk about what they see in the painting, blue umbrellas, an empty basket, and a little girl that looks like she could go to their school.

Then students looked at a calendar picture of artwork and discussed it with a partner. They looked for the elements of art in the picture, and what they thought the picture was about. They also discussed why the artist might have painted the painting and if they liked it or not, and why. They did a great job of talking about famous artworks and soon they will be talking about their own work in the same way!

 

ART TO REMEMBER

Art to Remember Fundraiser

Coming in February!

 How it works....  1) Students are creating a piece of artwork through November.

                             2) We put a label on the back of each artwork and send it the
                                  ART TO REMEMBER company.

                             3) They take a digital picture of the artwork and create a brochure for each
                                  child's work.

                              4) Brochures are sent home with students and families can choose to order
                                  an item printed with their child's artwork. Available products are many.
                                  A few examples are: Keychain, coffee mug, reusable bag, cell phone case.
                                  These will be ready in February.

                              5) Families may order if desired in March and items printed with artwork will be
                                  delivered in April.  Money will go to the elementary schools.

The kids are very excited about having their artwork produced on products so everyone will see their work. They will be famous artists!

 

Fun "Slug Bugs" First Grade Lesson

First graders had a lot of fun deciding how to design their own "slug bug". I was able to find several photos of painted volkswagon beetles on the web for inspiration and the kids were very creative with their own cars.
First they traced around a car shape with crayon, then colored in the windows gray or blue.

 

Next they used crayons to design their car, using art to show their ideas.      

                   
 
 
 
The last step was to watercolor paint over the entire car and then glue on wheels they had made from colored construction paper. Really cute slug bugs, First Graders!

                                                      

Spring Cherry Blossoms Kindergarten Painting Project

 
 

Kinders looked at a blossoming branch this spring and we talked about how the element of line could be used to paint a tree branch.
Using brown tempera paint, students painted their branch using lines.

          

 

Using their fingers, kinders made small blossoms and leaves. Some students even counted to make sure each blossom had the same amount of petals.

 

Beautiful!

 

 

Cave Painting with Handprint First Grade Lesson

I did a different version of this project last year which included turning my closet into a "cave". This year with so many snow days we just seemed to run out of time! Students loved this one even without a cave to draw in because they were able to make a finger paint handprint as their signature.

Again we read parts of the chapter book
"Discovery In The Cave" and looked at posters of cave paintings.

I made a mud colored finger paint mixture and as a final touch, first graders put their handprints on their artwork as a cave artist "signature". This only took one art period but the results were very rewarding!

 

 

Lighthouse Seasons 5th grade project

This is a great lesson to teach the standards of problem solving and using symbols to show an idea.  For this project my students look at photographs (many from calendars) of lighthouses. Here in Michigan we have many lighthouses on the shores of great lakes so most of the kids are familiar with them and feel a connection to this type of architecture.

 

This is done as a pencil drawing with the guidelines that the lighthouse must be the same shape and color, but the season around it may be changed.

 The season must be CLEARLY communicated in their drawing, this requires some planning and decision making as they work.  After completing the drawing, students trace their pictures with ultra fine point sharpie marker. They use colored pencils to color their project and then we mount it on colored paper.  The last step is to complete the season idea by making small pictures or symbols or writing words on their frame to enhance the seasonal feeling of the lighthouse picture.

 

Rainbow Trout 3rd grade

This is from Apex art room blog.  Our students learn about trout in their Michigan studies and I loved the idea of a cross curriculum art project.  I was pleased that every student was excited about the chance to draw a trout.

 

We looked at several pictures of rainbow trout on the projection screen and they tried to fill up their 6" x 18" white drawing paper with their drawing. I had them trace it all with permanent marker and use the marker to make the black shapes on the fish.

Then the "wild life artists" used watercolor paint to match the colors they saw on the fish pictures. 

After the pictures dried we cut them out. Everyone has made remarks about how great the fish paintings look hanging on our bulletin board!

Rainbow Cities! Kindergarten

Found this on Pinterest and it is definitely a new favorite.  The Kinders enjoy using markers on any project and they did a great job making a pattern around the edge of the 12" x 18" white drawing paper to begin the project.

