End of the 9 Weeks

I am wrapping up the 1st 9 weeks of school (already?!?).  Here are some projects I'm doing with my students.  I find that the end of the 9 weeks is a great time to squeeze in some of those seasonal, or craftier projects that the kids love, and review some of the skills that may be a little lacking.  My students are a bit lacking in their craftsmanship- especially their cutting and gluing, so the more chances I have to review, the better.

Torn Paper Seascape- 3rd Grade

A watercolor wash for the sky, and torn paper for the sandy beaches and waves.

Owls- 1st Grade.  Combo of torn paper and cutting

Taken from the "Spectra" art series-the 1st teacher manuals MNPS ever provided. They were scripted, and came with slides.  But, there were a few projects in there that I still like to revisit.

Kindergarten Pumpkins

If you've been teaching for any amount of time, you know that the pumpkin lends itself so well to the art room at this time of year.  It's easy enough to draw, the kids have likely visited the farm or pumpkin patch, and it translates to Halloween or Fall- whichever way  you prefer to go.  I had my kiddos use black paint only to trace a pumpkin that they had drawn on the 1st day.  On the 2nd, I gave them other colors, and we filled in.  I used tempera cakes, as my kids are still learning the painting routine.  They are so bright and cheerful- I'll have to post a few more, but here's a couple.  On a side note, I read them "Spookley, the Square Pumpkin" which I understand is a cartoon movie now, but the book is so sweet.

Little Punkins

I thought that showing my Kindergarten students how to make pumpkins out of paper strips would be a good paper sculpting introduction, teaching them some basic sculpture methods, as well as being just seasonal enough to hold their interest. I did not emphasize jack- o- lanterns, rather pumpkins, since many had recently been to the pumpkin patch. We did add googly eyes, because well, there were a lot of steps to this project, and adding eyes seems to be a great "carrot" for students to follow directions.