Dreamy Ice Cream

The 1st graders and I are doing a unit on humor- which kind of got us into Wayne Thiebaud and his desserts.  We started with clay cupcakes, and worked into other desserts so, we ended up creating ice cream sundaes.  Here are a couple of awesome examples.  Normally, I'm not sure I would paint for this project, but not only is it in our pacing guide to paint right about now, I owe the kiddos some messy days to make up for a semester in the borrowed room, where we really didn't do a lotta painting. 

2 Pt Perspective

OK- not the easiest requirement for 4th graders.  In fact, I think I may have a bald spot or two from pulling at my hair trying to get the kiddos to use their rulers, and connect to the vanishing points.  But, the flip is that we get in some good drawing time, and I get a chance to really work with everyone on drawing skills.  Thank goodness for the "ELMO" document camera- it really has made this lesson a lot easier, as I can draw right along with the class. Perfect? Not by a long shot, but a really good effort in my opinion

Bleeding TIssue Lesson

My Winning Lesson

So, by clicking the above link, you will be taken to the lesson sheet that Pacon created from the art project I sent in to their "Bleeding Tissue" call out.  I was asked to provide the lesson highlights, the objectives, the tips I learned, etc, and they turned it into a pretty nifty looking spread.

Rolly Polly Penguins

I snapped these quick before my kindergarten students took them home and I think they are better in person.  It's such torture for them not to take home what they make, that I try to balance what I keep with what they take.  In this case, storage won out, and they took them right home.  Rolling 2 papers for the body and the head, and then using assorted shapes for the other parts helped to review shapes, along with basic paper sculpting techniques such as rolling, folding, and attaching.  This group even thought up names for the penguins- "Petey" "Rolly" "Trixie" and "Dinosaur" to name a few. 

MAIL!

Book station, card catalog, class cubbies, spiderman

Room to grow

I  love to get presents in the mail, and today, at school, my Pacon Prizes arrived.  It was a strange prize.  $100 in product sounds full of potential, and I'm not complaining, but the restriction was you had to order full cartons- Meaning not just 4-6 packs of paper, the whole box- so, the only thing my $100 would have bought in art supplies was a carton of popsicle sticks, which didn't seem, well, "prizey".  So, I opted for the organizational stuff, which did not come in cartons, and I ended up with 2 paper stations and a paperback book stations.  The white one will be for papers needed for lessons, the blue has one cubby for each class, and the green speaks for itself.  My thought is that even though the cubbies are small, they'll keep me on top of my grading for sure! Thanks Pacon. Oh, The yellow/blue drawers are not from Pacon, they are an old card catalog that I rescued.  We keep rulers, compasses, mirrors in them.  And Spidey's head is full of donated erasers. 

Penguins

So, the kindergarteners and I have been looking at penguins.  We've read stories, and then we went to "pebblego.com" an amazing site that my school subscribes to, that has animal info and videos in a very user friendly format.  We compared real life penguins to the ones in the books, discussing similarities and differences.  Then, we created our penguin paintings.  I didn't have them draw first, rather I gave a demonstration, then turned turned them loose.  I think they did pretty well, and I love how even though they all kind of started with my format, they have delightful personalities all of their own.

I Win!

So, I "friended" Pacon products on Facebook, and they were having a contest.  Submit a photo of an art project showcasing the bleeding tissue paper effect.  It just so happened that I had just completed bleeding tissue landscapes with my 2nd graders, so I just threw a photo into the contest.  Admittedly, it does not appear that there were any other entries in the contest, and I was beginning to wonder if the contest winner had been announced without my knowledge.  But, low and behold, tonight on FB, I was announced as the winner, meaning that I get $100 in Pacon products.  Don't know what it will be, or how it will work, but they taught me in teacher school to take any free stuff offered and be grateful, so I will!

This is it

I hope this is it- I hope I am on to posting more about artwork, and less about construction, but WOW, as hard as the year of construction has been, it is worth it now (I think).  Today, I taught my first classes in the official art room.  Not a room that was a classroom turned art room, a real, honest to goodness, designed for my needs art room.  Sinks, storage, and space.  And, today,  as I limped home on my aching feet, I had to admit that for the first time in a long time, I felt "teacherish"  I felt like I had the students' attention, that I was running my room, rather than my room running me, and that my tired was the tired of a good day of work, and not just stress.  And, if that weren't enough, they delivered my  final two pieces of furniture.  A clay cabinet, and a wooden wardrobe thing that has rubber maid type drawers, and shelves in it. Both with the ability to lock, and all giving me more storage than I've ever had.  Which means of course, that the space in the art room is actual, usable space where the kiddos can safely interact without backing a chair into something or someone.  Don't get me wrong- I loved my old room- I had made it mine, and made it work.  It was old, worn in, and there was nothing I could do to really mess up that space- and a part of me will miss that freedom.  I've spent a year on a cart, and I appreciated any  room I was given. However, this space is more in keeping with the needs of my class, and my students, and we will love it (after we break it in a little)