Angry Birds Finale

The Showcase- The video game background was a group activity as people finished.

Blue Bird on the left is NOT of the Angry Bird variety- she was very clear, it's just a bird.

Those with time and left over clay made "piggies". But, I told them they were responsible for marking their pigs, I was not putting names on all those PLUS the birds.

Today was finally the big day- the day my 1st graders got to paint their "Angry Birds".  They have been not so patiently waiting for this day.  And, hoping for a good paint day.  I have been doing my clay painting in the following manner; I don't know when I started this,  but it works well.  I dip.  Yep, just like Easter eggs, I mix up a few buckets of "base" colors.  Water+Acrylic paint.  Then, the kids line up in front of the color they want with their clay sculpture and a paper towel to put it on, and they dip, drip, and put on the towel to dry.  They carry it back to their seat, and wash their hands.  10 minutes, all done.  Now, with K, that's about all I do, but with 1st, after we cleared the buckets and everyone was back in their seats, I gave them tiny paintbrushes and small tubs of acrylic.  We discussed painting the parts rather than painting the "whole'. And, in one day, we have adorable sculptures, with good paint jobs.  It works very well for clay animals as well.  As the kids get older, we dip less and paint more, but this method gives everyone a small level of success, along with the ability to personalize with details. 

Torn Paper Animals (And a spooky picture)

 If you follow my blog, you know I am in favor of a good Torn Paper Collage. I worked with my 1st graders on an animal unit, in collaboration with their Common Core lessons on animals.  We looked at both Realistic interpretations of animals, and unreal interpretations.   For this project, we looked at Henri Mattisse and his work "The Snail".  We talked about how it does not look like a real snail, but the animal is in the arrangement of the paper.  We had also looked at Durer and Rousseau by this point, so they had a way to compare animals in artwork.  No scissors or pencils were allowed, but I do have a nice collection of animal magazines that the librarian was getting rid of.  (ZooBooks is a wonderful series, that I highly recommend.)  They were allowed to refer to their animal magazine as they arranged their paper.  I think we had good results.  I love torn paper because it forces some problem solving, and students tend to work a little bigger.

 

I could not resist showing you my 4th grade project.  We were looking at color schemes, and how the colors used in a landscape gives a feeling to a work of art.  We steered clear of Halloween, but instead worked toward creating an eerie scene- I told the kids it was kind of like watching a scary movie- it's not the monster that's so scary, but that moment right before, when you know it's a bout to jump out.  My 4th graders are a bit low in their skills, but I was pleased with this one.  I gave each student Blue, Purple, Black and White, asking them to mix colors to create a variety of tints and shades. 

Target Find

I know I'm not the first art teacher to post about these, but if you are a Target fan, like I am, these flash cards are an amazing $1 per pack!  They have an animal illustration on front, with the name clearly spelled, and on the back is some information about the animal.  I use them in so many ways in the art room, with all grade levels.  I often deal them out like cards, and have the students practice their drawing.  The information on the back is really helpful for my older students.  I have them read it, and then use the information in the creation of environmental details.  I find that animals are a popular topic in the art room.  They are easily researched, students have a natural interest in them and they can be used in a variety of ways.

My MInd is Reeling!

So- while all my other art teacher friends went back to school this week, I am at home, on the tail end of recovering from a herniated disc.  Knowing this was coming, I brought things home so that multi-tasking me would not go crazy sitting in the house.  I have this bucket of Animals.  My students are K-4, and like me, they love a good toy.  My initial thought was that this would make for some great drawing projects.  My kids (like me) love to get messy, but want instant results.  This makes drawing projects hard, because they have to focus for a little longer.  I was thinking that this would give them something to look at, and hold, forcing some attention to details, and the thought also occurred to me that a fantasy lesson could easily spring from this.  So- here's my questions... if you had a bucket of animals, and group of elementary students, what types of projects would you cook up? 

2nd Grade- Canopic Jars

Zebra
Scorpion
Not exactly sure- but it's cute!
Bunny Rabit
Tiger

I decided to change up one of my favorite 2nd grade spring projects. I love making coil pots. Typically, we glaze them in bright colors, and the classroom teachers plant flowers in them to take home. But this year, in order to go along with a Concealing/Revealing theme, we did some Egyptian artwork culminating in Canopic Jars. Gross enough to please the boys! I had never taught how to make lids before, but the students caught on quickly, and loved making their animals to be the "handle" on the top. The students had to pick an animal that represented their personality, which was fun.