 

I hung up papers in the colors of the rainbow, minus indigo, and we started with red. Using red construction paper the students cut a building shape and added door and windows then glued the building to the far left of their paper. We continued thru all the rainbow colors in order, cutting construction paper.  I encouraged the little artists to make each building different in their "rainbow city".  The kids really enjoyed this project and they did a wonderful job on these bright compositions!

Georgia O'Keeffe lesson ( Cow Skull with Flower) 3rd grade

Found this idea on Pinterest and changed it up a little. Loved the idea of having the 3rd graders draw a cow skull with shading but wanted to also incorporate a flower into the project since flowers were also Georgia's main subject matter.

We heard a meet the artist story of Georgia O'Keeffe and then looked at a photo of her with a cow skull on the projection screen to draw the skull. And yes, the kids were rather surprised when I told them they would be drawing a skull in Art class.

 

I reminded them to look at the outside shape and draw it part by part instead of being overwhelmed by the entire picture at once.

 

The 3rd grade artists added shading where it was needed, then looked at calendar pictures to draw a flower and color it with oil pastels. Problem solving where to glue the cut out skull and flower on their choice of blue background paper and adding a shadow for depth completed the piece.  

 And since Georgia O'Keeffe is one of my favorite artists, I have to say I just love this project! 

 

Colorful Painted Parrots Kindergarten

Our less messy way of painting in Kindergarten resulted in absolutely wonderful painted parrots!

This was one of our visuals for our painting, and my inspiration for the bulletin board displaying the painted parrots on a tree branch.


We painted step by step, doing the head body, eye and wing with different paint colors.

We added the beak and feather details in black paint after our parrots had dried.

The kids are so proud of these lovely projects and I have had MANY positive comments about the work the Kinders did!

 

Tissue paper tail feathers completed the paintings and made them even more colorful.

 

Tree Weaving in a Landscape 4th grade

Found this neat way of weaving with 4th graders on Cassiesblog , an art teachers blog with many great ideas.  Loved that this was part a painting and part a weaving!
 

 

My 3rd graders weave bookmarks and the 4th graders always ask to weave again. This was a new way to weave in to a picture and was a faster weaving to do than the bookmarks.

 

I let them choose spring, summer or autumn colored yarn to weave into their tree in front of the tempera painted landscape.

 

Great job on these very unique projects, 4th graders!

 

 

"Less Messy" Way to do painting with KINDERS

I think I finally discovered a way to do tempera painting with Kindergarteners that is less messy and manageable in a 35 minute Art period! I purchased tall plastic cups at the dollar store and some small square baskets.  The cups are in the baskets tightly with one paintbrush per paint color.  Different baskets have different colors so that half way thru a project table colors can be switched.

The baskets were easily placed on tables and the cups are tall enough to keep brushes from tipping over and spraying paint on tables or projects.  Most students were able to use the paint without messy hands and so clean up at end of class was faster than when using water buckets and towels to clean brushes.  Definitely less stressful for all of us!

Collaborative Painting Fifth Grade

Taking a year off from Painted Ponies because I wanted the next group of 5th graders to be just as creative with their pony ideas as the group last year.  I decided skipping a year would allow for fresh ideas instead of repeats.

This year our 5th grade group painting is a very large size (2" x 3") cardboard which was donated by a teacher's family.  Groups of 3 to 5 students agreed on an object or character to paint from the following choices: a natural item like a feather or leaf, an easily recognizable cultural icon such as a cell phone or cupcake, or an animated character.

After they agreed what they would be painting VERY LARGE, they had to decide on a background that would show the viewer something about the item, or how the group felt about the chosen object.  Ideas were first drawn in sketchbooks and then large on cardboard. 
 
Together they chose paint colors and began painting their projects. I encouraged best 5th grade painting as they used the tempera paint for large areas first and then smaller details.

 

The finished paintings are looking AWESOME! They will be displayed in the hallways for conferences this week, along with a group "Artist's statement".  Very excited for everyone to see our nearly 40 large, bright paintings.  GREAT GROUP WORK 5TH GRADERS!