Making a Winter Wonderland

I love, love, love the holiday season, but I am not usually too great about planning seasonal lessons around that time, with the Thanksgiving break right before, conferences before that, the new year, and on and on and on.  This year, I actually thought about the approaching wintery-ness JUST IN TIME!  I put all of my lessons to come on hold, and I set to creating a short, but meaningful lesson for each grade.

At my school, I have a giant....like 20ft.....bulletin board for the sole purpose of displaying art, so I decided to make it into a great, big wintery wonderland, with different things created by each grade level.  I knew that in order to keep organized, I would have to have differences for each grade level, and sub categories for each class within the grade level.  

Here's my initial planning sheet, which changed a little here and there...

I included different sizes or colors of certain things in the mural, for dimension, and also for the purpose of knowing which classes made which pieces later on, when taking it apart.

Each grade also focused on a different concept.  I always like to display those concepts for other teachers, parents, students, and community members to see.  That way, they know we aren't JUST making cute stuff in art class, but we are also teaching, learning, and problem solving.  For this mural, I wanted to display my signs as a part of the mural.  Here's what I came up with:

Kindergarten:

One class did these close-up reindeer, for the bottom of the mural, while another did full body reindeer for the background of our mural.  Both classes focused on collage, as well as fine motor.  Tracing and cutting hands was pretty tricky for some.  Either way, the results were super adorable :)

I had this second kinder class trace and cut their WHOLE hand, and then later cut off the thumbs, to create these "far away" deer.

Here's an in-progress shot of our mural, with the big deer head and shoulders down below, and the smaller deer up on the highest "hill".  Some are also "flying above"...Santa is yet to be added in this picture...

The first graders learned about symmetry, and they were in charge of creating our "SYMME-TREES".  Again, I differentiated the classes with the use of different shades of green.  My higher first grade class created TWO trees each and glued them together.  The other 2 sections of first grade created one each of a different color and decorated.

Two-tree cluster:

One tree a piece for my other class:

The third class had one tree of a different color:

For second grade, I knew I wanted to do snowmen, but I struggled at first with a good tie-in that hadn't yet been covered this year or in past years with this group.  Then, like a snowflake to the eye, it hit me!  EMOTIONAL SNOWMEN (and women)!!  This was super fun...and totes adorbs.

Here are the sketches I had on their tables when they walked in.  The first thing I did was have the students talk in table groups about their given snowman's emotion, based on their face.  Then they all shared together how they could tell what the snowmen were feeling, by what I had drawn.

From there, each student designed and cut out their own snowperson.  We used chalk pastel for the shadowy snowballs, and marker for the other details.

Totally cute, and they totally "got it".

The third graders were the only class with a 2 day lesson.  They learned about NEUTRAL colors.  One class made squirrels, and the other made winter foxes.  Each student chose either grays, silver, white and black. OR browns tan, and gold to make their critter.

I had the kids trace the squirrel or fox parts on one side of their paper first.

Once they were all done tracing, they painted with their chosen neutral colors, and they used the sgraffito technique for added dimension and texture.

They were encouraged to keep some of the colors separate so there would be a variety of colors seen in each of their animals.

On day two, the kids cut and glued their creatures together, and they added eyes and other details.

Kids who finished early added gifts, hats, mittens, etc.

My fourth grade group was still finishing up a previous lesson, so it worked out for them to do some snowflakes as they finished up.  This was something small, not too overwhelming, but still a good contribution to our mural.

Before starting, We talked about "Radial Balance", and I had some circles for them to trace, to emphasize this concept.

I had one class make white snowflakes, and one make gray.

If a student had more than two snowflakes, they were allowed to take it home with them or have it hung.  Most wanted to take some home, which worked well for our purposes.

Last, but not least, my fifth grade students were in charge of making ornaments for our largest trees in the mural.   They used black paper, and drew out simple shapes.

We discussed analagous colors and value, in creating these "shiny" ornaments.  They LOVED it, and were amazed that they could do it!

They cut them out and I stapled them up.  I told them they could pick their favorites and write their names on those, and I would save them.  One thing I didn't think about was that writing on the back of the already colored ornaments left a "print" of their names on the colored front side, so next time I would have them write their names in oil pastel on the back, as well, instead of using pencil.

Here are a couple of shots of our mural.  The bulletin board is WAY too big to get into one photo, but I also took a video (seen at the end of this post).  This is the mural without the woodland creatures.  Plenty to look at already!

In the end, it wasn't PERFECT, but not bad for a first time try, and now I have a starting point for future murals.  Plus, it is festive and fun through the holiday season....tons of complements from teachers.  And the kids are enjoying keeping a lookout for their projects as this grows :)

I hope you all have a fun and happy holiday season, and thanks again for stopping in :)

Sunflower Pinch Pots

I was so happy with how these turned out in the past, that I can't wait to try them again this spring.  It can be hard to find a clay project for very young students that turns out cute in the end, and does not have pieces falling off.  This one has all that, AND they all look a little different.  Plus, we have the art history tie-in of Vincent Van Gogh.




This is a two day project, which last year expanded into a three day project with drawings.  On day one, we learned a little about clay.  This is first grade, so we covered some of the basics of how the clay would change and become hard.  I also read them a book on the first day, to get them thinking of sunflowers.



Then the students started with their pinch pots.



I used red earthen ware, and the kids pulled out the petals by pinching, and added the texture of the seeds in the middle with a wooden tool.  This is also a good one for science tie-ins with parts of the flower.

If the kids had extra time, they were allowed to play with the clay to make other things.  Sometimes I let them keep their creations, and if I am low on clay then it is just a "play time".  They don't mind, because it is fun either way, and it allows for further exploration of the material.

I fire them over the week, so they are ready for step two.  Sometimes I set the damp clay pots on top of an already firing kiln to dry them out faster.

Day 2 is our intro to Van Gogh and the coloring part of the lesson.



We observe his work.  This is a book I used before I had a Smart Board to show the pictures.





We then use oil pastels to color and blend colors for the flower "pots".  The kids also painted tempera paints over the oil pastels to fill in the gaps.  Before students came in, I had already separated the colors they would need for both oil pastels and paints.  I pulled yellow, orange, various greens, and browns.  It worked great!  Here's a video of the kids working on these, if you want to check it out!



For early finishers I had green paper all set for the kids to do a drawing of their sunflower.   They had the choice of zooming in or drawing the whole flower/group of flowers.  It made for a nice display at the art show, with a lot of variety.






I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Frank Stella Collaboration

Good morning!  This is a great lesson for when you are working on something else and the kids are all at really different spots.  The final product can be as elaborate or as simple as you or your students choose.  My kids were working on an intricate landscape before I did this project, so some were almost finished, and others may have barely started and were still focusing on details.  As the students finished, they were able to start on this Frank Stella-inspired collage on their own.  The collages in this post are by sixth graders, but I have done this lesson with fifth grade, and I've even tried a modified version with kinders in the past.



On day one we looked at Frank Stella's work, making observations in small groups and sharing out in a large group discussion.  In the past, I have shared this Prezi with kids, which has a short video embedded that focuses on all different organic and geometric shapes.  Organic and geometric shapes is one of the focuses of this lesson.  We also focus on contrast, pattern, and repetition.




We discuss how Frank creates his own "canvas" by cutting different shapes, and layering pieces for depth.





Then it is time to create!




I have used tempera paint or acrylics for this, and I like to have some neon paint thrown in there for that fun, bright effect.  I pre-cut lots of different cardboard (thick, thin, big, small, and corrugated).  For paint storage, I usually just have it pre-poured in egg cartons, but since kids were starting this at various times, I let them pour three colors at a time on a tray, while I monitored.



For storage of these, I had each student write their name on an extra large "messy mat" (rough paper), and they kept all wet pieces on that mat so they would not get mixed up with each others' work.

Once the students have "enough" pieces (I give them a range of numbers, depending on the group and their ability level) it is time to assemble.  Each piece must have a pattern or design, and they should have a mix of organic and geometric parts.



For this group, I plugged in a bunch of low heat hot glue guns and they took turns gluing.  Tacky glue would work well, too.  Some students also added marker details on top of the paint.  For those with extra time, I allow them to add pipe cleaners and/or Twisteez wire to their sculpture/collage, for added "pop".

These can be displayed as a collaboration, or as a stand - alone piece.  Here is one of the collaborative pieces we have done.  In the future, I would incorporate abstract drawing and painting in the background, as well, to make the whole display more interesting.

Animal Relief Sculptures

This is my second year doing these relief sculptures.  The kids really enjoy them, and they turn out cool for everyone.  Last year when I did these, we focused on animals of Africa, in our "Around the World with Ms. Smith" theme.  It is versatile, and would work with many tie-ins.



Before the kids came in, I mixed up a big batch of Claycrete (Amaco Brand), with water.  I like to have it pre-mixed, and I use a mask because of the dust.




I've never tried Celluclay, but I think that comes pre-mixed, and I believe it is similar to this.  You do need to keep it well-wrapped so it does not dry out (I use double ziplock bags), and I know there is also a shelf life to the Celluclay, if you choose to go that route.



On day one I had the kids draw their chosen animal and the environment behind them. This does not typically take a full 45 minutes, so I typically have them do this at the end of a previous lesson,



The next day is spent discussing "relief sculptures" and constructing the 3D faces of their animals.  If there is a student who is more advanced, they can choose to do two animals.



On the third day the animals are all dry and ready for paint.  I have tried acrylics and liquid tempera.  At this level, either one works, but acrylics are better for the lighter colors, in order to cover up the cardboard.



If a student was absent for a part of the lesson, I combine two days in one, by having them sculpt the face and paint the background.  That way the face is dry the next week and easily painted last.



Happy Friday, fellow artists and influencers :)